Stelios said:
BigAl said:
I personally hope they don't take all three kids areas at the front of the park for whatever they're planning next year. Sure, combine Storybook Land and Adventure Land to make one new area, but I think they don't need anymore than that otherwise it's all going to be a little too spread out. Plus retheming it all will require a lot of money, so spreading the money out too thinly is a bad idea.
Imo, besides replacing the Dung Heap, the farm is perfect. I also think that Storybook Land's theme is perfect too, so I'd love to see something with a similar theme to Storybook Land used for Adventure Land so that the beautiful theming around Squirrel Nutty doesn't need removing.
Surely it's better if all the family areas are back together? It means less walking and more ride time.
Just get a decent kids coaster in, a Nutty queuesize is all what is needed. I don't care if it's unique or not, considering Merlin are "second to Disney"; their flagship park not offering a kids coaster for a "family theme park" is embarrassing.
If we are talking about Troublesome Trucks size, surely the tent space might have to be used too?
An IP seems essential nowadays especially for a family area. Spinball has always been knackered but since SW7 doesn't really have anywhere else to move. I wouldn't mind seeing it go, but it also soaks queues in the morning so I'm neutral on the issue. As long as this new area is decently themed and helps stabilise a fresh, family image it'll be fine. If Storybook lands new coaster had fairytales more expanded on, we might just see that Shrek 4D-
And am I the only one who thinks the Dungheap is fine as it is, it might not totally fit the farm, but it being rather cutely secluded is fine as it still gets visitors. After only going there last year. all it needs is a few seating areas as it is rather peaceful there.
Less walking? How? They're still all going to be in the same places.
What I mean is eliminating three different themes for one is a bad idea when the farm theme is fine. By all means replace / retheme Riverbank and Berry Bish Bash with more up-to-date attractions but the rest of the area is great and blends seamlessly into Storybook Land. That's why I think it'd be a shame to replace Storybook Land with something drastically different (besides loosing the fantastic theming).
As for a kids coaster not needing to be unique, I agree, but the theme should be. A small off-the-shelf is fine so long as the extra money goes towards making the theming for it great and so long as it's a decent ride in the first place. Just compare Thorpe's Flying Fish to Chessington's Runaway Train and it goes to show how much theming can do for a ride.
I also agree that the tent area might be good for a kids coaster unless it's too close to the nearby residents in Farley? I would prefer a show here but I don't think there's much chance of Alton Towers repairing the tent for a new Ice Show any time soon. It takes up a lot of space and if they aren't going to run any shows from it then they might as well scrap it and open up more land around there.
As much as an IP can be a great initial draw, if the end product is bad then people are going to loose interest in it very quickly. I don't mind an IP so long as it's tasteful, suitable for the whole family (ie Beatrix Potter's stories
) and theming is carried out properly rather than being cheap and minimal, otherwise it just seems like they've thrown in an IP for the sake of grabbing your attention (Ice Age and Charlie).
An original theme can also work, but something in between can too. Expanding on the Storybook Land theme with more fairy tales that haven't been turned into films might be something worth considering as they're well-known and provide an excellent starting point to build from for other themed aspects of an area, but they won't come across as cheap or tacky (most of the time anyway
). Why pay for the rights to Shrek when they can use many of the characters anyway (seen as most are from fairy tales and nursery rhymes, etc... )?
As for the Dung Heap, I think it's a waste of space. The play area is boring and generic with little theming and I hardly ever see anyone in there (my family insist on visiting it all on pretty much every visit to see the chickens :I ). The biggest concern for me is the maze though. It won't be difficult at all to make something which is more inspiring than that and it'd be criminal not to.
Anyway, whatever replaces Beastie needs to be something which isn't too intimidating and has some nice theming with it too. As much as Troublesome Trucks would be good, I can't help but think that they can do much better. Watching it makes me wonder why they slow it down so much rather than allowing it to run a little longer. One coaster that I did like the look of (regardless of condition, quality and theme) is the Dragon's Apprentice at Legoland Windsor. It looks just perfect for the type of visitor that the Beastie catered for.
Dragons Apprentice - Legoland Windsor
Dragon's Apprentice - Legoland Windsor POV
It's cute, well-themed and just the right level of intensity for the youngest visitors. Gerstlauer or Vekoma could easily best that for Alton.
