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First SW to be Removed?

Rob said:
Well quite, the first SW to go albeit unintentionally will probably be Wicker Man when it burns down later this year! :p
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I wouldn’t joke - knowing their recent track record it wouldn’t surprise me
 
Rita will be the next coaster but it's not an SW so that is irrelevant.

If the question is of first SW to be removed in accumulate terms, it will be The Smiler no doubt.

But if it's in terms of first removal in real time, I can't see how anyone could say The Smiler? It was only built in 2013, so even if it has an incredibly short life of 20 years, that brings us to 2033.

Nemesis would be 39 years old, Oblivion 35, Air 31, Thirteen 23 and Wickerman 15.

So I suppose it completely depends on who owns the park by then and what their intentions are. If I based this on the kind of leadership within Merlin we see today then I would vote for Air for various reasons. However I think Oblivion will probably go first, with Nemesis receiving listed status.
 
My bets are on Rita being the first to go. It may not be a secret weapon but that’s part of the reason.

The ride is bumpy, jolty and relatively poor as launch coasters go and seeing how advanced and superior newer launch coasters are.

That’s of course assuming Wicker doesn’t combust or Towers goes bankrupt with all the cuts happening.
 
bluesonichd said:
I’m thinking the only one that’s safe is Nemmy, what else would you do with the ride area if it was demolished. All the others are fair game.
My moneys on Galactica for the big chop
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When the sad day comes I imagine they will do a Universal - Hulk style re-build. At the end of the day that coaster is as close to perfection as you can get for an invert. It ticks all the boxes so why not just build it again and give it another 30-40 year life extension.
 
I’m sure I read somewhere that B&M said they would never build another nemesis. Parts of the track (the helix I imagine) are too stress inducing on the track.
 
bluesonichd said:
I’m thinking the only one that’s safe is Nemmy, what else would you do with the ride area if it was demolished. All the others are fair game.
My moneys on Galactica for the big chop
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I don't know, Nemmy has had a good run but I think it's time to fill the pit with water and bring back the sea lions
 
I imagine rebuilding Nemesis would be a nightmare - reconstructing a coaster built upon a totally flat plot of land is one thing, trying to rebuild what I would imagine is one of the most heavily landscaped coasters in the world is something else.

That, and the fact that Nemesis has yet to get anywhere near as rough as Hulk got within a shorter span of time, leads me to think that B&M would simply design new trains if the ride ever got to the point of becoming notably rough.
 
When Nemesis gets rough and unkept, changes to an Alien vs Predator themed VR coaster and another ride of its kind would never get built again, will there be future generations of enthusiasts who didn't really know it to claim it wasn't actually *that* good after all, any passion for the original ride is only nostalgia and that the public wouldn't like it without VR or an IP?

j o k e
 
matthewgcole said:
Rita will be the next coaster but it's not an SW so that is irrelevant.

If the question is of first SW to be removed in accumulate terms, it will be The Smiler no doubt.

But if it's in terms of first removal in real time, I can't see how anyone could say The Smiler? It was only built in 2013, so even if it has an incredibly short life of 20 years, that brings us to 2033.

Nemesis would be 39 years old, Oblivion 35, Air 31, Thirteen 23 and Wickerman 15.

So I suppose it completely depends on who owns the park by then and what their intentions are. If I based this on the kind of leadership within Merlin we see today then I would vote for Air for various reasons. However I think Oblivion will probably go first, with Nemesis receiving listed status.
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What do you mean by 'accumulate terms'? :)
 
I don' get why people hate on Rita and threeten so much? I enjoy both of them massivey. Yes Rita isn' the best launch coaster but it's better then not having a launch. And 13....have you ever just sat there and watched the faces of anyone that' never been on it before? Priceless
 
"Threeteen" was originally hated by enthusiasts because it was overhyped by Merlin, but now it seems to have found its place. Rita's just not as good as the coasters surrounding it. If it was at Drayton Manor or Flamingo Land, for example, people your probably like it more, but because competition is so hard at Alton, it just gets left behind, unfortunately.
 
Was Thirteen really hated? Yes it was let down for some on opening day but to most of us it was pretty clear by looking at it what to expect. I do not recall tonnes of hate, many I enjoyed it as a fun coaster at the time but with a feeling that it had not been marketed correctly.

:)
 
Agreed the marketing was completey done incorrectly. But it still drew large crowds so for the everyday person maybe the marketing was correct? I like the coaster to be honest I always make it one of the first rides when I visit
 
Thirteen is great to be fair- the only disappointment I had in opening day was the crypt - expected more from a dramatical point of view, not the hardware and the shortness of the ore crypt ride.

That said it is a great ride
 
It is a shame that AT go for these firsts so often as the drop on 13 would be perfect in a long dark ride like the HH. If there were a few stops during the ride so it isn't totally obvious when the drop is imminent it would be even better!
 
Trooper said:
It is a shame that AT go for these firsts so often as the drop on 13 would be perfect in a long dark ride like the HH. If there were a few stops during the ride so it isn't totally obvious when the drop is imminent it would be even better!
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Agreed
Verbolten is excellent if you ask me

To be honest twice the coaster length and something extra in the crypt and you have a world class ride
 
Really interesting topic. I would say air because the transition to Galactica has been a failure - as shown by the reduction of VR rows. (That said, the theme itself is good). It’s just not particularly forceful, and for many the flying sensation isn’t enough to make it a thrilling ride any more. It’s one I do like, but having been on Manta at SeaWorld Orlando before I first rode Galactica, I must admit it was a bit underwhelming.
 
JackFitzy said:
"Threeteen" was originally hated by enthusiasts because it was overhyped by Merlin, but now it seems to have found its place. Rita's just not as good as the coasters surrounding it. If it was at Drayton Manor or Flamingo Land, for example, people your probably like it more, but because competition is so hard at Alton, it just gets left behind, unfortunately.
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Which is why RITA was and never has been marketed as an SW.

There's seems to be a lot of confusion on this thread about what is and isn't an SW...

SW3 - Nemesis
SW4 - Oblivion
SW5 - Air/Galactica
SW6 - Th13teen
SW7 - Smiler
SW8 - Wickerman

It's tough. They're all iconic in their own right.

I think Air/Galactica might be the first. The retrofitting of VR was desperate and has slowed the queue right down. To remove the VR would require another rebrand (unless they spruced it up including the tunnel!) and relaunched the coaster as "Air 2.0".

I don't think they'd go for the rebrand, I think they'd pull it down and put something else there

(Edited for spelling)
 
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