Future Rides at Alton Towers

[Hid]

Sounds about right seeing as they are skint.

Believe it or not Merlin have more money then you realise if you look under the bonnet

 

[Maelstrom]

There is nothing wrong with this kind of stuff as long as it’s not at the detriment of bigger investments which is often the case at Merlin.

I don’t have any knowledge of the financial situation at Merlin at a group level but from what understand Alton Towers is one of the more profitable parks and revenue earner. With current ownership though a lot of that money is not re invested into the park and being spend elsewhere.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

I can't think of that many walkthrough-style attractions at Merlin Parks, but I thought the Magical Forest walkthrough that was added to the Lego Mythica land at LLW a couple of years ago was rather nicely done. It's nice to have a more chilled out attraction that you don't have to queue for, and it appeals to young and old alike. Its got an interactive element as well with the augmented reality which works reasonably well.

To be fair it's nothing earth-shattering compared with what Disney/Universal are capable of, but it's a nice addition and I do think these types of attractions have a place in theme parks, especially if they serve as support attractions for areas with popular rides. People want a variety of experiences on a day out, and not everyone is all about the coasters.

 

[Squiggs]

Could be legitimate - I am sure I read somewhere Merlin are creating some sensory based attractions starting in the US so the idea maybe to bring those to Alton perhaps ?

You did indeed read about Wondra and Super Neon, as collaborations between Merlin and a company called Fever. It looks like the first iterations of both of them are about to open in American malls in Chicago and Minneapolis.

And it looks like Bubble Planet is a similar style attraction already operating in a mall in Seattle.

So yeah, definitely all attractions in Merlins orbit.

 

[Matt N]

I can't think of that many walkthrough-style attractions at Merlin Parks, but I thought the Magical Forest walkthrough that was added to the Lego Mythica land at LLW a couple of years ago was rather nicely done. It's nice to have a more chilled out attraction that you don't have to queue for, and it appeals to young and old alike. Its got an interactive element as well with the augmented reality which works reasonably well.

To be fair it's nothing earth-shattering compared with what Disney/Universal are capable of, but it's a nice addition and I do think these types of attractions have a place in theme parks, especially if they serve as support attractions for areas with popular rides. People want a variety of experiences on a day out, and not everyone is all about the coasters.

Perhaps walkthrough was the wrong word.

I’m referring to things like I’m a Celebrity, Saw Alive, Black Mirror, Room on the Broom, The Alton Towers Dungeon and such. Merlin seem to have a penchant for quite staff-heavy attractions that parallel a midway attraction-style experience.

Things like Sub-Terra and Ghost Train might also broadly fall into this category, but as they’re actual ride experiences, I didn’t classify them in the same manner as the above.

 

[WL18]

The "leaked" Minecraft survey last year seemingly set a precedent for Merlin using consumer research to finalise planned attractions, so this could have some legs.

You mentioned that you saw screenshots on social media, are you able to link to the original posts that you saw please?

It's unsurprising if Merlin were using AI generated visuals to accompany this type of research, as it would just be for hypothetical illustrative purposes. Giving the subject some form of visual clue or stimulation, to assist with their decisions.

I could quite easily see this sort of attraction being easily replicated in many of their parks, but a last minute thought is that the premise isn't too dissimilar to 1997's Nickelodeon: Outta Control.

Sorry, not the best at using this site so didn’t know how to upload the screenshots I took to my post, but the images are posted in the comments of the below video, as a reply to the top comment.


From: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdpqbVxw/

 

[flyingguitar]

There were rumours of a three ride deal from Huss but wether that’s true or not, remains to be seen.

correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't that from Bianca or huss.

I think it is quite likely to still happen, these investments are large and cost a lot so AT would want to maximise their returns, this can be done by spreading them out more and having multiple years with a new ride.

(also can mean only one construction is required, etc)

most other flat ride locations are covered by a GDO so there would be no planning permission filed (unless it is very different like toxication) and similarly there isn't likely to be much ground work as they only have to do relatively basic parts such as foundations and paths (not an entire multi meter tall bridge like toxication, which took most of last year to build, the ride itself was up in a few weeks from memory)

so we are unlikely to see much as in addition work would probably go on during closed season (much better access to the work site and no guests) so they may open a huss ride next year.

IMO they will replace blade and another flat ride (perhaps in X-sector or dark forest)

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

IMO they will replace blade and another flat ride (perhaps in X-sector or dark forest)

I would love you to be correct, and I would really like this to happen, but I've lost a bit of faith.

New for 2026 is likely the Bluey coaster and nothing more.

 

[dave___]

I can't think of that many walkthrough-style attractions at Merlin Parks, but I thought the Magical Forest walkthrough that was added to the Lego Mythica land at LLW a couple of years ago was rather nicely done. It's nice to have a more chilled out attraction that you don't have to queue for, and it appeals to young and old alike. Its got an interactive element as well with the augmented reality which works reasonably well.

To be fair it's nothing earth-shattering compared with what Disney/Universal are capable of, but it's a nice addition and I do think these types of attractions have a place in theme parks, especially if they serve as support attractions for areas with popular rides. People want a variety of experiences on a day out, and not everyone is all about the coasters.

Reskin the AT dungeon into one of these so it's not sat stale for the bulk of the year when it's not being used for Scarefest. Using an existing asset so there's not a massive construction cost involved.

 

[Bowser]

Team edit: moved to the correct thread.

I realise this is the wrong thread but i saw people discussing in another thread in regards to a survey about a new attraction at AT. Some images were being referenced and a TikTok link that i don't think many could view so i have said images if still required!

 

[Dave]

So capital is drying up so we are back Merlins staple of walk through attractions that will last 3 seasons and close…

 

[Bert2theSpark]

Team edit: moved to the correct thread.

I realise this is the wrong thread but i saw people discussing in another thread in regards to a survey about a new attraction at AT. Some images were being referenced and a TikTok link that i don't think many could view so i have said images if still required!

These walkthroughs look cool and whatnot, but we’ve had plenty of those over the years, where are the rides? As said above, has the development team learnt the lessons of the AT Dungeons, The Minecraft experience sounds like it would be an up charge attraction!!

The only way a second gate would work at Towers is if it complimented the theme park, rather than an additional payment within. Much like the Waterpark or Golf.

The concept art for the walkthroughs looks cool but it should be complimentary to the rides, this is the sort of thing that should be a cool little side attraction to compliment a new coaster or area!

 

[DiogoJ42]

Is it me, or is that just three different names for the same "attraction"? Some LED lights from Ali Express and maybe a projector or two? That should be queue line decoration at most, not an "attraction".

 

[Dhev123]

Imagine Towers had the budget for something like Nightflight at Dollywood on the horizon site… if only