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Heide Park

Surely it's between fixing it up (should be done as standard, really), knocking it down (seems daft) or renovating it to something more extreme (marketable?)

Seems ill-advised to destroy a fifteen-year old, new-generation wooden coaster, no?
 
If they destroy Colossos then dhdjsjshwjsbrjsbsusbshsejhsyshsjwh

They had better reopen it or I will lose what little hope I have left for Merlin.
 
I must say I try not to bash Merlin or be negative. But seriously? What has taken 11 months to decide? A 15 year old major popular attraction needs work done. So carry out the work!

Considering the massive public backlash they received online for not reopening it this year they would be really stupid to demolish it now. The fact it is even being considered is mind boggling.
 
If Colossos doesn't reopen, Heide will need to add something seriously impressive to get me back there. On my first and only visit to date last year I decided I wouldn't return without it, as the lack of a stand-out, headline coaster in the ride lineup was painfully obvious. The other big issue was that the fog of Merlin hung thickly over the place; closed stuff, patchy upkeep, gloomy themes etc...oh, and presumably long lost park mascots from back when someone gave a damn still featuring on the tiles in the toilets. Anyway, I'd be disappointed to see it pulled down without having experienced it, and you have to think that the park management will surely want to avoid chucking away a vast Intamin prefab woodie if they possibly can. Fingers crossed.
 
Wow, a 'final decision' is more than a little bit concerning. I have not yet been to the park and if it does get ripped down then I will hardly be in a rush to make a visit, the rest of their coaster line-up looks fine but nothing really stands out.

Surely they won't be ripping it down though and we are just overreacting!?

:)
 
Sounds ominous, and hopefully, as Rob suggests, a bit of an overreaction. However, you really do have to question the extent of the work needed for such a ride to be SBNO and apparently untouched for nearly a year now. To have the need arise so suddenly mid-season also raises other questions. If the result of a long-term issue what caused the sudden snap decision? What was the straw that from the camel's back?

To have such a major headliner and solid record-holder (world's tallest wooden coaster is quite legitimate compared to some, ahem, "records" parks come up with these days) hanging in the balance must elude to something drastic. As much as Merlin can be tarred from time to time, even for them these seems totally illogical.

Suppose we'll find out sooner or later.
 
The four Intamin pre-fab rides have had a very warm reception since they were installed, which of course begs the question why there is only four of them. They're quick to build, have fairly good reliability (bar teething trouble with the cable lift) and are relatively low cost, maintenance wise with the laser cut track and poly wheels.

The key issue is the relatively high construction cost. El Toro is rumoured to have cost north of $20m, which is fairly eye watering for a wood coaster - irrespective of what it is. You have to think that a significant amount of that money would need to be reinvested if the rides requires retracking (this has been done partially on all rides - bar Colossos, I believe?).

The format brought a lot of innovations but many of them come at a fiscal cost. If Merlin are faced with pulling it down or spending half or more of its original cost on just keeping it running, I do wonder why they would choose the latter. That's a lot of money to keep something running in its current form.

If they can create a new coaster out of the remnants of Colossos with an RMC Iron Horse/Topper Track conversion for a similar price and have a 'new' ride to market on the back of the investment, that feels like the more likely direction to me.

Call it Mean Streak syndrome.
 
Yeah but Mean Streak was bad. Colossos is the best ride in the park and Heide Park already promised it would reopen next year. We all know about Merlin's promises though......
 
MakoMania said:
Yeah but Mean Streak was bad. Colossos is the best ride in the park and Heide Park already promised it would reopen next year. We all know about Merlin's promises though......
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My German isn't perfect, but from what I read they said it was closed for 2017 and didn't mention 2018?

I liked Mean Streak, but Mean Streak v2 will be better. The point still stands...
 
Not knowing much about Intamin's prefabs, how easy would it be to RMC? I assume the wooden supports aren't to different to a normal wooden coaster, and that's all they'd really need.

From memory Colossos was never considered a great coaster, good but not in the league of Balder and El Toro. It's a shame the ride hasn't been treated with the same love and care as the others but as Rick said an RMC replacement might make more financial sense. It might even be a better ride.
 
Heide Park never promised it would reopen next year. They simply said it will not open in 2017 and they were still deciding on its future.
 
CSLKenny said:
Heide Park never promised it would reopen next year. They simply said it will not open in 2017 and they were still deciding on its future.
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As above, that was my understanding too.

Rides quickly gain a mythic status when it looks like they might be on the block. Just the way it goes.
 
I am planning to visit in 2018 and I emailed them when I heard that Colossos was not operating in 2017 and they assured me that it would reopen in time for my visit in 2018. This was around March of this year.

There was also a post on social media around the time (that now seems to have been removed) that said something along the lines of, "we regret that our beloved Colossos wooden roller coaster will not be operating in 2017. We will be attending to track maintenance before we can bring the ride back into service."
 
Well... maybe they did. That seems like a fairly daft 'promise' to make given the discussions that are apparently going on.

Stuff happens, wait and see I guess.
 
Colossos is an excellent wooden coaster. There is nothing else to say. It is a fantastic, fast, airtime filled ride.

For me, its in my top 10 woodies. And definitely in the top 3 or 4 in Europe.
 
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Out of curiosity, has a "final decision" been made? Quick searches doesn't bring up anything and I'm unsure of the original source.

(Currently have no wifi or data signal for such digging.)
 
Panda said:
Out of curiosity, has a "final decision" been made? Quick searches doesn't bring up anything and I'm unsure of the original source.)
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If it has, I don't think we'll hear anything for a while. I imagine they have a fair idea if it's going to reopen in 2018 (in some form) at this stage. If the work is vast as suggested, it won't be too long before there is some activity.
 
It has been announced that Lady Moon (Huss Flipper) and Aquaspin (Huss Top Spin) are now closed, and will be removed from the park's lineup of flat rides with immediate effect.

These are in addition to the removal of Okti (Octopus rides) last year, Krake Lebt (scare maze), one of the park's main show venues and the ongoing closure of the major woodie, Colossos.
 
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