Not that much for a park the size of Alton Towers. I don't know the exact cost of a themed Huss Top Spin, but you can get a large new flat ride for about £1.5. Maybe £2 million depending on what they do with the theming. That's substantially less than the reported cost of Sub Terra or transforming Toyland Tours into Charlie.
I suspect their reluctance to replace it has as much to do with the ongoing costs once it's open as it does with the capital investment. A ride like a Top Spin is quite power hungry including creating power surges. It's not like a roller coaster where the riders are lifted up the the highest point (usually) and the rest happens using gravity. A Top Spin is a heavy piece of machinery. Although there are big counter weights, it's still pulling a lot of electricity as it goes round.
Then there's the cost of the two ride ops/hosts. It's not just what they're paid each hour, but everything from the holiday pay they accrue, their uniform, the training they receive etc. By cutting the number of front line staff they may well have used it as an opportunity to cut the number of managers as well or to downsize other departments such as HR. Staff are expensive.
Then there's the cost of having the ride serviced each year and getting an ADIPS certificate for it. That's quite a costly process. The cost of the engineers who inspect it each morning. The morning checks on all the rides are a time consuming process and there's a limited window to do it in. By axing so many rides they've presumably been able to shed a few engineers, who are normally on decent salaries. There's also the cost of the technician who regularly tests the water quality and has to make sure it's all treated properly. Incidentally did the Flume use water from a lake (it's a few years since I made it to Towers)? If so that may be one of the reasons why it wasn't replaced by another water ride. If you built a new water ride I suspect the water would need to be a closed system, and with current regulations the process of maintaining the water quality is quite expensive. This may be part of the reason why we're not likely to get Loggers Leap back either and why the big parks have been reluctant to build a large new water ride (although Legoland built their rapids). If and when parts need replacing they can be expensive.
The cost of running a ride like Ripsaw for a season is quite high. I suspect this is partly why it hasn't been replaced yet.
I guess Im just very sad
