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Lightwater Valley

Admittedly, the park is going through a very tough stretch at the moment, and has been for the past few years. They are quite clearly struggling, and have been for some time.

However, I think that if Lightwater plays its cards right this year, then they could be quite successful. This may seem like a strange thing to say given that the park has just culled a significant proportion of its headline attractions, and has their arguable crown jewel sitting SBNO with no indication as to whether it will reopen, but the new rides that the park has installed this year are something that could be spun very positively with an effective marketing campaign, and there are quite a few new rides, from what I can tell.

Although the rides being installed are not the most substantial, this still represents a fair expansion to their lineup for under-10s, and I’d argue that this could be marketed as being very desirable for young families. Also, Flamingo Land is also seemingly encountering a tough stretch at the moment, with very few rides opening on 12th April, so with the lineup they have open, Lightwater could arguably fill the niche of a children’s theme park in Yorkshire, as Flamingo Land both has very few rides open and also has more of a thrill seeker focus than Lightwater, so I’d argue that Lightwater has actually been quite smart in trying to fulfill a niche in the Yorkshire tourism market. With the staycation boom forecast for this summer, Lightwater could be pretty successful, if they play their cards right. If these new rides and new targeted marketing towards under-10s do end up being successful, then I could eventually see further expansion in this direction, with them eventually becoming Yorkshire’s answer to something like Sundown Adventureland.

That might be me being very optimistic, but I just thought it might be worth considering an alternative viewpoint.
 
Why presume the park will get things right this year, when they have been getting things wrong, year in, year out, for about two decades.
They have closed their two major family thrill rides, and have been stagnating for years.
Renting a few kiddy flats is not real progress at all.
Another vote for death by 2022.
Or free entry to the strawberry farm and boating lake, (bit like Towers), going back to the eighties.
 
rob666 said:
Why presume the park will get things right this year, when they have been getting things wrong, year in, year out, for about two decades.
They have closed their two major family thrill rides, and have been stagnating for years.
Renting a few kiddy flats is not real progress at all.
Another vote for death by 2022.
Or free entry to the strawberry farm and boating lake, (bit like Towers), going back to the eighties.
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I was thinking that the circumstances might possibly provide a welcome boost for them; travel abroad will be limited this year, and Flamingo Land is also very heavily compromised, only opening very limited rides (at least initially).

So in that sense, Lightwater can claim to have the largest operating ride lineup in Yorkshire for the under-10s, which could be a rather clever niche for them within the Yorkshire tourism market if they play their cards right.

I’ll admit that based on the last few years, closure is quite possibly the more likely option, but I’m a little wary to ring the death knell for Lightwater without seeing how they fare in 2021; stranger things have happened, and companies have managed to claw themselves back from similarly deep troughs in the past.

Besides, I’d argue that buying the rides in itself suggests that they do have some money to play with, even if they don’t have an awful lot.
 
I think the new rides are rented, like their dark coaster.
Having done both parks,repeatedly, I would say Mingo has about twice the attractions for little kids than Lightwater.
They may not have them all open from the start, but it is far easier to open another dozen kids rides than it is to reopen t'Ultimate.
 
Matt N said:
Admittedly, the park is going through a very tough stretch at the moment, and has been for the past few years. They are quite clearly struggling, and have been for some time.

However, I think that if Lightwater plays its cards right this year, then they could be quite successful. This may seem like a strange thing to say given that the park has just culled a significant proportion of its headline attractions, and has their arguable crown jewel sitting SBNO with no indication as to whether it will reopen, but the new rides that the park has installed this year are something that could be spun very positively with an effective marketing campaign, and there are quite a few new rides, from what I can tell.

Although the rides being installed are not the most substantial, this still represents a fair expansion to their lineup for under-10s, and I’d argue that this could be marketed as being very desirable for young families. Also, Flamingo Land is also seemingly encountering a tough stretch at the moment, with very few rides opening on 12th April, so with the lineup they have open, Lightwater could arguably fill the niche of a children’s theme park in Yorkshire, as Flamingo Land both has very few rides open and also has more of a thrill seeker focus than Lightwater, so I’d argue that Lightwater has actually been quite smart in trying to fulfill a niche in the Yorkshire tourism market. With the staycation boom forecast for this summer, Lightwater could be pretty successful, if they play their cards right. If these new rides and new targeted marketing towards under-10s do end up being successful, then I could eventually see further expansion in this direction, with them eventually becoming Yorkshire’s answer to something like Sundown Adventureland.

That might be me being very optimistic, but I just thought it might be worth considering an alternative viewpoint.
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There's a lot of conjecture in this thread ...

rob666 said:
I think the new rides are rented, like their dark coaster.
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The new rides have been purchased, Rat/Raptor is also owned by the park.
 
Just got an email from the park. A major faux pas in their marketing, no make that two:

On their COVID-19 Information page, under 'What will be open during my visit?', it says "All our outdoor rides and attractions will reopen from the 17th April". Further down under 'Why is The Ultimate closed?', it says "Whilst The Ultimate will remain at the Park it will not run for the 2021 season as we limit visitor numbers due to Covid restrictions and continue to offer new attractions for a younger audience as part of a wider development plan." So, they can't then state 'All our outdoor rides and attractions are open" if they've already said on the same page that their flagship ride is closed. o_O This 'wider development plan' sounds concerning. If it really was just COVID keeping it shut, I don't see why that should prevent it running, can't they just block off every other row and put distancing markers down like every other park is doing?

The other, glaring faux pas is that under the park's name at the very top of the email it says "The Ultimate Family Adventure". Is that some kind of sick joke, having that as your banner when the ride it refers to is closed until further notice?"

On the positive side, at least in the short term, it says tickets for today are sold out, and reminds people to book in advance. Anyway I guess it's sold out mainly because things are only just opening up and families are desperate to go and do something, and perhaps they have a fairly low limit on numbers. Long term I'm not sure how they will survive without anything bringing in coaster nerds, teenage school trips, etc.
 
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Dipper_Dave said:
Just got an email from the park. A major faux pas in their marketing, no make that two:

On their COVID-19 Information page, under 'What will be open during my visit?', it says "All our outdoor rides and attractions will reopen from the 17th April". Further down under 'Why is The Ultimate closed?', it says "Whilst The Ultimate will remain at the Park it will not run for the 2021 season as we limit visitor numbers due to Covid restrictions and continue to offer new attractions for a younger audience as part of a wider development plan." So, they can't then state 'All our outdoor rides and attractions are open" if they've already said on the same page that their flagship ride is closed. o_O
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Phx7lvm.jpg
 
I went yesterday, new area is brilliant for kids but whole area around the ultimate isn’t great. Building for raptor attack still there and all the theming is there on the queue line also.
Black Pearl is sbno and the ultimate is in no state to run again without plenty of work in my opinion. The track is filthy and very rusty also. Sign is gone from the station and mostly boarded up.

eagles claw was operating but only until they find a buyer
 
Liam ck said:
the ultimate is in no state to run again without plenty of work in my opinion. The track is filthy and very rusty also. Sign is gone from the station and mostly boarded up.
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This sucks. If a decision isn’t made before too long, it will just stand there rotting away like Knightmare did. It’s a huge shame that they can’t invest and fill in some of their space with rides. Never mind that, they can’t even run their own flagship ride. It’s too good a site to go on its arse.

Is there a reason they can’t put rides and attractions in Ulty’s footprint? Is it to do with wildlife, other restrictions, or they’ve just never wanted to?

I know Ulty is not everyone’s bag, but it would be a killer blow to lose that ride
 
If anyone has any pictures from the new area, I’d be really eager to see them!

Lightwater have only just added ride photos to their website but I’d be more interested to see the area than close up ride shots. They also haven’t uploaded anything noteworthy to their social media pages about the area :(.

I’m really excited by this move for them. Although it shifts me fully out of their target audience, I envisage it’s something they could do well at in the price bracket they’re operating in.

I think they could market themselves really well as more of a leisure/adventure park rather than amusement park/theme park, especially with some more playground equipment/non ride attractions. I can see that being well received by their new target market without being the maintenance burden that The Ultimate appears to be.

Of course, who am I to say, but I think the more they differentiate themselves from parks that they realistically can’t compete against, the better!
 
Rick said:
Posted these yesterday, interesting to see the park going back to its roots

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This is how I remember the park when I first went, Fort William was the first place to go to after the honing your skills not he BMX track on your Raleigh Burner with no brakes.

Someone mentioned above, the site/park would be an absolute shame to lose, it's so vast and well set out and tucked away, it could be a fantastic place for all and a top UK attraction.
 
What’s even going on with Black Pearl anyway? I get that they’re trying to cater for families, but then just remove the damn thing. I hate seeing rides SBNO, and right now it feels like the park just can’t make their minds up about which direction they want to to take their product.
 
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