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Lightwater Valley

A shame but this was inevitable. I really did not like The Ultimate when I first rode it in 2010 but was somewhat more fond of it after riding in 2019. It doesn't really fit in with the direction that they want to take the park, but it was an iconic, and very unique, coaster.
 
This was inevitable, there was no way that it was going to come back after being SBNO for several years like that given the change of ownership. It’s such a unique coaster and one that was rather problematic in several respects. The extreme length of track, terrain, and massively long layout bring with it a set of challenges (stalling, decapitated deers, etc) and it can’t have been a very enticing prospect to bring it back and maintain it, and that’s before you even get to the bone shaking ride it gives. It will be interesting to see what actually happens to the structure now.

I’m honestly concerned about whether the park has a long term future or if we’ll see it go bust at some point over the next couple of seasons. The Gulliver’s parks have indeed shown that there is a market for parks aimed at children but then again we all know what happened to American Adventure over the last few years of it’s life.
 
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zeock said:
As a side note, I find it quite amazing that The Beast at Kings Island is still the longest woodie on Earth and now the second-longest coaster after 44 years of operation.
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Length is a far more durable record than height or speed, and I’d wager that that’s because length inherently costs a huge amount of money. Height or speed on their own don’t inherently cost a huge amount, whereas length requires a huge amount of money by virtue of how much steel or wood you need to make a long roller coaster.
 
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Matt N said:
Length is a far more durable record than height or speed, and I’d wager that that’s because length inherently costs a huge amount of money. Height or speed on their own don’t inherently cost a huge amount, whereas length requires a huge amount of money by virtue of how much steel or wood you need to make a long roller coaster.
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Its also a really boring record which people don't really care about breaking.
World's Fastest or Tallest immediately make a coaster exciting, World's Longest doesn't really have the same excitement factor which is probably why LWV often used the very vague title of World's Biggest Rollercoaster.
 
evilcod said:
Its also a really boring record which people don't really care about breaking.
World's Fastest or Tallest immediately make a coaster exciting, World's Longest doesn't really have the same excitement factor which is probably why LWV often used the very vague title of World's Biggest Rollercoaster.
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I don't know... ask some people and they'll say that length is all that matters.
 
I mean arguably hasn't been Europe's longest in over 15 years

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Says a lot though, there is nothing to this park sans Ultimate. BPG do seem to be having a stab.
 
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It’s nothing short of a travesty that such a unique and crazy coaster in The Ultimate was left to rot. Whilst not everyone’s cup of tea, it was an utterly bonkers experience. I may have said this before, but: you didn’t ride The Ultimate, it rode you. An insane ride that was both terrifying and yet hilarious at the same time. I guess in a way it was a hilariously bad ride - so bad that it was good

I hate that coasters with character and bite like Ulty & Wild Mouse are leaving us. There may come a time when the only coasters left here are boring, smooth, generic, inoffensive modern grey dull shite like Icon
 
Sad loss but honestly I'm not suprised. Probably one of the daftest credits I can boast and pretty much unlike anything I've ridden before or since.

I really want the park to do well though I suspect that they will be forgiven if they place a new coaster on that while want have anywhere near the status as what Ultimate had, would at least soften the blow. If they just don't do anything then I fear for them though even though many of us are writing down eulogies for the park, never mind for Ultimate, strange things have happened that against all the odds some parks somehow survive as look no further than M&D's which somehow defies logic.

If the park is not only still here but thriving 10 years from now, I'll eat my hat.
 
Regardless of what people thought about The Ultimate, it’s an incredible story. A farmer diversifies his strawberry farm into a theme park and ends up building the world’s longest roller coaster. It’s hard to imagine something like that happening today. It’s a shame we don’t have a theme park museum in the UK, because I do think the Ultimate tells us something profound about how we’ve changed as a country.
 
jon81uk said:
Is Project Horizon just going to be Theme Park Worldwide: the Museum: The ride?
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TBH, if they were to put some of the buildings on TS to good use again instead of being used for office space, a wee museum in one of them would be nice, especially for parents who don't want to stand around in Cbeebies land and being in walking distance from something indoors related. 🤔
 
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