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Lightwater Valley

Is the Thunderdome Waltzer owned by the park or leased from a showman? On my only visit in 2019 it was run that fast the centrifugal force kept all the cars facing inwards with no chance of spinning whatsoever.
 
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They have removed the 3 main attractions as well as a few other supporting rides and are replacing them with travelling fair style rides.

Why do these firms get into the theme park business? I just don't get it. They clearly don't have the money to run these places do they?

The Ultimate has done its final lap it seems. Just glad I got to experience it again a few years ago as the only previous time was when I was quite young and I barely remembered it.

Gulliver's have just opened a family park not that far away from here. There's no way they will compete. Gulliver's will add a lot more rides to that new park over next few years as they have more finances behind them.
 
WillPS said:
.What really kills the parks who make this sort of move is the school trips - American Adventure did alright in 2005 against their own expectations, but in 2006 the school trip bookings dropped off a cliff after schools visited in 2005 and found that it was actually quite hard to fill a day for a tween/early teen. I guess this is unlikely to be a problem for LWV this year...
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This will also affect other groups as well. My last few visits to LWV were as a volunteer with a charity youth group for teenagers with autism and learning disabilities. I've already made them aware of what's happened and suggested they look at Drayton or Mingo when they are finally able to organise a trip again.
 
skyscraper said:
This will also affect other groups as well. My last few visits to LWV were as a volunteer with a charity youth group for teenagers with autism and learning disabilities. I've already made them aware of what's happened and suggested they look at Drayton or Mingo when they are finally able to organise a trip again.
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That seems like a better choice because no one want to ride a Waltzer and a Breakdance all day long before sitting on kids rides.
 
Predictions & wishlist from Shawn Sanbrooke;



Again, a lot of the things he says are what I was already thinking, such as Powder Kegs being removed soon as it is a thrill ride. :)
 
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So I am not too familiar with the parks usual opening calendar. But for 2021 they are only open weekends and school holidays.

Looking at the ticket booking website weekdays in May, June, early July, September and October are all showing as closed.



I take it that is a reduction on previous years?
 
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Just got email. Ultimate shut all season. Don’t get why Covid shuts a parks flagship ride. Just block off a few rows and run it anyway. Do we think the ride will ever operate again?
 
Something tells me that opening on weekends and school holidays only is more than they'll be open next year...

I'm not too sure what their operation schedule was like before, although I do not think it was daily in more recent years.
 
Dipper_Dave said:
Just got email. Ultimate shut all season. Don’t get why Covid shuts a parks flagship ride. Just block off a few rows and run it anyway. Do we think the ride will ever operate again?
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Judging by the park's other decisions (closing Raptor Attack, Apollo, Eagle's Claw, Wild River Rapids and Black Pearl)
I would say it's more to do with cost cutting than Covid.
 
Dipper_Dave said:
Just got email. Ultimate shut all season. Don’t get why Covid shuts a parks flagship ride. Just block off a few rows and run it anyway. Do we think the ride will ever operate again?
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Its cost-saving not Covid directly.
From The Ultimate page of their website.
CLOSED FOR 2020
For this summer, we have decided to close a number of thrill rides. As we have to reduce visitor numbers to enable us to manage the social distancing and capacity within the Park, we have opted to offer rides and experiences more suited to a younger family only. We have reduced the admission ticket price in light of this.
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Who knows if it will come back next summer, but I guess it won't
 
I personally think this is quite a good move for the park, at least from a business perspective.

I think weekends and school holidays only does make financial sense from the standpoint of the park aiming primarily at families with young children from 2021 onwards. Children won’t be able to visit on off-peak weekdays, as a general rule of thumb, so I’d say that this is quite a sound decision in terms of refining the park’s operations from a cost point of view.

Remember that most children are in school on all of the other days of the year, so there would be a very, very limited pool of potential visitors on those days.
 
Lightwater Valley’s 2021 Map;
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One of the new attractions for this year;
savanna_express-image(1200x775-crop).jpg
 
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