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Lightwater Valley

Do bare in mind that the article is over 18 months old, and with the issues the park has faced recently with falling gate figures and getting the lodges off the ground, their position may have changed substantially since 2011.

That said, as much as I admire The Ultimate for being the crazy contraption it is, I don't think any park yet alone one in the situation LWV is in could justify the ever increasing costs they likely have to spend to keep the thing going!
 
These plans have been afoot since 2007. They're still in the pipeline, but are subject to change (they've already been pushed back once before).

I'd be very surprised if we saw "Ultimate II" as soon as next year, what with the holiday village development and plans for new attractions elsewhere on the park.

Anyway, expecting the upcoming week to be a big one for Lightwater Valley.


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Ugh, lets hope they keep The Ultimate II plan locked away gathering dust in the cupboard for many more years! It's perfect as it is.

Nathan said:
Anyway, expecting the upcoming week to be a big one for Lightwater Valley.
Click to expand...

Colour me intrigued, anything new being announced? :)
 
In the long term, I don't see how the ride can be sustainable from a cost perspective. The maintenance bill must be huge and the cracking rate extreme.
 
Well they're charging £28 for entry this year, so that should pay for the maintenance bill!

That's like a £7 increase on last year, isn't it? Jesus...
 
That'll be walk-up price, it's £19.50 when booked online (£16.00 for Military/Police/NHS/NUS; £13.00 for disabled [including free carer]; and £10.00 for OAPs.

The Ultimate ticket remains £35.00.

It's interesting to note that the park will now charge for visitors under 1.00m for the first time - it'll be £4.00. They seem to have scrapped the 'enthusiast' price also?`I wonder if anyone actually used it.



With regards to the upcoming season - Nathan started a thread about a 'Top Secret Investment' for the 2013 season over on Valley Mania.

Nathan said:
What we know so far:

  • Scheduled to open in June.
  • The park have signed a confidentiality agreement.
  • It's not a roller coaster.
  • It's not a ride from Loudoun Castle or Camelot.
  • One ride will be removed to make way for the development.
Click to expand...

Current speculation seems to be leaning toward the park will be getting an IP area, with debate about what age group it would be aimed at. Nathan posted some concept art for a Monster (energy drink) themed area a while back, but I don't think we ever found out if it was official.

From other UK parks it seems like it would be a shrewd business move to get an IP onboard (preferably a children's one for family spend). I don't really have any clue what it could be though, I'd rather like a permanent (i.e. landscaped, custom, without fairground base) water ride (as it won't be a roller coaster), but I'm not optimistic that will happen.
 
That Military/Police/NHS/NUS discount thing bugs me. How come that group, but not say, street sweepers, or teachers, or firefighters?

It just seems so arbitrary. I can appreciate that it's intended to be a small reward for people who put in a lot harder work in their job than they get paid for, as they are doing it for the good of the nation rather than the money.

But that's true of a lot of jobs, especially teaching. It just seems so random, and so unfair. Why should a doctor on high wages get a discount but a girl with a shop job on minimum wage not get one?

Seems very unfair and random to me. :/
 
Sam said:
That Military/Police/NHS/NUS discount thing bugs me. How come that group, but not say, street sweepers, or teachers, or firefighters?

It just seems so arbitrary. I can appreciate that it's intended to be a small reward for people who put in a lot harder work in their job than they get paid for, as they are doing it for the good of the nation rather than the money.

But that's true of a lot of jobs, especially teaching. It just seems so random, and so unfair. Why should a doctor on high wages get a discount but a girl with a shop job on minimum wage not get one?

Seems very unfair and random to me. :/
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If you are an employee of North Yorks CC then you also get the discount, but it's done via the NYCC employee benefits website. Teachers, Firefighters etc then become eligible too.
 
*MASSIVE SIGH*

A worldwide phenomenon is catapulting into the North of England this spring, as Lightwater Valley Theme Park, North Yorkshire, confirms that it will be home to the UK’s latest Angry Birds Activity Park, opening late Spring 2013.

As the first Angry Birds Activity Park in the North of England, the site will cover over 30,000 square feet and represents a total investment of over £1.0 million.

The Angry Birds Activity Park will combine the digital world of the game with the physical world, through activity-based play, which will encourage visitors to move around and be active.

The Activity Park will be complemented by an Angry Birds retail store selling a wide range of Angry Birds official merchandise from pencils to back-packs to plush toys.

The Angry Birds Activity Park has been designed and manufactured by Lappset UK. A leading provider of play equipment, the Kettering-based company launched the Angry Birds concept last year which creates a new healthy way for the whole family to experience the Angry Birds theme.

The attraction is aimed at the whole family, allowing toddlers, children and adults to play together.

Mark Bainbridge, General Manager, at Lightwater Valley, comments:

‘We are delighted that the global phenomenon that is Angry Birds has landed at Lightwater. We feel that the new activity park is a really good fit for us as a leading family attraction – and what we really like is it will get children and adults alike active whilst having fun together. Its opening will mark the start of an exciting programme of developments, which will improve and diversify the theme park’s offer and reinforce our commitment to providing quality leisure experiences for the whole family.’

Lightwater Valley is committed to working in partnership with local businesses and organisations to support the growth and value of Yorkshire’s visitor economy.

Angry Birds has been downloaded over 1 billion times across the world, and last year it was the most popular paid-for app on Apple’s App Store. The game, now also available across different platforms, played by millions of people every day.

Further detail on the Angry Birds Activity Park will be released after Easter.

....
 
I agree, its also nothing really that special... invest £1 million in something worthwhile... Angry Birds isn't really something special and people wont want to travel up the country for an Angry Birds park.... ::)
 
Sundown which is a much smaller park was the first in the UK to have it and it's been open almost a year now, I would have expected much more from Lightwater.
 
It's not really my cup of tea, but if it does well for the park then that can only be a good thing. :)

I'm just astounded they are making a £1m investment with a retail store at all! :D
 
TedTheHuman said:
Well that has put me off going LWV... :(
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Why? As far as I'm aware, it's not replacing The Ultimate or any other major ride... nobody's forcing you to go into that area. ::)
 
Sam said:
Why? As far as I'm aware, it's not replacing The Ultimate or any other major ride... nobody's forcing you to go into that area. ::)
Click to expand...

Well I hate Angry Birds. Poor Choice of an IP for LWV to go for since it's a bland generic Smartphone App which has been over popularised.
 
Do people still play Angry Birds?

Rather the £1m went on something better, but I suppose it'll be nice and the target market will find it interesting.
 
Angry Birds is still played by many. However I would say it's not as popular as it used to be.

But of a hit or miss IP in my eyes. It could work well, but then equally it could not. I suppose it depends how they market it and whether it will attract people enough to visit.
 
It doesn't matter whether people play angry birds. Its the fashion of the IP that's popular... Which I hate I will add.

My theory is it will die out in the not so far future, leaving LWV and Sundown, looking like fools...

Rovio an annoying little smudge in the game dev community.
 
^ Plus leaving LWV £1m out of pocket.

It's a massive gamble thats for sure. I personally think they could have spent £1m on much better things.
 
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