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Redevelopment of Katanga Canyon

R

Raggy

TS Member
Hi guys I came across this forum and wanted to discuss some news to you that I found out from my friend who’s working on some projects at Alton Towers .. he said that it’s in the works that they are removing both Congo river rapids and the runaway mine train in the next few years to make way for a whole new area ….both these rides have been in the park for a long long time and maintaining them is at a huge cost every year just like the flume was they are taking up a lot of valuable space that could be used for something else ..

I don’t know too much yet but I will keep you guys informed ..you seem to be very passionate about the towers and I wish to express anything I find out with you enthusiasts

What would you think would be good for the area and would you be sad to see both attractions disappear??
 
Does your friend know you’ve posted this to a public forum? If he’s actively involved in future projects then I highly doubt he’d be happy with you blurting this out in public. I’m not saying it’s not true, just be careful.

This potential intel aside, the area is the oldest existing area still in its original state after RMT was added in 1992. It’d be a shame for the area to change due to all the happy memories and in my opinion there are areas that are more in need of work (TwoDW and DF especially), but it’s common knowledge CRR are a massive drain on electricity and are incredibly staff heavy for what is essentially a supporting attraction.
 
I have my doubts about whether they’d remove both in one go myself. It’s a big area!

I would not be stunned, however, if the Rapids is gone within the next decade. While the waterfalls have returned, I still get the overriding impression that Merlin gradually wants to get shot of that style of water ride.
 
Na, sorry.

Mine train is going nowhere, popular family ride with plenty of wear left.

Rapids, possibly, using the trough for something else, but reduced hours opening is more the "Merlin Way".

There are other areas of the park where there is a greater need to fill the gaps, why replace popular family stuff that is still going fine?

Closed season rumour rumbling at its finest...and absolutely sourceless to boot.
 
I know the industry loves to chat, but I dislike it when there’s information that isn’t ready to be made public just yet. I like the fun of the speculation cycle and revealing it early deflates the fun of it.

Also if there was truly a friend in the inside (people make stuff up all the time), then it’s probably fairly easy to trace back the information, especially if certain people find out at specific times. Would you really risk a friend’s job just to tell a bunch of internet strangers some information early? Not everyone who lurks here is as savoury as most of those who post on this forum.

Katanga Canyon is a staple area of the park, the rapids have definitely come under scrutiny in the past decade, but still seem to be a popular attraction the park is willing to continue to invest heavily in. Mine Train is an Alton Towers classic, so I doubt they’d touch it without significant fanfare first. Not to mention there’s other parts of the park that desperately need attention (with one particular area being the focus of this off-season). So significantly altering KC anytime soon means they would have a significant gap in the lineup for a couple of seasons with no clear justification.
 
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Raggy said:
Hi guys I came across this forum and wanted to discuss some news to you that I found out from my friend who’s working on some projects at Alton Towers .. he said that it’s in the works that they are removing both Congo river rapids and the runaway mine train in the next few years to make way for a whole new area ….both these rides have been in the park for a long long time and maintaining them is at a huge cost every year just like the flume was they are taking up a lot of valuable space that could be used for something else ..

I don’t know too much yet but I will keep you guys informed ..you seem to be very passionate about the towers and I wish to express anything I find out with you enthusiasts

What would you think would be good for the area and would you be sad to see both attractions disappear??
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As others have said, I think your friend may be pulling your leg.
 
I’m not giving Internet rumour credence but we know KC has been considered for redevelopment before, Wardley said in an interview (think it was the Thirteen event), that they considered that space for an SW.
 
Also not giving the rumour credence, and as someone who really loves both rides and have fond memories of them both that take me back to childhood, I’d really miss the area. But it is a huge area and they could probably do more with it.

It’ll irritate me though if they do anything there whilst neglecting other areas such as Dark Forest, Walliams World and X Sector that arguably need the attention more.
 
I do think it would be a mistake to remove the rapids. Yes there are concerns about this style of ride following what happened at Drayton Manor but its still a good family ride, there aren't many of them in the UK and Alton Towers is a good version.

Plenty of other spaces in the park that could be developed first; Project Horizon, the rest of Cred Street, flat ride locations in Dark Forest, flat ride locations in X Sector, the Blade site.
 
If your friend is anything below super senior management, they don’t get told anything. They may hear rumour, but the rumour wouldn’t come from the top.

If your friend is indeed super senior then they’re potentially losing their job for leaking such information.

With the rumblings about rumba rapids (pardon the pun) being removed I can see some credence to Merlin wanting to remove this type of ride in the long term (after all, Legoland’s was removed and that was half the age of both Thorpes and Altons rapids, but Mine Train is timeless and seems to have a lot of life left in it.

Also, redoing that entire area would cut off curse and forbidden valley. They’d have some pretty big diversion headaches to sort should the go down this route.

That said, the idea of a Mack/Intamin multi launch utilising the rapids troughs and land could be amazing.
 
AltonLover123 said:
Also, redoing that entire area would cut off curse and forbidden valley. They’d have some pretty big diversion headaches to sort should the go down this route.
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As much as it pains me to remember, Haunted Hollow (NEW for 2007!) exists pretty much for this reason alone; to get to Gloomy Wood and Forbidden Valley, bypassing Katanga Canyon.
 
AltonLover123 said:
If your friend is anything below super senior management, they don’t get told anything. They may hear rumour, but the rumour wouldn’t come from the top.
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Ehhh it does depend on things. I remember everyone working at Chessie was told about Beanoland's closure before the news was public (and because I missed that I got a personal chat about).

Probably too early. I mean saying that Katanga Canyon would be earmarked for potential development isn't exactly a wild rumour. Anywhere on park can be mooted for such a thing. But there are certainly more pressing issues to address.

So it'll probably happen because Merlin.
 
Katanga Canyon is now the 2nd oldest area in the park with the oldest ride in it Congo River Rapids if you don't count Dungeons Boat Ride right now.

I hope it remains as Kataga Canyon is one of my favourite areas at Towers still has that classic Towers charm
 
I have a soft spot for Kataga Canyon as well, but taking those rose tinted glasses off, what once made it so special, has slowly disppeared whether it be reducing the themeing, bigger fences, and general wear and tear.

It is quite sad that a park like Alton Towers, owned by Merlin, can not keep its attractions up to a high standard, when so many other parks with smaller budgets can. Its quite sad that the only way Merlin can fix something, it by turning it in to somehting new.

If they could somehow push the boundary of the park back a bit, and use the overflow parking, they could add a significant area to the park, potentially allowing two rides to be remvoed, and four or five to be added?

I am not creative enough to see what someone could do with the space, but I would love to see some concept work, I think there could be some really interesting concept keeping the african theme. A dualing launch coaster themed to afrian animals. A Mack Inverted Powered Coaster taking you on a safari adventure, I like the idea of a large indoor area with some rides in, so again, when the weather is not great, there is more space available for people to go and do things. Some sort of water ride, wether it just be a trasnport ride from a to b, and back to a or somehting more exciting I am unsure, A proper african themed resturant.

No fancy IP, no silly gimmicks, just a new area that has high quality rides, themeing, and restuarant that pays tribute to what has gone before.
 
Benzin said:
Ehhh it does depend on things. I remember everyone working at Chessie was told about Beanoland's closure before the news was public (and because I missed that I got a personal chat about).
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Yeah, if it’s something integral to your job role, you may be told, but I assume the contracts are tight enough so that if you spill any info and get caught, you’re gone.

Either way, anyone below senior management are not told things this far in advance.

As you said, any area of the park can be earmarked for redevelopment so saying something like “my friend told me” is basically saying that it’s an old area of the park and SURELY something will happen in the future.
 
I’d be amazed if they went near it before other areas of the park or even just expanding the area.

I’ve always advocated for pushing the park boundary right up to main drive behind KC, which would unlock a huge amount of space.

The park needs to increase its overall offering and diversification, not reduce it.
 
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