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TBC: SW9 Speculation
- Thread starter Matt N
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George W
TS Member
I know many might think different and that's fine but imo I think for SW9 I think the rapids should be scrapped and make way for SW9.
I think most of us would agree the rapids are in a dire state and very boring and even a bit misleading calling it a water ride.
I know there is an importance for water rides especially on hot days but this is England we get like 3 of those a year.
I'd imagine they could do something pretty impressive with the congo river rapids land though.
I'd still take a cross valley coaster over anything else though but we all know that'll never happen.
I think most of us would agree the rapids are in a dire state and very boring and even a bit misleading calling it a water ride.
I know there is an importance for water rides especially on hot days but this is England we get like 3 of those a year.
I'd imagine they could do something pretty impressive with the congo river rapids land though.
I'd still take a cross valley coaster over anything else though but we all know that'll never happen.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
I'd rather have a bad Rapids over a new Roller Coaster there any day...
Enough roller Coasters, gimme non coaster attractions!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
How about we north of the border will take any coaster that is not Italian built or some travelling fair ride in exchanged for...uh...potential business owners who would take Towers under the control of new Scottish owners who can't do worse than Merlin?
You muppets down south don't know how lucky you lot are compared to us! Granted the UK theme park industry is far from perfect but at least it's doing far better than the dire state in Scotland.
Matt.GC
TS Member
You know "the south" isn't just the Midlands and London? Although I accept it's not quite as bad as in Scotland, there's a huge land mass of country in the west that's also hours away from any decent coaster hardware.How about we north of the border will take any coaster that is not Italian built or some travelling fair ride in exchanged for...uh...potential business owners who would take Towers under the control of new Scottish owners who can't do worse than Merlin?
You muppets down south don't know how lucky you lot are compared to us! Granted the UK theme park industry is far from perfect but at least it's doing far better than the dire state in Scotland.
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Going off topic from SW9 here but at least in the west of England have the benefit in being in the same country where there is major attractions nearby albeit a few hours away as you mentioned.
Same cannot be said for Scotland in which this might come down to pride your nation at least from our view who look south and wondering why can we can't have that, even the crappy Merlin coupon deals which is better than M&D's could ever do.
After coming back from Blackpool today and from Towers earlier this month, only made me feel more bittersweet about things that I'm sorry brings the mood down on here, not that it already was with the state of the park...
But anyway, regarding SW9, I have been thinking about the proposed stand up coaster that was supposed to go into Katanga Canyon...wonder if that might be a location for something that no one thought about that's not the car park, the valley or Coaster Corner. Given how some elements have ended up coming to life years later such as the double lift hill for SW1 that ended up on Smiler or the long stories of finally getting a woodie...might be worth a punt at the thought. But right now, the flat ride situation is at a crises point in which even if Merlin are aware of the problem are likely too hamstrung by their USP style with rides that has forced them into a corner and now they can't install anything that's just 'normal'. (RS not included)
Guess you could say it's karma after all these years.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
I guess that’s one key sticking point; it comes down to whether you value quality of attractions or variety of attractions.
Personally, I would value quality of attractions any day of the week if it came down to it; of course, you’d have both quality and variety in an ideal world, but if it came to it, I’d always pick an excellent roller coaster over a sub-par non-coaster, and I would always come down in favour of attraction quality rather than attraction variety.
Admittedly, I am of the belief that you can never have too many roller coasters, but for the park’s next major investment, I would much rather Towers produced a high quality roller coaster than a non-coaster that doesn't quite deliver. I get that any non-coaster would diversify the lineup, which is always applaudable, and if a non-coaster was good quality, then I think that would be an excellent addition to the park that would be highly valued at this point in time, but if a non-coaster wasn’t overly good and was just built for the sake of being a non-coaster, I’d take another coaster any day of the week.
If a new attraction is a substantial improvement on what it replaces, then I would usually consider that a net gain to the park even if it resulted in a less diverse lineup. For instance, I consider Wicker Man a net gain to Alton Towers for me as I like it vastly more than I liked The Flume, even though it reduced the diversity of the attraction lineup.
However, I apologise if that’s controversial, as I know you’ll all probably disagree with me. If that’s overly controversial, I can just butt out of this particular debate.
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Squiggs
TS Team
Or you could have both. The feedback at the moment is that folk avidly want a high quality, water ride in the park.
Whenever the Rapids, The Flume, Wicker Man (or often the Battle Galleons) are discussed, an underlying theme is a desire for a Flume replacement. It would seem like an easy(ish) win for the park to add some sort of modern flume based attraction in the park somewhere. Either that or do a proper, full revamp of the Rapids to bring back some of its sparkle, which would no doubt keep the current fans of the ride happy whilst drawing back people who seldom ride it these days due to the lack of effects.
On the other hand, whether MMM currently have a high quality coaster in them, this is questionable based on some other projects they are delivering on. Merlin don't seem to be particularly adventurous in this department these days.
Jb85
TS Member
I think we all know how Merlin work by now. Major coaster every 5-6 years and tat in between......
It's a poor model and doesn't offer all round guest satisfaction and diversity in their lineup but they get away with it as there really isn't much alternative to the Merlin parks if you want a decent collection of coasters as your base for a day out.
It's a poor model and doesn't offer all round guest satisfaction and diversity in their lineup but they get away with it as there really isn't much alternative to the Merlin parks if you want a decent collection of coasters as your base for a day out.
Best of both worlds would be a Mack Water Coaster with indoor section on the gravel car park behind RMT/Duel. The park desperately needs a flume ride and another new dark ride.
Why not have both and as it’s a coaster then MMM can even market it and the park can claim the most UK coasters crown.
They’ve done a decent job with GG all things considered, especially in house. It would be great to see them stretched doing something a bit bigger
It could even have a jumanji theme…
Seems a no brainer to me
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Squiggs
TS Team
It certainly would be popular with some coaster enthusiasts (though I'm not really sure how popular water coasters are as a ride type).
However, it doesn't answer the issue of people wanting a replacement for The Flume. They would still need to find a suitable replacement for a reasonably gentle flume ride which offered the most mild of thrills.
However, it doesn't answer the issue of people wanting a replacement for The Flume. They would still need to find a suitable replacement for a reasonably gentle flume ride which offered the most mild of thrills.
I think the problem with the whole ‘coaster every 5-6 years’ is the mindset of the business; focused on chasing short term financial gains over long-term ‘product’ building.
Since around 2010, its definitely felt like the park have wanted to chase short term, safe and ‘quick’ gains (i.e IP-led attractions or coasters).
That worked up to a point, probably up to Wicker Man. But right now there is a desperate need for anything but another coaster in the line-up.
I do hope that with the business going private we start to see less of those short-term gains and a more longer-term vision for the park. I think the next few years of investment will spell out whether that strategy has changed or not.
Since around 2010, its definitely felt like the park have wanted to chase short term, safe and ‘quick’ gains (i.e IP-led attractions or coasters).
That worked up to a point, probably up to Wicker Man. But right now there is a desperate need for anything but another coaster in the line-up.
I do hope that with the business going private we start to see less of those short-term gains and a more longer-term vision for the park. I think the next few years of investment will spell out whether that strategy has changed or not.
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
I am surprised no one has talk up about the area behind RMT and Duel for future development, being just gravel and not having to deal with protected locations such as the Valley, coaster and corner and in some ways even the car park behind Galactica, it would be a possible location for future development.
It would be nice to have something new for Katanga Canyon for the first time since it opened plus I do feel that recent investments at Towers have focused on FV heavily such as Roller Coaster Restaurant, NST, Galactica and I haven't even mentioned the upcoming Nemesis retrack so they need to spread investment around on different areas of the park.
With the Jumanji theme for a possible water coaster...as much as I really don't want more IP themed rides on the park, I can somewhat see a Jumanji theme on it in which if done tastefully could blend into KC without much fuss being jungle themed as apposed to a Jumanji ride being built in say something like FV. Honestly, KC needs more love and I'm not just meaning trying to sort out CRR.
With some clever tree planting/removal/relocating I see no reason why not. Yes the site would need some screening but with Duel only 500 yards away it seems odd that this couldn’t get past planning.
As it’s indoor this should mitigate a good proportion of the noise and provide another nearly all year round attraction if done right.
AT is desperate for something like this, an indoor ride with an outdoor coaster element and splashdown to minimise the effects of the weather. A large show building with a generic “temple/ruins” theme.
Granted it would need substantial investment, but given the location you’d struggle to build much over 40ft and nor would you want to. A winding indoor section with 2 small drops forwards/backwards with perhaps a launched short coaster section and splashdown. Borrowing maybe some elements from the installation in Gardaland and MMM can reuse some assets and why not.
Hopefully they can better return as a large portion is done in house and spend the money where it counts on the hardware.
I can see it now “Jumanji : Temple Cruise”
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As it’s indoor this should mitigate a good proportion of the noise and provide another nearly all year round attraction if done right.
AT is desperate for something like this, an indoor ride with an outdoor coaster element and splashdown to minimise the effects of the weather. A large show building with a generic “temple/ruins” theme.
Granted it would need substantial investment, but given the location you’d struggle to build much over 40ft and nor would you want to. A winding indoor section with 2 small drops forwards/backwards with perhaps a launched short coaster section and splashdown. Borrowing maybe some elements from the installation in Gardaland and MMM can reuse some assets and why not.
Hopefully they can better return as a large portion is done in house and spend the money where it counts on the hardware.
I can see it now “Jumanji : Temple Cruise”
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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