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TBC: SW9 Speculation

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Jb85 said:
Surely we should be seeing some planning applications soon? September time ?
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I think we would have started construction if it was for next year and planning 6+ months ago. Tbh doubt we will see anything major next year, posilby the CCL re theme
 
Jb85 said:
Surely we should be seeing some planning applications soon? September time ?
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Unlikely to see a major addition until at least 2022, so i wouldn’t expect to see a planning application for at the very least another year if not longer and that’s assuming they build a major attraction that needs planning in 2022, we could have to wait longer, Thorpe will have gone at Least 5 years without a major in park ride and Gardaland 6 years so we might also have a longer wait at Alton.
 
Maelstrom said:
Unlikely to see a major addition until at least 2022, so i wouldn’t expect to see a planning application for at the very least another year if not longer and that’s assuming they build a major attraction that needs planning in 2022, we could have to wait longer, Thorpe will have gone at Least 5 years without a major in park ride and Gardaland 6 years so we might also have a longer wait at Alton.
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I doubt we will wait that long this is their flagship park and they need to get returns - only investment allows that
 
Also, Alton's recent major years have all been relatively successful, whereas both Swarm and DBGT kind of failed for Thorpe.
 
I think they need to add another 1.4m tall coaster as they really just been focusing on the family market since the Smiler.
They really need to get a water ride ahead of a new coaster.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think they need to add another 1.4m tall coaster as they really just been focusing on the family market since the Smiler.
They really need to get a water ride ahead of a new coaster.
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My ideal coaster (which won’t happen) would be a b&m wing coaster heavily themed and build into the ground a la nemesis and air and interact with water - fountains, mist etc

I can’t see and out and out water ride being built

Shame they can’t steal storm force 10 really
 
It will be interesting to see if they follow the current model of alternating between family-thrill and all out thrill. For example:
-TH13TEEN (Family-Thrill): 2010
-The Smiler (Thrill): 2013
-Wicker Man (Family-Thrill): 2018
-SW9 Thrill?

Relatively speaking, their family thrill rides get a higher guest count/awareness amongst the public, but then it all comes down to marketing. Will be interesting to see if they continue the trend or try another family thrill coaster for SW9.

I also wouldn’t say Alton is Merlin’s flagship anymore, certainly from the astetical point of view it is, but Gardaland is definitely up there as one of their main revenue & guest count drivers in the RTP division. As others have said, it’s more likely Garda and Thorpe will get high CAPEX installations before Towers. I’d say Garda’s waterpark will fall as a resort development like the accommodation does which has a separate money pot, however they might have merged all the developments together and it could be that the waterpark will be Garda’s next large development!

You also have the issue of Chessington not having a decent medium/high CAPEX installation for a while. They’re really at a crossroads of having to choose where to prioritise their expenditure. They’ll either choose places like Thorpe to bring their guest numbers up, albeit risky considering the last 2 failed high CAPEX’s, or somewhere more solid/where they are certain to make a great return, like Garda and Towers.

I’d bet on 2023 being the next large investment year. 2021 at Garda or Thorpe, and 2022 Garda or Thorpe depending on who gets it in 2021.

Very hard to predict as the usual model Merlin used has gone out the window over the last few years.
 
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Looking at this purely financially, I don't think there will be any commitment to a high value investment anytime soon. The current state of the pound, means any purchase from overseas is effectively 15-20% more costly than it was a year ago. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal the chance or recession is very high. Leaving the EU with a deal and the value of the pound is still likely to be prohibitive.

I would expect there to be investment - but it would likely be low-cost additions. Im sure SW9 is planned and they know what they want but they will hold off committing until the EU mess is sorted.

On a similar note - I had never really paid any attention before, but was surprised by the number of European visitors at towers on my last visit. I heard French, German and Spanish amongst other languages.
 
Possibly the power of YouTube. I’ve never had a massive desire to visit European parks until lately after watching videos seeing how many great coasters there are and now I am dying to get to some of these parks (Phantasialand especially)
 
ScottishChris said:
Looking at this purely financially, I don't think there will be any commitment to a high value investment anytime soon. The current state of the pound, means any purchase from overseas is effectively 15-20% more costly than it was a year ago. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal the chance or recession is very high. Leaving the EU with a deal and the value of the pound is still likely to be prohibitive.

I would expect there to be investment - but it would likely be low-cost additions. Im sure SW9 is planned and they know what they want but they will hold off committing until the EU mess is sorted.

On a similar note - I had never really paid any attention before, but was surprised by the number of European visitors at towers on my last visit. I heard French, German and Spanish amongst other languages.
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I understand this argument but it’s likely to be offset by the fx in the other direction. Most of Merlin’s revenue is now from outside the UK, meaning they’ll have cash in these other currencies and a weak pound will actually help their results, as they’re reported in Sterling.
 
venny said:
I understand this argument but it’s likely to be offset by the fx in the other direction. Most of Merlin’s revenue is now from outside the UK, meaning they’ll have cash in these other currencies and a weak pound will actually help their results, as they’re reported in Sterling.
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They will. I'm nure merlin have likely moved a substantial amount of their funds out of the UK for the time being. But why would they invest substantially in what could turn out to be a toxic economy. I'm not saying it will, but their is heightened risk.

For me, a sub £1m themed 'stock' ride is much more likely than a multi-million pound custom.

I suppose, what I'm suggesting is a 're-imagining' of CCL, or a themed off-the-shelf ride is what I would expect over anything groundbreaking or jaw-dropping.
 
To add to my above post...

I was thinking about trauma towers at BPB - if they could utilise part of the towers as an entrance (like hex), it would be a fun addition. Or if they had a dark ride telling some obscure tail from Altons past - again, entering through the towers themself.

It's funny, we talk about the coasters, but for me (other than Nemisis) the stand-out piece of theming and imagination is Hex. It is a top-class theme and fun ride that puts some of Disney's imagineering to shame.
 
Ride type: Modern Intamin Blitz
Area: Replacement to Rita
USP: Ultra fast switch tracks, maybe a tilt track?
Theme: Expand upon Dark Forrest

I think the area as a whole has the potential to be the best themed area of the park, especially in how well it fits to Towers. I think the best replacement for Rita now is an LSM launch coaster, which uses the ultra fast switch tracks like Hagrids and the new generation intamin rides are using. This ride could incorporate some super elements like a 45 degree tilt track which Intamin have done in the past. I think putting these elements together it will be an extremely expensive addition for Towers, (Probably upwards of 25M) but theirs so much potential with Ritas area as they can build fairly tall there and its a pretty big area, I assume they can go a bit further down and back towards ritas first turn around. Ritas launch is great, but I think that area of the park can be used for something really special and have one of the worlds best launch coasters, especially with what Intamin are doing recently, it would be great to see another high thrill coaster in Towers without the towering height

As for CCL, I cant see SW9 going there, I think that area will be transformed into a Lego themed area, I've said that for a while, a merge between lego friends / city etc. and probably even a mini world, having a new family coaster e.g. family inverted vekoma or a vekoma family boomerang would both be nice fits, and a dark ride or a smaller family log flume
 
Towers find it easier to build on land that already is used. So I imagine SW9 will replace a ride. It's happened before, for example:
Smiler replaced black hole
Wicker replaced flume
Th13teen replaced corcksrew.
So if they follow this then we will see a ride be replaced again. My bet is on Rita being removed and replaced by a mack mega
 
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