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TBC: SW9 Speculation

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Rick said:
Rita is painful enough at 60mph....
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There was a lot of sarcasm in my post. Rita in my opinion is the worst installation ever at Alton. It’s atrociously poor and does nothing. Even the launch is mediocre at best.

They had the chance when Thirteen was built to make that area of the park something great, and failed. Whilst the area has its current layout it will always be poor.

In another note if SW8 has been four years in the making, and it was said early on somewhere in the build planning on SW9 has started, this must mean we’re about 2 to 2 and a half years away from planning applications surely? I would imagine 2021 would see the build start with a 2022 opening. They must at least have some rough layouts by now?

I say 2022 as the commonwealth games will now be down the road in Birmingham - all those extra visitors to the region and a nice new shiny coaster - even Merlin won’t. It’s thst cash cow
 
I'm not sure whether 4 years for SW8 included the time spent on the ill-fated FV application as well, though, as Bradley Wynne's LinkedIn page says that SW8 planning began in August 2015.
 
JB1985 said:
There was a lot of sarcasm in my post. Rita in my opinion is the worst installation ever at Alton. It’s atrociously poor and does nothing. Even the launch is mediocre at best.

They had the chance when Thirteen was built to make that area of the park something great, and failed. Whilst the area has its current layout it will always be poor.

In another note if SW8 has been four years in the making, and it was said early on somewhere in the build planning on SW9 has started, this must mean we’re about 2 to 2 and a half years away from planning applications surely? I would imagine 2021 would see the build start with a 2022 opening. They must at least have some rough layouts by now?

I say 2022 as the commonwealth games will now be down the road in Birmingham - all those extra visitors to the region and a nice new shiny coaster - even Merlin won’t. It’s thst cash cow
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I would say that the park are already quite far along the developments for SW9.
That's a really good point id never considered how much of a potential opportunity the commonwealth might have for the park.
 
The theme park geek said:
I would say that the park are already quite far along the developments for SW9.
That's a really good point id never considered how much of a potential opportunity the commonwealth might have for the park.
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I’m really not sure on visitor numbers etc but it’s the second biggest athletics event in the world.

I read somewhere Glasgow saw its attractions and those in the surrounding area boasted by some 20% - that’s got to be worth a few quid investing by Merlin
 
Prays for an indoor coaster with great theming and original story. A better more thrilling version of Van Helsing's factory without the IP would be ideal for me.
 
The Commonwealth Games would be an excellent way to market SW9, Even if it costs a bomb it'll still get that brand recognition out there for the ride.
 
Didn't work for Thorpe with the Olympics (granted it only stopped raining that year during the Olympics, but Merlin have in their view already been bitten once by launching a new ride the same year as a big sporting event nearby), you know what they say, once bitten, twice shy.
 
IanSR said:
Didn't work for Thorpe with the Olympics (granted it only stopped raining that year during the Olympics, but Merlin have in their view already been bitten once by launching a new ride the same year as a big sporting event nearby), you know what they say, once bitten, twice shy.
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I notice with every ride launch failure they seem to concoct some kind of excuse of either:

-major sporting event
-terrorism
-the weather

It is pathetic.
 
IanSR said:
Didn't work for Thorpe with the Olympics (granted it only stopped raining that year during the Olympics, but Merlin have in their view already been bitten once by launching a new ride the same year as a big sporting event nearby), you know what they say, once bitten, twice shy.
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I always thought the reason why The Swarm didn't increase guest numbers was down to the fact the park already catered to the thrill market well with Nemesis Inferno/Stealth/Colossus/Saw so the people they were trying to attract with The Swarm were already going there!
 
Katy said:
I always thought the reason why The Swarm didn't increase guest numbers was down to the fact the park already catered to the thrill market well with Nemesis Inferno/Stealth/Colossus/Saw so the people they were trying to attract with The Swarm were already going there!
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Totally agree with that. Thorpe need to diversify but they never will. It’s Merlin’s thrill capital

In fairness, I hate Thorpe it does nothing for me and the coasters are second rate. Each a poor mans version of rides I can easily get to with AT or Blackpool or every in Germany
 
Major events like the olympics and world cups generally have a negative impact on the economy/area, in the long term. Sure, they'd get a massive spike in guests, 20% is A LOT, but once the event's over and the tourists have gone home, you're back where you were but without all the extra sports fans in the area.
 
I really don’t think Towers needs any new coasters for a long time. The park arguably has seven headline rollercoasters, and has a better lineup than most parks in Europe.

What they sorely lack is a family attraction that isn’t a “worlds first” coaster. Something like a decent dark ride (like Symbolica) or flume (like Chiapas). Anything along those lines would be unique in the UK, so would still be great from a marketing perspective.

Though right now I’d mostly be happy with some more flat rides dotted around to help soak up queues. But we all know that’ll never happen outside Cbeebees land or an IP retheme to CCL.
 
I'm not sure flat rides are the best choice for Alton Towers. They haven't installed a major one in nearly twenty years, and while some of what they have installed has been regrettable, they have managed. The best rides at the park - Nemesis, Hex, Oblivion, Wicker Man, even something like Sealife - make standard issue flat rides seem a little flippant, no matter how nicely they are painted and decorated. They have something 'special' about them, something 'Alton Towers' in their DNA. The creative and management side of the park still understand this appeal, at least in some quarters. Involving 'experience' stuff like Wicker Man is what they should be aiming for, rather than to be a park with an RCT mentality.

The other issue is capacity. While the park these days is less busy, not to mention less profitable, it still can pack them in. A new ride, especially one signed off by Merlin, has to bring in new visitors. There's clearly a widening gulf between operating days at Alton in which the park is so quiet that it's barely if at all profitable, and others in which it can't handle the demand. A flat ride, inevitably with Fastrack, serving 500 or less guests an hour, does little to ease the situation for either scenario. On the other hand, yes, I agree it would be nice to see a few well themed, standard issue but fun flats dotted around to soak up the crowds. But for now, they can't even get Twirling Toadstool open.

I agree that a new water or dark ride should be the absolute priority.
 
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