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TBC: SW9 Speculation

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I personally think building a rollercoaster across FV from Sub-Terra through to Ripsaw is an awful idea. It would cut straight across the area, potentially causing a Rita type situation, but also FV is probably the best looking area of the park as is, and having a coaster run across where Blade and Ripsaw sites are will heavily impact on Nemesis too much. I also would not like FV to simply have 3 coasters in it and that is it - it is already one of the issues with X-Sector (exc Enterprise) and Dark Forest that they are basically coasters and that is it and to make FV the same would be bad for that area of the park. A much more sensible approach is to keep Blade and install a new flat on Ripsaw's old site. As for SW9, I don't think Alton Towers needs a new coaster particularly and would be quite happy to see other investments until the time comes for Galactica or Rita to be replaced.
 
Maybe they could build a giant astroglide down the side of the valley that you slide down in an empty beanbag, then when you reach the bottom they shoot you up the other side of the valley on a sort of Fforest coaster type thing at speed into Dark Forest. Best transportation system around.
 
I actually think there is plenty of room on FV for for a coaster if you take the foods stalls, blade and old ripsaw site
 
s_g_k said:
But where would people eat? What would the people who don’t like intense coasters do but do like family thrills?
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I’m sure the area could be repurposed quite easily to fit these things in - there’s actually a lot of space
 
I’m really not convinced that SW9 could fit into Forbidden Valley whilst also housing a couple of flats. I’m sure I read somewhere on here that Merlin really don’t like building coasters where guests can walk directly under the track due to the potential of items falling out of pockets and injuring those below, which is why their SW investments at AT all feature fully enclosed ride areas. Because of this reason alone, it would surely be impractical to build SW9 in Forbidden Valley.

They tried an area with just coasters on the other side of the valley and look how well that turned out…
 
I think FV is top bill because of the side of the park it's on and it's easier to get planning over there. There's space there for sure, but I don't think anything can be built without ruining the aesthetic. Removing the arcade, food stalls, Blade and using the Ripsaw site would give it some space but they'd still need to excavate and it would cease to be Forbidden Valley to me.

Perhaps using a bit of the car park would work? As in not totally building it behind Galactica but from Nemesis brake run and the area by Galactica's lift hill and beaching out into the car park a little bit?
 
Hmm...everyone's talking about FV but I wonder if maybe there might be something different. I'm going to throw my hat into the ring with a rank outsider choice...indoor coaster for the former coaster corner area of the park.

Yeah I've said that before if there is any chance of a coaster going there then it would have to be enclosed to avoid getting the locals angry over noise levels, though the more I think about it, the more that it might not seem so far fetch.

We all now that TWODW was hinted of having a second phase that if not for the pandemic would've seen more movement there by now. Maybe having SW9 squeezed into that area of the park could be a rank outside choice though even if that were the case, question is one gimmick they'd go for with this being Merlin?

How about first UK coaster with an onboard sound system for the ride's soundtrack? Not the most original idea but it has the tedious gimmick value that I'm surprised Merlin having looked into yet to even add to any current ride, more success than certain VR gimmicks. That is though if there already is a ride in this country that had onboard sound system in operation, need to improve my knowledge on most rides in this country.

Always wondered why the valley between DF and FV could be made more accessible or perhaps the placement of a new themed area, actually when was the last expansion to the park built? Thunder Valley in 1990 or KC and GW in 1992?
 
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QTXAdsy said:
Always wondered why the valley between DF and FV could be made more accessible or perhaps the placement of a new themed area, actually when was the last expansion to the park built? Thunder Valley in 1990 or KC and GW in 1992?
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The valley is in all sorts of protected categories, not least because it's classed as ancient woodland. In many ways, I never really understood how the park thought they would even be able to get permission for a cross valley coaster through there, but clearly they had some idea of how they might argue for it.

Depending on your definition of expansion, Thirteen in 2010 was the last time a new development really expanded the boundaries of the theme park, but obviously only the coaster track runs out into previously unused areas. Otherwise, it would be Air in 2002, which was somewhat an expansion of FV, pushing the boundary further out into the car parks.
 
QTXAdsy said:
Hmm...everyone's talking about FV but I wonder if maybe there might be something different. I'm going to throw my hat into the ring with a rank outsider choice...indoor coaster for the former coaster corner area of the park.

Yeah I've said that before if there is any chance of a coaster going there then it would have to be enclosed to avoid getting the locals angry over noise levels, though the more I think about it, the more that it might not seem so far fetch.

We all now that TWODW was hinted of having a second phase that if not for the pandemic would've seen more movement there by now. Maybe having SW9 squeezed into that area of the park could be a rank outside choice though even if that were the case, question is one gimmick they'd go for with this being Merlin?

How about first UK coaster with an onboard sound system for the ride's soundtrack? Not the most original idea but it has the tedious gimmick value that I'm surprised Merlin having looked into yet to even add to any current ride, more success than certain VR gimmicks. That is though if there already is a ride in this country that had onboard sound system in operation, need to improve my knowledge on most rides in this country.

Always wondered why the valley between DF and FV could be made more accessible or perhaps the placement of a new themed area, actually when was the last expansion to the park built? Thunder Valley in 1990 or KC and GW in 1992?
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Retrofitting a sound system to existing coaster trains difficult due to the added weight. If Towers got a new coaster with an onboard sound system, the layout would have to take that Into account.
 
Skyscraper said:
Retrofitting a sound system to existing coaster trains difficult due to the added weight. If Towers got a new coaster with an onboard sound system, the layout would have to take that Into account.
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It depends on the coaster and it's design tolerances regarding train weight I suppose - all the kit used for the VR probably amounted to quite a weight and that didn't cause an issue on Galactica. Stick all that as it was on Thirteen and it could've made a difference to the running of it. X number of small speakers, batteries and associated kit probably wouldn't weigh too much compared to the weight of a train for any coaster.

I personally think this is one of the easier ways to enhance coasters and I'm surprised it's not been done before - either retro fitted or at the point of design.
 
Is there any coaster that exists that has 4D cinema effects on board the trains? Things like mist sprays in the back of seats, ankle ticklers etc … if not, that could be an interesting and very immersive concept, especially if the coaster was indoors.
 
Skyscraper said:
Retrofitting a sound system to existing coaster trains difficult due to the added weight. If Towers got a new coaster with an onboard sound system, the layout would have to take that Into account.
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Thing is though is that technology is always evolving and we're all probably thinking of a sound system like that akin to Space Mountain at DLP, but even that technology for ground-breaking as it was in 1995 now seems rather dated in which the flash memory cards to hold the music that were the size of a credit card could hold up to 20mb of date, now we can have twice or even three times that amount on something the size of a sim card.

You could install speakers the size of your own earphones onto it instead of something much larger by this point with how smaller speakers can get and the more you think about it, all this editions to the ride car will add very little to the weight overall. I really think Towers should go down this path as it would be a unique concept in this country and if successful could see maybe other Merlin rides retrofitted with onboard sound to say, I don't know, Oblivion lets say or has anyone got better ideas?

s_g_k said:
Is there any coaster that exists that has 4D cinema effects on board the trains? Things like mist sprays in the back of seats, ankle ticklers etc … if not, that could be an interesting and very immersive concept, especially if the coaster was indoors.
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Not as I'm aware of, though it certainly has potential if done well, however one fear is that the more effects you add to a ride such as leg ticklers, onboard mist and even bringing in VR again, it would be a technological nightmare that could end up being another Derren Brown ghost train debacle; something Merlin I highly doubt would go down that route again and likely no VR again after it flopped on Galatica.

That all said, onboard sound and general effects interacting with the ride all in an enclosed environment would on it's own add to a real immersive experience and seeing as Merlin have done this well with Wicker Man, what about going one step further with something like this?

Now we'd need to name it Black Hole III to really get the nostalgia factor flowing! :p
 
BigT said:
All the talk of no room in FV for another coaster where blade is? There used to be a coaster there called ThunderLooper, what a ride that was.
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I don't necessarily think there isn't room, I just think a coaster built from Sub-Terra, across the Blade pit and then over to the old Ripsaw site would completely ruin the area - I'm a big fan of FV's layout up as far as the Galactica lift hill as is, it just needs something permanent and nicely themed where Ripsaw used to be. What I certainly wouldn't want is something built that towers over Nemesis and makes it look small and insignificant by comparison - slightly like how Oblivion's impact in X-Sector is now slightly diminished by The Smiler being there, I used to like it when you'd walk into X-Sector and the only place anyone looked was at the Oblivion drop.
 
ThunderLooper towered over everything, that’s why it was removed as it didn’t conform to the tree height restriction however it wins most missed ride on every poll I have seen on removed rides.
 
rob666 said:
I thought it was removed because it was too noisy?
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Noise was maybe also one of the reasons, this is what I could find on it and why it was removed, I only went on it twice but it left a lasting impression.


Cherish your coasters
But then they’ve always been serious about coasters. Let’s talk about the Thunder Looper – the stuff of legends.

With speeds of up to 60mph, the vertical loop rollercoaster opened in 1990 and was a huge hit, mainly due to the speed and the sheer drama of the fact that you had just a lap bar holding you in. Proper bum off the seat terror and hold on for dear life drama – people loved it.

Strangely, it lasted just six years, for a number of reasons. It was thought that it breached the rules of the park’s planning regulations: everything needs to be below tree height due to the local environment.

Some said it was too loud, and its thunderous roar upset the local cows. Yes, cows. The coaster’s din interfered with Daisy and friends and they started calving too early as a result.
 
BigT said:
Noise was maybe also one of the reasons, this is what I could find on it and why it was removed, I only went on it twice but it left a lasting impression.


Cherish your coasters
But then they’ve always been serious about coasters. Let’s talk about the Thunder Looper – the stuff of legends.

With speeds of up to 60mph, the vertical loop rollercoaster opened in 1990 and was a huge hit, mainly due to the speed and the sheer drama of the fact that you had just a lap bar holding you in. Proper bum off the seat terror and hold on for dear life drama – people loved it.

Strangely, it lasted just six years, for a number of reasons. It was thought that it breached the rules of the park’s planning regulations: everything needs to be below tree height due to the local environment.

Some said it was too loud, and its thunderous roar upset the local cows. Yes, cows. The coaster’s din interfered with Daisy and friends and they started calving too early as a result.
Click to expand...
It only had temporary planning consent anyway. The approaching expiration of that was one of the reasons it's site was chosen for Nemesis.
 
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