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The first "Big New Ride" that you followed...

R

rob666

TS Member
This topic has spun off to the bar for further debate following the Excalibur discussion in the Drayton thread.

Excalibur was the first big ride development I followed quite closely on t'internet.
Amusing, overhyped, and much debated during construction around the tea table.

The first big new ride I actually followed really...Steeplechase at Blackpool.
Every few weeks I would go and look at the massive earthworks, huge new massive sand dunes on what was pancake flat land, then huge steel construction over what seemed like a couple of years...and the biggest station for a ride I had ever seen (until t'ultimate)...

The link between the two...both absolute ****, and a big disappointment after a very long queue.
Oh the sadness of seeing the speed of the horses on the steeplechase for the first time!

So, what was your first thoosie development watch?
 
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Colossus at Thorpe Park. Remember when the fences went up and the big sign advertising "the world's first 10 looping rollercoaster".

Loved the place anyway as a kid but this felt absolutely huge considering the only other coasters there were Flying Fish and XNWO.

There was a 3D on ride POV on the Thorpe Park website which took about half an hour to download on the old dial up internet. Followed construction photos on Thorpe Park Guide (which then became South Parks and eventually Attraction Source).

It was a great coaster in it's early years but was soon overshadowed by Inferno and Stealth. Haven't been on it in about 10 years, could barely fit into it as a slim teen so would have no chance now 😂
 
Great topic idea!

The first major ride development I can remember properly following from cradle to grave in the UK is actually Derren Brown’s Ghost Train at Thorpe Park. I was actually quite excited to see what sort of dark ride Thorpe Park would come up with, and my sister and I came up with some extravagant theory about it being a Jack the Ripper themed historical ride!

Like your two, Rob, it ended in bitter disappointment. I was slightly baffled when they announced it was Derren Brown-themed, and as someone who doesn’t do scare attractions or actor-led things, I was bitterly disappointed when they later announced it was an actor-led horror dark ride! The second they announced 13+ and scare actors was the second that any personal enthusiasm I had for it died…

The first UK coasters I remember following from end to end in this fashion were Wicker Man and Icon. As a young teenage coaster enthusiast in the UK, there really had been no year quite like 2018, and they were such exciting projects to follow; as much as I was excited for DBGT, there is nothing quite like a big coaster project! Thankfully, those two did not end in bitter disappointment for me; Wicker Man hugely surprised me and only grew on me afterwards, now being in the latter half of my top 10, and Icon blew me away when I first rode it and remains in the latter half of my top 10 even now!

I also followed Mako and Cobra’s Curse with relative enthusiasm in the earlier days of my enthusiasm, as someone who went to Florida semi-regularly during my childhood, but because those two weren’t UK coasters, I wouldn’t have said it was quite the same. Even still, the payoff of following the construction and then riding both on an August 2016 Florida trip was pretty awesome, especially seeing as Mako became my long-standing #1!

Technically speaking, the project that got me into theme park enthusiasm in the first place was The Smiler, but since I only briefly Googled “SW7” after seeing it on the fence in 2012 and followed the ending stages of the ride’s development somewhat closely, I wouldn’t call that a cradle-to-grave major project following in quite the same way. But even still, I do credit seeing that SW7 sign at age 9, following the very late construction stages and going on to ride The Smiler for the first time at age 10 (along with all the other 1.4m coasters at Alton on the same September 2013 visit) as the thing that got me properly into theme parks!
 
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Air. I suppose the speculation started around 2000, which was shortly after I'd got on the internet. New rides felt so special then, with all the tunnels, landscaping etc. I didn't really like the idea of a flying coaster, but I thought it turned out to be a great ride.
 
I have a nice photo of me sat by the air construction site viewing window.
We made it the meeting point for the day, for butties and extra pocket money, meeting up every couple of hours.
Just an excuse for me to sit by that window for a couple of hours.
They were good times, the queue for nemesis had finally died down!
 
Air was definitely my first proper disappointment. I followed the construction and waded through the more absurd rumours for years. I remember that Chris Moyles and some other Radio 1 presenters had the chance to ride it before opening day, and broadcast at least two or three opinions on the radio from competition winners that suggested the experience was well-meaning, but ultimately underwhelming. I reassured myself that they didn't understand the ride, that it simply wasn’t designed to be as thrilling as the Secret Weapons that had come before it.

I rode it a week later, and remember hamming up my amazement to my Dad and friends afterwards, but the reality was, we all just wanted to get on Nemesis again. We were lucky enough to have grabbed what was then a Virtual Queue ticket and had long planned to hop in the queue right at closing for another go round, but declined the opportunity when it arose. I've refused to wait more than half an hour for it on any occasion since, although the odd breakdown has spited me.

Like @Matt N I was also very intrigued and even uncharacteristically impressed by the slow-burn DBGT campaign. My expectations were tempered when I had the opportunity to undertake a behind-the-scenes tour of it, several months before it eventually opened. At best, I recall thinking, "If they manage to pull all of these elements together, this will be a very impressive experience." Reader, they did not.
 
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Yes, by Thirteen I had managed to develop a thoosies nose for ********.
What was it...over sixteen only guidance, and a senior age limit I think, for the worlds scariest rollercoaster.
Hmm.
 
Colossus certainly as was a frequent visitor to Thorpe. Was a major thing at the time, especially with Vampire redo & Air also going on.

Internationally would be TTD.
 
I was aware of developments from about 2001, just from marketing.

The first one I went out of my way to look for information on was Rita, constantly checking the TT homepage for more news during closed season.

Wasn't aware of the forum back then, joined in 2007?

So the next major development I properly followed I suppose was Thirteen.
 
My early experiences were pre internet and limited to what the parks put out themselves, which was nice in a way. You basically saw an advert or a park map with “new for 1992” on it at the services and found out when you got there.

20 years later my first enthusiast version was probably Mandrill Mayhem. It was nice being able to peek over the fences on visits to see the progress.

TBH I prefer not knowing but I’m in too deep now. Glad I’ve managed to avoid seeing Danse Macabre and Ghostly Manor still though I obviously know enough.

Will be interesting to see how much Universal are able to keep under wraps.
 
It would have been Saw back in 2008

Even before then, I remember seeing the plans for a coaster in Canada Creek at Thorpe when I was getting into proper enthusiast mode in like 2006 from ThemeUK which is where I also learned a lot about Chessie and Thorpe's histories too
 
The Big One in Blackpool, they marketed the hell out of that via local and national press for about three years. No to mention when visiting the park in 1993 with all the construction going on and signs up around the place explaining what would be there in 1994. They had a competition to name it (not sure if anyone actually won that), unveiling the train.
Granada Reports and North West Tonight were both must watch in the build up to opening with the reports and what not.

Still seems mad now, the tallest, sttepest, and fastest roller coaster in the world was getting built 50 miles from my house!

So after that and sort of losing interest around uni and everything the first major coaster I followed via forums and rumours on websites was Thirteen at Alton Towers.
 
Oblivion was the first one I really followed on site going to park quite a few times. Was totally in awe of it. The secretive nature of the construction coupled with the excellent actors made it spectacular

On the internet - 100% AIR. And thats the ride that got me into forums in a big way.
 
Wickerman was my first big construction I remember seeing the demolition of the Flume (Still sad by that) and it being SBNO in 2016 then when construction of Wickerman began I remember vividly as that was the year I did Work Experience at Towers.

Also remember seeing the track for The Smiler I believe in 2012 or 2013 sat in the bus car park the place behind Katanga Canyon. And ironically The Smiler would be my first thrill coaster ever with an inversion and the first to breach into the extreme category
 
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Nice topic idea.

I can remember the double excitement of the Big One and nemesis. On the family's annual trip to go and walk down Blackpool front (star gate to North pier and back again. Fun.) I remember seeing the construction. Nemesis came out of the blue, I think it's difficult to describe the sheer excitement of that advert for nemesis. The odd word of mouth about the ride that went round school.

Following construction wise. It would have to be Thirteen. By this time I was 26, so your are asking "bit old ain't ya." I wasn't able to follow any other construction before, ta da. I had moved Into my own place and use the girlfriends laptop. Was I disappointed. No, but I first rode it on a cold, rainy night at scarefest and it made sense.
 
It would have been Wicker Man for me, although I was somewhat aware about the construction of Mystic Timbers at Cedar Point, which opened the year prior to Wicker Man.
 
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