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The Future of Dark Forest

What would you do for Dark Forest?

  • Total voters
    112
Josh555 said:
Well yeah, hence why I said ‘I’d also argue’.

The point is that the coaster it replaced was an again off the shelf Schwarzoff model with minimal theming other than in the station.

It was a fun ride and I really enjoyed it but it doesn’t change the point that it was in desperate need of replacement and it was never going to be replaced like for like. The Smiler wouldn’t have been my first choice for its replacement either but I think it could have been far worse.

It looks like we’re getting an indoor coaster now anyway.
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Which is now an extremely rare model, almost so that it has become unique in its own right. Money could have been spent on further theming inside the ride area if they decided to keep it running. You only know it as an off the shelf ride as you are an enthusiast.

I get your point entirely, I enjoyed black hole more than I did Smiler. I am sure if you put them side by side The Smiler would likely top votes as the better ride of the two over all for the general population.
 
I think that Thirteen can retain it's theme in a wider redo of Dark Forest because of it's location. It's mostly in the woods at the back, and the bit that isn't kind of blends in with the Towers buildings nearby anyway. Let's face it, there isn't really a current theme to Dark Forest other than Thirteen anyway. Once you remove the entrance portal, it's just prehistoric themed buildings painted grey and a massive boring fence.

I don't think it'll be touched until Rita goes, which is only 19 years old. When that happens, get a new airtime focused double launcher that has a station down the bottom near the back entrance, and a flat near where the Sky Ride is on the right near the main entrance. I think Thirteen can be isolated and blended in to a new theme. Something like fairytales is cliche and has been done to death. But I dunno, a Knights, medieval, Robin Hood kind of theme that isn't dark or something like that.

Or just retheme Thirteen and chuck a Minecraft land there. Just needs to be something new that hasn't been done elsewhere. No routine wild west, fairy tale, steampunk, or space themes. No more spooky woodlands/haunted trees, secret sinister organisations or wars.
 
Josh555 said:
Each to their own but I just find it stunning that people long for Corkscrew.

A theme less, big standard double corkscrew coaster which was well past its sell by date and extremely uncomfortable to ride, I remember, more than once, hearing people slag it off as they left the ride.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s got its place in Alton’s history, was hugely important for the park’s development and was my first ever inverting rollercoaster; but it had more than had its day.
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Can't agree with this enough, it was extremely dated years before it was removed. I get nostalgia is strong but its time had well and truely past let alone keep it standing another 16 years.
A Vekoma/arrow corkscrews can still be found across the world but thirteen is a unique ride that actually belongs in a themepark.
I also think almost no rides should be seen as sacred and everything should be up for removal as holding on to old rides holds back parks. I genuinely think after Rita oblivion should removed or upgraded to standard of a modern dive coaster with more elements and length. Especially as Alton lacks space for new coasters.
 
My only issue with Thirteen is I find the first half of the layout really dull quite frankly.

It's got a lot going for it though. The Station is good and adds to the creepy theme, the drop sequence is excellent and the backwards bit is also really fun.

I just feel whenever I ride it everything that happens before the drop section is just a bit meh and pointless. Not enough happens and there's not enough to see. If that first half of the ride was better it would easily be one my favourite family thrill coasters I have ridden.

A tunnel or two after the first drop would definitely have added to the experience and some theming / effects going off as you go through them.
 
Benjsh said:
My only issue with Thirteen is I find the first half of the layout really dull quite frankly.

It's got a lot going for it though. The Station is good and adds to the creepy theme, the drop sequence is excellent and the backwards bit is also really fun.

I just feel whenever I ride it everything that happens before the drop section is just a bit meh and pointless. Not enough happens and there's not enough to see. If that first half of the ride was better it would easily be one my favourite family thrill coasters I have ridden.

A tunnel or two after the first drop would definitely have added to the experience and some theming / effects going off as you go through them.
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Completely agree and I’ve always had this view of it, you get the impression that a lot of the budget was spent on the world’s first drop track element and much of the rest of the ride was an afterthought.
 
I do like the first drop through the trees but do agree it does feel like the first section is to get from the first drop to the drop section with as easy as possible
 
I've always said that the first section of Th13teen is missing a ruin like feature, and would benefit greatly from a punchy little rolling launch, a few helixes and some little air time hills. delving further into the spacious woodland area that surrounds it, before then entering the drop sequence.

Although saying that I still think the removal of Rita, and the addition of an intamin multi launch is the best outcome for dark forest.

The whole area is so void of life it's sad realy. I understand the angle they were going for but it feels so dull to be in that area of the park and it's a real shame!

Rita rock radio did give that side of the park a real boost of life and energy!
 
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Benjsh said:
My only issue with Thirteen is I find the first half of the layout really dull quite frankly.

It's got a lot going for it though. The Station is good and adds to the creepy theme, the drop sequence is excellent and the backwards bit is also really fun.

I just feel whenever I ride it everything that happens before the drop section is just a bit meh and pointless. Not enough happens and there's not enough to see. If that first half of the ride was better it would easily be one my favourite family thrill coasters I have ridden.

A tunnel or two after the first drop would definitely have added to the experience and some theming / effects going off as you go through them.
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Pretty much this, the second half is actually fun, just the shame that the first half is utter pants either it was someone's first attempt at making a coaster, would have had more theming elements like head chopper moments that would have made things better or perhaps both?

Either way, Thirteen seems like a missed opportunity for something special and is IMO the weakest of the SW rides. Looking at plans at Dark Forest, one idea that caught my eye was a quarry theme for the area with Thirteen being almost like a mine shaft working which I will say would have been a totally different theme that might’ve been easier to implement than trying to build a Forest theme which is ironic consider how the area is surrounded by trees but then again this is Merlin.

Honestly it is just an area of the park that has had bad lucky post Rita but at the very least for all the criticism that Rita got when installed in Ug Land at the very least there was that upbeat feeling in the area still that has sadly all been lost.
 

I’m not really one for IPs over original theming and ideas but it’s really easy to see how a Minecraft refresh in theory would totally work on Thirteen. Like you say add a near miss element or two to the outdoor section, add some blocky skeletons to the crypt and the jobs a good ‘un.
 
I liked the secret garden theme that someone posted on here recently using AI concept art. This would fit this area well or a “Toxic gardens” idea to inject more colour and could use dark forests current theming and easily adapt with added crazy, colourful and wild plants. More weird statues & fake mushroom, flytraps, trees, outdoor furniture like lamps etc.


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UG Land was a great addition. It was done back then as a standalone new addition for 1999. Something I don't think the park have done since? (in regard to it being marketed as a totally new land without actually adding any new attractions)

I don't think there's any harm in the park eventually doing something like this in the future. But only when it's finally sorted out its lack of flats (that's more of a priority than this). But Dark Forest definitely needs some attention.

The addition of Rita to Ug Land was always an odd choice. I think the time it was added, it just kind of killed whatever cohesion the rest of the land had.

The issue the park has is when it adds a new big addition is they attempt to theme the rest of the area as well. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it just seems a little lacklustre. Sometimes the park strengthens the theme later on by adding more attractions and elements that tie into it's narrative and then sometimes not so much.

I'd like to think what with all the work that's gone on in forbidden valley and the recent additions over the last couple of years that the creative team are really thinking about the bigger picture, outside of just that one attraction.

I couldn't really think off the top of my head what kind of new theme they could go with now in Dark Forest. As some people have suggested, a magical creatures theme might be good, and a little more family friendly.
 
If they removed Rita and replaced it with an Intamin multi launch, Dark Forest could have an energy akin to Toutatis area at Parc Asterix.

It’s a relatively similar setting being a slightly wooded part of the park.
 
If they got a multi launch, there is a hell of a lot of covered disused woodland path behind thirteens track that is out of sight of the village, with no mature trees needing felling.
Goes right round the top edge of the garden valley, but previously developed...so redevelopment may be possible.
Love that old pathway, walked it back in the early Corkscrew times, the grass "ride" was full of picnic tables.
Back in the days when you could walk right round the back of the Corkscrew, and come out near the flag tower.
 
Rita will be 20 next year incredibly . I can't see her reaching 25 either quite frankly the way it rides. Intamin coasters don't age as well as B&M's as we know and I genuinely don't think the ride is worth investing in to give it an extra lease of life.

3-4 more seasons at best I reckon and then they will rip it out and put something else in there along with probably updating the theme to the area as people above are speculating.

If they went with Minecraft I'd be perfectly fine with it too. Would make a lot of sense and future proof the park for a good while longer too given it's popularity.
 
Thorpe this year (in regards to Hyperia) said “in order to appreciate the dark, you need light”.

They couldn’t be more true. Everything is dark dark dark at Towers. If Galactica gets brought into the military Nemesis theme then all the major coasters will have a “dark theme” to them.

X-Sector? Dark.
Wicker Man? Dark.
Gloomy Wood? Dark.
Forbidden Valley? Dark.
Dark Forest? Dark.
Dungeons? Dark.
Hex? Dark(ish).

Katanga? Fun.
CBeebies/Spinball? Light.
Mutiny Bay?…fun?
Towers Street? Light.
Walliams World? Destroy.

See, the dark areas massively outweigh the light in Towers. I don’t mind Th13teen staying dark but perhaps do a wicker man and loosely separate Dark Forest and get some damn light in there somewhere.
 
Imagination said:
Thorpe this year (in regards to Hyperia) said “in order to appreciate the dark, you need light”.

They couldn’t be more true. Everything is dark dark dark at Towers. If Galactica gets brought into the military Nemesis theme then all the major coasters will have a “dark theme” to them.

X-Sector? Dark.
Wicker Man? Dark.
Gloomy Wood? Dark.
Forbidden Valley? Dark.
Dark Forest? Dark.
Dungeons? Dark.
Hex? Dark(ish).

Katanga? Fun.
CBeebies/Spinball? Light.
Mutiny Bay?…fun?
Towers Street? Light.
Walliams World? Destroy.

See, the dark areas massively outweigh the light in Towers. I don’t mind Th13teen staying dark but perhaps do a wicker man and loosely separate Dark Forest and get some damn light in there somewhere.
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Light forest ?

Some sort of Avatar rip off would be good in my opinion

Goes back to that enchanted forest fan theme that was on here somewhere
 
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