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The Retrosquad: General Discussion

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s_g_k

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Oblivion
I thought I’d have a stab at my first thread. Apologies if it’s a rubbish topic!

I think we can all agree that The Retrosquad have been pretty popular this season, with queues sometimes pushing 60 minutes. They’ve also been good at dispersing guests, however their place at Alton Towers has certainly divided opinions and I have to admit that their fairground look and 80s soundtrack is certainly jarring, despite mediocre efforts at the “retro” theming.

What do we think about the 2022 season? Will they stay or will they all go? Will we be left with 3 empty spaces or will we have 1 or 2 permanent flats installed over the closed season? There’s also the question of Flavio’s Fabulous Fandango. Whilst not part of the Retrosquad, it’s quite clearly a temporary fairground flat and it was a surprise when Alton Towers announced it separately to The Retrosquad.

My ideal scenario is that we begin to see the reintroduction of permanent themed flats to the park over the next couple of years but it would be great to hear your thoughts!
 
A superb idea for a topic @s_g_k
The retro squad have been fairly popular among park guests. The way they were advertised as the retro squad is brilliant as it demonstrates that they are not meant to fit into there areas at all. They accomplished not making them tacky while also giving them a decent backstory. I think the marketing did suggest temporary but how temporary we don't know.
Do I think the retro squad will stay for next year?
No, for a some key reasons:
  • The marketing clearly demonstrated, although subtlety, that they were temporary.
  • The park may have development plans for at least some of the spots for the near future.
  • They don't fit into their areas. I know I said this wasn't a problem but this is because we live in exceptional circumstances and they needed a solution quick. In the long term I think Alton Towers won't want rides that look completely out of place.
  • The reliability of some of the rides has left something to be desired. This particularly is towards funk and fly which has had several periods of extended and short periods of downtime.
  • They were likely only on a one year lease with there owners who will probably want to return them to the travelling fair market as that build back up from the pandemic.
What do I think will replace them?
Know I don't think we'll see them all replace at once as I just don't think Merlin would give Alton enough money to do it although I would really love to be proven wrong with this one. I Also think some maybe replaced by something other than a flat ride.
  • forbidden valley: I think we could see a number of things here. In the worse case scenario we see a return to HP leisure games. In a better scenario I think one of two things could happen (not sure whether it would be next season or maybe a further into the future), one is that we see a new flat ride and the second is that we see some form of new show. I believe there was a stunt show here for a short duration and I think something like that permanently could work really well and could fit into forbidden valley's theme and astetick nicely.
  • X-Sector: Think we'll probably get a flat ride here at some point. Could be next year could be into the future. I also wouldn't be surprised if they get something not too dissimilar to Mixtape. Personally I can't see it happening next year and but could see it the year after.
  • Dark forest: This one I'm really not sure about. I think they may put a flat ride here but on the other hand they may leave it for future development. SW9/10/11 could use dark forest and the extra space maybe useful/. If they do put a flat ride in I'm unsure when they'd do it.
What about Fabios?
I'd like to think they have something planned for this area as part of phase 2 of walliams world and I really hope they have. I'm unsure what they'd install and I'm unsure what they'd theme it too. Whatever they do it really needs to be within the next two seasons and walliams world really needs some more attractions.
 
A superb idea for a topic @s_g_k
The retro squad have been fairly popular among park guests. The way they were advertised as the retro squad is brilliant as it demonstrates that they are not meant to fit into there areas at all. They accomplished not making them tacky while also giving them a decent backstory. I think the marketing did suggest temporary but how temporary we don't know.
Do I think the retro squad will stay for next year?
No, for a some key reasons:
  • The marketing clearly demonstrated, although subtlety, that they were temporary.
  • The park may have development plans for at least some of the spots for the near future.
  • They don't fit into their areas. I know I said this wasn't a problem but this is because we live in exceptional circumstances and they needed a solution quick. In the long term I think Alton Towers won't want rides that look completely out of place.
  • The reliability of some of the rides has left something to be desired. This particularly is towards funk and fly which has had several periods of extended and short periods of downtime.
  • They were likely only on a one year lease with there owners who will probably want to return them to the travelling fair market as that build back up from the pandemic.
What do I think will replace them?
Know I don't think we'll see them all replace at once as I just don't think Merlin would give Alton enough money to do it although I would really love to be proven wrong with this one. I Also think some maybe replaced by something other than a flat ride.
  • forbidden valley: I think we could see a number of things here. In the worse case scenario we see a return to HP leisure games. In a better scenario I think one of two things could happen (not sure whether it would be next season or maybe a further into the future), one is that we see a new flat ride and the second is that we see some form of new show. I believe there was a stunt show here for a short duration and I think something like that permanently could work really well and could fit into forbidden valley's theme and astetick nicely.
  • X-Sector: Think we'll probably get a flat ride here at some point. Could be next year could be into the future. I also wouldn't be surprised if they get something not too dissimilar to Mixtape. Personally I can't see it happening next year and but could see it the year after.
  • Dark forest: This one I'm really not sure about. I think they may put a flat ride here but on the other hand they may leave it for future development. SW9/10/11 could use dark forest and the extra space maybe useful/. If they do put a flat ride in I'm unsure when they'd do it.
What about Fabios?
I'd like to think they have something planned for this area as part of phase 2 of walliams world and I really hope they have. I'm unsure what they'd install and I'm unsure what they'd theme it too. Whatever they do it really needs to be within the next two seasons and walliams world really needs some more attractions.

Some great suggestions there and I certainly agree that Forbidden Valley and Dark Forest are the most “in the air” areas for the post Retrosquad era, because I personally think that these areas may be earmarked for SW9 and SW10 developments.
 
Interesting to think what may become of these rides.
I agree it's likely they'll be a one season feature, pretty much for the reasons already mentioned.

Looking at queue times you do wonder what we'd have been looking at without them so in that way they might pave the way for future flats/developments having acted as a proof of concept.

Meantime am looking forward to having my one and probably only ever go when visiting next month!
 
Flavios could be made permanent, either long term lease or buy a new one. My money is on the other 3 going back and being replaced by sod all unfortunately.
 
Considering that anyone who rides Mixtape gets a survey question on the app, I wouldn't be surpised if Towers are looking at getting a pernament one in that location (themed into X Sector), given it's popularity. Would be ace! :)
That's definitely the only one of the 4 I could see being replaced-like-for-like, although maybe Funk 'n' Fly too.
 
Considering that anyone who rides Mixtape gets a survey question on the app, I wouldn't be surpised if Towers are looking at getting a pernament one in that location (themed into X Sector), given it's popularity. Would be ace! :)
I think that was more of an idea thrown around by enthusiasts than any solid evidence. I however wouldn't be surprised if a permeant flat appears in the next few years on that site as it helps with X-sectors low capacity. Oblivion is great for capacity however it doesn't often run on full capacity. The Smiler, for its size, capacity really isn't that good and so a supporting ride with a decent capacity would help the queues' in that area.
 
My best guess is that all the Retrosquad rides and Flavio will be gone next season, they were a one season thing and once the season is up the owners will want to get back to travelling with their rides.

In terms of replacements I think the most likely spot that would get a new flat ride is X-Sector due to it being unlikely that the area is earmarked for any other changes in the mid-term, whereas Forbidden Valley is potentially a spot for SW9 and therefore investing in a permanent ride for this location wouldn’t make financial sense.

In terms of the actual ride type for X-Sector I have no idea. But there is nothing to say it needs to be or would be the same design as the current flats, the placement of the Retrosquad rides has proven there is demand for these rides, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go with different flats from other manufacturers.

For Flavio, I suspect the replacement will be the reopening of the cinema. This will make up for the loss in capacity of removing the ride and will fit better into the overall IP of David Walliams.
 
For Flavio, I suspect the replacement will be the reopening of the cinema. This will make up for the loss in capacity of removing the ride and will fit better into the overall IP of David Walliams.

Although I get the point and I agree the cinema/theatre needs re-opening, they also really should be doing both. Open the cinema/theatre and replace Twirling Toadstool.
 
Considering that anyone who rides Mixtape gets a survey question on the app, I wouldn't be surpised if Towers are looking at getting a pernament one in that location (themed into X Sector), given it's popularity. Would be ace! :)
That's definitely the only one of the 4 I could see being replaced-like-for-like, although maybe Funk 'n' Fly too.
You get a survey for Roller Disco and Funk'n'Fly as well, or at least I did anyway.
 
I've not had a survey despite riding this season....

Also If they are removed, what do we realistically think about enterprise ? I mean it can't have much longer left and say that went and mix tape did too over the closed season...
 
I've not had a survey despite riding this season....

Also If they are removed, what do we realistically think about enterprise ? I mean it can't have much longer left and say that went and mix tape did too over the closed season...
I also didn't get the survey after riding Mixtape, but that was because I didn't have my phone on me in the queue. :(
I agree that Enterprise is on it's last legs- for that reason I think Towers will prioritise a new flat in X sector soon.
 
It'd be a real issue if both Enterprise and Mixtape were to leave at the same time.
I presume they fix up enterprise again. It'll last another few seasons i expect. Plus there really common they can always just get exactly the same thing for relatively cheap.
 
Enterprise is more than likely waiting for a part probably yeah, that's the feeling I'm getting anyway.
 
It does seem as though its days are numbered. It's one of the oldest rides in the park and you can really tell! I actually hadn't ridden it until a couple of months ago, so I thought I'd probably better get one in just in case it was my last chance! To be honest I found it pretty nauseating, and don't think I'll be going on again in a hurry! Not sure how popular it is nowadays; it gets long queues on busy days but not sure if that's down to popularity or ops.
 
It does seem as though its days are numbered. It's one of the oldest rides in the park and you can really tell! I actually hadn't ridden it until a couple of months ago, so I thought I'd probably better get one in just in case it was my last chance! To be honest I found it pretty nauseating, and don't think I'll be going on again in a hurry! Not sure how popular it is nowadays; it gets long queues on busy days but not sure if that's down to popularity or ops.
The long queue will most likely be due to the time it takes to load and unload. The op has to individually check each gondola before starting the ride. The capacity isn't great either, so that will also be a factor.
 
I really hope permanent flats are installed in the park to replace the Retrosquad sooner rather than later. Fairly new big flats aren’t that expensive (around £300-£400k) and there must be funding and finance options to avoid any capex. I just don’t see that level of cost to be that substantial for a park like Alton?
 
I really hope permanent flats are installed in the park to replace the Retrosquad sooner rather than later. Fairly new big flats aren’t that expensive (around £300-£400k) and there must be funding and finance options to avoid any capex. I just don’t see that level of cost to be that substantial for a park like Alton?
To be fair if they can add these temporary rides as operating costs they should be able to afford a flat on a low capex year. Although we don't know how private merlin will manage capex.
 
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