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The World of David Walliams: General Discussion

I don’t see his children’s books (which are what TWODW is ultimately themed around) being “cancelled” due to comments that Walliams himself made, so I think The World of David Walliams at Alton Towers is likely to be relatively safe.

It’s like how the Harry Potter franchise is still going strong in numerous theme parks and attractions across the world in spite of JK Rowling’s controversial comments in recent times. Even though the reputation of Rowling herself has taken a hit, the books she wrote and the films they spawned were unaffected because of people’s ability to separate the universe Rowling created from Rowling herself. I see the distinction between Walliams and his children’s books being relatively similar.

If Alton Towers had built a land or ride themed around some of Walliams’ more inherently controversial content, such as Little Britain, then the situation may be different. But given that the children’s books have gotten off relatively lightly in terms of controversy (albeit they haven’t been completely unscathed), I think TWODW should be fine to continue existing.
 
I just think it's funny it's called "The World of David Walliams". "David Walliams" being one the most unappealing entities in the media, I sure wouldn't want to take my kids to visit his "world".

But I know it's not the real David Walliams it's referring to, it's the books IP. After all his name is only on these books in a calculated move to protect his reputation against his crass comedy career. It may as well be "big bucks ghostwritten childrens books world". At least we got a mini dark ride out of it.
 
If things get a bit tough in the papers or on social media for Rowling or Walliams, I'm sure the pair of them are greatly consoled when they check their bank balances.

"The World of David Walliams" is the name given to his range of childrens books. I've never considered it the name of an actual physical "World" in a theme park. The tiny, laughably implemented Walliams back alley behind the Towers we got can't be considered a "World" by any measure.
 
In many ways, I almost wonder if Gangsta Granny’s addition would have gotten a better reception if they hadn’t rethemed CCL and had just added Gangsta Granny onto CCL.

While I feel that the area was spruced up quite nicely, with some fun little details added, I’ll concede that the actual Walliams area did not change an awful lot in that part of the park aside from the colours of the buildings and rides. If you took Gangsta Granny out of TWODW, the area would not be an awful lot different from CCL in its 2019 form.

I wonder whether the general opinion of Gangsta Granny as an addition is tarnished by the fact that the whole area was billed as the big attraction rather than simply the ride.

If CCL had remained as a theme, with Gangsta Granny simply being added to CCL, it wouldn’t have changed an awful lot, and I do wonder if it would have taken the negative spotlight off of the area itself and put primary focus onto the ride. The ride could also have had a bit of extra money due to the area retheme not being needed. While I can’t really think of much I’d improve about Gangsta Granny, in fairness (I actually thought it was executed very well), extra budget can surely never be a bad thing.
 
It doesn't have anything to do with GG. It has everything to do with the shuttered family boat ride turned into a Dungeon, a vomit painted Burger Kitchen on the outside themed to CCL on the inside, slopping more brightly coloured paint on top of the old on empty rotting buildings and putting a line of planters that break the area up further by Driving School. Basically, everything else but GG itself is the problem
 
Project Horizon looks like it will be a terrific investment, but unless it ends up being part of TWODW, I’d argue that it may introduce a new pitfall for TWODW to contend with. That pitfall is that TWODW could now have very limited expansion potential as a result of Horizon being built.

Previously, I’d always cited Adventureland 4-11 and Coaster Corner as good places for TWODW to expand onto, and I’d also cited the Dungeons building as an easy opportunity for a Walliams dark ride. However, Project Horizon removes those as options; the ride itself will occupy Coaster Corner, the plaza area for Project Horizon will occupy Adventureland 4-11, and with the Project Horizon area’s entrance archway being right by the Dungeons building, it removes the opportunity for the current Dungeons space to be encompassed within TWODW.

With this in mind, they now only have the 4D Cinema and the Driving School as expansion opportunities. Once you reopen the 4D Cinema in some form and either retheme Driving School or replace it with a family coaster or flat ride, that’s all you can really do to expand TWODW. Now that Project Horizon is a thing, there arguably isn’t the space in that land to keep expanding it year on year like they have with CBeebies Land.
 
This topic is for chat about the WoDW Towers area, not the personal opinions of random other authors - please can we keep on topic. Thanks.
 
Given that the park is consciously aware of capacity issues, to the extent that they've literally rented in fairground rides for the past two years, as well as the renewed focus on entertainment / non-ride attraction, the 4D cinema continuing to sit empty in Walliams Land is genuinely astounding.

A low budget, low staff, family friendly, non-ride experience with high capacity that guests wouldn't have to queue for... and the films are already made!

If that doesn't scream "this area isn't going to last" and "this is an unloved hatchet job" I don't know what does.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I miss CCL. Yeah, it wasn't in its best state in its later years, but you've got to admit the area looked really creative and wonderful, that and a really catchy theme! I also think CCL's paint job is way better than TWODW outside of exceptions like Raj's shop.
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You're like an algorithm that pumps out something vaguely nostalgic for something that really wasn't that great.
 
In fairness, I liked CCL as well, and I was slightly sad when it went. I think the idea could have had wonderful potential if the park had capitalised on it more.

With that being said, however, I don’t dislike TWODW either. Gangsta Granny is a fun ride, and even if the rest of the area changed very little, I think it did freshen things up a bit!
 
Cloud Cuckoo Land was lovely when it first opened in 2009 but it felt like it just got worse and worse every year thereafter. Paintwork faded, Ice Age didn't fit in when it replaced the theatre, Twirling Toadstools started to rot and then was removed, theming in the area went, the cafe went. In the end it was a sorry state of affairs.
 
I think TWODW had a lot of potential. I was really excited seeing the area develop over time, seeing the teasers, snippets, etc. But when it opened, the area looked horrible! The paintwork on the buildings are just a poor choice of mostly primary colours they used on them, just like Tower Streets 2017 repaint. I like the entrance plaza though with the oversized books. Again, Raj's shop building actually looks really nice, and the area music is quite funky. Outside of those specifics, I think the area is a huge disappointment and they could done SO MUCH BETTER. I still don't know why they kept the 4D theater shut, that'd help massively with the areas severe lack of capacity.
 
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