Wardley to retire

[Jonathan]

He did indeed work on Stampida, Tomohawk and Dragon Khan - Chapter 14 of his autobiography gives us this information, particularly pages 143-145.

 

[Dave]

What about Hex V1 too?

There wasn't anything inherently wrong with Hex v1 (i enjoyed it), at the end of the day the changes consisted of a new pre-show vid and some screens in the Octogan and new batching audio. They just felt it wasn't engaging guests as much as they wanted.

If anything it says something that they went back and improved something that wasn't actually terrible just to get a little bit of extra magic out of it. Hex v1 was not in anyway a Sub-Terra v1

 

[Rob]

Didn't he work on PortAventura's Diablo and Stampida? What about Hex V1 too?

His autobiography says that plans for El Diablo were already in place when Tussauds were sent to look at the park. So he did not really work on that. He worked on Dragon Khan, which is amazing. He did also design Stampida, a ride I really enjoyed on the red side, the blue side is horribly rough. I doubt it has always been that rough though so I'm not sure he can be blamed for that. He did also do Tomahawk which is decent for a kids woodie.

I really can't see how anyone can say he is responsible for some monstrosities being built. That first of all implies that he has designed some monstrosities and secondly implies that he is solely responsible for their construction. Any project in a theme park is about more than one person and I'm certain John will be the first person to tell you this.

 

[BigAl]

I was only making suggestions seen as you wanted someone to try and give you an answer!

None of them are monstrosities (or at least most people wouldn't consider any of them to be that bad anyway), but some rides he's worked on naturally aren't going to be as good as others. It's also a shame that many of the rides that he worked on that turned out brilliant were later ruined (i.e. Professor Burp's Bubbleworks, Haunted House, Terror/Forbidden Tomb, Toyland Tours, etc... ).

But I agree that it's not just one person who should get blame for anything that goes wrong, just as one person can't receive all of the praise for when something goes very well.




Edit: Did he also work on Nemesis Inferno? I should imagine after working on making it as different from Nemesis as possible, for Thorpe / Tussauds to go and stick 'Nemesis' at the begging of its name didn't go down too well with him or the rest of the people that worked on Nemesis?

 

[Harv]

Haven't read the autobiography but here's why Nemesis is great, very quickly. It follows Wardley's key rule to creating a great coaster;

"A ride should be as fun for those spectating as it is for those riding".

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

It follows Wardley's key rule to creating a great coaster;

"A ride should be as fun for those spectating as it is for those riding".

So where does that leave The Smiler?

 

[Martin]

But where does that leave rides which are actually better for the spectator?

I mean, some Togos look pretty badass, but only a sadist like me would actually want to ride them.

 

[AirFAN]

Merlin need to move into a new creative direction and with that inject some new blood into the mix - push boundaries and create something truly revolutionary, something that will finally outshine Nemesis.

Just to pick you up on this point.

Tussauds, Towers and to an extent Merlin have and continue to consistently push boundaries and create new, revolutionary rides. Regardless of how well received they are, you can't deny that they are innovative and brand new to the industry.

Oblivion - Worlds first. (Wardley)
Air - Worlds first. (Wardley)
Thi13een - Worlds first (Wardley)
Colossus - Worlds first
The Smiler - Worlds first (Wardley)

Those are just off the top of my head. Nemesis wasn't even a worlds first or particularly innovative, it had been done in America already. It's just a well designed and well themed coaster. Innovation wise, every coaster since Nemesis, perhaps with the exception of Rita, has outshone Nemesis.

Innovation, or gimmicks?

Oblivion, Air and Thirteen were certainly huge innovation. They all used a lot of new technology and pushed new boundaries. Thirteen's drop is hugely innovative and a brilliant idea, it is the coaster section that lets it down.

Anyway, I am still awaiting a response to this:

Yes, John Wardley has created some good rides a good ride but he's also been responsible for allowing some monstrosities to be erected.

Please go on, I'm fascinated...

I don't feel you can make such a bold statement without some seriously good reasoning to back it up.

So here goes

Personally I feel companies can become reliant on individuals with certain skills when management lack those skills or vision. I feel the management at the Towers have had blinders on over the past few years and as a result possibly believe Wardley is 'better' than any alternative they could have explored.

Yes, The Smiler is revolutionary and is an exceptional ride, but that unfortunately can't be said - in my opinion - for its predecessors. I personally come from a background in which I'm always looking to excel in everything I do. Yes, Air, Thirteen and Rita are good rides, but could they have been better? Most certainly. The fact of the matter is they could have been enhanced with better foresight/planning before construction even began.

Rita in my opinion is a poor ride, it has a poor theme and has been constructed in haste. Thirteen is another poor ride that offers little. Yes, it has good elements, but overall doesn't leave you thinking it was awe inspiring/ground breaking etc.

I'm an advocate of newness and competition as this ultimately prospers innovation. Yes, ride technology has been enhanced, but the layouts and theme of some of these rides has just been down right abdominal. Wardley is undoubtedly a marketing man, having repeatedly shouted about his creations from the rooftops in interviews etc, often assigning them a grandeur they don't deserve.

 

[Harv]

It follows Wardley's key rule to creating a great coaster;

"A ride should be as fun for those spectating as it is for those riding".

So where does that leave The Smiler?

The Smiler is fun to watch and is certainly a spectacle, but it doesn't interact in the same way with non-riders, in my opinion.

Nemesis soars around the area; that helix following the corkscrew encourages riders to get up close to the track, and the queue's bridge that extends over the loop area offers views that The Smiler simply doesn't, in my opinion. The back end of The Smiler, near the shop's exit is pretty neat, as is the exit of the toilets closest to The Smiler (at the top of X Sector) but neither offer that interactive approach that Nemesis achieves.

Tl;dr - For non-riders, it seems that The Smiler was built and then the paths and queues were added after. In Nemesis' case, it seems that the track came after the paths, and in my opinion, that's what makes it a better achievement for Wardley.