Wicker Man - General Discussion

General discussion regarding the UK's No.1 Theme Park. Talk about anything and everything Alton Towers here.
Post Reply
User avatar
Adam.W
Member
Member
Posts: 646
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 3:38 pm

That's really good news :) Glad all things are going ahead as they were planned.
User avatar
definedancing
Member
Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Sat May 24, 2014 6:05 pm

I must say that I commend Nick Varney for soldiering on. It would be so easy for a company to go "right, we've lost money, let's scrap this and let's scrap that" but that is only a short term solution. Right now the only thing that will get the general public back into Towers, aside from a full HSE report that I'm sure we'll get eventually, is a new ride.
User avatar
S.J_O'Grady
Member
Member
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:14 pm
Location: Shropshire, England

Great stuff, and I absolutely agree. Putting investments to one side would not only keep people away but also lose the interest of those who are still visiting. I can't wait to hear what they have planned!
Life is a roller coaster. You can either scream every time you hit a bump or you can throw your hands up in the air and enjoy it.
User avatar
shawnoc
Member
Member
Posts: 386
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:42 pm
Location: Sunny Brighton, When it wants to be!!!!!!
Contact:

I have always said to my wife and family that if they start to delay cancel up and coming developments Merlin would suffer long term. There would be no publicity to take the focus away from the smiler incident.
Also I can imagine a lot of money has already been spent on any future plans that are in place. To cancel them with no other plans in place would be business suicide. Good Nick Varney to come out and say what he has.
User avatar
Capt.Barnacles
Member
Member
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:19 pm
Location: Stoke-on-Trent

Just a new point after reading here and speculations with the ATP team recently.

I'm liking the idea mentioned in the Air enhancements topic of Operation Lockdown being almost a prelude to SW8's theme. If it does go that way then I'll be very happy, since if Phalanx are involved, this means that 21+ years on, Nemesis is STILL being expanded on. It's an extremely successful theme. Look at The Sanctuary as a kind of prelude to The Smiler, it proved successful with the GP seeing the connection between the maze and the ride when the logo was revealed, it was clear that they weren't done with The Sanctuary and planned to expand. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up seeing the Phalanx Control logo sprayed/posted around the area that SW8 will be built in. Looking at all the sudden attention Forbidden Valley is getting, with it's own scare zone, Air getting relaunched, and SW8 in the future, I'm seeing potential for Forbidden Valley to get renamed to something that fits in with Nemesis/Phalanx more.

Not sure which topic this should really have gone in cause it concerns Scarefest, SW8 AND Air's revamp.
Image
Image
User avatar
stealthsmiler
Member
Member
Posts: 777
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:50 am

For the first time, I'm started to get excited about this. If it is true that the new scare maze will be linked to SW8. I was worried about how this could fit into FV without ruining the Nemesis theme, but it looks like they've worked it out. I'm also glad to see that we're not just getting another new coaster just put into FV but that they are also improving the area around the new coaster also with the Air enhancements, which lets face it, would be the only area in need of improvement once SW8 arrives. I just really hope we at least see one new flat ride added to the area because poor N:ST will struggle to support the riders of not just three major coasters on park but three major coasters including the star attraction. Depending on the plans and where things are to be placed, The Blades spot could possible be left free for a new flat ride and also there could be some space around Air if there was some tree removal.

Is it confirmed yet that SW8 is 2017 and not 2018? I know that The Smiler incident hasn't delayed any developments however I wonder if Air's enhancements have, something decided before the Smiler incident. I ask this because Blade was said to be closed at the beginning of this season but then opened. If they changed their minds and pushed SW8 back a year there would have been no reason to close Blade so early and therefore were able to reopen it. It also then provides a year in which they can open some new flats to counteract the removal of two of the three thrilling flats.
User avatar
lewis97
Admin
Admin
Posts: 4373
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:41 am
Location: Hertfordshire

A major investment has been confirmed to still be happening in 2017. If anything, the attention that Air's getting with its enhancements and the Rollercoaster Restaurant are all in preparation for the higher footfall that Forbidden Valley will receive with the opening of what's believed to be SW8, rather than an 'instead of' investment. However, whether these developments ahead of next season will actually have any link to the theme of the major attraction remains to be seen.

I believe I have seen AT state on Twitter that The Blade is due to be removed in the 'near future', but there's been no proper confirmation of timescale for this.
User avatar
allijukes19
New Member
New Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2015 9:29 am
Location: Cleethorpes, N.E Lincolnshire

I Totally Agree everything is in preparation for SW8 now, especially the Air enhancements to possibly fit in with the potential theme of the new ride. I think a RMC would be best but I don't think that it is too likely!
Everything is pointing to a cross-valley coaster of some sort now!
*Major Tree clearance behind Rita's first banked turn.
*Small Tree clearance in the valley
*Tree Clarence around the Forbidden Valley
*Possible removal/relocation of The Blade and Ripsaw.
*Refresh and Ripsaw being 'gutted out'
*The Tower thing being refurbished
*Air Enhancements
*New Restaurant in that area!
User avatar
dazza4783
Member
Member
Posts: 375
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Here

allijukes19 wrote:I Totally Agree everything is in preparation for SW8 now, especially the Air enhancements to possibly fit in with the potential theme of the new ride. I think a RMC would be best but I don't think that it is too likely!
Everything is pointing to a cross-valley coaster of some sort now!
*Major Tree clearance behind Rita's first banked turn.
*Small Tree clearance in the valley
*Tree Clarence around the Forbidden Valley
*Possible removal/relocation of The Blade and Ripsaw.
*Refresh and Ripsaw being 'gutted out'
*The Tower thing being refurbished
*Air Enhancements
*New Restaurant in that area!
If it is a Cross Valley coaster, how about one with 2 stations, one in forbidden valley and one in dark forest? Would be a bit more fun way of getting between the 2 areas than the sky ride.
User avatar
Georgie
Member
Member
Posts: 229
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 4:27 pm
Location: Sorta near Chessington

dazza4783 wrote: If it is a Cross Valley coaster, how about one with 2 stations, one in forbidden valley and one in dark forest? Would be a bit more fun way of getting between the 2 areas than the sky ride.
How would you recollect your bags?
1. Helix | 2. Taron | 3. Nemesis | 4. Expedition GeForce | 5. Wodan
User avatar
Aidan Lowe
Member
Member
Posts: 1778
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:08 am

dazza4783 wrote:If it is a Cross Valley coaster, how about one with 2 stations, one in forbidden valley and one in dark forest? Would be a bit more fun way of getting between the 2 areas than the sky ride.
It's interesting you mention that as the Phalanx Archive posted a tweet earlier. One with 200M and the next with Multiple Controls (<-- 2 stations) I dunno, not sure if its a false account created by a fanboy or not.
Formerly known under username Andy Mc
User avatar
Ladyofthelake
Member
Member
Posts: 2661
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 12:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

The Phalanx Archive Twitter account is NOT an official account. The only official accounts are the main @altontowers account and Phalanx Control - @PhalanxControl. All others are imposters
User avatar
KoasterKraver
Member
Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 6:21 pm

allijukes19 wrote:I Totally Agree everything is in preparation for SW8 now, especially the Air enhancements to possibly fit in with the potential theme of the new ride. I think a RMC would be best but I don't think that it is too likely!
Everything is pointing to a cross-valley coaster of some sort now!
*Major Tree clearance behind Rita's first banked turn.
*Small Tree clearance in the valley
*Tree Clarence around the Forbidden Valley
*Possible removal/relocation of The Blade and Ripsaw.
*Refresh and Ripsaw being 'gutted out'
*The Tower thing being refurbished
*Air Enhancements
*New Restaurant in that area!
*Activity on phalanx account
*New scare mazes
User avatar
Adam.W
Member
Member
Posts: 646
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 3:38 pm

I actually considered this quite recently, but then it wasn't mentioned in the screening... They either changed the plans or they aren't doing cross valley :)
User avatar
Tryst
Member
Member
Posts: 93
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:58 pm
Location: Derby
Contact:

Is SW8 confirmed to be a rollercoaster? I enjoy a good flat and there have been no decent flat rises added to the park since Hex.
User avatar
Adam.W
Member
Member
Posts: 646
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 3:38 pm

Pretty much yeah, the screening they did strongly suggests that it's a rollerocaster of 'timber truss construction' which basically means woodie, and has 2 tunnels and a few other things. :)
User avatar
allijukes19
New Member
New Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2015 9:29 am
Location: Cleethorpes, N.E Lincolnshire

KoasterKraver wrote:
allijukes19 wrote:I Totally Agree everything is in preparation for SW8 now, especially the Air enhancements to possibly fit in with the potential theme of the new ride. I think a RMC would be best but I don't think that it is too likely!
Everything is pointing to a cross-valley coaster of some sort now!
*Major Tree clearance behind Rita's first banked turn.
*Small Tree clearance in the valley
*Tree Clarence around the Forbidden Valley
*Possible removal/relocation of The Blade and Ripsaw.
*Refresh and Ripsaw being 'gutted out'
*The Tower thing being refurbished
*Air Enhancements
*New Restaurant in that area!
*Activity on phalanx account
*New scare mazes
And I forgot earlier in the year possible footer markings were seen around The Blade and Ripsaw
User avatar
xylyx
Member
Member
Posts: 424
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:20 am
Location: Chesterfield

Saw them on the tpw March AT blog, are they still there, the markings? Or were they somethhing completely irrelevant?
User avatar
dazza4783
Member
Member
Posts: 375
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Here

GThing64 wrote:
dazza4783 wrote: If it is a Cross Valley coaster, how about one with 2 stations, one in forbidden valley and one in dark forest? Would be a bit more fun way of getting between the 2 areas than the sky ride.
How would you recollect your bags?
Yeh good point, never thought about that.

By the way, Dollywood just announced Lightning Rod, the world's first launched wooden coaster. It launches uphill, sounds alot like what Karnan told us SW8 would be. So as Lightning Rod will not have inversions maybe SW8 will be the World's First Launched Inverting Woodie.
Here is the announcement vid for Lightning Rod.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
Aidan Lowe
Member
Member
Posts: 1778
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:08 am

Apparently someone saw on the Dollywood forum that it does invert, I can't be 100% sure as I haven't read this myself. So in regards to SW8 if it is a woodie/hybrid inverting coaster it'll be a europe first and not world.
Formerly known under username Andy Mc
Post Reply