Which SW coaster do you think will be removed first

Got an idea of how the Alton Towers Resort may develop over the coming seasons? Discuss it here.

Which SW coaster will be moved first

Nemesis
11
7%
Oblivion
35
22%
Air
63
39%
13
36
23%
Smiler
15
9%
 
Total votes: 160
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Themeparksandy1981
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I read topics about the future of all 5 coasters and most know Rita and Spinball will be removed before any of theses go but which SW coaster do u think will be removed first.

1) Nemesis it maybe 21 years old but is still rated the top coaster in the uk and in the top 20 worldwide

2) Oblivion it maybe just a drop but still puts the fear into new riders. It still packs a punch and I rate it higher than the coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa.

3) Air now I feel this is the weakest of the SW coasters and the 1 I feel will be the 1st to go. It's lost it's spark and now I just feel rough after I go on this after friends and partner wanted to ride it. I won't be sad to see it go.

4) 13 On the first year on riding I thought this was a very poor coaster but every season it seems to get better and better and it's good from start to finish now.

5) The Smiler I only been on this coaster 3 times and I think it's a good coaster but not in the same class as Nemesis. It seems after only 2 seasons it needs a lot of TLC already during the close season.
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Owen
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It's a hard one, Nemesis is a B&M so won't go for awhile, and it would be a annoyance to deal with the pit. Same goes for Oblivion, Air can be temperamental but it's still the only one of its kind in the UK. 13 is a perfect family coaster, and let's face it, The Smiler is Merlins baby atm so that won't be going for a long while!
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Aidan Lowe
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Air for sure. Tame and relatively an uncomfortable position to ride a coaster. Ace when it first opened but as you can see from other flying coasters the first couple of years after Air they were quite popular with parks, now, not so much. Time for it to go and that space something fresh in its place.
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NemesisRider
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I'd have to say Air.

The only real reason for this is the fact Air is not considered as much of a classic as Nemesis or Oblivion, and wouldn't be removed before a ride 8 years younger.

However, I love Air myself and always get a rush after every ride. It's refreshing to try a ride more focused on sensations and it juxtaposes Nemmy well.
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Jack
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As much as I enjoy Air, I think it will be the first to go. The popularity of the ride is declining rapidly and it is by far the cheapest to remove/replace. :)
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Dom
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I personally don't want any of these to go, (Yes even The Smiler. It means my promise won't have to be fulfilled too soon), But if i had to guess i would probably say Air too. I hate to say it as it is a coaster i enjoy riding. It covers quite a large area when you think about it and by its removal you could easily get 3 maybe even for flats in its space. Plus with the constant rumours of places to place a new coaster, most being the air car park, it seems likely that it could be removed for something even bigger.
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stealthsmiler
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Air, Ive heard so many people say it is too slow and is the most boring out of all of them. I would love another flyer in its place (launched) that has a better layout though. Maybe Merlin would move it to another park when its time for one to leave, as it is the only one in the country.
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nemefan08
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I voted oblivion. The reason is that it is the most dated out of all the rides. It will be a while before it goes and like the others it is a great ride but like the corkscrew in its last few years it seems to be fading into the distance. Air always draws a crowd so I can't see that leaving. And the others are all still to new or timeless so oblivion is (for me) the logical choice.
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Air15
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I think Air would be the 1st SW to be removed because its the least thrilling of the SW's and that it covers a large area as well which would be useful for a few new flats to fit in and to open up space to the air car park to fit in a SW that would take Airs place. Air is actually my favourite SW for so many good reason: I feel that its quite comfortable, its a total different experience than the other rides on the park but the only thing that I don't like is that it feels to short and I would be quite sad to see it be removed but I don't think an SW will be removed for 4-6 years at least.
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Sentri558
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Nemesis-
Merlin does this and they have to deal with that giant pit as well as a bunch of angry enthusiasts/Nemmy lovers. Overall, a 21 year old ride, it would appear they would remove it first. WRONG. They just started to do some renovations/safety stuff to it. She's staying for a good 5-12 years at least.

Oblivion-
Kind of a lackluster ride, but because of how well integrated it is under the ground (and small too) I'm fairly certain it's gonna stick for a good decade.

Air-
Not going to comment here because I just can't say that air is leaving. Love this ride so much and would be VERY saddened to see it leave. It's the only ride my mother will do, meaning when she comes to AT (which is rare, we live off UK) she would be trapped drinking coffee.

Th13teen-
She's only 6 years old, and people are only just now saying it's a good ride. A re-release may be in order, but she's staying for a while. Would be easy to remove though.

The Smiler-
I don't need to explain this one. It's like 2 years old.
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tallicay2k
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I've said Air due to the fact it's not rooted in its place.
Oblivion has the hole, nemesis has the pit, Smiler, well as stated above its merlins money maker ATM. 13 makes DF.

Plus it's boring and can never understand why the queues are so long for it.
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TheBeast
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It doesnt have great throughtput, and the highest ive ever seen the queue is 20 mins (off peak, obvs on peak times/days it will get higher)
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CorkyForever
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Haven't ridden the smiler or thirteen (or been to the park for a few years) but my vote goes for either thirteen or the smiler due to the fact that I think B&Ms hold up better than other coasters over time. Thirteen has lots of technology that could go wrong which may in time prove costly to fix and the smiler has already shown signs of being a problematic coaster to maintain.
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TheBeast
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Despite being slightly problematic, I think once they sort the Smiler it will be a constant crowd pleaser, so they don't need to remove it. Tbh I expect they will remove Nemesis before they remove the Smiler
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Sentri558
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While I believe you're entitled to your own opinion, let's get real here:
If something is being removed, it's either the RMC (but it's a family pleaser), Rita (another crowd pleaser. No idea why, it's so bland.) or *sobs* Air.

It wont be Nemesis because they've just done it up a bit + pit
It's not Th13teen because they want to say they have the worlds first vert drop coaster.
Not gonna be blivvy because world first + hole
The Smiler isn't going any time soon. They literally just built it in 2013 and it was £18mil. If they remove The Smiler as the first coaster to go, I'll eat a sock. Like, the entire sock.
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stealthsmiler
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Why does everyone one keep saying it wont be Nemesis. The question is which do you think will be the first to go, not which do you think will be the first to go in the next 5 years. Yes they have just done it up, yes it is a great coaster and yes it is a B&M, however all of the SWs could last another 10 years at least, the first to go may be way off into the future when Nemesis will no longer be just done up, will be a lot older, may have lost its popularity (due to everyone riding it a million times before) and may have developed faults due to its age.

At the moment Nemesis has the fact it is the oldest against it (something that will never change) and also the fact that it inst a unique coaster type to the UK or record holder, like 13 and The Smiler.

I do think Air will be the first to go (Rita before that), its just that people seem to always make excuses for Nemesis, and even though I think Air will be the first to go, I also think all three of the B&Ms will be the first to go - hopefully to be replaced by more B&Ms. I also think AT will expand into the car parks before removing an SWs, and maybe do the cross valley coaster (although I hope they dont, because even though Im all for a new coaster, I dont think the gardens should suffer at the hands of one - I like the peace and escapism feel the gardens have).
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Aidan Lowe
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stealthsmiler wrote:and also the fact that it inst a unique coaster type to the UK or record holder, like 13 and The Smiler.
Being unique doesn't make a ride good, Nemesis is yet to be beaten at AT in my eyes. The setting, its layout and just pace and forcefulness makes it what it is and unfortunately the GP are all about gimmicks as much as Merlin/Alton themselves.
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Themeparksandy1981
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Sentri558 wrote:While I believe you're entitled to your own opinion, let's get real here:
If something is being removed, it's either the RMC (but it's a family pleaser), Rita (another crowd pleaser. No idea why, it's so bland.) or *sobs* Air.

It wont be Nemesis because they've just done it up a bit + pit
It's not Th13teen because they want to say they have the worlds first vert drop coaster.
Not gonna be blivvy because world first + hole
The Smiler isn't going any time soon. They literally just built it in 2013 and it was £18mil. If they remove The Smiler as the first coaster to go, I'll eat a sock. Like, the entire sock.
That's why I said SW coaster's as it's the coasters which gets more guests visiting. I wouldn't be sad to see the Runaway Mine Train,Spinball and Rita leave before theses as long as they replaced with better coasters.
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AvidPenguin
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Let's go through each one, one at a a time:

Nemesis

It may be 21 years old, but let's look at the bigger picture. Drayton. Shockwave is by far the least maintained out of the 3 '94 coasters (If you don't know the third, you may as well leave the forum). Also, Nemesis is a B&M. It's not rough, it's still got that amazing throughput, the theming is still decent. Granted, it has it's bad days where it leaks rusty water onto the riders, but aside from that, it doesn't really have any problems. Most people rate it as their #1 UK coaster, and #1 Worldwide Invert, so it's obviously special. Although with the removal of the SRQ, it's gone down in my rankings...

Oblivion

Alright, it's just a simple dive machine that's not vertical, but logically, removing it would be a silly idea. The area around X-Sector would just look so out of place, with a massive tunnel going through it. Removal is not justifiable, especially not yet. Even later on, I can see it being SBNO until they get a replacement for the tunnel, but I highly doubt it'll be going soon. Easily has another 10 years in it imo.

Air

I voted for Air to go simply through process of elimination. If it dissapeared, it wouldn't have too much of an effect on the landscape, just the two tunnels, which can easily be modified into something else. I feel like Air ruins Forbidden Valley as the theme doesn't fit. As for the ride itself, it's prone to issues. It's also quite slow and boring in my opinion, and now that Hero has opened at Flamingo Land, it's not the only type in the UK. Please ignore how bad Hero is.

Th13teen

When they got rid of Corkscrew to make way for Th13teen, they re-themed Ug Land. Removing Th13teen is just a stupid idea, especially because it takes up no visible room and does eat up a queue if ran well. Dark Forest doesn't need less rides, it needs more. Get a flat ride in there, or two. Don't remove the USP for the area, that's just poppycock.

The Smiler

Whilst I'm not a fan of the ride, removing it would be one of the stupidest ideas I've ever seen, on par with The Ultimate opening with OTSRs. It's what draws people to the park, and it's a world record holder. Now, as much as I dislike the experience, it's a HUGE hit with the GP. The branding is excellent and to this day, probably generates more income via merchandise than the other rides put together... (I said probably, don't be attacking me with figures and stuff). But in all seriousness, it's not going yet, or for a while. It'll continue laughing for many years to come, and who knows, maybe it'll outlive the B&Ms. I doubt that though...
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mark_h
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On the current park map Nemesis is far larger and more noticeable than Air (despite Air having the larger footprint). Oblivion is given a fair amount of prominence on the map (considering how simple its layout is). This may give some incite into how the marketing department see the rides.

As to which ride is removed first it will be based on the cost of operation/maintenance, customer satisfaction/marketing potential and what else could fit in the same space.
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