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Heide Park Colossos retracking (2019)

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
I have no problem with them tearing it down if they invest in a replacement that is on par with Colossos or better. Something like a DC Rivals-esk hyper coaster would be cool.
 

Pear

Strata Poster
I have no problem with them tearing it down if they invest in a replacement that is on par with Colossos or better. Something like a DC Rivals-esk hyper coaster would be cool.
Hahaha it's Merlin we're talking about here. They'll probably get a family GCI themed to the Walking Dead or something at this point.
 

Peet

Giga Poster
Is there a reason nobody is talking about RMC here? Surely that would be a good option, I love Colossos but I would also love to see Europe's first RMC hybrid!
 

spicy

Giga Poster
With all the cost cutting that’s going on at Merlin at the moment I really can’t see them paying for this.

If they do decide to repair it can almost guarantee there will be some kind of gimmick/retheme when it reopens so they can market as a “new” attraction.
 

Will

Strata Poster
I don't see them doing a post like that if they were going to scrap it. They'd try and sweep it under the carpet as much as they could.
I've been assured it's going nowhere (too lazy to find the post, but I'll give Jordan the benefit of the doubt on this one) but I'll still be a lot happier once we've confirmed it's not at risk of the RMC treatment.
 

JoshC.

Strata Poster
I'm of similar thinking to Will on this. If they're scraping it or genuinely unsure on whether it's staying, it seems weird from a business sense to say 'we're waiting to hear if the guys above us will give us the money'. Especially given that Merlin are usually rather discrete about those things and their current situation as a whole is less than favourable, having parks openly saying those things wouldn't be a smart move. Maybe they are just going for a completely transparent approach, but after 16 months of practical silence? Would be odd.

Still haven't visited Heide Park, so obviously want it to reopen so I can get the cred. But at the same time, I'm not sure how I'd feel if they spent the money saving it over getting something completely new which might be better.
 

Zek_Teh_Kek

Hyper Poster
I know this is probably very unlikely, but maybe they could keep the layout, and keep it wooden by just putting RMC topper track on, and then putting RMC trains on?
Very VERRRY unlikely, though.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I don't see them doing a post like that if they were going to scrap it. They'd try and sweep it under the carpet as much as they could.

This is just wild and totally unfounded speculation, but could it be that it's actually the other way around? That Heide is negotiating with Merlin centrally about fitting a renovation of Colossus into the budget, and released this video to put Merlin into a corner? Telling the public that the fate of the coaster is up in the air in a way to weigh the scales? It'd be a dirty tactic, but if Merlin is willing to provide a comparable sum to scrap the coaster and build a kiddy land or something like that instead, maybe Heide's administration would try to find ways to allocate it to save their star attraction.

Or maybe they're using the video to say something along the lines of "Guys... look how broken this is. It'd be far too expensive to fix it, and we have other things we'd like to spend money on. Bear with us...".

I can see this swinging either way, actually.
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
It's not an unheard of press strategy. It was common in F1 for press releases like "We're thinking of removing our contract with your favourite beloved circuit*"

*Unless they give me more money, nudge nudge
 

Lofty

CF Legend
This is just wild and totally unfounded speculation, but could it be that it's actually the other way around? That Heide is negotiating with Merlin centrally about fitting a renovation of Colossus into the budget, and released this video to put Merlin into a corner? Telling the public that the fate of the coaster is up in the air in a way to weigh the scales? It'd be a dirty tactic, but if Merlin is willing to provide a comparable sum to scrap the coaster and build a kiddy land or something like that instead, maybe Heide's administration would try to find ways to allocate it to save their star attraction.

Or maybe they're using the video to say something along the lines of "Guys... look how broken this is. It'd be far too expensive to fix it, and we have other things we'd like to spend money on. Bear with us...".

I can see this swinging either way, actually.
I have a feeling it's the latter.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Scrapping one of Europe's best woodies is unthinkable to be honest. I don't care how much they've ****ed up maintenance, fix what you broke ****ers.
Even if it was RMC'd, I'd still be extremely mad at Merlin for allowing this to happen in the first place, RMC being involved would soften the blow slightly but come on, they need to hung drawn and quartered if they don't fix it properly.
 

CSLKennyNI

Giga Poster
Is there a reason nobody is talking about RMC here? Surely that would be a good option, I love Colossos but I would also love to see Europe's first RMC hybrid!

Twisted Colossos?
If the cost of RMCing was around about the same as repairing it perhaps Merlin would go for it. It would allow them to advertise it as a new attraction with a USP.
Could be an exciting prospect but then again I'd be disappointed to have missed out on ridding the original. And it seems a bit of shame to convert an already great coaster.

Either way given that no work has taken place, and allegedly no decision has been made yet I wonder when Colossos will reopen (if it does). The video made a point of mentioning that repairs of such rides can take 2 to 3 years (perhaps preparing the public for a long wait). 2019? 2020?
 
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Georgie-M

Mega Poster
I'd be down for that, if only because it'd be the second tallest RMC after Steel Vengeance and if Merlin work well with RMC they might consider building another coaster with them.. :emoji_eyes:
That said the fact that such a fab coaster has to meet a fate like this is a damn shame.. the plug and play aspect was supposed to make them easier to build right? I had assumed that meant they were easier to maintain too but if they have to completely retrack the whole thing that might not be the case, especially since they have to have the wood specially cut rather than DIYing it.. then again, it could just be Merlin being Merlin.
 
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