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Accident at Lightwater Valley

Heritage GB, a private company, ran it on behalf of the second owners two decades ago.
Been another owner, and two operators since.
Keep up Matt!
 
Matt N said:
I’ve got an idea; is it possible that the Ultimate could survive as a stand-alone coaster, even if the rest of the park doesn’t?

Besides, I thought English Heritage owned the park? They can’t be too short of money, so maybe they could keep it going?
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The standalone coaster thing isn't going to happen. It can work with coasters that are in areas with a lot of footfall, so people might give it a go since they're there anyway, but The Ultimate doesn't have that luxury; you're either going to Lightwater, or you're not.

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One thing I find strange about Lightwater Valley is that they seemingly don’t push the Ultimate very much in their marketing. Would I be right in saying that it massively outweighs everything else there in terms of scale?

With that in mind, it always surprises me that they don’t talk about it that much. If this were a Merlin park, they’d be marketing that they had Europe’s longest coaster like crazy!
 
Matt N said:
One thing I find strange about Lightwater Valley is that they seemingly don’t push the Ultimate very much in their marketing. Would I be right in saying that it massively outweighs everything else there in terms of scale?

With that in mind, it always surprises me that they don’t talk about it that much. If this were a Merlin park, they’d be marketing that they had Europe’s longest coaster like crazy!
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They used to back in the mid-90s when it was new. They were very much level pegging with Flamingoland back then, at least in terms of advertising and brand recognition around the North East.

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gavin said:
They used to back in the mid-90s when it was new. They were very much level pegging with Flamingoland back then, at least in terms of advertising and brand recognition around the North East.

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I wonder what happened? Why did Flamingoland grow so (relatively speaking) successful, while Lightwater just sort of didn’t do an awful lot after building the Ultimate?

It always surprises me that the Ultimate wasn’t more successful for Lightwater, I must admit.
 
Matt N said:
I wonder what happened? Why did Flamingoland grow so (relatively speaking) successful, while Lightwater just sort of didn’t do an awful lot after building the Ultimate?

It always surprises me that the Ultimate wasn’t more successful for Lightwater, I must admit.
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Accessibility and, more importantly I think, the holiday park.

Flamingoland is day-trip material for quite a few major towns and cities. Lightwater is, too, but has never really offered as much (a lot more rides at Flamingoland, constant new additions, the zoo etc.)

Flamingoland is also closer to the coast, so gets a lot of day visitors holidaying in Scarborough, Whitby, Bridlington etc.

The holiday park makes it attractive for those from further afield (lots of families from Scotland) and also has a very loyal customer base who return every year for a week or more.

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The park ended up in so much debt finishing the ride they didn't have any funds to invest in further attractions...repeat selling on and new management agents meant a slow drift into under investment.
The promised accommodation never happened, despite planning consent.
Mingo stayed in the same family and has a successful camp/van site.
 
rob666 said:
Heritage GB, a private company, ran it on behalf of the second owners two decades ago.
Been another owner, and two operators since.
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Makes me wonder what strategy each new owner barged in with and how well they committed to it. It's clear that the place needs some work, which means some significant investment, not just re-shuffling the same cards around and hoping they will somehow turn into a better hand. If someone takes over without bringing something new to the park, it will fall back into the same old situation, only with everything having aged a few years closer to its expiry date in the meantime.
 
I wanna see a company with enough money to pay off any debts, etc. Then, still have lots to invest in. Or, the best way forward is a chainwide company (Merlin Entertainments, Looping Group, etc.) take over that park and get it into one of the best family days out in the UK, with new themed areas, new rides, new coasters and a modern family branding campaign
 
Coaster Chall YouTube said:
I wanna see a company with enough money to pay off any debts, etc. Then, still have lots to invest in. Or, the best way forward is a chainwide company (Merlin Entertainments, Looping Group, etc.) take over that park and get it into one of the best family days out in the UK, with new themed areas, new rides, new coasters and a modern family branding campaign
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Is that all? They should've said, those companies are ten a penny \s :p

The trouble with another company swooping in to buy them is that there's not really a track record of making money. Breaking even isn't enough, especially if they've had to cut things right back to get where they are now. Is there anything left for a new owner to cut and still have a product to sell?

What's the council like to deal with? Was it a shortage of funds, or hostile planners that stopped the holiday village?

I wonder if keeping the ultimate and raptor attack closed was to try and keep a bit of cash back for this fine?
 
Dar said:
Is that all? They should've said, those companies are ten a penny \s :p

The trouble with another company swooping in to buy them is that there's not really a track record of making money. Breaking even isn't enough, especially if they've had to cut things right back to get where they are now. Is there anything left for a new owner to cut and still have a product to sell?

What's the council like to deal with? Was it a shortage of funds, or hostile planners that stopped the holiday village?

I wonder if keeping the ultimate and raptor attack closed was to try and keep a bit of cash back for this fine?
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Tbf those are all questions I'd love and everyone else would love answered
 
It was shortage of funds that killed the holiday village, first stage planning consent was given...then they killed the Pub in the Wood and dodgems, for nothing.
They didn't have the money to run the big coasters with such a short season.
They make their money in school trip season, two seasons will be missed probably.
 
I have a question; how on Earth did they manage to build the Ultimate in the first place, given that the park has always been quite a small-scale venture, from what I can tell?

I must admit, looking through the history books of LWV, The Ultimate seems like an utterly bizarre addition in comparison to both what came before it and what came after it. It almost feels like 1991 was a bit of a fluke, with both the years before and the years after mostly carrying similar small-scale, family-focused additions.
 
Heard a rumour that they are going to close all the thrill rides for good (so the ultimate, raptor attack etc) and focus on family attractions from now on. If they can survive that payout I guess.

Whatever they decide to do I honestly can't see the ultimate re-opening now. I think it's had it's last ride, which is sad.
 
SilverArrow said:
Heard a rumour that they are going to close all the thrill rides for good (so the ultimate, raptor attack etc) and focus on family attractions from now on. If they can survive that payout I guess.

Whatever they decide to do I honestly can't see the ultimate re-opening now. I think it's had it's last ride, which is sad.
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If that is the way forward, then fairs. Relocate Raptor Attack to another UK park, Ultimate becomes a listed ride and they go down that route that is a slightly more thrilling Sundown Adventureland
 
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