Matt N
CF Legend
Hi guys. In recent years, like-for-like retracks as a concept seem to have gained considerable popularity. Before the mid-2010s or so, they were a mostly alien concept on steel coasters in particular, but ever since the Incredible Hulk at Islands of Adventure got retracked for the 2016 season, the idea of like-for-like retracking on coasters became far more engrained in the conscious of the theme park industry. Since then, the idea has taken off considerably, and not just among Disney and Universal; there have been a number of rides in parks that have lower budgets to work with that have been retracked like-for-like in recent years. For instance, the likes of Eurosat at Europa Park, Python at Efteling, Shaman at Gardaland and Colossos at Heide Park have been retracked like-for-like in recent years, and Nemesis at Alton Towers is currently in the process of being retracked.
With more and more rides being retracked and given a new lease of life as of late, it does beg the question; could like-for-like retracks of coasters ever eclipse coaster removals? In many cases, could preserving existing rides and giving them another lease of life become more common than removing rides?
I know that retracking is still a relatively uncommon phenomenon at present, but with even rides like the conventional Vekoma/Arrow looping coasters receiving retracks as of late, not to mention the rides that are receiving more piecemeal retracking work like The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it does make me wonder whether retracking will become a more common path moving forward, possibly even more common than coaster removals.
Personally, I think that coaster removals will always be a thing. For progress to happen, removals will always need to happen, and some smaller parks likely can’t make the business case for retracks. However, I do think that retracks could possibly become more common and removals could become less common. I feel that this could be exacerbated by the fact that coasters are arguably aging more slowly from a reviews standpoint than they used to.
For instance, Nemesis V1 and Corkscrew at Alton Towers were both 28 years old when they closed. It seems as though most who were around in 2008 agree that Corkscrew aged a fair bit more quickly than Nemesis did. I get the impression that while iconic, Corkscrew just didn’t stand up to the newer rides reviews-wise and felt inherently dated by the time it closed, whereas Nemesis V1 was still many people’s favourite on park when it closed. Even away from Alton Towers, it does seem as though older coasters are generally better at holding their own against the newer rides than they were in the past, and I do think that that could potentially result in more retracks and less removals in the years to come.
But what do you think? Do you think that like-for-like retracks will ever eclipse removals, or do you think that they will remain a rare phenomenon, with removals still being the typical path taken?
With more and more rides being retracked and given a new lease of life as of late, it does beg the question; could like-for-like retracks of coasters ever eclipse coaster removals? In many cases, could preserving existing rides and giving them another lease of life become more common than removing rides?
I know that retracking is still a relatively uncommon phenomenon at present, but with even rides like the conventional Vekoma/Arrow looping coasters receiving retracks as of late, not to mention the rides that are receiving more piecemeal retracking work like The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it does make me wonder whether retracking will become a more common path moving forward, possibly even more common than coaster removals.
Personally, I think that coaster removals will always be a thing. For progress to happen, removals will always need to happen, and some smaller parks likely can’t make the business case for retracks. However, I do think that retracks could possibly become more common and removals could become less common. I feel that this could be exacerbated by the fact that coasters are arguably aging more slowly from a reviews standpoint than they used to.
For instance, Nemesis V1 and Corkscrew at Alton Towers were both 28 years old when they closed. It seems as though most who were around in 2008 agree that Corkscrew aged a fair bit more quickly than Nemesis did. I get the impression that while iconic, Corkscrew just didn’t stand up to the newer rides reviews-wise and felt inherently dated by the time it closed, whereas Nemesis V1 was still many people’s favourite on park when it closed. Even away from Alton Towers, it does seem as though older coasters are generally better at holding their own against the newer rides than they were in the past, and I do think that that could potentially result in more retracks and less removals in the years to come.
But what do you think? Do you think that like-for-like retracks will ever eclipse removals, or do you think that they will remain a rare phenomenon, with removals still being the typical path taken?
