Lightwater Valley Big Ride Coming Soon?

[Waffleman]

I visited Lightwater Valley today. I had a great time and I'm still in pain from five rides on The Ultimate. We exited the park at about 6:00 and found a questionnaire on the car windscreen. Inside, among several other questions, was this one, which really grabbed my attention.

"Which of the following rides do you think would benefit Lightwater Valley the most?
A launching coaster (Like Rita-Queen of Speed at Alton Towers)
An inverted coaster (Like Infusion at Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
A drop tower (Like Apocolypse at Drayton Manor)
A spinning coaster (Like Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers)"

Those were the actual answers with the actual examples that Lightwater Valley used. I may be looking too deeply into it or are Lightwater Valley really considering a big attraction sometime soon?

 

[Ali]

It must be on there mind, otherwise they wouldn't be asking the GP. I think they would most likely, out of the choices given I think that Rita will get the most votes as that gets a lot of hype and is probably the most advertised coaster at Alton so the GP will know it the most. Great find btw!

 

[jokerman]

They certainly need something big soon. Are those the only things they are considering.

Launches are very expensive, and don't seem like the sort of thing that would fit at LWV.

An inverted might be OK, but they would then be competing with Flamingoland if I'm not mistaken.

A drop tower isn't enough to push them forward and draw people in, although they can look imposing. It isn't a compelling enough reason for people to visit.

Spinning coasters have to have a good layout in order not to be just as boring as, say, a wild mouse. If they look bad, they make a park look shabby and tacky.

I don't think any of those fit in at LWV. Having said that, I really can't think of anything that would fit.

 

[Ormerod]

I don't really think they will invest that soon, but it is good that the park are surverying their customers. It really pays off to know customer needs. Despite this, I know that Ultimate is getting work done soon.

 

[Waffleman]

I don't really think they will invest that soon, but it is good that the park are surverying their customers. It really pays off to know customer needs. Despite this, I know that Ultimate is getting work done soon.

I heard that The Ultimate is getting work done, and becoming the worlds longest rollercoaster once again, i didn't think that anything was confirmed, though. Personally, I don't think that they will get a "Spinball Whizzer" type ride as the park already has a Spinning Wild Mouse and it seems kind of strange to get enother rollercoaster which spins, despite the two being very different. I also think that, unless they plan to launch at a record breaking speed, getting a launched coaster wouldn't be a good investment. As Flamingoland (which is very nearby) has a launching coaster, as does Alton Towers, probably the UK's most popular theme park. So that leaves an inverted coaster (which sounds to me like an SLC, cheap and cheerful) or a lrge drop tower. I think that a drop tower would be very marketable if it was taller than apocolypse. Then it could brag tallest of it's type in the UK. And, despite an SLC being exactly what BPB have, I think that if LWV were to get an inverted coaster, it would be one of those, which wouldn't be very marketable against Blackpool's of the exact same design. Overall, as you may be able to tell, I lean towards the drop tower option. But obviously that is just my personal opinion.

 

[Ormerod]

It's confirmed Ultimate work is being done, not that it is being extended, although the rumour stands strong, and seems possible. But it's just a rumour.

If I am being realistic, I don't see any of these coasters coming anytime soon, it could be possible but I just can't see Lightwater pulling off an investment like that at the moment. They might be doing this for future reference.

 

[Anonymous]

Just a theory but what if they got Knightmare from Camelot.

Maybe they may get some sort of suspended most probobly an SLC.

A launched coaster not sure if it would fit in unless its a motocycle style.

A spinner do they need a spinner if they have a wild mouse with spin.

Not sure if a drop tower would get more people in the place.

 

[marc]

They should get a coaster like Lynet tbh would get people there.

I would love them to get a Mega Lite but they wont have the money for that.

 

[Waffleman]

I would love them to get a Mega Lite but they wont have the money for that.

Luckily for us, Alton Towers do have enough money for that!

In reply to kitsune I don't think that they will buy Knightmare. There's nothing overly special about it and I think that the park are very interested in something that will bring people in, rather than another normal rollercoaster. Though I did hear that they are keeping a close eye on it, so it could happen. Who knows?

Also, I agree with Ormerod on that this research is for future use. I think that most independant theme parks are trying to survive in the current economic climate rather than thrive. So this research will probably be saved for a time when large investments seem more appropriate. Hopefully, seeing as everybody keeps saying british tourist destinations will do well this year as people are going on british holidays, Lightwater Valley will get lots of money this year and they may surprise us!

 

[Ormerod]

In response to what you last said, people have it on their minds that Britain will do well on a whole. No, thats false, it is just particular British destinations that will suceed, the rest will suffer radically as tourism has been for a while now.

 

[Emmett]

Maybe due to the success of Flamingoland locally with the addition of Mumbo Jumbo, they are worried about losing out in figures with people opting to visit there instead and by adding a new attraction may help this. They really do need something new to attract people back again and again.

Regarding the ride options, I remember hearing a rumour they were going for Whirlwind from Camelot. So that may be the spinning coaster option.

 

[oriolat2]

They should get a coaster like Lynet tbh would get people there.

I think that would be the best option since this launcher seems to be reliable and cheaper if you compare it to the Intamin model. Plus, Lightwater could get a model WITH inversions (none of the parks nearby have a launcher with inversions so that would be a draw).

I hope this park gets something big in the future. It has a HUGE space to develop and it really has potential to be a great park.

 

[Ian]

As long as they don't opt for a spinning coaster, this will be great news!

I would love to see them invest. LWV is the only park in the UK that has not had any significant investment for many years.

Something to certainly keep an eye on.

 

[Anonymous]

This is my first post :--D I was wondering if they couldn't afford a launcher, why would they ask if it suited? Doesn't make sense to me, they must know it's within their price range.

 

[Inverse]

I'd think that the options on the question would all be calculated so that they can afford it. Note that the inverted coaster is like Infusion, a Vekoma not the more expensive B&M. However I think the Launch wouldn't be an Intamin.

This possibly means that if someone on the boards knows roughly how much these rides are likely to cost we could work out what their budget is... potentially.

I would opt for a launch coaster myself, and i would think they mean a Gerstlauer, like Lynet, due to costs. I feel a launch would capture the public's attention more and it'd be a great addition to the park.

 

[Anonymous]

I found a site that has some coasters for sale not sure if its relivant.


http://www.italintl.com/category.php?ca ... 20Coasters

I think a 2ND hand SLC is something in the Reagon of £2mil-4mil depending on age condition where on the planet it is and if its had any "new" additions.

Not sure on what a new SLC costs.


Wouldn't a 2ND hand over 7 years old B&M suspended coaster be a good option. It could be up to 50% more in cost but its a bit of a better ride to an SLC. But Going off what i found 3 years ago that's about £5,000,000 +

 

[Mackem Lad]

None of the above, or at least "potential new large ride", were included in the recent 5 year plan, so I wouldn't expect any of the above options to be appearing at the park any time soon.

Having said that I do know Mark Bainbridge, GM, would like to see a launch coaster at Lightwater Valley some time in the future whilst the ops manager apparently would like to see an identical ride to Apocalypse at the park. So it comes as no surprise that these two were included in the options.

They'll probably be banking on raising funds for any new large ride from the proposed extension of The Ultimate which is still at the feasibility planning stage.

 

[Dave]

I found a site that has some coasters for sale not sure if its relivant.


http://www.italintl.com/category.php?ca ... 20Coasters

I think a 2ND hand SLC is something in the Reagon of £2mil-4mil depending on age condition where on the planet it is and if its had any "new" additions.

Not sure on what a new SLC costs.


Wouldn't a 2ND hand over 7 years old B&M suspended coaster be a good option. It could be up to 50% more in cost but its a bit of a better ride to an SLC. But Going off what i found 3 years ago that's about £5,000,000 +

No one is selling a second hand B&M, that got snapped up by Walygator.

 

[Pierre]

Over the past few years LWV has invested in a big wheel, some second hand rides from Southport (one of which never works) and a travelling rapids, its not something thats going to keep pulling visitors (although the rapids look fun!) so they need to sort something out.

 

[Mackem Lad]

^As much as you would think that, that couldn't be further from the truth.

LWV are currently enjoying one of their best seasons for a long long time.

They got over 4500 visitors on both Wednesday and Thursday this week, which is the same amount of visitors they'd expect on a Bank Holiday.

It's fair to say management are rubbing their hands together with glee at the moment.