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The first UK RMC; where will it happen?

Yeah. While I think it's a matter of time before something like a raptor comes to the UK, or maybe even a ground up I-box, I really imagine the social media manager is being mildly humorous and suggesting, "Ok, we're on our way over to help!"
 
Whilst I'm sure everyone here is of the reasonable opinion this is a joke, let's look at the UK parks and see their chances of getting an RMC sometime soon...

Thorpe: Getting a Mack in 2024
Chessington: Getting a B&M in 2023
Towers: Retracking Nemesis
Legoland: Yeah, no.
Blackpool: Get a new coaster once a Blue moon, plus spending out on Valhalla
Paultons: Does an RMC suit the park? Not really. Do the park need another coaster right now? No.
Lightwater Valley: Nope.
Oakwood: You'd have more chance picking up a dog turd by its clean end.

Drayton: Hmmmmmmmmm. Well, they are rumoured to be getting a new coaster next year. The Loopings Group are willing to put the money in. An RMC would fit in the park, and they surely know how much on a draw it would be.
I wouldn't bet on it happening, but the more I think about it, the less I'd be surprised...
 
^Liked for the dog turd gag mainly, but also... a Raptor at Drayton Manor? I would not say no to that at all. Wouldn't even have to be a big'un, just a Railblazer clone would be absolutely fine. Imagine that? An RMC just a 45 minute drive from my house. Wow, I'm nursing a semi just thinking about it.

This is old hat now, but does anyone remember that interview with... it was either Schilke or Grubb? Not sure which now, but whoever it was did say that they'd received some interest from an unspecified UK park. That was about 5 years ago now so probably not relevant anymore, at the time we all thought (hoped) that it was for SW8 but obviously that didn't happen.
I'm not saying that this is the same thing, but it does at the very least demonstrate that the UK industry is aware of who RMC are and what they can do, so there is a glimmer of long term hope I reckon.

As for the tweet, it's probably just RMC's way of saying 'Hey, we've got a sales person actively trying to break into the UK market right now and although they haven't actually closed a deal yet, we're working on it'.
Or something.
 
A world class, modern RMC in Britain? Ha!

We are the type of people to splurge a frankly ridiculous amount of money on a second hand coaster (basically a clone) located half way across the world, ship it over, then take almost 2 years to fully erect it. Then completely repaint it. Oh, and call it something wonderfully creative, like Inversion.

That is the British way and we wouldn’t have it any different.
 
I can imagine the scene at RMC HQ yesterday...

Employee 1: "We haven't got much on today, what shall we do?"
Employee 2: "IKR, so bored lol" ... *switches to sinister tone* "Let's play with the British enthusiasts".

In all seriousness - I can't imagine us being that much on their radar. This has to mean something, surely?
 
Never visited a park in the UK but... RMC did promote their new Family Hybrid model. That one could be a coaster type worth mentioning as an upscale for mid-sized parks, right?
 
JoshC. said:
Paultons: Does an RMC suit the park? Not really. Do the park need another coaster right now? No.
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I'll be honest, I think a smaller scaled RMC hybrid could be in Paultons' future. Either that or a decent woodie is what I believe their next major investment will be, in the west side of the park near Cobra and Edge with that whole area receiving a theme. I would've said a western theme would be great but they've just opened Tornado Springs so that's not gonna happen. For me currently, Paultons is not worth the 5-hour drive alone, however, a decent woodie/thrill coaster would definitely draw me there. But without getting too off-topic, I think an RMC could potentially be in their future and we shouldn't rule it out.
 
Howie said:
This is old hat now, but does anyone remember that interview with... it was either Schilke or Grubb? Not sure which now, but whoever it was did say that they'd received some interest from an unspecified UK park. That was about 5 years ago now so probably not relevant anymore, at the time we all thought (hoped) that it was for SW8 but obviously that didn't happen.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the park submit early plans for a possible wooden attraction in Forbidden Valley shortly before the Smiler incident? I remember at the time that there were rumours it would be a launched RMC woodie, like Lightning Rod but with inversions. Obviously, things changed and the park opted for a more traditional/accessible/reliable woodie on the other side of the park, but that doesn't mean there weren't talks.
 
Georgie-M said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the park submit early plans for a possible wooden attraction in Forbidden Valley shortly before the Smiler incident? I remember at the time that there were rumours it would be a launched RMC woodie, like Lightning Rod but with inversions. Obviously, things changed and the park opted for a more traditional/accessible/reliable woodie on the other side of the park, but that doesn't mean there weren't talks.
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Indeed they did, and while nothing was ever confirmed besides a few very basic stats and the fact it had a “timber truss construction”, it was quite heavily rumoured to be a launched RMC by those in the know. Whatever that ride was was scrapped by Merlin after the Smiler incident in favour of Wicker Man.

In hindsight, I dare say that it’s probably a good thing that didn’t go ahead based on how Lightning Rod turned out reliability-wise… as much as it would have been great to have an RMC at Towers, I don’t think a ride with LRod’s initial reliability would have helped Towers’ cause in attempting to make their rides seem safer and more reliable after the Smiler incident.
 
Matt N said:
Indeed they did, and while nothing was ever confirmed besides a few very basic stats and the fact it had a “timber truss construction”, it was quite heavily rumoured to be a launched RMC by those in the know. Whatever that ride was was scrapped by Merlin after the Smiler incident in favour of Wicker Man.

In hindsight, I dare say that it’s probably a good thing that didn’t go ahead based on how Lightning Rod turned out reliability-wise… as much as it would have been great to have an RMC at Towers, I don’t think a ride with LRod’s initial reliability would have helped Towers’ cause in attempting to make their rides seem safer and more reliable after the Smiler incident.
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Oh absolutely, it may have felt like a missed opportunity from an enthusiast perspective but Wicker Man was definitely what the park needed at the time.

On a somewhat related note, is anyone else wondering if the UK really needs a big RMC anymore? This might be somewhat of a hot take but with the likes of Intamin and even Mack creating layouts with all the banked hills, wave turns and massive stalls you could want, the drawbacks of RMCs designs feel more noticeable than before. These new rides have more reliable launches that can even throw riders back and forth without needing to wait for a slow track switch, they have less complex support structures than wooden and hybrid rides, letting parks do more with less space, and their trains seem way more comfortable and accommodating than the ones designed by RMC.

I'm not suggesting that I'd be opposed to an RMC over here, or even that there isn't a place for their rides anymore, but if I wanted a big thrilling ride there are more options out there now, and a traditional woodie would likely fill a more unique niche if I wanted a ride with a wooden structure. Thorpe Park fans have been wanting an RMC for years but if Exodus did end up being one I can't imagine the discourse surrounding its shortcomings would be too different. If anything, the ride we have feels like a Mack version of Goliath at SFGAm, with its small collection of big imposing elements. The UK may have missed the height of the RMC craze but in the end, we might not end up missing their presence as much as it seems now.
 
Georgie-M said:
Oh absolutely, it may have felt like a missed opportunity from an enthusiast perspective but Wicker Man was definitely what the park needed at the time.

On a somewhat related note, is anyone else wondering if the UK really needs a big RMC anymore? This might be somewhat of a hot take but with the likes of Intamin and even Mack creating layouts with all the banked hills, wave turns and massive stalls you could want, the drawbacks of RMCs designs feel more noticeable than before. These new rides have more reliable launches that can even throw riders back and forth without needing to wait for a slow track switch, they have less complex support structures than wooden and hybrid rides, letting parks do more with less space, and their trains seem way more comfortable and accommodating than the ones designed by RMC.

I'm not suggesting that I'd be opposed to an RMC over here, or even that there isn't a place for their rides anymore, but if I wanted a big thrilling ride there are more options out there now, and a traditional woodie would likely fill a more unique niche if I wanted a ride with a wooden structure. Thorpe Park fans have been wanting an RMC for years but if Exodus did end up being one I can't imagine the discourse surrounding its shortcomings would be too different. If anything, the ride we have feels like a Mack version of Goliath at SFGAm, with its small collection of big imposing elements. The UK may have missed the height of the RMC craze but in the end, we might not end up missing their presence as much as it seems now.
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Personally, I don’t even view Wicker as a missed opportunity, particularly; it might well be in the grand scheme of things, but from a pure fun standpoint, I absolutely love it, and it sits at my #3 spot of 79 coasters ridden!

In terms of your second point; I do get what you mean, to a degree. Personally, with many manufacturers now pursuing a similar style of ride to RMC, I almost reckon “RMC” in the sense that people want could almost be construed as more of a ride following a particular layout style as opposed to solely a ride built by RMC. In that regard, I guess Exodus could almost be satisfying that brief to an extent, although I'll digress that I don't think it appears to have a strong enough emphasis on airtime to be a true RMC-style ride. While I'm sure it will have airtime, it doesn't appear to have any straight airtime hills or even any of those weird airtime-y undulations in the track that some of the less airtime-y RMCs have (I'm thinking of things like Iron Gwazi's ending here), so while I'll of course reserve judgement on Exodus, I don't think it'll be an airtime machine as such based on what we currently know. I'm sure it'll have more airtime than most, if not all, other UK coasters, but I don't personally see it being an airtime machine per se; I instead see airtime being sprinkled in there as a side dish with other sensations taking centre stage, like hangtime and big, sustained inversions.

But getting back to your point; I do agree to an extent that I don't think the UK necessarily needs an RMC. I think we'd still feel their influence and style through other rides (which I'd say Exodus is the beginning of to an extent).
 
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