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Thirteen, Intamin ''psychoaster'' - Alton Towers 2010

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It doesn't really surprise me anymore with all the crazy PR stunts that have been doing the rounds this year.

Its a smart move because anyone who does a search for X-Factor will probably come across this article too.
 
Just sounds utter ridicule to me. I can't see how it's going to help publicity; just sounds like some corny attempt to excite enthusiasts and younger followers for whats in store. I couldn't care less in all fairness, I'm just awaiting the opening, so I can ride it, and then give my own personal view on it. I'm not letting hype destroy my expectations, as with a certain coaster that springs to mind, having me sawing my own virtual leg off just to enter a competition...

I like family-friendly rides, and I'm a big fan of Disney's coasters (not afraid to say BTM hits my top 10) as they seem more enjoyable with others and always seem to be unique in some respects. So fairly high hopes for SW6! :)
 
I can't see how it's going to help publicity

anyone who does a search for X-Factor will probably come across this article

That answer your question?

I think it's some clever PR. X-Factor is is a huge media machine, not gettin a slice of it would be stupid!
 
The clue is in the name X-Factor. This is clearly a 'sequel' ride to X: No Way Out. As the backwards section is at the end of SW6, it's possible that this is infact a prequel to the Thorpe Park great.
 
^Haha, very well stated in a sarcastic way! That's actually believable; and if you want to go into franchises imagine Xbox: The Ride, the reliability would be horrendous! Didn't Microsoft use Wraiths in relation to the Xbox in some adverts? I'm not saying it's going to happen, it's little more intended than a joke :)
 
Haha next they'll be telling us they've contacted spirits during a seance on the roof of the ride and get the local vicar called Fanalton in to check it out. :p
 
Personally I think the idea of using something that is likely to crop up on a google search that may also lead to more hype on the coaster is incredibly good marketing. Something that Merlin is getting very profficient in doing.

It's the backing all the hype up that seems to be an issue. Either way I do kinda like the look of the ride, or what little we can see of it. Alton are normally very good at this kind of thing so at least we have every reason to be optimistic!
 
I think the hype generally lies on enthusiast grounds. Nobody outside of the community that I speak to, or know of has heard anything about a new ride at Alton Towers.
 
yea i was thinking that /\ how on earth will a family coaster cost that much? unless its all the money they payed the locals so they would let them build it!
 
I wonder is that £15m is for the removal of the Corky, land clear and planning permission as well as the ride.

Saw cost £12m and that included the landfill.
 
Landscaping, material construction, material transport, theming, sourcing outside company to build it, yada yada yada...

Lots of things contribue to construction costs... Not just the track, and Intamin aren't exactly the cheapest company to go with are they?
 
^^Considering this is £2m MORE than Intimidator 305 (and Kingda Ka, for the record), I'd say this is a British phenomenom. The bureaucratic process slows coaster building down to a slow crawl, and people still crave to be paid during said process. Also, all sorts of permits have to be obtained, and asking for those in the correct way also requires a lot of resources.

Now imagine what an Intamin Hyper would cost. You could probably buy the moon for that amount of money.

^For the record, Diamondback was $22 000 000. Or £ 11 mill. On the other hand, Kawasemi, a coaster of similar size and concept and built over an <img> lake they needed to dry first, cost about those 15 millions. USD. Half as much as Alton pours into this.
 
Aren't the US coasters actually produced in the US though? So everything is essentially "local". I don't know how much exchange rates make a difference, but we will have to pay more to pay for the steel production and manufacturing over in Switzerland. Then we will have to pay massive shipping costs to actually get the parts into the country.

On top of that, we'll also have to pay expenses for the Intamin team to come over and oversee the construction (including flights, etc). Of course, this will all be part of Intamin's price and Alton probably won't see it to the last tea-cake.

On top of that, construction seems to be something which is very expensive in the UK anyway. We pay a lot more to get things vertical than other countries.

I'm sure that money was also spent on the development of the "secret" and the advertising costs are likely to be lumped into the budget as well.
 
Saw cost £12m and that included the landfill.

£12m for Saw?! The world has officially gone mental.

I'm pretty sure most people understand that you have to take everything into consideration with regards to the total 'project' cost, but £15m for this and £12m for Saw seems absolutely outrageous (unless the indoor section will be really good).

From what I remember, Rage cost about £1m... All Thorpe has paid for is a slightly bigger ride, with a 'themed' station and some land infill... :roll:
 
Martyn B said:
From what I remember, Rage cost about £1m... All Thorpe has paid for is a slightly bigger ride, with a 'themed' station and some land infill... :roll:

When you put it like that its pretty insane! They also had to pay Lionsgate for the Saw rights, don't know how much that would have been though.
 
They must have bumped the price up for marketing purposes. Look at the other 3 main coasters, they all cost around the £10m mark, so to then build a new coaster with such hype, that only cost £4m, would probably give a bit of a 'meh' reaction from the GP.

Just a thought, thats all.
 
Furie, the point of Kawasemi still stands. Switzerland-Britain is a fair distance for shipping parts, experts, etc, but surely Maryland-Japan is way longer?

Also, Tobu Zoo had to tear down Mount Rocky Coaster, dry the lake and then build Kawasemi, then fill the lake again. That's about equal to cutting down Corkscrew and a few trees, if not even more extensive.

I think what makes this so damned expensive must be that Alton specifically asked for that particular new element, and the designers had to make it from scratch. Still, it better be gold-plated and operated by the Pope for that price.

Or instead, we can look at this sentence:
furie said:
On top of that, construction seems to be something which is very expensive in the UK anyway. We pay a lot more to get things vertical than other countries.
Indeed.

So remember folks, you don't have fewer and smaller coasters than everybody else because your parks don't bother. You have fewer and smaller coasters than only a select few countries, because costs are so incredibly high in the UK.
You can't blame the parks for not investing, though, look at the gate numbers of Alton and BGE, and see which one shelled out the most on their latest project. Look at it that way, and Griffon was a very cheap investment.
 
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