Lightwater Valley Big Ride Coming Soon?

[Pokemaniac]

Sadly, I think all the options are the cheapest possible of their kind...

Launch: A Booster Bike or Motorbike Coaster. Kinda like Jet Ski Rescue, but perhaps even smaller. And that would be the best case scenario.

Invert: SLC if we're lucky. Vekoma Junior Invert or perhaps Ride Tek Energizer is more likely.

Drop Tower: I'd be surprised by anything larger than Detonator. Remember, LWV is in the middle of NIMBYland. You may argue that it's off the beaten track, but getting permission to build something tall off the beaten track in England is as hard as getting permission to build something tall in the middle of a residental suburb other places in Europe.

Spinner: Most likely alternative. And we're really lucky if it's new.

LWV is struggling too much financially to get anything big and expensive. Now, they're most likely trying to get something that drags masses of people, so that they can eventually expand. I wouldn't be holding my breath right now.

 

[Inverse]

As for the spinner, they could be looking at Whirlwind at Camelot... it's feasible.

 

[The Grape Wizard]

Didn't the 10 year alton plan say Spinball was getting moved to a different area of the park of removed?

Or would that be out of LVW's price range?

 

[Inverse]

^just moved.

 

[Waffleman]

I read an interview with the park manager a few days ago (as I'm sure some of you did as well) and I found that he seemed to be very interested in Rita-Queen Of Speed at Alton Towers. He also seemed very enthusiastic about getting a launching coaster into the park. But that may be personal preference, rather than actual future development planning.

 

[Martyn B]

Why would they want a spinning coaster when they already have one? Wether its a new coaster or not, its still not bringing anything 'new' to the park.

I agree with most people that a 'cheaper' launch coaster would be the one to go for.

There was another question on that comment form that could be significant, "What do you think of our Ultimate rollercoaster?"....

 

[Mackem Lad]

I'm sure by spinning coaster they mean something "proper" like Dragon's Fury.

Whilst The Twister is indeed a spinning coaster, it doesn't even come close to something like DF.

Twister would be out the door like a shot and anything remotely similar to DF / Spinball Whizzer would be a massive step in the right direction for the park.

But as I said, I wouldn't read too far into this questionnaire if I was you.

 

[gavin]

What would be the point of replacing one spinner with another? None.

Ok, so we know it would be a better coaster, but in terms of marketing it would be a complete waste of time.

 

[Mackem Lad]

Not quite...

Are you forgetting The Twister killed someone?

Might have been 8 years ago, but the stigma is still attached to the ride and is usually the point of discussion with most people in the queue line.

Getting rid of it and bringing in a new rollercoaster makes perfect marketing sense if you ask me.

 

[Waffleman]

I think that Lightwater Valley have done a great job of sorting that out by having alot of work done on the ride and renaming it, and if people in the queue were mentioning it why does it matter? They're still riding it and, more importantly, they've still gone to the park.

 

[Mackem Lad]

It matters because people are discussing The Twister for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Jools]

It matters because people are discussing The Twister for all the wrong reasons.

I totally agree, infact as soon as I enetered the queueline I said that to my family :lol:

 

[Martyn B]

Not quite...

Are you forgetting The Twister killed someone?

Might have been 8 years ago, but the stigma is still attached to the ride and is usually the point of discussion with most people in the queue line.

Getting rid of it and bringing in a new rollercoaster makes perfect marketing sense if you ask me.

But if that was the case, they would have done something about it, when the incident happened.

Like you said, its been 8 years now, and whilst people may talk about it, it doesn't appear to stop them riding as it always has a healthy queue line.

Replacing it with a DF style coaster would benefit us alot more than the park it self. Like I said on the other page, its nothing 'new'.

 

[Mackem Lad]

If LWV had the money to replace the ride, The Twister would have been out the door.

The only thing they could do at the time was give it a slight re-name. They couldn't exactly throw their latest investment on the scrapheap after just weeks from opening.

Add that the fact they had pending court costs and legal fees to pay, money was tight.

The ride still daunts on the mind of park officials, and even so much so the engineer who was at fault that day refuses to work on it.

 

[coasterdude_1]

It matters because people are discussing The Twister for all the wrong reasons.

Any publicity is good publicity. It sounds kind of sick, but unfortunately it's true.

Bearing in mind that the general view of the GP is that rollercoasters are dangerous, and there's a high chance that something could go wrong. As we all know, it's not reality, and rides are checked to a ridiculously high standard. So if the GP's assumption is realised, and they can be like OMG did you hear someone died on this ride... it makes it all the more of an adrenaline rushed challenge and in some ways, ridiculously, more appealing- to an extent...

But then again, this only works for certain groups of people... others it would have a negative attendance effect...

 

[STC]

Big Bad Wolf to Yorkshire anyone?

I think Spinball would find a nice home at Lightwater. The low capacity isn't suitable for one of the country's "tier A" theme parks, especially placed where it is. It'd be great for Lightwater as it looks permanent, and could easily look brand new with a bit of jazzing up.

 

[Waffleman]

I dissagree, I think that Lightwater Valley is aimed for the same audience as Alton Towers, and succeeds in getting them into the park. I think that most people who go to Lightwater Valley go to Alton Towers and would notice if Spinball Whizzer was moved there. However, if they enjoy Spinball Whizzer this may encourage people who live closer to visit LWV instead of Alton Towers. Maybe?

 

[marc]

I did not know about the Twister accident, so I bet not many GP do.

 

[tks]

^ It was huge news up north as someone died... So yeh I think people know about it.

 

[gavin]

It was big news, yes, but removing it now for something that happened 8 years ago would be stupid. People don't care now. If anything, it could make it look worse. "They're only getting rid of that dangerous coaster now? Blah blah blah..."

The fact is, replacing one spinning coaster with another spinning coaster is just stupid. End of.