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Project LC

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Everything posted by Project LC

  1. Rumours are confirmed to be a LSM launch with a 420ft spike being added. The ride will launch forward, roll back and launched up the spike before being launched forward again up and over the top hat. The ride will have new trains, worryingly only 3 trains of 20 riders. I sure hope the trains aren't like icebreakers at SeaWorld as they were some of the most uncomfortable trains ive ever been on.
  2. Thorpe would have got a company to supply a design for the track segments. Taziker would produce fabrication drawings which the designer would check. Taziker would then manufacture to the fabrication drawings. The steel would be inspected at the factory and then delivered to site. It is possible that it is Tazikers fault as working with them previously we have had errors (no more than any other supplier). I think its more likely the survey or design was wrong.
  3. Taziker like most steel suppliers will work to the date that is agreed with the client. The date will be based on the clients programme and Tazikers supply chain. Construction will be arranged around that ageeed date. Typically the client and supplier will inspect the steel before delivery, if they picked up any issues like undercut welds then it will be rejected and repairs or replacements made. Its possible something like this lead to a small delivery delay. Steel installation doesn't take that long so it doesn't surprise me if this was arranged close to the end of closed season. If the track doesn't fit then that will either be a fabrication issue or a survey/design issue. Its not possible to say if that is Tazikers fault or not. I would also like to point out there could be a whole host of reasons in why the track was sent back.
  4. Generally speaking this shouldn't take long to build. There isnt significant earth works, steel construction is rapid and there isnt any significant foundations or buildings. If I had to organise that site I wouldn't attempt to start in December or January due to weather. To keep costs down you want as short of a programme as possible. Especially as an awful lot of construction workers and plant at the moment is being used up on HS2 pushing prices up. I suspect what is limiting the construction at the moment is actually future crane hire. Its not easy to get a 250ft cran in the UK, the waiting list is literally years. That aside a multi million pound investment during a cost of living crisis and the start of a recession. It would be prudent for Merlin to reassess the return on investments.
  5. The rumour mill has been saying for a while that top thrill dragster is likely to undergo a modernisation. Converting the ride from its hydraulic cable winch to a LSM system like that of Red Force in Porta Ventura. I suspect they might also change the end of the ride so they have something to market.
  6. The SSSI designation I would say has made it pretty much dead in the water. Regulations about SSSI's are incredibly tight and to even get permission to do anything on them requires comprehensive environmental management plans. Adding further costs to planning, construction and operation. Meanwhile the raw material prices are sky rocketing and the new covid landscape calls into question the projected visitor numbers. The flashy renderings will be a far cry from what we actually get now, if we get anything at all. Also to mention completely new theme parks don't tend to perform too well. I was all for this going ahead but at this point I just dont see what was once promised being delivered.
  7. Id argue f&b has moved more to the grab and go concept lately. So theoretically hot dog stands should be doing well. However what the theme parks never attempted or even really acknowledge was the changing tastes. Merlin continued to provide the same incredibly poor standard burgers and hot dogs across the parks. While generally tastes became more varied. Mexican grab and go should have been added years ago. The burger places should have started doing various things with chicken like the McDonald's wraps. Not to mention the vast move to healthy eating and vegi/vegan options. Meanwhile the sit down places should have been offering a higher quality product so that spending more there felt worth it. I don't see how contracting out the food operations is going to help the feeling of overpriced food and drinks in the parks but I guess we will have to wait and see.
  8. From an engineering perspective it is likely to be mandated that the structure survives 25 years. Where the pieces of track are deemed replaceable. Non replaceable parts will be designed for atleast 50. Fatigue issues in steel start occuring at 2x10^6 load cycles which rollercoasters will start hitting around 25-30 years old. So if we assume 240 operating days a year at 8 hours. In that time lets assume perfect capacity for nemesis of 37.5 dispatches an hour. It would result in a lifespan of 27.7 years. Time to hit 2,000,000 cycles. Colossus - 24y Nemesis Inferno -29y Stealth - 19y Saw - 21y* You can design for more cycles. The eurocodes permit allowances up to 5x10^6 but it requires the stresses in the steel to be low. Saw can probably get away with that hence it not being 8 years. I cant be bothered to work out allowable cycle ranges so for saw I assumed the maximum and the other coasters the minimum. Basically Thorpe park would have an expensive few years coming up if you couldn't extend lifespan in other ways. It would just come down to is it worth extending. Unfortunately for Colossus I think the answer is no.
  9. Project LC

    Nemesis

    An important note in the application is that the track that is being installed will be sand filled. So nemesis will be loosing her roar.
  10. Pretty sure I got it. Too short ride! In reality though Id prefer for it to not be doctor who related or any IP for that matter. An original idea about time would be interesting to see but I would hope the budget is there to retheme the buildings in old town.
  11. Now we have a POV in no limits I'm now also concerned with the rides pacing. The third element seems too large and ends up having some slow hang time at the top and then the "splash down" has to take out huge amounts of speed so it can go round the outer banked turn. In my opinion the ride is wrong in pretty much every aspect. It will still be decent but I am in the belief a vastly better layout was possible on the site. Thorpe will be able to sell it but it sure isn't what the park needed.
  12. The drawing of the layout is S3 which means "for comment/review" usually internal review. The next stage (S4) would be for stage approval which is what is usually handed over to the client (thorpe/Merlin) to approve which would then go to consultation. So while its not quite as developed as a normal situation its still unlikely to change much from that. The layout will be pretty much fixed subject to engineering changes and only minor changes to the support structure (such as the 2 absolutely massive footers by the lake) as well as paths/trees. For sake of clarification I was excluding launch coasters from the list of shortest length hypers. Also when I say splash down I mean that in a very loose term of "area where the ride clearly needs braking so it can take the next corner at human level g forces with added water effects" down.
  13. It would make more sense to have the splash down the other way round. The issue is its over so quickly it has to bleed off a lot of its speed before that last outer banked turn or the stresses on the ride and the discomfort to the people would be too much. I think it will be absolutely flying when it hits that splashdown as it will entering it from about a 180ft drop.
  14. There is short and then there is that. Must be one of the shortest hyper coasters in existence. My biggest issue with Swarm was its short length. Unfortunately I am not convinced with this layout at all. Will almost definitely be a 2 train operation as there just isn't enough blocks for a third. I reckon ride time will be around 1:20 having looked at dc rivals and comparing elements (not accounting for thorpe being even faster due to it being 30ft taller). Assumming the same trains as DC rivals with 24 people per train it gives a theoretical throughput of around 1080pph. Not quite the queue eater I had hoped for.
  15. Well never thought a mack (not yet confirmed but looking like it) hyper would have been what we are getting. Absolutely huge inversions, compact layout (for a hyper), splash down. Whats not to love.
  16. If I had to guess I think we are going to see a multilaunch coaster probably from b&m (explaining the odd choice for Chessington) 120ft maximum height focusing on airtime with a strange choice in IP. Although I don't think we will find out that IP for a while. Probably of decent length given the footprint of the site. If I were to wish for a ride it would be a RMC. I just don't think a hyper is best for the site and I don't believe Merlin would do it the justice a hyper deserves.
  17. I would not take Twitter as any form of information regarding the ride type. They know enthusiasts are after information and they will happily provide them with what they want to hear. I still dont think a hyper is likely on that side of the park. The noise will be a sticking point in the consultations for anything much taller than saw or Colossus.
  18. Come on Aquatrax! World class sure sounds better than world beating. Hopefully it means we can get a gimmickless coaster that isnt striving for some strange record.
  19. I don't think a hyper would overshadow the park. It would take away from stealth as the two trick pony relies on height and speed. I just don't think Merlin want that planning application battle for a hyper when the public just might not understand why a hyper is good. Bare minimum it would have to be the UK's tallest which makes it a tall ask for the planners to approve. It is exceptionally rare in any industry for a company to only contact one supplier. When dealing with multimillion pound construction projects the law actually requires them to get multiple bids from suppliers and contractors. (They don't have to go with the cheapest, just the bid they feel works best). So Merlin working with intamin again isnt out of the question by any respect. The issue with a multilaunch is its supporting infrastructure, they drain a lot of electricity so end up costing a fair amount to build and run. The older rides are now pretty old and the park is going to need some serious investment in the coming years. The unholy trinity have lost their pull towards guests due to their age and should be considered for refurbishment/replacing in the next 10 years (Colossus I'm mainly talking about you). I also don't think any of the rides are pulling in people anymore. The park does as a whole due to its line up but no one ride is the headliner. Their next investment needs to be a headliner that can carry the park for a few years while they either repair or replace their ageing assets.
  20. Stealths unique selling point is the launch and the height. It was also Tussauds era so didn't need to meet Merlin's critera. I do not believe stealth would have been built under Merlin. It costs a fortune to run, it doesn't have a good enough worlds/Europe's first and it had planning permission issues with its height. They definitely will not be going for the UK length record. A lobger coaster pushes up the price and the operating costs for a record the general public wont care about. The MTDP (still out of date) highlighted coatser lengths of 950m and 800m for the 2 coasters. Seeing as Swarm was the 800m id expect a new coaster to be around 950m in length. A hyper would steal aways stealths unique selling points, it would be an incredibly expensive choice, it would come with planning permission nightmares and a giant question mark on if the general public will understand it. While yes from an enthusiast point of view I'd love to see a hyper. It would compliment the line up well. I just don't think it will happen. My guess would be an IP on the loggers site 110ft, 900m in length, probably planned as wood but having to undergo some changes due to the price increase. With 2 flat rides to go along with it. That said I think the best choices they could make is an intamin multilaunch. A multilaunch around the loggers site, hugging the ground and interacting with the lake could make for a great ride. Especially if they had an alpine like theme to match. Maverick is a masterpiece of coaster design and trying to replicate that at thrope I think could work well.
  21. Merlin are very money driven and risk averse. They won't take on any project that doesn't promise atleast x10 return on their investment. Applying for permission to the CAA is going to be expensive and risky. The go/no go decision is likely to fall at that hurdle unless it promised crazy returns. A hyper in the eyes of Merlin is also likely to be harder to market. It wouldn't cary a worlds first tag line and to the general public will seem tame due to the lack of inversions. Something would have to change at MMM and the marketing rules for a hyper to be given the green light. I'm not saying its not going to happen, I just think its very unlikely at the moment.
  22. Some important things to consider here regarding a hyper or a RMC. A hyper by very definition would have to be over 200ft. This is something that the park will struggle to get planning permission for. Stealth took a lot of consultation, was situated in the back corner of the park and had to be painted white. The mtdp (which is definitely out of date but the best point to work from) outlined that the coaster on swarm island would be 40m and the coaster on the island behind it would be up to 50m. Too short for the desired 61m and even if they did get permission it would overshadow Stealth. The loggers leap site which seems the most likely for the next development is the closest point to Staines and planning concerns relating to noise and looks will limit the height of the site accordingly. I struggle to believe they will get permission for anything over 35m there. Because of this I would be highly surprised if thrope get a hyper next. As for an RMC/GCI my concern with these is the sudden rise in timber costs. Any return on investment for these is now unlikely to be viable. Covid poses a huge risk to guest numbers meanwhile the project would have sky rocketed in price. Merlin doesn't like risks and always seeks unrealistic returns so will likely avoid it for now. In my opinion Merlin are going to play it safe. It will have some world's first tag line and an IP slapped on the side. Probably fitting the disaster/end of the world theme they love so much.
  23. An odd choice to say the least. Like what on earth was the brief for the ride to end up with an energy guzzling winged shuttle coaster as the best option*. However if it is Jumanji themed it would mean an IP that isnt dead for once. Providing they go with the newer films based off a video game and not the board game original... *Subject to planning permission. Better hope London resort doesn't object on environmental grounds.
  24. I don't think the planning consultation would bother to show an inversion if there wasn't going to be one. Typically consultation documents are based off designs a couple of months old. They also need to reflect the designs to a reasonable extent otherwise the consultation is pointless. Assuming the ride will have trains like Wild Eagle (and the swarm for that matter) that gives 28 riders a train. A typical family boomerang from vekoma has 20 riders a train giving a throughput of 750pph. Given that this ride looks a little longer than a family boomerang but a bigger train id say the expected throughput will be pretty similar. Not great but not horrific either. To me it seems like a poor choice in design, throughput should have been one of the highest priorities in design for cwoa and yet it seems that has been compromised for whatever vision MMM have gone with. When the planning documents come in it will be easier to judge if it was the right choice or not.
  25. Better go visit all the cedar fair parks before they are ruined. Hopefully this falls through as I can't think of a worse owner for cedar fair.
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