Posted January 1, 201411 yr comment_173820 Just a bit of fun, but when do you think rides will go? Put a year next to when you think the roller coasters will be destroyed or SBNO and a reason! My guesses Saw - 2025 Make space for a new ride because theres rides with steeper drops! Colossus - 2020 Will get too rough and old so will be removed! Stealth - 2030 There will be a new height restriction so they can build a taller and longer ride! Nemesis inferno - 2022 It will get boring and be replaced by a newer inverted coaster! Swarm - 2035 Will get boring because lots of other parks will have a better one! Flying fish - 2017 No one will ride it and it's really old! X - 2018 Destroyed to make space for a new dark ride!
January 1, 201411 yr comment_173828 Without being rude, I don't think that any of those are realistic. Theme park rides can, if looked after properly, last for years (much longer than what you have predicted).
January 1, 201411 yr comment_173831 I would like to see Merlin in the UK's rides being maintained instead of all being destroyed and replaced after a while. I don't like how theme parks tend to fight over 'steepest drop' or some tacky record and I would rather have a quality ride with good themeing and working effects instead of a poor ride with a record which really does not do much to improve the parks satisfaction rate. My views on Merlin's parks in the UK have changed recently, instead of them just trying to go round beating other parks I would like to see them make the most of their abilities. I see in other parks around the world, a nice, well maintained park with good themeing and decent rides. It seems to me that the smaller parks tend to do a better job of this as they cannot afford to go for the big records like the other parks can. Whilst the take on the themeing has been increased, the quality of the themeing isn't great and is sometimes unecessary and can come across as rushed. I am not saying that Merlin don't do well on themeing I just think the quality could be much better. I think thorpe park have certainly improved on their whole appearance and I hope they continue to as this is what I think makes a better park. My point is...? Well, if the rides are replaced, it means that merlin are trying to win over the guests with big rides and records etc. which could well work but therefore means the quality of the rides and the appearance goes downhill. I would rather see rides being kept, improved and better themed throughout the years. So what if the ride is old? It doesn't mean it has a bad experience... Some of the oldest rides still existing to date are some of the best, in vienna at the prater they have a Ferris wheel from 1897 still running well! Just because there is a record to be beaten, it doesn't mean it has to be beaten, the money could be used to improve on the exisiting rides instead of buying new ones altogether. Yes of course, it is good to invest in new rides every so often but instead of buying new rides all the time and expanding, I would rather see Improvements across the parks which have actually seemed to be happening more this year(with the exception of chessington which I hope picks up for next year). My hope is that for the future, the rides at thorpe park and for all the other parks infact last and get most use out of them, with changes being made if necessary. I would like to see improvements on the themeing and appearance instead of replacing with new rides altogether. I think thorpe park seem to have realised that new rides aren't everything and that maintaining the rides is a much better option. Of course, at the end of the day they may have to be replaced if it costs too much to maintain but if they can maintain it as long as possible then it will make the most of its ride life. This is what thorpe are trying to do with slammer, keep it going and I congratulate them for that! I see william wilsons superbowl running still from the 1980s and still looks amazing and still run relatively well so I don't see why thorpe's rides can't last that long. I hope the rides have as long a life as possible and appearance etc. is improved over the years!
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173848 I would imagine that all the major coasters will operate until a time that either Merlin or it's future owners go bankrupt, a major disaster such as land movement, floods or war destroys the parks, Nick gets bored with his rent and sells the land from underneath them or a fatality or like incident on one of them makes it seem right to get rid. There is no reason why they can't run indefinitely if they are looked after properly and are given a realistic and regular maintenance budget. Things have come a long way since even the likes of corkscew, which could have carried on if Alton could have been bothered with it, and the 100 year plus woodies still operating show that even a much less durable construction can go on all the time it is looked after. X and fish may well go at some point when the space is needed or they are neglected into a big spend requirement to fix them up, but without even a current mtdp to look at any sort of guesses are pissing in the wind really.
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173868 TBH unless something terrible happens, I can't see any of their existing coaster removed for at least another 10 years at the very least and if I could say which one would go first it would possibly be Colossus. But removing rides for rides with steeper drops, higher speeds or height is quite pointless, especially if the ride itself is still in go working condition and one day, the speeds,heights and drop steepness of rides will reach a peak where either people won't be willing to ride them or won't be possible to be done further. Nemesis is 20 years old and although a little rough in places, still runs remarkably well and I can see that ride doing another 20 years providing it's still as popular as it is today and in a good enough operating state.
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173875 I would imagine that all the major coasters will operate until a time that either Merlin or it's future owners go bankrupt, a major disaster such as land movement, floods or war destroys the parks, Nick gets bored with his rent and sells the land from underneath them or a fatality or like incident on one of them makes it seem right to get rid. There is no reason why they can't run indefinitely if they are looked after properly and are given a realistic and regular maintenance budget. Things have come a long way since even the likes of corkscew, which could have carried on if Alton could have been bothered with it, and the 100 year plus woodies still operating show that even a much less durable construction can go on all the time it is looked after. X and fish may well go at some point when the space is needed or they are neglected into a big spend requirement to fix them up, but without even a current mtdp to look at any sort of guesses are pissing in the wind really. Who's Nick? I thought Merlin owned the land?
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173876 I think pluk means Nick Leslau, some millionaire who actually owns the land and leases it to Merlin. From what I remember, after the takeover in 2007ish, there was a 30 year lease to Merlin for Thorpe, Alton and Legoland (but not Chessington!) Not entirely sure on that though mind...
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173877 All the land the Merlin parks sit on (except Lego?) are owned by Nick Leslau and leased to Merlin. I'm sure they have covered things contractually but as the land owner I bet there is a way he could 'evict ' them if he really wanted to.
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173888 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6902797.stm Found an article about
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173900 There's no reason why any of them couldn't be operating for a looong time yet, as others have said. However, the reason some will go eventually is because when they run out of space they will need to start looking at where they can put new stuff in. It's not necessarily to make the park better, as Matt Creek said putting in something bigger or faster isn't necessarily an improvement. However, in order to keep people coming into the park they will need to open big new attractions - it doesn't really matter whether they're an improvement, it will reach the stage where things have to be removed in order to open something marketable as new and exciting. Non-geeks are fickle anyway, and will undoubtedly prefer new stuff if it's bigger or faster than what was around previously. It's pointless speculating at this stage though. There's enough potential space for the next 15 or 20 years, by which time who knows if the park will even be there (it almost certainly will, but the thing is it's so far down the line that it's hard to be sure).
January 2, 201411 yr comment_173949 I couldn't put a year on it but I would guess Slammer will be the first to go. It's been showing signs of poor health for a while now.
January 3, 201411 yr comment_173951 I think they will keep slammer for as long as they can as it's one of a kind experience being because poor S&S build so we now why and also it's one of nick V favourite ride
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183354 I think: Colossus-2020 for a re theme Nemesis Inferno-2025 replacement Stealth-2030 for track expansion Saw the Ride-2018 for re theme (When Saw the movie becomes unpopular) Swarm-2030 replacement
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183357 Yeah 6 years left on Colossus? I dont think so. I'd like to hope it's less than that. Personally I would just like to see it fixed up. They're running out of room to put crack detection paint!
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183368 It's only 12 years old, under the right care it still has years left in it!
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183371 It does but needs a retheme or refurbish because the paintwork is faded and dirty
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183372 Sorry, have you been on it lately? The track is at a point where it needs SERIOUS work. When you next go look at the amount of crack detection paint on Colossus alone. Yes, a lot of rides have it but Colossus is overloaded with it. I'm not saying rip it out, it's a key coaster. But it's roughness isn't going to improve without serious track work. I mean you could feel the flat spots on the wheels today on the lift hill, as it thumped as it went up. Realistically it's got to a point where it needs more than a litter pick and some paint to make it stay IMO. It needs some money spending on it which I doubt will happen, which ultimately will leave no choice but to have it removed due to it's own safety / wear and tear.
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183374 I've went on it last summer for the first time (I'm only 11) and I was shocked by the bad quality. Its safe alright but its a real headbanger. I still think it would be able to survive for a few more years before a major refurbish/retheme. Its Thorpe's signature ride, they're not going to change it drastically too soon.
May 16, 201411 yr comment_183375 Sorry, have you been on it lately? The track is at a point where it needs SERIOUS work. When you next go look at the amount of crack detection paint on Colossus alone. Yes, a lot of rides have it but Colossus is overloaded with it. I agree that it's in a dire state, hence why I said "under the right care."
May 17, 201411 yr comment_183395 I agree that it's in a dire state, hence why I said "under the right care." I think saying its in a dire state is a bit extreme, Colossus is much much smoother now than it has been and IMO rides very well. The track don't look good and could do with a repaint I agree with that, but its hardly in a "dire state".
May 18, 201411 yr comment_183458 Colossus is riding really well this year. None of the coasters are in 'such a state' that they need to even consider getting rid, in the same way that Alton did with Corkscrew. Some of the flats may be approaching the end of their lives though, where the maintenance becomes not economically viable, but even they still ride ok the majority of the time.
May 18, 201411 yr comment_183482 I don't see the life of slammer being to long and I would say a maximum of 5 years. By 2025 all of the coaster space will be gone so large rides will start leaving around then. Vortex needs some work as that is coming to the end of its life. But I doubt we will say many rides leave before 2018.
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