David Walliams World - New for 2020

[Glitch]

Looks good. I really like how passionate John is about his job. Also loving the easter eggs.

Only concerns from me are the look of lack of legroom and the ride vehicle itself, the manufacturer isn't speaking like its been smooth sailing.

[Mattgwise]

55 minutes ago, Glitch said:

Looks good. I really like how passionate John is about his job. Also loving the easter eggs.

Only concerns from me are the look of lack of legroom and the ride vehicle itself, the manufacturer isn't speaking like its been smooth sailing.

I agree regarding the ride vehicle, it is very bulky and certainly looks tight for eight people. Hopefully it will be roomier than it looks.

[JoshC.]

Looks like a neat little ride. 

 

Cars do look a little cramped but make sense for a family ride system I think.

 

Agree that the Garmendale guy wasn't exactly a natural on the camera so didn't come across as a 'everything has been plain sailing' kind of guy. Nothing wrong with that though of course.

[MarkC]

The new ride has now been delayed until 2021. Expected really and can see Thorpe following along with an announcement about Black Mirror.

 

https://attractioncentral.co.uk/2020/05/29/alton-towers-postpones-opening-of-gangsta-granny-the-ride/

[Glitch]

37 minutes ago, MarkC said:

The new ride has now been delayed until 2021. Expected really and can see Thorpe following along with an announcement about Black Mirror.

 

https://attractioncentral.co.uk/2020/05/29/alton-towers-postpones-opening-of-gangsta-granny-the-ride/

Yay, another shameless plug, to an article I've already read from the original provider AT Social channels!

[MarkC]

3 hours ago, Glitch said:

Yay, another shameless plug, to an article I've already read from the original provider AT Social channels!

Sorry admin xx

[JoshC.]

For those who want the original source*:

 

 

 

As I mused in the Coronathread, it appears that no dark rides at Merlin parks are opening for now. This could be coincidence (especially since they're planning on opening Dungeons attractions - with Amsterdam Dungeons opening on the 1st June), but there's a very clear trend happening now. For comparison, none of Heide Park's dark rides have opened, but all other dark rides across the country have been fine.

 

Would be a good explanation as to why a perfectly ready to open ride isn't opening. 

 

Also, if my rambling musing is the case, how would a day at Towers feel without the likes of Duel and Hex?

 

 

*wait, do they still have sponsorships with Merlin? Who knows...

[Matt 236]

Interesting how Merlin are going about not reopening these dark rides. I’m guessing the poise of social distancing measures are somewhat more difficult to achieve in these spaces given they are enclosed. 
 

Shame if all these ride types can not reopen anytime in the foreseeable but only time will tell. 

[RobF]

Tbh, why duel cant be socially distanced is beyond me....

[TPGG]

I think it's because of the far higher virus transmission rate in indoor places, as opposed to the practicality of implementing the necessary distancing measures 👽

[alexander]

As much as I am not a huge fan of IP's this will be a huge hit for the park. His books are huge.

[JoshC.]

BUMP

 

A little video giving some views inside Gangsta Granny The Ride, as well as the new area:

 

 

 

The ride opens May 17th (or, presumably, whenever indoor attractions can reopen)

[Coaster]

I watched the Gangsta Granny POV, it looks fun but I think the ride is ultimately flawed in that it has to stop multiple times for long periods of time so that it lasts more than 30 seconds.  The very short layout means running as a constantly moving ride wouldn't really work - but doesn't this in turn mean that the throughput will be extremely low?

 

Towers look to have done a great job with the ride system they have, but the issue is that it's yet another case of Merlin underfunding a project and giving them a second-hand ride system not designed for a park as busy as Alton.

 

I'd have rather seem something like W&G for the ride system (8 seater vehicles, constantly moving, a much longer layout) than essentially 3 corners which stop constantly.

[Glitch]

1 hour ago, Coaster said:

I watched the Gangsta Granny POV, it looks fun but I think the ride is ultimately flawed in that it has to stop multiple times for long periods of time so that it lasts more than 30 seconds.  The very short layout means running as a constantly moving ride wouldn't really work - but doesn't this in turn mean that the throughput will be extremely low?

 

Towers look to have done a great job with the ride system they have, but the issue is that it's yet another case of Merlin underfunding a project and giving them a second-hand ride system not designed for a park as busy as Alton.

 

I'd have rather seem something like W&G for the ride system (8 seater vehicles, constantly moving, a much longer layout) than essentially 3 corners which stop constantly.

At least try the ride first before criticizing based on one short POV. Do we know that it was underfunded? I'd be great full of a new ride and nice looking area of the park, doesn't look underfunded to me.

 

I believe this project, took CAPEX from other parks budgets.....

[Coaster]

5 minutes ago, Glitch said:

At least try the ride first before criticizing based on one short POV. Do we know that it was underfunded? I'd be great full of a new ride and nice looking area of the park, doesn't look underfunded to me.

 

I believe this project, took CAPEX from other parks budgets.....

I'm criticising the ride's throughput and capacity, not the ride itself.  It looks like they've done a great job with the interior.

[Glitch]

1 minute ago, Coaster said:

I'm criticising the ride's throughput and capacity, not the ride itself.

 

And how are we supposed to get a good estimation on those until post Covid / the ride actually running at full capacity with staff up to speed on what to do. It's not mean't to be the parks flagship ride, so capacity isn't really a problem, if the queue's long come back later. And perhaps if the queue is too long then the park may look at implementing a new system to improve guest satisfaction in the area.

 

Overall it looks like an excellent themed land, which I would of loved to experience as a kid.

[Coaster]

1 minute ago, Glitch said:

And how are we supposed to get a good estimation on those until post Covid / the ride actually running at full capacity with staff up to speed on what to do. It's not mean't to be the parks flagship ride, so capacity isn't really a problem, if the queue's long come back later. And perhaps if the queue is too long then the park may look at implementing a new system to improve guest satisfaction in the area.

 

Overall it looks like an excellent themed land, which I would of loved to experience as a kid.

I don't agree with this, with stops over a minute in length and 6 seater ride vehicles (I believe), that seems to me like a recipe for low capacity.  The logic of "it's not the flagship ride, so capacity doesn't matter" is nonsense.  Why not run Duel on 1 car if capacity doesn't matter?!

[JoshC.]

1 hour ago, Glitch said:

 

And how are we supposed to get a good estimation on those until post Covid / the ride actually running at full capacity with staff up to speed on what to do.

We can get a pretty good estimation tbf. 

 

If the ride is programmed to stop at each scene for x number of seconds, and has y number of cars, then that will be done to match the story and flow of the ride. So we can easily get an idea of the max capacity from that, once they start mixing groups in ride vehicles. They may be able to add more cars (genuinely no clue as I don't know what the situation is); if they can, again, it's fairly straightforward to figure out what sort of throughput this can get.

 

1 hour ago, Glitch said:

It's not mean't to be the parks flagship ride, so capacity isn't really a problem, if the queue's long come back later. And perhaps if the queue is too long then the park may look at implementing a new system to improve guest satisfaction in the area.

Doesn't matter if it is meant to be a flagship ride or not. What matters is if the ride has a throughput that will reflect its popularity.

 

We as guests won't really be able to gauge that for a while yet, but given the push it's had in marketing and the level of popularity of the IP, one would expect that the ride will garner a certain level of interest for a while yet. A lower throughput is a potential worry at this stage. And with the length of queue they've built for it, they must be expecting long queues.

 

2 hours ago, Coaster said:

 

Towers look to have done a great job with the ride system they have, but the issue is that it's yet another case of Merlin underfunding a project and giving them a second-hand ride system not designed for a park as busy as Alton.

I guess your point here is the rumour circulating around that the ride system was actually designed for another Merlin attraction, but that project got cancelled and the ride system was bought to Towers? 

 

A fair enough point. But equally, I don't think there's much more the park could have done with the space available. They're not exactly going to be able to fit any big ride (in terms of physical space) there. So you either build a non-stopping ride which is very short, and has a larger throughput, or a stopping ride which is longer, and has a lower throughput. Both have their pros and cons, and it's too early imo to decide whether what they've done is right or not.

 

2 hours ago, Coaster said:

I'd have rather seem something like W&G for the ride system (8 seater vehicles, constantly moving, a much longer layout) than essentially 3 corners which stop constantly.

It's points like this which I never fully get. The Wallace and Gromit building is roughly twice the size of the Gangsta Granny building. Something has to give somewhere.

 

 

1 hour ago, Coaster said:

6 seater ride vehicles (I believe)

Obviously atm Covid is restricting it to one household per vehicle, but in normal operation, it's - somehow - meant to be 8 people per car,

[Coaster]

54 minutes ago, JoshC. said:

I guess your point here is the rumour circulating around that the ride system was actually designed for another Merlin attraction, but that project got cancelled and the ride system was bought to Towers? 

 

A fair enough point. But equally, I don't think there's much more the park could have done with the space available. They're not exactly going to be able to fit any big ride (in terms of physical space) there. So you either build a non-stopping ride which is very short, and has a larger throughput, or a stopping ride which is longer, and has a lower throughput. Both have their pros and cons, and it's too early imo to decide whether what they've done is right or not.

 

It's points like this which I never fully get. The Wallace and Gromit building is roughly twice the size of the Gangsta Granny building. Something has to give somewhere.

I was of the impression the bit about the ride system was common knowledge, but if I've misunderstood then I stand corrected.

 

In relation to the space, am I correct in thinking that Gangsta Granny was built in an existing building?  In which case, it again comes down to a park of Alton Towers' size and stature not being given the funds to build from the ground up.  From the outside they've just repurposed old buildings again, it's a common trait in Merlin owned parks and something I find rarely achieves the same as a brand new ride or area.

 

Whilst W&G was too a repurposed attraction the length and space was much more suitable.  IMO, a better use of space would have been to use the CATCF ride and building, shame that was used for an upcharge Dungeon.

[Stuntman707]

I'm just thankful that Towers have taken a run down area of the park and put new life into it. If the ride runs reliably and there is a constant flow of cars though the boarding area then it shouldn't matter that it stops mid-ride if it's still part of the experience.

As for funding, the whole area has been improved not just one ride and hopefully following positive reactions, we may see further expansion of the area if it will prove to be a success.

Also in the time Towers and other Merlin parks have had new coasters, attractions and hotels built from the ground up, Thorpe Park has had no major project since DBGT. So IMO if any Merlin park needs a new "major" ride funded, I'd say Thorpe does over Towers.

It's easy to say CATCF would have been a better location, but that's assuming Granny was in the works before or alongside the Dungeon.

[Benin]

I mean the bulk of the area has just been repainted for the... Third time in the last decade?

 

Ride itself is ok. Though it does just... End suddenly. No real ending sequence bar the finale "cannon".

 

What's REALLY annoying me is that the massive "Welcome to Raj's Shop" is over a door with "Exit Only" signs by it due to Covid. I mean that's just poor foresight 😉

[Matt 236]

Here’s a POV for the ride if anyone’s interested. Watch if you dare, or avoid if you don’t want spoilers. 

Ride looks ok, maybe better than expected. It’s better than Charlie, especially when you consider how small it is but obviously not blockbuster level. 
 

New area looks alright, but areas come across as looking flat or perhaps unimaginative. It’s better than the last few years, but still looked the best during its early Cloud Cuckoo years. 

 

[Mark9]

Didn't get to ride Gangster Granny as it doesn't work. Spent most of the last two days closed and when it was open 70 minute queue. After 18 months of being completed and sitting their stationary, its a bit poor for the new ride to not work well. 

 

The area looks awful in my opinion. Painting things purple does not make it a themed area. I also found it slightly odd that Cuckoo cars still exists in that form. Why wasn't it integrated into the new area?

[Benin]

4 hours ago, Mark9 said:

Didn't get to ride Gangster Granny as it doesn't work. Spent most of the last two days closed and when it was open 70 minute queue. After 18 months of being completed and sitting their stationary, its a bit poor for the new ride to not work well. 

 

The area looks awful in my opinion. Painting things purple does not make it a themed area. I also found it slightly odd that Cuckoo cars still exists in that form. Why wasn't it integrated into the new area?

 

[/Skinner_Money.gif]

[JoshC.]

There were rumours that Walliams World was meant to be a two-year investment. First year, have the basic area retheme and star attraction of the area, second year extra stuff. So I guess there's an off chance that the Driving School was planned to be rethemed for the second year, or scrapped for new Walliams rides.

 

Whether that was ever the plan, or if it still is the plan after Covid, is anyone's guess right now.