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Lightwater Valley


Josh R

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  • 5 months later...

Staff reaction to any incident is important, at the bare minimum you must show concern to the customer and do anything you can assist...

 

Should've been straight down to the first aid point and await paramedics if required after initial assessment, with lots of free drink and food whilst waiting...

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  • 1 year later...

Visited LWV again recently and it reminded me how much I love The Ultimate.

 

It's so brilliantly flawed in its design; the way it uses three lift chains to get round the corner after lift 2 is hilarious, as is using camelbacks as a brake run, and whoever thought up the idea to send those huge trains around ground-level turns directly after an 100 foot drop is a mad genius.

 

A ride of two halves, the pops of airtime in the front half of the train are fantastic during the first half, and the sheer insanity of the second half is one of my favourite moments of any coaster.  It's brutal and my knees are still recovering, but that's why I rate it so highly.

 

Fantastic coaster, and a prime example of something we'll never see built again.

 

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Ultimate may have it’s ups and downs, but without it, Lightwater would not be the park it is and would probably go bankrupt in a couple of years without a major investment or owners with noticeable financial stability. 

 

Shame the park has seen little in terms of recent investment, but who knows what the new owners can bring.

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  • 10 months later...
  • 11 months later...
3 minutes ago, Matt Creek said:

Not good on any accords but not surprising either. 
 

Given the imminent fine will likely be in the six (maybe even seven) figure amount, I can see the park going bankrupt anyday now. 

You'd think so however Livingstone Leisure Limited who own the park made a gross profit of over 7 million last year. 

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Just now, MarkC said:

You'd think so however Livingstone Leisure Limited who own the park made a gross profit of over 7 million last year. 

That is true, however the park have also removed a noticeable amount of attractions including the shopping area in the park.

 

When I visited last June, the park was remarkably quiet despite some school groups. Ride staff even pleaded us to re-ride at the end of the day it was that deserted. 
 

Even if they are owned by a “bigger” organisation, I’m still pessimistic for the park’s survival especially given current situations.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Lightwater Valley will be reopening on the 18th July, with all details found on their website.

 

A number of attractions will remain closed which includes Apollo, play areas, Raptor and The Ultimate.

 

Raptor is understandable given it is indoors with distancing being more difficult, however having the Ultimate closed as well will no doubt put a lot of people off visiting and is literally the only standout attraction at the park. 

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I don't get their decision to keep Ultimate closed frankly, unless there's a further reason behind it.

 

I had been considering a visit later in the year as a result of Covid, but it's difficult to justify with those closed rides.

 

Lightwater certainly feels like one of those 'damned either way' parks. Stay closed much longer and the lack of income quite easily could have meant they'd be calling in the administrators. Open up and they're still going to struggle anyways. Opening up as they are and it makes you wonder if there is actually much point in opening at all...

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7 hours ago, RobF said:

I wonder if the queue line for ultimate is an issue or if its more technical 

I don’t remember the queue being a major problem when I visited, but that’s not to say it’s easy. With the right tape and placements, it should be manageable.

 

If the Ultimate isn’t reopening with the park, my only reasons for seeing this are:

 

  1. Not being able to reach minimum operating capacity due to social distancing 
  2. Insufficient funds to maintain and/or operate the attraction 

If the latter is why this is closed this is very concerning for the park and could mark the indefinite beginning of the end for Lightwater. However one could question the downward spiral has been hitting for years, with numerous ride removals!

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4 hours ago, Matt Creek said:

I don’t remember the queue being a major problem when I visited, but that’s not to say it’s easy. With the right tape and placements, it should be manageable.

 

If the Ultimate isn’t reopening with the park, my only reasons for seeing this are:

 

  1. Not being able to reach minimum operating capacity due to social distancing 
  2. Insufficient funds to maintain and/or operate the attraction 

If the latter is why this is closed this is very concerning for the park and could mark the indefinite beginning of the end for Lightwater. However one could question the downward spiral has been hitting for years, with numerous ride removals!

Its a very compact cattle pen filling the area beside the station if I remember right

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  • 7 months later...

Sad news coming from Lightwater Valley.  The following rides have been removed from the park's website and therefore look to be permanently closed/removed;

 

Raptor Attack

Eagle's Claw

Rapids

Black Pearl

Apollo

 

The Ultimate's page hasn't been updated since being marked as closed for 2020, so who knows what'll happen with that.

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I've been contemplating a visit to Lightwater this year, but honestly it's harder to justify it with those closures. The uncertainty over Ultimate is also somewhat worrying, though I guess the fact it hasn't been removed from the website yet is something to cling to.

 

A shame, but not wholly surprising if we're being honest.

 

One can only hope they still have a market and enough visitation to keep them going in the short term.

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A very sad time indeed.

 

I remember my first (and only) visit to the park in June 2019, which was ok for what is was. The park was very quiet aside a few school groups and they were struggling with numbers.

 

Raptor was an underrated gem not just for the park but the U.K. park industry. It’s amazing how a few simple animatronics, theming and surroundings can make for something special. 
 

The Ultimate’s days are likely numbered and who’s to say that will soon follow? I think the park’s days may be numbered.

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