Jump to content

Will the UK ever produce another world class coaster?


mccoaster

Recommended Posts

The trouble is, the definition of World Class comes down to opinion. All these polls do give a vague definition but they're very much driven by the huge theme park communities who go on theme park trips around the world. TPR for example, when they come to England, Nemesis ranks higher in most of the polls than when they visit other countries.In my eyes, Oblivion is World Class, for example, and I'm sure in a lot of people's eyes, Air is too. Nemesis is still my favourite coaster of all time... sadly I don't think the UK will see that amount of planning and for a project on that scale again. The problem is with entertainment, sometimes it can be hit and miss because audiences can be so unpredictable. Once in a while though, all the stars will align and you find yourself with an absolute cracker of an attraction. Manta at Sea World comes to mind. It was often overlooked in favour of Rip Ride Rockit during its construction, but then when Manta opened, ahead of schedule and to rave reviews (it really is one of the best coasters in Orlando) it put Rip Ride Rockit to shame.... which is still, to an extent, suffering from problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think we will ever see a world-class coaster at Thorpe Park. I don't think Merlin will allow the coaster to be well-themed. I can see Merlin giving out an amazing World First rollercoaster and it will probably be really-well landscaped. I don't think Merlin thinks their guests care about that kind of thing. But the standard of themeing for rollercoasters can't change unless parks put the effort in.I can see Chessington installing a very well-themed rollercoaster for their next big project. I think it can be a World Class rollercoaster if Chessington are willing to put in that effort. I think there will be another World Class rollercoaster, but for Alton Tower's next project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Mikey said, "World-Class" is very much all in the personal opinion and subjective...Hence, what is "World-Class" to one person will not be to the next... And this is no doubt dependant on that person's experiences on other rides of the same type and what-not... I love Air and Oblivion and find them better than their American counterparts that I have ridden (Tatsu, Sheikra and Griffon), but someone else could say the exact opposite (in Air's case, they do regularly)...Can we expect another one? God knows... It's too hard to predict how coasters can ride in comparison to how they look on paper... Let alone factoring in personal opinion... I'm sure many on here may class Stealth "World Class" for some reasons... Doesn't make it so though...Would we get one from Merlin? Again it's too hard to predict by their varying amounts of effort we've seen out of the major additions from the parks... Saw and Thirteen are certainly nowhere near "World Class" (let's be honest, they're not even "UK Class"), so it's very hard to predict what will happen in the future in regards to management views and budget constraints...Any park can get something deemed "World Class", from the biggest (Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure) to the smallest (Holiday Park, Oakwood)... Just a case of the managers taking a risk, something that seems to lack sometimes over here (I.e. Wooden coasters can be made awesome Merlin)...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

World class coasters in the UK for me, which could compete with the very best parks in the world:- Air- Nemesis- Oblivion- Stealth- Megafobia- Grand National- Nemesis InfernoFor me, Stealth, Nemesis Inferno and Air are the only world class coasters built since the turn of the century. Any B&M is, for me, world class. Intamins depend.I have high hopes for the next coaster at Thorpe - a B&M 4D for example would be world class regardless. As for Alton Towers, EVERYTHIN hinges on SW7. After the debacle of Th13teen, I am pinning hopes on them finally returning to favour with an amazing, world-rate rollercoaster for 2013.A world-class family coaster would be likely at Chessington. Sadly, Th13teen just missed the boat due to the general crapness outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me, Stealth, Nemesis Inferno and Air are the only world class coasters built since the turn of the century.

Please tell me you mean in the UK...Let alone the fact that all three of those are generally considered to be the 'worst' of their types in a worldwide situation, it just goes to show how generally poor our coasters are...I'm also gonna go out and say I don't like National anymore since the new trains and what-not... A right shame really...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm shocked at how Saw—The Ride hasn't been mentioned! If that isn't world class I don't know what is! The theming is GREAT, and the ride is seriously intense and seriously fun! But I can't help thinking England is generally used for experiments.Oblivion was the first dive coaster, it was successful so they built better ones in America. Air was the first flying coaster, it was successful, so they built better ones in America.The list goes on. But I still love our coasters, not that I've got much to compare them to, my favourites being:SawNemesisNemesis InfernoOblivion

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If that isn't world class I don't know what is!

Well, you hit the nail on the head there, because you evidently don't really know what world class is, as Saw is not really world class at all. :) It has a medicore coaster layout that is rather unimaginative and short. It is also a Gerstlaurer eurofighter, which is hardly a great quality model. Yes, it has good themework and high detail in places, but you should see theming in places like Phantasialand and Efteling... It makes Saw look silly. And I haven't even got on to the USA parks yet...So, no, not really world class. However, it is alright for the UK theme park industry alone.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm shocked at how Saw—The Ride hasn't been mentioned! If that isn't world class I don't know what is!

Thus proving that what is deemed World Class is totally the opinion of the individual.Saying all of this, I think we give the States too much credit sometimes; bigger isn't always better and some of their coasters, for me, fizzle out towards the end, not naming any names HULK. :)One thing the UK does do better than the US is themed music and audio for our attractions.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

US have many amazing rollercoasters but how many of them are well-themed or very-well themed. Only the major parks like Disney and Universal theme their rides. If Thorpe, Chessington and Alton didn't have height restrictions then they would be able to build huge and long rollercoasters.Thorpe Park is built on reclaimed land and is near locals but they have built some rides that can compete with Euorpe markets. Stealth is a 200ft launch rollercoaster which is achievement for the park knowing the struggles they faced. Nemesis Inferno is one of my favourite rollercoasters; it was built within a year and it has a really nice and tight layout. It is themed quite well but I wish it was themed slightly better. Colossus is a world class rollercoaster - the way the layout was designed and how it interacts with the queues, paths and also with the guests themselves is fantastic. SAW is a huge disappointment; I was happy to have a SAW-themed rollercoaster being a fan of SAW myself, but the cost of the licensing outweighs everything. It's very thrilling and the indoor section is nice but it could have been done better. The ride itself was very cheap and the layout stands at 2,362 ft / 720 metres; I would have loved for the ride to have been much longer and maybe interacted with Logger's Leap. The outdoor section is **** after the Immelman Turn. I would have preferred a horror-themed rollercoaster without the SAW brand.I really want Merlin to give each of its parks a themeing budget, which would be seperate from the actual ride budget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for Alton Towers:Oblivion, AIR and Nemesis are world class rollercoasters. Nemesis was a cheap ride (track-wise) but the hole was a huge expense and things weren't that expensive as they are now. I think if Nemesis was built today, it would cost over £16 million even £18 million. That said I would love for AT to build an amazing thrill rollercoaster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nemesis was a cheap ride (track-wise)

Well, Nemesis was brand new technology at the time, planning had started only just one year or so after the first ever B&M inverted coaster opened. I think that would have cost a heck of a lot. It shows that spending money does work, since Alton Towers would certainly have very little to promote itself with if it had never been built.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that the problem here is Merlin being lazy; they have a monopoly over the theme park market in England so they probably see no reason to have another coaster like Nemesis until there is competition within the industry. The other parks simply don't have enough money to build something which would be defined by most people as world class.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...