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THE SWARM: Construction Updates


Marc

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Well considering there was no pre-drop on the plans, and none of B&M's recent coasters have had a pre-drop, your tone of surprise is, well, surprising.

Not all of us spend hours staring at every small details on the plans. I like to be surprised if some respects during construction and indeed, opening and initial riding.It's kind of a shame heavily detailed plans are so readily available, really removes the discovery and true wonder at what's being built.
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Edit - Ninja'd, @ Benin: No need to be patronising dear, it can hardly be called a small detail - a mere superficial glance at the plans should have been enough to tell anyone this particular fact. And besides, judging from the amount you frequent the other boards, I'd have thought basic pattern spotting with other coasters would have been within the bounds of possibility.

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Edit - Ninja'd, @ Benin: No need to be patronising dear, it can hardly be called a small detail - a mere superficial glance at the plans should have been enough to tell anyone this particular fact. And besides, judging from the amount you frequent the other boards, I'd have thought basic pattern spotting with other coasters would have been within the bounds of possibility.

Call me patronising, then be patronising in your post. Pot, kettle, black.I just can't win here, people moan about my cynical and negative posts, then when I be positive about things, people pick stuff up in them. Yes I do know B&M have stopped doing pre-drops in recent times, but without really focusing on the bit leading up to the first drop (you know, because of the massive dive loop that is much more interesting), I was expecting a more steeper exit off the lift hill instead of the really small gradual thing we see currently. Something we see leaving Hydra's station perhaps before the Jo-Jo Roll?Plus ninja'd by a post that says nothing bar dots? Evidently a joke lost on us with simpler minds who don't want to know everything. Sorry folks, maybe another time. I'll go back to being negative.
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Well, they have been busy! Wow! This is probably the best construction in this country I have followed since Inferno in 2002. Sure it was great to watch Raptor, but this looks more impressive at the moment! All very exciting!

Definitly. Whilst I always knew I'd ride Raptor, having one on a larger scale being built just round the M25 is far more exciting. I remember back in 05 when Stealth was having its pull through and even staff members at the park were stopping to watch the train going through.. that was exciting as well. There's something about construction that has a childish fascination to it. You just can't help be impressed.

Fever. Needs. A. Paper. Bag... What, nine years since such excitement?? Breathe....Saw The Ride is such an embarrassment already!

I remember when Merlin first took ownership of the Tussauds parks and people were calling them cheap for adding a Gerstlauer.. After an Intamin and three B&M's, they don't look so cheap anymore. :o
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I remember when Merlin first took ownership of the Tussauds parks and people were calling them cheap for adding a Gerstlauer.. After an Intamin and three B&M's, they don't look so cheap anymore. :D

£13.5 million isn't too cheap :o Personally, I think the Gerstlauer looks pretty professional.Considering Nemesis was £6,500,000 Stealth was £12 Million The Swarm is £20,000,000 (Most expensive ride in the park? Colossus was £10,000,000Anyway, does anyone think Colossus is getting slightly old?
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Yes but most of Saw's budget was spent on sponsorship and advertising rights! And 6 million nearly 20 years ago, not to mention the fact AT got that ride a lot cheaper than the going rate as a demonstrator for what could be done with the inverted coaster genre. I'm have to agree that thus far, Merlin are pulling out some rather big guns and The Swarm looks like it will be up there as what could be one of the best coaster experiences in the UK.

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Comparing prices to older coasters isn't well balanced, as it's got a lot more expensive to construct rides and do all the landscaping as well. Times change, and costs go most definitely up.Plus, Merlin are well known to include all the extra costs (theming, landscaping and marketing) into the final cost.What Mark said is right though, a lot of people had a good proper moan at Merlin for going with Gerstlauer instead of something like B&M. Good to see them proving the doubters wrong.

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Swarm is costing 20 million? :o Blimey I didn't know that!

They know how to spend money ;)Anyway, I was comparing merlin's spenditure, I of course understand that prices have gone up since then, but as javs said, to even have the Saw name, it's money. I wonder how much saw was to actually construct/manufacture.Here's "nofa" image:Posted ImagePosted Image
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£13.5 million isn't too cheap :o Personally, I think the Gerstlauer looks pretty professional.Considering Nemesis was £6,500,000 Stealth was £12 Million The Swarm is £20,000,000 (Most expensive ride in the park? Colossus was £10,000,000Anyway, does anyone think Colossus is getting slightly old?

Inflation!Also, Merlin I don't ever qualified what was in the budget. Remember costs of acquiring the IP, infilling the lake, etc. The coaster is only one part of the cost. People just seem to think cost = quality so PR jump on it.
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I think it'll fit pretty nicely from the viewpoint of the bridge. It's sad though for me, it acts as it's own 'weenie' in Disney terms, and being new everyone will flock to it first. It'll reverse the phenomenon I've come to love so much since Saw, where everyone rushes to that corner first leaving Inferno and Stealth empty. Now that side will fill up really quickly and the two worse coasters will be empty :o

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The 1994 Project at Alton Towers (Nemesis and Toyland Tours) came to a cool £12M. Just using a very rough guide by using a calculator online (assuming a 3% rate of inflation since 2006), that figure comes to a steep £17M.That is without taking into account the rising cost of pretty much everything you can think of. You would need a figure approaching £12M in today's money to build a decent dark ride. But anyway, I think £20M is a staggering amount for a company that is still millions and millions of pounds in debt!Edit- Wow what a fantastic photo! :o

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