John Wardley

[ChrisDJ]

Hi everyone,

Earlier this year, as part of my Television Production degree, I researched and wrote the script for a documentary detailing the history of roller coasters within the UK. I was privileged enough to be given an interview with John Wardley. I've since graduated and felt like people might be interested in the interview. I'm sure none of what he says is news to you lot, but still.. enjoy!

CJ: How does the roller coaster industry today compare to the 1980’s?

JW: Well the biggest change has been through the use of computer technology, both in terms of calculating the dynamics of the rides themselves and in terms of being able to control the track bending and the machinery for fabricating the rides, but I would say the main difference has been brought about by computer technology, and also sophistication in terms of the material that are used, the materials, the synthetic materials for the wheels and so on, and also in the sophistication of computer controls and the control technology.

CJ: The 1980’s saw many “off-the-shelf” design roller coasters…

JW: Well that’s not really the case as such, the permanent theme parks in the 80’s, particularly in America were using companies like Arrow Dynamics and Intamin and neither of those companies had off-the-shelf designs. They had off-the-shelf basic systems, but the actual track configurations were invariably custom designed. It was companies like Vekoma that were producing standard layouts either for travelling fairs or for amusement parks that couldn’t afford the luxury of having a custom design, or in actual fact didn’t have the space and wanted something very compact.

CJ: Yes, I believe the Corkscrew was a popular design having been found at Alton Towers and Drayton Manor

JW: Yes that was the Vekoma Corkscrew which was a standard design, now that was a totally portable ride and it moved on from Alton Towers when Alton Towers sold it a few years ago. That was designed… that was purchased for the reason that I mentioned. The previous owner of Alton Towers, John Broome, wanted a ride that he was able to lease rather than purchase and he also had a very very tight footprint in which to put it. But that was a standard design from Vekoma. But since then, and since I’ve been involved there hasn’t actually been any standard designs, they’ve all been custom layouts

CJ: The development of Chessington Zoo saw it become the UK’s first true theme park. Why was this direction taken as opposed to a more traditional amusement park?

JW: Right well that’s a good question because my original brief was to look at Chessington Zoo with a view to upgrading the circus and fun fair and I reached the conclusion that the way forward was not to upgrade the circus and fun fair because there is precious little point in people travelling long distances for permanent facilities if, what they could see when they got there, arrived at their local village green 6 weeks later. So the fairground was essentially all travelling fairground rides operated by travelling showmen and the circus was no different to any travelling circus that moved around the country and I felt that in order to develop an attraction that had a future, it had to provide something special which meant custom built rides on a permanent site which was very different and much more special than anything that travelled around

CJ: Yes I think the Vampire ride is probably a good example of a custom ride that was built at Chessington

JW: That’s right, it was not only a custom-designed ride, it was also Europe’s first suspended coaster, and a swing coaster like that which was of course built by Arrow Dynamics, very heavily themed using special effects and scenery and so on, combined with the Professor Burp’s Bubbleworks dark ride all embracing one sort of Bavarian-type Germanic theme. That was really the first time anything had been done like that in Britain, so you’re right it was Britain’s first real theme park although of course the definition of a theme park is a much-abused thing and a lot of people think a theme park is any kind of amusement park with a pay-one-price policy, preferably inland, in other words not by the sea side with a reasonably clean-cut image and I think people consider that as a theme park. But I think that’s a nonsense, a theme park is something where you provide a series of adventures and attractions on a theme and tell a story in the process.

CJ: 1994 is referred to as the year of the roller coaster, with the opening of Nemesis, Pepsi Max Big One and Shockwave at rival parks. How do each of these rides differ in terms of unique selling point?

JW: Well it was the starting point that each of the three attractions that you’ve mentioned set out from. Blackpool set out to build the tallest. Drayton Manor with Shockwave set out to build the first stand up coaster in Britain, and at Alton Towers we set out to build the best and the most unique. It certainly wasn’t the tallest, it didn’t get in any record books, we just set out to build the most amazing adventure. But I think probably time has really told the tale in as much as Nemesis is still way, way up there in the popularity charts of the international roller coaster enthusiasts, not just British. But Nemesis is still way up there and when ACE and the various roller coaster societies around the world come to Britain they made a bee-line for Nemesis and both the Big One and Shockwave just don’t get a mention

CJ: So I think it’s fair to say the building restrictions at Alton Towers obviously help with the design of innovative roller coasters?

JW: Oh yes, I mean although we curse the local planners for the restrictions that they put on us, at the same time they force us to be creative, and although it’s incredibly expensive to do what we did.. I mean that hole that we dug for Nemesis cost more than the ride cost and so although it is a great inconvenience, it would be so easy and so much cheaper if we could just throw steel up into the air way above the trees. At the same time the restrictions force us to be much more creative which gives the rides greater appeal both in the short and, most importantly, in the long term

CJ: So in that case, how did you go about topping Nemesis?

JW: Well after Nemesis opened, we obviously had to think outside the box again, and I sat down with Walter Bolliger of B&M and we came up with the idea of a vertical drop, but obviously we didn’t have the height to go up in the air, we had to go down in the ground so it meant digging a big shaft so the idea of a vertical shaft going into the ground and then going through a U-bend and back up again seemed to be the way forward, although again that excavation was going to cost a fortune. Subsequently, B&M have built dive machine coasters on the ground and they have had to be two or three times the size. That’s all very exciting, but the idea of dropping into that hole and not knowing how deep it is and whether you’re ever going to come out again, in other words dropping into oblivion which immediate gave us the name for the ride, that was how the whole project came about.

CJ: And then afterwards, what inspired you to create AIR?

JW: Well, having got a suspended coaster and developed the idea of hanging beneath the track, the next logical step was to lie in a face-down position like Superman and that led to, or suggested the idea of flying. I’d been working on this with B&M immediately after we had built Oblivion and a number of other companies got the same idea, it was the next logical step forward, so in effect the race was on to perfect it. Of course, Vekoma actually got a flying coaster out before we did with B&M but I still think that our system, which was totally different to Vekoma’s, they’re loaded in a different way, it gave a more satisfactory sensation of flying, the means by which we got people of varying dimensions into that flying position so they were safe and comfortable and it could be done quickly for maximum ride capacity was terribly difficult and that’s why it took a long time to get the technology perfected. And then, as we progressed, it was obvious that whereas Nemesis and Oblivion were the villains, they were the baddies, the wonderful thing about AIR was that it allowed you to do something that you wanted to do which was to fly, and so therefore AIR became the hero, it wasn’t a baddie, so it wasn’t threatening, it was a challenge but it was exhilarating, it was the goodie rather than the baddie. So the whole theme of AIR and its name suggested that it was the hero, not the villain.

CJ: So of course Alton Towers is known for its innovative roller coasters. Could you tell me about your relationship with B&M?

JW: Well B&M are arguably the finest roller coaster manufacturer in the world, but they are a very low-key organisation with an elite portfolio of clients. And they will deal with everybody, but at the same time their prices are far higher than other ride manufacturers and they will not build anything that they’re not completely happy with, so they will only build rides within their existing portfolio, they only develop new technology in-house and the only person to the best of my knowledge that collaborates with them is myself. I have a very good relationship with them, from the moment Nemesis opened, with Walter and Claude I developed a good relationship and I do collaborate with them with new technologies and new ideas and of course the wing coaster they’ve currently come out with is one of those collaborations.

CJ: Why was the decision made to build a 10 looping roller coaster at Thorpe Park?

JW: Well again it was at a time when it was very very important that whatever the next new ride was had some kind of easy, unique selling point. The company was in the ownership of merchant bankers, they wanted something that could convey very very quickly what the unique selling point was, and therefore a record breaker of some type was the requirement. But it couldn’t be the highest, it couldn’t be the fastest, it couldn’t be the longest, but we decided that it could have the most inversions of any roller coaster in the world so that quite simply was the reason.

CJ: You’ve had some involvement in the development of B&M’s new wing rider concept seen at Thorpe Park with the Swarm this year. How did you come to develop this concept?

JW: Well B&M wanted a new product, and the concept of separating the riders’ heartline, in other words the riders’ centre of gravity from the actual axis of the track. Below the track was done with the inverted coaster, above the track was the stand-up coaster. Now in terms of either side of the track, although there’s the dive coaster such as Oblivion, or later the bigger ones that they’ve built, had very wide vehicles. They were still very much on top of the track rather than either side of the track. Now the thing that appealed to me with the wing coaster idea is that essentially the vehicle and its track was very wide and not very deep, in other words you could go through a horizontal slot that was wide but not very high. The beauty of it is that you can head towards a vertical slot of the same dimensions so it looks as though you’re not going to fit through and rather like that famous sequence in Star Wars where you’re whizzing through canyons, the idea of a vehicle that rapidly flips onto its side can therefore fit through a gap that looks too narrow for it. That looked like fun. So that was how the wing coaster developed.

CJ: Merlin operates 4 of the UK’s top 5 theme parks. Do you think this lack of competition helps or hinders the UK’s roller coaster offerings?

JW: I would say, it certainly doesn’t hinder it because Merlin are the only people with the budget to enable big coasters to be built, and also they’re the only people that have the imagination to put aside ride manufacturers brochures and start thinking outside the box and creating something different and something special. I would say that Merlin are uniquely placed to be able to take roller coasters forward in Britain, and if it were left just to the competition I don’t think that would happen.

CJ: Did you feel that Alton Towers would be in competition with Disneyland Paris when it opened?

JW: No, none whatsoever. First of all, when Disneyland Paris first opened, it wasn’t a particularly happy sort of ship and it got a lot of bad press. It wasn’t as easy to get to as it is now, and things like the food offerings and the hotel offerings weren’t sorted like they are now, so people still felt that Alton Towers, which they could get to and enter for a fraction of the price of a visit to, what was then called Euro Disney, was, there really was no competition whatsoever from Disneyland Paris and I would say that there still isn’t because you can visit Alton Towers without a tremendous amount of planning, at the drop of a hat you can go there and you can have a thumping good time for far far less than if you got a Eurostar and went all the way over the Paris.

CJ: What do you think will be the next big thing in roller coaster design?

JW: Well that’s the question that everybody asks me because I am working on some new ideas with B&M but obviously until such time as the first one is announced, that will be very much under wraps so I’m afraid I can’t really elaborate on that, but you can rest assured that there is a lot of thought being put into where to go from here.

Please don't repost without crediting me

[Mark9]

Fascinating stuff there ChrisDJ, thanks for posting that. Good questions to, the B&M ones confirmed a few thoughts I had on their company.

[ChrisDJ]

Glad you liked it I actually only just read it back for the first time since March, I realise some of the questions seem to be a bit odd but obviously I needed the answers to fill whatever the narrative was of the documentary script (I'm thinking the Disneyland question here)

[Sidders]

Thank you so much for this Chris! This is a brilliant interview which has revealed quite a bit about B&M, Wardley and the process of creation for the big UK rides. I really hope this will help your degree as it's been an awesome read!

[ChrisDJ]

Thanks yes it did! I graduated this summer with a 2.1 and now I'm working on a well-known reality show on Channel 5

[pluk]

That is an excellent read, nice one.

CJ: What do you think will be the next big thing in roller coaster design?

JW: Well that’s the question that everybody asks me because I am working on some new ideas with B&M but obviously until such time as the first one is announced, that will be very much under wraps so I’m afraid I can’t really elaborate on that, but you can rest assured that there is a lot of thought being put into where to go from here.

I'm not sure that has ever been confirmed anywhere else before? Kind of fits in with the whole 'SW7 is a replacement for something else that isn't ready' theory if this interview was back in March.

4D? I can't imagine what else.

[Fred]

Ahh Eddie Stobarts Trucks & Trailers then .

Good interview, thanks for posting - really enjoyed reading. Glad Wardley thinks we can have a "thumping good time" at Alton Towers!

(Plus: Nice to see Colossus didn't have any thought other than, oh our parent company are bastards we have to put this awful thing in )

[pluk]

As most know but is hasn't been discussed much here, John Wardley has recently announced his retirement and released his autobiography which immediately got into the Amazon top 100. I've just started it on Kindle and so far it is a really good read.

John can be heard talking about his career and autobiography here, which is well worth a listen.

[BigBobJones]

It's a good interview and he speaks highly of us enthusiasts too which is great.

Downloaded the book but not had the chance to read it yet

[JoshC.]

Really nice interview to listen to; really shows his enthusiasm for the job he had, as well as the down-to-earth personality he's known for.

My copy of the book is due to arrive in the post tomorrow; looking forward to it.

[JoshC.]

Finished reading the book a couple of days ago..

Fantastic read; cannot fault it. One thing that struck me was the amount of humour that was just intertwined in the book and seemed so effortlessly done - I guess showing he is a showman through and through. Sometimes I've felt Wardley is miscredited by enthusiasts for the work he does, but reading this book shows that the praise he's given is well and truly deserved, even if it has been a bit miscredited sometimes. If he reads this - thanks for taking the time to do this; I'm pretty sure all enthusiasts of any description would love this!

A question on my mind since finishing the book, though, is now Wardley has retired, I wonder who - if anyone - will be used by marketing as the 'creator' of rides for interviews and such, a position Wardley has taken for the Merlin parks recently...

[pluk]

Candy Hollands name has been cropping up in the mainstream press of late, so I'm guessing her. Wardly speaks highly of her but she's got some work to do to build anything like the same level of reputation or respect.

A chink of light in the clouds of the future ride design from this interview:

So is John really retiring after The Smiler?

John laughed: “I am, it’s time, I love rollercoasters and they have been my life, now my contractual agreements are all finished. But if the phone ever rings and somebody wants my help designing a ride, who knows!”

Fingers crossed!

[Marc]

Candy Hollands name has been cropping up in the mainstream press of late, so I'm guessing her. Wardly speaks highly of her but she's got some work to do to build anything like the same level of reputation or respect.

I maybe wrong but I believe she was behind The Swarm, so I'm sure we are ok in that respect.

Unfortunatly I doubt we will ever see anything to the scale of Nemesis in the UK again though.

[JoshC.]

She's definitely been involved in a lot of projects around all the Merlin parks, which I guess is only natural considering she's been working at Tussauds/Merlin for 17 years (according to this link - http://www.coasterforce.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=751914). Pretty sure Wardley called Smiler "Candy's baby" as well at some point in the radio interview, and based on what we've got so far, can't go wrong.

She was also used in Saw's marketing shortly after the announcement of the name - http://projectdylan.co.uk/Construction/106 (finally found that link after goodness knows how long digging! ). So, she seems like an obvious choice if they were to continue with having a 'creator' in the press I guess. XD

[MarkC]

Lovin' the way that John Wardley is a attraction... Still not as good as Peaj the ride though...

[Fred]

Candy's done most of the projects we've seen since merlin taken over - Thirteen, Swarm, Sub Terra and Smiler are all hers.

Hmm, maybe they need names which don't begin with letters in that area of the alphabet.

[SteveJ]

She's definitely been involved in a lot of projects around all the Merlin parks, which I guess is only natural considering she's been working at Tussauds/Merlin for 17 years (according to this link - http://www.coasterforce.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=751914). Pretty sure Wardley called Smiler "Candy's baby" as well at some point in the radio interview, and based on what we've got so far, can't go wrong.

It was actually the radio show host who called it "Candy Holland's baby", but John replied saying that he "taught her the craft over the years" (along those lines).

Candy Holland has been involved as far back as Nemesis, I believe, but became more of a leading figure after John Wardley's [initial] retirement. I find most of the recent projects to have very stale, formulaic or sober themes; not the kind of imaginative, exciting ideas from the John Wardley era. Despite that, everything in the last 5 years has been a big improvement from the rubbish era of tacked-on themes and half-hearted rides, like Rita for example.

Thirteen seemed to be a change for the better. It actually had an atmospheric, emotionally rooted concept that suited the history of Alton Towers, but it was executed so badly (scaffolding + dummies = possessed forest?). The Smiler may finally be the moment one of Candy Holland's team's concepts really breaks through - it's original, characteristic and very enjoyable (for me at least). And so far, the concept is actually there in front of you, not hidden behind a fence or displayed on a queueline tv.

[Kerfuffle]

They say SAW - The Ride was designed by Candy Holland. Was it the actual ride experience she did, as John Wardley did the ride layout?

[Fred]

Yup, Wardley has only done the layout for the last few coasters I believe (pnly since merlin took over, and had no input after inferno before that).

[SteveJ]

Yes, but it's worth noting that no one person ever designs anything. John Wardley was project manager of the early 90s developments at Alton Towers and Chessington in the early 90s. He was head of Tussaudes Attraction Development (along those lines) until his retirement in 2002, but by that time the industry had expanded and his job role changed slightly. Whereas rides like BubbleWorks and Vampire were practically his ideas, later projects such as Oblivion and Air were influenced more by marketing.

After Merlin rehired him in 2008, he was given the title of Ride Consultant which seems similar to his role in the late 90s/early 00s, however by this point he had no creative input (apart from consulting with marketing what tone the theme should have, to target certain audiences). He still has input on the basic layouts and profiles, but whether you can call that "designing the layout" I'm not sure.

Candy Holland doesn't actually design the rollercoasters herself, but she is involved in the creative studios - I think. Nobody really knows about her. There are also these Brad and Ben people who have popped up recently...

[James_C]

Oh man I want Candy Hollands job!

[pluk]

I finished reading the autobiography a while back and it really is very good, laugh out loud funny in places and full of tales I found fascinating. Wardley manages to to convey such passion and enthusiasm for his work it is easy to see why he has been so successful and how the experiences he gave himself set him up for that success.

Others have commented on how lucky he has been to be able to do the work he has done, and to an extent the right time right place factor will always be true, but what is even clearer is you make your own luck. You get out and do it and stay true to your beliefs. When Chessington came knocking he could have told them what they wanted to hear and got himself an easy little job, but he didn't. He told them his truth and they didn't like it because they wanted a quicker easier fix that didn't exist, but he left them with something to think about and sowed the seeds that would allow him to develop the place in a way he knew would work. Persuading others that you are right is the bigger skill than being right in the first place.

It is really quite an inspiring read, makes you want to get out there and do something you love.

An amendment has been made in later additions giving a little info on the smiler, and that can be found here. It is a little bit cagey on the process but, regardless of how good the smiler actually is, has this slightly heartbreaking passage

We all knew that a traditional wooden coaster would be an absolutely perfect attraction for the park, and would thrill young and old alike, but the public's pre-conceptions of them being old-fashioned made them very difficult to promote and market. I was convinced that once the guests had ridden such a ride they would love it and be very enthusiastic. Alton Towers had just employed a talented new marketing director whom I was confident had the ability to market such an attraction. But unfortunately the weight of opinion went against me.

After a whole career of getting things right why couldn't they have just trusted him on this one? A woodie clearly is the ride he has wanted to build at Towers, and it is the one I wanted to ride. Such a shame.

[Kerfuffle]

He has a BOOK???

[pluk]

He has a BOOK???

Sure has! Very good it is too.

[pluk]

It seems like now he is not receiving their ££ Wardley is being a bit more openly honest about the reality and frustrations of getting things done in Merlin, very interesting little quotes here...

http://riderater.co.uk/2013/wardley-not-giving-up-on-wooden-rollercoaster/

A B+M standup? I wonder if that means they have some sort of development of that ride type up their sleeves as it has been dead for a good while now.

A Wallace and Gromit coaster? Could have been interesting.

WOOD. Still talk of wood. Keep on hoping.