It was actually in the original Crash Pas application I believe!

I reckon it's probably 50/50 at the moment. The applications said that it was "likely" the '2015 coaster' would be delayed, not that it would. If we don't hear anything by the end of February though, I'd say it's a dead-cert that we won't get a coaster in 2015 (opening for the new season, at least...)

Well I was close enough! But if we see any ground work going on in march when the park opens, it will get our brains moving. Saying of which we should see the first signs of ground work this year anyway!

Yeah and with the new map when Angry Birds land is open there may be hints to a new coaster on the Map

Hopefully Jack! I do fear however it will be postponed or kept very quiet! I have that feeling we will come in to the park one day and see the park littered with marketing! Who knows, I have a strong feeling we won't be seeing anything too big in 2015 though, we would of seen something by now surely?

Hopefully Jack! I do fear however it will be postponed or kept very quiet! I have that feeling we will come in to the park one day and see the park littered with marketing! Who knows, I have a strong feeling we won't be seeing anything too big in 2015 though, we would of seen something by now surely?

I really hope that's what happens I've never been in a park when something like that's going on Seeing videos of Lez Coogan and the smiling advocates makes me want to be around when that stuff goes on I love subtle marketing like that. It's not in your face and only there if you look for it

If there's a new coaster coming in 2015 it'll be all over the park in March. Not going to lose out on a bit of marketing are they? And all this about it happening in 2016 would mean it would clash with Towers next large investment. Who's to say Towers will get something large in 2016? And even if they do, in 2002 we got Colossus and Air in the same year. The way I see it is Gardaland have had a 4 year gap between Raptor and the new dive coaster next year so they might give Thorpe a 4 year gap. But then Heide has had a 3 year gap between Krake and Flight of the Demon so who knows! If they don't put planning permission in soon though it won't be opening for March next year. Nothing to say they won't open a new coaster in sumner 2015, especially as it seems Merlin have given up with first day of the season openings.

Alternatively, a good way to see it is that the parks will add whatever they want whenever they want... These cycles were very much reliant on all the parks being of equal success to each other and given that now all the income goes into one big pot the 3 year cycle system was slightly out-dated...

It's not the end of the world if we don't get a new coaster in 2015, unless any new addition is cheap crap...

Regardless of what cycles Merlin may use when investing in their resort parks, I truly don't think Thorpe need a new coaster for 2015. I believe there is a need for some kind of new attraction, (whether it be thrill or family), and obviously superior to Storm Surge or SAW Alive but a coaster just isn't it (in my opinion of course ).

Well we have got the 4D cinema back and the return of the bumper cars. Yes these are small additions, but I would rather have these additions than nothing at all. It is a shame my MAP runs out at the end of April, but I will be waiting for both TP and Alton to get a new coaster before getting another MAP. So I accept I may have a gap of 2 years away from Merlin parks. This can only be a good thing as I will go to BPB and Pleasurewood Hills etc to see what the others are offering.

Sell X no way out and put a Maurer Sohne spinning coaster inside the pyramid and keep the lights and music!!

The excellent Theme Park Tourist has just posted an article asking what Thorpe's almost-inevitable next "world's first coaster" could be in 2016/2017. It guesses at:

1) S&S 4D free-rotation prototype coaster (untested, but there's potential)

2) Vekoma Dragon Fly prototype coaster (an inverted motocoaster; looks a bit awkward)

3) Record-setting Rocky Mountain wood/steel hybrid coaster (great, but would it happen?)

Not sure 1 & 2 are that desirable, nor 3 that plausible, but interesting nonetheless. And if not any of these, what else does the industry offer that Thorpe could install instead to be a "world's first"?

Does it HAVE to be something offered by the industry in the public domain now to be a suitable addition?

For all we know, Merlin could be doing deals with manufacturers like Tussauds had with B&M and Towers all those years ago which gave us Oblivion and Air, when prior there was nothing like them before (ok, Vekoma had the Flying Dutchman, but Air's technology exceeded that version greatly)... Same thing for Thirteen really...

Nothing stopping the park being imaginative and getting something 'under the table' as it were...

Those three guesses all seem very plucked out of the air to me.

-S&S Free Spin seems to be much against the grain of the recent direction the park are taking. Not to mention it would undermine Swarm massively.

-Dragon Fly seems to have been floating around for a while, and I just can't see it ever really taking off, nor Thorpe going for one.

-RMC inverting woodie is of course being put about an awful lot recently. Could it happen? Who knows?

Thorpe are now in the perhaps very sticky situation in that they've got the opportunity to build their second-tallest coaster on park and (if they leave opening until 2017) potentially their longest coaster, but they also need a big family coaster for everyone (a 1.2m ride, fun for all, etc.. Basically, what Th13teen did for Towers). Would the park's 2nd tallest and longest coaster be able to appeal to the entire family? Or would they have to shun a family coaster so they could use those more relaxed restrictions to make another thrill monster of a coaster? Or would they put off building a taller coaster for another 3 years?

The way I see it, whatever they end up doing, it's likely to have a couple of negatives.

What would a B&M flying coaster be considered as? I would place it in the thrill-family market, but I have heard some people say it is more family wise. However, I guess it mostly depends on the layout it has.

Would the park's 2nd tallest and longest coaster be able to appeal to the entire family?

Tall wooden coaster!

Does it have to appeal to families though in not being overly thrilling. The number of children who get upset because they are too small for Thorpe's coasters or just in general is high. People assume that young kids don't like thrill rides, not all true. You can't know that when you don't allow small kids on thrill rides due to height restrictions. Not every child is scared off big rides that go upside down, many want to go on them and can't wait to be tall enough. So why not build a thrilling wooden or whatever and give it a 1.2 height restriction (like Wodan or Outlaw Run has) and as long as you don't give it an overly dark scary theme children of the 1.2 height will ride. With the removal of Corkscrew at Towers and so on Britain lacks thrilling rides for children and at the same time older families. The only inverting rides at Merlin parks (with the removal of Submission) for people under 1.4 metres are Zodiac and Enterprise. Not great for children who look for something thrilling that they can ride with their parents.

A ride that doesn't invert can also be thrilling...

Indeed, the concept of what is thrilling or not changes over time...

I totally agree with you. After all, I bet most people on here were such young children you wanted to go on such a ride!

However, one thing which would concern me is if they build a coaster which is 50m high, for example, and is pretty much right next to Stealth, it's going to look large. It's going to look intimidating too, regardless of the theme or what type of ride it is, to a 7 year old kid. Then, when you compare it to the park's other rides, and it's taller than 'The one that goes upside down 10 times', 'The one based on a horror film' and the like, my worry is it's going to be seen as something which is scarier than it should be. Especially when the park is as small as it is - it's really easy to make comparisons.

But then if the park don't go for a tall ride, and instead go for something around the 25-30m mark so that it could come across as less intimidating - but still a perfect family thrill coaster - then the park are potentially losing out on the potential of having another really tall coaster. I know people will say 'height isn't everything, etc.', but there's only so much you can do by sticking at the same height (which was the whole point of the parking applying to the council to have taller coasters).

Maybe I'm over-thinking / over-complicating it, but I definitely think there's a fine line that the park need to be careful about. They could risk creating a ride which isn't suited enough to the desired market, further alienate the market they're trying to appeal to, or miss out on an opportunity of getting a certain coaster at a certain time.

I think it would be hard to market it to families, but then Millennium Force at Cedar Point (although has a dull layout) is a 1.2m (48inches) height restriction and look how popular that is, and thats 310ft tall. Anything is possible its just it might take the gp more time to tell them that it's family friendly.

Oziris is 1.3 do you think Nemmy and Inferno will have there height restriction lowered.

Oziris is 1.3 do you think Nemmy and Inferno will have there height restriction lowered.

1 word... No, it's Merlin, to be fair if a merlin park had MF it probs would be a 1.4 knowing them.

Merlin tend to allways up there hights limits saw-the ride can be a 1.25m limit but they put it up to 1.4 due to the "Horror nature" rush is another according the manufacture website the sky screamer is a 1.2M thoroe put a 1.3 Instead

The height restriction choice will no doubt also have a factor based on the local H&S authority... And any incidents that may be related to it (hence why NWO and Rattlesnake were/are 1.4m)...

Down to park preference I'd say as well, Oz'Iris being in Asterix is probably the main reason it is 1.3m, because they wanted to absorb as much of their family market as possible...

I do think that Merlin put higher restrictions on their rides than is needed - for example Speed at Oakwood has a 1.27 height restriction, and Big One and Infusion at BPB are 1.32.

Saw is probably only 1.4 due to the horror theme though (although to be honest apart from the guns there's nothing that would scare children in there really).

(although to be honest apart from the guns there's nothing that would scare children in there really).

And maybe the dead/bleeding body under the inline twist (I think its an inline twist)

And maybe the dead/bleeding body under the inline twist (I think its an inline twist)

Maybe, but you don't really see it in detail and I've been on Ghost Trains (which a lot of children go on) with scarier things.