I think re-doing Nemesis was exactly the right decision. Firstly, it's an iconic coaster that's a capacity monster. Secondly, without it, Towers would have been left with a massive pit that is bespoke to the track layout with nothing to fill it in. Re-landscape would have cost a fortune, and would be have been way out of budget. My guess is they would have left it for a few seasons, at which point I think the park would look so miserable and sparse, exacerbating the current problems with deterioration, lack of capacity and dilapidation. I believe this really could have brought the place to closure. Instead, now FV to Wickerman looks European level and give the park enough of a starting point to sort its problems. Given the right amount of investment to fix maintenance problems and the other half of the park (Dark Forest, Walliams and X-Sector), I think the park is salvageable. But it really is make or break over the next few seasons with what Merlin is willing to commit to.
As far as the massive pit scenario the plans shown at the VIP event depicted a coaster that made use of the pit and surrounding are and that’s the thing isn’t it, Merlin’s commitment. Seems like a very hands tied situation as far as AT but you’re right Gloomy Wood to FV is superb. A little gappy in places but levels above the rest of the park
I think the one thing Alton Towers got right this year was Nemesis. The theming is great and the rattle is overstated. I don’t really feel much of a difference in how it rides, it’s still great. The reason it’s not brought much of a return is because of the rest of the parks operations, food and ride availability. Mini figure speedway is a lovely ride but you’re right, everything else around it is a shambles. Because of their obsession with fast track there’s not even enough queue line for the normal queue and you end of queuing on the path. Theming is also crap which is pretty standard for anything Merlin nowadays. You can see shortcuts taken with most of the parks in the UK. The only park that does things properly is Paultons.
@@neilcarter9576 In so interesting in seeing what they do with their first ever dark ride next year, they really have the opportunity to set the bar for UK standards
@@LiftHillsandThrillsyeah can’t wait for it, I’m sure it’ll be brilliant. If I were Paultons I’d be trying to hit a higher thrill level in the new area whilst still keeping it accessible to younger guests. With some of these new coasters it’s amazing how intense you can get for a 120cm height restriction. It’ll be brilliant whatever they do though.
As someone in the thrillseeker category, I feel that we've only got one new coaster this year - Hyperia. Terrible 'theming' aside, the ride experience is incredible (as is the soundtrack). Nemesis has been re-dressed, but essentially is the same experience we've had hundreds of times previously. The family rides have been good additions, but nothing spectacular. Your Experience Guide did a good podcast on this, looking at whether thrillseekers are not top of the priority list anymore - hard to argue when you see where investment is going. 2024 = the year that could have been.
I saw that episode, it was a great chat. Hyperia for me is this years only highlight, on opening day for Nemmy I was buzzing no rattle, no issues, just a lazy queue line but then it just got worse and worse and worse
I was underwhelmed by the Nemmy intensity going straight for the back row 😢 I was blown away with Hyperia , my absolute favourite coaster in the UK , that first drop is insane ❤
I feel 2024 has been the year we have seen the most change in a long time. Its been years since we have had so many coasters open at once and whilst it has been a mixed bag overall I think the net has been positive we got what we wanted new coasters at Legoland Windsor, Thorpe Park and Drayton Manor after years of little investment.
5:18 Emerald Park had 4 coasters before the Tir Na Nog area. I do admit that Dino Dash, Flight School and Ladybird Loop arent big thrillers but they are still coasters none the less
I think it’s been a good year overall for new rides but I think days of retracks are over, Nemmy has failed with the GP, makes me wonder what happens next to the Big One, financially it may make more sense to completely replace to advertise a new ride.
I know the Big One and Taziker had a little bit of a falling out so I can't imagine the rest of the track work being done with them unless they've sorted out their differences
I think it's been half and half to be honest. Think nemisis should have just had a retrack instead of having a compete makeover even though the area looks incredible. The wave at Drayton is more comfortable now it's sit down with lapbars but the station looks on the cheap side. I love gold rush. Its fab for family's. The station needed more themeing though xx
The Wave is a big improvement for ride experience especially as Shockwave was getting a bit uncomfortable however, when I went the back row was out of action and with the speed of the lift hill they really need a 2nd train (or whoever is pedalling the chain needs to pedal faster 😂)
Whilst statistically it's slightly faster it's not noticeable as it's a mere fraction or so quicker. More intense doesn't even come close to what it was before, it was aggressive and mean whilst now it feels just shaky in most parts but better presented it is and the whole area is. People are allowed to think otherwise, that's what makes us unique doesn't mean you're right, doesn't mean I'm right, we're different and all opinions are welcome and respected
@@LiftHillsandThrills I only had back row rides Shaun, perhaps that may have played its part in my opinion, i did feel a small rattle on the last corner but nowhere else, I of course enjoy hearing your considered thoughts on coasters which are not always mainstream xx.
@@LLLLLLLLLucas Definitely give the other rows a try as I've had some rides where it's audible (Very much so) but you don't feel it as much. That last corner is always brutal for me aha I always appreciate you watching mate
I feel like most the new coasters this year have been overlooked, I’ve only heard people talk about Nemesis and Hyperia, and not a single soul mention minifigure speedyway (which I personally think is very underrated). I’ve not been able to ride the wave or gold rush but the hype for them also died down around 3 days after opening day. And for Tir na Nog, I only found out what it was because of Coaster Studios 😂
For the park i feel nemesis reborn defiantly did not do as well as they had hoped. Minifigure speedway has defiantly been a succuss for the park, it is just a empty unthemed council estate looking garage area. Gold rush was not was it was hyped up to be and it is a very slow and sluggish ride. Even though we have had quite a few additions this year i feel only 1 or 2 of them are solid rides
Hyperia was a success for Thorpe, it was busy every time I went this season. I didnt enjoy Nemesis nearly as much as I'd hoped I would. The new ridss in Ireland look fantastic!
I can only comment on 2 of them. Nemises for me is a massive improvement i think the area looks amazing until you get to galactica. I feel the ride is better than the previous incarnation and the station blows me away. Its shame money has been cut now because if they did do the retheme of galactica it would have lifted the area again. Minifigure speedway. On the day we visited a sunday in september it took 5 attempts to ride this as it kept going down for 30mins-1hr we were fortunate tonl get on it. The queueline is terrible the station not much better but the ride for youngsters as a 1st serious coaster i think it works well.
Im really hoping Alton recovers from this year, im praying it does. With the skyride coming back and the new ride i hope things do change, hopefully this winter they do HEAVY maintenence on the rides and get them working as best as they can otherwise they are in huge trouble especially with UK Univeral hopefully opening soon..
I’m a big fan of next gen Vekoma rides. It’s been a great year for new rides on the whole. The Hyperia ride experience is very good despite the lack of theming. I was lucky enough to ride the Blade one last time this year as well. Do I think Toxicator will be over hyped? Yes. If it at least matches Ripsaw in terms of ride experience and off-ride interaction, then I’d consider it a successful much needed flat ride.
@@Stuntman707 I think relying on nostalgia isn’t a forward thinking way to run a park. Like imagine if PBR removed Big Dipper and replaced it… with a new big dipper… it wouldn’t affect footfall
@@LiftHillsandThrills No, I’m glad it’s not themed the same. What I mean is that I hope it’s a solid flat ride like Ripsaw was. Any additional surprises they add to it would be nice but not essential for me. I think it would be worse if they added a load of effects which broke after two weeks.
I think it has been a great year but the bar is low. Nemesis opening day was good, hyperia got theming/visual issues but a great addition to the the UK. Legoland has a major capacity issue so the addition is a bonus. Until people are willing to spend more, we get what we get. Towers ride availability has been poor though and they should have come out to say what the problems have been. It all comes down to what each individual spends and do we get value for money. For instance, a one time yearly visit to Towers and you face half the rides down with 100 minute queues for other rides is not good at all. Whereby it costs son and I around £3.50 each to go to merlin parks (pass) which is excellent value. Merlin cant be doing great looking at the financials. Universal will cost a lot more to attend and would suspect the family of four would be shelling out £500 a visit with food etc. So overall, think it has been good with a low bar. Just to add, I think similar to a few other comments. Nostalgia is not what the US does and I think we should be following their line and see progression.
We do heavily rely too much on the nostalgia in many areas when in reality that could be the very thing stopping us from growing. Disney don't care about ripping out bits that mean so much to people but they know it'll benefit the future of their business going forwards. We need more of that ruthless streak
went on reborn and hyperia, picked one of the worst days for both bar it being closed nemesis was on one train on half term and hyperia was clsoe for half the day during my visit both are great ride experiences hyperia is NO 1 for me and reborn is 6th
Drayton Manors new area and ride Gold Rush has probably done the best in terms of increasing park attendance and its going down the family route is the right decision like it or not Drayton Manor cannot compete with Alton Towers Thrill Coasters the same was true for American Adventure. Thorpe Park has also had a super strong year Fright Nights feeling like Halloween Horror Nights which is the right direction to take the park in.
I'd love to know the figures for Gold Rush, I hear The Looping Group were adamant on numbers increasing in 2024 and it would be great to know if the ride has in fact helped towards that.
Question for yourself if you prefer the parks over in Europe or Florida why not move out of the UK so you can be closer to parks that you would enjoy more.
My family and friends all live in the UK, I don't think I'd move countries just to be closer to parks that I enjoy and appreciate more. I don't love them THAT much aha
I absolutely love nemesis reborn and I think it’s increadible but can also understand and wonder about your investment side of things , in all honesty I don’t think it was a smart decision for the park and I think they should’ve ditched it ( as sad as it would’ve been ) however Hyperia was defiently a huge success and easily worth it for Thorpe even with the lack of themeing
@ I know right 😂😂 my goal to hit 236 rides on it this year were quickly shattered when I realised how long the queue was all year so only managed to hit 150
i do worry that with the success of Hyperia, we (the GP) have given Merlin the green light to not theme coasters as they just as successful with or without…
@@joshl9328 That very well could be true but with the cutbacks I can’t imagine anything being crazily themed moving forward but I guess it all depends what projects are being prioritised currently. I imagine anything Thorpe and especially Chessington would be prioritised over AT currently.
Gold rush dose look good in parts, but cmon it will never beat paultons. people have been saying its paultons standards, its no wear close in my eyes it has a few good parts of immersive theming which is nice to see but other than that not much and definitely not enough to rival paultons.
To be honest, I'd have much rather had an Intamin Blitz in a Maverick style in the Nemy pit than a Nemy clone,,, the fact that Nemy is ranked by some behind the likes of Verbolten and Gold Rush some, with it also meant to be Towers best coaster, shows that they probably should've got something newer and better. 6:09, hold up, UK coaster?
haha thanks for spotting that! Just edited it out swiftly haha and I agree, the concept for what was going to replace Nemesis looked far better than what we had previously. Whilst I'm glad it stayed for love and nostalgic reasons something new would have appealed more to the GP who are the target audience after all
Merlin need to step it up if a family can manage to open the only theme park in Ireland in the middle of a field in county meath and manage to open 2 new costers with better teaming than most editions from merlin, a multi-billion euro company that's global just isn't good enough the quality of the rides is there but the teaming just isn't it's in the name theme park. Step it up merlin.
Yeah I mean with Emerald you could completely understand why it wasn't finished, it's their biggest ever investment and it still looked beautiful but there's zero excuse with Merlin
I think re-doing Nemesis was exactly the right decision. Firstly, it's an iconic coaster that's a capacity monster. Secondly, without it, Towers would have been left with a massive pit that is bespoke to the track layout with nothing to fill it in. Re-landscape would have cost a fortune, and would be have been way out of budget. My guess is they would have left it for a few seasons, at which point I think the park would look so miserable and sparse, exacerbating the current problems with deterioration, lack of capacity and dilapidation. I believe this really could have brought the place to closure. Instead, now FV to Wickerman looks European level and give the park enough of a starting point to sort its problems. Given the right amount of investment to fix maintenance problems and the other half of the park (Dark Forest, Walliams and X-Sector), I think the park is salvageable. But it really is make or break over the next few seasons with what Merlin is willing to commit to.
As far as the massive pit scenario the plans shown at the VIP event depicted a coaster that made use of the pit and surrounding are and that’s the thing isn’t it, Merlin’s commitment. Seems like a very hands tied situation as far as AT but you’re right Gloomy Wood to FV is superb. A little gappy in places but levels above the rest of the park
I think the one thing Alton Towers got right this year was Nemesis. The theming is great and the rattle is overstated. I don’t really feel much of a difference in how it rides, it’s still great. The reason it’s not brought much of a return is because of the rest of the parks operations, food and ride availability. Mini figure speedway is a lovely ride but you’re right, everything else around it is a shambles. Because of their obsession with fast track there’s not even enough queue line for the normal queue and you end of queuing on the path. Theming is also crap which is pretty standard for anything Merlin nowadays. You can see shortcuts taken with most of the parks in the UK. The only park that does things properly is Paultons.
@@neilcarter9576 In so interesting in seeing what they do with their first ever dark ride next year, they really have the opportunity to set the bar for UK standards
@@LiftHillsandThrillsyeah can’t wait for it, I’m sure it’ll be brilliant. If I were Paultons I’d be trying to hit a higher thrill level in the new area whilst still keeping it accessible to younger guests. With some of these new coasters it’s amazing how intense you can get for a 120cm height restriction. It’ll be brilliant whatever they do though.
As someone in the thrillseeker category, I feel that we've only got one new coaster this year - Hyperia. Terrible 'theming' aside, the ride experience is incredible (as is the soundtrack). Nemesis has been re-dressed, but essentially is the same experience we've had hundreds of times previously. The family rides have been good additions, but nothing spectacular.
Your Experience Guide did a good podcast on this, looking at whether thrillseekers are not top of the priority list anymore - hard to argue when you see where investment is going. 2024 = the year that could have been.
I saw that episode, it was a great chat. Hyperia for me is this years only highlight, on opening day for Nemmy I was buzzing no rattle, no issues, just a lazy queue line but then it just got worse and worse and worse
I was underwhelmed by the Nemmy intensity going straight for the back row 😢 I was blown away with Hyperia , my absolute favourite coaster in the UK , that first drop is insane ❤
Yeah it just doesn’t have that intensity for me but others feel as though it’s quicker 🤷♂️
I feel 2024 has been the year we have seen the most change in a long time. Its been years since we have had so many coasters open at once and whilst it has been a mixed bag overall I think the net has been positive we got what we wanted new coasters at Legoland Windsor, Thorpe Park and Drayton Manor after years of little investment.
I feel as though it's great to have the new additions but do you feel as though we could have had better than what we received?
How do you feel about the new additions to the UK (and Ireland) coaster line-up? Leave your comments below!
5:18 Emerald Park had 4 coasters before the Tir Na Nog area. I do admit that Dino Dash, Flight School and Ladybird Loop arent big thrillers but they are still coasters none the less
Doh! I've edited this now, thanks for pointing it out!
I think it’s been a good year overall for new rides but I think days of retracks are over, Nemmy has failed with the GP, makes me wonder what happens next to the Big One, financially it may make more sense to completely replace to advertise a new ride.
I know the Big One and Taziker had a little bit of a falling out so I can't imagine the rest of the track work being done with them unless they've sorted out their differences
I think it's been half and half to be honest. Think nemisis should have just had a retrack instead of having a compete makeover even though the area looks incredible. The wave at Drayton is more comfortable now it's sit down with lapbars but the station looks on the cheap side. I love gold rush. Its fab for family's. The station needed more themeing though xx
Definitely a mixed bag!
@@LiftHillsandThrills definitely x
I like my thrill rides like hyperia but gold rush actually really hit me with how fun the ride was really snappy for a small family coaster I loved it
Glad you enjoyed it
The Wave is a big improvement for ride experience especially as Shockwave was getting a bit uncomfortable however, when I went the back row was out of action and with the speed of the lift hill they really need a 2nd train (or whoever is pedalling the chain needs to pedal faster 😂)
I remember the restraint issue started with the back row (I believe) even just looking at the train I’d be hesitant in getting on, I really would 😂
@ maybe the back has been out all season? They’re actually pretty comfortable restrains…just a shame they went cheap rather than going back to Intamin
Nemesis is faster, more intense and better presented than it was before, I don't understand how anyone could think otherwise.
Whilst statistically it's slightly faster it's not noticeable as it's a mere fraction or so quicker. More intense doesn't even come close to what it was before, it was aggressive and mean whilst now it feels just shaky in most parts but better presented it is and the whole area is. People are allowed to think otherwise, that's what makes us unique doesn't mean you're right, doesn't mean I'm right, we're different and all opinions are welcome and respected
@@LiftHillsandThrills I only had back row rides Shaun, perhaps that may have played its part in my opinion, i did feel a small rattle on the last corner but nowhere else, I of course enjoy hearing your considered thoughts on coasters which are not always mainstream xx.
@@LLLLLLLLLucas Definitely give the other rows a try as I've had some rides where it's audible (Very much so) but you don't feel it as much. That last corner is always brutal for me aha I always appreciate you watching mate
Nemmy opened on the 16/3 😂 as it was my birthday. I certainly want to visit Ireland next year
You're right!! haha Ireland is worth a visit for sure
I feel like most the new coasters this year have been overlooked, I’ve only heard people talk about Nemesis and Hyperia, and not a single soul mention minifigure speedyway (which I personally think is very underrated). I’ve not been able to ride the wave or gold rush but the hype for them also died down around 3 days after opening day. And for Tir na Nog, I only found out what it was because of Coaster Studios 😂
@@shaved_wombat haha should have found out because of us! We got that smashed! Only video I’ve ever beaten CS on is the Na Fianna Force POV 🤣
For the park i feel nemesis reborn defiantly did not do as well as they had hoped. Minifigure speedway has defiantly been a succuss for the park, it is just a empty unthemed council estate looking garage area. Gold rush was not was it was hyped up to be and it is a very slow and sluggish ride. Even though we have had quite a few additions this year i feel only 1 or 2 of them are solid rides
Can't disagree with that!
Hyperia was a success for Thorpe, it was busy every time I went this season. I didnt enjoy Nemesis nearly as much as I'd hoped I would. The new ridss in Ireland look fantastic!
@@socadeejay Hyperia was a big success!
I can only comment on 2 of them.
Nemises for me is a massive improvement i think the area looks amazing until you get to galactica. I feel the ride is better than the previous incarnation and the station blows me away. Its shame money has been cut now because if they did do the retheme of galactica it would have lifted the area again.
Minifigure speedway. On the day we visited a sunday in september it took 5 attempts to ride this as it kept going down for 30mins-1hr we were fortunate tonl get on it. The queueline is terrible the station not much better but the ride for youngsters as a 1st serious coaster i think it works well.
@@leesmart2157 Definitely agree that Nemmy looks better but sadly can’t agree on the ride experience, it feels a shell of its former self
Im really hoping Alton recovers from this year, im praying it does. With the skyride coming back and the new ride i hope things do change, hopefully this winter they do HEAVY maintenence on the rides and get them working as best as they can otherwise they are in huge trouble especially with UK Univeral hopefully opening soon..
🤞
I’m a big fan of next gen Vekoma rides. It’s been a great year for new rides on the whole. The Hyperia ride experience is very good despite the lack of theming. I was lucky enough to ride the Blade one last time this year as well.
Do I think Toxicator will be over hyped? Yes. If it at least matches Ripsaw in terms of ride experience and off-ride interaction, then I’d consider it a successful much needed flat ride.
@@Stuntman707 I think relying on nostalgia isn’t a forward thinking way to run a park. Like imagine if PBR removed Big Dipper and replaced it… with a new big dipper… it wouldn’t affect footfall
@@LiftHillsandThrills No, I’m glad it’s not themed the same. What I mean is that I hope it’s a solid flat ride like Ripsaw was. Any additional surprises they add to it would be nice but not essential for me. I think it would be worse if they added a load of effects which broke after two weeks.
@@Stuntman707 Yeah I get you..
I think it has been a great year but the bar is low. Nemesis opening day was good, hyperia got theming/visual issues but a great addition to the the UK. Legoland has a major capacity issue so the addition is a bonus. Until people are willing to spend more, we get what we get. Towers ride availability has been poor though and they should have come out to say what the problems have been. It all comes down to what each individual spends and do we get value for money. For instance, a one time yearly visit to Towers and you face half the rides down with 100 minute queues for other rides is not good at all. Whereby it costs son and I around £3.50 each to go to merlin parks (pass) which is excellent value.
Merlin cant be doing great looking at the financials. Universal will cost a lot more to attend and would suspect the family of four would be shelling out £500 a visit with food etc.
So overall, think it has been good with a low bar.
Just to add, I think similar to a few other comments. Nostalgia is not what the US does and I think we should be following their line and see progression.
We do heavily rely too much on the nostalgia in many areas when in reality that could be the very thing stopping us from growing. Disney don't care about ripping out bits that mean so much to people but they know it'll benefit the future of their business going forwards. We need more of that ruthless streak
went on reborn and hyperia, picked one of the worst days for both bar it being closed nemesis was on one train on half term and hyperia was clsoe for half the day during my visit both are great ride experiences hyperia is NO 1 for me and reborn is 6th
Ouch! That's just sheer bad luck!
Drayton Manors new area and ride Gold Rush has probably done the best in terms of increasing park attendance and its going down the family route is the right decision like it or not Drayton Manor cannot compete with Alton Towers Thrill Coasters the same was true for American Adventure.
Thorpe Park has also had a super strong year Fright Nights feeling like Halloween Horror Nights which is the right direction to take the park in.
I'd love to know the figures for Gold Rush, I hear The Looping Group were adamant on numbers increasing in 2024 and it would be great to know if the ride has in fact helped towards that.
Question for yourself if you prefer the parks over in Europe or Florida why not move out of the UK so you can be closer to parks that you would enjoy more.
My family and friends all live in the UK, I don't think I'd move countries just to be closer to parks that I enjoy and appreciate more. I don't love them THAT much aha
I absolutely love nemesis reborn and I think it’s increadible but can also understand and wonder about your investment side of things , in all honesty I don’t think it was a smart decision for the park and I think they should’ve ditched it ( as sad as it would’ve been ) however Hyperia was defiently a huge success and easily worth it for Thorpe even with the lack of themeing
@@Oscar-tn3xu Hyperia’s queues this entire season have been mad… so much so the other rides have barely had a queue 😂
@ I know right 😂😂 my goal to hit 236 rides on it this year were quickly shattered when I realised how long the queue was all year so only managed to hit 150
@@Oscar-tn3xu It's madness isn't it and single rider just doesn't help on that ride aha
@ yeah 😂😂
i do worry that with the success of Hyperia, we (the GP) have given Merlin the green light to not theme coasters as they just as successful with or without…
@@joshl9328 That very well could be true but with the cutbacks I can’t imagine anything being crazily themed moving forward but I guess it all depends what projects are being prioritised currently. I imagine anything Thorpe and especially Chessington would be prioritised over AT currently.
Gold rush dose look good in parts, but cmon it will never beat paultons. people have been saying its paultons standards, its no wear close in my eyes it has a few good parts of immersive theming which is nice to see but other than that not much and definitely not enough to rival paultons.
It’ll never be Paultons standard that’s a park that’s taken care of with love and family values DM will never have that
@ Preach! Paultons needs more love
To be honest, I'd have much rather had an Intamin Blitz in a Maverick style in the Nemy pit than a Nemy clone,,, the fact that Nemy is ranked by some behind the likes of Verbolten and Gold Rush some, with it also meant to be Towers best coaster, shows that they probably should've got something newer and better.
6:09, hold up, UK coaster?
haha thanks for spotting that! Just edited it out swiftly haha and I agree, the concept for what was going to replace Nemesis looked far better than what we had previously. Whilst I'm glad it stayed for love and nostalgic reasons something new would have appealed more to the GP who are the target audience after all
Merlin need to step it up if a family can manage to open the only theme park in Ireland in the middle of a field in county meath and manage to open 2 new costers with better teaming than most editions from merlin, a multi-billion euro company that's global just isn't good enough the quality of the rides is there but the teaming just isn't it's in the name theme park. Step it up merlin.
Yeah I mean with Emerald you could completely understand why it wasn't finished, it's their biggest ever investment and it still looked beautiful but there's zero excuse with Merlin
At least it wasn't as bad as the USA
I have to be honest I don't keep track of too much out there, what did you guys Phoenix Rising being the only one that I know of! aha
@@LiftHillsandThrillsdid you hear about the shambles that is Top Thrill 2
@ I mean it’s kinda new kinda not… 😂 but yes the least said about Zamperla’s bodge job the better