Potential Shockwave and Apocalypse Removal?

[AvalancheAttractionsUK]

Recently there has been some rumours that Shockwave and Apocalypse could be removed from the park in the next few years. Although I like to think of the rumour as a load of rubbish, with recent removals of Pirates Adventure, the Chairlift and G-Force in a few months, it could be likely.

I’d say that if they did get removed, it could kill off older visitors to the park, and potentially school trips for primary/ high schools (who most likely won’t be interested in Thomas Land). If it was to happen, I’m not sure where the rides could be relocated, as I doubt many other parks would want a 25+ year old second hand stand up coaster, and a drop tower that would cost a fortune to just dismantle.

If the rides did cost a lot to just remove, I’d like to think that would be a factor into Drayton deciding not to get rid of some of their best rides. Shockwave’s removal would leave that corner of the park almost empty, with G-Force gone, and I highly doubt Splash Canyon will return. And if Apocalypse bites the dust, the park’s skyline wouldn’t be as impressive, as it’s the park’s tallest ride!

I’ve said what I think about it, so what do you think about the rumour (it’s just a rumour after all)?

 

[remlap]

I think it would kill the park. In the summer when it’s rammed there would be nothing to do for older kids/adults.

 

[Kam]

Recently there has been some rumours that Shockwave and Apocalypse could be removed from the park in the next few years. Although I like to think of the rumour as a load of rubbish, with recent removals of Pirates Adventure, the Chairlift and G-Force in a few months, it could be likely.

I’d say that if they did get removed, it could kill off older visitors to the park, and potentially school trips for primary/ high schools (who most likely won’t be interested in Thomas Land). If it was to happen, I’m not sure where the rides could be relocated, as I doubt many other parks would want a 25+ year old second hand stand up coaster, and a drop tower that would cost a fortune to just dismantle.

If the rides did cost a lot to just remove, I’d like to think that would be a factor into Drayton deciding not to get rid of some of their best rides. Shockwave’s removal would leave that corner of the park almost empty, with G-Force gone, and I highly doubt Splash Canyon will return. And if Apocalypse bites the dust, the park’s skyline wouldn’t be as impressive, as it’s the park’s tallest ride!

I’ve said what I think about it, so what do you think about the rumour (it’s just a rumour after all)?

I think it would kill the park. In the summer when it’s rammed there would be nothing to do for older kids/adults.

I think both of you are on the ball about this. Thomas Land has been an incredibly important lifeline for the park since the late 00s, and their investment in this has been influential on the wider industry in showing the strength of IPs and the junior market; but the biggest and most fatal mistake was not reinvesting some of the profits of Thomas Land in to the main park, which has deteriorated year on year.

• Pirate Adventure truly started going downhill after its fire in 2006. The park didn't even bother replacing the ghost scene after it burnt down, and when Thomas Land arrived, instead of creating a new exit path to replace the Treasure Trove shop, they simply used a tacky old emergency exit path. Maintaining Pirate Adventure wasn't cheap. Los Piratas' (Pirate Adventure's old sister ride at Bellewaerde in Belgium) main reason of closure was that they were investing too much in to maintaining the animatronics and effects. With Drayton it's the opposite story. Whist the ride was relatively well looked after in the 90s, essentially contracts with animatronics maintenance were not followed through with, and leaking air cyclinders/corrosion/rotting clothing and wood became an issue very quickly. Drayton's problem was that they did not spend nearly enough on the ride in its earlier years, and if they had; I'm sure they would of avoided many of these issues. Fire risk and fire exist routes were a big issue too, but again, had these inspections happened 10 years ago, this would of been an avoidable issue. Perhaps the ride would still be operating to do this day.
• Splash Canyon was deteriorating in the mid 2000s, let alone the 2010s. I remember when the animatronics stopped working, the water effects stopped being used, and the buildings/theming started rotting and that was well over a decade ago. Yet another avoidable problem
• Excalibur; I don't think Farmer Studios can be blamed for this, as they did an incredible creative job on this ride given the budget. Although I think Drayton Manor should of done more to solve these initial issues (they added additional effects to Excalibur after realizing how many dead spots there were a couple of years after but this wasn't enough) the ride admittedly was a complete experiment, in terms of audio technology and in terms of style (a completely story driven ride heavily reliant on all effects being synced with the tow boat ride system). Castle of Dreams is a money maker, and there's no doubt about it, but the Excalibur lake sitting there for so many years has done them no favors during the main season. This really is an issue that should of been worked around with years ago; with a new attraction to take its place; with a continuation of the Christmas event at the same time.
• Stormforce 10 needs big work, not just on the ride building and theming, but on the ride system itself, as it's experienced problem after problem over the last few years. If this ride goes, the park is over. Without Stormforce 10, DMP will lose its status as a major park; as Stormforce 10 really is the last ride to carry its own themed area and exist as a large scale themed ride, but I fear families with 1.2 m -1.4 kids in particular who visit for rides like Stormforce 10 in the Summer will be completely deterred from ever visiting again.
• Haunting is, let's just say, not in a good state and really doesn't know what it is anymore. I gave my review and thoughts of the Haunting on the Haunting thread here . This was once a pioneering, world class attraction in the 1990s. Hex unfortunately took away a lot of its unique appeal, but it remained high quality for a number of years. These days it is a shadow of its former self.
• Overall; the future of the park was looking bright after Thomas Land opened; when profits were reinvested in to creating the 4D Cinema and the Ben 10 attraction. But since the Hotel, despite a good Thomas Land expansion in 2015, the line up has only gone down. And even worse; the rides haven't been replaced.
• Shockwave; unlike Nemesis, has aged poorly since 1994, and Stand Up coasters as a whole have almost died out. It sadly seems like it is a harsh reality that Shockwave is on borrowed time and will need to be retired at some point (although even this will damage guest numbers in my opinion). The ideal replacement would be a themed family coaster of some kind; perhaps a wooden coaster given the cost effectiveness and recent success of Wickerman. If the financial situation is as bad as things seem to be at the moment; I doubt this would happen though, sadly.
• But removing Apocalypse is that step too far. Apocalypse is the most visible ride at Drayton Manor, looking over the Tamworth skyline and setting an impressive and imposing image for visitors and non visitors alike; it does a fantastic job or marketing the park as a major place on the map. If it were to go at any point; this would decimate the image of the park among all audiences, regardless of whether they planned to ride the attraction or not. It is not, as far as I'm aware, at the end of its operational life either. I personally have very little doubt that the removal of this attraction would severely hurt visitor numbers, and thus impair the ability of the park to repay debts to creditors, and likely lead to the demise of Drayton Manor in a similar style to the American Adventure theme park which opted for a similar radical move in the mid 2000s. No matter what, I suspect Thomas Land will survive and live on with the existing Mattel IP, but whether the DMP business would survive to operate it; I don't know.

If this decision goes ahead, very bad times are ahead and there is no positive way of spinning this. All we can do is hope for the best and hope that these events do not come to pass!

 

[remlap]

I think both of you are on the ball about this. Thomas Land has been an incredibly important lifeline for the park since the late 00s, and their investment in this has been influential on the wider industry in showing the strength of IPs and the junior market; but the biggest and most fatal mistake was not reinvesting some of the profits of Thomas Land in to the main park, which has deteriorated year on year.

• Pirate Adventure truly started going downhill after its fire in 2006. The park didn't even bother replacing the ghost scene after it burnt down, and when Thomas Land arrived, instead of creating a new exit path to replace the Treasure Trove shop, they simply used a tacky old emergency exit path. Maintaining Pirate Adventure wasn't cheap. Los Piratas' (Pirate Adventure's old sister ride at Bellewaerde in Belgium) main reason of closure was that they were investing too much in to maintaining the animatronics and effects. With Drayton it's the opposite story. Whist the ride was relatively well looked after in the 90s, essentially contracts with animatronics maintenance were not followed through with, and leaking air cyclinders/corrosion/rotting clothing and wood became an issue very quickly. Drayton's problem was that they did not spend nearly enough on the ride in its earlier years, and if they had; I'm sure they would of avoided many of these issues. Fire risk and fire exist routes were a big issue too, but again, had these inspections happened 10 years ago, this would of been an avoidable issue. Perhaps the ride would still be operating to do this day.
• Splash Canyon was deteriorating in the mid 2000s, let alone the 2010s. I remember when the animatronics stopped working, the water effects stopped being used, and the buildings/theming started rotting and that was well over a decade ago. Yet another avoidable problem
• Excalibur; I don't think Farmer Studios can be blamed for this, as they did an incredible creative job on this ride given the budget. Although I think Drayton Manor should of done more to solve these initial issues (they added additional effects to Excalibur after realizing how many dead spots there were a couple of years after but this wasn't enough) the ride admittedly was a complete experiment, in terms of audio technology and in terms of style (a completely story driven ride heavily reliant on all effects being synced with the tow boat ride system). Castle of Dreams is a money maker, and there's no doubt about it, but the Excalibur lake sitting there for so many years has done them no favors during the main season. This really is an issue that should of been worked around with years ago; with a new attraction to take its place; with a continuation of the Christmas event at the same time.
• Stormforce 10 needs big work, not just on the ride building and theming, but on the ride system itself, as it's experienced problem after problem over the last few years. If this ride goes, the park is over. Without Stormforce 10, DMP will lose its status as a major park; as Stormforce 10 really is the last ride to carry its own themed area and exist as a large scale themed ride, but I fear families with 1.2 m -1.4 kids in particular who visit for rides like Stormforce 10 in the Summer will be completely deterred from ever visiting again.
• Haunting is, let's just say, not in a good state and really doesn't know what it is anymore. I gave my review and thoughts of the Haunting on the Haunting thread here . This was once a pioneering, world class attraction in the 1990s. Hex unfortunately took away a lot of its unique appeal, but it remained high quality for a number of years. These days it is a shadow of its former self.
• Overall; the future of the park was looking bright after Thomas Land opened; when profits were reinvested in to creating the 4D Cinema and the Ben 10 attraction. But since the Hotel, despite a good Thomas Land expansion in 2015, the line up has only gone down. And even worse; the rides haven't been replaced.
• Shockwave; unlike Nemesis, has aged poorly since 1994, and Stand Up coasters as a whole have almost died out. It sadly seems like it is a harsh reality that Shockwave is on borrowed time and will need to be retired at some point (although even this will damage guest numbers in my opinion). The ideal replacement would be a themed family coaster of some kind; perhaps a wooden coaster given the cost effectiveness and recent success of Wickerman. If the financial situation is as bad as things seem to be at the moment; I doubt this would happen though, sadly.
• But removing Apocalypse is that step too far. Apocalypse is the most visible ride at Drayton Manor, looking over the Tamworth skyline and setting an impressive and imposing image for visitors and non visitors alike; it does a fantastic job or marketing the park as a major place on the map. If it were to go at any point; this would decimate the image of the park among all audiences, regardless of whether they planned to ride the attraction or not. It is not, as far as I'm aware, at the end of its operational life either. I personally have very little doubt that the removal of this attraction would severely hurt visitor numbers, and thus impair the ability of the park to repay debts to creditors, and likely lead to the demise of Drayton Manor in a similar style to the American Adventure theme park which opted for a similar radical move in the mid 2000s. No matter what, I suspect Thomas Land will survive and live on with the existing Mattel IP, but whether the DMP business would survive to operate it; I don't know.

If this decision goes ahead, very bad times are ahead and there is no positive way of spinning this. All we can do is hope for the best and hope that these events do not come to pass!

Hopefully the rumours are unfounded. It would decimate that area of the park and let’s face it if shockwave went it would take out splash canyon too as they are so tightly integrated.

Fingers crosses we’ll see splash canyon back in action at some point. They still have the boats afloat so there’s hope.

As for shockwave, stand up might Be out of fashion but I think it’s a good coaster for the park, not too intense and a good starter coaster once you’re bored with accelerator.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

I think Shockwave depends on if Splash Canyon reopens as the supports are all around the ride area. I know with the village next to it Shockwave and G-Force made a lot of noice and can’t be replaced with another big coaster. I noticed all season that Action Park area has been very quiet

 

[Theme Park Musician]

Does anyone believe these rumours or not. The question is which one is more likely to get removed?

 

[AvalancheAttractionsUK]

Since this article was started, I have seen an article/ social media post saying how a representative from the park has confirmed that they have no plans to remove the ride. So it looks like (for now) Shockwave and Apocalypse are still going to operate.

If I was to guess which one will go first, then I’m 90% sure it’ll be Shockwave. Mainly due to the parts for the ride being harder and harder to get as the years go on. Whereas with Apocalypse, there’s still similar rides like it out there, making parts for it easier to find.

 

[Theme Park Musician]

True, though both rides have very firm foundations built into the ground, especially Apocalypse. In my opinion both rides have got a current future at the park and it's more likely that the buffalo will be removed than both of them currently.

 

[Evan]

True, though both rides have very firm foundations built into the ground, especially Apocalypse. In my opinion both rides have got a current future at the park and it's more likely that the buffalo will be removed than both of them currently.

Considering that leaked video showed an S&S Launched family invert in the place of the Buffalo, It seems clear to me that at some point they were atleast considering replacing the Buffalo fairly recently, whether or not they still plan to replace it is up in the air to me

 

[Anth0ny]

The thing is, they have invested in a full track repaint of the Buffalo last season, and this season appear to be doing something with the trains to the ride - they keep investing in the Buffalo, and whilst they're doing cosmetic and mechanical works like that, it isn't going to go anywhere.

I think if you're considering Shockwave or Apocalypse first, it will definitely be Shockwave. It's an older ride, more unique so parts are harder and more expensive to find, and it hasn't exactly had the most reliable 2019 season. I think Shockwave's fate largely depends on Splash Canyon's fate, because it'd be difficult to remove or replace Splash Canyon without removing Shockwave.

Really, the park has so much empty space they need to be focusing on fixing this before even considering removing anything else, especially something like Apocalypse which puts the park on the map, let alone the high costs of removing these rides - costs that could be spent on fixing empty areas. I hope neither go for some time yet, certainly until G Force is replaced.

 

[remlap]

The thing is, they have invested in a full track repaint of the Buffalo last season, and this season appear to be doing something with the trains to the ride - they keep investing in the Buffalo, and whilst they're doing cosmetic and mechanical works like that, it isn't going to go anywhere.

I think if you're considering Shockwave or Apocalypse first, it will definitely be Shockwave. It's an older ride, more unique so parts are harder and more expensive to find, and it hasn't exactly had the most reliable 2019 season. I think Shockwave's fate largely depends on Splash Canyon's fate, because it'd be difficult to remove or replace Splash Canyon without removing Shockwave.

Really, the park has so much empty space they need to be focusing on fixing this before even considering removing anything else, especially something like Apocalypse which puts the park on the map, let alone the high costs of removing these rides - costs that could be spent on fixing empty areas. I hope neither go for some time yet, certainly until G Force is replaced.

I think it will look terrible for the park if they remove shockwave anytime soon. When I went yesterday it looks so bare in the space that g force used to occupy, removing shockwave would ruin the skyline further.

they really need to get splash canyon back up and running. Families love water rides and given they only have storm force operating which has stupidly long queues in the summer.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

They can’t do anything to after the HSE case is done as in that report will be what they been fined and a list of things needed to be done to allow them to operate the ride again. There also the problem have they got the money to do the work as the ride not been touched for 3 years. I think the park in the short time don’t know what to do with the area.

 

[remlap]

They can’t do anything to after the HSE case is done as in that report will be what they been fined and a list of things needed to be done to allow them to operate the ride again. There also the problem have they got the money to do the work as the ride not been touched for 3 years. I think the park in the short time don’t know what to do with the area.

It sound a bit of a vicious cycle. They’re not going to get more guests in unless they add new attractions yet need more guests to find them.

 

[Theme Park Musician]

If they go for a family coaster along the lines of Flight of the Pterosaur at Paultons Park, then I think that would bring in more guests.

 

[jjwitton]

There also the problem have they got the money to do the work as the ride not been touched for 3 years.

Surely the ride should have been partially maintained for the fact that the ride could/may return to the park. To leave the ride sitting untouched for 3 years is a serious error on the behalf of Drayton Manor. If they do want to bring it back it will cost a small fortune whereas small continual maintenance on the ride would have been a sensible option. My problem with Drayton is that they can certainly neglect the assets in the park and have to outlay huge amounts on maintenance. Although I swear this is not just Drayton but rather a British theme park problem. Really does annoy me.

 

[remlap]

Surely the ride should have been partially maintained for the fact that the ride could/may return to the park. To leave the ride sitting untouched for 3 years is a serious error on the behalf of Drayton Manor. If they do want to bring it back it will cost a small fortune whereas small continual maintenance on the ride would have been a sensible option. My problem with Drayton is that they can certainly neglect the assets in the park and have to outlay huge amounts on maintenance. Although I swear this is not just Drayton but rather a British theme park problem. Really does annoy me.

Yes it does seem crazy. At least the boats have been kept in the water though.