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Camelot - Closed for good

Robbie said:
Martyn B said:
Is Whirlwind definitely off to Australia? I only ask because rumours are pointing it towards GYPB...
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That's what I was told by the maintenance guy.
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Did he say any specific place? or was it just "Australia"?

Did he mention the City? the Park?

I ask because it's currently rumored a new permanant coaster is to replace the temporary summer Revechron Spinning Coaster called "Crazy Coaster" at Luna Park in Melbourne. This "Crazy Coaster" was installed as a temporary summer ride(planned to be removed soon which leaves an empty space in the park) so they could tear down their ageing Galaxi coaster and have a temporary ride put there in time for their centenary celebrations last december(as they made the decision to get rid of the Galaxi, late in the centenary year).

Would make sense if they bought Whirlwind given that it's a similar coaster(in size, age and type) and the temporary Crazy Coaster has proven to be fairly popular at the park.
 
colliric said:
Robbie said:
Martyn B said:
Is Whirlwind definitely off to Australia? I only ask because rumours are pointing it towards GYPB...
Click to expand...
That's what I was told by the maintenance guy.
Click to expand...

Did he say any specific place? or was it just "Australia"?

Did he mention the City? the Park?
Click to expand...
Sorry, no. I'm not sure he entirely cares - as far as he's concerned Whirlwind was a pain in the arse to keep running so there's not much love for it.
 
There's an alleged spinning coaster for GYPB in 2013:

http://rcdb.com/11364.htm

Althought it might not necessarily be Whirlwind...but the park needs another 'solid attraction', apart from a conglomerate of tacky flats, coasters solely for credits...and a scenic railway!
 
^Especially with the one that was at Camelot. It was in a vile condition and was rough like a CFer after a major drinking sesh. Unless they do a Bagatelle and transform it into something that looks new.
 
Robbie said:
Sorry, no. I'm not sure he entirely cares - as far as he's concerned Whirlwind was a pain in the arse to keep running so there's not much love for it.
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I have to ask, I don't see why he'd give a flying **** anyway, he's out of a job, I wouldn't care in his position...

To do with it going to Aus, the thing is, most of the engineers won't actually know where it's going to if it's not been made public, the Camelot operators/managers weren't known for sharing the business side of their park with their employees.
 
Martyn B said:
Replacing a spinning coaster with a spinning coaster wouldn't exactly be the best business move...
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Except it was only a temporary attraction, announced as such, and planned to be removed at the end of Summer. This particular Spinning Coaster is a travelling coaster and isn't owned by the park. It was hired by the park so that the park didn't have any empty space during the Centenary.

In reality Whirlwind would be technically replacing the Metropolis Galaxi Coaster, which was there for 22 years and was demolished in November last year.
 
About Knightmare, isn't there a really similar coaster in Divo Ostrov/Wonder Island?
I'm just saying because some of you stated, that its one of a kind
 
^ No. Not at all. Different manufacturer and completely different layouts, they're not similar at all. I think you're thinking of Jetline at Grona Lund. That's the closest coaster you've got the Knightmare and even that's got a slightly different layout.
 
I always get a little scared when I see a new post in this topic. I'm scared somebody is going to say that it's reopening.
 
Martyn B said:
LOL, I think it's waaay past that stage now.

Robbie, do you know if Whirlwind is still there?
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I don't, sorry. I've not been down over the Christmas period (and the maintenance bloke has just left for a new job).
 
There's been so many things posted about Camelot and why it closed. From an insiders point of view, here's what i think....

I worked for a season at the park in 2007 as a rides operator for section one, which is rides from the main gate, up to the hot air balloon's.

In the first day of training we were told in no uncertain terms that Camelot was fighting for its life. The targets financially were too high for it to get and of course trying to keep customer service standards up, were two of the main battles held between all staff.

The rides were all in need of a lick of paint. The maggot in the apple ride, as i used to call it, i don't think had seen a paint brush since before i was born. The ride's all themselves were old and out of date. Camelot's management, even during the peak years, seemed to have the attitude of put in what the public want, not what will be good for the future.

During my time there, the owners who were Prime Resorts at the time, installed Knightmare. It really was a last ditch attempt at getting people to go to the park. Failures over getting the ride into the country meant that for over half the season, the ride wasn't working.

Their attempt failed and of course as we all saw, they lost camelot.

What needed to happen then was that new owners with ALOT of money to come in and give the park a complete re-vamp, big new rides and a fresh coat of paint could have certainly given the park what it needed to look better and maybe attract new customers. As it happens, the new owners invested very little in the park, to what was needed.

Oh sure they did little bits here and there, but when in their 2nd season the only thing they could advertise was "A brand new website" that is sign for a theme park on its backside.

I'm not suprised at it's closing at all, sure i'll miss it, but i'm not suprised. The site is now worth more as housing than it is as a theme park. Guess we'll all have to stay on the motorway abit longer and go to either gullivers world, blackpool pleasure beach or alton towers.
 
Bevlive said:
I'm not suprised at it's closing at all, sure i'll miss it, but i'm not suprised. The site is now worth more as housing than it is as a theme park. Guess we'll all have to stay on the motorway abit longer and go to either gullivers world, blackpool pleasure beach or alton towers
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It depends on where you live. :roll:
 
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