Cancelled theme park projects you wish had come to fruition

[Llama Drama]

In the early 90's there were plans to recreate the Rye Aeroplane at Kings Island. It was to be situated above where Diamondback's splashdown is now (used to be a lake there).

I wish it had come to fruition even if just to prevent Son of Beast from happening, and all the time, money, and brain capacity wasted therein...

That having said, eventually Mystic Timbers would happen (and in almost the same area too), which I'm more than happy with.

 

[Matt N]

Sorry to bump the thread, but I have possibly the most gutting cancellation of all from my perspective; as someone who holds the Universal parks in Florida as two of my favourite parks of all time, I was absolutely gutted to discover that Universal Studios London was once planned for the Rainham Marshes in Essex in the early 1990s. Here’s a great documentary on the park’s development from Expedition Theme Park:

The park actually gained approval from the local government, and Margaret Thatcher & her government were even personally invested into getting the project built, but Universal eventually pulled out over the fierce opposition by locals & environmental activists. The Rainham Marshes were a site of interest for wildlife, so many were against the resort’s construction.

Such a shame that it never got built; can you imagine having a Universal resort in Britain?

 

[Niles]

While they have been talked about loads it has to be the UK lost wooden coasters for me. I think they all would still be great fits for each park below.

Alton towers cross valley coaster

John Wardleys Cross valley coaster would have been amazing, if it were to be an Intamin Pre-Fab and have that 200ft drop I think it would have easily been the best coaster in the UK. Using the valley is the only way Alton could really get a Hyper style coaster (unless they dig a massive hole), I hope (while very unlikely) it could be used for something one day.

Thorpe woodie

While I would have preferred anything to Saw for the most part, this one hurts as it looks like a great coaster, with the track weaving over itself, a station fly-through, loggers tunnel fly-through, airtime and loads of twists & turns, this would have been great for Thorpe, I think it would have worked great with the IP to if they kept the theme.

Paultons wood coaster - GravityGroup?

So it was just a mention in a Q&A with the park but before Tornado Springs a Western area was thought of, and a woodie was the centre piece, I think I remember hearing that some of the Paulton's team went to Grona Lund a long ago so something like Twister might have been, I love Tornado Springs and Storm Chaser is a great addition but an air popping little woodie would have been my choice.

 

[Tulum]

Having grown up near the city I am still upset that the Universal Studios Germany never have been built. Here is a video about the project:

The plans were published when I was a teen and I am still upset when I drive by the city.

 

[Pierre]

Haven’t read through the topic so apologies if it has been mentioned but the flamingo land woodie that never came to fruition! Would have been the best coaster they’ve ever had.
I remember their rides operations manager Nick Buckley doing an interview saying they’d put it on hold as their research had indicated the UK general public don’t have a positive perception of wooden rollercoasters…. Then a few years later Alton Towers built one with fire effects….!

 

[ricky coasters]

Speaking of cancelled Universal projects... I wish they continued owning PortAventura, as it was rebranded before, Universal Mediterranea, there was lots of potential and I guess a lot of canceled projects and visions from dat... if anybody knows of any cancelled future projects Universal planned for PA let me know

 

[spicy]

Speaking of cancelled Universal projects... I wish they continued owning PortAventura, as it was rebranded before, Universal Mediterranea, there was lots of potential and I guess a lot of canceled projects and visions from dat... if anybody knows of any cancelled future projects Universal planned for PA let me know

Agreed, only time Universal have truly dipped their toes into a European park but it was for such a short time. They still created immersive attractions at PA like Sea Odyssey and Templo del Fuego in the 5 years or so they owned it so you could see the direction it would have headed in.

There was a whole studios park planned next door, there are plans online somewhere, had a quick look but can't find them would be interesting to see them again.

But yes personally for me to echo above the Alton woodie is the one I would choose to bring back to life if I could.

Also is it premature to add Paramount London to this topic yet?

 

[Coaster & Chill]

I found this plan for the whole resort masterplan, but I cannot recall a specific plan for the Universal Studios park.

Source: El Blog de Dream

 

[rideguy70]

I still long for what could've happened if Disneyland had gotten WestCot instead of DCA as a companion park. I will admit DCA, after very rocky start, is beginning to find its way... but I feel WestCot would've been much better right out of the gate.

On a similar note, could've been interesting if the Port Disney project had gone through near the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Especially sad now given the state of the Queen Mary, which is equally being considered for either extensive repair, being put on dry dock, or most tragically, being sunk.

 

[HllyIlo]

Thorpe Park were supposed to get coasters in 2015, 2018 and this year yeou can blame Darren Brown, Covid and It being run by some Key jingling executives who thought they were running an arcade

 

[Matt N]

Thorpe Park were supposed to get coasters in 2015, 2018 and this year yeou can blame Darren Brown, Covid and It being run by some Key jingling executives who thought they were running an arcade

There have been rumblings in various places on the internet that Thorpe is due to get a new coaster project fairly soon, so I think you may get your wish before long!

 

[dontbesuchamcbr]

I would have liked to see the Heide Park Giga with 102 meters height.

Freizeitparkweb - Das Freizeitpark Forum - Ja zu Giga-Coaster

Fachforum zum Thema Freizeitparks und Kirmes

freizeitparkweb.de

That could have boosted german thrill coasters, what I don't think we have a lot of.

 

[Will]

^
Eh? Granted it's a bigger country, but I reckon I can name more quality thrill coasters in Germany than the UK!

(The giga sounds cool, but potentially all size and no substance)

 

[ScottLann]

There have been rumblings in various places on the internet that Thorpe is due to get a new coaster project fairly soon, so I think you may get your wish before long!

Just out of curiosity where abouts have you seen these rumours/discussions? I've seen on forums and social media way too many times now that Thorpe is getting a new coaster but then nothing ever comes to light from it. I desperately want to see them get a new coaster soon so any news I hear on it, I'm instantly checking it out

 

[Will]

^
The excitement this image caused still cracks me up...

 

[ScottLann]

^
The excitement this image caused still cracks me up...

That's exactly what I was on about too

'OMG tHaT bRiDgE DesIGn....B&M hYpER CoNfirMEd' or along the lines of that

 

[Will]

Admittedly, now that I know what the restraints are like, I'm rather glad I was proved right and didn't have to ride an RMC in my underwear on opening day...

 

[Matt N]

Just out of curiosity where abouts have you seen these rumours/discussions? I've seen on forums and social media way too many times now that Thorpe is getting a new coaster but then nothing ever comes to light from it. I desperately want to see them get a new coaster soon so any news I hear on it, I'm instantly checking it out

I’ve seen people on TowersStreet claiming that they’ve seen plans and heard about a new project, and I also heard CF’s own @Jared reference a project in the future UK coasters thread from a while back: https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/future-uk-coasters.44817/

In terms of what Jared had to say about it; if he doesn’t mind me quoting his post from that particular thread, here’s what he had to say in that thread:

There’s been multiple rides drawn up recently, including said B&M Hyper as well as a Mack Hyper and a few other proposals. Merlin Magic Making are working on a new coaster project for Thorpe. It’s not a case of if anymore. It’s a case of when it gets the green light.

With Merlin under new ownership, they’re keen to invest again, they no longer need to pander to share holders and can spend more money getting people to visit again. If Chessington is 2023 I’d say Thorpe will be 2024 / 2025 at the latest.

So I’d say there’s enough evidence to ascertain that one is certainly being worked on, personally!

 

[Will]

While there's obviously some sources I trust further than others, even pessimistic_Will agrees we'll probably see some kind of movement there in the next 4-5 years, especially if the Chessington thing does well.

Also, apologies for leading us slightly down the off-topic route