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Lightwater Valley - Future?

The problem is, they don't have to press any button though do they...they can just leave it to rot, prevaricate for another season or two, then be "forced" to scrap it as it will then be beyond economic repair.
The park seems to have done well targeting the younger market, this years reviews are generally positive.
T'ultimate is probably dead though sadly.
 
To be frank, I don't think they can spare the expense of even scrapping it. Maybe the lift hills will come down eventually, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're delaying for as long as possible first. Properly removing a big coaster like that would cost a pretty penny, and if the park ever came into possession of that sum, there are other urgent stuff to be fixed first. Scrapping the dead coaster would be somewhat low on the priority list.
 
I agree that you’re all probably right we’ve seen the last of it, which I’m genuinely sad about because of how unique it is. And unfortunately the lack of maintenance required, vegetation on the track and high costs involved likely mean there won’t be some kind of last weekend of running we could all go to for final rides. So probably a fond farewell to the coaster that got me into all other coasters. ☹️

This gives me another opportunity though to share probably my all-time favourite piece of coaster writing: https://www.rollercoasterphilosophy.com/2010/lightwater-valley/

Couple of extracts below:

I’m never one for conspiracy theories although I do suspect it probable that large-scale, carefully orchestrated conspiracies have been planned at various points in history; obviously it’s only the bad conspiracies we hear of. Based on the relative quiet surrounding the Ultimate in the enthusiast community I figured the whole ride would, ultimately,be rather tame. Enthusiasts do not generally stay silent about rides that are on the extreme; regardless of whether it’s Intimidator 305 or Goudurix, rides that exert significant physical force on one’s body always accumulate some online notoriety. Maybe just in my attempts to shield myself from any spoilers about the Ultimate I somehow missed what everyone was already saying, but to suddenly be confronted with what is – unquestionably! – the most insanely intense, white knuckle, balls-to-the-wall section of roller coaster track I have ever experienced in all of my travels… and having not expected it, that can only mean a conspiracy is afoot to keep quiet the truth about the Ultimate to the rest of the world.
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And what a sad moment that is with the realization that our time is finally at an end, over seven minutes after it began. There’s an epic quality to this ride that is sorely lacking from the vast majority of roller coaster experiences (and I use “epic” more formally than the kids today do). I not only left the ordinary world behind, I had been away for so long I began to forget it ever existed at all. Part of the reason I consider coasters to have potential to become their own unique artform is because, like other artforms, it is beyond the capacity of language to fully describe their experiential perception. That’s the realm of pure aesthetics, and it is always more true in the case of bone-rattling rides like the Ultimate where one is nearly incapable of thinking in any languagewhile on board except for a string of instinctual profanities. It’s a new way of realizing one’s being-in-the-world, and after seven minutes inhabiting the aesthetic language of the Ultimate it’s disheartening to remember that the rules of ordinary social living must once again apply when it’s finally finished. That has become such a rare joy to feel oneself in the presence of something so radically original and great that the glowing sensation had to be cherished for as long as it would last.
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Seriously well worth a read if you have the time.
 
Niles said:
My prediction on the tough choices at Lightwater😉
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All of the coasters track, except the lift hills and station, has no foundations. Its just steel track bolted to sleepers sat on the ground.
You need actual foundations to RMC a ride

Sadly I think its gonna sit there rusting. The track is all seemingly in good condition, there isnt really much vegetation or anything around it. The main issue is probably checking over the trains and the fact the generators are no longer there.
 
This park is clearly trying to become the Chessington of Yorkshire. I'm sure they'll take down The Ultimate eventually and some family coasters will most likely be installed over the coming years to replace it and Raptor Attack.
 
To be honest, I'm currently feeling a lot more optimistic about LWV's future than I did in 2021; it appears as though the 2021 season went fairly well for them, and they've really found their niche!

As such, while I don't think their future trajectory will be the most interesting from the standpoint of us enthusiasts, I do think it will grow as a business and forge a really good path as an under-12s park; in the mid to long term, I could see them turning into something akin to the Sundown Adventureland of Yorkshire, and given that that place is in the top 10 parks in the UK on TripAdvisor, I think that would be a pretty good path for them!

I also think that would set them apart from Flamingo Land more... while Flamingo Land is more of a thrill park, with the big budgets available to build huge coasters that Lightwater seemingly doesn't have, Lightwater can target the young families to a greater extent, and really hone in on them!
 
Lightwater Valley have unveiled their plans for the 2022 season.
First of all, the park have rebranded with a new logo, featuring their new mascot.
[IMG]

As for 2022 additions the website reads,
New for ‘22
With UK attractions opening up again, we can’t wait to welcome you! We have a whole host of brand new activities to enjoy in 2022 so come along and immerse yourself in the fun of the park. We even have a new mascot to show you round – Ebor the Lightwater Dragon – he loves to meet & greet, have his photo taken and join in dance-offs! Ebor is at the heart of our new daily park entertainment programme that we’ll be rolling out this year.


When you need a break from exploring, step into our new arcade, where you’ll find games for the whole family ranging from classic 2p and 10 pushers to our higher-tech VR experience, or enter a room of distortion in our new Hall of Mirrors.

To complement our Tree Top Trails, ‘Discovery Woods’ is also now open, offering a truly interactive outdoor experience, with a lakeside woodland nature trail, mud kitchen and bug hotel, as well as pond dipping and cloud gazing activities.
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Upon looking at the attractions page, it would appear the park are also adding two new rides. The first is a standard Dodgems and the second is called 'Twist and Turn' which I assume will be a Twister fairground ride.

It's also worth noting that the Eagles Claw has been added back to the website, seemingly securing its future at the park which is great news as it's one of the best flats in the UK! The height restriction also looks to have been lowered from 1.4m to 1.22m (hopefully this won't affect the cycle!). Some rides have also been renamed such as Trauma Tower to Dragon Tower, presumably themed around the new mascot.

The Brighton Pier Group have also completely refreshed the park's food and beverage offering, with new outlets such as the Big Fish Trading Company and the Farm & Field Café, which offers extensive vegan options.

Phew, I think that's everything! Whilst the future for the Ultimate remains uncertain, we can't say the park isn't trying for the 2022 season.
 
Over a mile of wood, steel and concrete...It would cost a lot more than a brand new coaster, so it won't happen.
It will be left to rot, like Knightmare, until it becomes unstable and has to be ripped up for scrap.
Which means it will be the next owners problem, or the owner after that.
They have had a few.
 
EDjanaika said:
Where did you hear these rumours from?!
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Seen people purporting to work at the park commenting on things on Youtube and Facebook. Could be completely untrue of course. I'm going to go find out for myself later in the year.

rob666 said:
Over a mile of wood, steel and concrete...It would cost a lot more than a brand new coaster, so it won't happen.
It will be left to rot, like Knightmare, until it becomes unstable and has to be ripped up for scrap.
Which means it will be the next owners problem, or the owner after that.
They have had a few.
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I'm not so sure - the lifts are basically freestanding and the rest of the track is just wooden sleepers with steel track bolted to them. Would probably be profitable to get a scrapper down to come cut it up.

The station and lifts would be a pain though
 
Yeah agreed, i'm not too far from LWV and what it's doing doesnt really make much sense.
Lots of mini adventure places suited to little kids on much smaller bits of land too.

A holiday park type thing I do wonder how it would work - the middle of the ultimate area is now used for farming - there's sheep and things on there now. Not sure if they own it these days?

Its honestly super depressing now - Loved visiting this park from a young age up to being a teen, now it's just a mish mash of random fair rides, random areas and big empty spaces with nothing there. And yeah one of the most unique rides in the world sat rotting.

Edit: Their 2012 Application for having a holiday park proposed them to be outside of the ultimate, on an area which is all empty space now:
(The ultimate is on the top left of the image)

1657885964062.png
 
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Very glad I've got the cred, and did find it hilarious, but not in a good way - it was complete and utter trash.

PS. On mobile at the moment so not super easy to trawl through stuff, but I bought we had a topic specifically for this somewhere. If someone can link me, I'll move the posts. Or I'm imaging things. :D
 
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