So what even is an "unworthy" replacement?

[Rob Coasters]

This has been brought up a lot with the whole Mack Xtreme Spinner replacing Kingda Ka saga - there has been extensive discussion and a notably large amount of people concerned that it won't live up to the legacy of Kingda Ka and that it won't be a "worthy" replacement.
How often exactly has a replacement failed to live up to the original, and are there any examples where there is a general and agreed-upon consensus that "the original ride here was better"?

I can only think of when Rameses Revenge was replaced with Croc Drop - I got very, very upset over this!

There is also when Apocalypse was replaced by Gold Rush. This one is difficult for me though because Apocalypse was my all-time favourite drop tower, and Gold Rush is just 'alright' at best, but while Gold Rush is an infinitely better fit for the park from a business & lineup standpoint the ride simply doesn't do anything for me.

Any others?

 

[Matt N]

Interesting thread idea!

I’ve seen people argue this quite a bit with some of Alton Towers’ later coaster additions, particularly those under Merlin that did replace quite “iconic” attractions from the park’s earlier days. I don’t personally agree, but I’ve heard multiple people say that Wicker Man was an unworthy replacement for The Flume (for me, The Flume was average at best and Wicker Man is my top ride in the park and in my overall top 10, so extract from that what you will!), Smiler was an unworthy replacement for The Black Hole (I’m not a massive Smiler fan, but I do think it’s undeniably a more impressive ride than Black Hole in terms of hardware, even if I admittedly never rode Black Hole), and Thirteen was an unworthy replacement for Corkscrew (I never rode Corkscrew, but I actually really like Thirteen, and I do think it’s a more unique ride than Corkscrew was).

One that I myself think is arguable is over in Orlando, with Fast & Furious replacing Disaster at Universal Studios Florida. I’ve never been a huge fan of forced participation experiences, but the ending ride component of Disaster in particular was quite good fun, with some awesome special effects! Whereas Fast & Furious, while not quite as terrible as I think some make out, really isn’t anything special as a ride, and is a criminal underutilisation of that massive space.

 

[StevenX]

I think the Orlando parks have some some of the most obvious and interesting examples - Great Movie Ride Vs. Runaway Railway, Twister Vs. Race Through New York, Jaws Vs. Gringotts, Back to the Future Vs. The Simpsons, Dueling Dragons Vs. Hagrid's. All of those probably have passionate fans on either side.

 

[RcTmix]

Time for some Disney nostalgia.

• Horizons at Epcot replaced with the very unworthy Mission Space
• Mr. Toads Wild Ride (magic kingdom) replaced by Winnie The Pooh
• I will admit I have not ridden Frozen, but Maelstrom was a treasure without a very annoying song.

 

[James F]

Splash Mountain - Disneyland/WDW: rethemed to Tina's Bayou Adventure.

Space Invader 2 - BPB: Replaced by a Pizza Buffet.

Maybe Top Thrill Dragster? I haven't ridden the original but I can imagine people preferring it.

 

[JamesA]

Disney are notorious for unworthy replacements. I started compiling a list but quickly realised there are too many, and I couldn’t be bothered writing a long post.

I don’t think anyone minds when weak rides get replaced. What irks me is when solid or iconic attractions are changed or removed. Even if the replacement is good, there are so many cases where it would’ve been better if both could exist.

E.g.:

I love the Diagon Alley area, but I also thought Jaws was one of Universal’s best attractions.

I love Hyperia, but man, I miss Logger’s Leap.

Mission Breakout is fun, but they should've built a separate Guardians attraction because Tower Of Terror is in my opinion the greatest theme park attraction of all time.

 

[Jarrett]

Volcano was the ride that made me an enthusiast, and it was just replaced this year with Rapterra. I’ve been mulling this over for a while after riding it.

In Jarrett’s World, we’d have gotten a new gen inverted Intamin blitz that blasted from a smaller mountain prop into a violent layout full of airtime. Red lighting lava effects in the launch tunnel and everything.

But that isn’t what Volcano was.

It was a launched coaster that made you feel like you were flying with some cool inversions, great visuals twisting around the mountain, some intensity here and there, the like.

What we got was a launched coaster in exposed seats that was moderate in intensity, had some textbook but fun inversions, a cool element out of the launch, some flaws here and there, and a cute little volcano vent in the queue. We didn’t get Volcano perfected, we got a pretty good 1:1 comparison both in strengths and in weaknesses. So while I did like Volcano better and did have memories with it, this was a fair replacement.

And then you have the other side. My home park Kings Island cycled through a few coasters in the 2010s, and the rationale for these was explained in the Kings Island: A Ride Through Time book I read during COVID. Rides come and go, but where the new investments happen there was more about which sections of the park hadn’t seen love in a while. Son of Beast got replaced by a looping steel coaster, one that also had a big iconic inversion in the same spot as SOB’s, Banshee is a totally different ride because the park needed Banshee more than another Son of Beast. With Firehawk and Vortex, these were rides at the end of the line whose closings coincided with rides erected elsewhere in the park. We got Mystic so we lost Firehawk, we were getting Orion so there wasn’t a net loss to get rid of Vortex. We got a good GCI around the time we lost a crappy flyer, we got a giga coaster around the time we lost a crappy looping coaster. Not 1:1, holes were punched in the lineup that need filled, but we also added things so it wasn’t just losing a coaster for no reason. And the things we got were good additions, not like replacing Vortex with a boomerang or something.

So I’d say it’s not so much as was the replacement “worthy” so much as it is whether or not the replacement was “fair.”

 

[Hyde]

"Whatever it is, not that!"

I think the simplest summation is a replacement that doesn't, for whatever reason, give honor to the ride that was replaced. Ways this can be "unworthy", as example:

• Ride to be replaced is unceremoniously closed, doesn't receive "proper sendoff".
• Marketing for new attraction is mismatched, such as hyped "improvement" from previous ride, or overhyped experience.
• Total departure of ride type in replacement, such as flat ride for roller coaster.
• Alternate bullet two, leaning too heavily into ride lore or trope of the replaced ride(s). Looking at you, Big Bad Wolf's: Wolf's Revenge using Drachen Fire's old station.

Again, miles and permutation will vary, but the "unworthy" designation is reserved for a replacement that just, misses the mark, even if a replacement does feel relatively equal to the replaced ride.

 

[owenstreet7]

Interesting thread idea!

I’ve seen people argue this quite a bit with some of Alton Towers’ later coaster additions, particularly those under Merlin that did replace quite “iconic” attractions from the park’s earlier days. I don’t personally agree, but I’ve heard multiple people say that Wicker Man was an unworthy replacement for The Flume (for me, The Flume was average at best and Wicker Man is my top ride in the park and in my overall top 10, so extract from that what you will!), Smiler was an unworthy replacement for The Black Hole (I’m not a massive Smiler fan, but I do think it’s undeniably a more impressive ride than Black Hole in terms of hardware, even if I admittedly never rode Black Hole), and Thirteen was an unworthy replacement for Corkscrew (I never rode Corkscrew, but I actually really like Thirteen, and I do think it’s a more unique ride than Corkscrew was).

One that I myself think is arguable is over in Orlando, with Fast & Furious replacing Disaster at Universal Studios Florida. I’ve never been a huge fan of forced participation experiences, but the ending ride component of Disaster in particular was quite good fun, with some awesome special effects! Whereas Fast & Furious, while not quite as terrible as I think some make out, really isn’t anything special as a ride, and is a criminal underutilisation of that massive space.

I'd say that with The Flume and Wickerman, it is because they're two different types of rides and I'd say that because it wasn't a water ride, this could influence why people see it so harshly.

 

[MackMan]

Okay about to be brutal here with hot some takes, but I feel some replacements mentioned here I disagree with heavily. Rameses Revenge was great in it's prime, but was generally quite a run of the mill top spin that was mostly too intense for the demographic.

Croc Drop has better theming, presence across the park, and just overall a more broad appeal.

The Flume is another one that puzzles me- it was a good log Flume, but had a lot of meandering and kind of basic theming. We got a pretty good GCI in it's place, that is a big upgrade in my opinion, similar sentiment with Hyperia. I feel nostalgia kind of clouds the judgement. Thorpe could of built a Giga T-Rex with 9000 feet track length, but It wouldn't be worthy of your nostalgic memories of Loggers Leap.

 

[Heth]

Okay about to be brutal here with hot some takes, but I feel some replacements mentioned here I disagree with heavily. Rameses Revenge was great in it's prime, but was generally quite a run of the mill top spin that was mostly too intense for the demographic.

Croc Drop has better theming, presence across the park, and just overall a more broad appeal.

The Flume is another one that puzzles me- it was a good log Flume, but had a lot of meandering and kind of basic theming. We got a pretty good GCI in it's place, that is a big upgrade in my opinion, similar sentiment with Hyperia. I feel nostalgia kind of clouds the judgement. Thorpe could of built a Giga T-Rex with 9000 feet track length, but It wouldn't be worthy of your nostalgic memories of Loggers Leap.

In the case of The Flume and Loggers Leap, I see where you are coming from as Hyperia and Wicker Man are better than the rides they replaced.

However...

Where my frustration lies with both replacements is that they created a hole in the park line ups. Log flumes are a dying breed, and are a fun way to break up a hot day of roller coasters. Some of the "unworthiness" is the Los of a popular ride type which hasn't been replaced elsewhere in the park, especially in parks like TP and AT which have lost a lot of non-coaster rides without replacement.

 

[owenstreet7]

In the case of The Flume and Loggers Leap, I see where you are coming from as Hyperia and Wicker Man are better than the rides they replaced.

However...

Where my frustration lies with both replacements is that they created a hole in the park line ups. Log flumes are a dying breed, and are a fun way to break up a hot day of roller coasters. Some of the "unworthiness" is the Los of a popular ride type which hasn't been replaced elsewhere in the park, especially in parks like TP and AT which have lost a lot of non-coaster rides without replacement.

I would say that with Thorpe Park, the blow is softened by having Tidal Wave in the line up however if Rumba Rapids is to go as speculated since 2024 when the park reduced it's operations, I'd say it could spark a call for a water ride like with Towers. In addition, with Hyperia being very popular and a stand out ride, that also softens the blow.

With Alton Towers, it is because there is no flume or shoot the chute style ride and they haven't added one in during the time since the Flume's removal. Wickerman whilst it is a fantastic stand out family thrill ride, it isn't as widely thrilling as some people desire which makes people think it isn't as worthy as a similar replacement.

There are often comments on social media about Alton Towers lacking a splashdown style water ride.

If Carowinds are building a new water ride, could it mean Merlin could potentially explore one?

Another factor I'd probably want to mention and it might be a non factor is that Phantasialand replaced like for like with Chiapas and that's one of the best water rides in the world. There's a desire in some including myself for a Chiapas equivalent at Towers or Thorpe.

 

[emoo]

Replacing the roller coaster used in the Mr Bean episode "Mind the Baby" with a clone annoyed me as its not the one I wanted Was closed on my visit which helps the memory sting all the more.

 

[Kimster]

For me, there are 2 that comes to my mind:

TTD replaced by TTD2...if that counts. I am absolutely angry that I failed to ride TTD, it was on my bucket list ever since the ride opened. Now, I saw the new ride and I am not interested anymore. I do not get thrills from height or views. I need hard thrill and that old hydraulic launch obviously provided it. The new one doesnt.

Top Car Chase replaced by Santa Monica Pier - Movie Park Germany: I still dont understand why they removed that amazing ride. It was running very well, it was unique and it was not that old. A big loss with no real replacement.