Update from today.

Also saw a staff member taking some pictures of Arkam's entrance on their mobile - take that for what you will.

Just announce it already

Looks like they’ve started to remove the print on the building wall too 

@Bikash Randhawa any comment please?

Don't know if this is a dumb question (I'm sure I'll be put in my place by know-it-all's soon enough) but are they more likely to sell the ride or just scrap it?

21 minutes ago, Cactus_Matt said:

Don't know if this is a dumb question (I'm sure I'll be put in my place by know-it-all's soon enough) but are they more likely to sell the ride or just scrap it?

The cost to carefully dismantle it on the off chance that someone wants to buy a 25 year old coaster that need a complete rebuild of the electronics would far outweigh the cost of hitting it with a plasma cutter and a claw. 
Unless they already have someone willing to buy it, it'll 100% get scrapped.

53 minutes ago, Cactus_Matt said:

Don't know if this is a dumb question (I'm sure I'll be put in my place by know-it-all's soon enough) but are they more likely to sell the ride or just scrap it?

As a 25 year old coaster that has more or less operated year round, my gut feeling is the ride is about fatigued out and reached its end of life.  I'd be fairly surprised if it was relocated, but I suppose it's possible.

9 hours ago, Ranger said:

Just announce it already

Apparently MW socials are confirming privately that Arkham will be retired, but still not sharing that publicly for *some reason*

Just wait for it... 

the wiring was a crows nest

i think you mean a rats nest.

How much money do you think VRTP put into renovating the courtyard last year? I wonder if the new attraction would still be Arkham themed so they don’t have to spend more money retheming the entire courtyard. Thoughts?

Edited November 7, 20205 yr by FoolishMortal999

On 06/11/2020 at 10:04 AM, Baconjack said:

I rode AA as Lethal Weapon I didn't like either restraint. It was either ear bashing on the original, or hip/leg bashing on the new (it was fine when new, but by the end, it was horribly rough). Bear in mind i'm 6'5" so it might have been a different experience for taller people. 

Considering that the similar kumbak trains which were installed on Sea Viper reportedly put heaps of stress on the track & structure (which was a major factor in the decision to retire the ride), I wouldn't be surprised to learn of something similar with AA. Other Kumbak installations on SLC's have also been problem childs so far so it mostly adds up to a shitty product made by a shitty manufacturer. 

I'm sure a raptor is sufficient for MW's capacity needs. In the grand scheme of things MW is a smaller park in terms of attendance (smaller than that of the American regional parks which these coasters currently sit in without any crowd problems). Even in summer season, you have Green Lantern in the lineup and based on its loads would imo come close to raptor capacity (as did AA with its single train, and Superman last summer) This is a bad take imo, MW usually runs around 200 guest per hour on all of their major attractions (bar WWF, DCR in summer peak and probably SDSC). I've been saying an Australian park should get one of these for years. If not MW, DW should, or Aussie World, Adventure World, LPS, so on and so on. It's an honest no brainer to me.

I'd love to see a dive coaster in our parks, I think it would be a good supporting attraction to DCR and its a guest magnet but we don't have the money for B&M. I dont believe we will see Village spending that much on a single attraction on anywhere near the scale of DCR for some time yet. Its why I don't see the site being replaced by another invert or a flying coaster.

When arkham was upgraded they got new restraints. The top of the train with all the running gear is still original vekoma.

To me it almost seems like they are removing any reference to Arkham in the park to avoid the licensing fees related to that ride if the plan is to scrap it.

10 minutes ago, Gazza said:

To me it almost seems like they are removing any reference to Arkham in the park to avoid the licensing fees related to that ride if the plan is to scrap it.

Do they have to pay for licensing per ride? I would’ve thought it’s an overall fee for the DC property itself.

2 hours ago, Flynn_Smith said:

Do they have to pay for licensing per ride? I would’ve thought it’s an overall fee for the DC property itself.

The ride used theming based on the Arkham asylum games which is a different license to dc property. 

Unless they manage to snag a secondhand Batman clone I don't see a B&M going in as a replacement. If not an RMC Raptor maybe a Gerstlauer Infinity would be a good fit. Would be great if they could somehow integrate the track layout with Superman's helix and make a better use of the space back there too.

What are peoples thoughts on a timeline for a replacement? With the current conditions, I doubt VRTP are going to be investing 20+ Million on anything for a while.

There is a lot of promising reports on vaccines being out in 6-24 months time and world wide economic downturn so I'm sure national government and state/local government want drawcards being built to drive tourism dollars, and manufactures want to keep operating so long term agreements could be a thing along with a very very low interest rate to borrow against.

So keeping that in mind I'm hopeful that its sooner rather than later.

 

 

38 minutes ago, Boyden Hingston-Muir said:

What are peoples thoughts on a timeline for a replacement?

I think it'll be after the replacements for

• Marvin Rocket
• Pirate Ship
• Sea Viper
• Log Flume
• Mach 5 & Sidewinders
• The Whirlpool part of Whirlpool Springs
• ZipLine
• Aquadrop (aqualoops sad little brother)
  • Calypso Beach theming

I’d say most likely it’s already been planned and ordered and we’ll see work at least start next year. Possibly 2022 opening because Covid. 

Expensive given the current economy, but a perfect spoil if you're worried about the guys down the road opening a new coaster and soaking up business for a while.

I'd love to see Vekoma's next gen launched flying coaster. High marketability; it'll sell itself. e.g. longest, fastest, tallest, only flying coaster in Australia (perhaps southern hempishere? haven't checked). Take inspiration from Phantasialand's F.L.Y. in terms of it's layout intertwining through and around buildings/themeing, and, pathways underneath and around the coaster. As much as Movieworld doesn't need any more DC Superhero themed rides.....a Batman theme suits this ride system too well to pass up. Could be named Batman: Knight Flight. And then re-theme Batwing, whilst upgrading it with the new spinning seats from S&S.

I'll bring this fun one up gain, but Mad Max is in full swing with a Furiosa movie in pre-production + more Mad Max sequels written waiting to be filmed (at least 3 from memory).

You could very easily turn that area into a run down dystopian area and possibly expand back a little, but building a sound wall to not disrupt the studio, making the sound wall look like Yosemite Sam rail road / Road Runner rollercoaster style.

I’m just hoping that they can somehow incorporate a pathway which leads from the super man area to WWF, it makes no sense to have to go all the way around the park to get from attraction to attraction.

8 minutes ago, Zac Beckwith said:

I’m just hoping that they can somehow incorporate a pathway which leads from the super man area to WWF, it makes no sense to have to go all the way around the park to get from attraction to attraction.

It does if you want your guests to walk past shops several times a day.