Lightwater Valley Discussion Thread

Kind of a bummer. Didn't know the park was in that much trouble. Maybe they should try adding some new rides to the park to increase attendance.

^Or they could just bring back the Toad Hole terrifying ride!

Poor Toad Hole =(

Further to this the council has given planning permission for the resort side of things.

Planned to open in 2014/2015 depending on which report or press release you read!

^Or they could just bring back the Toad Hole terrifying ride!

I never got to go on Toad Hole but Raptor Attack was pretty terrifying just due to the fact it nearly broke me in half when it hit the final brakes!

-Craig

^Or they could just bring back the Toad Hole terrifying ride!

Yes, everything went south for Lightwater Valley when they removed Toad Hole, one of the most amazing, if potentially dangerous, attractions in the UK.

I think the park food could be improved....just a bit?

http://www.themeparks-uk.com/news/angry-birds-at-lightwater.html

As the first Angry Birds Activity Park in the North of England, the site will cover over 30,000 square feet and represents a total investment of over £1 million. It will combine the digital world of the game with the physical world, through activity-based play, encouraging visitors to move and be active.

 

The Angry Birds Activity Park will be complemented by an Angry Birds retail store selling a wide range of Angry Birds official merchandise from pencils to back-packs to plush toys. It has been designed and manufactured by Lappset UK. A leading provider of play equipment, the Kettering based company launched the Angry Birds concept last year which creates a new healthy way for the whole family to experience the Angry Birds theme.

 

The attraction is aimed at the whole family, allowing toddlers, children and adults to play together.

 

Angry Birds Activity Park at Lightwater Valley

 

Mark Bainbridge, General Manager, at Lightwater Valley, comments:

We are delighted that the global phenomenon that is Angry Birds has landed at Lightwater. We feel that the new activity park is a really good fit for us as a leading family attraction – and what we really like is it will get children and adults alike active whilst having fun together. Its opening will mark the start of an exciting programme of developments, which will improve and diversify the theme park’s offer and reinforce our commitment to providing quality leisure experiences for the whole family.

Lightwater Valley is committed to working in partnership with local businesses and organisations to support the growth and value of Yorkshire’s visitor economy.

 

Angry Birds has been downloaded over 1 billion times across the world, and last year it was the most popular paid-for app on Apple’s App Store. The game, now also available across different platforms, played by millions of people every day.

 

Further detail on the Angry Birds Activity Park will be released after Easter.

Wow... A deer got decapitated on The Ultimate:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2773580/Theme-park-horror-rollercoaster-decapitates-DEER-wandered-close-tracks-leaving-passengers-riding-covered-blood.html

^Always suspected that ride was homicidal.

^^I read the article but couldn't take it seriously when they explained that the Ultimate was one of the World's Best Coasters!

^It might be the best when it comes to killing deer.

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Yes, "one of the worlds best coasters", yeh, that is going rather far isn't it?

So an other day of unusual news. My heart goes out to the deer's family.

In all seriousness, I never been to Lightwater Valley but even I can see Ultimate isn't one of the best.

So an other day of unusual news. My heart goes out to the deer's family.

In all seriousness, I never been to Lightwater Valley but even I can see Ultimate isn't one of the best.

The Ultimate is interesting to say the least. The first half lures you into a false sense of security and then the second half (2 hours later) knocks you insane and back!

Maybe The Ultimate was in mood for venison

too soon?

This happened a few years back as well when i worked there the fences are pretty tall but deer can jump. Back in 1991 pre nemesis ,big one etc. it actually was one of our best coasters. Rumor has it Anton quoted for the job and they went for the cheaper option.

Stu K

I guess this coaster has a real headchopper element ?

^

A six-year-old boy has been airlifted to hospital after witnesses said he fell from a theme park ride.

 

The boy is believed to have fallen from the Twister rollercoaster at Lightwater Valley, near Ripon, in North Yorkshire.

 

Witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing the boy "hanging backwards" from the carriage.

 

Police said his condition was not believed to be life-threatening, and the park said the ride was closed and health and safety experts were on site.

 

It added: "We take the health and safety of our visitors very seriously and are committed to providing support to the affected family.

 

"We will continue working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and emergency services."

 

Police said the boy was conscious after the fall from the ride

North Yorkshire Police said it was called to reports of a "medical incident" at 11:30 BST and the boy was being treated in Leeds General Infirmary.

 

Lara-Susan James, who was in the queue for the Twister, said: "We could hear a girl screaming, and I mean screaming.

 

"I thought she was just scared of being on the ride, but she was hysterical. They were part of a bigger party of people visiting the park, and they were on the ground just ahead of us."

 

She added: "They started shouting to the operator to stop the ride. It was at that moment I realised something was wrong.

 

"I saw the operator apply the emergency stop and my husband pointed to the fallen kid on the ground saying they had fallen out."

 

Witnesses said the boy fell from the Twister rollercoaster

 

The theme park is located approximately five miles from the North Yorkshire city of Ripon

Mark Charnley, another guest at the park, said the boy was "hanging backwards outside the actual carriage".

 

"Everybody started shouting to get the attention of the guy running the machine," he added.

 

The theme park was originally a pig farm

In June 2001, 20-year-old Gemma Savage died when two cars collided on the same ride at the park.

 

Miss Savage, from Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, was on a day out with friends from Durham University, where she was studying medical sciences, when the accident happened.

 

The theme park's owner, the manufacturers of the ride and an electrician were all later fined for health and safety breaches.

 

According to the theme park's website, Lightwater Valley started life as a pig farm located approximately five miles from Ripon.

 

The park as it is known today was born after the purchase and creation of the Rat Rollercoaster in 1987, which at the time became the world's first and only subterranean rollercoaster.

Source

Yeesh, that ain't good. Twister is a spinning mouse with those weird OTS restraints. Maybe he got paired with a large buddy and managed to get out from under it?

RIP The Ultimate. I think everyone knew this was coming. 

I assume there is no future for this park at large, honestly. They've been in trouble for years and I doubt they'll get out of it now either in this form.

^The fact there hasn't even been a post in this thread for three years supports that. 

Obviously there's no way a ride like The Ultimate could be moved somewhere else since the terrain is basically the support system. I grew up pretty close to that park and would visit often as a kid. They certainly had a penchant for strange rides and additions. I always loved The Rat and have semi-fond memories of Soopa Loopa, Devil's Cascade, and the Hell Slide.