Should Shockwave be Converted?

I visited earlier today and it is now becoming a common trend for Shockwave to have a 10-15 minute queue. Whether it is due to the standing element or the ride cycles taking around 5-6 mins due to restraint adjustment it is obvious that the popularity is dwindling and after 25 years that the novelty is wearing thin. Would it be worth converting to a floor less which would increase throughput and bring a smoother more positive ride experience. This could also be used for marketing the GP as technically there are no floor less coasters in the UK. I would personally welcome conversion.

A sit down train could be instead manufactured without changing the ride system but wouldn’t be nearly as marketable.

What do you guys think?
 
I notice that now my daughter is 1.2m tall theses thrill rides have no queue or 15 min max. We did Apocalypse twice sit down and no wait at all. Same for Pirate ship. Stormforce 10 was the biggest but that’s more down to the slow loading process.
With Shockwave I think the target audience is to old for Drayton Manor now as Drayton aim for the under 12’s target and been honest if I had the choice I would go to Alton and enjoy the best coasters in the uk Nemesis,Oblivion and the Smiler. Shockwave long term future will depend on the future of the rapids.
 
I visited earlier today and it is now becoming a common trend for Shockwave to have a 10-15 minute queue. Whether it is due to the standing element or the ride cycles taking around 5-6 mins due to restraint adjustment it is obvious that the popularity is dwindling and after 25 years that the novelty is wearing thin. Would it be worth converting to a floor less which would increase throughput and bring a smoother more positive ride experience. This could also be used for marketing the GP as technically there are no floor less coasters in the UK. I would personally welcome conversion.

A sit down train could be instead manufactured without changing the ride system but wouldn’t be nearly as marketable.

What do you guys think?
I guess in order to save money they could just keep the same trains but alter them in a way that keeps the seats fixed in a sit-down position. They could also give it a retheme and really boost the parks popularity. It would be cheap, and easy to do over the closed season, and would boost park attendance for the 2020 season, and they could maybe have a walkthrough/tracked ride attraction in the place of Splash Canyon, because I believe that the rapids are no longer in a state to operate, as they've received no treatment, and they have been closed for over 2 years
 
shockwave i an amazing ride and no matter queue line length is always worth the wait to ride i hope it stays as a stand up as its only one of its kind in the uk
 
shockwave i an amazing ride and no matter queue line length is always worth the wait to ride i hope it stays as a stand up as its only one of its kind in the uk
I do like shockwave, it's quick but provides some stunning views of Tamworth from the top!
 
I do like shockwave, it's quick but provides some stunning views of Tamworth from the top!
But also views of the state of the rapids have got in nearly 3 years. I think they really should be using this time to paint the inside/outside of the building and maybe bring back the 2nd train as if it is Summer they open can see it been busy after all this time after parents and kids stuck inside.
 
I think Shockwave the trains are at the end of there life but think the coaster track it self is perfectly fine and if Splash Canyon doesn’t reopen they could use the site to retheme it and add water features.
Or add a Splash Battle themed like the one at PortAdventura underneath. The red train is dead somewhere, and the trains are very rough indeed. So they really get new trains in just like Wallabi Holland are for Condor the original SLC.
 
I think as it’s the only stand up Intamin coaster left parts are hard to come by so they using the red train to keep the blue train going as long as possible.
I don’t know if anyone knew this but Shockwave and Splash Canyon nearly didn’t get built. When Drayton submitted plans to Lichfield council for both rides they were happy with the height as it was below tree level but they failed to notice on the plans how close to the boundary the coaster would be going and by the time they noticed the coaster was built. The park cant build another coaster in its place so they will keep the coaster as long as possible.
 
I think as it’s the only stand up Intamin coaster left parts are hard to come by so they using the red train to keep the blue train going as long as possible.
I don’t know if anyone knew this but Shockwave and Splash Canyon nearly didn’t get built. When Drayton submitted plans to Lichfield council for both rides they were happy with the height as it was below tree level but they failed to notice on the plans how close to the boundary the coaster would be going and by the time they noticed the coaster was built. The park cant build another coaster in its place so they will keep the coaster as long as possible.
I remember reading about the boundary issues.

Do you know if shockwave is an off the shelf design or was the track layout custom for Drayton?

It always surprises me that parts become unavailable for rollercoasters, but I guess it’s more down to the cost of tooling to remanufacture parts than anything.

Going forward I would have thought it would be cheaper for Drayton to buy a new train(s) than a new coaster to replace shockwave.
 
Don’t know if anyone has read this interview before but Colin lists Shockwave as what put Drayton on the map and 26 years later it’s still part of the parks logo.
It’s a Intamin coaster as back then Intamin just build flat and water rides so asked B&M to build the track and supports for them to see if it could complete in the coaster business.
 
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Don’t know if anyone has read this interview before but Colin lists Shockwave as what put Drayton on the map and 26 years later it’s still part of the parks logo.
It’s a Intamin coaster as back then Intamin just build flat and water rides so asked B&M to build the track and supports for them to see if it could complete in the coaster business.
Yep because Walter and Claude then left Intamin in 1992 or earlier to start B&M
 
Has anyone seen the conversion done on Cedar Point's Mantis which became Rougarou. They converted the stan-up coaster to a floorless coaster and I think unless they don't decide to do something else, then it's most likely the park might do what Cedar Point did, but get B&M sit floorless trains like the ones on Griffon and Sheikra.
 
This is a long one. I've got one section about Shockwave being an Intamin and another about the floorless conversion. Makes it easier than having to read through a whole essay.

Intamin or B&M
It's an Intamin coaster but I think it should count as a B&M. The only coasters Intamin were manufacturing at the time were wooden coasters, they hired Walter and Claude from B&M (which had been founded in 1988) to design and manufacture both the Z-force model and Stand-up model as Intamin's first steel coaster models.

In 1992, Walter and Claude no longer designed and manufactured coasters under Intamin. They designed coasters under their own company, giving B&M it's rise to power in the mid-1990's. Regarding Shockwave, it's involvement with Walter and Claude is unclear. The stand-up model is the one Walter and Claude designed for Intamin, not the one they improved for B&M. The designer for Shockwave as well was not Walter and Claude, but Wernef Stengel instead, who designed a lot of coasters for Intamin and Schwarzkopf. With Wernef as the designer and Intamin supplying the track, Shockwave is technically a Intamin.

I should say that Shockwave was built in 1994 but was part of a two-year expansion between 93 and 94, it's possible that Shockwave was planned in 1992 or potentially before so it's a possibility that Walter and Claude were in some way involved. Despite that, Walter and Claude were the designers for the coaster model (Track, trains, elements, chain lift, brakes) which is why I see it more as a B&M than an Intamin.

Floorless Conversion
So only three stand-up coasters have had this treatment, each getting new trains, new colour scheme and new theming as well as a name change. On the positives, it could become a better ride experience, being less painful than a stand-up coaster. I think a fresh, new paintover and re-theme would also really benefit the coaster, though the name change is up to them, I don't have any ideas and I quite like the name Shockwave, it oddly fits in with the 'storm' theme. It would bring in a lot of people for an attraction that doesn't cost as much as a new coaster but could be marketed as one.

On the negatives, I say it could become a better ride experience because there is no guarantee. Patriot at California's Great America, a conversion of Vortex, is touted as a much better ride experience that's smoother and a much-needed change whereas Firebird at Six Flags America, a conversion of Apocalypse Coaster, is regarded as a better ride than it was as a stand-up but still a rather poor coaster due to it's old track as well as some people saying the train has a rattle to it. With a coaster like Shockwave, it's impossible to tell. Another point is the coaster's novelty, it's the only stand-up in Europe as well as the last stand-up by Intamin in the world. A floorless conversion would remove both of those titles which I'm not so sure Drayton Manor is willing to do.

This bit is complete fantasy and my wild imagination, if they had more than enough funds, I'd love to see them take down Shockwave and get B&M to build a new floorless coaster with a stronger, smoother layout, something short but impactful like Hydra and Hair Raiser, go with the old light blue track, light brown supports, retitle the coaster as Shockwave as well as give the station and line the theming it deserves.

I just realised I wrote a whole essay so if you read it all I appreciate it and hope this post helps out.
 
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