Alton Towers has submitted a planning application for a wooden rollercoaster, scheduled to open in 2018.
Currently dubbed SW8, Ride Rater understands that the ride will be build by American manufacturers Great Coasters International (GCI).
Documents submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands Council state that the timber ride will have a maximum height of around 33 feet above the existing ground, indicating a family target audience.
However, the plans state that sections of the proposed track would be positioned below the existing ground level, potentially increasing the maximum height of the ride’s drops.
The ride could feature an inversion, as a sketch of a high point appears to show tracking rotating upside down, but this is not confirmed in any wording.
Constructed is stated as being planned to commence in September this year, with completion “anticipated for December 2017”.
The ride will be situated on the site of the former Flume water ride, which closed towards the end of last season.
Pre-show
Queueing guests will see a 140-second pre-show prior to boarding the ride trains, which expected to each seat 24 people.
The ride will be positioned on site of the former Flume ride
120,000 extra guests could be attracted for two years when the ride opens, Alton Towers said.
A theme consistent with the pirate-based Mutiny Bay area is expected, with SW8 signage appearing at a fenced zone surround the former Flume site earlier this year.
The planning application references noise study comparisons with a number of GCI rides operating in the United States.
If approved, it will be the first wooden rollercoaster built in the UK since Megafobia at Oakwood theme park in 1996.
It will compete with the launch of a Mack rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, also scheduled to open during 2018.