Park section Gloomy Wood Opening date 2018 Designer Merlin Magic Making Cost 15 million GBP | Status Under construction Type Wood Opened 2018 Replaced The Flume | |
 | ||
Lift/launch system Silent magnetic lift system Address Haunted Hollow, Stoke-on-Trent ST10 4DB, UK Similar Galactica, Thirteen, Nemesis, The Smiler, Oblivion | ||
SW8 (Secret Weapon 8) is the code name for a wooden roller coaster currently under construction at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. The ride will replace The Flume which closed towards the end of the 2015 season. The attraction is set to be the park's first roller coaster constructed from wood and is confirmed to be manufactured by Great Coasters International. The ride is expected to open in late March or early April 2018.
Contents
Development
Originally, the park had planned to install a roller coaster in Forbidden Valley nearby Nemesis for the 2017 season, however due to many factors including budget, these plans were later dropped.
The Flume closed in early October 2015, 1 month before the end of the season and for the start on the 2016 season, it had been fenced off and surrounded by signs advertising the development of SW8. The site remained unchanged throughout the 2016 season.
The first planning documents were submitted to Staffordshire County Council on 23 April 2016. They documented the basic layout of SW8 and the surrounding area. They also suggested that the old station used for The Flume would be turned into a 'Smokehouse' restaurant however this indication was removed on later revisions, and The Flume station was fully removed. The full plans were submitted on 31 May 2016 and were approved on the 24 August 2016.
It was rumoured online that SW8 was to take the theme of 'The Wicker Man', however this has not been confirmed.
It was revealed in the 2017 Alton Towers map that SW8 will be a part of Gloomy Wood
Construction
Construction of SW8 commenced on 28 November 2016 with the demolition of The Flume. The construction site covers the site of the old The Flume ride, employee entrance gates in Mutiny Bay, the path connecting Mutiny Bay and Katanga Canyon and Magic HQ car park.
The project went vertical with station construction in early March 2017.