Yeah , it's tough to decide whether to put it lurching out at you at the beginning or the end. I would say that the beginning is the best and put a roaring head right on top of that little plateau above the entrance to the cave. That would be intimidating, you would have time to notice it, and it would make the cave 10x better.
An animatronic is a good idea, but I don't see it happening. Realistically, the ride is probably on its way out the door, considering its age. I'm not saying it will close next year or five years from now, but most likely relatively soon. Busch could pay the money to keep it running for much longer, but we have no history to judge that off of.
Ahhhh the dreaded words!
Any talk about Loch Ness's departure is depressing to my ears.
It's such a good, classic ride. I hope it stays until it has nuts and bolts flying off it.
Due to the fact Loch Ness Monster is an ACE Landmark, I doubt it will leave the park at all. The ride from my understanding is not as troublesome with maintenance as some of the other coasters and is still wildly popular. Plus it is still the only coaster in the world with those loops. LNM seems to me that it has no expiration date. Don't forget they did just repainted it a year or so ago.
Why doesn't anyone make coasters with interlocking loops anymore? All interlocking-loop coasters have been made by Arrow. WHY? Is there something about stress on the track? I mean, BG has had bragging rights to the only interlocking loop coaster for decades--why hasn't any competition been made with those loops?
What I'm saying is, if there are no coasters still made with interlocking loops just because no one wants one, how cool would it be to have the new, "Loch Ness Monster: REVAMPED!" built by B&M? (not saying it would happen, but it would be really great).
I think nobody bothers to do that because Lochness is so iconic now that everyone would know that they were just copying it. It is novelty that BGW was lucky enough to do first and make famous enough that all others would just seem like cheap knockoffs.
Loch Ness Monster has to be one of the most famous roller coasters in the country along with Kingda Ka, Coney Islands Cyclone, Millennium Force, and a few others. The only reason I can see Loch Ness Monster leaving is if something happens to it that is unfixable. I can see Alpengiest going sooner simpily because it may become outdated someday.