Fireworks 2015

[Rob]

I'm somewhat surprised by the amount of negative comments regarding the display this year, not least because everyone I spoke to over the weekend thought they were great!

I really enjoyed them this year, they were much better than last year but maybe not quite as good as the 2013 display.

Positives:

• Another story based theme, althohgh it may not have been a strong story I much prefer this to a 20-25 minute pop mashup which just gets boring after 10 minutes. I thought the show flowed pretty well this year and had a few funny moments
• Music, this was a massive positive! The finale music done by IMAscore was nothing short of outstanding. Love to have bits of Hex, Thirteen and Nemesis thrown in there as well as ITHOTMK at the very end. IMAscore and Towers have done a great job here
• I thought the fireworks were very well set to the music this year, the best timing of firworks Towers have done
  
• The show felt very different to previous years shows which I think is a good thing; you don't want variations of the same thing year after year. The use of an enterprise was certainly interesting but due to failures it didn't fully pay off

Negatives:

• We'll start with those failures on the enterprise. Different sets of lighting failed on it on both Saturday and Sunday nights. This was a shame. There was also meant to be pyro on it going off in a London Eye style spiral around the wheel effect - only a couple of them went off on Friday and I believe they gave up on this effect for Saturday and Sunday
• There were less fireworks this year with more focus on lighting. I'm guessing this does come down to budget
• Due to lighting fails and misfires etc not one of the nights managed to provide a 'perfect' full display

Now to pick up on a couple of things raised in this thread.

Lighting seems a bit over the top. There seemed to be no focus whatsoever on the Towers, which is hugely disappointing since it forms as a beautiful backdrop when lit up for shows.

I agree with you. However Towers apparently felt that it was not worth spending the money on Towers focused lighting this year as you cannot actually see the Towers overly well with all of the trees infront. Hence a lot of lighting was brought forward this year. I do think it's a shame as in the past the Towers have looked stunning during and after the show.

I hear muttering of 20 to 21 thousand guests on saturday.

On Friday 6th - I have never ever seen the park so empty. It really was incredible, walking around parts of the park literally with no one else about, on an event day. Yeah the weather was rubbish and yes it was a working day for most, but even still. Didnt queue for anything all day, not one ride.

After 4pm the place did get busier and there were a fair amount on the lawns, but nothing like previous years.

I don't know how happy Towers would have been with guest numbers this year but all things considered I think they did ok. Things certainly picked up on all of the evenings. Apparently they normally get around 10,000 on the Friday and this year I heard the 7,500 figure mentioned. Saturday was apparently around 18,000 and I don't think Sunday would have been a lot less, probably around 15,000 - 16,000. It was certainly very busy trying to get out of the car parks this year.

Anyway, I hope Towers get good feedback from the fireworks this year. There is every chance that if it's not gone down well management will enforce a generic pop mash-up show for 2016. That would be a massive shame.

 

[GaryH]

Sounds like "Fail Friday" was actually the better of the three days to have seen the show then as to me, none of the lights failed and those pyro effects on the wheel certainally worked when HOTMK was starting to get played.

 

[Rob]

There were a few sets of Fireworks that didn't go off on Friday but apart from that it may well have been the best show yes! Certainly the only night where all the lighting worked as planned.

 

[stretchy]

On the whole I liked this years fireworks. Good job towers

I was there Saturday and Sunday, Saturday had much more of a bang during the finale. but both nights there were odd quiet moments that just seemed to not quite work. Like some of the nirvana bit.

I also really really like the pre show music. Anyone know what it was? Shazam said it couldnt contact the internet.

I also loved the IMA mashup at the end.

Regarding "less fireworks". We walked past someone asking one of the pyro setup guys that very same question, and they said it was "about the same number of fireworks this year as last year"

 

[GaryH]

Try doing it off one of the YouTube videos online. I liked it too so would be interested to know, though I think it may be a custom made track...

 

[EuroSatch]

I was quite underwhelmed by this years show. The attempt of a 'story' was tedious, given that Sir Algenon is hardly a recognisable character within the park, so his appearance was rather odd, and I had no idea what he was trying to achieve.

The music and the actual fireworks were both underwhelming, there was no attempt to lead towards anything spectacular.

The enterprise wheel - I spent most the time wondering why it was in the way of the display. Was it cheaper than a lighting rig placed there? As that's essentially what it was.

Meh

 

[RoyJess]

• There was also meant to be pyro on it going off in a London Eye style spiral around the wheel effect - only a couple of them went off on Friday and I believe they gave up on this effect for Saturday and Sunday

I must admit it was an epic fail, I did wonder why we only saw a few pyros fizzling off the wheel only on Friday.

The enterprise wheel - I spent most the time wondering why it was in the way of the display. Was it cheaper than a lighting rig placed there? As that's essentially what it was.

Meh

I was thinking the same thing, but on the other hand, it meant that having most of the visual effects above head highs means that most of the display was visible for all.

I was there Saturday and Sunday,

It was great meeting you on Sunday, I was the one with my wife in the wheelchair, spoke to you briefly after the display.

 

[EuroSatch]

Also, the organisation of the event was pretty poor. With the numbers of people expected on a wet November weekend, having 2 members of staff serving in the tavern is ridiculous. They need to have places where people can gather to stay warm and dry, and be served.

 

[Burbs]

Also, the organisation of the event was pretty poor. With the numbers of people expected on a wet November weekend, having 2 members of staff serving in the tavern is ridiculous. They need to have places where people can gather to stay warm and dry, and be served.

Absolutely agree. Also, covered outdoor seating areas are clearly needed. Given that during the rain on a relatively quiet fireworks Sunday, the only non-crowded place to stay dry was one of the full-body dryers next to Mexican Cantina.

 

[delta79]

The enterprise was meant to be down until it part in the show, unfortunately they was a mechanical failure that meant it had to be locked in place.

 

[RoyJess]

The enterprise was meant to be down until it part in the show, unfortunately they was a mechanical failure that meant it had to be locked in place.

So it was SBNO So nothing new there....

 

[Rob]

Yeah the enterprise was meant to start off lying down and then lift up for at the point in the show whereby it comes into use. Alas the enterprise is very buggered meaning that this was not possible. So if you ever see it in operation anywhere I urge you not to ride it! It has missing parts...

I believe they also wanted to use the ground shaking effect from 2013 again this year (it was particularly stunning). I'd imagine it would have been towards the start of the show where Sir Algenon checks certain things are ready. However for some reason this effect was not possible this year, may have been due to the enterprise.

I think certain elements of the show were quite ambitious (for Towers) and that is why certain elements just didn't work. I still really enjoyed all three nights though.

 

[GaryH]

I believe they also wanted to use the ground shaking effect from 2013 again this year (it was particularly stunning). I'd imagine it would have been towards the start of the show where Sir Algenon checks certain things are ready. However for some reason this effect was not possible this year, may have been due to the enterprise.

I thought they did? Fast forward this to about 4:20. I'm not sure it was as explosive as it was in 2013 though (that was epic!)

 

[jon81uk]

Regarding "less fireworks". We walked past someone asking one of the pyro setup guys that very same question, and they said it was "about the same number of fireworks this year as last year"

It felt a similar number of fireworks to previous years to me, just with different spacing, I think some sections had more fireworks in the air at one time and other sections had nothing so it averages. Also they used a lot of low level and less high maybe?

Sir Algenon is hardly a recognisable character within the park

The Alton Towers hotel is themed round Sir Algenon and mentioned in pictures in the room so he isn't that obscure really. Also that doesn't matter, he could have just been called the inventor and it would have still worked. None of the firework shows have used a pre-existing character before.

 

[delta79]

It was first fireworks at the towers for me and my daughter. Riding air and nemesis in the dark was brilliant.
Little delta enjoyed the fireworks from under a pair of ear defenders. after explaining Sir Algenon and his inventing, little delta said " that why that old ride there, recycled "
As we head out of park the exit road was closed for some reason, although when we came to drive home it was reopened in front of us.

Sunday was a totally different experience, as i was there with St John. After meeting up with the St John team for the event at the St John Cheadle Building and arriving on site in convoy (though the staff entrance), headed up to the event control room.
I was there in a support member role, and was in and out of the event control during the event. The thing that got me was the amount of work the towers operations / control had, normal operation like closing / opening areas, traffic control and the odd thing that pop up when you got a large group of public at an event.

After the St John side of the event had finished. and we packed up. I looked out of the control room window and thought about how much work is going on behind the scenes to make a smooth looking event for the public.

 

[James]

Anyway, I hope Towers get good feedback from the fireworks this year. There is every chance that if it's not gone down well management will enforce a generic pop mash-up show for 2016. That would be a massive shame.

I cannot see any reason why they wouldn't receive good feedback from this years display. Just looking across social media I have seen mostly positive comments and the only negative comments have been regarding the lack of fireworks. This years display is an improvement on last years, and the general public seem to still be liking these story driven shows. After 3 years of story-lead displays I would be surprised if we see a u-turn and it goes back to a pop mash-up in 2016.

 

[Martin]

Really enjoyed last night's display, despite the technical problems. For me the story didn't add or take away from it, it was just 'there', which I am happy with. There was some obvious dead spots and the dance section seemed pretty thin on fireworks generally if I remember correctly, but when the fireworks were used they were used really, really well. Obviously have to mention the finale, which like everyone else has said, was fantastic and the composition was brilliant.

Far from perfect but it was enjoyable enough that the faults didn't really detract from how I felt about it, so well done to Towers.

 

[Russ]

Really enjoyed the show was the best one in a couple of years, the issues with the light's on the wheel were a setback but nothing to major. I would of maybe of liked to see the wheel move a bit if they ever used it again. The main thing was I had an amazing night and really can't wait to see what they have for next year!

 

[Danny]

That entire finale score was pure gold to my ears. All that time and effort invested into turning the traditional sounds into something bigger and bolder was undeniably worth it. I really hope the same amount is ploughed into next year to make something just as spectacular.

As a show/experience, this year has easily won me over with no questions asked. In terms of an actual Fireworks display however, it fell a tad short on pipping 2013 to the post. It feels like Towers have been scratching at the surface of perfection at this time of year for their displays now, hopefully they can really push for that something special next year.

 

[DiogoJ42]

The only real fault I could find was the shocking lack of pyro. Other than that, easily the best show they've put on since '99. The enterprise was a nice idea, but frankly it seemed like a wasted ooertunity. It should have risen up during the show rather than being fixed at "half mast", though I understand this was down to many, many technical failiures.