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2015: Alton Towers Enchanted Village

Sundown has multiple Santas. The waiting room has about 4-6 doors through which you enter his grotto. None of the kids seem to question this.
 
As far as I know Alton already has multiple Santas. My point is more that it is better to sell out and everyone has a great time, than to add huge amounts of extra capacity and have lots of complaints. Particularly as this year they are opening the theme park to day guests at Christmas there is still a lot of room to get it wrong.
 
If weekends are in fact sold out then you can't help but feel they might be losing out on bookings with this new accommodation sitting there empty.

:)
 
I don't pretend to know a great deal about the village, but there will be ancillary services that would need to be opened, staffed and like for the village to be open in full and there will be a required occupancy to make that workable. It's the first year - they're still finding their feet with them.

Merlin operate seasonal businesses all over the place - it's part of their bread and butter.
 
Rob said:
If weekends are in fact sold out then you can't help but feel they might be losing out on bookings with this new accommodation sitting there empty.

:)
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There might also be rooms sat empty at Splash and ATH, we don't know how they are choosing to operate. But with the Santa Sleepovers, the capacity of meals and time with Santa is more limiting than the number of rooms. Also with things like the pantomime there will be a limit as to how many people can fit in the room.

:)
 
jon81uk said:
There might also be rooms sat empty at Splash and ATH, we don't know how they are choosing to operate. But with the Santa Sleepovers, the capacity of meals and time with Santa is more limiting than the number of rooms. Also with things like the pantomime there will be a limit as to how many people can fit in the room.

:)
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Of course, but then shouldn't events at theme parks be there to grow rather than stay the same year after year? I'm sure they could find ways to cope with more visitors if they wanted to, especially if it was going to generate more money.

:)
 
Rob said:
Of course, but then shouldn't events at theme parks be there to grow rather than stay the same year after year? I'm sure they could find ways to cope with more visitors if they wanted to, especially if it was going to generate more money.
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Sometimes staying the same is the best option from a risk/reward perspective. When you're an enthusiast looking in, you look at the event completely differently than when you're somebody who is there visiting, the scale of the event isn't really on your mind. If you provide the product to less people, it can stay premium. In that case it requires far less effort to provide the event for the same return - it depends how linear your costs are of course.

In terms of the scale staying the same every year, per cap spending could (and probably is) rising, so you're able to make more money at the same scale, which is very friendly from an investment point of view if budgets have been slain as much as is claimed.
 
Growth growth growth!

Disney are indeed open all year round, granted.

Europa Park however offer a seasonal opening, and have an excellent choice of accommodation! All five hotels plus their TipiDorf (with heated log cabins no less...).

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Second only to Disney, I say!

More effort required on both the part of the Resort and the Park to attract more guests and in turn unlock the key to offering more choice?
 
I do find it very odd that the enchanted village is closed during Xmas. As far as I am aware both hotels are fully booked for Christmas, so why not open the enchanted village, even if it was only one or two sections of lodges. They would be perfect for Christmas.
 
Probably because they cost too much heat or something. At least the Hotels are efficient in that sense.
 
Also if it for Santa visits etc there is only limited capacity for guests to see him. Better to have two hotels full of happy guests than three hotels of annoyed guests, long waits for Santa and food and bad service.

I think keeping the lodges closed for winter is definitely the right thing to do.
 
That's why you expand... add an extra Santa or two.

I still think it's a missed opportunity, given the popularity of the event. Although Towers aren't exactly known for expanding events, plus they probably wouldn't/couldn't invest more into Christmas this year.
 
I can't help but wonder if the clean up of damp in these cabins from months of being closed is going to fall under the TLC project....
 
obviously its a massively popular event with pretty much every weekend being fully booked over christmas towers maximise this and open as much as possible
 
Ben said:
I can't help but wonder if the clean up of damp in these cabins from months of being closed is going to fall under the TLC project....
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I would think they will have the heating on a low setting to prevent any damage from damp, particularly in terms of any damp smells when they reopen them.
 
Everyone loves a bit of enchanted mould.

Also, according to the Cambridge English Dictionary:

Definition of tree house in English:
noun
A structure built in the branches of a tree

Money is literally lying on the table if anyone would like to sue Alton Towers over false advertising. :D
 
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