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The magic has disappeared!

At the moment you see most people moan because after they've spent an expensive day out they head out and oh no we need to pay another £6 before we leave... it leaves a sour taste in people's mouths.

They need to allow people to pre-book for car parking online, perhaps have it as part of a ticket deal (pay online and get free car parking promotion could work well).

If people have already paid for parking then when they leave the last thing they remember will be the great day out they had, not the £6 they've been robbed of.
 
Doesn't dlp charge quite a bit more for parking than towers. iirc, it was 10€ per car, and more for coaches and larger vehicles when I visited last year. Don't really have to much of a problem with charging for parking. Of course it isn't ideal, but even my local shops charge £4 parking for a day. My main problem is how it delays exit from the park.
 
I wonder what European parks which operate a purchase a car park token while you leave policy are thought of in their respective communities...

Then again, you don't always feel like you're constantly being separated with your money at places like Plopsa, Efteling, Europa or Walibi... Maybe that's the difference?
 
My main gripe with the parking charge, and why I refuse to pay it, is not that I think it's wrong because yes most places do charge to park, it's the fact that it was originally introduced to pay for the bypass and improve the roads for the locals. Obviously this idea came about when the park was owned by people who actually had some decency and gave a crap (and hence, why the park was far more magical).

That all went out of the window and now it's only used to line Merlin's pockets.

I can't find the original news article but here's a quote from an article from 2009 when the price hiked from £4 to £5:

News of the parking hike comes two months after the theme park ruled out plans for a bypass road following a 20-year campaign by villagers to ease congestion.

Alton Parish council chairman Tony Moult said: "When the parking costs were originally introduced the idea was that the money would go to the bypass and improving village roads.

"We already get groups coming in three cars, parking in the village and driving to the theme park in one car, so they can pay less. If the prices are going up then more and more people will be doing this. The roads won't be able to cope."

I don't live near the park but I have empathy for the locals who've been duped due to Merlin's greed.
 
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I think it's because people consider a theme park as entertainment. It's ok for them to be run for a profit but people don't want to see it, they want to enjoy a day out. If people are enjoying themselves and having fun, the money practically falls out of people's pockets. If people are trying to have fun and are met with someone trying to *obviously* get money out of them then they resent it.

On the other hand, Tesco can make a profit and people don't mind because they're a shop and people expect to just go in and give them money.
 
I think the loss of magic can be seen in things like CATCF's cardboard exterior compared to the pink turrets of Toyland Tours, sticking a random space ride at the end of Forbidden Valley, or a racing theme in UG Land. The level or care which went into things like Storybook Land and Katanga Canyon won't be seen again any time soon. The focus seems to have shifted to individual, unique and marketable experiences opposed to consistency and immersion.

Yes. This, this and more this. Nail on the head.

I agree that there is something to be said about growing up and visiting too often dampening the excitement somewhat, but ultimately the reason it's not what it was is more or less exactly what you have just written in that paragraph.

Galactica for example - they care not whether it's integrated into an escapist themed environment, so long as they can stick up a glossy photoshopped image on Facebook to get people through the gates that's all that counts.

It's literally a race to the bottom, the more they push the focus towards a park with individual product experiences with no coherence to the other attractions after a while the public won't expect anything better so they will carry on with it. Frankly for them its cheaper and requires less creative effort.
 
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Yes. This, this and more this. Nail on the head.

I agree that there is something to be said about growing up and visiting too often dampening the excitement somewhat, but ultimately the reason it's not what it was is more or less exactly what you have just written in that paragraph.

Galactica for example - they care not whether it's integrated into an escapist themed environment, so long as they can stick up a glossy photoshopped image on Facebook to get people through the gates that's all that counts.

It's literally a race to the bottom, the more they push the focus towards a park with individual product experiences with no coherence to the other attractions after a while the public won't expect anything better so they will carry on with it. Frankly for them its cheaper and requires less creative effort.

IMO galactica is an example of a well rounded package, if SW8 carries the same I would be happy. Air was built in the 'glory' days, but didn't carry a strong theme, was placed on a car park and on the end of forbidden valley.

If pleasure beach build I great ride then towers is in trouble, early sw8 teasers show that, pleasure beach are clearly developing and they deny it, towers close a ride and put SW8 up. That will be the ride that will make it or break towers, the Magic the escapism.

Merlin have been making the right noises, sub terror linked to nemesis, thirteen good idea, sound track, smiler strong brand linked to x sector and oblivion but merlin have never got it right, the whole package and I think that's what's cost them.

Finally I would rather go into a good shop, merchandised well rather than have a bloke shoving refil drinks in my face straight away as I walk in then only to find half of the refil stations closed
 
IMO galactica is an example of a well rounded package

I couldn't disagree more, the only thing Galactica is a great example of is Merlins ability to re-market an existing attraction as a new one.

Galactica is a gimmicky bodge job that will most likely be removed in the next couple of seasons anyway (The VR part, not the coaster itself). The money spent should have gone towards some smaller support rides, not this.
 
I disagree! I used to be a regular enthusiast visitor to the towers (52 visits in a season) and back then I might of agreed with you.

However now as a guest who visits twice a year, one only specifically for Scarefest, Galactica extremely impressed me! I was absolutely blown away, it's like nothing I've experienced before! The atmosphere in the plaza before joining the queue and having a mandatory "GP group selfie" in front of the signage with the amazing new soundtrack blaring out was something I've not experienced with other coasters before.

The general public will love this, they've been before and experienced Air maybe many times. This ride adds so much more to the Air package, I enjoyed Galactica more than I enjoyed The Smiler on my first ever ride...and that's saying something!
 
I couldn't disagree more, the only thing Galactica is a great example of is Merlins ability to re-market an existing attraction as a new one.

Galactica is a gimmicky bodge job that will most likely be removed in the next couple of seasons anyway (The VR part, not the coaster itself). The money spent should have gone towards some smaller support rides, not this.

Your entitled to your opinion but the VR, soundtrack, new queue TV, the portal, photo booth and shop have been done to a very high standard, air was not a good coaster IMO. Galactica gives it a new edge general public once a year will appreciate it.

Even the advert shows escapism, it's a old school advert with real views of the ride.

Merlin are new to theme parks, have made mistakes, the smiler crash changed their business forever they realised they are not as big as they thought they were. If towers adds a unique experience every year I would be happy.
 
I can't find the original news article but here's a quote from an article from 2009 when the price hiked from £4 to £5:

Lol, I believe it was me who reported that to The Sentinel at the time cos I was ruddy fuming. They then contacted me to ask for the rest of the story behind it, and yes your very correct in saying it was initially to fund the new road development. When the council blocked it (as well as JCB), Merlin thought, oh well, let keep the money ourselves then.
 
Those saying Air was not a good coaster, I really have to disagree. It is a great coaster and does what it was designed to, which was give the feeling of flight. It was not meant to be intense, or match Nemesis, or be a white knuckle ride. What let it down was its themeing. When you look at the original plans and see the themeing proposed, flying over lakes, waterfalls etc, you can begin to appreciate just how great a ride this could have been..... if they had finished it.

And there lies the problem with Merlin. Initial plans and themeing - great. Finishing the ride, not so great.
 
Peoples have made some good points about why AT isn't as well rounded as it used to be but some things have made my eyebrows rise. The idea the car park charge was added by management who cared, when this came in around the same time as people first started moaning about the state of the park (it never went to building a bypass because the council wouldn't help fund it (yet they throw money at JCB) and JCB point blank refused to free up the land and would have put huge roadblocks legally into stopping it as it would pass by their owners mansion).

I also find it a little ironic that the topic reared its head in the first season we have seen any coherent thought about the park since Mutiny Bay. Air and now galactica should have always been split off from Forbidden Valley (which will be easier now Ripsaw has gone), as a stand alone theme it's actually impressed me more than I thought it would. I don't think the VR will last because of the high operating costs of running it but the rest is very solid.

There is a new management team behind development at the park now so it will be interesting to see what happens next. As always I won't hold my breath as the accountants will be an ever present irritation but based on the TLC stuff there seems to be a greater appreciation for getting as much quality out of a limited budget.
 
Those saying Air was not a good coaster, I really have to disagree. It is a great coaster and does what it was designed to, which was give the feeling of flight. It was not meant to be intense, or match Nemesis, or be a white knuckle ride. What let it down was its themeing. When you look at the original plans and see the themeing proposed, flying over lakes, waterfalls etc, you can begin to appreciate just how great a ride this could have been..... if they had finished it.

And there lies the problem with Merlin. Initial plans and themeing - great. Finishing the ride, not so great.
I don't disagree with a lot of what you say, but I'm not sure the Air layout works as well as some of the other B&M flyers in terms of making you feel that you are flying. Typically you would associate flight with height, no?

Also in terms of the theming, that ride is a product of the team/regime that was supposed to be 'magical'.
 
I don't disagree with a lot of what you say, but I'm not sure the Air layout works as well as some of the other B&M flyers in terms of making you feel that you are flying. Typically you would associate flight with height, no?

Also in terms of the theming, that ride is a product of the team/regime that was supposed to be 'magical'.

Hmmm, in regards to your point about flight.... yes and no I suppose. I guess it depends on what your flying over... you could be high up on a coaster with not much to look at and not feel the effect, or low to the ground skimming over water and feel it more..... but yes I get your point.
 
I think Air succeeds with giving the feeling of flying, it's the short layout that bothers me if anything.

It's a shame the waterfalls could not have been made reality with the Galactica retheme, seemed like a good opportunity to add more to the ride (other than the portal).
 
Those saying Air was not a good coaster, I really have to disagree. It is a great coaster and does what it was designed to, which was give the feeling of flight. It was not meant to be intense, or match Nemesis, or be a white knuckle ride. What let it down was its themeing. When you look at the original plans and see the themeing proposed, flying over lakes, waterfalls etc, you can begin to appreciate just how great a ride this could have been..... if they had finished it.

And there lies the problem with Merlin. Initial plans and themeing - great. Finishing the ride, not so great.
As people have said air is just a bit short look at it on google maps at it really becomes apparent how short it is.
As for the theming I agree it was let down by its theming but blaming Merlin for it is like congratulating David Moyes for Sir Alex Fergusons success.
Air was built well before Merlin was around and Merlin was never going to add the theming it doesn't make sense, what Merlin have done tho in creating galactica is created a new marketable product
(All of this is slightly off topic tho)
 
but some things have made my eyebrows rise. The idea the car park charge was added by management who cared, when this came in around the same time as people first started moaning about the state of the park (it never went to building a bypass because the council wouldn't help fund it

As eyebrow raising as it might sound, I assure you this did come from the horses mouth and it's written in black and white that they introduced the parking charge for the purpose of improving the roads for the locals. I guess you could call that being a responsible neighbour. It probably wasn't a case of them being caring at all, but they certainly had the right attitude to protect their business.

And it wasn't solely for the purpose of building a bypass either, it was to cover much more.

There is a new management team behind development at the park now so it will be interesting to see what happens next.

This sounds promising, especially when you say "team" meaning more than just a general manager. Do we know if the old marketing team got the boot as well? They're a big problem and need replaced asap.
 
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