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Towers Loving Care

Why is everyone so negative, it really does not look good at all, this is meant to be a fan site for Towers but the amount of negativity towards the park is just ridiculous. I'm not saying go round a brown nose the park, but jesus, it's actually pathetic some of the things people are complaining about.
Have you guys heard yourselves? Your moaning about a bloody fence!

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They put in high fences. People moan.

They allow people to see the rides through the fences. People moan.

I definitely hate the fact that they put such high fences in BUT I was always hoping they would cut some sort of window into them so the rides were still viewable. Its hardly perfect but it's great that they've gone back and done it.


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owentaylor121 said:
Why is everyone so negative, it really does not look good at all, this is meant to be a fan site for Towers but the amount of negativity towards the park is just ridiculous. I'm not saying go round a brown nose the park, but jesus, it's actually pathetic some of the things people are complaining about.
Have you guys heard yourselves? Your moaning about a bloody fence!

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It's because we've been to better parks outside the UK and had a taste of what could be. We're spoiled. :(
 
the problem is ladies and gentlemen, Alton Towers got to big for its boots, the recession kicked in and as it was controlled to a big company it was able to offer cheap deals to get the punters in. £50 gate price but 90% of people probably use other ways of getting in.

Now though other parks have sorted themselves out. So heres to
  • Poultons Park
  • Drayton
  • Project 18
  • Fantasy Island being operated properly
it may sort out merlin and give them a kick.
 
owentaylor121 said:
Why is everyone so negative, it really does not look good at all, this is meant to be a fan site for Towers but the amount of negativity towards the park is just ridiculous. I'm not saying go round a brown nose the park, but jesus, it's actually pathetic some of the things people are complaining about.
Have you guys heard yourselves? Your moaning about a bloody fence!
Click to expand...

DiogoJ42 said:
It's because we've been to better parks outside the UK and had a taste of what could be. We've spoiled. :(
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We've also been to better parks WITHIN the UK that aren't run by greed-obsessed-health-and-safety nutcase M£rlin.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
It's because we've been to better parks outside the UK and had a taste of what could be. We've spoiled. :(
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But so have I?
I can completely understand moaning over the ride closures etc, but a bloody fence. Come on, it's just petty, this is meant to be a park people love on this site and all I see is constant hate towards the place over the stupidest of things. People need to except Towers will never have beautiful theming like PA or Disney, it will never have the feel of Europa, but we are so lucky to have a park like Towers in this country! Yes the opening hours are crap, yes Merlin don't always make the best decisions but Towers has absolutely beautiful grounds, a fantastic coaster line up on paper and a feel that no other park I've ever visited has!
 
It was never my intention to imply you hadn't been to other parks, sorry if it came over that way. ;)

But who said I "love" Towers? I'm just here for the communal p¡ssups. ;)
 
PeteB said:
We've also been to better parks WITHIN the UK that aren't run by greed-obsessed-health-and-safety nutcase M£rlin.
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I'm sorry but what? Are you actually surprised that they are obsessed with health and safety at the moment? Like really... If I owned the park I would do the exact same, I'd rather prevent anything happening with a high fence and upset a few obsessional people than take risk of being back in court and more bad publicity.
 
The Germans have the right idea when it comes to health and safety: If you get hurt from doing something stupid... You deserve it. A higher fence is only going to stop the morons who's DNA humanity is better off without. By pandering to these mouthbreathers, they are setting our evolutionary path back thousands of years.
 
owentaylor121 said:
Why is everyone so negative, it really does not look good at all, this is meant to be a fan site for Towers but the amount of negativity towards the park is just ridiculous. I'm not saying go round a brown nose the park, but jesus, it's actually pathetic some of the things people are complaining about.
Have you guys heard yourselves? Your moaning about a bloody fence!
Click to expand...

They put an unnecessary, obstructive fence in one of the most characterful areas of the park ruining what was previously an impressive vista. Yes, they have now cut holes in it so that you can see through but the net result is still much worse than what stood there last season. It's details like this that contribute to a park's atmosphere so it's important that they get them right.

As for the constant negativity, people have been driven to cynicism by the constant falling standards. I think many have reached the end of their tether.
owentaylor121 said:
People need to except Towers will never have beautiful theming like PA or Disney, it will never have the feel of Europa, but we are so lucky to have a park like Towers in this country! Yes the opening hours are crap, yes Merlin don't always make the best decisions but Towers has absolutely beautiful grounds, a fantastic coaster line up on paper and a feel that no other park I've ever visited has!
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Why should we accept this? In the past I would argue that Alton has been ahead of Europa and PA in the European pecking order. Their investment in world leading ride technology and their (at the time) innovative approach to theming and ride branding set them ahead of the international competition. Alton even demonstrated that they could do world class theming with Splash Landings. But since then, the park has shown little passion for its projects, putting in the absolute minimum amount of effort required to be deemed acceptable by the paying public. It particularly hurts when you look over to the continent and you see parks with nothing like Alton's spending power and without the backing of one of the world's largest entertainment companies outdoing them at every turn.

What's the point in being an enthusiast in any area if it doesn't inspire you in some way? Why can't we wish for something exceptional? If the best we can hope to look forward to is adequacy, what's the point of being a fan? Alton has all the ingredients it needs to be one of the world's greatest parks but we consistently see that potential being squandered.

If there's one thing I don't understand about the UK enthusiast community, it's this willingness among some to accept that this is just the way it is and that to expect anything better is unrealistic. You don't have to look far to realise that this just isn't the case.

In recent years, for me visiting Alton has been about as enjoyable as watching someone take a hammer to my favourite childhood toy, so this year I decided not to visit. So far, I haven't regretted it one bit. It's not an act of protest, my absence will not affect them in any way. It just doesn't make sense to be paying for something I don't enjoy. This idea of "loyalty" to a park is an enthusiast fallacy. At the end of the day, they owe me nothing and I owe them nothing but the onus is on the park to provide an experience that I believe is worth paying the entry fee for. Last year, they fell well short of that and this year looks to be even worse overall.
 
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DiogoJ42 said:
The Germans have the right idea when it comes to health and safety: If you get hurt from doing something stupid... You deserve it. A higher fence is only going to stop the morons who's DNA humanity is better off without. By pandering to these mouthbreathers, they are setting our evolutionary path back thousands of years.
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Unfortunately if it is people trying to spit at others on the Rapids then they are not going to hurt themselves. Generally I agree with you, in most cases if you are in control at the time (so not on a coaster etc) it is your own fault and your own problem. But in this case if it is spitting or throwing things that is the issue then it is people trying to injure others.
 
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Danny said:
Just when I thought they couldn't get any more ridiculous.
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I must insist that the fence in your signature now has windows added! ;)

I'm not a fan of the high fences but it does look like they are being forced on Towers by H&S. There have been rumours of theming added to the fences in Katanga Canyon but this still hasn't materialised, a bit like the vines that were promised in Dark Forest.

:)
 
With one half of the community complaining about all of Towers' mishaps, mangement, cuts etc and the other half trying to be loyal to Towers in spite of the recent problems, I'm amazed that the forum hasn't erupted in an all out civil war over what side we should be following.

Clearly, the Towers fanbase has entered 'broken base' territory and I have no idea how to fix it...great job Merlin. :(
 
Rob said:
I'm not a fan of the high fences but it does look like they are being forced on Towers by H&S.
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Here's the thing though. HSE don't actually impose anything like this. There are no outside forces grabbing Towers by balls and insisting they install high fences, this is all coming from within Towers (or Merlin's) own management structure. Somewhere in the pyramid they have a department (or just a single busybody), who's job role it is to carry out risk assessments, oversee safety and compliance with insurance etc etc yawn...

Nobody just popped in to Towers and said "you must install fences - we want fences in the gardens, along the lake, along the ruins, along the bridge, and on spinball we want you to build a fence on top your of existing fence".

I heard on the grapevine, that SW8 is the worlds first cotton wool rollercoaster. Even the restraints are made from bubblewrap!
 
Indeed, the HSE don't really care about the small things. Its the lawyers that do. Most companies are scared of getting sued since all the no-win-no-fee compensation claims.
Although if it chavs spitting at the rapids, in this case its an anti-social behaviour issue.
 
@owentaylor121 - dude, looking at your profile it says you are 10? Not sure that is correct but hey ho. Anyway - you must also appreciate there are some old farts on this site who can remember Alton Towers and how fantastic a place it was when you didnt even exist, back in the days when you could get in for under a fiver and the park would be open until late. Back when parking was free, when the park had an element of magic to it. You should also realise that Alton actually do read these threads, and in some cases take on board some of the criticisms and feedback we give them.

Yeah we moan, but we also praise where praise is due (have you read the roller-coaster restaurant thread for example?). I think the biggest gripe people have is that there was just no need for many of these high fences, so having a new window in them, while welcomed, is just irrelevant when the fence wasn't needed in the first place!

Anyway, being an oldie i'm going to go back in my box now, drink some horlicks and write my will.
 
and for those who think there is a lot of negativity on here, try some of the Disney forums and blogs! the forum at WDWMagic.com is often critical as it the blog easywdw
 
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