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The most unforgivable thing...

I think a lot of the indifference comes from the fact that we were originally getting something on a much larger scale in Forbidden Valley.

Also RMC and to some extent GG have made GCI coasters look less interesting recently, which probably didn't help SW8's reception. :D
 
Oh it goes back further than the one in FV. We all still remember the cross-valley plans :(
I often wish I could visit a parallel universe Alton, where all the plans that never got built... actually got built.
The Arrow pipeline... The self racing Schwarzkopf... The broomstick coaster... the cross-valley woody... Duelling Deadstars... Jazz Land...
... And not a single fence in sight.
 
I wouldn't say it was the most unforgivable thing, but no one has mentioned how the parks branding hasn't changed at all in over six years including those unnavigable maps and how for nearly a decade they have been using those same amateur photoshopped promotional images of coasters with the wrong track.

Also "fantastical" and "fantabulous" are two of the worst 'words' ever created and should be consigned to the dustbin along with Merlin's other nonsense.

For a company so marketing driven very little of what they do is interesting or inspiring at all and is rather dated.
 
The branding I don't have a problem with. It's still pretty strong imo.

The maps need improving, although I didn't feel last years was that bad. The inaccurate appearance of the coasters isn't too much of an issue, but they need to be more navigable. The biggest issue is the fact they include the hotels and the resort in the main map with the theme park, when it would make far more sense to separate them into a park map and a resort map.

Fantastical and fantabulous make me want to murder someone.
 
I find the current branding is a bit of a mishmash of several changes since the initial 2008 branding, minus the pipes. The current branding does feel a bit stale... although as an enthusiast it's easy to hold that opinion.

You've got to applaud Towers/Morwenna and Co. on the whole rebrand in 2008, they did a great job in ensuring the entire resort was up to date with the new brand and I would say it has been the strongest branding since 'Where the Magic Never Ends'. The 'Escape to' adverts, the return of ITHOTMK, the new logo, the new promotional materials (the Photoshopping is more clean cut in the material from 2008), and even tying in the branding with the entrance signs (I never liked those pipes, but at least it was consistent throughout the entire brand).

With the departure of Morwenna and many other ideas of various different people over the years following 2010, it has become a bit of a mess once again. Whoever does any of their Photoshop work needs to be sacked, it looks more amateur as the years go on. The only main gripe I have currently is the lack of a tagline. It's a shame they never stuck with 'Escape to Alton Towers Resort'. What do they have now... fantastical resort? Whoopie. :rolleyes: I don't think the current branding is bad (that's why they've kept it the same - that and it costs money to rebrand), it's just a bit tired, worn out and it could do with a refresh.
 
Oh it goes back further than the one in FV. We all still remember the cross-valley plans :(

I still don't think those plans looked overly amazing, 2 massive drops but little else! Anyway that discussion is for another thread!

:)
 
I still miss the mural in the car park monorail station. Walking in as a kid and seeing that filled me with such excitement. Since it's been gone, every time I've walked by the wall I've practically snarled at it.
 
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The question needs pre-fixing with "Apart from the smiler accident...", as that is a different league to anything else.

For me it is moviing the focus of continual improvement from improving the guest experience to a focus on improving profitibility each year. Its a short term approach.
 
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Most unforgivable thing...

Taking a park from good to mediocre then selling it at twice the price.
 
For me it is moviing the focus of continual improvement from improving the guest experience to a focus on improving profitibility each year. Its a short term approach.

Thing is you can do both at the same time, they just choose not to.
 
For me it is moviing the focus of continual improvement from improving the guest experience to a focus on improving profitibility each year. Its a short term approach.

Thing is you can do both at the same time, they just choose not to.
Then by definition, it will have to implode at some point. You can only make vast profits with vast revenue and vast revenue can only come from vast attendance and people spending. To secure the latter, you can't offer an inferior product.

I don't disagree with the philosophy - I think you're right, but I think this community misunderstands, or at least chooses to ignore just how much of a good time people who visit once or twice a year have at the park and enjoy the park on a normal level, without the obsessive enthusiast slant.
 
If you're on about from DF then going back to the archways, then dropping into the gardens by the steps works quickest for me, and then from TS we have haunted hollow and as I do most of the rides on that side of the park on the way I pretty much never go on TS skyride. But yes, the maps are extremely undersized, I blame the big bucks at Merlin demanding for hotels to be on the park map.
 
Then by definition, it will have to implode at some point. You can only make vast profits with vast revenue and vast revenue can only come from vast attendance and people spending. To secure the latter, you can't offer an inferior product.

I don't disagree with the philosophy - I think you're right, but I think this community misunderstands, or at least chooses to ignore just how much of a good time people who visit once or twice a year have at the park and enjoy the park on a normal level, without the obsessive enthusiast slant.

I agree, to an extent. People who only visit once a year are not going to notice the things that we do, that is obvious. And they are not visiting with the critical eye of an enthusiast, I'm sure they don't get a throughput calculator app out on their phone when in queues..! :p

Guest numbers over the next two seasons should show if what you say is true though. There has to be some sort of recovery from events of 2015 this year followed by a larger rise with SW8 in 2018. If this does not happen then the case that the park is offering an inferior product and 'normal' guests are also not happy is going to be hard to deny.

:)
 
There has to be some sort of recovery from events of 2015 this year followed by a larger rise with SW8 in 2018. If this does not happen then the case that the park is offering an inferior product and 'normal' guests are also not happy is going to be hard to deny.

I'm counting on this to happen.

Then, once it's so bluntly staring Merlin in the eye and slapped them in the face, we can begin to see some real positive changes.
 
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