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The Special Events Void

I think the issue is also due to the cost of staying. What a family of 4 would pay for two days stay and park tickets they could go on a weeks holiday.

Then all the extra add on costs.... theme park tickets, water park tickets, tree tops, mini golf, then food and drink....

I do wonder if Alton did an All Inclusive package for stays in their hotels which did include everything, and was value for money, if it would entice people to stay over, or stay over for longer....
 
I don't know how popular the Ice Show was in its final years, but that has stayed with me as one of the most memorable attractions after years gone by.

The good thing about an ice show is that it's probably something a lot of people don't go to see outside of theme parks very often, if at all. I think it's an attraction that can be genuinely described as "something different", much more so than current CBeebies offerings. I used to enjoy the Halloween Spooktacular show they did too, they were a brilliant addition to the Halloween line-up. To add to it, back in the day, there wasn't a surcharge in sight!

How well does Hot Ice do at BPB? I've never been in all my years of visiting. Is it still a popular attraction?

(When I say it was memorable, I am of course referring to Peter Rabbit, not that Webmaster atrocity that succeeded it. Maybe Peter Rabbit was outdated, but come on... Was there even anything after that?)
 
(When I say it was memorable, I am of course referring to Peter Rabbit, not that Webmaster atrocity that succeeded it. Maybe Peter Rabbit was outdated, but come on... Was there even anything after that?)

Webmaster, then the twins doing magic. But nothing really had the popularity of Peter Rabbit, therefore also proving that an IP does bring bigger crowds to a show :)
 
I know they're not exactly the most of comparable parks, but take a look at Dreamland's event schedule. They don't splash huge wads of money onto these things and the turnout is always noticeable. They may have had a rocky journey since 2015, but their events have always proven popular and continue to do so.
 
The Ice Show was great wasn't it. And yes, at no extra charge!! And I remember the Halloween fright lights show they did which, ok, wasnt the most amazing, but.... it was free, did a laser projection show on one of the towers and had a good fun vibe about it.

The problem I see it thesedays is that people feel rushed when they go to Alton. Many get in at 10, some rides dont open until 10.30 - 11.00 then there is the queuing, and the park closes at 5. Plus you got to fit in time for lunch, so the last thing many want to do is sit around inside a tent watching a show for half an hour.

If I recall, when I watched these shows, park close was much later.
 
I did the Hot Ice show at BPB a couple of summers ago on opening night, first time I had seen it in about forty years!
Really enjoyed it, very well produced show, and the skaters were really going for the big jumps.
Don't know how popular it is overall though.
Worth seeing once in four decades at least.

Back on Towers, summer Saturday nights with a small pyro display would be nice, and wouldn't break the bank.
 
Some kind of water show on the lake wouldn't be too bad. No idea how possible it'd be due to the depth or anything
 
Speaking of the lake, does anyone have any idea about how deep it actually is?

Not very, around 4ft I think at it's deepest point in the middle. There are some photos kicking about of the last time they drained the lake in closed season, a few years back. Used to happen regularly I believe.

The small lake with Battle Galleons is deeper.

EDIT - Found some photos from 2004/05 closed season:

lakedrain1.jpg

lakedrain2.jpg
 
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