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2020: General Discussion

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I presume the undefined definition of 'large' here, is a few people more than Towers intend to place in the audience for their performance and show.

large outdoor events (performances and shows) should not take place, with the exception of drive-in events
 
I presume the undefined definition of 'large' here, is a few people more than Towers intend to place in the audience for their performance and show.

I would imagine one reason why they have set the price at £10 even for passholders is to limit numbers a bit.

to be honest I don't think that's a bad deal either for what is probably going to be quite a nice special experience and is usually only available with a £200+ hotel package. The only thing that will be strange is seeing Santa outdoors!
 
This actually sounds like a great little event, good on them for trying to make it work despite everything going on.

Great to see even more entertainment, there has been more entertainment at the park this year than the last 5 years combined.
 
This actually sounds like a great little event, good on them for trying to make it work despite everything going on.

Great to see even more entertainment, there has been more entertainment at the park this year than the last 5 years combined.

Technically there is no increase in the amount of entertainment, the Santa Sleepover events have always had a Panto in the conference centre and singers in the usual hotel spaces. Its just due to Covid everything has moved outdoors this year and the event has had to switch to day tickets instead of being hotel packages only.
 
Technically there is no increase in the amount of entertainment, the Santa Sleepover events have always had a Panto in the conference centre and singers in the usual hotel spaces. Its just due to Covid everything has moved outdoors this year and the event has had to switch to day tickets instead of being hotel packages only.

Yeah I get that. But I can’t help but wonder if a couple of years back in these circumstances they would have just said ‘sorry, no entertainment, cos covid’ and saved themselves some coins.

The fact they are trying to make it work is positive in my eyes.
 
Yeah I get that. But I can’t help but wonder if a couple of years back in these circumstances they would have just said ‘sorry, no entertainment, cos covid’ and saved themselves some coins.

The fact they are trying to make it work is positive in my eyes.

My guess is they already contracted the hire company for the stage and the garden lighting on the assumption the Santa Sleepover would go ahead, so its better to run something to try to get money in than nothing.
 
My guess is they already contracted the hire company for the stage and the garden lighting on the assumption the Santa Sleepover would go ahead, so its better to run something to try to get money in than nothing.

Could be, although I think the stage is just the one from Thorpe Park, so it’s Merlin owned.
 
Also bear in mind that hire contracts are easily cancelled, especially in these times where a company with as much clout as Merlin can easily put conditions on their hire such as "in the event we cannot trade due to COVID, we can back out of this agreement". Or of course they can play the force majeure card.
 
So how did everyone think the rides were running this season? I know it's a bit late asking but would be interesting to see if any of your opinions of rides has changed. Also here's a topic, how would you rank the coasters in terms of smoothness? From my experience this year I'd personally say:
1. Galactica
2. Th13teen
3. Oblivion
4. Nemesis
5. Smiler
6. Wicker man
7. Rita
 
With merlin it's hard to tell if issues are with attraction or corporate at its root.
It’s both I think, but one bigger problem is they often employ people who aren’t suited to the job and that ranges from ride staff to management.

How do you right the wrongs though, do a restructuring and make everyone reapply for their job? That wrecks morale and if it doesn’t apply to management (the ones hiring) then you get stuck with potentially the same problem.

That’s just my general thought about Merlin.
 
I’m surprised that it hasn’t been mentioned that the rides are open until 7:30pm during this Christmas event, meaning that there’s now an additional opportunity for night rides!

Well, admittedly only on Spinball or Octonauts, in terms of coasters, but my point still stands; 7:30pm is far later than I would have expected, so well done Towers!
 
I've removed a number of posts naming a staff member, specifically one who hadn't even worked in that role for a while and has since left!

As a reminder, we generally do not allow individual staff members to be named on the forum. The exception to this is if the member of staff is currently a "public face" of the park, e.g. appears in media etc. Even if this were the case, comments about them should be constructive and respectful. If anyone has any issue with this, please message me privately - thanks.
 
I’m surprised that it hasn’t been mentioned that the rides are open until 7:30pm during this Christmas event, meaning that there’s now an additional opportunity for night rides!

Well, admittedly only on Spinball or Octonauts, in terms of coasters, but my point still stands; 7:30pm is far later than I would have expected, so well done Towers!
This time last year I went to Europa which had a nearly full line-up and I got a ridiculous amount of night rides. I would love to see a UK park run like that at Christmas!
 
I’m surprised that it hasn’t been mentioned that the rides are open until 7:30pm during this Christmas event, meaning that there’s now an additional opportunity for night rides!

Well, admittedly only on Spinball or Octonauts, in terms of coasters, but my point still stands; 7:30pm is far later than I would have expected, so well done Towers!

From what I can see on Towers St Twitter it certainly seems that the Christmas event has been stepped up this year in terms of what is available and carries on the significant improvements in events that the park has seen this year...long may it continue :)
 
From what I can see on Towers St Twitter it certainly seems that the Christmas event has been stepped up this year in terms of what is available and carries on the significant improvements in events that the park has seen this year...long may it continue :)
It's a shame that the Pantomime has been cancelled due to Tier 3 restrictions (although football matches are allowed), Maybe the park could record a show of the Pantomime for Christmas and release it on Facebook and YouTube to build awareness of an Alton Towers Christmas event, especially if they wanted to expand it next year, with say something like a Christmas market.
 
It's a shame that the Pantomime has been cancelled due to Tier 3 restrictions (although football matches are allowed), Maybe the park could record a show of the Pantomime for Christmas and release it on Facebook and YouTube to build awareness of an Alton Towers Christmas event, especially if they wanted to expand it next year, with say something like a Christmas market.
Football matches have to be behind closed doors in tier 3
 
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