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2023: General Discussion

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jon81uk said:
I hadn't actually realised the price had got above £40 regularly anyway!
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I think that maybe due to the fact most people either get the 2 for 1 from any form of sponsorships they do throughout the year or pay for the Merlin Annual Pass.

Plus, I believe they've only risen the prices slowly and gradually throughout the years. Mostly to keep inline with the costs of maintenance of the rides, staff pay and general TLC of the towers over the season and funding for events within the park itself.
 
EarthlyKnight27 said:
I think that maybe due to the fact most people either get the 2 for 1 from any form of sponsorships they do throughout the year or pay for the Merlin Annual Pass.
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No it’s mainly because I haven’t been to the park in a few years and not paid that much attention. But also yes I hadn’t realised the online price had got that much higher compsred to the 2for1 price.
 
jon81uk said:
No it’s mainly because I haven’t been to the park in a few years and not paid that much attention. But also yes I hadn’t realised the online price had got that much higher compsred to the 2for1 price.
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Fair enough, what I'm saying is that AT/Merlin do raise their prices due to both inflation and other factors. Hells, listened to a few old AT ads... And the first one I saw was £2.50!

From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyknmhVsFMU
(Here's the vid if anyone is curious!)
 
Slugjc said:
Anyone else seen this?

www.ft.com

UK landlord LondonMetric in talks to buy Alton Towers owner LXI

Deal would create a £6.4bn group as UK real estate trusts seek scale to weather the downturn
www.ft.com www.ft.com
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Here's a copy of the article.

As requested before, if you're linking to news articles or websites regardless of a pay wall or not, please summarise the article to add to discussion in the topic. You should also add your own views/opinions. The main point in the article though:

UK-listed landlord LondonMetric is in talks to buy LXI, owner of Warwick Castle and Alton Towers, in a deal that would create a £6.4bn real estate group as UK property investors seek scale to weather the downturn.

If the transaction goes ahead, LondonMetric, a FTSE 250 landlord focused on logistics, will acquire all outstanding shares in LXI. The combined group would benefit from “economies of scale and operating efficiencies”, the two companies said in a joint statement on Monday.
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Essentially this would have no impact on the day to day for Merlin/Towers.

Merlin extended the leases a couple of years back for an extra 35 years I believe so even if the leaseholder is acquired by someone else the actual lease and payments remains the same.
 
Craig said:
Here's a copy of the article.

As requested before, if you're linking to news articles or websites regardless of a pay wall or not, please summarise the article to add to discussion in the topic. You should also add your own views/opinions. The main point in the article though:
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Apologise for not sticking to the guidelines.

I've read it and have absolutely no idea if this is a good or bad thing. Dunno if it affects the business in anyway, shape or form? Hard for me to form an opinion. Too many Big words, scary financial stuff and the odd % thrown in for me to get a grip with, especially with my poor reading skills. I'm sure we have some folk who can break it down in Lehman's terms for us.
 
Slugjc said:
Apologise for not sticking to the guidelines.

I've read it and have absolutely no idea if this is a good or bad thing. Dunno if it affects the business in anyway, shape or form? Hard for me to form an opinion. Too many Big words, scary financial stuff and the odd % thrown in for me to get a grip with, especially with my poor reading skills. I'm sure we have some folk who can break it down in Lehman's terms for us.
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Merlin pay rent on the land that Alton Towers stands on under a leaseback agreement. They sold it a while back to gain cash for expansion. They'll essentially get a new landlord as a result of this deal. Generally it doesn't make a difference to us as customers, Merlin will still continue to pay rent under their current agreements.

There is a possibility that the new company will put rents up resulting in higher costs and higher ticket prices for customers, but then that could and had happened under the current landlord too.

Ultimately it's fairly inconsequential to us, it's just the media live chucking Alton on there to grab the headlines.
 
Craig said:
Merlin pay rent on the land that Alton Towers stands on under a leaseback agreement. They sold it a while back to gain cash for expansion.
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Didn't they (Merlin) sell the freeholds in order to finance the Merlin takeover of Tussaud's? A typical debt asset-backed financing acquisition model. You secure loans against the assets you're purchasing and then sell off the freehold to finance the debt burden / pay off the loans.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Didn't they (Merlin) sell the freeholds in order to finance the Merlin takeover of Tussaud's? A typical debt asset-backed financing acquisition model. You secure loans against the assets you're purchasing and then sell off the freehold to finance the debt burden / pay off the loans.
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Ah my mistake! The official explanation was to "pay down debt and fund an investment programme". We saw lots of that investment...😂
 
Craig said:
Ah my mistake! The official explanation was to "pay down debt and fund an investment programme".
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Typical of private equity buyouts and generally a pretty shoddy way to do business. I still believe it was the single worst decision they made, but Nick wanted Tussaud's badly, and this type of acquisition was all of the rage.

Craig said:
We saw lots of that investment...😂
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No comment! 🤣
 
An update from Bianca:

Season’s Greetings from all of us at Alton Towers Resort! As the year comes to a close and on behalf of our colleagues, I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for your continued support and enthusiasm, as well as reflect on some of the 2023 highlights.

This year has been an incredible journey, and as we embrace the last of the festivities, I find myself reflecting on the memories we’ve shared throughout the year. The arrival of The Curse at Alton Manor received a great reception from families and thrillseekers alike. The later additions to the attraction were one of our best-kept secrets as we worked behind the scenes to bring some spooky surprises to the experience for the start of Scarefest!

The Spring also saw the much-anticipated return of Nemesis Sub-Terra, a key milestone in the re-imagination of Nemesis. The award-winning campaign continues to generate incredible excitement for its return, and I know this will be a memorable milestone for us all in 2024.

It’s been my first year seeing our events in action and working with our incredible event and entertainment teams to understand how these may look moving forward, as well as reviewing our guest feedback in great detail to shape our future.

A new scare attraction (in partnership with Daz Games), refreshed storylines (Altonville Mine Tours: Tiny’s Revenge), the return of a free scare zone (Burial Grounds), and additional theming during Scarefest, as well as new additions to our main space for Oktoberfest celebrations, are just some great examples of the steps forward we are looking to make to some of our key events. This step change will continue in 2024 as we review what we can offer to our guests long-term. Working with YouTube sensation Daz Black was a great example of innovation for the theme park. It immediately scored incredibly high with families and young thrillseekers. We know from research these audiences were looking for something different from a traditional scare maze and sought an element of interaction and competitiveness in their experience. There is a new generation of people looking for something spooky that we haven’t offered before, and guest feedback reflects that we delivered this.

For me, this year has been so much more than just new rides and attractions. We have invested in some of our overall guest provisions and Resort experience. These enhancements have included new and improved theming additions such as the arrival of our Katanga Canyon vehicle, refreshed artifacts, and retuning ride effects. Additional live entertainment over the summer was also rolled out as a new standard of guest experience at peak times. The introduction of themed food and beverage options in Gloomy Wood and event-themed menus helped us take our first steps in this too. Permanent installations to ensure improved immersion and atmosphere all year round, including smoke machines and lighting, have also been made. New Guest Service Hubs across the park have also been a much-needed addition to our service delivery. I am passionate about attention to detail and how all this, no matter how big or small, goes a long way in contributing to the overall Resort and guest experience.

And it’s not just the theme park – our accommodation has received investment and enhancement with new live entertainment and additional theming to reflect our ambition to up weight the experience, particularly during our key events.

For me, our Fireworks Spectacular was everything and the perfect way to close our main season. It was something I spent all season looking forward to and seeing it develop behind the scenes only heightened my excitement. Everyone kept talking to me about this iconic show from the moment I arrived!

I hope you have found the time to make your own fond memories at the Resort this year and share our deep excitement for 2024, which I can assure you is shaping up to be fantastic in so many ways.

Details for our 2024 season will be revealed in the new year and will include fans seeing the return of some exciting activities, as well as new additions to our rides and entertainment for both families and thrillseekers. As you will have seen, the return of Nemesis is well underway and will naturally play a pivotal role in a year that is set to be incredibly exciting.

It’s been a memorable first year for me as Divisional Director, spending time with our teams and guests across the Resort alongside all the changes. My first year at the Resort has warmed my heart, witnessing the smiles, laughter, and pure delight that fill our park daily. This is what I most look forward to in 2024.

Finally, on behalf of us all at the Resort, thank you for being an integral part of our Alton Towers journey. I want to wish you a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to welcoming you back to join us in the New Year.
 
I like these little updates from Bianca, it’s a small thing but it’s nice to park engaging with its fans. Hoping for more of this next year, something akin to the wonderful Thorpe Park Passholder Group would be ideal.
 
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