2025: General Discussion

[rob666]

That’s an eye watering price! Even city centre car parks don’t charge that much for a full day! For £12 I’d expect a shoe shine and someone to clean my car!

Nope.
My last central London parking was £12 per hour.
Manchester all day parking ranges from £25 to £60 per day.

People keep coming back for more...the price increase for parking has gone up two whole pounds hasn't it?
Two pounds extra won't scare many off.

 

[Dave]

It doesn’t justify the price at all but city centre parking is far higher as Rob says, the council car parks in Leeds are about £16 for the day and those are the cheapest (and almost impossible to get a space).

 

[rob666]

Yup, cheapest is quickest to fill, and if there are few transport alternatives, and strong demand, prepare for a shafting.
How much do those american parks charge again?

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Yup, cheapest is quickest to fill, and if there are few transport alternatives, and strong demand, prepare for a shafting.
How much do those american parks charge again?

It's broadly in line with car park charges in the UK and mainland Europe.

PortAventura was €15.50 per day, £13 at current conversion rates. Europa Park is €10 per day. Efteling is €15 per day. Parc Asterix is €20 per day. Blackpool Pleasure Beach's "official" car parks are £15 - £18 per day. Drayton Manor Park and Zoo is £9.90 per day.

Someone will be along soon to remind us that Paulton's Park offers free car parking.

 

[Benzin]

Someone will be along soon to remind us that Paulton's Park offers free car parking.

Lightwater Valley offer free car parking.

 

[Steve74]

It's broadly in line with car park charges in the UK and mainland Europe.

PortAventura was €15.50 per day £13, at current conversion rates. Europa Park is €10 per day. Efteling is £15 per day. Parc Asterix is €20 per day. Blackpool Pleasure Beach's "official" car parks are £15 - £18 per day. Drayton Manor Park and Zoo is £9.90 per day.

Someone will be along soon to remind us that Paulton's Park offers free car parking.

And in 5 or 6 years time we'll all be hailing how cheap Towers parking is when Universal announce their car parking charges. But of course, theirs will be justified and worth it because Universal is/will be the saviour of the UK theme park industry

 

[Danny]

And in 5 or 6 years time we'll all be hailing how cheap Towers parking is when Universal announce their car parking charges. But of course, theirs will be justified and worth it because Universal is/will be the saviour of the UK theme park industry

Difference being is with Universal there'll be a choice. The park is wholly accessible without the use of a car, and even then you would likely be able to find a cheaper alternative of parking in Bedford. Same with the South Merlin parks - they're all accessible without the use of a car.

With Towers there is no choice. The public transport is totally inadequate and other than that, it's parking on site unless you want to risk leaving your car in a ditch. They know full well guests don't have any other options; it's essentially a compulsory charge on top of the admission fee.

 

[jon81uk]

Which is the more appealing offering?

£3 extra on top of a ticket (based on four per car) or £12 parking?

I think raising some ticket prices might be the better option, as others have said if you only realise the parking cost on the day it can leave a bad feeling. Whereas the ticket might be bought weeks before the visit.

 

[owenstreet7]

Difference being is with Universal there'll be a choice. The park is wholly accessible without the use of a car, and even then you would likely be able to find a cheaper alternative of parking in Bedford. Same with the South Merlin parks - they're all accessible without the use of a car.

With Towers there is no choice. The public transport is totally inadequate and other than that, it's parking on site unless you want to risk leaving your car in a ditch. They know full well guests don't have any other options; it's essentially a compulsory charge on top of the admission fee.

Exactly on point with that one.

Towers will have no choice but to consider a shuttle bus with Universal coming if they want to bring the Universal crowd to their parks. Plus with sustainability, they also need to think of that too.

Back on point, I believe the majority of Universal guests will come by public transport with some going directly from the airports.

It wouldn't even surprise me if there's shuttles between the Studio Tour and Universal especially if the latter includes the Wizarding World in some form or capacity.

 

[Echo Rider]

Lightwater Valley offer free car parking.

Flamingo land too

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

It wouldn't even surprise me if there's shuttles between the Studio Tour and Universal especially if the latter includes the Wizarding World in some form or capacity.

All the greatest hits this morning.

The general point was that car parking charges at Alton Towers are broadly in line with parks of similar size and esteem, they're not even the most expensive in the UK for a theme park. Parks with better transport links also offer similar pricing, or charge more.

The resentment with the Alton Towers increase is that, as others have pointed out, it's incredibly difficult to get there any other way than driving.

It's a bit of a non-starter to compare the situation to a hypothetical theme park development, with hypothetical public transport options and hypothetical car parking charges.

 

[owenstreet7]

The resentment with the Alton Towers increase is that, as others have pointed out, it's incredibly difficult to get there any other way than driving.

On point with this part and that is honestly why it is challenging to consider Alton Towers over BPB up North.

Getting to an 8.30am bus to Towers from the South when trains don't run up there to get there on time is a frustration as well as the lack of Sunday and Bank Holiday service.

My main point really is that Towers is shooting themselves in the foot for not running a similar service to Thorpe Park for shuttles.

Parking, I'd say that the charges as everyone has pointed out is in line with similar parks in the country. The issue is that they're forced to drive to Towers.

I do honestly feel that if Towers continues to have limited services, I think it'd be greedy to keep the parking charges high. (I do wonder if this is part of the thinking behind the charges).

Don't get me started on the sustainability part of this as this would be a different thread on it's own

It's a bit of a non-starter to compare the situation to a hypothetical theme park development, with hypothetical public transport options and hypothetical car parking charges.

The Universal to Studio Tour shuttles are predictions and I used this as a point that Universal will attract guests who will visit both.

To elaborate, I think guests are more likely to visit the Studio Tour than Towers. Towers is a national scale theme park which would serve a similar purpose to Parc Asterix to Disneyland.

My last post was in response to the below.

Difference being is with Universal there'll be a choice. The park is wholly accessible without the use of a car, and even then you would likely be able to find a cheaper alternative of parking in Bedford. Same with the South Merlin parks - they're all accessible without the use of a car.

With Towers there is no choice. The public transport is totally inadequate and other than that, it's parking on site unless you want to risk leaving your car in a ditch. They know full well guests don't have any other options; it's essentially a compulsory charge on top of the admission fee.

 

[Blackrock]

£12 quid isn’t that bad but they should be looking at having more shuttle busses from places like Stoke station. WB manage it with their shuttle buses from Watford station to their Studio Tour and that’s only 10 minutes away.

If they can manage it Towers if they put in the effort at peak times almost certainly could.

 

[owenstreet7]

£12 quid isn’t that bad but they should be looking at having more shuttle busses from places like Stoke station. WB manage it with their shuttle buses from Watford station to their Studio Tour and that’s only 10 minutes away.

If they can manage it Towers if they put in the effort at peak times almost certainly could.

I completely agree on that - for the UK's largest theme park, I'd say a once or twice hourly service with more at peak times or up to opening and closing would work well and encourage more visitors.

I don't know for sure how much not having such a link is affecting the park but in my opinion, I would say having a shuttle would boost numbers even further than what they have already.

Even a Park and Ride from Uttoxeter would be better than nothing to be honest I believe Uttoxeter is reachable by train so it'd be more accessible with a Park and Ride.

It would also decrease the traffic in and out which would make residents happier.

 

[jon81uk]

It wouldn't even surprise me if there's shuttles between the Studio Tour and Universal especially if the latter includes the Wizarding World in some form or capacity.

I don't think there would be anything official, they are two seperate attractions run by two seperate companies (Universal and Warner Bros). Would be like Alton Towers doing a shuttle to Drayton Manor.

£12 quid isn’t that bad but they should be looking at having more shuttle busses from places like Stoke station. WB manage it with their shuttle buses from Watford station to their Studio Tour and that’s only 10 minutes away.

If they can manage it Towers if they put in the effort at peak times almost certainly could.

The short journey is why they can manage it, its also a shorter length visit (you only need a half day at the studio tour) so its a fairly continuous shuttle throughout the day. Whereas at AT everyone wants to arrive around 10am and leave about 5pm so its not really a shuttle bus as it will only make one morning and one evening trip due to the longer journey time.

Thorpe Park is more of a shuttle, every 15 minutes to midday but the return is only hourly until after 4pm. https://www.sullivanbuses.com/tt/950 tt.pdf
Outside of Fright Nights, most people want to arrive 10-11am and leave after 5pm, so there is no need for buses 12noon to 4pm, hence the single bus per hour at those times.

 

[Benzin]

Towers USED to do shuttles from Stoke, Uttoxeter and a few others.

I'd imagine trying to come to an agreement with local buses is an utter headache. As would having their own fleet of buses and drivers.

Then also relying on the local train services to get people to these destinations at an affordable rate and decent time frame. By which point you've worked out that it's just easier and cheaper to drive to the park instead. Quick look says that Leeds to Towers would take me 3.5 hours by train and buses. Sod that.

 

[Bowser]

Towers USED to do shuttles from Stoke, Uttoxeter and a few others.

I'd imagine trying to come to an agreement with local buses is an utter headache. As would having their own fleet of buses and drivers.

Then also relying on the local train services to get people to these destinations at an affordable rate and decent time frame. By which point you've worked out that it's just easier and cheaper to drive to the park instead. Quick look says that Leeds to Towers would take me 3.5 hours by train and buses. Sod that.

You also have the issue of any unexpected variance potentially leaves people completely stranded.

Thorpe Park works because it's a regular all day service, that's never going to be viable at AT.

 

[owenstreet7]

Towers USED to do shuttles from Stoke, Uttoxeter and a few others.

I'd imagine trying to come to an agreement with local buses is an utter headache. As would having their own fleet of buses and drivers.

Then also relying on the local train services to get people to these destinations at an affordable rate and decent time frame. By which point you've worked out that it's just easier and cheaper to drive to the park instead. Quick look says that Leeds to Towers would take me 3.5 hours by train and buses. Sod that.

Hmm... That surprises me to be honest.

I wonder how popular these were in the past when they ran and why it may have stopped.

In my opinion, from somewhere like Stoke, it'd be quite central to consider a regular service.

Uttoxeter would be a compromise.

The short journey is why they can manage it, its also a shorter length visit (you only need a half day at the studio tour) so its a fairly continuous shuttle throughout the day. Whereas at AT everyone wants to arrive around 10am and leave about 5pm so its not really a shuttle bus as it will only make one morning and one evening trip due to the longer journey time.

Thorpe Park is more of a shuttle, every 15 minutes to midday but the return is only hourly until after 4pm. https://www.sullivanbuses.com/tt/950 tt.pdf
Outside of Fright Nights, most people want to arrive 10-11am and leave after 5pm, so there is no need for buses 12noon to 4pm, hence the single bus per hour at those times.

I'd agree that there may be a longer journey but it would make the park so much more accessible to people who either may not drive or are from different parts of the country.

I think something like what Thorpe Park do would be perfect for Towers even if it's slightly less frequent.

I don't think the current services are good enough especially during Scarefest and the longer opening hours.

You also have the issue of any unexpected variance potentially leaves people completely stranded.

Thorpe Park works because it's a regular all day service, that's never going to be viable at AT.

I'd completely understand that although I'd say that an all day service of some form would be a necessity.

Once an hour at certain times of the day may work for people getting to the hotels during the day and evening. I'd say variable frequency may be key to this.

Every 15-30 minutes for the start of the day and the return journey towards the end of the day would be most ideal for somewhere like Towers.

I'd say Towers could make money running a taxi service that is better than what they have now.

 

[Benzin]

On the few times I've travelled to Towers via their own shuttles they never seemed to be too busy. Thirteen's opening day was fairly rammed by nowhere close to the Thorpe bus.

Stoke is still a pain to access for the entire eastern side of the country, so they'd need to go from Derby and/or Nottingham as well. Which will heavily affect the viability.

Towers' location just doesn't lend itself to easy public transportation options without heavy investment.

 

[Blackrock]

Towers USED to do shuttles from Stoke, Uttoxeter and a few others.

I'd imagine trying to come to an agreement with local buses is an utter headache. As would having their own fleet of buses and drivers.

Then also relying on the local train services to get people to these destinations at an affordable rate and decent time frame. By which point you've worked out that it's just easier and cheaper to drive to the park instead. Quick look says that Leeds to Towers would take me 3.5 hours by train and buses. Sod that.

If you went Leeds to Derby it’s only an hour 15 direct by train then a bus from Derby which isn’t that far away really and only one road wouldn’t take too long.