Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Just to add, Hex will open daily from 11am and Congo River Rapids will open daily from 12pm.
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2025: General Discussion
- Thread starter Craig
- Start date
Just to add, Hex will open daily from 11am and Congo River Rapids will open daily from 12pm.
Not great publicity for the park. Voted the world's most disappointing attraction. I'm not entirely sure what this is based on but maybe Merlin will start to take some notice how far they have let Alton Towers fall from it's former glory as a flagship park.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/...rlds-five-most-disappointing-tourist-34921313
https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/...rlds-five-most-disappointing-tourist-34921313
jon81uk
TS Member
Even when it was "in its glory" there were still many people describing it as a disappointing attraction.
There was a book called "B*ll*cks to Alton Towers" about other places to visit in the UK.
Bowser
TS Member
Aramark’s ears perked up at this suggestion.
Jb85
TS Member
I have to admit - the last three years have really put me off visiting. Can’t be bothered these days - it’s becoming a chore
Jb85
TS Member
It’s a real shame that the product it was has now become a money grabbing pit
Things are slowly improving mind you.
tech
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Universe of Energy - Epcot (RIP)
Same. We visit Drayton once a season, AT at least 5-6 times a season, the difference being each time we visit Drayton it seems to have got a little bit better, each time we visit AT things have got a little bit worse.
Our MAPs run out next month and we're not renewing - will probably take an annual pass for Drayton for a season, their combined pass with WMSP looks like good value, and we'll wait it out to see what the end-game is for Merlin; whatever they're trying to do, I figured they can do it without my money this year.
SuperMuscleMan
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Colossus
I think that's how I ended up feeling... I had a break and returned this week after 5 years and saw great improvements... If I were Merlin I'd take the hit for 3 years, invest big and have some massive projects that catapult the resort. Part of me thinks completely change the visitor experience and rebuild towers street.
jon81uk
TS Member
Did you not visit during the period just before Merlin/Blackstone took over? This isn’t the first time the standards slipped.
Bowser
TS Member
We don't have any plans to visit this year. The reason is one word... uncertainty.
You can still go and have a great day or you can have an awful day and for the most part it is out of your hands. Sure, you can slightly mitigate things by only visiting on off-peak days if that's an option, visiting in favourable weather etc but in the end it is often the luck of the draw whether you spend the day fruitlessly trekking round seeking working attractions.
It's one thing if you're a relatively local MAP holder but when a visit requires an overnight stay it becomes a far less appealing gamble. With my son being under 1.4m the ride lottery is very much not in his favour.
Restaurant tablets and poorly batched SRQ are very much secondary complaints when you can't rely on the attractions to be operating.
You can still go and have a great day or you can have an awful day and for the most part it is out of your hands. Sure, you can slightly mitigate things by only visiting on off-peak days if that's an option, visiting in favourable weather etc but in the end it is often the luck of the draw whether you spend the day fruitlessly trekking round seeking working attractions.
It's one thing if you're a relatively local MAP holder but when a visit requires an overnight stay it becomes a far less appealing gamble. With my son being under 1.4m the ride lottery is very much not in his favour.
Restaurant tablets and poorly batched SRQ are very much secondary complaints when you can't rely on the attractions to be operating.
I did , and things were not as bad as they are now. At least you could still get decent food in the hotels and park!
jonhotboy2023
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The smiler
very sad to see Alton Towers on the list I will always love Alton Towers no matter what not bothered with people think
AT86
TS Member
In the interest of balance, and to counter perhaps some of the rose tinted glasses that come with the passage of time, the BBC had a TV show in 2003 entitled "UK's Worst.... Days Out" and guess who won that prize? Yup, Alton Towers. What's more the reasons for this accolade were cited as long queue times and ride breakdowns, and this was long before Merlin came along.
I am not saying the way the park is currently being run is acceptable and shouldn't be challenged, just that perhaps things were not quite the utopia they are sometimes made out to be in 'the good old days' pre-Merlin.
Park slammed by BBC
A BBC programme highlighting the "worst days out in Britain" has named Alton Towers as the worst of all.
BBC Programme Index
NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
Either that or the BBC was just as capable of kicking up a storm in a tea cup ride as it is now!
