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2026: General Discussion

The general public aren’t even in yet, but it does seem like any improvements/changes are somewhat minimal whilst other areas have decayed and got worse.

I’ve long accepted that the upkeep of the park will never hit the high standards that some other parks can maintain, so they’ve successfully lowered expectations to the point where as long as the rides work reliably, it’s seen as a win.
 
New accessibility ramp on Rita that doesn't look wide enough to have wheelchairs pass each other. One step forward and two back and all that.

Guessing easier to maintain than a lift is the only reason.
 
Danscott22 said:
13 facade looks like it's finally getting done, but the baggage hold is a state with broken wood. David Walliams world sign looks grubby and dirty. Wicker Man actual theming structure covered in moss. Why can't they just do basic stuff? No point saying they've still got a week when they've had since mid November.
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If Towers was the only one to get basics wrong I would have more of an issue but many parks do so fail the upkeep. To be honest moss is barely noticeable on Big Bob from a distance.

Whenever an area like Walliams gets grubby is a sign its likely to be removed thats what happened with Duel
 
Hid said:
If Towers was the only one to get basics wrong I would have more of an issue but many parks do so fail the upkeep. To be honest moss is barely noticeable on Big Bob from a distance.

Whenever an area like Walliams gets grubby is a sign its likely to be removed thats what happened with Duel
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While you have a point about not doing anything regarding theming when a ride is due to be removed/rethemed like with Duel, it doesn't take 5 minutes to get a brush with a bucket of detergent and wash that sign! We're not talking replacing aging theming props at the cost of thousands here like we were with Duel!

But, benefit of the doubt and all that, it could be cleaned this week.
 
shaun3 said:
Merlin getting exactly what they wanted. You're all discussing them repainting a set piece whilst ignoring all the stuff they didn't repaint.
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Im not going to praise them for it but based on pictures from the weekend there has been a a reasonable amount of repainting and refreshing going on. Towers Street is being repainted and quite a bit of pathing has been replaced.

As I say I’m not going to praise it but they haven’t been inert this closed season.
 
Dave said:
Im not going to praise them for it but based on pictures from the weekend there has been a a reasonable amount of repainting and refreshing going on. Towers Street is being repainted and quite a bit of pathing has been replaced.

As I say I’m not going to praise it but they haven’t been inert this closed season.
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Painting wise is all good if the right prep is done prior to painting meaning old layers are properly removed and prepared towers often don’t do this, walking around today the whole park feels like it needs a refresh all pathway verges and most models in ceebibes need a jet wash covered in mud algae or just plain falling apart..
 
rob666 said:
Again folks...very wet winter, not painting weather at all.
Mud and algae everywhere in all the gardens I work, but little dry time to make things right.
The Towers are no different, and surrounded by shade and green stuff, algae central.
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The fact they are still painting towers street a week before opening backs this up. You would have thought it would either have been done earlier or not at all.

Rob F said:
Painting wise is all good if the right prep is done prior to painting meaning old layers are properly removed and prepared towers often don’t do this, walking around today the whole park feels like it needs a refresh all pathway verges and most models in ceebibes need a jet wash covered in mud algae or just plain falling apart..
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I am not in anyway suggesting that they have done a good job or done everything they need to do. But some people are suggesting all they have done is paint the corkscrews which is clearly not the case.

But again no praise, it should be business as usual.
 
I think the things they have done over the closed season is good, it shows investment is still being made in trying to maintain the upkeep.

as for the cleaning of theming I would say it heavily depends on the theming, some objects (like the Walliams world sign) are probably very easy to be cleaned, and it could happen overnight if they wanted, either using a jetwash or an extendable brush (the ones used on windows)

however I feel like a lot of the other theming would require significant work to clean, for instance the wicker man would probably require scaffolding being set up to access a lot of the theming, it should happen regularly, but not every year..

as for rita, I wonder if adding the ramp will allow for a SRQ to be added, and is the exit will be quicker to be vacated (allowing for a potential increase in throughput)
 
I remember Raymond Chen (an ex-Microsoft employee) explaining that Microsoft change the appearance of each major Windows revision (even though most people liked the look of Windows XP and Windows 7) because if they don't then people will assume that nothing has changed, and no improvements have been made.

He specifically mentioned that Microsoft completely rewrote the calculator app at one stage, but it looked the same and so people wrongly assumed that it was the same as before.

I kind of feel that way about the Corkscrew repaint; part of me wonders whether they have chosen a different colour specifically to draw attention to the fact that it has been refreshed?

If so then I wonder if anywhere else on Towers Street (or the rides themselves) will be getting new colours? (Galactica is the obvious choice IMO)

flyingguitar said:
as for rita, I wonder if adding the ramp will allow for a SRQ to be added, and is the exit will be quicker to be vacated (allowing for a potential increase in throughput)
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Hopefully!
 
Like ubercorn on the go jetters ride console is just covered in algae, the ride cars haven’t been cleaned either….
same with all the area fencing,
In the night garden again the characters need a good clean most could be sponge washed or jet washed algae just isn’t a good look
 
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I wonder what impact outsourcing maintenance to OCS this winter has had (if any) on what they get done this year.

Obviously paying guests couldn’t care less, but the initial upheaval of changing something like this can impact delivery. Look at the shambles the switch to Aramark was a few years back.
 
AT86 said:
I wonder what impact outsourcing maintenance to OCS this winter has had (if any) on what they get done this year.

Obviously paying guests couldn’t care less, but the initial upheaval of changing something like this can impact delivery. Look at the shambles the switch to Aramark was a few years back.
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Aramark is still no better !!!

Hotels were very busy yesterday night ….. with offers for both John Lewis and Blue light customers to stay but found it ok to only open one restaurant on resort in the evening …… I mean hotel management were just telling people to order from just eat etc ….. it was a continuous queue of complaints
 
Mick said:
The general public aren’t even in yet, but it does seem like any improvements/changes are somewhat minimal whilst other areas have decayed and got worse.

I’ve long accepted that the upkeep of the park will never hit the high standards that some other parks can maintain, so they’ve successfully lowered expectations to the point where as long as the rides work reliably, it’s seen as a win.
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Although I’m now at a similar point, I still don’t find it acceptable.

Maintenance is the perfect metaphor for the mentality of the place, they can’t maintain scenery, is it any wonder ride maintenance seems equally lacking?

It’s worth adding, Alton never used to look as bad as it does now. It used to look as well kept Paultons, it’s nothing to do with the size, weather, age etc they aren’t capable and/or won’t spend the money.

Worst of all the state they’ve allowed the gardens to get into I’m convinced the place is on the slide until that is addressed again.

Until the place changes hands, this circus will just continue and get worse. I’ll be intrigued to see what/why they’ve made repairs to Swiss Cottage and the towers. Necessity or something else.
 
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