Lack of passion?

Is it just me or is there a lack of passion about Alton Towers and the other Merlin parks from the company and it's visitors? After a glorious opening day with plenty of visitors alton towers showed they just weren't prepared park entry was ill prepared with new computer system. The ride operations were poor no smiler for nearly a week, no VR on galactica and then that went down for a short while. Visitors are showing that they have an appetite to visit again but then the park doesn't seem to be prepared. I think management thought Cbeebies additions were going to be a draw but when I've been ride times for that area aren't that big compared to other areas of park which seem to be getting more people. Like I said too many eggs where put into Cbeebies Land basket this needs sorting and sorting quick. Or is it just me thinking this?

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I agree - I suppose it is a low investment year but that's no excuse really. Would merlin sell towers? Hopefully SW8 brings up guest numbers but I doubt it can have as big as an effect as the Smiler did with the gp and guest numbers.

But why invest in the VR technology and market it heavily only not to use it the next year? I mean I would excuse a week but it's nearly 6 weeks and still no sign when galactica having VR how do they get away using posters for the ride when it doesn't offer that experience ?

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themeparkfan said:

But why invest in the VR technology and market it heavily only not to use it the next year? I mean I would excuse a week but it's nearly 6 weeks and still no sign when galactica having VR how do they get away using posters for the ride when it doesn't offer that experience ?

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Gotta be honest mate. You make a great point. Very poor that they're not providing the experience that they should be. Like you have highlighted, it's been going on a bit too long now.

themeparkfan said:

Is it just me or is there a lack of passion about Alton Towers and the other Merlin parks from the company and it's visitors? After a glorious opening day with plenty of visitors alton towers showed they just weren't prepared park entry was ill prepared with new computer system. The ride operations were poor no smiler for nearly a week, no VR on galactica and then that went down for a short while. Visitors are showing that they have an appetite to visit again but then the park doesn't seem to be prepared. I think management thought Cbeebies additions were going to be a draw but when I've been ride times for that area aren't that big compared to other areas of park which seem to be getting more people. Like I said too many eggs where put into Cbeebies Land basket this needs sorting and sorting quick. Or is it just me thinking this?

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I think there's a general lack of passion (and interest) from everyone about the park tbh. The general public are starting to notice that the place is on it's arse and in decline.

Even the fan sites are not what they once were, especially given that a SW8 is in the works. TS and the others are all quiet.

PeteB said:

Even the fan sites are not what they once were, especially given that a SW8 is in the works. TS and the others are all quiet.

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I agree, you would think its closed season with how quiet the forums are.

If anybody can actually quantify that Alton Towers is a worse theme park in 2017 than it was in 2016, please do.

I fail to see how it is.

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VR on galactica no Toadstool for starters

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themeparkfan said:

VR on galactica no Toadstool for starters

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Improved throughputs though, and while we have lost Toadstool we have gained Hex, which is categorically better and falls in to the same target age bracket.

Indeed, that is a very weak and one sided argument. The ride line-up is better in 2017 than it was in 2016, although I hate that each season at Towers now has its own ride line-up. Alas it is what it is.

There does seem to be less interest in Alton Towers when it comes to online forum though, I agree with that. You just have to look at our one SW8 discussion thread which is hardly rife with discussion and compare it to the multiple SW7 threads we had going. SW8 has produced by far the least online discussion of the major Towers projects I have followed, interest seems generally low.

But is it fair to look at forums as base for this? I am of the opinion that in the last few years there has been shift in how people wish to interact when it comes to theme parks with people moving from forums to social media (as with everything else in life sadly). It we be interesting to compare stats relating to SW8 Facebook posts compared with those about SW7 for example.

I don't think there's a lack of passion for Alton Towers. A lot of people behind the scenes are passionate, but people's passion is not the cause of its problems.

But I think a lot of enthusiasts are disillusioned in recent years, which is obviously understandable when you look at the massive hype and big let down pattern that's been going down the last 10ish years, for a number of reasons. Most are still keen on the park but just don't go along so blindly with the hype anymore, because we are more used to the 'merlin style' now when it comes to a new development.

Plus this is coming off the back of the Smiler which was possibly the most hyped new coaster ever, because of the fan community's obsession with thinking it was going to have some kind of magical secret element, all those drone shots and rampant coverage of concrete being poured on a construction site, without Alton Towers actually overhyping it much themselves.

I personally don't really care about Towers now. At first I thought it was because my interest in theme parks more generally had diminished but then I've followed other recent theme park developments (Mako, Taron, Pandora, Volcano Bay, etc.) intently. Clearly, I still love coasters, theming, park atmosphere - so why don't I care about Alton?

If the park was dead and buried, maybe I'd care more. I'd watch it struggle through its last season, make a few visits for last rides on the legendary coasters then watch the gates close for the last time. I'd undoubtedly feel emotional about it. But something entirely different has happened to Alton - it's become insipid.

There's no vibrancy, intelligence or heart to the place. It's a profit factory - people go in, they're probed by pushy photographers and herded through tat shops, they ride a few dulled-down, bare-bones attractions then they're sent home. Visitors aren't made to feel like guests - they know from the second they arrive that they're cash cows that will be milked for every possible penny during their trip. Almost everything you experience at Towers serves the sole purpose of squeezing wallets further and if it doesn't generate money, it's left to rot and decay.

There are so few gems left; where are the subtle in-jokes and tongue-in-cheek jibes, the secluded corners and secret patches of garden, the little personal touches and extra-mile staff? The food and entertainment is mostly bland, the theming is tedious and unvarying whilst the rides are stripped back to banality. The park isn't dying but it's content to keep plodding on, charging the maximum and providing the bare minimum that it can get away with.

It's heartbreaking because nothing compares to the best bits of Alton. The Magic Kingdom, Europa Park, Islands of Adventure - even these, the most iconic parks in the world, don't have the majestic backdrop of the ruins, the roar of Nemesis, the beautiful gardens, lake and the valley. It's a truly exceptional setting and the place isn't entirely without hope. But for myself, and for a lot of other enthusiasts, it's better to watch Alton from afar. It's less painful than experiencing its merry march into mediocrity from the front row.

I try to remain open minded but got to say - your post really rings true to how an average day out there began feeling for me.

After a long time of visiting the park just to enjoy it as a great place in itself, it just became unbearable. Unfortunately this is exactly how Merlin want the place to look and feel as part of its "brand alignment" - extremely commercial and in your face.

However, there seem to be a lot of the British public content with this. I'm not saying anybody is wrong for enjoying this brand of entertainment if you genuinely do - but I feel there is much better fun to be had if the park pushed itself more. Much like how there are many who'd spend literally £1000s a year on terrible overpriced coffee for example, just because of brand loyalty. Merlin have very deliberately done this it's got to be said.

Also (an unpopular opinion on here) while there have been good improvements made recently - a result from people's passion for the place - I think the professionalism of this has dropped despite the good intentions. Filling out the park with looped music in every quiet areas does not equal a better experience, it entirely depends on the design & nature of the area, and what the effect of the audio is. Overloaded speakers blasting in one direction and not the other, cables strewn about the place etc, terrible tacky Halloween props strewn throughout Duel as DIY 'improvements' instead of a proper scenic restoration, and all that.

It's a sign of lack of Merlin's overarching lack of creative direction or any professional creative management (or budget!), rather than a lack of passion. This is a trait that can be seen in most its UK parks though, not just Towers.

I think the people who work at Towers definitely 100% have the passion, they just have management above them in Merlin HQ who are profit focused rather than customer focused. And what can you do when you are not given the money or resources.

Its also definitely not the worst park in the UK (been to Oakwood recently?), but I don't think its current offerings are worthy of the entrance price. So many closed rides, shops, restaurants, and then the price of the hotels, it does feel a little as if they are putting people off visiting. You just have to read through the TA reviews over the past 12 months to see people are unimpressed.

I hope things pick up for next year with SW8.

electricBill said:

terrible tacky Halloween props strewn throughout Duel as DIY 'improvements' instead of a proper scenic restoration, and all that.

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Haha! I know exactly what you're jabbing at - those morphing portraits on the exit route?

I hate those things. They were cool once when the original creator from Haunted Memories was the only person producing them but all this mass produced supermarket crap is just bad quality, and it certainly doesn't belong in theme park ride.

Yes they're very generic, off-the-shelf and only serve to keep the ride looking like a standard ghost train really.

I was thinking in particular of the very recent ones with £1 Halloween cobwebs strung around the spider scene, a spider shoved in a skeleton's mouth, terrible flashy lighting every 10 seconds for no reason. The original set in this area was much more grand with large gauze webs treated in faint UV, not bright glowing decorations that look cheap. It's clearly all done by the park's in house ride/tech staff as a have-a-go no-budget project, and might be well intended but is so amateaur.

If a standard ghost train was what Alton Towers needed, they might as well get one in off the funfair. But the Haunted House building and what's left of the sets are huge, they're meant for a big, dramatic and creative ride - which Duel no longer is. It could be great with a proper restoration with creative management, but that is unlikely to ever happen.

Instead, a senior manager is more than likely to come along, see the ride at face value how it's currently offering nothing but a dodgy ghost train and say "what a waste of space with this big building - we could stick Ghost busters in here instead." And bang goes all that potential to restore a unique ride to being really entertaining and fun again. New designs these days are never built to the same creative detail and durability as they were when the Haunted House was built, so it would be a shame to lose it all permanently. It definitely needs change, but not DIY Halloween props, and not a rip-out either.

The unfortunate thing is, if this were most other major theme parks, staff would get fired for fiddling with scenes unprofessionally and off their own back. But under Merlin, they get a pat on the back instead - because it's giving the management something for nothing, no budget spent, and they don't have much benchmark for creative professionalism in the UK anymore.

electricBill said:

I was thinking in particular of the very recent ones with £1 Halloween cobwebs strung around the spider scene, a spider shoved in a skeleton's mouth, terrible flashy lighting every 10 seconds for no reason. The original set in this area was much more grand with large gauze webs treated in faint UV, not bright glowing decorations that look cheap. It's clearly all done by the park's in house ride/tech staff as a have-a-go no-budget project, and might be well intended but is so amateaur.

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Ah yes. Tbh, they should have used beef netting for the cobwebs instead. You can pretty get big rolls of it for next to nothing and it looks 1000x better than Poundland Halloween Cobweb, and more fitting with the style of the ride.

Agree with all your other points also.

I rate towers lowly. To me, it's my 3rd best major merlin UK park, behind legoland and Thorpe. It's a mess

ThemeParkCrafter said:

I rate towers lowly. To me, it's my 3rd best major merlin UK park, behind legoland and Thorpe. It's a mess

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Not sure how you can rate Thorpe higher, as that place is just an absolute atrocity. But, it's fine for the chav market.

It was a nice family park at one point.

One thing Thorpe do have going for them is some of the rides have much better theming than anything at Towers.

AstroDan said:

If anybody can actually quantify that Alton Towers is a worse theme park in 2017 than it was in 2016, please do.

I fail to see how it is.

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A comparison between 2016/2017 isn't going to produce much of a difference. Compare 2017 and ,say, 1998 though. I'd prefer the 1998 version. I've seen multiple threads in these forums complaining about the lack of magic etc.