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2018: General Discussion

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spinba11 said:
@delta79 the head of tech service’s name is terry (unless there is somebody new). Both trains on nemesis have had major work done over closed season, it been made even more complicated by the fact that due the the new restraint style the inverted coaster trains design has slightly changed.
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Terry Dunn has retired.

I don't understand why the new trains would cause complications for the support of the older ones? B&M have 30+ inverted rides that they continue to support and supply parts for and only one of them uses the new train - surely it would be the other way around.
 
spinba11 said:
@delta79 the head of tech service’s name is terry (unless there is somebody new). Both trains on nemesis have had major work done over closed season, it been made even more complicated by the fact that due the the new restraint style the inverted coaster trains design has slightly changed.
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Do you mean the invert restraints of the newer designs have changed from the old style - Nemesis style to vest type. Or do you mean Nemesis' restraints have alter slightly design wise from its own old stock?
 
@Rick im just repeating what @Ian has told me. @Rollercoasters4Life Im not 100% sure what you mean but the vest restraints are slightly wider than the older style meaning the seats have to be slightly further apart, also the communication system between the train and the station is different with the new style trains
 
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@spinba11 I'm asking why you're saying the problem has been more complicated due to the new restraint style. I get B&M use the new vest style restraints but how does that effect Nemesis now? There are very few vest inverts compared to how many that aren't.

How does that mean its more complicated for Nemesis? B&M must have plenty of stock to supply all the inverts around the world. Nothing has changed on Nemesis now restraint wise has it? So I can't see why its made it more complicated.
 
8m just going by what @Ian has said, I would think (for the time being at least) B&M would still stock parts for the old style trains, but on nemesis the parts that need replacing are (I maybe wrong) made to order.
 
B&M have still only built one Invert with the new trains/vest restraints; they're not suddenly going to make supporting the other 31 more difficult!

I don't however doubt that the parts could well be made to order and that could well be what had caused some of the delays.

:)
 
Rollercoasters4Life said:
@spinba11 I'm asking why you're saying the problem has been more complicated due to the new restraint style. I get B&M use the new vest style restraints but how does that effect Nemesis now? There are very few vest inverts compared to how many that aren't.

How does that mean its more complicated for Nemesis? B&M must have plenty of stock to supply all the inverts around the world. Nothing has changed on Nemesis now restraint wise has it? So I can't see why its made it more complicated.
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Depends on what exactly needed replacing. On another forum it was suggested that the train failed its inspection over the closed season (could be hairline cracks or something, pure speculation from me).

B&M will probably have plenty of stock of consumable parts for sale like wheelsets and restraints. But they aren't going to have lots of 'lifetime' structural parts and half-built trains lying around in their factories (even though 'lifetime' is a very relative term for coasters). Possibly it took Alton Towers a while to realise that there was a problem and a major part(s) needed replacing 'at some point in the future', maybe there was some debate about exactly when it needed doing (especially in a post-Smiler era), then maybe arguments with the accountants and the people setting the budgets, that could all lead to delays before they even order the part(s) from B&M. And then they could have caught B&M at a busy time with long-lead times for manufacturing new parts, add to that shipping times, and then actually putting the train back together and testing when the park is actually open to the general public (especially if is true that Merlin have been cutting engineering staff to the barebones).

Also manufacturers do slightly change their designs and manufacturing methods over the course of time, even for the same basic design, in response to things that come up in operations or just because the manufacturer wants to do something differently. Tha could have resulted in a longer lead time as Nemesis is one of the older B&M inverts.
 
Rick said:
The £55 season pass is seemingly proving to be very popular. Interested to see how this translates as far as attendance is concerned.
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So effectively the park has turned in to a discounter. Sell it cheap and pile 'em in. Once there? "Well what did you expect for £55 to come back all season?"
 
matthewgcole said:
So effectively the park has turned in to a discounter. Sell it cheap and pile 'em in. Once there? "Well what did you expect for £55 to come back all season?"
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I know my family and I would (and do!) get tremendous value out of having passes for Alton for less than a pair of trainers.

I think it will help contribute to the short break market and the way that it's designed means it should help elevate the midweek days.

If you think Alton are going to balls this up to a point where people aren't going to have fun (and not purchase these again - or upgrade to MAPs) - you best get those shares sold!
 
Benzin said:
Who pays over £55 for trainers when Sports Direct or Primark exist?
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Not me, that's for sure. But that Adidas shop across from my office seems to do a roaring trade. Plus, presumably Footlocker is a not an elaborate front for illegal activities.
 
Donkey said:
(especially if is true that Merlin have been cutting engineering staff to the barebones).
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Wasn't techical services being under pressure a factor in the smiler incident.
If TS staff have been cut, would it just put them under pressure again?


Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk
 
Rick said:
I know my family and I would (and do!) get tremendous value out of having passes for Alton for less than a pair of trainers.

I think it will help contribute to the short break market and the way that it's designed means it should help elevate the midweek days.

If you think Alton are going to balls this up to a point where people aren't going to have fun (and not purchase these again - or upgrade to MAPs) - you best get those shares sold!
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I would say I have gotten value out of it so far. Been twice and was happy with what we did. It was still not as good as 2017 operationally but WM maybe, kinda, sorta makes up for that. Had a really good day at Towers yesterday actually but I have heard a lot on here didn't.
 
Rick said:
If you think Alton are going to balls this up to a point where people aren't going to have fun (and not purchase these again - or upgrade to MAPs) - you best get those shares sold!
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They already have ball's it up so far! They may have kept some op budget back to be used later in the season, that's quite possible seeing how end heavy last season was. But if they don't change this quickly, they'll balls up the whole season.

Why would I sell the shares now? This is perfect for a vulture investor like me. The 'Pile it high and sell it cheap' strategy of the park, paid for by stingy operational budgets, guarantees decent attendance to boast about to investors whilst protecting/improving the margin. Share price increases and I sell. It doesn't help the park long term though.

It would appear that 2018 is the season of volume and nothing else. The park still lacks a long term strategy for it's issues, issues that are made worse by some the decisions being made at the moment. Unless it's up for sale of course.....
 
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Benzin said:
Who pays over £55 for trainers when Sports Direct or Primark exist?
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I recently had a Mufti (own clothes) day at school and I was literally the only person not in full Nike/Adidas gear, which I bet wasn't cheap to buy. I simply understand why on earth you would waste around £150 on shoes, that often look very ugly. Anyway, back to the topic and I just want to hope that maybe one day Merlin will actually think about the long term (with the exception of hotels). Just adding actor based attractions with an unnecessary IP (like Walking Dead: The Ride) and cost cutting will not help their parks in the long run, except make them feel out-dated or even boring.
 
So had the opportunity to visit the park the Wednesday before Easter holidays. Got in pretty cheap by tagging along with a Platinum MAP holder. :) The park was quiet - thank god. Managed to get on the Wicker Man twice - which is really all I wanted to do. Really enjoyed the Wicker Man - top marks to Alton Towers here. Overall I'd had an OK time and you can tell the TLC program is working - most of the park was in good condition in that respect. B U T ....
The park was quiet but it felt like it was being run on a shoe string budget - lots of closed stalls, empty sections, minimum ride offering and zero entertainment etc etc etc. Cant imagine what it'd be like on a busy day - horrendous I imagine. Just not a lot to do - at one point I found myself wondering through the gardens from Dark Forest to Forbidden Valley (mainly because the Skyride was shut) - haven't had time to do that for years! :)
 
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