I’ve got a question for those of you who visited the park during both periods; which of the “decline” periods was worse in your eyes out of 2004-2007 (or “the late Tussauds era leading up to the Merlin buyout”. I wouldn’t really like to pinpoint a specific timeline) and 2015-2017 (or “the struggle post-Smiler crash”)?
Admittedly, I never experienced the park during the mid 2000s, but I’d probably say 2004-2007, as even though the 2015-2017 park definitely gave off the impression of financial struggles far more, the decline in the mid-2000s in terms of ride removals and operations seemed far, far sharper and more pronounced than anything seen during 2015-2017 from what actually happened in terms of removals.
Out of interest, did the park struggle financially in the mid-2000s when these cuts were put into place?