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2014: General Discussion

Even with no video why not put some old music on, like this:

http://youtu.be/59-JMRA63NA

(Damn I love that music). Surly not a hard task to do and I assume they have audio at hand.

Heck, even playing the Towers Street audio track would be better than nothing.

It's a shame the monorail stations have gotten into such a state. Same goes for the entrance plaza and most of Towers Street. I hope these areas one day get a complete overhaul, for a first impression it doesn't feel great when entering the park.
 
The music in the stations (Both the one you've linked to, and the ITHOTMK remix) is part of the video, which is what I think Scott is trying to get at. It's played back off of the DVD.

The Hotels are still showing the old resort overview DVD with the YourDay footage, Submission, farm, and all! As Scott says just playing that DVD with the screens turned off would be more than sufficient.

On the subject of the Monorail stations though I really hope they have a new map or at least something coming back to the car park station. It looks an absolute mess at the moment, and it's surprising what a difference that map made.
 
You know me Ian, I'm behind any campaign to get the old music back
 
Alton Towers was just on the BBC News at Ten. One of the economics press-packers was in the park asking random guests whether they thought David Cameron would give the country a referendum on the EU.

There was even a great pun at the end where the reporter asked if the PM was 'taking the country for a ride' or something as Oblivion plunged behind him. Hopefully some bright spark can rip it from the iPlayer and YouTube it. :)
 
Sam said:
Alton Towers was just on the BBC News at Ten. One of the economics press-packers was in the park asking random guests whether they thought David Cameron would give the country a referendum on the EU.

There was even a great pun at the end where the reporter asked if the PM was 'taking the country for a ride' or something as Oblivion plunged behind him. Hopefully some bright spark can rip it from the iPlayer and YouTube it. :)
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Just watched it, so slick from the reporter. It's available here at around 22 minutes if anyone wants to watch :p
 
I wonder how many takes they had to do of that bit with Oblivion, for them to get it bang on time!
 
Surely they could just play the monorail music in the stations with the TVs off? Even if its linked to the old video, just turn the screens off! At the moment both stations feel free dull and empty, especially if there aren't many guests in there.

In other news I have just been looking at the CBeebies Land page, and noticed a few things that I don't think have been spotted before.

On the food and drink page it mentions "Towers Street Bar & Grill" which must be Towers Family restaurants new name, so looks like it will be more like Woodcutters!

Also It about parking it says "We have reserved a number of car parking spaces for parent and toddlers, next to Splash Landings Hotel. These are located in Car Park E, only a short walk from the monorail station. These will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Available from 24th May 2014 onwards."
 
Apparently they were playing the monorail music today, the new ITHOTMK version that is.
 
As much as I love the original monorail music, I do love the funky ITHOTMK version they have had for the past few years, which has now been removed from the monorail stations, trains, skyride and box office. I would love it if that was always played in the stations, as its nice and upbeat and of course everyone knows it for Alton Towers.
 
Alton Towers management needs a major shift in culture in the next few years - I have no desire to be at the park whilst it is being run this way.

Why is it that in the UK we don't understand that theme parks should come as a whole package designed to entertain you, rather than just a place were there are rides?!
 
Alton Towers management is arse backwards. Managers everywhere that do bugger all, senior managers that don't even know what's going on with the place they manage, department managers that range from great to clueless. It's an utter state. Management needs sorting out soon. Although sadly I can see it staying the same for a very long time.



Comments in the food topic reminded me of something else to moan about on here.

HB Leisure staff: I know they're not directly employed by Towers however they are still at the place. I've found a lot of them to be awfully rowdy this year. It really kills any atmosphere of all the areas. Just two examples; walking to Th13teen and a HB man walks in front of us and asks us to play (yeah thanks for blocking our speedy walking to a ride), walk through Mutiny Bay and a woman is shouting at us to 'come and have a go' (really, I'm not a child that needs to be shouted at)... All of this echoes back to the in-your-face sales on Towers Street of previous years.

It doesn't put a damper on your day as such but it's not the most pleasant of things. I understand they are trying to make money and only doing their job but I don't like the pushy attitude to get people to play a crappy game. It just kills the whole escapism of a theme park and you almost feel like you're back in your local town centre on a Saturday afternoon. Magical.
 
James said:
HB Leisure staff: I know they're not directly employed by Towers however they are still at the place. I've found a lot of them to be awfully rowdy this year. It really kills any atmosphere of all the areas. Just two examples; walking to Th13teen and a HB man walks in front of us and asks us to play (yeah thanks for blocking our speedy walking to a ride), walk through Mutiny Bay and a woman is shouting at us to 'come and have a go' (really, I'm not a child that needs to be shouted at)... All of this echoes back to the in-your-face sales on Towers Street of previous years.
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^This!!
Today, walking through Mutiny Bay late afternoon, was accosted by 3 different staff within a matter of seconds being rather loud in their attempts to get us to play the games. I don't mind so much if they are behind the counters asking people as they walk past, but don't like it when they are walking right out towards you and shouting at you. It defeats the whole object of encouraging someone to play as you simply try and avoid such a confrontational approach.

The approach taken by these staff today reminds me somewhat of the charity collectors that prowl the high streets trying to get you to get you to sign up for direct debit payments.
 
djtruefitt said:
Yes I like the funky version, glad its back playing in Box office and monorail. I guess the video isn't playing with it, if so that's a little outdated :p
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The tune has always played in the Box Office, monorail now plays it with a different video - no cutting out for adverts or speaking.
 
Video and music was playing today in the monorail station :eek:)

Not sure if its been mentioned but the giant map in the entrance station has been taken down.
 
Not exactly giving much away is he!!! Heres my thoughts on some of them :-

[Q] – What was the decision behind removing Submission?

[A] – All rides have a ‘shelf life’ for want of a better phrase and Submission had simply reached this point.

[REALANSWER] - it was rubbish. Guests hated it. It broke after a year and the AA couldnt fix it. We thought a lawn would actually be more thrilling and attract more guests to that area.

[Q] – Alton Towers Theme Park has a great selection of Rides and attractions. What is your favourite ride or attraction?

[A] – The Smiler obviously! It’s our newest, most exciting and most challenging – I can only go on every now and again as it isn’t great preparation for meetings etc!

[REALANSWER] - The Smiler is great, but it has square wheels so the vibration makes me want to hurl just before a meeting.

[Q] – Alton Towers Water Park is a great place to visit with families and already has some great features but the water park can get very busy at times, Are there any plans to expand the water park in the future?

[A] – We will be refurbishing elements of the Waterpark next year and will continue to review its overall performance.

[REALANSWER] - We are repainting the outside pools, which seems to be taking an eternity, and will look to increase/expand our food and drink prices in the waterpark cafe soon afterwards to pay for all the paint.

[Q] – The Smiler is a world class rollercoaster but it has not gone unnoticed by the media and general public that it has had problems regarding the original opening date and the huge puddles it gets in the queue line when raining, what are your thoughts on the Smiler and what’s happened in general with the ride since opening?

[A] – The Smiler is a brilliant ride no doubt, but all new technology has glitches. The Smiler actually was no different to any other new opening and now it’s settled down completely it is regularly delivering 100% availability.

[REALANSWER] - Puddles? What puddles? Nothing to see here, move along.... Honestly, no one screwed up forgetting to add drainage whatsoever.

[Q] – Alton Towers Live in my opinion was a great event last season, I was there reporting live from the event for the Alton Towers Guide fans and everyone looked like they were having a great time, we were even told that it would be returning this season, Why is it not returning now?

[A] – We’ve never guaranteed to run a concert every year but it’s something we do when the available acts are right for the Resort.

[REALANSWER] - we cant afford any decent guests this year. Katie Price did offer to come and sing for free but shes going through a divorce at the moment and is a bit busy.

[Q] – It was great to see the farmyard animals moved to the Alton Towers Hotel and letting the hotel guest’s visit, what was the decision behind moving all the animals to a new home?

[A] – Simple, the farm has closed so there was nowhere suitable to put them. Chessington has a marvellous area for petting animals and we get regular updates on how the donkeys and other critters are doing – and they love it!

[REALANSWER] - guests complained of donkey poo stinking out the hotel and people couldnt open their windows at night.

[Q] – Some fantastic new merchandise this season, but there does not seem to be much selection for Nemesis 20th anniversary?

[A] – Well who knows, maybe we’ll focus on the 21st anniversary instead.

[REALANSWER] - oh yeah, bugger, marketing slipped up on this one. Someones gonna get a slap for that! Tell you what, we'll have a special 21st anniversary event next year to make up for it!

[Q] – Gloomy wood does not seem to get much attention regarding anything new or a change is this due to the Long term development plans?

[A] – Oh there are all sorts of plans for Gloomy Wood or more specifically Duel, but nothing I can share with you just yet.

[REALANSWER] - following the success of shooting people with water along the rapids, we will be installing pay to use laser guns on Duel. £1 will buy 10 shots.

[Q] – Scarefest is a fantastic time of year to visit the resort, what was your favourite scare maze last year and why?

[A] – The Sanctuary still delivers the biggest scares for me, and those photos of my leadership team at the entrance don’t help. I enjoy all the mazes just as much to be honest although I’m not too keen on the strobe lights in the Terror of the Towers which did, from memory, cause me to fall out of a window the first time I ever went through it!

[REALANSWER] - i'm sure health and safety had a field day over that one then hence all the extra fences this year - after all, wouldnt want you falling off the side of the path by the lake now would we!

[Q] – Will we ever see a Wooden Roller Coaster built at Alton Towers?

[A] – You don’t honestly expect me to answer that do you….

[REALANSWER] - YES!!!!

[Q] – The staff once again this season are fantastic, Very polite, Great customer service and making sure everyone is enjoying their visit, How often do you walk around the park making sure everything is how it should be?

[A] – I’m a very firm believer in being out and about so I do a full circuit of the Resort at least once a day, including both Hotels. I also make an effort to visit all the staff green rooms and other behind the scenes areas.

[REALANSWER] - I often sneak around the usual smoking and dossing spots to catch staff skiving off work and I pinch their ciggies to save me buying my own
 
Great to see that he's done a Q&A for a start, makes a nice change. There's actually a couple of interesting answers in there, most notably regarding Duel. My personal feeling is that the 2016 development may well be regarding Duel, one way or another.

:)
 
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