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2020: General Discussion

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Matt N said:
Part of me would like to see Towers/Merlin sign a soft drink deal with Pepsi, as I must admit that I controversially prefer Pepsi to Coke (well, I prefer Diet Pepsi/Pepsi Max to Diet Coke, as I don't drink the full-fat versions), but most people seem to prefer Coke, so I don't see that happening.
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I agree, Pepsi does have a nicer flavour, I was gutted when KFC finally left towers, as that was the outpost of Pepsi in the park


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Matt N said:
Part of me would like to see Towers/Merlin sign a soft drink deal with Pepsi, as I must admit that I controversially prefer Pepsi to Coke (well, I prefer Diet Pepsi/Pepsi Max to Diet Coke, as I don't drink the full-fat versions), but most people seem to prefer Coke, so I don't see that happening.
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I mean, if ever there was an opportunity for a forum ranking on fizzy drink preferences, this has to be it.
 
Tentaclaws said:
Also, TowersTimes just shared this:

“Alton Towers have confirmed the introduction of Coca-Cola Freestyle to the theme park for the 2020 season.

Available from seven locations around the park, guests will be able to purchase a ‘Freestyle Vessel’ at a price of £12 each for one, £10 each for two, or £9 each for three or more, which can then be reactivated on future visits for £6. This follows the rollout of Coca-Cola Freestyle at THORPE PARK Official last year, which brought Mezzo Mix to the UK for the first time.

Will you be quenching your thirst with the hundreds of flavour combinations during your trips to the Resort?”

As far as I can see, no announcement has been made from Towers, so not sure where this info has come from?
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https://support.altontowers.com/hc/...9577-Do-you-offer-a-refillable-drinks-vessel-


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Just something totally unrelated, but from the link above I started reading through some of the FAQs and was surprised that the resort still has no electric car charging points. Given that even your bog standard travel lodge seems to have a point these days, i'm quite surprised at this, especially given that some of the more higher earners staying in the expensive rooms away from us plebs may be driving the likes of Tesla's and so forth!
 
GaryH said:
Just something totally unrelated, but from the link above I started reading through some of the FAQs and was surprised that the resort still has no electric car charging points. Given that even your bog standard travel lodge seems to have a point these days, i'm quite surprised at this, especially given that some of the more higher earners staying in the expensive rooms away from us plebs may be driving the likes of Tesla's and so forth!
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It is a shame considering both Thorpe & Chessington have charging points.

You’d think they’d jump at the chance of being able to boast about green credentials
 
GaryH said:
Just something totally unrelated, but from the link above I started reading through some of the FAQs and was surprised that the resort still has no electric car charging points. Given that even your bog standard travel lodge seems to have a point these days, i'm quite surprised at this, especially given that some of the more higher earners staying in the expensive rooms away from us plebs may be driving the likes of Tesla's and so forth!
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Even just one or two by the hotel car parks would be enough at the moment, but considering the efforts to stop production and sale of fossil fuelled vehicles it’s going to have to change at the resort sooner rather than later!


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GaryH said:
£12 for refillable coke? Erm.... bit steep isnt it!
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The price is in line with Univeral Studios in Orlando who started this style of Freestyle cup back in around 2015. Its currently $16 there for one (so about £12) with similar discounts for multiple cups and $9 (about £7) to reactivate on other days.
We used them at Universal in 2016 and loved it, the fact they use RFID chips in the bottom of the mug make it really easy as you can just walk up to the machine and get a refill without having to go to a member of staff and show wristbands or receipts or stickers or anything. Also the selection of drinks on Freestyle is great.

Of course due to the UK sugar tax they may restrict the availability of full sugar Coke.

Oh to add a slightly off-topic point my favourite in Florida is at SeaWorld/Busch where refills on Iceeee are also available on the same price as regular soda.
 
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Ooh, the ones at Universal are great! I'll be very happy if something similar comes to Alton Towers!
 
Tentaclaws said:
So does this imply that they are removing the previous refill option or just advocating the newer, more expensive one they would prefer us to buy?
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Thorpe removed the ‘quencher’ refill option when freestyle came in so I suspect Towers will do the same.

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Aside from giving us yet another spelling mistake, does this hint to the potential reopening of the Towers St Bar and Grill?

I suspect the Dark Forest location is the site of the short lived Box Office, Mutiny Bay’s in the similarly short lived Lego shop and Forbidden Valley’s in the locker location that was once the Air Virtual Queue distribution.

Edit: the FV ones appear to be in the games until next to the Galactica lift.
 
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ReneBlade Master said:
Even just one or two by the hotel car parks would be enough at the moment, but considering the efforts to stop production and sale of fossil fuelled vehicles it’s going to have to change at the resort sooner rather than later!


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I think the hotels have an extension cord thing so if you ask they will provide a place to trickle charge a car (seen a few plugged in our front of Splash).

They do need some dedicated space though
 
Dave said:
I think the hotels have an extension cord thing so if you ask they will provide a place to trickle charge a car (seen a few plugged in our front of Splash).

They do need some dedicated space though
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If it's normal extension leads (i.e. that go to a 13 Amp plug) they provide, then these will only trickle-charge hybrid cars. You need a proper "electricity pump" to charge an all electric car.

If fossil fuel cars are to be abolished, then absolutely huge investment on charging facilities needs to be made on a UK-wide basis. May be a good time to buy some shares in an "electricity pump" manufacturer! Personally I can't see the fossil fuelled car ban coming into effect. I can get 500 miles in my car on a full tank of diesel - your average all-electric car gives around 200 miles on a full charge, with a sensible driving style - less if you have a heavy right foot. Even the Tesla Model S gives just over 300 miles on a full charge, but it costs £80k so is somewhat expensive.

Then there is the issue of what happens if yo get to your destination - let's say Towers - and you're running low on charge and there is no charging point available? It's quite a remote location to run out of battery charge.

Hybrid cars are a slightly better solution - but many are just bought by company car drivers to lower their BIK tax bill, or by people who drive through London to avoid the congestion charge. I know a couple of company car drivers with hybrid BMW's & both still have the charge cable in the unopened sealed wrapper in the boot - they have zero intention of charging the cars - they just got the car to lower their tax bill.
 
GaryH said:
£12 for refillable coke? Erm.... bit steep isnt it!
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If it's like how coke freestyle is used in other resorts then the £12 pays for not just the refills but also the cup, which I sincerely hope is more substantial then the bog standard quenchers they used to sell. This should encourage people to keep them for future visits. This has the added benefit of not only being a nice souvenir for the guest but also more sustainable and eco friendly and will massively cut down on the amount of waste the resort used to create with most of the old quenchers being binned at the end of the day. (Or dumped in pathways, ride platforms/cages or Monorail trains ;))

Then on future visits with the cost being £6 I think that's actually cheaper then before? Didn't it used to be £7?

I still have my refillable cup from universal, thought it was really useful when I went a few years ago and I plan on using it again when I return :)
 
bluesonichd said:
When they class Corner Coffee as a restaurant o_O
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They are clearly using the definition of a "Quick Service Restaurant" - a/k/a fast-food / "grab and go". I am guessing that as you can sit down in Corner Coffee to consume your food & drink purchase they are applying a little(!) artistic licence and calling it a restaurant.

It's a cafe - and not a brilliant one at that!
 
Tentaclaws said:
So does this imply that they are removing the previous refill option or just advocating the newer, more expensive one they would prefer us to buy?
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It would seem that's the case yes, which is much better in my opinion. Although I've not used the refill capsules for a while now, moving it to a self serve option is much more sensible. There's nothing worse queuing at an F+B outlet behind someone who's filling up 4 or 5 quenchers at once!

It's a bit disappointing that price wise they're actually a few pounds more expensive than Thorpe's option, who charge £10 instead of £12 for one vessel and £18 instead of £20 for two. I just hope the machines are kept in a decent state and maintained well across the resort. I would've preferred a £4-£5 reactivation fee though, as that's a much better investment for us regular visitors.

Jet washing wise, it's great to see it being done more thoroughly. Yes there's jet-washing done over closed seasons, but a lot of it tended to be a little half hearted with the washing creating a pattern on some surfaces against actually clearing all the grime away. The work in The Smiler's pit looks like a much better job than usual, and I hope it's something they'll continue to improve as the season approaches and more importantly they keep on top of it as the season progresses.
 
Well if Thorpe's introduction to them is anything to go by, they'll have Coca Cola on site for the first few weeks to iron out what ended up being numerous teething problems, it's after that where we'll probably see the issue :p
 
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