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2021: General Discussion
- Thread starter Skyscraper
- Start date
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ChristmasPud
TS Member
Surely it is bad to hear a great soundtrack for a once-good ride rehashed for a temporary flat ride (or Enterprise is bad enough) where it doesnt fit and sounds trashy on some thrown together speakers
Could you imagine something like the Nemesis music being used like that years down the line
Where was the music between FV and GW originally used, I remember it was on the skyride over 10 years ago, was it used anywhere else?Music wise wouldn't mind seeing some old tracks reused like they did a couple of years for TLC in some areas- most notably path between Gloomy Wood and Forbidden Valley and around X Sector. Never a bad thing hearing stuff like old Black Hole music!
Staffing wise I wouldn't be surprised if Towers gave some of the operating staff for these rides some of their training. Remember the problems when they had externally trained staff in the food outlets in the early noughties? From stuff I've seen I believe they have quite specific training on interacting with guests and the merlin way.
I've got to say at first I was against these rides- due to the worry of bad look of these rides. But now I think the park desperately needs more filler rides, these sort of rides are popular with the public and a great laugh- who doesn't love a jolly good spin on the waltzers? and the park need to up capacity. If these do stay for a little longer than expected it maybe nice to pop some old bits of themeing in queue lines - I'm sure they've got lots of old props in Magic making North knocking about to spruce these rides up a bit and make them look a bit more than your standard seaside fair.
RicketyCricket
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
Just catching up on the last 10 pages or so and I'm not sure where to start.
This is somehow both a good idea, and also a terrible one.
This is somehow both a good idea, and also a terrible one.
VerticalLoop123
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
I was thinking of the old Nemesis music they used between the FV and GW - the one they made that year they messed up their music!
Pharaoh
TS Member
Wow, this is the topic that gets me to log in again. In terms of the mocking responses online, I think the point that isn't being explicitly said is that Towers is trading in a potentially very large amount of its reputation as the leading theme park in the UK for some capacity.
Yes, some permanent flats are mechanically almost identical to travelling counterparts, but it's how those flats are themed and placed within a park that matter. Towers' branding in one word is magical. Putting these flats down doesn't meet this criteria.
I have my doubts that the surveys management will put in front of guests will be able to capture this. I don't think respondents will say, "my day at Alton Towers felt less magical because some rides felt out of place," but I think points on value for money could come through.
I also think there's a real risk here that Merlin HQ turns round and says if this does work that this level of investment should be the expectation for future flats. Or on the flip side if this doesn't work, this is used as proof that investing in flats isn't worth the money.
Yes, some permanent flats are mechanically almost identical to travelling counterparts, but it's how those flats are themed and placed within a park that matter. Towers' branding in one word is magical. Putting these flats down doesn't meet this criteria.
I have my doubts that the surveys management will put in front of guests will be able to capture this. I don't think respondents will say, "my day at Alton Towers felt less magical because some rides felt out of place," but I think points on value for money could come through.
I also think there's a real risk here that Merlin HQ turns round and says if this does work that this level of investment should be the expectation for future flats. Or on the flip side if this doesn't work, this is used as proof that investing in flats isn't worth the money.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Yeah I've got a feeling that Merlin/Towers are using this as an experiment to see if getting more flats is actually worth it. I really hope it pays off as the park desperately needs some more permanent thrill flats.
What and Rita does
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Analysis from TPWW, which raises many of the questions that we've been discussing here;
(Before you start bashing me, you don't have to watch it if you don't want to, and no he does not show the leaked images)
(Before you start bashing me, you don't have to watch it if you don't want to, and no he does not show the leaked images)
Poisson
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Giant Squid
Yes it does. Its a permanent coaster Vs a travelling flat ride. The one in FV doesn't look too bad but not seen the others
D4n
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Zadra
I would have thought that anybody interested in hearing Shawn's opinions on theme park news will already be subscribed to his channel, so I don't imagine there is much benefit to you always sharing his videos in threads. It doesn't really contribute to the discussion.
WickerwomanH
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Wicker Man
Overall opinion on the addition of these funfair rides seem to be generally negative but I think it's a clever way to easily bump up attendance after such a crazy year due to the pandemic. Attempting to do this in a more temporary way with more removable rides seems like the best option after the backlash of retheming Air into Galactica. It's a simple way to breathe some fresh air into the park that can be removed once the revenue begins to go back to normal. In a normal year, yes this would be a bizarre decision for Towers, but it hasn't been a very normal year at all! As its been said, I would be disappointed if the rides aren't at least themed to some extent to their respective areas when they are brought in, but honestly can't imagine they won't be.
jon81uk
TS Member
They aren't really there to bump up attendance. More to make the park deal with the attendance they want to get. The more rides they have, the more people they can "fit" into the park. Last year there was a lot of days where the park reached peak capacity, if they can get more people in then it means more money, also more rides hopefully means shorter waits as people are spread out across more rides.
Gangsta Granny will be the marketing to get people into the park, the fairground rides will help make sure they have a great day once they are there.
Agreed. Although I'm not sure how much it will help with keeping the coaster queues down. I imagine wicker man and thirteen will still regularly get 70-80 min queues
Thameslink Rail
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Smiler
I think that will depend on how long social distancing lasts, as soon as Th13teen (which is currently running about half capacity) can run on full capacity it's queue will plummet.
Craig
TS Administrator
You're absolutely still going to have the bigger queues in current restrictions, as we saw last year. But the filler attractions are just that, they allow people to still get on some rides with a relatively short queue time in comparison. They break up the monotony of one large queue after the other on the big coasters. The indoor attractions also served a purpose for this, but with them being closed at least for a month or so after opening and the removal of Ripsaw and Submission, these temporary attractions are sorely needed and have been even before covid on the busier days.
Its interesting you say that because I'm pretty sure most queues were shorter than normal. Didn't wicker man regularly get upto 2 hours pre covid or have I just made that up!
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