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2021: General Discussion

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Ethan said:
It is ironic that towers are focusing on events and entertainment when we're in a pandemic. Seems like a weird time to start introducing new events
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Not at all.
People can't go on foreign holidays easily yet, so there is a captive market. They want to get people to visit more than once in the season, so events tempt them back. People who might have done one AT trip and a foreign holiday may consider 2 or 3 theme park days.
Also it provides extra capacity, more space and things to do gives better guest satisfaction and allows them to let more guests into the park. If a guest is watching the show on the lawns they aren't in a queueline, so it allows more other people to get in the queue.
 
Also worth noting we should be pretty far into the vaccine rollout by the end of May so I think restriction wise the Mardi Gras event should be quite relaxed
 
I hear that nemmy is having problems again and hasn't been testing for the past week or so. She better be ready for opening day
 
Danny said:
An event calendar with actual substance to the events on it.
Some overdue TLC that I don't think any of us were expecting.
Flat rides that despite their appearance, will offer new experiences for the park and soak up queues.
The Gardens being utilised far more.
A long overdue kid's dark ride, despite the length.

I'm not one for optimism, but you can't say the park isn't trying this year.
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I wholeheartedly agree. I'm usually the first pessimistic sod to **** on their fire. Yet I'm actually looking forward to this season more than any in quite a while.

If they're having 3 events, then my annual Scarefest visit will probably be trebled this year. I'm looking forward to rides on summer evenings and having an Oktoberfest beer on the lawns.

The new additions to Towers Street, a long overdue new dark ride (and reopening of the most depressing area of the park with a new lease of life) and the installation of temporary flats on graves of previous attraction locations will breath some life into the park that we haven't seen in quite a while.

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Do Merlin still have Bouncezilla knocking about in a container somewhere....
 
I believe that they were planning a similar calendar of events in 2020 (I know that the Ultimate Summer and Oktoberfest were both planned prior to COVID hitting, and there was a Gangsta Granny-related event planned for May 2020 in place of Mardi Gras, as well as a Corkscrew celebratory event in April. There may possibly even have been a CBeebies event in there somewhere, possibly April?), so I don’t think this surge in events is necessarily entirely COVID-triggered by any means. The announced events calendar in 2020 would suggest that the park was always planning to expand their events lineup even before COVID.

I’ve got an alternative suggestion; could it be Merlin’s private ownership starting to take effect? Private owners are more likely to be willing to subsidise things of this style, and money for entertainment and events is far quicker to obtain and produce things with than money for something like a big new coaster, for example.
 
I think there is certainly some truth to the theory that Merlin going private has meant they are more comfortable spending money on events and entertainment. Although I am sure it is more complex in reality.

A lot of their spending decisions whilst a public company were motivated by how it would appear in the accounts. Spending on new assets (rides and hotels) doesn’t all come off the profit figure in the same year it is spent, it can be spread across multiple years.

Spending on events and entertainment would generally all come off the profit figure in one year.
 
AT86 said:
I think there is certainly some truth to the theory that Merlin going private has meant they are more comfortable spending money on events and entertainment. Although I am sure it is more complex in reality.

A lot of their spending decisions whilst a public company were motivated by how it would appear in the accounts. Spending on new assets (rides and hotels) doesn’t all come off the profit figure in the same year it is spent, it can be spread across multiple years.

Spending on events and entertainment would generally all come off the profit figure in one year.
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Another thing worth noting that might add fuel to this fire is that under Merlin’s previous spell as a private company, in the initial years of Alton Towers under Merlin ownership, there were generally a lot more events and longer opening hours. For example, things like Alton Towers Live were a yearly staple, summer days were often 7pm closes, and they also had other events like concerts, and some kind of beach event (that might have been 2010 only, but don’t quote me on that).
 
Matt N said:
Another thing worth noting that might add fuel to this fire is that under Merlin’s previous spell as a private company, in the initial years of Alton Towers under Merlin ownership, there were generally a lot more events and longer opening hours. For example, things like Alton Towers Live were a yearly staple, summer days were often 7pm closes, and they also had other events like concerts, and some kind of beach event (that might have been 2010 only, but don’t quote me on that).
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The beach event (The Great British Bucket and Spade Event) was in 2006.
The Great British Bucket and Spade Event – TowersStreet - Your premier Alton Towers guide!
 
I imagine we'll have 8pm closing for Mardi gras, summer event and oktoberfest. So more later openings which is what we need. Sunset rides in the summer that's what I can't wait for
 
Ethan said:
I imagine we'll have 8pm closing for Mardi gras, summer event and oktoberfest. So more later openings which is what we need. Sunset rides in the summer that's what I can't wait for
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8pm wouldn't be late enough for sunset rides for most of the summer or mardi gras, sunset at the start of the summer holidays is 9pm and at the end of mardi gras 9:30pm
Sunrise and sunset times in Stoke-on-Trent (timeanddate.com)
 
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I agree that they don't really need to go that late. The fact that the UK is so far north that we have 17 hour days in the summer combined with the Gulf Stream causing the UK to be much warmer than other countries of the same latitude means that our summers can be warm and bright a lot later than most other places, this does however limit night rides to Halloween.
 
Ethan said:
I hear that nemmy is having problems again and hasn't been testing for the past week or so. She better be ready for opening day
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Where have you heard that from? You could see it running today from the car park
 
Not sure how I feel about the stars & 2D sign

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