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2021: General Discussion

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Apologies is discussed before, but only just seen the below video. How “famous” of a vlogger do you need to be do get this sort of access with a camera? I know TommyInnit has a serious amount of subscribers over his various YouTube channels, but rarely see anything similar from theme park vloggers.

 
Apologies is discussed before, but only just seen the below video. How “famous” of a vlogger do you need to be do get this sort of access with a camera? I know TommyInnit has a serious amount of subscribers over his various YouTube channels, but rarely see anything similar from theme park vloggers.


I seem to recall he got hit with a ban from Merlin after he released this as he filmed on ride without permission
 
This video got recommended to me when it was first uploaded and I had no clue who this guy was, it was also originally named "Riding The Worst Roller Coaster In London" which is a really.. weird and lazy mistake to make.

I seem to recall he got hit with a ban from Merlin after he released this as he filmed on ride without permission

Is this true? Just from the fact that he films himself on so many rides and doesn't even seem to try and hide it, he even chats to one of the Oblivion ride ops on camera as he's boarding. I would've thought they would at least tell him to put the camera away. They even have different people filming at once.
 
The bit I watched was absolutely insufferable.

@Nerdsticks the park is seemingly not open to guests during the ride segments, as best as I could tell ? Which I guess would indicate some sort of special access.
It did look like there were parts where there were very few other guests on park. They seemed to have Oblivion to themselves. I'm sure 18million subscribers over three YouTube channels helps opens the door, as previously discussed on another thread.
 
Went to Alton two weeks and paid £5.50 for a rollover hot dog

Saw them in a petrol station near me yesterday for £1.80

How much do you think they actually buy them for? 50p each?
 
Went to Alton two weeks and paid £5.50 for a rollover hot dog

Saw them in a petrol station near me yesterday for £1.80

How much do you think they actually buy them for? 50p each?

Will be less that 50p for the sausage. Costco sell them for that online so AT will get cheaper, unless their supplier charges a premium for the remote location to deliver to.
https://www.costco.co.uk/Grocery-Ho.../Rollover-Bockwurst-Hot-Dogs-12-x-85g/p/78108

But assume 50p sausage, 20p roll and sauce etc. Plus VAT and most of all staffing costs. It probably is still possible to make a profit at the £1.80 price, particularly as the staff are already at the petrol station to sell petrol. Whereas I suppose at AT if the only item the staff are selling are hot dogs then that item needs to cover more of their wages.
But £5.50 is an outrages price for a single hot dog.
 
Speaking of 2022, services days are on sale for 12/13th March 2022. Meaning the first day of the season will likely be 19th March 2022.

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Does anyone know if the John Lewis day is happening next year please?
 
Went to Alton two weeks and paid £5.50 for a rollover hot dog

Saw them in a petrol station near me yesterday for £1.80

How much do you think they actually buy them for? 50p each?

Costco sell a 1/4lb+ beef hotdog & 22oz soft drink [with free refills] for £1.50 in their food courts (yes, that is for the hotdog AND drink). They also sell the exact same sausages they use in the food court in the frozen section - they are about £14 for a 15-pack. You only have to look at the queues at a Costco food court at lunchtimes - especially in the school holidays. I waited over 20mins to get served in my local Costco earlier this week. They must be raking it in, even though they claim the food court is not a profit centre as such.

It's not just a Merlin thing - all theme park food and drink is almost without exception expensive for what you're getting. Do Food & Wine festival at EPCOT or SeaWorld and you'll soon think Merlin's prices are a bargain.
 
In fairness, the £1.50 hotdog and drink at Costco is well known to be a loss leader for them - if they weren't you'd have thought they'd be more inclined to do something to bring down the waits, I rather suspect they'd prefer people not to use them.
 
In fairness, the £1.50 hotdog and drink at Costco is well known to be a loss leader for them - if they weren't you'd have thought they'd be more inclined to do something to bring down the waits, I rather suspect they'd prefer people not to use them.
Yep. Almost all profit at Costco is the membership fee.
 
One of my best friends has gone to Alton today for the first time since the Smiler incident. Was insistent he didn't want to go on the ride, but I encouraged him to do so, despite me thoroughly disliking it.

About 16:00, he text and said they were going into the queue. At 17:00 I got "Someone's phone just flew off smiler missing heads by inches. Hit the track and smashed it to bits. Only area where there is no overhead netting!".

Safe to say he sacked it off ... God I hate that ride. I wish they had never built it.
 
About 16:00, he text and said they were going into the queue. At 17:00 I got "Someone's phone just flew off smiler missing heads by inches. Hit the track and smashed it to bits. Only area where there is no overhead netting!".
Was the guest holding the phone or did it fly out of their pocket?
If these incidents continue I doubt it'll be long til we see the baggage hold back open and metal detectors pop up in the station. :p

(Seriously though, that would be one option to combat the problem. Unlikely due to staffing costs I know)
 
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