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2023: General Discussion

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The Oblivion ale is SO GOOD!! This makes me sad that they’re stopping selling them…
 
It was always likely to be the case with Nemesis closed this season, but Forbidden Valley really is a complete misery. They could at least have the Nemesis music on to give the area some atmosphere; it was like walking in to a ghost town on Saturday. Hopefully things will improve once Sub-Terra opens.
 
Rob said:
It was always likely to be the case with Nemesis closed this season, but Forbidden Valley really is a complete misery. They could at least have the Nemesis music on to give the area some atmosphere; it was like walking in to a ghost town on Saturday. Hopefully things will improve once Sub-Terra opens.
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The Nemesis music was playing on Good Friday, shame there’s not much point in hanging around the area for too long unless you wish to subject oneself to the torture of a meal in Rollercoaster Restaurant.
 
Alton Towers Facebook said:
Festival of Thrills - The Smiler Takeover officially kickstarts today!
🎉

But the question is... are you ready to take on our mind-bendingly brilliant competition to WIN a short break!? Here is how to enter:
✔️
Collect your Ministry of Joy identity card
🎢
Complete all 6 world-class rollercoasters
📱
Upload a snap of your completed ID Card to Instagram using the #FestivalOfThrills and tagging Alton Towers to be entered into our prize draw to win!
Best of luck! T&C's apply.
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Two things:

1. In the current sorry state of unpredictable ride availability, riding the six roller coasters is seemingly impossible. It's not even guaranteed on an off-peak visit these days.

2. I feel sorry for whoever wins the short break. Years old dust. Broken plug sockets. Outdated rooms. Inedible breakfasts.

I want to be positive, I really do. I love the place. It's been a significant part of my life - a place frequented growing up and has introduced me to a whole variety of otherworldly strangers from the internet I've been able to travel with. But every single damn time they post something, anything, recently it has just been so frustrating. No matter the context, the underlying tone is just "look at this turd we can't even be arsed to polish anymore. Come and spend your hard-earned cash in this cost of living crisis on an obscenely priced sub-par experience you're guaranteed to struggle to give us up to a two-star review".
 
On a different note, Festival of Thrills seems to be roaming Ministry of Joy actors, guest participation on the stages, and a bit of theming, as opposed to last year's set up. Looks like there's a chance to win prizes but I'm not sure.
Looks quite fun actually - although others may think different
 
It doesn’t look fantastic, but it is The Smiler takeover! I think the whole point was it taking over the other rides.

If people have a different opinion then that’s fair enough, but it is genuinely what I expected to happen.

Perhaps even more controversial, I do quite like the announcements playing saying the ministry of joy has taken over Wicker Man. I fully understand why people don’t like it, but I think it’s the whole point of the event in the first place.
 
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Rob said:
We were half joking at the weekend about them plastering The Smiler over the likes of Wicker Man for this event, well, they basically have:



Agree with Shawn's sentiments, not a good look at all.
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Goodness me, a few plastic barriers makes it look like “caution wet surface” signs… wait… there is really deep rooted meaning in this event, it couldn’t be more truthful to the actual Smiler experience.

Looks awful, I think they need to stop wasting money on this crap and pay for cleanups and paint jobs!
 
I honestly feel nothing but a sense of apathy for park, not even angry at this point which honestly is the worst feeling to have as a fan for anything you like but I feel a sense of dejection that no matter how many times you complain about how things are which are mostly justified, will Merlin even take noticed? Ofc not. Even when they do realise the state they are in and need to act it'll be too late.

All the good will following Alton Manor and the return of Sub Terra has been all but dashed IMO. Write off of a season.
 
Blackhole_Sun said:
Goodness me, a few plastic barriers makes it look like “caution wet surface” signs… wait… there is really deep rooted meaning in this event, it couldn’t be more truthful to the actual Smiler experience.

Looks awful, I think they need to stop wasting money on this crap and pay for cleanups and paint jobs!
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Totally agree they can waste money on this but not spend money maintaining their rides. This year has been a shocker so far...
 
onair said:
Totally agree they can waste money on this but not spend money maintaining their rides. This year has been a shocker so far...
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Who says they aren’t maintaining rides? Unless you mean cleaning? The main issue with maintenance is lack of staff and availability of ride parts. Yes there are also a lot of presentation issues with cleaning and painting but that’s not really maintenance.
I don’t think they would take from the entertainment/event budget to increase technical services staff pay.
 
jon81uk said:
Who says they aren’t maintaining rides? Unless you mean cleaning? The main issue with maintenance is lack of staff and availability of ride parts. Yes there are also a lot of presentation issues with cleaning and painting but that’s not really maintenance.
I don’t think they would take from the entertainment/event budget to increase technical services staff pay.
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Perhaps they should.
 
Rob said:
We were half joking at the weekend about them plastering The Smiler over the likes of Wicker Man for this event, well, they basically have:



Agree with Shawn's sentiments, not a good look at all.
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Nice to see Shawn giving that abomination the hate it deserves. To give my true feelings on this, I would need to be in the Tavern.
 
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