2023: General Discussion

[GaryH]

Good to read and I remain hopefully Bianca will a force of good for the park. The only disappointment in the above was no mention of very poor customer feedback on food and drink offerings across the park, hotel and restaurant since the disastrous change to Aramark and what they are going to do about it.

 

[DiogoJ42]

“Blah blah blah look how great we are give us yer dosh”.

 

[Danscott22]

I wonder if there is a new flat after all then

 

[Danny]

“Blah blah blah look how great we are give us yer dosh”.

Unlike Cowboy Crabbe and Fraudster Francis, she's actually making an effort across all areas of the resort in her first year. Rome wasn't built in a day, and she's been EXTREMELY active at not hiding away in an office.

 

[DiogoJ42]

A fair point, and time will tell. But you know me

 

[MaxPower]

She does seem to be making a real effort to engage and listen to guest feedback which is more than what we've had in the past to be fair to her.

I'm keeping the faith for the moment, but there's still a long way to go.

 

[TroySmith1]

Her and John burton are honestly a breath of fresh air associated with the themepark and Merlin industry. It’s nice to have faces to such passion and drive in the industry, we only had this hope with John wardley a long time ago. I feel so optimistic about Alton towers which i didn’t have for such a long time! With all the changes and updates they have already implemented, this will only improve and improve over the years. I’m now looking forward to the future of Alton Towers again. Are they perfect no? But if they continue with these improvements each season we’re get a magical resort to all be proud of again. To show all our international friends our unique, English take on the world’s theme park industry.


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[EarthlyKnight27]

Her and John burton are honestly a breath of fresh air associated with the themepark and Merlin industry. It’s nice to have faces to such passion and drive in the industry, we only had this hope with John wardley a long time ago. I feel so optimistic about Alton towers which i didn’t have for such a long time! With all the changes and updates they have already implemented, this will only improve and improve over the years. I’m now looking forward to the future of Alton Towers again. Are they perfect no? But if they continue with these improvements each season we’re get a magical resort to all be proud of again. To show all our international friends our unique, English take on the world’s theme park industry.


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Let's all hope that this could be a new, brighter future for AT. As she does seem passionate about both the park, and its heritage.

 

[BarryZola]

I do think Bianca comes across as reasonably genuine. In reality, the success of the park will ultimately come down to the budget afforded to her and her team. I like her though.

 

[EarthlyKnight27]

I do think Bianca comes across as reasonably genuine. In reality, the success of the park will ultimately come down to the budget afforded to her and her team. I like her though.

Too true! Let's just hope Merlin keep investing into AT with funding so they can try and keep AT running the best it can.

 

[dave___]

Maybe if she does too good a job Universal will try and poach her...

 

[Ethan]

I think she’s going above and beyond really to be fair to her. As we all know Towers is the most well known theme park brand in the country and realistically there’s no competition that’ll disrupt that. They don’t need to keep the place tidy and fresh like other parks have to because they have a brand big enough to brush things under the carpet. They can do the minimum and get away with it. Bianca and Burton are doing more than that because they have a genuine passion and interest in the resort beyond profits. Same can be said about John wardley. Think we’re lucky the days of Nick Varney are behind us because it was evident all he thought about was money and not looking after the place and providing the best experience to customers

 

[Kraken27]

I would imagine that Bianca & the Merlin top-brass are "somewhat worried" about the Universal announcement relating to Bedford. If Universal pull this off, it will smash any Merlin offering out of the water. Merlin have got away with poor standards for years due to the monopoly they have in the UK.

Think back to the late 1980's when a certain Disney Corporation (who Merlin are only second too) were looking for the site for their European park. One of the venues bidding was Birmingham off the M42 near the NEC. Had Disney developed the site here as opposed to Paris, Tussauds / DIC / Merlin would have been blown out of the water. There is no way Alton Towers - or indeed Drayton Manor - would have survived in their current forms with Disney under an hour down the road.

Merlin need a huge kick up the backside & to up their game. Those of us who have visited parks like Europa Park & Phantasia Land in Germany have seen what can be achieved on all fronts - rides, shows, theming, food & beverage etc. Then add on park operations to boost.

 

[QTXAdsy]

I would imagine that Bianca & the Merlin top-brass are "somewhat worried" about the Universal announcement relating to Bedford. If Universal pull this off, it will smash any Merlin offering out of the water. Merlin have got away with poor standards for years due to the monopoly they have in the UK.

If Universal do get their way, this will be Merlin's reaction to what is happening and that they'll be found out.

 

[MaxPower]

I'm sure Merlin would have been aware of this way before we heard anything, news and rumours travel fast in any industry especially when talking about massive players like Universal.

It's certainly interesting that Merlin have suddenly started injecting large amounts of cash into their UK parks just before we find out about it.

 

[JAperson]

It's certainly interesting that Merlin have suddenly started injecting large amounts of cash into their UK parks just before we find out about it.

I suspect with this on the cards and looking in comparison to most projects of its sort they'll already be having meetings to figure out investment strategies to compete, this is most relevant at Towers, but they are ahead of the game on one thing and that's that they already have an operating park, if they can get it up to a really really good standard before universal open there park then they have a fighting chance at staying on top otherwise they really will struggle, and Merlin aren't stupid.

So the optimism in me would expect larger investments in Towers, even in infrastructure (despite not being marketable) while the pessimist in me expects them to sit on there hands and hope for the best with the bare minimum investment to keep attracting the same crowd.

 

[EarthlyKnight27]

I suspect with this on the cards and looking in comparison to most projects of its sort they'll already be having meetings to figure out investment strategies to compete, this is most relevant at Towers, but they are ahead of the game on one thing and that's that they already have an operating park, if they can get it up to a really really good standard before universal open there park then they have a fighting chance at staying on top otherwise they really will struggle, and Merlin aren't stupid.

So the optimism in me would expect larger investments in Towers, even in infrastructure (despite not being marketable) while the pessimist in me expects them to sit on there hands and hope for the best with the bare minimum investment to keep attracting the same crowd.

I wouldn't be surprised when this proposed Universal themepark is braking ground, that we see Merlin and other UK chains start a new arms race of sorts. Trying to compete with each other for different target demographics. Because depending on when we could expect this Universal to be built, I can see Merlin flooding AT with extra funding to freshen up parts of the park as well as planning new attractions to try and make sure they don't lose out to Universal.

Of course, AT have home field advantage as most people within the UK will go to AT at least once and have word of mouth as well as Merlin's ever present and vast promotions when the seasons restart with Merlin throwing ads out on TVs, papers and other products.
However, Universal have a lot of extra funding compared to Merlin. And have large brands they can capitalize on. So when Universal does come to the UK... It'll be interesting to see how this arms race of sorts will pan out.

 

[trotters98]

Had Disney developed the site here as opposed to Paris, Tussauds / DIC / Merlin would have been blown out of the water

And dread to think the state of the M42 if that site ever existed

 

[Itgoeshowhigh]

So when Universal does come to the UK... It'll be interesting to see how this arms race of sorts will pan out.

Sorry off topic; gonna be singing Fall out boy all day now; “this ain’t a scene, it’s a g,damn arms race”.

 

[Kraken27]

And dread to think the state of the M42 if that site ever existed

Very true - if Disney was to feed even a "low attendance" days worth of guest vehicle traffic onto the M42 it would have been hell - and made even the M25 around Heathrow area look like a breeze (it's normally a carpark).

Alton Towers may not have the best transport links, but it only grid-locks on the absolute busiest days of season, of which there are relatively few. Those who have visited Florida since the end of the pandemic will have seen that there are not really any "very quiet" days at any of the parks now. All the park operators are running festivals / special events at what would have been quieter times to boost attendance. Towers / Merlin are starting to go down this route, but there is a long way to go (I fully accept Florida is a different kettle of fish with 365 day a year operation being practical due to the climate).