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2024: General Discussion

Alsty said:
Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much, but does this suggest they might be introducing Alton Bear as a park mascot?
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Agreed, that’s how I read it too. Shame they didn’t take the chance to bring Henry back, but hey-ho.
 
Alsty said:
Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much, but does this suggest they might be introducing Alton Bear as a park mascot?
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Darwin the Dodo and Eric the Yeti have been the park's mascots since 2010. But obviously they only featured in ATH until Oktoberfest 2020 where Darwin was introduced into the main park, after that the other mascots (Finn the Shark, Rusty the Robot and Eric) were reintroduced for the Summer of Fun stage show in 2021. Then Alton Bear was reintroduced and given a new outfit for Mardi Gras 2022.

Essentially, post-COVID, they wanted to expand the entertainment lineup and since Towers rarely throw anything away, reintroducing those costume characters was an easy win. There's still the Scrat and Sonic in storage as well, but obviously they don't have the rights to use them anymore...
 
Also on the website for Scarefest are the dates - 11th Oct to 3rd November, 3 solid weeks rather than a couple of weekends and then 2 weeks. I guess impossible to do the standalone weekends with Oktoberfest finishing so soon before on the 29th Sept. - interesting that said 6th October earlier!
 
Bert2theSpark said:
Darwin the Dodo and Eric the Yeti have been the park's mascots since 2010. But obviously they only featured in ATH until Oktoberfest 2020 where Darwin was introduced into the main park, after that the other mascots (Finn the Shark, Rusty the Robot and Eric) were reintroduced for the Summer of Fun stage show in 2021. Then Alton Bear was reintroduced and given a new outfit for Mardi Gras 2022.

Essentially, post-COVID, they wanted to expand the entertainment lineup and since Towers rarely throw anything away, reintroducing those costume characters was an easy win. There's still the Scrat and Sonic in storage as well, but obviously they don't have the rights to use them anymore...
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They may have various characters but none appear to ever be a mascot.

Disney have lots of characters but Mickey is clearly the mascot.

The new wording does seem to suggest Alton Bear becoming the central character across the park, which sounds more ‘mascot-y’ than anything they have done since Henry Hound.
 
Happy to have Hex confirmed back too. I don’t love it as much as others, it’s not a ‘must do’ ride for me when I visit the park, but there was definitely times last year when coasters were down, queues were high or the weather was poor where I’d be near Fountain Square wishing it was available.
Capacity, operations and upkeep are just so important this season, and thankfully I’m getting the impression that Towers are fully focused on this.
 
Ethan said:
Many of you may disagree but I thought Mardi gras was a better event than Oktoberfest. The music and the vibe were amazing on a warm sunny day
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Last years Mardi Gras was a great improvement on the previous year, I guess it comes down to what is your preference. If you like vibrancy and upbeat music with street food, then Mardi Gras is for you. But a lot of people have a fondness for the community feel Oktoberfest has provided. Even more so in regards to enthusiast community events.
 
tayspru said:
I wouldn’t be at all surprised, I don’t think it’s been remixed for one short video !
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I may be wrong, and this may be a remastered version or it has been rehashed like the Nemesis score. But here is a link to the original music that I believe is featured in that trailer. for reference, it was also used in the fireworks show a couple years ago.


From: https://youtu.be/lkOoHUnAte0?si=e8IUVcbvZlofKri4
 
I missed out on that show but imo it is the best one they've done I've watched it many of times but then it would be the one that made us enthusiasts the most happy to see, I did enjoy the last 2 shows in person a lot though.
 
In regards to the Skyride - I'd like to think that it’ll be back in operation for the start of the season - I mean they’ve only had going on two years to fix it.

I’m getting the feeling that with it not being a major attraction and just a transport ride that it’ll just quietly reopen with the page on the website updated, with no real announcement
 
I'm usually very resistant to marketing but that advert has put a big smile on my face. Actually looking forward to this season now and thinking it might not be total crap.
  • Return of Hex - kind of expected but still great to have confirmed
  • Nemesis Reborn - soo excited!
  • Slimmer calendar of hopefully better-funded events - Glad they've axed Festival of Thrills, that was rubbish. Losing Mardi Gras is a bit of a shame though, it was always good fun although I can see why it's been axed; the park experimented with a few different formats and never quite nailed it. Also 'Mardi Gras' should really be in February, not May.
  • Hill climbs - not for everyone and not within everyone's budget, but a fun extra experience to offer that will I'm sure be very successful.
  • Alton After Dark - night riding in March - yaaass!
  • Return of the Graham Smart music - if they play this in Towers Street again I will be a happy bunny!
Also it's good to see the marketing team actually selling the park for once and not just aggressively pushing short breaks, it's like they've finally sat up and realised why people actually come to the resort and what's important. All very encouraging.
 
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