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2024: General Discussion

If I gave my reasons it would legitimately just be repeating what we all already know, but the time has come to put my money where my mouth is and not renew the MAP. I think I’ll use the money I save and go and ride what will inevitably be the superior Top Spin over in Germany!

As someone who has visited religiously for the last 27 years (I’m a bit older), it really saddens me to see the state the park is in now. With each visit this year the experience has become less enjoyable, more expensive, and quite frankly at times, a total slog.

I hope that I can return in a year or 2 and see the place turning a corner. But for now… It looks like my 27 year streak is about to break 💔
I completely feel you this year was my first non Merlin season in around 17 years, I haven’t even given in to ride Hyperia, I have however been to DLP 3 times in the past 12 months, Paultons, Plopsa, phantasialand, toverland and Efteling
 
I don’t think the predicament is necessarily that Alton Towers is doomed to rot or that Blackstone/Merlin are purposely abandoning it, but there’s evidently a large amount that needs to be invested going forward for the park to stand still, let alone to grow and prosper.

The way I see it is that Alton’s situation is perhaps akin to that of Chessington 15 years ago or so. When Merlin first took over Chessington, there was a huge amount that needed investing and a lot of stuff that died simultaneously and needed fixing.

This was admittedly partially to do with theming rather than ride hardware, but Dragon Falls, Runaway Train and Tomb Blaster amongst others all needed big fixes in Merlin’s early years at the park, and millions were put into simply standing still and maintaining that core offering at Chessington. This balancing act of fighting various different fires and investing a lot into simply standing still is in part why Chessington had so little major CAPEX into new things compared to Merlin’s other properties in the 2010s. Money was being invested, but it was being swallowed up by fixing the foundations, so there wasn’t a lot of fiscal headroom for ambitious new investment.

And that’s the interesting thing; a lot of money is still going into Alton at the moment. Big fixes like those to Hex and Skyride and projects like Nemesis Reborn will not be cheap, so it’s not like Merlin are financially abandoning Alton in terms of CAPEX. But that CAPEX is less apparent to the consumer than it used to be because it’s being spent on standing still and maintaining the core offering rather than growing, prospering and putting in ambitious new investment.

Among the UK Resort Theme Parks, Alton is quite a unique animal in this predicament at the moment; Chessington and Thorpe arguably have more fiscal headroom than Towers, with less needing to be spent on standing still. Chessington is somewhat “fixed” for the time being after investment into fixing the foundations throughout the 2010s, so there’s now more room for new and exciting investment. Thorpe Park’s attraction stock is mostly still new enough that they haven’t quite reached the point of many things dying simultaneously yet.

So my view is not that Blackstone/Merlin are purposely abandoning Alton, but that instead, Alton is simply demanding a lot more CAPEX to simply stand still at present than Chessington or Thorpe.
 
I don’t think the predicament is necessarily that Alton Towers is doomed to rot or that Blackstone/Merlin are purposely abandoning it, but there’s evidently a large amount that needs to be invested going forward for the park to stand still, let alone to grow and prosper.

The way I see it is that Alton’s situation is perhaps akin to that of Chessington 15 years ago or so. When Merlin first took over Chessington, there was a huge amount that needed investing and a lot of stuff that died simultaneously and needed fixing.

This was admittedly partially to do with theming rather than ride hardware, but Dragon Falls, Runaway Train and Tomb Blaster amongst others all needed big fixes in Merlin’s early years at the park, and millions were put into simply standing still and maintaining that core offering at Chessington. This balancing act of fighting various different fires and investing a lot into simply standing still is in part why Chessington had so little major CAPEX into new things compared to Merlin’s other properties in the 2010s. Money was being invested, but it was being swallowed up by fixing the foundations, so there wasn’t a lot of fiscal headroom for ambitious new investment.

And that’s the interesting thing; a lot of money is still going into Alton at the moment. Big fixes like those to Hex and Skyride and projects like Nemesis Reborn will not be cheap, so it’s not like Merlin are financially abandoning Alton in terms of CAPEX. But that CAPEX is less apparent to the consumer than it used to be because it’s being spent on standing still and maintaining the core offering rather than growing, prospering and putting in ambitious new investment.

Among the UK Resort Theme Parks, Alton is quite a unique animal in this predicament at the moment; Chessington and Thorpe arguably have more fiscal headroom than Towers, with less needing to be spent on standing still. Chessington is somewhat “fixed” for the time being after investment into fixing the foundations throughout the 2010s, so there’s now more room for new and exciting investment. Thorpe Park’s attraction stock is mostly still new enough that they haven’t quite reached the point of many things dying simultaneously yet.

So my view is not that Blackstone/Merlin are purposely abandoning Alton, but that instead, Alton is simply demanding a lot more CAPEX to simply stand still at present than Chessington or Thorpe.
The problem is to the guest, they’re not standing still but going backwards.

The ride offering is shrinking, standards in a lot of areas are decreasing and you coming away feeling ripped off.

People are then less inclined to visit and it’s a vicious circle.

That’s how I see it anyway 🥸
 
The problem is to the guest, they’re not standing still but going backwards.

The ride offering is shrinking, standards in a lot of areas are decreasing and you coming away feeling ripped off.

People are then less inclined to visit and it’s a vicious circle.

That’s how I see it anyway 🥸
That is an interesting point.

It’s a case of them needing a lot of money to simply stand still, regardless. As things are, clearly the CAPEX being invested is not enough to match the number of fires that need putting out; Alton probably needs a significant injection of cleverly targeted CAPEX, similar to that done at Chessington in the early 2010s.
 
Given the bad press....I wouldn't be overly shocked if they manage to find some money for a new swinging ship this closed season.

1. They don't cost a lot to purchase.

2. Marketing is not required. There's already a new ride for that and a pirate ship is hardly TV commercial worthy anyway.

3. It's an easy win for them to regain some trust at very minimal expense.

I know that's what I'd do anyway. A new pirate ship is a drop in the ocean for Merlin and it would definitely be a sign of good will that they are listening to their guest feedback.
 
I saw a RtRM vid recently about Huss Frisbees (they use a near identical drive system). Apparently those old Huss PLCs "don't know how to accelerate", and are always spinning the tires too fast, resulting in a lot of skidding, and wear on the keel.
He does point out that this is nothing you cannot solve with regular maintenance, though.

I would assume the forces on a spinning frisbee are far higher than a simple swinging ship, of course. So unless there's major metal fatigue in the supports or something, there's little to no excuse.
 
Given the bad press....I wouldn't be overly shocked if they manage to find some money for a new swinging ship this closed season.

1. They don't cost a lot to purchase.

2. Marketing is not required. There's already a new ride for that and a pirate ship is hardly TV commercial worthy anyway.

3. It's an easy win for them to regain some trust at very minimal expense.

I know that's what I'd do anyway. A new pirate ship is a drop in the ocean for Merlin and it would definitely be a sign of good will that they are listening to their guest feedback.

Although I agree to a point, I’d rather they put it in x sector.

(And this is where the long term planning comes in)

FV will have 2 supporting rides.

Dark Forest, you would think, is going to get completely re-hashed at some point, after PH and Rita finally succumbs to the hydraulic launch curse. Adding something there now may restrict its options.

TWODW (inc dungeons and BK) I really hope when PH comes they through the kitchen sink at it and turn it into the thriving area it needs to be to stretch people around the park. Remove the driving school, re use the empty buildings, this may be effected by the MMM changes.

The quickest, cheapest simplest option at the moment is get the in-house AV teams next project to reopen the 4D cinema with one eye on the future.

That broadly speaking leaves x sector as Katanga, Mutiny Bay and CBeebies could within reason remain untouched.

X sector has no supporting flats and a flat ready to go space to stick a few.

For me, indoor Huss breakdance with the bells and whistles and lights themed to the smiler. Bit of a pre show, could be great. Small footprint, decent throughput, won’t cost the earth, low height restriction, you can dress it up to seem better than it is and another indoor attraction for cheap.

If x sector is still in the GDO it would be great to do to build hype for the summer. And if they have done a 3 ride deal with Huss maybe look at the 2g enterprise in the corner with a great big smiler face on for 2026 could look great.

Longer term Alton also have some substantial issues in the horizon:
- Oblivion retrack?
-Galactica retheme or removal given it’s complexity
- Spinball removal as promised for many years, hopefully as a bargaining chip with SMDC
- Rita’s hydraulic launch, will it last h&s
- Monorail replacement or removal/towers street relocation
- Glades car parking conversion
- CRR well known to be expensive to run, will they last?
- RMT isn’t getting any younger either

That’s on top of…
- Project Horizon
-TWODW
- Submission/Enterprise replacements
- Dark Forest retheme
- Ug Swinger/Bone Shaker replacements

At the moment the parks absolute banker attractions for the medium/long term seem like:
- Nemesis, Toxicator
- TCAAM
- Wickerman
- Mutiny Bay
- Hex
- Smiler
- CBeebies
- Thirteen
- Gangsta Granny

Everything else seems up for debate. Which is horrific long term planning. However you look at it.

And as others have said, feels very much like CWOA mid noughties, and all expenditure just standing still.

I can’t help but think the Minecraft land move is a big sign one way or the other. Look at what CWOA is getting:
- Indoor coaster
- Converted grass car parks
- Rethemed lodges
- Small indoor ride (R Cade?)

All of which at one point could have applied to Alton.

Maybe the Nemesis retrack has just landed at the worst time (I still think the right decision) the terrible long term planning is coming home to roost and the lack of investment in park infrastructure.

The spending taps don’t look like they’re going off fully and getting TCAAM and Nemesis right the long term is the right decision, (thanks nick) but it’s just too little to late for everywhere else.

Given the tough decisions ahead I suspect it will get worse before it gets better, and I know it’s only basics but looking at the positives:

- merch improvements
- FV Overall
- lighting, paving improvements
- single rider and attention to operations
- TCAAM (just fix the tromel)
- quality fireworks
- focus on storytelling
- Scarefest new maze buildings
- waterfalls back
- attention on maintenance, effects upkeep

If Alton sticks to its fundamentals there’s nowhere like it, but it’s got a mountain the climb. And it won’t happen in one or two seasons. Everybody knew this and yet we’re all surprised? Get rid of the stage, it’s a distraction. Wait for something permanent/quality. Yes the lawns have done a job, but either make it a permanent festival space or not at all. Scarefest, Fireworks, Christmas.

Longer term, will we miss dungeons or Flávio’s? No. They were both due to be closed anyway. Short term would I rather see that opex go on skyride and hex? Yes

But there has to be a long term plan for investment, across the resort, put in place and understanding you can’t keep slashing capacity from a park like Alton, you just piss people off for the long term, it’s size can only soak up so much with so little else to do and capacity is already far down on what it was.

Blade has been a great servant, and one in one out will have to do for now. But I’d also say therefore they need to focus on getting sub terra firing on all cylinders. Restraint mods, test seat, better pre show guidance on where to sit.

Key to next year:
- Maintenance and operations. No excuses, Christmas is short, the warning signs are there. Whatever teams are needed reactionary and annual to get it right, get them in. Reward high throughput, monitor each ride for small gains and adjust accordingly.
- Food. Whatever sabre needs to be rattled in aramarks direction. Rattle it.
- Tidy up. The gardens are a disgrace, and a sign of the parks malaise. They are part of the areas history and should be sorted Asap as a matter of pride. Christ finally use them as an attraction, you’ll need it! Cleaning, painting, fixing is still needed everywhere else. Not just leek signs.
- Quick wins. You need capacity and quickly. Reopen crux, get the AV team to get a temp setup in there. Reopen 4D cinema. Reopen towers street family restaurant and make a splash with it.
 
I don’t think the predicament is necessarily that Alton Towers is doomed to rot or that Blackstone/Merlin are purposely abandoning it, but there’s evidently a large amount that needs to be invested going forward for the park to stand still, let alone to grow and prosper.

The way I see it is that Alton’s situation is perhaps akin to that of Chessington 15 years ago or so. When Merlin first took over Chessington, there was a huge amount that needed investing and a lot of stuff that died simultaneously and needed fixing.

This was admittedly partially to do with theming rather than ride hardware, but Dragon Falls, Runaway Train and Tomb Blaster amongst others all needed big fixes in Merlin’s early years at the park, and millions were put into simply standing still and maintaining that core offering at Chessington. This balancing act of fighting various different fires and investing a lot into simply standing still is in part why Chessington had so little major CAPEX into new things compared to Merlin’s other properties in the 2010s. Money was being invested, but it was being swallowed up by fixing the foundations, so there wasn’t a lot of fiscal headroom for ambitious new investment.

And that’s the interesting thing; a lot of money is still going into Alton at the moment. Big fixes like those to Hex and Skyride and projects like Nemesis Reborn will not be cheap, so it’s not like Merlin are financially abandoning Alton in terms of CAPEX. But that CAPEX is less apparent to the consumer than it used to be because it’s being spent on standing still and maintaining the core offering rather than growing, prospering and putting in ambitious new investment.

Among the UK Resort Theme Parks, Alton is quite a unique animal in this predicament at the moment; Chessington and Thorpe arguably have more fiscal headroom than Towers, with less needing to be spent on standing still. Chessington is somewhat “fixed” for the time being after investment into fixing the foundations throughout the 2010s, so there’s now more room for new and exciting investment. Thorpe Park’s attraction stock is mostly still new enough that they haven’t quite reached the point of many things dying simultaneously yet.

So my view is not that Blackstone/Merlin are purposely abandoning Alton, but that instead, Alton is simply demanding a lot more CAPEX to simply stand still at present than Chessington or Thorpe.
This is something I agree with, in the past year or 2 (with the new leadership) the money has been coming in to fix all the stuff, and generally improve the park not only with hex, ocean etc but also the presentation with money going towards smaller stuff such as signs around the resort, repainting the smiler etc.
The thing is, even if they dumped the money to fix everything now it wouldn't improve and probably still get worse as you would end up with parts of the park closed being worked on in addition to other problems appearing,

It is a no win scenario where either large parts of the park is closed and really bad service for a a couple years, then all the problems are fixed or a slower path, where service is better during the repair time, but it takes longer.

That is an interesting point.

It’s a case of them needing a lot of money to simply stand still, regardless. As things are, clearly the CAPEX being invested is not enough to match the number of fires that need putting out; Alton probably needs a significant injection of cleverly targeted CAPEX, similar to that done at Chessington in the early 2010s.
I would argue they are investing to reduce the problems, and they can't really invest to fix it all now as often fixing it can be worse than running it with a problem.

Given the bad press....I wouldn't be overly shocked if they manage to find some money for a new swinging ship this closed season.

1. They don't cost a lot to purchase.

2. Marketing is not required. There's already a new ride for that and a pirate ship is hardly TV commercial worthy anyway.

3. It's an easy win for them to regain some trust at very minimal expense.

I know that's what I'd do anyway. A new pirate ship is a drop in the ocean for Merlin and it would definitely be a sign of good will that they are listening to their guest feedback.
There was that rumour of a 3 ride huss deal, could easily be included in that (maybe some extra theming to tie in with ocean)

I saw a RtRM vid recently about Huss Frisbees (they use a near identical drive system). Apparently those old Huss PLCs "don't know how to accelerate", and are always spinning the tires too fast, resulting in a lot of skidding, and wear on the keel.
He does point out that this is nothing you cannot solve with regular maintenance, though.

I would assume the forces on a spinning frisbee are far higher than a simple swinging ship, of course. So unless there's major metal fatigue in the supports or something, there's little to no excuse.
I saw that video, and I think it may have been that X part needed replacement, but due to its age it was hard/expensive to get, so a new ride may have been cheaper (RtRM, (fun new acronym now) had a story where an arm cracked on one of the flat rides, and a new one would have been something like $100,000+ and they thought they could get a new ride for that price (they couldn't) but it shows that the thinking is there
 
Although I agree to a point, I’d rather they put it in x sector.

(And this is where the long term planning comes in)

FV will have 2 supporting rides.

Dark Forest, you would think, is going to get completely re-hashed at some point, after PH and Rita finally succumbs to the hydraulic launch curse. Adding something there now may restrict its options.

TWODW (inc dungeons and BK) I really hope when PH comes they through the kitchen sink at it and turn it into the thriving area it needs to be to stretch people around the park. Remove the driving school, re use the empty buildings, this may be effected by the MMM changes.

The quickest, cheapest simplest option at the moment is get the in-house AV teams next project to reopen the 4D cinema with one eye on the future.

That broadly speaking leaves x sector as Katanga, Mutiny Bay and CBeebies could within reason remain untouched.

X sector has no supporting flats and a flat ready to go space to stick a few.

For me, indoor Huss breakdance with the bells and whistles and lights themed to the smiler. Bit of a pre show, could be great. Small footprint, decent throughput, won’t cost the earth, low height restriction, you can dress it up to seem better than it is and another indoor attraction for cheap.

If x sector is still in the GDO it would be great to do to build hype for the summer. And if they have done a 3 ride deal with Huss maybe look at the 2g enterprise in the corner with a great big smiler face on for 2026 could look great.

Longer term Alton also have some substantial issues in the horizon:
- Oblivion retrack?
-Galactica retheme or removal given it’s complexity
- Spinball removal as promised for many years, hopefully as a bargaining chip with SMDC
- Rita’s hydraulic launch, will it last h&s
- Monorail replacement or removal/towers street relocation
- Glades car parking conversion
- CRR well known to be expensive to run, will they last?
- RMT isn’t getting any younger either

That’s on top of…
- Project Horizon
-TWODW
- Submission/Enterprise replacements
- Dark Forest retheme
- Ug Swinger/Bone Shaker replacements

At the moment the parks absolute banker attractions for the medium/long term seem like:
- Nemesis, Toxicator
- TCAAM
- Wickerman
- Mutiny Bay
- Hex
- Smiler
- CBeebies
- Thirteen
- Gangsta Granny

Everything else seems up for debate. Which is horrific long term planning. However you look at it.

And as others have said, feels very much like CWOA mid noughties, and all expenditure just standing still.

I can’t help but think the Minecraft land move is a big sign one way or the other. Look at what CWOA is getting:
- Indoor coaster
- Converted grass car parks
- Rethemed lodges
- Small indoor ride (R Cade?)

All of which at one point could have applied to Alton.

Maybe the Nemesis retrack has just landed at the worst time (I still think the right decision) the terrible long term planning is coming home to roost and the lack of investment in park infrastructure.

The spending taps don’t look like they’re going off fully and getting TCAAM and Nemesis right the long term is the right decision, (thanks nick) but it’s just too little to late for everywhere else.

Given the tough decisions ahead I suspect it will get worse before it gets better, and I know it’s only basics but looking at the positives:

- merch improvements
- FV Overall
- lighting, paving improvements
- single rider and attention to operations
- TCAAM (just fix the tromel)
- quality fireworks
- focus on storytelling
- Scarefest new maze buildings
- waterfalls back
- attention on maintenance, effects upkeep

If Alton sticks to its fundamentals there’s nowhere like it, but it’s got a mountain the climb. And it won’t happen in one or two seasons. Everybody knew this and yet we’re all surprised? Get rid of the stage, it’s a distraction. Wait for something permanent/quality. Yes the lawns have done a job, but either make it a permanent festival space or not at all. Scarefest, Fireworks, Christmas.

Longer term, will we miss dungeons or Flávio’s? No. They were both due to be closed anyway. Short term would I rather see that opex go on skyride and hex? Yes

But there has to be a long term plan for investment, across the resort, put in place and understanding you can’t keep slashing capacity from a park like Alton, you just piss people off for the long term, it’s size can only soak up so much with so little else to do and capacity is already far down on what it was.

Blade has been a great servant, and one in one out will have to do for now. But I’d also say therefore they need to focus on getting sub terra firing on all cylinders. Restraint mods, test seat, better pre show guidance on where to sit.

Key to next year:
- Maintenance and operations. No excuses, Christmas is short, the warning signs are there. Whatever teams are needed reactionary and annual to get it right, get them in. Reward high throughput, monitor each ride for small gains and adjust accordingly.
- Food. Whatever sabre needs to be rattled in aramarks direction. Rattle it.
- Tidy up. The gardens are a disgrace, and a sign of the parks malaise. They are part of the areas history and should be sorted Asap as a matter of pride. Christ finally use them as an attraction, you’ll need it! Cleaning, painting, fixing is still needed everywhere else. Not just leek signs.
- Quick wins. You need capacity and quickly. Reopen crux, get the AV team to get a temp setup in there. Reopen 4D cinema. Reopen towers street family restaurant and make a splash with it.
Come on Ash, Matt does a tl:dr summary...this dissertation needs one.
 
In terms of money having to be put into fixing (or in many cases, removing) existing infrastructure at Chessie, it comes down to having to deal with years of neglectful maintenance (note, I am not saying this was deliberate, however with being given limited budgets meant that certain things like fencing weren't prioritised) meant they had to focus on it. Especially after the girl falling from Tomb's queueline.

But as many other parks do, they continue to invest in rides AND infrastructure improvements/fixes. Unfortunately the years of demanded ROI and increased profit have essentially left things in such a state that suddenly things are constantly breaking or falling apart. Theming was crumbling onto guests at Chessie in 2008!

It's a poor excuse and just proves years of mismanagement have led to the issues we're seeing now.
 
Let’s be honest it’s both current cuts and years of neglect causing this. As with everything it’s never as simple as people make out.

Matt is quite correct that Merlin have probably put around 20 a 30 million into towers over the last 3 years just to stay still. Yes that’s because of previous managements neglect but still they have done so.

However, it’s also clear something else is going on in Merlin, they are cutting/ closing attractions, the CEO is off and redundancies are occurring. Now the hopeful part of me is wondering if Blackstone is gearing to sell off their share, we often see cuts just prior to such an event. If so then maybe either Kirby can take full control (as a mostly pension funded investment group they tend to take longer term decisions), or another longer term investor takes the shares.

Or it’s just the same old crap.
 
Let’s be honest it’s both current cuts and years of neglect causing this. As with everything it’s never as simple as people make out.

Matt is quite correct that Merlin have probably put around 20 a 30 million into towers over the last 3 years just to stay still. Yes that’s because of previous managements neglect but still they have done so.

However, it’s also clear something else is going on in Merlin, they are cutting/ closing attractions, the CEO is off and redundancies are occurring. Now the hopeful part of me is wondering if Blackstone is gearing to sell off their share, we often see cuts just prior to such an event. If so then maybe either Kirby can take full control (as a mostly pension funded investment group they tend to take longer term decisions), or another longer term investor takes the shares.

Or it’s just the same old crap.
If Merlin is 'taken over' by Kirby. I have a feeling they'd look at both AT and Thorpe as well as their other parks across the world and see how they are operating. But I have a feeling they'd try and dump money at AT and Thorpe, especially with Universal coming to the UK, which could risk the revenue stream.
 
The real difference is between private and public ownership, unless you have someone with emotional attachment at its heart.

Initial private ownership under Varney was OK, public ownership was also semi-OK, but since it has been re-privatised and he lost most authority at the end it has been hideous, with a further step up backwards when Varney left.

The last tyre on Blade's motor was the spare from O'Neil's boot. No doubt he has asked for it back before he leaves.
 
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I know it’s pedantic but the mis-spellings annoy me and slightly confuse me (Kirby is a Nintendo character!). Although some of the issue might be autocorrect.

The owner of Lego and investor into Merlin is Kirkbi
 
I know it’s pedantic but the mis-spellings annoy me and slightly confuse me (Kirby is a Nintendo character!). Although some of the issue might be autocorrect.

The owner of Lego and investor into Merlin is Kirkbi
To be honest I imagined that pink balloon creature as soon as I read that well, was trying to find a joke in there somewhere.
 
If Merlin is 'taken over' by Kirby. I have a feeling they'd look at both AT and Thorpe as well as their other parks across the world and see how they are operating.
If Kirby took over Merlin, knowing Kirby, he would just eat it and absorb Merlin’s power.

The we’d be back at square one wouldn’t we?
22004391-3CDD-41C9-BE0E-712B428EBA14.gif
 
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If Kirby took over Merlin, knowing Kirby, he would just eat it and absorb Merlin’s power.

The we’d be back at square one wouldn’t we?
22004391-3CDD-41C9-BE0E-712B428EBA14.gif
Hehe, my mistake on the company name.
Still, my point stands!

Kirkbi if they gain a controlling majority of Merlin, it'd be interesting to see what they'd do not just with AT or Thorpe but their other UK based parks. Cause IMO here, I have the feeling they'd focus on getting more capacity in AT, especially with Universal coming they'd want AT and Thorpe to be competitive to it.

Because I think they'd focus on trying to get the park investment up by possibly bringing in more flats throughout the park and not just that. Depending on how much Universal charge to enter their park when it opens, it might make other UK theme parks, not just Merlin operated ones, follow suit which (in theory at least) could make it cheaper to get into the parks. Of course, unless government decides to rise minimum wage again.

Besides that, I do think, that Universal coming to the UK will give AT and Thorpe a much-needed rival to go off of. As Merlin are the premiere UK theme park operator in the UK, they have no real competition, which makes them stagnate and refuse to take any real big risks due to them knowing that they can rely on their other parks if ones struggles for a single season.

Anyway, that's enough yapping from me for now at least... Let's see how my opinion stands against others...
 
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