2024: General Discussion

[Ethan]

Surely the return of Nemesis and Hex more than offsets the capacity loss of the Retrosquad?

What happens if 2000 people rock up to X sector first thing in the morning. Nemesis and Hex high capacity only helps the park out when guests are spread evenly around the park. If thousands are in X sector and only have 2 rides to choose from instead of 4 it’ll definitely have an impact on the coasters in that area

 

[jon81uk]

Surely the return of Nemesis and Hex more than offsets the capacity loss of the Retrosquad?

What about the loss of Ripsaw and Enterprise? The park still has fewer attractions compared to 2015.

 

[Mick]

What about the loss of Ripsaw and Enterprise? The park still has fewer attractions compared to 2015.

Completely agree, I was only looking at a direct comparison of last year. Clearly they still have a long way to go, I don’t think anyone could deny that.

 

[Josh]

What happens if 2000 people rock up to X sector first thing in the morning

If Oblivion was still operated like it was in the 90's it'd clear that crowd in just over an hour

 

[jonhotboy2023]

Not looking too bad this year. Glad Hex is opening this year Nemesis Reborn looks amazing that’s about it.

Nothing to get excited about this year, why focus on kids when we need more thrilling flat rides? Not sure if I'll be going this year.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

why focus on kids when we need more thrilling flat rides

Young families with small children are money makers for the part, and Drayton Manor, with the regular additions to Thomas Land, very much have their tanks parked on Alton Towers' lawn.

 

[Matt.GC]

Despite the marketing emphasis on the 'family', could 2024 be the worst season yet for younger and whole families?

Hex is coming back, the pre-schoolers will have something new in Cbeebies land, and Alton Manor provided a quality improvement for this demographic last season. But RMT will have it's height limit increased, 2 x 1.2 RS flats are gone, Enterprise has been gone without replacement for a year now, a family event has been cancelled and no word on Skyride. This is on top of the existing issues such as the parks family boat ride operating as a horror dungeon.

I haven't quantified this in any way, but isn't the attraction gap between pre-schoolers and those under 1.2 in height at least back to 2016/17 levels in terms of size? Similarly the gap between pre-school and 1.4 attractions?

 

[Spark]

Two points here: -

- I don’t think there’s any guarantee that the savings from cutting the two events will be redirected to what’s left. That’s certainly not been the case in the past. Even if the funds are redirected, why instead can’t we just have more funding for Scarefest on top of the existing events? It’s a lucrative enough event for them to substantiate additional funds, but the mentality recently seems to be exactly the opposite, i.e. why spend money if people are already visiting.

- The events earlier in the year offered something different to attract people to visit. Knowing that there might be a new scaremaze in October when I’m visiting the park in April doesn’t really improve my experience.

Maybe not, we wont know unless we are told or see something significant during the event. You cant just throw more and more money at events if the numbers dont add up, clearly they have looked at the figures and the increase in visitors obviously doesnt justify the expenditure

 

[jonhotboy2023]

I can understand that I. Just more of a thrill seeker

 

[Squiggs]

I would hazard that Festival of Thrills and Mardi Gras weren't really bringing in a significant increase in guest numbers, due to their timeslots.

The park have never seemed to need to encourage folk to turn up in the first half of the season, what with the weather being nicer, everyone emerging from hibernation mode and the novelty factor of whatever the park have added (or... reopened).

It's the second half of the year when events can have the real impact, because the park can use them to entice back customers who have already been to the park once in the season for a 'normal' day out.

Traditionally, that is why the park has always loaded the back end of the season with events and shied away from them in the first half of the year.

 

[Matt N]

It appears as though the park has added a backstory to the Runaway Mine Train’s page on the website:

The backstory is as follows:

Forging a legacy since 1992
Since its inception, the Katanga Canyon Mining Company has carved out a legendary presence in the untamed Canyons of Katanga. Renowned for its peculiar ore extraction methods, their unique Mine Train seamlessly integrates with the rugged landscape - an audacious marvel symbolising the company’s commitment to daring exploration.

Guided by a vision of unconventional mining, Katanga Canyon Mining Company sets a benchmark for an unwavering spirit of adventure. Beyond the minerals, the Mine Train hurtles through the Canyon, its bright red engine carriage, a beacon for visionary explorers, adding a splash of defiance to the wild terrain. In the heart of the wilderness, Katanga Canyon Mining Company thrives as a testament to daring exploration and the indomitable desire for adventurers to discover!

Attraction Source seem to think that this is hinting towards changes to the ride for the new season.

Could this indicate that the ride is receiving some sort of enhancements for 2024? “Katanga Canyon Mining Company” have certainly never been mentioned before…

 

[AT86]

Who wrote that, Chat GPT?

 

[Matt N]

Who wrote that, Chat GPT?

It was me who wrote it into my post, if that’s what you were referring to; I apologise if I’ve made any spelling or grammar mistakes when copying it from the picture.

 

[AT86]

It was me who wrote it into my post, if that’s what you were referring to; I apologise if I’ve made any spelling or grammar mistakes when copying it from the picture.

Not you Matt, I was referring to who wrote that spiel about the Runaway Train. It’s odd.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

At least this isn't University

 

[Squiggs]

Complete with a new Katanga Canyon Mining Co. logo:

 

[Zeock]

Complete with a new Katanga Canyon Mining Co. logo:

I like that logo!

 

[Matt.GC]

Enhancements to RMT are expensive. Getting AI to write a couple of paragraphs about your ride and then copy and pasting it onto the website costs nothing but 5 minutes of your time.

This reminds me of that "Lord of Darkness" fan service stuff for Oblivion on the website, or all the "Easter Eggs" stuff they did with Alton Manor. Cridgworthy. It'll likely be the same RMT traversing a brightly lit concrete tunnel this season, only now with a higher height restriction and possibly a new logo installed courtesy of Leak Signs.

 

[JakeDLP]

I like that logo!

Same font as the Alton manor Logo

 

[djtruefitt]

Not the most exiting of updates, but the path that runs along side Nemesis is being widened this winter.


This was one of the worse bits of the walk to the entrance as it was very narrow and you always had to walk along the mud. Hopefully they’ll add new lighting down here too as there were some proper old street lamps down here which hardly worked.