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2024: General Discussion

Ash said:
This…

Alton Bear isn’t/shouldnt be the parks mascot. Henry/Henrietta hound is much more unique and goes in to the history of the place

Overall a good video, but Alton should always never give too much away. It’s not Thorpe or Chessington, it’s always at its best leaning into its sense of history and mystery.

Does feel like the end of Dungeons, or a mild overlay for scare fest. Bags of potential. But it may be another up charge for scare fest perhaps? Using the old lift rooms.

And did I see screens on the wall in the hex queue?

God help us
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Aren't the lift rooms (or the space where they were) used for Trick or Treat Town? I wonder if that will expand into the Dungeons or that will go altogether and whatever is going into the Dungeons will expand into that space?
 
The place has been run into the ground for a while now. It sounds like new people have realised this, it's just sad if it comes at the cost of big investments being delayed (if they have). To be truly bold, you would carry on with both.
 
GaryH said:
Spoilt? I thought Alton towers considers itself a premier theme park? Shouldn’t these things therefore be expected just as you get in other parks in Europe? And especially for the premium being paid?
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They’ve never been on the same level as Europa and Disney that’s just an unrealistic aspiration
 
Ethan said:
They’ve never been on the same level as Europa and Disney that’s just an unrealistic aspiration
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Europa it was close at one point, but like many things in the UK, we just don’t know how to deliver quality outside of central London.

Alton should have been the UKs premiere resort. Fine dining. Best in class experiences. Brilliant events.

Instead it stagnated, under invested and went backwards.

When was the last time they built on a truly greenfield piece of the site?

The park isn’t as good as it was 10 years ago.

It’s stuck in the 90s/00s. With worse fast food and maintenance schedules. Yes fireworks has gotten better but that’s mainly external. Scare fest is up and down to say the least. When it should be number one in the UK and yet it has farms and sheds eating its dinner. And Christmas…well…shocking really. Not even in the better events in its own group, never mind the country.

The gulf to get near the top of those lists is vast, and needs substantial change. As others have said. I’m expecting major investment. Not just “as good as it was”. It’s nowhere near that!

Every part of the park feeling new; with money spent on it to improve it. It’s a very long list.

When was the last time it installed anything as good as Europa/Phantasialand or Efteling? All very comparable parks.

Looking at FLY, Voltron or Symbolica in particular. The surrounding areas etc.

There is a long way to go.
 
Ash said:
Europa it was close at one point, but like many things in the UK, we just don’t know how to deliver quality outside of central London.

Alton should have been the UKs premiere resort. Fine dining. Best in class experiences. Brilliant events.

Instead it stagnated, under invested and went backwards.

When was the last time they built on a truly greenfield piece of the site?

The park isn’t as good as it was 10 years ago.

It’s stuck in the 90s/00s. With worse fast food and maintenance schedules. Yes fireworks has gotten better but that’s mainly external. Scare fest is up and down to say the least. When it should be number one in the UK and yet it has farms and sheds eating its dinner. And Christmas…well…shocking really. Not even in the better events in its own group, never mind the country.

The gulf to get near the top of those lists is vast, and needs substantial change. As others have said. I’m expecting major investment. Not just “as good as it was”. It’s nowhere near that!

Every part of the park feeling new; with money spent on it to improve it. It’s a very long list.

When was the last time it installed anything as good as Europa/Phantasialand or Efteling? All very comparable parks.

Looking at FLY, Voltron or Symbolica in particular. The surrounding areas etc.

There is a long way to go.
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I wouldn’t say the park is stuck in the 90s; that was when it was at its peak in my opinion!
 
Steve74 said:
That was Merlin not Towers, and wasn't that only referring to numbers through the turnstiles?
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yep it was just about number of attractions and number of guests. Operating more attractions and of course Merlin will get more guests. Too many people keep trying to use the “second only to Disney” think to criticise Merlin when it’s meaningless really because Merlin just operate a lot of attractions and quantity doesn’t equal quality
 
The whole thing with the "second only to Disney" line though was to conjure up the idea that a Merlin attraction is near Disney levels of quality. Throughout the time it was pretty much a case of "we have your money now tough" viewpoint towards guests.

The video was fine. Full of the usual marketing guff these types of videos have throughout various industries. The proof is in the continuation of the work being done. There's many steps needed to be made across the board, some of which are quick fixes and others are broader in scope.

A positive first step. But let's see where things stand this time next year.
 
Ethan said:
2023 Alton manor. Case closed
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Sorry but no, Curse is a decent retheme of a classic old ride and that's it. It was done on a shoestring budget. At best you can say that they've done a decent job with limited resources.

Meanwhile go and look at the show building Efteling are building for Danse Macabre.

Symbolica cost €35 million. Nothing Alton Towers is doing is anything like on that scale and it shows.
 
Benzin said:
The whole thing with the "second only to Disney" line though was to conjure up the idea that a Merlin attraction is near Disney levels of quality.
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I don’t think it was, it was to make them seem like a massive worldwide company that was financially important. It was nothing to do with guests and attractions and all to do with looking big and slick for shareholders.
 
Dave said:
I thought you were not going round in circles anymore? Or you practicing donuts for when you get in your scooter?
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Sorry, my ankle is particularly bad this morning.
Grumpy old git.
I will kick myself in the baubles when it losens up.
Two more questions...
Are zimmer frames permitted, and those nice little three wheeled ones with a seat/shoplifter pocket to hold my bottles of brown?
Is fancy dress still allowed for the paying punters?
If I'm doing a scooter for the first time, I will need a disguise...
Thinking pirate.
Blame diogo.
 
I love the video they released last night; it's so refreshing, comes across as very personable and far less corporate than the approach in the past has been.

I'm expecting small steps forward this season, but Bianca definitely gets it. Given the right budgets going forward, it feels like she will have a positive impact on the park as a whole.

Actually excited for the start of a season for a change!
 
Rob said:
I'm expecting small steps forward this season, but Bianca definitely gets it. Given the right budgets going forward, it feels like she will have a positive impact on the park as a whole.
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Totally agree - let’s hope Bianca can get all the funding and resources she requires.
 
Steve74 said:
I don't understand why destinations like Towers should have to provide chargers. You don't see petrol pumps. If you're getting low on battery, charge up en-route to Towers or on the way home.
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They’re a business. They want people to come to their theme park which is challenging to get to. If it encourages more people to visit, then good?
 
I looked into an early all electric small van, the main rule was to get to the Towers and back on a single charge.
Nope, and a long wait on the services wasn't really on the cards.
 
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