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2024: General Discussion

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Tom said:
£10 isn't standard parking for a UK theme park. Many independents are still free, and arguably those smaller parks need the money more than Merlin.
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Which smaller parks are you referring to? If you’re talking about Paultons then they already rip you off to get in to begin with. They charge you more to get in than the big parks like Towers and Thorpe that’s crazy
 
Ethan said:
Which smaller parks are you referring to? If you’re talking about Paultons then they already rip you off to get in to begin with. They charge you more to get in than the big parks like Towers and Thorpe that’s crazy
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They charge you more to get in yes; and yet its always a much nicer, much more pleasant day out. Particularly for a family with young kids. Better value for money too.
 
Ethan said:
Which smaller parks are you referring to? If you’re talking about Paultons then they already rip you off to get in to begin with. They charge you more to get in than the big parks like Towers and Thorpe that’s crazy
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So you pay £2-3 more per person on the ticket price instead of £10 per car, the overall cost is similar.

If anything Chessington I think is the park that should charge more for parking as it is the only one walkable from a train station.
 
Ethan said:
Which smaller parks are you referring to? If you’re talking about Paultons then they already rip you off to get in to begin with. They charge you more to get in than the big parks like Towers and Thorpe that’s crazy
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Oakwood, Flamingo Land, Pleasurewood Hills, Lightwater Valley - at least, I believe.
 
If the changes made to the park, and more importantly, ride availability is significantly improved on last season, we can see where this extra £3 per car has gone. If the park still looks a mess and we have 6 unopened coasters by half 10 most days then yeah, a big moan is justified.

It may well be Bianca has had to increase the parking cost to cover extra ride engineers, jet washing, shop refurbishments etc. to increase budget for these things.
 
TroySmith1 said:
Every single thing seems to be pointing in the right direction for the park, when we all lost hope it’s drastically all starting to change in the right direction. I for one am very excited for Alton Towers future now, just this season alone it appears so much has been done and I can’t wait to all of these exciting updates! It’s just an exciting year for AT and around the UK Themepark industry it feels….well excusing Black pool sorry!


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Whilst I agree with the general sentiment, I can’t say that every single thing is pointing in the right direction.

Hex and Skyride not ready for the new season despite having had a year to work on them both, scrapping of events, apparent delays on Horizon, Retro Squad all removed with no replacement, an apparent attempt to persist with the Dungeon rather than getting something new in there, car parking prices increasing etc.

Heading in the right direction - seemingly.
Is everything perfect - certainly not
 
The skyride has had a years work on it?
News to me.
You mean paint and scaffolding?
If it had the resources spent on it like the Curse and Nemesis have...
If the damn thing had really been worked on for a year, it would be opening next week.
It hasn't, so it isn't.
It isn't a headline attraction, so it hasn't had the work needed.
Screw the less mobile for another year, they don't matter.
 
It’s a welcome update from Bianca (any update is!) and the transparency is needed and sounds sincere, but let’s be honest it’s mostly the bad news that has necessitated it. Probably seen the mess that Blackpool made with The Big One last week and this announcement is far better but would still be nice if she hadn’t had to make it.

Skyride - terrible news
Hex - disappointing news
Dungeons - unexpected news
 
rob666 said:
The skyride has had a years work on it?
News to me.
You mean paint and scaffolding?
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But this doesn't make sense. Why would they paint the stations, put up new signs etc if they knew it wasn't going to open for another 12 months?

It feels to me like they were expecting to get it up and running but they've uncovered another problem, or perhaps they've had an external inspection to get it signed off and they have found something new.
 
venny said:
Whilst I agree with the general sentiment, I can’t say that every single thing is pointing in the right direction.

Hex and Skyride not ready for the new season despite having had a year to work on them both, scrapping of events, apparent delays on Horizon, Retro Squad all removed with no replacement, an apparent attempt to persist with the Dungeon rather than getting something new in there, car parking prices increasing etc.

Heading in the right direction - seemingly.
Is everything perfect - certainly not
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There ain't no gain without pain.

In a perfect world, Merlin would have given Alton Towers an immediate £30m cash injection to replace and fix all the above.

This is simply not a likely scenario.

We all know full well that Alton's treatment over the past decade has resulted in a steady but sure decline.

Decisions must be made now that will result in the park's long term future.

Both Vekoma and Poma are at Alton Towers and involved with Hex and Skyride. Sadly, for reasons of decisions taken years ago, both require a mass of work to get them up to standard. Some of the issues are not for this forum - but sadly time is required.

Let's see where we're at come 2027 and if the park's in a much better position all round.

You can't undo 15 years of dodgy decision making in 12 months of a new leader.
 
SuperMuscleMan said:
With parking I remind you towers said the parking was originally for local transport options and road improvements outside the park. Well the lies and fibs keep growing.
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This. Absolutely this.

I can remember resort run buses operating a few routes to and from the resort with park and hotel drop off. The offering over the years has got worse and worse, along with the abolition of the resort public transport team.

Bianca has a colossal task on her hands, having to repair and future proof the resort. She clearly does care a lot about the repay in its entirety and a lot of these changes can’t happen over night sadly.

As Astro says, give it a few seasons and then see where we’re at.
 
Alsty said:
But this doesn't make sense. Why would they paint the stations, put up new signs etc if they knew it wasn't going to open for another 12 months?

It feels to me like they were expecting to get it up and running but they've uncovered another problem, or perhaps they've had an external inspection to get it signed off and they have found something new.
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The dead rodent at BPB comes to mind.
New brakes, added systems, then closure.
"We did all we could"...except they didnt.
Other headline attractions have been prioritised over open park access for all.
If this attraction needs so much work doing, why have they only just "realised"?
Surely such problems were evident eighteen months ago?
Paint and scaffolding are cheap, and show something is happening.
Cost more than covered in the closure of a staff heavy attraction.
Disabled access in this park stinks, customer service for over a year has been incompetent, fibs have been told...and the skyride issue has been chronically mismanaged...in this sad, crippled old man's eyes.
And they have lots of new scooters to rent...another stealth tax, when options have been limited by the park themselves in their failure to maintain the transport network in the park properly or efficiently...
Unless Bianca gives me a piggyback personally from the entrance to the nemesis station...I'M OUT!
 
AstroDan said:
Finally. Transparency.

Bianca is tasked with spearheading the reversal of a decade or more of neglect.
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She comes across as very articulate, capable and up to the challenge with ease.

There is potential we may see one of Alton Towers greatest eras with Bianca at the helm.

With Merlin going private, increasing capex seemingly everywhere and Bianca's enthusiasm, experience, care and sharp eye for detail a perfect storm could be brewing for great things.
 
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