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2025: General Discussion

QTXAdsy said:
Always felt that all you had to do for X-Sector to modernise it was turn into a Blade Runner/Cyberpunk look with LED screens plastered on say the Smiler station building (which honestly would make a hell of a difference improving the look from a concrete Soviet tower block) and some neon look all round and a new soundtrack which wouldn't be major to do so though Oblivion's theme would bee an update, more likely looking like her Italian cousin.

I have thought that they are waiting for the licence to expire so that they can kill two birds with one stone or three birds if you include the Dungeons building. Would all make perfect sense to do it in one go providing Merlin are willing to splash that cash out.
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LED screens look horrible and some spotty teenagers would eventually kick them in because let's be honest Merlin would miss the mark and plaster them everywhere over the weird Brutalist Birmingham Council Block architecture that X Sector has.
 
Hid said:
Still to this day think 2016 is by far Towers weakest season so many rides were closed that year
Ripsaw
The Flume
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Ride
Nemesis Sub Terra
Driving School
Wobble World

All closed

And the following season wasn't much better with removal of Twirling Toadstool and Ice Age.

And Although the ride line-up today isn't as strong as it should be its still far greater than what was there in 2016 and 2017
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Were you visiting the park at the time?
One of my best seasons on the park actually.
All coaster queues were about half the length of the previous year on my personal visits.
The Flume was the only ride I actually missed.
Give me 2016 again instead of any of the 2020's and I would be more than happy.
 
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rob666 said:
Where you visiting the park at the time?
One of my best seasons on the park actually.
All coaster queues were about half the length of the previous year on my personal visits.
The Flume was the only ride I actually missed.
Give me 2016 again instead of any of the 2020's and I would be more than happy.
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Yes I did visit then and most of the ride I mentioned were some of my favourite particularly lack of Hex and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Ride.
 
spotweld said:
It's crystal clear that Merlin wants an RMC at one of their parks and have even gone as far as edging (sorry) us Thooooosies with hints of such a possibility on social media. We also have to recognise the fact its been nearly ten years since Wicker Man broke ground at Alton Towers which was the last major coaster they had.

Merlin are absolutely bricking it over UGB because Thorpe and Chessington will be fine, but Alton Towers, the crown jewel of their trifecta, won't be thanks to a number of factors. And to be honest, Project Horizon, an indoor coaster themed to space (seriously? it's not the 80's anymore) doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would carry enough momentum for the park to even stand a chance against UGB's opening.

They could pull an MG Rover circa 2004 (sorry to bring them up again, I'm still sour) and say 'sod it, we're dammed if we do and dammed if we don't, we might as well go ahead and stick a great big supercharged V8 right into the heart of Alton Towers'. And considering everything that's been built since Wicker Man across Europe and even the UK with the likes of Hyperia, I think they have to go for that approach. Especially with UGB around the corner.

They know Alton Towers have lost ground, lots of it, and an RMC CVC could be the perfect way to stimulate that approach. It would be a big bet for Merlin and Alton Towers, but so was Hyperia. And speaking of Thorpe, I know I've said that they'd get an RMC first, but to be honest even if they do I doubt they'll even get another coaster until after UGB opens. That park can hold its own, and so can Chessington. Firmly with an iron grip.

I do think the Cross Valley Coaster is a possibility and I am going to start questioning Project Horizon if we don't hear about that by December. It seemed like a good idea you'd start drunk one night and then end sober when you woke up the next day.

As an aside, both Johns were on site last week. Maybe that's nothing though.
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I am still baffled by this idea people have that UGB won’t impact Thorpe or Chessington but will impact Towers?

There is literally no logic to that line of thinking, UGB sits right in the local catchment area for Thorpe and Chessington, it does not sit in the local catchment area for Towers. Do we really think everyone north of Birmingham is going to go “ohh this year I can’t afford £100 a ticket for universal but I will drive to Thorpe park instead of Towers!”

UGB will impact all the parks in the UK to some degree but the hyperbole around its impact is truly mind blowing at the moment.
 
Dave said:
I am still baffled by this idea people have that UGB won’t impact Thorpe or Chessington but will impact Towers?

There is literally no logic to that line of thinking, UGB sits right in the local catchment area for Thorpe and Chessington, it does not sit in the local catchment area for Towers. Do we really think everyone north of Birmingham is going to go “ohh this year I can’t afford £100 a ticket for universal but I will drive to Thorpe park instead of Towers!”

UGB will impact all the parks in the UK to some degree but the hyperbole around its impact is truly mind blowing at the moment.
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It will impact Chessington and Legoland the most as it has the most overlap with that demographic. Thorpe Park and Alton Towers are different in they do cater more towards thrill seekers. Also Alton has the Gardens and Towers as reasons to attract people.

I don't think it will make any difference other than with increased attendance from other parks might improve guest experience by trying to be different from Universal
 
I’ve said this before, but the main impact I think Universal will have on the Merlin parks, if any, could come as a result of increased interest in theme parks among the domestic market.

It’s fair to say that the UK theme park industry has had a tumultuous time over the last decade or so, and Universal has the potential to zap some life back into the theme park scene in this country. If that happens, people might go to Universal, think “I want more of this sort of thing!” and take a look at the Merlin parks again for the first time in a few years.

I debate the extent to which Universal will take attendance from the Merlin parks, but I do think Alton Towers will be the one that might need to do the most strategic repositioning in preparation. Yes, it’s not within Universal’s catchment area, but it probably shares the most overlap with Universal in terms of target audience. It has a considerable investment in the short break market, more so than the London parks, and it’s also more of an all-rounder than any of the London parks, which Universal will also try to be. I don’t think location is as relevant as some make out when it comes to Universal; this will absolutely be a park that pulls people from all over the country, and people will travel for it.

It is worth noting, however, that it probably won’t be quite as binary as “Universal’s opening, so that means everyone will stop visiting Merlin parks”. Universal will be in a completely different pricing rung to Merlin, with expensive park tickets and season passes being very likely. All of the families who currently have Merlin passes and visit the parks with a packed lunch every weekend won’t be able to trade that for the equivalent experience at Universal very easily. The value for money of the Merlin pass (in terms of potential visit quantity) is undeniable, and Universal’s product will be a lot pricier and likely won’t encourage the same sort of mass pass uptake.
 
I don't think I could go with out my Merlin Pass such good value for the money you pay. I would like a competitor to come whereby Paultons Park, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmoth Pleasure Beach, Adventure Coast Southport, Flamingo Land, Lightwater Valley, Puy Du Fou snd Kyren to have their own banded season pass because that would be equally good value as well as compete with Merlin, Looping Group and Universal. Gives us more options
 
Matt N said:
The value for money of the Merlin pass (in terms of potential visit quantity) is undeniable, and Universal’s product will be a lot pricier and likely won’t encourage the same sort of mass pass uptake.
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Unless of course, you are a fool like me and bought quite a pricey pass, just to realise 5 months in that you haven’t used it once, because you just couldn’t be arsed to go due to general apathy while at a Merlin park.

Maybe (well, probably) it’s just force of being a local to Thorpe Chessington and Legoland and seeing everything as well as two of those parks being… young, but aside from Hyperia, which requires slow cooking in the sun for 5 hours and somewhat feels poorly thought out, it feels like they haven’t installed anything worth going to see.
 
I think AT will be impacted by universal.

Yes it may bring more people to theme parks in general, however I think people may get to AT after universal and be disappointed.

It is the reason I think nemesis reborn was a good idea, improving the quality of the park, making it more premium and inline with universal. If they continue making improvements in the theming and quality of the park (such as tcaam, skyride, hex, etc) they will be in a much better situation
 
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