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2025: General Discussion

AT86 said:
The latest blog post on Feb half term seems to suggest the stage show in the courtyard could have been axed. There is certainly no mention of it under the entertainment section.

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That’s sad :( basically just CBeebies and a scavenger hunt now
 
AT86 said:
The latest blog post on Feb half term seems to suggest the stage show in the courtyard could have been axed. There is certainly no mention of it under the entertainment section.

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Ahoy, mateys…Long time, no ‘sea’! Alton Towers Resort has transformed into a smuggler’s haven for the return of Pirate Takeover
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Doesn’t surprise me if the rumours are true and all the entertainment team is being made redundant. They have already cut the ents aspect of Sealife it seems.

Would have expected them to just do last years pirate show, but you have the issue of setting up a stage, practicing etc, all costs money.
 
djtruefitt said:
Doesn’t surprise me if the rumours are true and all the entertainment team is being made redundant. They have already cut the ents aspect of Sealife it seems.

Would have expected them to just do last years pirate show, but you have the issue of setting up a stage, practicing etc, all costs money.
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Will this mean no actors on Battle Galleons too?
 
I mean this is on their website, I would be surprised if they don't have entertainment.

I do recall during the 10k they took the main stage down and had the top part at least in storage in the courtyard, could it be possible it is staying there and thus they can't use the courtyard?

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February Half Term | Alton Towers Resort

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They pretty much fired their entire Ents department, aside from the performers and possibly the hosts too. There’s no tech, no costume, no management, no creative and no construction.

It’s like running a show on the West End but they don’t have anyone to run it apart from the Ushers and the Actors themselves. Messy. They could probably get away with it for FHT, but will certainly be a major problem when the main season kicks in.

EDIT: I forgot to include the Creatives too, which will 100% impact Scarefest this year, at the very least…
 
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Bert2theSpark said:
They pretty much fired their entire Ents department, aside from the performers and possibly the hosts too. There’s no tech, no costume, no management and no construction.

It’s like running a show on the West End but they don’t have anyone to run it apart from the Ushers and the Actors themselves. Messy. They could probably get away with it for FHT, but will certainly be a major problem when the main season kicks in.
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That would possibly explain why the stage show appears to have been dropped but the actors on Battle Galleons and on the treasure hunt locations remain for FHT.
 
Don't forget that anyone "fired" (or rather being made redundant) won't be leaving the business immediately in the UK - there'll be a consultation process to go through, which for such a large shake up I imagine would need to be at least 45 days, so probably like mid March or something? So during that, the staff will still in theory be working.

What their motivation will be during this time, however, is another matter.
 
Benzin said:
Meet & Greets count as "Live Entertainment" right?

The shows will be a big loss to CBeebies Land and it's potential capacity.
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They have a contractual obligation to produce a certain number of shows in CBeebies every day. I’d imagine this is the top priority for them right now as cutting this would jeopardise their excellent relationship with the BBC. Hence why some of the Mutiny Bay stuff is being cut.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
They pretty much fired their entire Ents department, aside from the performers and possibly the hosts too. There’s no tech, no costume, no management, no creative and no construction.

It’s like running a show on the West End but they don’t have anyone to run it apart from the Ushers and the Actors themselves. Messy. They could probably get away with it for FHT, but will certainly be a major problem when the main season kicks in.

EDIT: I forgot to include the Creatives too, which will 100% impact Scarefest this year, at the very least…
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Judging by my Facebook feed at the moment, a LOT of folk in Ents have been let go. I've not got any solid info on ents tech - bearing in mind that tech don't just run the shows; they look after effects/lighting for Curse, Hex, Wickerman, Sea Life, Furchester, Andy's, Postman Pat, JoJo, Hotels, Conference, the list really does go on - so the resort would severely struggle to operate without them.

I'm quite close to all of this so I'll tread carefully, but looking at the various rumours and gossip doing the rounds, a tie-up with RWS would be the most logical plan - they're pretty much the only creative shop with a truly global footprint, and a strong base in the UK after they hoovered up TED a few years back. Outsourcing to them would be a HUGE deal, and I actually feel like (unlike the Aramark deal) Merlin would be in safe hands with RWS at the helm.

From a practical standpoint, it's a similar time every season where contracts are renewed/terminated and there's every chance that such a deal (if it were to happen) might not have closed just yet; so for now, contracts need to be terminated/not renewed - then when an outsourcing partner is in place, they'll bring in their own management, run their own recruitment and auditions, and no doubt end up taking on 90% of the people that AT have just let go.
 
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tech said:
Judging by my Facebook feed at the moment, a LOT of folk in Ents have been let go. I've not got any solid info on ents tech - bearing in mind that tech don't just run the shows; they look after effects/lighting for Curse, Hex, Wickerman, Sea Life, Furchester, Andy's, Postman Pat, JoJo, Hotels, Conference, the list really does go on - so the resort would severely struggle to operate without them.

I'm quite close to all of this so I'll tread carefully, but looking at the various rumours and gossip doing the rounds, a tie-up with RWS would be the most logical plan - they're pretty much the only creative shop with a truly global footprint, and a strong base in the UK after they hoovered up TED a few years back. Outsourcing to them would be a HUGE deal, and I actually feel like (unlike the Aramark deal) Merlin would be in safe hands with RWS at the helm.

From a practical standpoint, it's a similar time every season where contracts are renewed/terminated and there's every chance that such a deal (if it were to happen) might not have closed just yet; so for now, contracts need to be terminated/not renewed - then when an outsourcing partner is in place, they'll bring in their own management, run their own recruitment and auditions, and no doubt end up taking on 90% of the people that AT have just let go.
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That's the best comment about this situation I've read on the internet so far and it's pretty much what I've been thinking about the situation! Everyone on X is kicking off at Merlin saying how on earth can they let the Ents teams go across their parks but no-one is stopping to think that they are (probably and hopefully) just getting everything in place ready for outsourcing and that - as you say - many of the teams will be re-employed by the external company.

I don't think even Merlin would be stupid enough to kill off all Entertainments across their portfolio and have nothing to replace them for the sake of saving money.
 
It is mildly interesting that the park opening hours have only been posted up until the start of the summer holidays in July.

All the other Merlin parks have published their hours for the whole of 2025 long ago, Towers being the only exception.

I can understand them holding back releasing hours for September onwards if Oktoberfest is currently hanging in the balance as has been suggested on the forums a few times, but the summer holidays? These are usually a standard 10am-6pm affair. Makes me wonder if there is something in the works and releasing them now would 'let the cat out of the bag?'.
 
Alphe86 said:
Weekday closures later in the year too.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays
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A look at the short breaks booking site seems to suggest a handful of Tues/Weds closures in early Oct and between Scarefest and Fireworks - traditionally very quiet periods.

Interestingly there don't appear to be any closures in September. Maybe Oktoberfest has been spared afterall? Otherwise I would have expected some midweek closures here too.

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oct25.JPG

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I imagine Scarefest and Fireworks will be protected. Fireworks is pretty much already outsourced (bar the theme/storyline), Scarefest can be outsourced. Oktoberfest seems up in the air. I would welcome a summer event, even though they've tried countless times and failed.

I wonder how CBeebies Land will cope entertainment-wise. It’s easy to cut the department out, so there are no roaming characters or things like stage shows, but CBeebies Land relies heavily on entertainment.
 
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