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2025: General Discussion
Will be interesting what RWS Global do provide given they do work with Europa Park and DisneySeems the stunt show is returning to Legoland for August, and Chessington is getting two shows for the school holiday period.
Presumably there is no sign of anything for Towers over the summer?
GooseOnTheLoose
TS Member
The only remote sign of something maybe happening, which I saw whilst visiting today, was the erection of lighting rig on the lawns. I didn't properly pay attention to it, so can't tell if it's event related or just practical light, and I have no idea how long it's been there for.Seems the stunt show is returning to Legoland for August, and Chessington is getting two shows for the school holiday period.
Presumably there is no sign of anything for Towers over the summer?
Straws at best.
Secret Weapon
TS Member
Sorry to bump a topic from a few days ago, but just a few quick points about Bianca:-
1) I'm not sure if it was Bianca's decision to bring back the single-rider queues (or whether this would have happened anyway), but if so then I will always be grateful to her for that! (my only minor disappointment is that Nemesis, Rita, and Wicker Man still do not have them)
2) To her credit, she always seemed to be quite prominent, whereas I don't think that I have ever heard from her equivalent at Thorpe Park? (whoever he/she is)
3) I always felt a bit sorry for Bianca, because I'm not sure how much she can actually do (besides making minor improvements)? I assume that her hands were somewhat tied by Merlin's purse strings and local planning restrictions, so I'm not sure what her daily role would have entailed? Also: unlike new theme parks (e.g. Six Flags Qiddiya), Alton Towers is already full of great rides, and so much of the hard work had already been done before she'd even joined.
Either way, she always seemed like a nice enough person and so I wish her the best for the future.
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AT86
TS Member
Didn’t Scott O’Neil leave Merlin for LIV Golf? Perhaps explains this rather random promotion?
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
There’s a LIV Golf event at JCB Uttoxeter that’s happening next week, it’s a new event so maybe O’Neil wanted to do something with Towers since it’s close by. Maybe he even found the location from his time at Merlin, who knows.
It could also just be co-incidence too, but it’s corporate synergy nevertheless.
It could also just be co-incidence too, but it’s corporate synergy nevertheless.
BarryZola
TS Member
Remember the dates. If you're going to Towers on those days, make sure you're nice and early. You don't want to be trying to get through the villages any later than 9 in the morning at the very latest. Personally, I would be getting there an hour earlier than that anyway, just to make sure.
RIPCorky
TS Member
Yeah that's not necessarily a good thing. Whilst it probably pleased enthusiasts, from a business point of view I feel the Nemesis reimagining was a colossal waste of money. It could have been better spent elsewhere to make the park a better experience for the guests. Not only have they used a sizeable chuck of cash on this they've also made the whole area much more maintenance intensive. They should have re-tracked the ride, painted the station and that was that. To sacrifice the front row queue in favour of theming is just ridiculous too, how can you favour theming over something that improves the practicality of the ride for guests? How can you drop two helicopters into an area and let your other rides rot and crumble?
Has a total area re-theme brought any more guests to the park?. Same applies to the Duel re-theme.
Years of bad management have dug the park in to a hole. It seems they are incapable of making basic decisions. They probably need to employ someone who is level headed, possibly even a little bit "boring" Someone who won't get caught up thinking they're playing rollercoaster tycoon (with real money) and sprinkling fairy dust over rusting metal and mouldy walls. At the end of the day it is a business.
flyingguitar
TS Member
I think you may be looking too short term, yes it hasn't increased the number of guests however it has dramatically improved the quality of the theming of the land, in addition with toxication it only need Galactica to get an increase in theming to have a complete and a really well themed land.
currently that may not be doing too much, however as the rest of the park gets updates, (e.g skyride) you can improve theming there as well, eventually you would be left with a really well themed park, increasing the attraction of the park.
the thing is that a lot of the park needs the nemesis treatment, nemesis had the requirement to retrack it, giving a perfect opportunity to increase and refresh its theming.
it may not have increased the guest count initially, however if continues it can increase it by making it a nicer place to be in (from theming and guest niceties such as water fountains)
This is of course assuming that the idea of refreshing all the lands actually happen, however with Bianca leaving it is more uncertain.
Alton Towers needs a new star coaster always though that cross valley coaster might be just what they need and what I would do is have it start behind World of David Walliams and have the ride weave all the way to the cross valley and have the valley jump as the grand finale. Thats the type of ride Alton needs right now.
Similar style to Falcons Flight but of course on a much smaller scale.
Similar style to Falcons Flight but of course on a much smaller scale.
RIPCorky
TS Member
Yes but my point still remains. Short term thinking might be a good idea right now. Pumping thousands into one area will only make the other ones look worse. There does not seem to be any long term plan in place either to re theme or refresh the other areas of the park.
QTXAdsy
TS Member
Problem is that even if they did have a long term plan for the park over the next decade, so many changes at the top of Merlin and for Towers management means that these plans are either watered down or scrapped entirely.
Come to think of it, Towers is very much the theme park version of the failed DCEU film series in which a rough start, bad decision making, revolving door of leaders and such and led to a poorly led film series which had led to DC films to be rebooted again. It's not hard to see a striking resemblance to that what's happening with Towers in which I don't think even current management know what they are doing.
Come to think of it, Towers is very much the theme park version of the failed DCEU film series in which a rough start, bad decision making, revolving door of leaders and such and led to a poorly led film series which had led to DC films to be rebooted again. It's not hard to see a striking resemblance to that what's happening with Towers in which I don't think even current management know what they are doing.
BarryZola
TS Member
People may laugh, and it may be that this particular idea wouldn't run exactly as proposed above. But, if there was ever a time that the local council may be pressured one way or another to be a bit more lax with regards to the cross valley dream, it'll be now, when the government are seen to be doing planning favours for other companies. The technology must be there nowadays to get a decent cross valley ride on the go with a bit more length to the ride on at least one side of the valley. The original plan may need to be tweaked a bit now due to Toxicator being in place, however. Even before this, I believed that it could happen one day, and I still think it will, eventually. Before anyone pipes up, it wouldn't have to be visible from the village and noise could also be largely subdued by the natural tree coverage in the valley (plus whatever they could do regarding noise dampening on the track etc).
Like imagine a Taron/Taiga combined Style layout through the forest with a finale of the cross valley section
Christ on a bike, another digging up of the corpse of ideas that was a cross valley coaster...
Planning permission through those listed historic gardens, huge capital investment in a time of great economic challenges to both the punter and industry, absolutely massive cost of landscape noise berms...and all that racket still echoing down that (historic battle) valley side down towards the village?
All in a park that is already top heavy on coasters?
Get real, never in a billion years.
More chance of me winning Miss World, and I'm not even planning on entering this year.
Planning permission through those listed historic gardens, huge capital investment in a time of great economic challenges to both the punter and industry, absolutely massive cost of landscape noise berms...and all that racket still echoing down that (historic battle) valley side down towards the village?
All in a park that is already top heavy on coasters?
Get real, never in a billion years.
More chance of me winning Miss World, and I'm not even planning on entering this year.
venny
TS Member
A perhaps the neglect of the Gardens is a wider plan to get permission for the cross valley coaster…. Since they’re in such a state nowadays, would anyone really care if they flew a coaster in there. Merlin are very clearly playing 3D chess!
As for Bianca, it is a slightly confusing topic to credit or discredit her for certain decisions on the basis that they may or may not have been within her power to make or indeed driven by her - I don’t think we honestly know the answer to most decisions. From my perspective, there are however a few things which definitely were within her power to fix but weren’t. She certainly had the authority to get someone to clean the monorails for instance, but seemingly never did. She was most insistent that she would never open a ride unless she had the confidence it could run reliably, but that didn’t really come to pass either. She certainly was in control of making the grand promises she did, only for very little to be delivered, for the Guest Services queue to astoundingly be closed and staggered openings and ride downtime to proliferate. I give her credit for being visible, but when the visibility is based mainly on platitudes and empty promises, I don’t think this is any great loss.
As for Bianca, it is a slightly confusing topic to credit or discredit her for certain decisions on the basis that they may or may not have been within her power to make or indeed driven by her - I don’t think we honestly know the answer to most decisions. From my perspective, there are however a few things which definitely were within her power to fix but weren’t. She certainly had the authority to get someone to clean the monorails for instance, but seemingly never did. She was most insistent that she would never open a ride unless she had the confidence it could run reliably, but that didn’t really come to pass either. She certainly was in control of making the grand promises she did, only for very little to be delivered, for the Guest Services queue to astoundingly be closed and staggered openings and ride downtime to proliferate. I give her credit for being visible, but when the visibility is based mainly on platitudes and empty promises, I don’t think this is any great loss.
The_bup
TS Member
That could all be well and good, but - I’m sorry - the cross valley coaster looks really boring to me?.
The whole layout is clearly bending over backwards to accommodate for the cross-valley-ness, so, what are you left with? It goes up. Then down. Up again. Then keeps doing that really slowly on the other side. Then up. Then down. Again. How Thrilling. And we expect this to be comfortable on a wooden coaster? Where track maintenance would be exeedingly difficult due to its location? Wicker Man was undoubtedly a better investment.
Besides - like, sure, the coaster itself could fit in the Valley fine, but coasters aren’t just built by 6-10 strong guys that lift the track in place Amish style! They need big machines! Where are we making the paths for them to come in from? Tearing down more trees that’s for sure, the sacred, sacred trees.
We don’t need more coasters. It would be like icing on a cake on a park that, as it stands, is a pile of fondant.
I agree with all of this...but.
There are a couple of really nice old coach routes along the top of the valley, basically behind thirteen, that are flat, contoured into the landscape, and the trees on them are only a few decades old..."weed trees" in effect.
Ideal for the "never bloody happening" woodie.
Both old paths can be accessed without too much trouble from the top of the gardens, there is an unlocked five barred gate at the start of the main path, together with the other wide path heading down the old lawned "ride" close to the old corkscrew site, the well used picnic lawn.
No actual keep out signs, but it always feels a bit naughty playing out down there...
Not as much fun as the stepping stones at the top of the garden valley though.
There are a couple of really nice old coach routes along the top of the valley, basically behind thirteen, that are flat, contoured into the landscape, and the trees on them are only a few decades old..."weed trees" in effect.
Ideal for the "never bloody happening" woodie.
Both old paths can be accessed without too much trouble from the top of the gardens, there is an unlocked five barred gate at the start of the main path, together with the other wide path heading down the old lawned "ride" close to the old corkscrew site, the well used picnic lawn.
No actual keep out signs, but it always feels a bit naughty playing out down there...
Not as much fun as the stepping stones at the top of the garden valley though.