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2026: General Discussion

Steve74 said:
Start as you mean to go on... hopefully we'll see him on opening day next month, complete with the litter picker!

From: https://x.com/TowersTimes/status/2022618725443424712?s=20
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The pattern on that jacket is hideous and yet if it was a hoodie or t shirt I’d snap it up without even thinking about it

Bet there’s something similar on Temu I could get to embarrass the kids with..

Not too sure why he’s wearing welding gloves though
 
Exactly what I thought with Bianca - it became a popularity parade and she was proclaimed as the "saviour".

It's nice to see them interacting with the public of course, but that's a balance between spreadsheets, keeping morale up and entertaining. Hopefully the lines won't be blurred too much again.
 
To be fair, I don’t think we necessarily have any evidence that Howard Ebison wants to make himself a “celebrity” or “face of the park” in the same way that Bianca did.

I do think making yourself a public face in that type of role is a double-edged sword, though. Bianca being publicly visible did generate some initial goodwill within enthusiast circles, but it also meant that she came under much more personal criticism when things went south, and that some of the things she did created a bit of a rod for her own back. For instance, does anyone remember the “best season ever” video that was inexplicably used as a stick to beat her with whenever anything went wrong in 2024?

Personally, I have no expectation that a park’s divisional director will be anything other than positive and upbeat in a marketing video (it’s not in their or the business’ interest to be contrite or negative), but lots of people continually used that “best season ever” video as a way to criticise Bianca. I didn’t think this was necessarily fair, as like I say, I don’t think her role would ever have allowed her to say anything else, but when this happens, I can almost see why some divisional directors batten down the hatches and remain relatively invisible.

It’s a role that will require the role holder to make tough and unpopular choices at times to comply with budgets and wider corporate priorities, so I can see why some might avoid a public presence that would attract personal criticism for some of these tough choices.

Although then again, the majority of Alton Towers visitors aren’t enthusiasts and probably don’t care that much about who the director is and the decisions they make, so who knows, really?
 
Mick said:
Yeah, I mean it’d be similar to getting a selfie with the store manager of your favourite supermarket, not for me (but nice to see from a customer service perspective).
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Brings to mind for me cruise ships. There are hardcore cruisers who choose which ones to go on specifically so their “favourite” cruise director (or even bartender/wait staff sometimes) is there. They also take photos with them at mealtimes and stuff as well.

Maybe I’m just crusty about social media etc nowadays but it all seems weirdly parasocial. I do think there should be some kind of occasional visible presence (a bit like an owner turning up to the shop floor etc) however it should be exception than norm. So maybe today is fine as it’s the first day of ther season but every day would be a bit extra.
 
Squiggs said:
I'm not sure if this has been the case for a while and I'm behind the curve, but in rather wild news, it looks like you can currently buy a £10 solo Fastrack for Marauders Mayhem and the Battle Galleons (and Spinball).

£10 to skip the queue on the Teacups... what a time to be alive.
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And two of those rides never have queues in the first place
 
As someone who is on a completely pointless mission to collect a glass/mug with every version of the Alton Towers logo that has ever been used on, is there anything being sold with the Pirate Takeover logo on it?
 
Squiggs said:
I'm not sure if this has been the case for a while and I'm behind the curve, but in rather wild news, it looks like you can currently buy a £10 solo Fastrack for Marauders Mayhem and the Battle Galleons (and Spinball).

£10 to skip the queue on the Teacups... what a time to be alive.
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I could be wrong but I think this is just for pirate takeover?
 
From an anecdotal POV from watching a couple of vlogs, the common theme seems to be this year that half term is looking really busy? Some of the queues and crowds for CBeebies alone look busier than the summer seasons of recent years, which seems to suggest there is a lot of appetite for the area, even before Bluey is about to open. Even 20+ minute queues for Battle Galleons in February is truly something else.

Seems like the word of mouth for this event has caught on with its target audience, and that there’s demand for more capacity to be added onto events like these. With the crowds at the moment, it seems the event would really benefit from RMT, Curse and Wicker being open, as all are high-capacity rides within the target audience for the event.

With this event being entertainment-focused, this seems to suggest a lot about the demand for entertainment product to extend the park season, rather than in addition to regular theme park season. We’ve only had a few days of the event so far, so this could very much be a strong weekend thing but it being busy despite the weather is very much a positive indicator. Could this be a sign that a bigger Christmas event needs to be revisited by the park?

I also wonder whether this suggests there is pent-up demand for Alton Towers and that the park could be in for a stronger season than we expect, especially if they can land the start-of-season launch with ride availability, Bluey opening and the general staff restructure of the park.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
From an anecdotal POV from watching a couple of vlogs, the common theme seems to be this year that half term is looking really busy? Some of the queues and crowds for CBeebies alone look busier than the summer seasons of recent years, which seems to suggest there is a lot of appetite for the area, even before Bluey is about to open. Even 20+ minute queues for Battle Galleons in February is truly something else.

Seems like the word of mouth for this event has caught on with its target audience, and that there’s demand for more capacity to be added onto events like these. With the crowds at the moment, it seems the event would really benefit from RMT, Curse and Wicker being open, as all are high-capacity rides within the target audience for the event.

With this event being entertainment-focused, this seems to suggest a lot about the demand for entertainment product to extend the park season, rather than in addition to regular theme park season. We’ve only had a few days of the event so far, so this could very much be a strong weekend thing but it being busy despite the weather is very much a positive indicator. Could this be a sign that a bigger Christmas event needs to be revisited by the park?

I also wonder whether this suggests there is pent-up demand for Alton Towers and that the park could be in for a stronger season than we expect, especially if they can land the start-of-season launch with ride availability, Bluey opening and the general staff restructure of the park.
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My friend was there at the weekend and Octonauts was on 60 min!

#PrayForBluey

The issue with opening Wickerman is you encourage other demographics to attend and it’s no longer a family event. And then you need other attractions open or they invade CBeebies.
 
I reckon Hed, Curse at Alton Manor, Gangsta Grsnny and Nemesis Sub Terra should be all open given the weather. Maybe Skyride to
 
Bowser said:
My friend was there at the weekend and Octonauts was on 60 min!

#PrayForBluey

The issue with opening Wickerman is you encourage other demographics to attend and it’s no longer a family event. And then you need other attractions open or they invade CBeebies.
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The place needs a better variety of rides.

A walkthrough in the towers similar to room on the broom, high capacity boat ride and cinema attraction would go a hell of a long way.

Imagine if they didn’t have Sea Life!

But that would need consideration in to how to run a theme park that makes it better for guests.

Why do they think people are going Paultons and Drayton…
 
Also today is probably the only dry weather day this week, its likely to rain most of the rest of the week.

This is likely making it busier today than it will be later in the week?
 
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