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2026: General Discussion

Matt N said:
I think it’s quite evident that the strategy of banking on the novelty and “prestige” of working in a theme park isn’t pulling people to work at Alton Towers, or at very least work there and stay there long-term, anymore.

This might have worked when times were, relatively speaking, “better” a decade or two ago and people could afford to do jobs out of passion alone, but in an era where bills are going up and money doesn’t stretch as far as it used to, I think doing a job out of passion alone is a lot harder and people want something in return for their labour.

When you take the novelty of the theme park environment out of the equation, I see very little that would attract a skilled engineer, or even a teenager or young adult wanting a part-time job, to work at Alton Towers. If we look at it coldly and objectively, Alton Towers pays lowly, frequently offers unstable and inconsistent seasonal work, requires employees to work outdoors for large parts of the day whatever the weather, offers poor career progression, often requires employees to work unsociable hours (e.g. weekends, later nights, earlier mornings), often requires employees to be up on their feet and moving around for large amounts of the day and practically requires you to drive there or get lifts (and frequently long distances at that, if we go by the distance from the nearest cities or even moderately sized towns). If I were a local skilled engineer, I’d be putting my CV into somewhere like JCB over Alton Towers, where I could earn a likely larger salary, work sociable hours, be in a nice warm indoor environment, have better job security through guaranteed year-round employment and not drive as far, to name just a few plusses. If I were a local teenager or young adult, I’d be putting my CV into a supermarket or restaurant, where the establishment offers guaranteed year-round work, is likely closer to my house and keeps me indoors at very least. Or maybe one of those remote call centre-type jobs on LinkedIn, where I can sit in my bedroom and earn similar amounts of money!

The simple truth is that parks like Alton Towers thrive on having experience and employees with inbuilt years of knowledge. To ensure this going forward, they need to make the package more compelling to attract the right people in the first place and make them stay there!
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Mentioned on another thread, the novelty of working somewhere soon wears off and it becomes a job, Pay for that job is one factor, but working conditions are also a factor, same again with staff retention if you have staff with years of experience then that can be vital to ensure the smooth running of equipment, be that the lift hill chain and drive on Nemesis, or a drive for a conveyor/hydraulic unit at JCB - the time served people who can tell just by how something sounds and feels, looks and even smells ( there could be a bearing somewhere that's running hot and will give off a certain burnt odour and/or vibrations) if there is an issue that needs a quick fix before it becomes a major issue with lengthy downtime . I know of people who have gone to Bamfords down the road (JCB) as opposed to Towers, or have left towers for better conditions elsewhere.

As for frontline staff, if this is all members of the public see then these will unfortunately bear the brunt, if Merlins management are doing the job well then the staff members should be feeding back to management - ie if people complain about overpriced food / poor quality food then this needs to be fed back, likewise poor ride availability/unkempt paths/gardens etc.
Towers is my local park, being about 35 minutes away. I used to visit three to four times a year, including a couple of group visits form organising Scout trips to Pub Groups to smaller groups /friends family etc and a solo visit, Last year the visit count was just one solo trip ( as a reccy) as it would be embarising to book a group in with the risk of having a bad day and the state of things at the moment, hopefuly things will improve
 
I wonder if Merlin want new staff each year because they realise that the staff quickly burn out and get tired of their "dream job", and thus it's better to keep importing fresh and optimistic young people each year? (Instead of improving conditions for the previous / existing set of staff)

It doesn't matter so much for mechanics etc who work behind the scenes anyway, but it's more of an issue for staff who deal directly with the public and have to put on a happy face!
 
No, Merlin struggle with recruitment and retention because the work is seasonal, low paid, and mainly outdoors.
Nothing to do with wanting new freshness and optimism, everything to do with the economic bottom line.

Recruitment and retention also matters a great deal for behind the scenes mechanics, no question.
 
BarryZola said:
Please quote a source.
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I second this.

Although it wouldnt surprise me if true. It probably needs £10m spent on it I'd imagine or maybe more to get it back to a good standard and they probably dont see that as a good investment right now given their finances.

Permanent buses or just move the entrance to FV?
 
MrCoaster said:
Rumour has it the Monorail has been condemned. That'll help Merlin (!)
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First you said RMT was kaput now this? I do have serious doubts about how truthful these sources are, next thing you're going to say that everything on park is cooked period.

Now then, regarding staff wages, if Merlin were to go the nuclear option and clear their hands of Towers, it does mean without paying for staff at Towers, those working at Chessington and Thorpe might be in for a pay increase.

Where the park not the UK's number 1, I doubt Merlin would have kept the park for any longer. It's true that they do nothing for the park these days and while they just seem unwilling to invest, no one wants to clear it off their books for if they were to sell it off to new owners who end up restoring the park to its 90s heyday, that would be hugely embarrassing for Merlin and the executives who signed off on the deal would likely find themselves in hor water.
 
(Mono) rail replacement buses don’t come cheap. It’s not like bung £50 to the driver, it takes multiple of them plus multiple buses for rental etc so can’t imagine Merlin willing to fork out money when they don’t need to.

When my kids go on a day long school trip the rental for the coach and driver is somewhere in the region of £800 so even if we thought of a “bulk discount” it’s still going to be around £500 per day per bus that is straight out of the operating expenses budget.

As for staff it’s the same every year. Park is in the middle of nowhere with next to no public transport so of course it’s going to be difficult to get enough people in on a seasons contract when they could just as easily go to Sainsburys etc for the same wage.
 
rob666 said:
No.
The monorail is a fantastic, mass transit novel first experience of the park for many first time visitors, threading through the rides and gardens.
Or wait for a bus.

Poor replacement lacking merlin magic and imagination.
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I'd say it's a perfect example of the level of Merlin magic and imagination.
 
PhalanaxOperativeA1127 said:
Surely the cost of setting up a new entrance, along with associated infrastructure etc, you might well be better off just investing to fix the monorail.
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Possibly. Although once the entrance is built and paid for its pretty low maintenance going forwards where as the monorail requires constant maintenance and investment for the rest of its life cycle, not to forget the power it needs to run as well which wont be cheap.

Moving the entrance would save them a lot of money over a long period of time Id imagine. However just buying some buses probably is the cheaper option for sure although these do require extra staff to run.
 
Question regarding the electrical supply for the Monorail, assuming it's still using the same system when first built which undoubtedly consumes more electricity than anything else today, could replacing the electrical supply with a new system help with not only extending the ride's life but also cut down on the park's leccy bill? The latter being perhaps more important arguably.
 
Benjsh said:
Moving the entrance would save them a lot of money over a long period of time Id imagine. However just buying some buses probably is the cheaper option for sure although these do require extra staff to run.
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Even buying buses are probably more expensive, AT would have to get mechanics to fix them, and hire drivers and as they would only have a few it probably won't get close to the economies if scale D&G has.

I suspect something has broken on the monorail which has a long lead time (it is an autonomous system, so sensors, computers, com links, etc could have broken.

That or they are working on something like air gates, etc.

If it was condemned I would have expected a differnt response (announcing the monorail won't be open for a while, getting a more permanent replacement, etc)
 
flyingguitar said:
Even buying buses are probably more expensive, AT would have to get mechanics to fix them, and hire drivers and as they would only have a few it probably won't get close to the economies if scale D&G has.

I suspect something has broken on the monorail which has a long lead time (it is an autonomous system, so sensors, computers, com links, etc could have broken.

That or they are working on something like air gates, etc.

If it was condemned I would have expected a differnt response (announcing the monorail won't be open for a while, getting a more permanent replacement, etc)
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It’s going to be a repeat of the skyride-less season isn’t it. Shifting deadlines until they finally decide to just not bother with it for the season
 
I hear Merlin are currently looking at adapting old railway hand carts to fit the monorail track and guests (50 to a cart) can push and pull the levers up and down to get to the entrance from the car parks. It will be advertised as a fun, exciting, healthy, eco friendly way of getting to the theme park. Its going to be renamed to the "Ed Miliband express" and will of course be an upcharge attraction.
 
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