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2026: General Discussion

BarryZola said:
...and yet year after year people still go back in their droves and can't wait to empty their wallets as soon as possible. Until that changes they'll just keep running it like this and taking the profits.
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Herein lies the real problem.

Merlin know they can get away with it as people come back regardless of how 'unacceptable' they claim the park to be.
 
I would also be very cautious with trip advisor, it is well known by most people that people go on it to rant, although we know the issues here, Merlin focus more on their own guest satisfaction surveys.

It’s why if you get one after a trip you should fill it out.
 
BennyBoy said:
Most people only leave a review when they have something to complain/moan about...
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Perhaps Nnot entirely true when you look at how many positive reviews are also on there. Regardless, the fact there are so many negative ones now and have been increasing year after year does indicate the general direction of travel - ie it’s getting worse.
 
BarryZola said:
...and yet year after year people still go back in their droves and can't wait to empty their wallets as soon as possible. Until that changes they'll just keep running it like this and taking the profits.
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It’s almost as if the MAP system has entirely devalued the experience…
 
GaryH said:
Perhaps Nnot entirely true when you look at how many positive reviews are also on there. Regardless, the fact there are so many negative ones now and have been increasing year after year does indicate the general direction of travel - ie it’s getting worse.
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My gut feeling is that many people post reviews after a 'memorable' experience - either one that is very good, or - more likely - very poor!
 
RicketyCricket said:
Trust Pilot is the one they're really getting a hammering on:

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.altontowers.com

Although probably not a major concern for them as people are unlikely to check on there before a visit, unlike Trip Advisor or Google Reviews.
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Don’t worry. It’s factored into the business model.

It’s rubbish
But it’s cheap
You don’t pay to get in
Attractions worse, queues worse, food worse.
But we’ll gouge you when you’re here
Including accommodation
And we don’t mind bad reviews

This is not how businesses succeed long term. Wallet voting comes next.

It’s ludicrous. But apparently it’s just me
 
Ash said:
Don’t worry. It’s factored into the business model.

It’s rubbish
But it’s cheap
You don’t pay to get in
Attractions worse, queues worse, food worse.
But we’ll gouge you when you’re here
Including accommodation
And we don’t mind bad reviews

This is not how businesses succeed long term. Wallet voting comes next.

It’s ludicrous. But apparently it’s just me
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I visited Guest Services recently for the first time ever at any theme park, in 20+ years of visiting and it was a bizarre experience.

The staff were friendly enough but completely unhelpful. I vented my frustrations and was then asked to manually type out everything we had just discussed, on a small fiddly tablet. Was then told someone would be in touch soon to discuss this further. So I carried on with my day even more frustrated than I was before - feeling fobbed off and ignored.

That was over 3 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything back.

I'm not a pass holder. I spent £40 on a ticket and feel a bit ripped off, but I'll get over it and reluctantly visit again in a year or so. If I'd had a family/kids with me and had spent hundreds on a "fantabulous, splendiferous" short break I'd be genuinely annoyed and would not return.

For an industry where return visits are so important, it's baffling that their customer service is so bad.
 
RicketyCricket said:
For an industry where return visits are so important, it's baffling that their customer service is so bad.
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Yet return they do as there is no sign of attendance declining.

Or perhaps the same MAP holders are attending more frequently in an attempt to have a good day and skewing the attendance figures?

Would be fascinating to see the number of unique visitors versus repeat across the UK parks.
 
Bowser said:
Yet return they do as there is no sign of attendance declining.

Or perhaps the same MAP holders are attending more frequently in an attempt to have a good day and skewing the attendance figures?

Would be fascinating to see the number of unique visitors versus repeat across the UK parks.
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As has been discussed, the problem is when people aren’t immediately paying to get in, why would there be a decrease in attendance?

Not without their flaws but the review sites tell a story
 
I saw a YouTube video from a small channel called Coaster Crew UK. They have less than 1000 subscribers and their videos usually get a few hundred views, but a recent video from this Easter holiday titled ‘Alton Towers Easter SHAMBLES | THIS CANNOT CONTINUE’ has at the current check got 42k views! Bad news and reports spread like wildfire, and watching the video, you cannot blame them at all, it was a shocker!


From: https://youtu.be/IvqpOd_o6C8?si=nf8Onya8eKvdizJ2


I genuinely believe that Towers are starting to get this reputation widespread, and it isn’t just enthusiast moaning.
 
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Mick said:
I saw a YouTube video from a small channel called Coaster Crew UK. They have less than 1000 subscribers and their videos usually get a few hundred views, but a recent video from this Easter holiday titled ‘Alton Towers Easter SHAMBLES | THIS CANNOT CONTINUE’ has at the current check got 42k views! Bad news and reports spread like wildfire, and watching the video, you cannot blame them at all, it was a shocker!

I genuinely believe that Towers are starting to get this reputation widespread, and it isn’t just enthusiast moaning.
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I saw that video advertised, but scrolled right past it; however - now that you've drawn my attention to it, I might give it a look - thus proving your point about bad news attracting attention!

Speaking of which - I think Theme Park Worldwide's video from January regarding the decline of Alton Towers has 429k views as of today (almost as many as his entire 449k subscriber base), whereas his subsequent video regarding suggestions to improve Alton Towers only has around 67k

It was probably his most profitable video ever, as the entire video was shot from his house (thus no travel cost)
 
I feel like we do this every season, there is unreliability at the start of the season, then throughout summer the rides get more reliable and then into autum they get less reliable

this is a known thing with seasonal parks,

in the spring it is often caused by having the rides suddenly experience the intense running after sitting effectivly idle, and new staff, where they may not be in the flow of things and don't quite understand the finiky bits of ride (also people like maitanence getting back into the swing of running opperations), such as the squeek the brakes make being fine, etc.

then in autum the ride has been opperating for the best part of a season and deffered maitanence and parts are wearing out and start needing to get worked on (it is safe for deffered maitanence, for instance if a brake pad is near its limit, lets say 1mm, an experienced mech may know it goes through about 0.1mm per week, if the season end is only 3 weeks away then it would be better to leave it and wait for closed season)
 
It may also be the case that the weather improves throughout the year as well

(Granted - the weather declines around October, but this may be offset by the rides running constantly due to high demand during Scarefest)
 
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