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2026: General Discussion

Throughout Towers history its not really had that many slides and play equipment throughout the park history in general Adventureland, Section where CBeebies is and Section where World of David Walliams are the only areas spring to mind where the equipment was.

Other Parks have way more then Towers. have even in its golden era days
 
Hid said:
Throughout Towers history its not really had that many slides and play equipment throughout the park history in general Adventureland, Section where CBeebies is and Section where World of David Walliams are the only areas spring to mind where the equipment was.

Other Parks have way more then Towers. have even in its golden era days
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Perhaps not “play parks” but going back to how we got on this subject - I think there was more on offer for families in each area. FV had the Blade and (can’t recall the name of it) a spinning ride where Subterra is now.

Dark Forest had the water fountains in the floor and Ug Swinger.

Even X Sector had family attractions back in the past, toboggan, another spinning ride I can’t think the name of, enterprise etc.

There was also the mini railway, 4D cinema, and various shows on through the day for families to seen enjoy.

I think the problem now is lack of things for children in between 1.2 and 1.4m in certain areas.
 
As someone who has a child just entered the 1.2 - 1.4m size, FV desperately needs something for under 1.4s. Since blades removal my child just sits there bored watching toxicator whenever we are up there. She is too scared of curse of Alton Manor and there is literally nothing for her nearby. This is even more evident with skyride closed and no quick escape route. X-sector is not as bad as spinball is nearby.
 
Benjsh said:
A kids playground in Forbidden valley would completely devalue the area and ruin the immersion somewhat.

As I said there's plenty of other areas where that idea would work better. Leave FV for us big kids. Afterall we're the ones who keep the lights on paying for tickets.
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Ah yes, adding family facilities will devalue the area completely!

Tuck a small safe playground away in the trees somewhere, wouldn't want to damage that immersive atmosphere for the grown ups.

All areas of the park need small stuff for small people, dumping them all in CBeebies really isn't the answer.
 
rob666 said:
Ah yes, adding family facilities will devalue the area completely!

Tuck a small safe playground away in the trees somewhere, wouldn't want to damage that immersive atmosphere for the grown ups.

All areas of the park need small stuff for small people, dumping them all in CBeebies really isn't the answer.
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From a thematic POV it would. A whole land themed about a monster underground isnt really the best place for a toddlers park. Put it somewhere else and thats fine by me.
 
Theme the playground to a Phalanx training facility. Immersion kept.

I remember going to a Towers interview thing and they got us to do one of those daft group activities about adding stuff into the park and I'm sure at least 2 groups suggested play areas.

If they were really sensible they'd squeeze it towards hotel entrance/Rollercoaster Restaurant so can be used by hotel guests eating on park.
 
Benzin said:
Theme the playground to a Phalanx training facility. Immersion kept.

I remember going to a Towers interview thing and they got us to do one of those daft group activities about adding stuff into the park and I'm sure at least 2 groups suggested play areas.

If they were really sensible they'd squeeze it towards hotel entrance/Rollercoaster Restaurant so can be used by hotel guests eating on park.
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They could put it in the area next to the Galactica portal where there are/used to be benches in front of the turnaround of Galactica. If they are keen to keep the space theme of Galactica then it could be space themed - rockets to climb through etc. Keeps it away from the main FV theme
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Steve74 said:
They could put it in the area next to the Galactica portal where there are/used to be benches in front of the turnaround of Galactica. If they are keen to keep the space theme of Galactica then it could be space themed - rockets to climb through etc. Keeps it away from the main FV theme
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The two immediate thoughts I had on play areas were "insurance & vandalism". We have seen how some guests like to deface anything possible with their marker pens. And then you have the insurance issue when a chav decides to use the play area after a beer or two too many & injures themselves. For reasons obvious, Towers cannot afford any press coverage relating to injuries.

That said, the insurance issue can definately be worked around - after all many (if not most) local / parish councils have recreation areas with swings / slides / climbing areas. Other theme / amusement parks / holiday parks all have similar equipment too.
 
Kraken27 said:
The two immediate thoughts I had on play areas were "insurance & vandalism". We have seen how some guests like to deface anything possible with their marker pens. And then you have the insurance issue when a chav decides to use the play area after a beer or two too many & injures themselves. For reasons obvious, Towers cannot afford any press coverage relating to injuries.

That said, the insurance issue can definately be worked around - after all many (if not most) local / parish councils have recreation areas with swings / slides / climbing areas. Other theme / amusement parks / holiday parks all have similar equipment too.
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This isn’t an issue with your post per se, but it always seems like the emphasis is on why something shouldn’t be done, rather than why it should.
 
Mick said:
This isn’t an issue with your post per se, but it always seems like the emphasis is on why something shouldn’t be done, rather than why it should.
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I respectfully disagree. As I have stated most parish / local councils / other theme park / holiday park operators frequently have recreation ground type equipment / locations. I was merely saying that Towers have to be careful. There are sections of the tabloid press who will savage them with delight.

If you look at most theme park rides (in any park), as long as you abide by the restrictions, take the allocated seat and use any provided harnesses, then you should be OK. If we look back historically at Towers (and other parks) rides where the guest had control - e.g. rowing boats on the lake / the alpine bobsleigh / Mississippi Showboat / Astroglide Slide etc all went. Most of these all went pretty fast after John Broome sold Towers to a corporate company, i.e. Tussauds. The corporate risk-averse mantra kicked in.

An excellent example of this - to anyone in the European Coaster Club - is what Paddy let us get upto in the campsite field (think back about 20yrs). This involved two large campfires, rapidly ignited, BBQ's, alcohol etc. Yes, this did change a bit after the regrettable Hydro incident, but even so - had you asked a big company like Tussauds if we could do this on their land, they would have run a mile, fast.

And just for clarity, my employer operates quite elaborate childrens' play areas at their sites - they have just spent a good bit of money doing them up to. They have clearly taken a balanced approach in that we tend to attract a broadly family audience, so the issue of guests who have had too much to drink using the equipment is negated.
 
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