[20XX] Puy du Fou UK

[Quantum]

I’m not sure you get too many international visitors flocking to Chorley.

At yet people flock to Alton which is in the middle of nowhere. It would just be nice to see a new park get built that isn't London or the Midlands which are already well catered for in that regard.

 

[AT86]

At yet people flock to Alton which is in the middle of nowhere. It would just be nice to see a new park get built that isn't London or the Midlands which are already well catered for in that regard.

Outside of enthusiast circles international visitors to Alton Towers are practically zero.

That is what is being specifically referenced here - if a big driver for why such a park in the UK would be economically viable is because of the visitation it would receive from international tourists, then you need to build it somewhere close to where they will already be.

So close to London/Oxford/Stratford makes logical sense due to the historical connections that already draw people to the area.

Without these guests the whole project might not be worth opening at all, so put it in Chorley and it would fail.

 

[rob666]

All those areas mentioned would still be within reasonable driving distance. Another site not in the Midlands is the old Camelot site, not sure how big it is but it's well placed off the M6

Amusing one...it is not well placed off the M6 at all, because even though there is the services, right next to Camelot, you cannot access the site from there...you have to go a junction up or down, so access from the motorway is duff, very duff considering the slip road right by the site.
Nobody goes to Chorley for fun...ever.

 

[Benjsh]

All those areas mentioned would still be within reasonable driving distance. Another site not in the Midlands is the old Camelot site, not sure how big it is but it's well placed off the M6

The site could be big enough in theory but being somebody from the NW myself I can tell you that the weather here is certainly not a good fit for this type of experience. Probably the rainiest part of the UK actually.

Can't imagine it would work anywhere but the South tbh or maybe East Anglia.

 

[JAperson]

I think the main problem thus place might have marketing wise is the press calling it a theme park. So when people actually look into it and find they don't have rides I'm not sure people will bother.

Its not that I don't think the British public wouldn't enjoy it or that it wouldn't appeal, it's just that I think marketing it is going to be incredibly difficult. They'd need to get the message across about what it is while getting people excited about it which I think is probably going to be the problem.

 

[AT86]

I think the main problem thus place might have marketing wise is the press calling it a theme park. So when people actually look into it and find they don't have rides I'm not sure people will bother.

Its not that I don't think the British public wouldn't enjoy it or that it wouldn't appeal, it's just that I think marketing it is going to be incredibly difficult. They'd need to get the message across about what it is while getting people excited about it which I think is probably going to be the problem.

Totally agree, you only need to look at the London Resort to see how lazily the press constantly branded it a ‘UK Disneyland’ and even the small amount of press on this project is already referring to it as a theme park.

If not managed well labelling this as theme park could well turn off those very visitors who would most enjoy such an attraction.

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

Totally agree, you only need to look at the London Resort to see how lazily the press constantly branded it a ‘UK Disneyland’ and even the small amount of press on this project is already referring to it as a theme park.

But arguably it is very much a theme park, calling it that is not incorrect. It would be the most highly themed theme park there is in this country!

The company even describe themselves as “The world’s best theme park”.

 

[AT86]

It might be ‘technically correct’, I am simply referring to how that term resonates with the British public. Theme park = rides.

That isn’t the case for this attraction, so they run the risk of putting off a whole section of society who wouldn’t step foot in a theme park, but would quite happily attend an attraction such as this.

It’s not insurmountable to it being built, but a consideration for it needing to be carefully marketed.

 

[Matt N]

I think that what @AT86 said rings very true. As much as you can claim that Puy du Fou is a theme park in the most literal sense, the term does, rightly or wrongly, have rather different connotations within wider society, particularly in Britain. I think John Wardley was bang on when he said that the term “theme park” and “amusement park” are often mixed up or used interchangeably; if Puy du Fou called themselves a theme park in Britain, then I think that they would have people expecting rides and the like, and folks who would like the experience it’s offering might be put off.

With that in mind, I don’t think that selling Puy du Fou UK as a theme park would do it justice as a concept.

 

[AstroDan]

In France - ride parks are called 'parc d'attractions' (attraction park) - regardless of "theming". This would include Disneyland Paris, Parc Asterix, Nigloland and others.

Puy du Fou is called a 'parc à thème' (theme/themed park).

The problem in the UK is that society does not see theme parks as art. Puy du Fou is art. It's not historicaly accurate at every level, there is license - both politically and narratively.

The French are the masters of these type of attractions. We have a lot to learn here - and hopefully we can.

 

[John_P]

Feel like from what I'm reading either the British are too thick to appreciate what type of attraction this is so they won't visit

Or are too thick to do any research into what the park is before turning up and finding there's no rollercoasters.

 

[Benzin]

Feel like from what I'm reading either the British are too thick to appreciate what type of attraction this is so they won't visit

Or are too thick to do any research into what the park is before turning up and finding there's no rollercoasters.

"PERSON QUEUES 3 HOURS FOR NEW THEME PARK TO FIND THERE ARE NO RIDES!"

 

[Squiggs]

Am I right in thinking this would be similar to what's offered at Eleven Arches up in County Durham? https://www.11arches.com/

They seem to have managed to make a successful business of it. In a reasonably remote location, so in Oxfordshire, I'm sure PDF would have no problem with demand.

 

[rob666]

Yes, but it has large amounts of extra "bits", addition stages, covered ones, parks, wooded walks and old villagey bits etc.
Have now watched a couple of the vids...must say it is rather cheesy.
V.2 is in Spain, on a smaller scale, so UK would be V3.
Seems very serfdom...top local politician from the right wing elite expands his empire through mass volunteering of locals.
One way to beat the minimum wage I suppose.

 

[Benzin]

Yes, but it has large amounts of extra "bits", addition stages, covered ones, parks, wooded walks and old villagey bits etc.
Have now watched a couple of the vids...must say it is rather cheesy.
V.2 is in Spain, on a smaller scale, so UK would be V3.
Seems very serfdom...top local politician from the right wing elite expands his empire through mass volunteering of locals.
One way to beat the minimum wage I suppose.

One would say its a perfect example of the current UK climate.

 

[AstroDan]

As someone who has been to PdF three times (going again this summer) - it is absolutely an institution. Standing ovations at the end of the Cinéscénie are common. Some of the shows are brutal. The dining is excellent, there are many hotels.

The site was bought in the 1970s by the council of the Vendée (the départment in which the park is situated). A historical museum was built - and, with it, an evening show was put on to go with the museum. The show was designed to chronicle a family's journey from the middle ages to the 20th century. Local people were invited to dance or feature - and over the years became proud to represent their area in the show - and every year they return to perform. If the show had 2,000 paid actors in it, it would not be able to even operate. It is more than just a 'show' - this thing is beyond anything you will see anywhere else. Even Kynren is fairly small-scale when compared to this.

The politics of the founder may be questionable, but the achievements of this park cannot be underestimated. It is iconic within France.


From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHAU1BrLQO8

 

[Rowe]

Puy Du Fou is looking to invest £300 million into a new theme park north of Bicester, Oxfordshire by the M40's Junction 10. They're holding public consultations in both Bicester (Thursday, July 18 from 12pm – 7pm) and Oxford (Friday, July 19 from 12pm – 6pm) this month and have a whole website available for browsing the potential project at puydufouconsultation.co.uk. Here's their early Master Plan concept via their Our Vision page.

 

[KolonelKlink]

Puy Du Fou is looking to invest £300 million into a new theme park north of Bicester, Oxfordshire by the M40's Junction 10. They're holding public consultations in both Bicester (Thursday, July 18 from 12pm – 7pm) and Oxford (Friday, July 19 from 12pm – 6pm) this month and have a whole website available for browsing the potential project at puydufouconsultation.co.uk. Here's their early Master Plan concept via their Our Vision page.

Much like Universal, this all seems about 100 times more serious than the London Resort.

Lot going for it as well - great site, deep commitment to sustainability evidenced by their existing attractions, the forecast economic benefit and the appeal to potentially hostile local residents by virtue of there being no rides to annoy them.

 

[Matt N]

Between Universal eyeing up Bedford and Puy du Fou now eyeing up Bicester, we could potentially be in for an exciting few years of new theme parks in Britain!

I have to say that I think both parks have picked excellent locations. Both of them are in that belt of land located very centrally between London and Birmingham (Bicester in particular is pretty much slap bang in between the two) that I’ve always felt to be surprisingly untapped in terms of theme parks given its optimal location for the bulk of the UK population. With Puy du Fou in particular, Oxford is quite a prominent region for foreign tourism, what with the historic town and the world-renowned university, so they should hopefully be able to tap into the foreign tourism market.

In terms of the park itself, I’ll admit to not really being 100% sure on what Puy du Fou actually offers. From what I know about the one in France, I’m not really sure if it would be my kind of thing and I’m not sure it particularly excites me personally, as I get the impression that it’s primarily centred around shows and I’m not particularly big on shows in theme parks. But as I say, I’m not the most clued up on what Puy du Fou actually offers, and regardless of my own thoughts on it, it’s undeniably a very exciting development for the UK theme park industry!

 

[Ted]

If both are built, you can even get a direct train between the two!