• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Alton Towers Oktoberfest 2020

venny said:
Absolute bare minimum.

At least Thorpe appear to be doing some merch, beer mugs and ride overlays.
Click to expand...

However Thorpe’s opening hours are generally shorter for the event and entertainment is Fridays and Saturdays only.

The way Merlin bulk buy the basic merch items (mugs T-shirts etc) and slap different ride/park logos on them, I suspect both parks will have Oktoberfest merch with different park logos.
 
Do people not have enough merch yet?

It's amazing how Merlin can stick a slightly different logo on the same mugs, t-shirts, hoodies, pin badges etc four or five times a year and people buy them without question.

More money than sense.
 
I know we've joked about the poor quality of some of the publicity material so far, but I think this has the potential to be a good event. We have to remember this is the first time Towers have launched a new event for a number of years, and the first time something new happens is often likely to be a bit odd in one way or another. I see it as Towers trying a few things out to see what does and doesn't work for any future years it runs. Writing it off before Oktoberfest's even happened isn't really fair. The only way we'll be able to judge its success or failure is by seeing what it's actually like to experience. It may well take a couple of years to find its feet, but I'm hopeful that it will.
 
It’s certainly great to see them trying new things, and the longer opening hours are also great, remember this time of year we are usually treated to 4pm ride closes, so 6pm and 8pm is great to see.
I’m assuming all the food and drink will be external, wherever towers will be involved at all I have no idea, but towers struggle opening all their F&B at the best of times. Just a shame there won’t be AP discount if it’s all external.

My only other concern is it suggests it’s all outside, so if we have a load of bad weather no ones going to be there and will be a complete wash out.
 
I've been hoping for some kind of food festival for a while now. So for me this is a brilliant step in the right direction. Of course COVID had to come along the same year, but hopefully management will be mindful of that when determining its success afterwards.

I'd love for an iterative end goal to be a size appropriate event in the vein of Epcot Food and Wine, or SeaWorld Beer Festival, with an intriguing array of food and drink options - most of which just required a grill to cook at SeaWorld.
 
Wow, this "Everything is Fake" criticism is everywhere.

Have people been channelling Hans Wormhat (Absolutely shockingly terrible YouTube channel).
 
Erdinger incoming.

7NTcUBU.jpg
 
I never get my hopes up with Towers on anything but I think getting all huffy over the event before it has started is a little silly.

Reserve judgement until it’s running, but also bear in mind Scarefest was a tiny event when it first started and took a few years to develop. Merlin are risk averse so I think the best you can hope for is enough to please the general guests attending to give them confidence to develop it over the years.
 
Personally, I think the event looks like it could be great fun for those who attend; I have great confidence in Merlin and Alton Towers to pull off something good here!

Even if it doesn’t go down as well as hoped (but I think it could go down very well), I think it’s admirable that the park is still pressing ahead with any kind of event with how 2020 has turned out; they could quite easily have just packed it in and cancelled all of their events, so I think the fact that this is even running is a huge bonus, personally!
 
TPJames said:
Both this event at towers and thorpe is a complete joke. Why can’t we have some proper investments rather than this fake crap?

I’m sorry, but they aren’t even trying to make it authentic. I’m ashamed that they even think it’s acceptable to call this “oktoberfest”. I’ve been to the real oktoberfest and it’s nothing like this cheap knock off.

It specifically says there “we’ve got it all from BBQ to Mexican”. That’s hardly an authentic German experience? Churros are also Mexican/Spanish and not German. Hog roast is more of a British tradition than anything.

I doubt the beer or bratwursts are actually going to be German either. It all just seems incredibly fake and cheap to me. I’d rather they had come up with a unique concept and branding rather than mimicking a german tradition and failing to even get the concept right.
Click to expand...

Howay! Honestly, if you've been to the real Oktoberfest like I have you would know fine well that it cannot be replicated. You'll also be aware that Oktoberfest is a big piss up celebration, but it also allows families in as it has a selection of rides there.

While Oktoberfest doesn't try to be a theme park, it does have rides. Now flip this on its head and you've got what Alton Towers are doing, take the element of a theme park with rides, and add a theme for Oktoberfest. While Alton Towers don't claim to be doing a full-on Oktoberfest, Oktoberfest doesn't claim to be adding a full-on theme park experience.
 
TPJames said:
Well they aren’t doing a very good job at matching the theming and concept of the event to the real German tradition.



Thank you. Epcot would not get away with trying to pull off something as tacky as this.

Thorpe park is advertising a “black forest donut sundae”. Which is also not a german treat, yet they are acting like it’s authentic.

My opinions of ima score have also lowered since they got involved in all of this. But money is money, and that’s why they’ve jumped on board.
Click to expand...

TPJames - for reviews of events before they even happen.....

Hey, you may be right, or wrong.
 
It was never going to be authentic, it just has to be really really good, which the promo doesn’t give much expectation for but nobody has experienced it yet

Saying things like “My opinions of IMAscore have lowered” because they did some music is very strange, they just produce music for whoever pays them. Do you think theyd have a meeting to scrutinise Alton Towers’ plans for high German authenticity before they agree to the project?
 
IMAscore have said they aren’t involved in music at towers. So either they won’t be changing any music at all, or they’ll probably get the guy at towers to do some music if they want some. If any music does come I guess it would only play on the lawns in between acts and down Towers Street, not sure they’ll go to the effort to change music on rides or areas as well like it seems Thorpe might be.
 
djtruefitt said:
IMAscore have said they aren’t involved in music at towers. So either they won’t be changing any music at all, or they’ll probably get the guy at towers to do some music if they want some. If any music does come I guess it would only play on the lawns in between acts and down Towers Street, not sure they’ll go to the effort to change music on rides or areas as well like it seems Thorpe might be.
Click to expand...

Thorpe can change the music fairly easy due to their centralised music system. On some of the older rides like Nemesis it would be a big faff changing the audio.
 
On my first visit to Munich Oktoberfest we stayed at a hotel on the outskirts of the city. After a heavy first session I have no recollection how we got back to our hotel and only the next day after checking my photos found out we’d ridden Alpina Bahn along with a few other spinning rides. If Alton Towers offers half this experience I’d be happy.
 
IDB said:
On my first visit to Munich Oktoberfest we stayed at a hotel on the outskirts of the city. After a heavy first session I have no recollection how we got back to our hotel and only the next day after checking my photos found out we’d ridden Alpina Bahn along with a few other spinning rides. If Alton Towers offers half this experience I’d be happy.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat, no idea how I got back either and I ended up getting 7 stitches in my hand after standing on the tables clashing glasses incorrectly with a mate, when the oompah loompah band comes on every hour to play the music of their people. (clinked them at the top like amateur pirates instead of at the bottom like lederhosen wearing pro's). £50 by debit card and back in the HB tent for whatever happened next. I do remember going on the drop tower thing but only by looking at photos the next day before we got back on it again (insert sick emoji). Best time ever!.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top