Christmas 2023

[tayspru]

I wonder if they’re just taking the time to properly plan a new fleshed out Christmas event to coincide with PH in 2025. They could then have an event featuring MB, Hex, CBeebies and PH area. If Skyride is functional they could conceivably have Curse and Sub Terra available too

 

[Steve74]

I wonder if they’re just taking the time to properly plan a new fleshed out Christmas event to coincide with PH in 2025. They could then have an event featuring MB, Hex, CBeebies and PH area. If Skyride is functional they could conceivably have Curse and Sub Terra available too

I doubt they'd have the Skyride open for the opposite reason they close it on hot days!

 

[AT86]

Christmas map has been released ahead of the event starting on Friday.

The only entertainment appears to be two existing CBeebies shows (Telebubbies and Bing) with the Hey Duggee show amended with a Christmas overlay.

Nothing set to be on the lawns this year and little in the way of dining other than Corner Coffee.

I know they are limited in terms of options for having somewhere for a sit down meal in these areas of the park but they have opened Towers St Grill at Christmas in recent years or since Walliams is open they could have used Woodcutters, but nope.

 

[jon81uk]

Nothing set to be on the lawns this year and little in the way of dining other than Corner Coffee.

I know they are limited in terms of options for having somewhere for a sit down meal in these areas of the park but they have opened Towers St Grill at Christmas in recent years or since Walliams is open they could have used Woodcutters, but nope.

I guess with a majority of guests being there as part of a hotel stay they will either have had a large breakfast or will have an evening meal at the hotel so they don't feel a need to offer hot plated lunches in the park. Although I agree either Woodcutters or Towers St should be open just to give an additional indoor place with seating, they could offer mulled wine and maybe a smaller menu, things like turkey and stuffing baguette or other lighter Christmassy options as well as the normal bar service.

 

[AT86]

I guess with a majority of guests being there as part of a hotel stay they will either have had a large breakfast or will have an evening meal at the hotel so they don't feel a need to offer hot plated lunches in the park. Although I agree either Woodcutters or Towers St should be open just to give an additional indoor place with seating, they could offer mulled wine and maybe a smaller menu, things like turkey and stuffing baguette or other lighter Christmassy options as well as the normal bar service.

Yep but as they are marketing this event to day guests too and charging them £23 for the privilege it’s not too much to ask for somewhere for a warm meal as opposed to a takeaway donut and coffee on a cold December day.

 

[jon81uk]

Yep but as they are marketing this event to day guests too and charging them £23 for the privilege it’s not too much to ask for somewhere for a warm meal as opposed to a takeaway donut and coffee on a cold December day.

Well there is more than donuts, I expect Little Explorers Lunch Box, Corner Coffee and Eastern Express will have most of their menu available so it will definitely be possible to get a warm (although maybe not hot) meal, although as I said they could open up one of the bar locations to give more seating, but I don't think they need to offer more substantial food.
I also don't think there is a significant push to market to day guests, most of the website mentions the sleepovers and breaks. £23 is expensive though, only £15ish less than normal season for a lot less being available. But some people might think it is worth it for CBeebies land with lower crowds I guess.

On the pricing, Drayton Manor is charging £25 for Thomas Land plus accelerator, pirate ship and zoo. Grotto and light walk are extra charges. The zoo probably adds quite a bit of value and they appear to be putting on a lot more live entertainment, so its better value than AT. But the big rides are not the focus at either park for xmas.

 

[BarryZola]

Unless you're staying in the hotel or are taking children to CBeebies there's pretty much no point in going, so it's people's own fault if they turn up and have a crap day after seeing what's on offer.

 

[Ash]

Unless you're staying in the hotel or are taking children to CBeebies there's pretty much no point in going, so it's people's own fault if they turn up and have a crap day after seeing what's on offer.

Is it there fault? They could be going expecting what they’d seen previous years? That’s not un reasonable. The fact they’ve regressed is Alton’s problem, and they’ll rightly pay price.

I’m local-ish to the park and should be prime candidate. Especially having been the previous years. I won’t be bothering

Its woeful

 

[BarryZola]

If they don't check to see 'what's on' at the event before they go then in my opinion that is ignorance on their part before attending, and therefore their own fault. Towers have usually had some kind of Xmas or winter event over many many years and they usually change in some form every couple of years or so. People shouldn't just automatically expect things to be how they were the previous year. That's just bad planning, in my opinion. Other opinions may differ

 

[jon81uk]

Is it there fault? They could be going expecting what they’d seen previous years? That’s not un reasonable. The fact they’ve regressed is Alton’s problem, and they’ll rightly pay price.

I’m local-ish to the park and should be prime candidate. Especially having been the previous years. I won’t be bothering

Its woeful

They’ve only had an event open to the public with Lightopia and stuff for the last two years, prior to the pandemic it was largely the same event as this year, just for hotel guests only. There isn’t really that much of previous years to compare against.

 

[Ash]

They’ve only had an event open to the public with Lightopia and stuff for the last two years, prior to the pandemic it was largely the same event as this year, just for hotel guests only. There isn’t really that much of previous years to compare against.

There isn’t really much of previous, but there is the last two years? rigghhttt

I think you’re all forgetting how the general public work.

Its Christmas event, you wouldn’t expect to be both immeasurably smaller and a different “market”

It’s like going to Manchester Xmas markets and it’s half the size…would people check first?

 

[Squiggs]

Of course, if you'd been for the past two years you would have specifically been buying a ticket for Lightopia, so you physically can't buy the same ticket you were buying last year. I think it would be remarkable for any great number of people to go through an entire booking process without realising the product is named and described differently.

Not impossible, mind, but I suspect the park won't be overwhelmed by people who have made that mistake.

 

[James]

I think Ash makes a good point in that those who have visited the previous two years may be rather disappointed by the scaled down event this year.

There’s also a risk that should the event upscale those same guests simply won’t bother checking in 2024 as they will assume it’s still a small event.

It’s likely these people are in small numbers but it’s still a good point of discussion.

 

[Ethan]

I'll go purely for the fact I'm local and I can. No market or lightopia this year so to me the event is levels below where it was just a year ago. If Spinball wasn't open I wouldn't be going. Towers talk about becoming 365 yet none of the big coasters are open. They should at least trial it to see if the big rides operating in winter is actually feasible

 

[Rob]

365 day opening was mentioned once in the relatively recent past, it's hardly something they are pushing for right now so I think we can drop all ideas of it to be honest. Clearly the park is nowhere near to being in a position whereby they would be able to operate all year round. There are so many other priorities to focus on.

One of those things to focus on, in my opinion, is a bigger and better Christmas event. I do think that if they got it right it could be a real money spinner for them.

 

[Ethan]

One of those things to focus on, in my opinion, is a bigger and better Christmas event. I do think that if they got it right it could be a real money spinner for them.

I think having a better ride lineup for the event could push it a long way. Rides like curse, hex, mine train, blade. Couldn't Nemesis and Galactica be a possibility aswell the B&Ms can operate in lower temperatures.

 

[AT86]

Rather than push to get the B&Ms open they would be better off investing in activities that can’t be done in the main season to differentiate and give people a reason to visit at a different time of year.

Markets, light trail, ice rinks, indoor shows etc.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Towers talk about becoming 365 yet none of the big coasters are open.

A 365 park doesn't necessarily mean that everything will be open all of the time. A 365 park is one that has something of an offering, all year. I don't think we'll ever get to a point where the B&Ms, or other big coasters, will be in operation everyday, nor do I believe it's ever their intention. 365 is a long term ambition, which will involve building future weather independent attractions, which could take a decade or so.

Their current strategy for Christmas appears to be appealing to young families, which makes sense. They're the ones going to be paying to stay in the hotels, pay up charges to meet Father Christmas. We've also already spoken about the reasons why the event is scaled down this year on earlier pages.

You can't go full pace all of the time, if you do you'll run out of steam and cramp up. Occasionally you need to pull back and coast, to recover, before you go full pelt again.

Scaling back on Christmas this year, if it wasn't financially viable for the expenses of previous years, makes sense when time and money need to be spent on maintenance and retheming.

Essentially Towers can, at the moment, focus on getting the park right, or focus all of their attentions on an event that won't make much impact or financial immediate gain. Christmas will be a slow climb to get right and big. I'd rather they focussed on the many projects they've got this year, and get them right.

 

[Ethan]

A 365 park doesn't necessarily mean that everything will be open all of the time. A 365 park is one that has something of an offering, all year. I don't think we'll ever get to a point where the B&Ms, or other big coasters, will be in operation everyday, nor do I believe it's ever their intention.

Would be nice for the February half term event to come back properly though. They used to have Nemesis, Air, Blade, Mine train, Duel, Hex, Spinball all open for the event. The event doesn't exist anymore it's just mutiny bay

 

[jon81uk]

Would be nice for the February half term event to come back properly though. They used to have Nemesis, Air, Blade, Mine train, Duel, Hex, Spinball all open for the event. The event doesn't exist anymore it's just mutiny bay

There was multiple years of bad weather in February where it was either unsafe to open, or even if the roads and paths were safe it was too cold to run most of the rides. I don't think its worth the gamble of whether they will be able to run much.

I think having a better ride lineup for the event could push it a long way. Rides like curse, hex, mine train, blade. Couldn't Nemesis and Galactica be a possibility aswell the B&Ms can operate in lower temperatures.

The old winter weekends for hotel guests did have some of the coasters open in Nov/Dec so they could offer Nemesis and Air for example. But I think since they have pushed the Santa Sleepover events more and more the event has evolved to be more about Christmas and families with under 8s than rides thrill rides. I think the event should aim for families not thrills, but they could add some lights in the gardens and extra entertainment. But having the main panto show in the hotel where its warm is better .