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Entrance Price Increase.. AGAIN!!

Benzin said:
Considering how DEAD the park is (and has been so far this year), how do people suggest Towers make the monetary targets set by Merlin (and incidently, Blackstone, owners of the Busch parks as well as Merlin)?

I'm sure no-one really wants Towers to be in a situation where it might shut, especially in a time where buyers will be difficult to find (unless people make a football club, then we might find some rich Arab/American/Russian)..
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Am I missing something here? Is Alton Towers, the UK's premier theme park, a park that is investing 20 million into its new rollercoaster next year and has some of the UK's more well known rides, is it really in danger of closing down in the next two years. Isn't all this price increasing and cost cutting a way of building up the cash for a float on the market.. whenever that may be.

And my other thought is are guest numbers really as down as we think they are. It keeps being said that the park is quiet but I haven't seen that much evidence to support this.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Lightwater is not run by accountants. It's run by people who do it for the love of the park, not the money. (This is probably why they can't afford to buy a new ride, but hey...)
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Of course it is, it's still a business. It's not an island of communism like some people perceive it to be.
 
There is a difference between an independant business who care about their customers having a good day out, and a multi-national money grabbing evil corporation who's only interest in customer satisfaction is keeping them just alive enough to spend more and not to sue.

But anyway, let's not get sidetracked into the old LWV vs AT debate. Where were we? Ah yes... M£rlin are scum.
 
mark9 said:
Benzin said:
Considering how DEAD the park is (and has been so far this year), how do people suggest Towers make the monetary targets set by Merlin (and incidently, Blackstone, owners of the Busch parks as well as Merlin)?

I'm sure no-one really wants Towers to be in a situation where it might shut, especially in a time where buyers will be difficult to find (unless people make a football club, then we might find some rich Arab/American/Russian)..
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And my other thought is are guest numbers really as down as we think they are. It keeps being said that the park is quiet but I haven't seen that much evidence to support this.
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Based on the people i know who work there and have for a few seasons (just general ride staff, not talking Mr C here :D ) They are all saying how much quieter the park has been this year compared to previous ones (and consider there was no new ride last year).

Every visit i have been on the park has been far quieter than the previous years and i have visited most months for the last few years :)

So yeah, the park is struggling.
 
I just wanted to give my opinions on this whole subject.

Like most of you in this thread, I think this price rise is truly ridiculous and I don't want to pay £45 to visit Alton. However what I think the "Few people pay full price" statement is wrong. Is there any proof that the majority of people visiting Alton used BOGOFs? or is it just what people presume?

I don't like the idea of BOGOFs, I personally Like the idea of offers being something like 10 Pounds off or 20% off for example. The problem with BOGOFs is that they only work when a Even number of people are going to Alton (Or any Theme Park for that matter). If you're going by yourself; you (Unless you have a MAP) will be paying full price. Since I don't own a Annual Pass, I had to pay full price to visit Thorpe and Chessie this year (£42 each), That's £84 in total and To be Honest, I felt like it was to much.

My best bet is that Thorpe and Chessie also get these price rises, and guests of them will also be affected. Fortunately for me, I should have a MAP by November/December, So I won't be a victim of M£rlin's High Entrance fees during 2013. I seriously hope that the extra money is going towards something that will benefit the park (But I must be dreaming again)
 
What I find crazy is that I always get my MAP using vouchers from a well known supermarket, about £40 worth of vouchers. So for me, a year's entry to all attractions costs less than a day at AT. Yes, I know I have spent plenty to get the vouchers in the first place, but seeing as I need to eat to live it's money I would have spent anyway...and in my little head £40 of vouchers compared to 45 real pounds is just incomprehensible. If that makes any sense at all :-\
 
Pixie-Ro said:
What I find crazy is that I always get my MAP using vouchers from a well known supermarket, about £40 worth of vouchers. So for me, a year's entry to all attractions costs less than a day at AT. Yes, I know I have spent plenty to get the vouchers in the first place, but seeing as I need to eat to live it's money I would have spent anyway...and in my little head £40 of vouchers compared to 45 real pounds is just incomprehensible. If that makes any sense at all :-\
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That's exactly why you are constantly encouraged to buy a MAP - even just going to Merlin attractions a few times a year pays it off eventually. Many people don't even consider it though because of the initial cost - all you have to do is wait for a sale which is at least once or twice a year.
 
Even if Alton Towers lose money for multiple years in a row, there's still very little chance of the park closing. Even if losing money, the place is still HUGELY valuable. The brand recognition and awareness is almost off the scale. Literally everybody in the country knows what Alton Towers is. Also they have a collection of incredibly expensive hardware that they've built up over the years.

It won't close just because it hasn't made a profit for a few years. Twitter for example has lost a shedload of cash pretty much every year since it started in 2006, yet people still invest huge amounts to keep it going. Why? Because it has a huge amount of worth in other areas, such as community loyalty, userbase and brand recognition. Once someone figures out how to monetise it, it'll make colossal sums, so it doesn't really matter if it loses money for a few years.
 
God no it's not going to close, a break-up of Merlin Entertainments would be a happy day though.
 
Right, lets get on the phone to M£erlin, find out how much they want for the park, and if we all chip in a bit of dosh then we'll buy it off them :)
 
Its shocking too find that there raising the prices so high. I'm a Annual Pass holder but still the prices for 1 day entrance are shockingly high priced.
 
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Not again....PLEASE!
 
Can't even feel angry towards the place anymore, just overwhelming despair.

I mean what is the frakking point. I'd rather they stuck it up to £50.00 than engage in this pathetic penny pinching stealth price rise.
 
And just as they cut a significant amount of hours off Scarefest. Nice! :(
 
the missies works for a travel company and there pre tax profit is huge. Meaning more and more people are going away this year. The whole staycation thing is dying out. So it will be hitting m£rlin that way. So a price increase is to be honest a normal part of business life, nobody likes it but it has to be done.

There are a lot of tears about BOGOF's but it gets people going to the park, and its a clever way of getting people to travel to AT rather then a more nearby attraction. (I live in Yorkshire and will never go to lightwater valley again, or the chav infested Flamingo land) After visiting these dirty horrible theme parks I don't mind paying that bit extra to go to AT as I know its actually kept better. (although FL zoo bit is nice, and the animals could teach one or two of people going some toilet manners, but look at the rides part oh dear) With just having a quick peep online, the online price if booked in advance is very decent to be honest. Ive just looked on line and its £65 for a two day pass, for both of us. Now you may not think that, but on the door i'll be paying well into £100's. So i'm happy with that. (plus she gets a discount on top of that.............. the perks of being with a travel sales type person)

But I think its more about control. With people booking online and with the any voucher scheme, they can keep a better eye on the amount of visitors they are arriving and can plan staffing and anything else a lot better. If you arrive on the day, im sure the extra amount is simply there to pay the person serving you. Plus, more and more people will be looking at the prices on line these days. Its a very small amount that will be there on the day being raped in the wallet as they didn't check.

However this is not m£rilns biggest rip-off. I shall now point you to the Dungeons. years ago they where all different and had more relevance for the local area. Now they are all the same, look how much it is to get in there for what is a larger scare maze.

i'm sure AT does make loss, but m£rlin will see that as a whole it makes a good profit each year, so to close AT would be a mistake.
 
You know what, what we're you expecting?

We all saw this coming of a mile away, no ten hundred miles away in a matter of fact that this was going to be the case.

We want M£rline out.
 
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