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Fireworks 2016

Rob

Rob

TS Team
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It's not long now until the end of the 2016 season and the annual Alton Towers Fireworks! For the first time since their return in 2010 they will be on for only two nights (November 5th and 6th) with the usually quieter Friday night being scapped.

So what can we expect this year? The Birmingham Mail have news on the theme:
Birmingham Mail said:
Alton Towers' has announced a weekend -long Firework Spectacular for 2016.

The event is already one of the largest multi-media fireworks displays in the UK, and this year the two day Bonfire Night celebration will be staged on Saturday and Sunday, November 5 and 6.

Resort chiefs have also gone so far as to promise visitors that its intergalactic firework display will not only be a breathtaking one, but also its "biggest and best fireworks display ever".

The space theme has been chosen to celebrate the park's launch of Galactica, which is the world’s first rollercoaster that is "fully dedicated" to virtual reality to transport riders into another dimension, earlier this year.

The Galactica rollercoaster and other rides including TH13TEEN, Nemesis and Oblivion will be open as part of the Bonfire Night celebration.

This year's 20 minute fireworks display, choreographed to a selection of space themed music, will be delivered by multi award-winning Black Country firm Jubilee Fireworks, a company based in Dudley.

Rides will also be open in the dark until 9pm which will help to add "a whole different dimension to the experience".

Gill Riley, the resort's sales and marketing director, said: “With the launch of our new virtual reality ride Galactica earlier this year, our sensational space themed fireworks event will be an incredible way to end our theme park season.

"Following the voyage of Tim Peake, space has become at the forefront of peoples mind and we wanted to showcase this in the most captivating way possible”.
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Not too surprising that they've gone for a Galactica/space theme for the fireworks, it should at least mean that they are somewhat different to previous years.

I'm hoping that by only having two nights of fireworks there can be more money spent per night leading to a better show. In all likelihood though the budget may have simply been cut by a third.

:)
 
I heard about this last weekend from a friend, and apparently they are building a large portal similar to the Galactica one. Not sure where it will be located though. I'm still in two minds about this years fireworks, whether to attend or not. Cost savings were evident last year as they used more lasers than fireworks, and with all the cost savings this year, it does make me wonder what it will be like. Hopefully doing over just the two days will mean they can still afford to make it a good display.
 
It's an interesting one this year to say the least. With the park closed after the 31st October until the 5th, there's no changeover for us to see from Scarefest to Fireworks - we're just straight into it from the Saturday. Obviously we'll no doubt see some bits such as fencing etc cropping up in the coming weeks, but no sneak peaks of lighting this time around!

Two nights is a shame, as the Friday is always a fun one and a little quieter than the others but needs must this season I suppose! I can't see the enterprise returning again this year, as crazy as it looked, it never seemed to work exactly as I suspect they wanted it to last year. I'm hoping the same as everyone else - two nights meaning there's hopefully a (slightly!) higher budget for fireworks this year in comparison to last year. Decent music, lighting, fireworks and no gimmicks like the wheel please!
 
I have to laugh at @Kelpie, who booked the Fri, Sat and Sun off work back the start of the year when she realised this would be the first fireworks in the history of the world that didn't clash with remeberance parade. If only she'd bothered to ask me, I could have told her that Fail Friday was scrapped last year.

.... Love ya dear ;)
 
Bert2theSpark said:
Didn't Merlin file the trademark for the word Intergalactica? Could this be to do with the fireworks?
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The name "intergalactic" was trademarked for a "food or restaurant establishment". I believe it was the name originally planned for rollercoaster restaurant. I doubt it was anything to do with fireworks.
 
Craig said:
I can't see the enterprise returning again this year, as crazy as it looked, it never seemed to work exactly as I suspect they wanted it to last year.
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They planned for the huss spinner to rise from laid down position, however the hydraulic system failed and they locked it in position from the start.
 
I really struggle as to why they are only having the fireworks on only 2 nights. Surely 3 nights is more profitable? Last year the park was busy for the Friday and Saturday display, i can't comment on the Sundays though.

Surely the outlay on the fireworks for the one day is far less than the profit the resort makes. Just goes to show how super tight they are being with the purse strings.
 
Go by helicopter :D
Seriously stand on the grassy null across from the towers grill entrance, as soon as the fireworks finish move to the gates quickly. Before crowd management starts for exiting guests.
 
I've been undecided about the fireworks, but with no express parking (is that new?) and horror tales about exiting, I'm inclined to give up on the idea.
Just how long have people spent leaving the park?
Does the queue of traffic go all the way to Stoke on the way home??
I love fireworks, and have heard loads about how good the Towers ones can be...
but I hate sitting in jams.
...and I can't afford a helicopter!
 
rob666 said:
I've been undecided about the fireworks, but with no express parking (is that new?) and horror tales about exiting, I'm inclined to give up on the idea.
Just how long have people spent leaving the park?
Does the queue of traffic go all the way to Stoke on the way home??
I love fireworks, and have heard loads about how good the Towers ones can be...
but I hate sitting in jams.
...and I can't afford a helicopter!
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Traffic leaving last year wasn't to bad. Guess it depends if you wanna leave straight after the fireworks as that might be busier I'm not sure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last year one of the nights had a incident on the road outside the park. That basically shut the exit. So anything goes with traffic
 
Rob said:
I'm hoping that by only having two nights of fireworks there can be more money spent per night leading to a better show. In all likelihood though the budget may have simply been cut by a third.
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Sorry if this about to disappoint anyone, but actually the oppositte is true and having less nights of fireworks will mean the show will suffer greatly. Given that the show has already been trimmed down massively since 2012, it's looking pretty grim.

For the lighting and special effects, AV companies hire out equipment on a weekly basis, so the more shows you can put out during that time the more value for your money you get. This is why none of the shows since 2010 have compared to the old days, where you had 5-6 nights of fireworks. Likewise, spending £20k - £25k on a single special effect like a Water Screen is a massive expense when you're only getting 2-3 nights out of it. When that's spread out over 5-6 shows, the cost per show goes down considerably.

In the fireworks industry though, things work a little differently and you get more bang for buck by having a bigger show (or in Alton's case more repeat shows) because a lot of pyro companies work to the rule of 3rds. So 33% of your budget gets spent on product (there will be cases where its less or more however depending on the company). But for example, if you spend £2000 on fireworks you don't just get exactly double the amount of product that you would with a £1000 show, you actually get more, not just because of the rule of 3rd's but also basic expenses such as crew, vans, equipment etc has already been covered. It's kinda like bulk buying, and the entire contract would be treated as if it was one show. That show then gets split over multiple nights. When you have less nights, you don't get the benifit of bulk buying.

It's all pretty upsetting really, and I think a lot of people have lost interest in Alton's firework shows because if they're struggling to sell tickets for just 3 nights then it suggests something is seriously wrong when they were once able to pack out double that amount. It's not a weekend thing either, the old shows used to run during the week. I can remember going on a wednesday once back in 2003 and we gave up queueing for rides as the whole place was stupidly busy.
 
PeteB said:
Sorry if this about to disappoint anyone, but actually the oppositte is true and having less nights of fireworks will mean the show will suffer greatly. Given that the show has already been trimmed down massively since 2012, it's looking pretty grim.

For the lighting and special effects, AV companies hire out equipment on a weekly basis, so the more shows you can put out during that time the more value for your money you get. This is why none of the shows since 2010 have compared to the old days, where you had 5-6 nights of fireworks. Likewise, spending £20k - £25k on a single special effect like a Water Screen is a massive expense when you're only getting 2-3 nights out of it. When that's spread out over 5-6 shows, the cost per show goes down considerably.

In the fireworks industry though, things work a little differently and you get more bang for buck by having a bigger show (or in Alton's case more repeat shows) because a lot of pyro companies work to the rule of 3rds. So 33% of your budget gets spent on product (there will be cases where its less or more however depending on the company). But for example, if you spend £2000 on fireworks you don't just get exactly double the amount of product that you would with a £1000 show, you actually get more, not just because of the rule of 3rd's but also basic expenses such as crew, vans, equipment etc has already been covered. It's kinda like bulk buying, and the entire contract would be treated as if it was one show. That show then gets split over multiple nights. When you have less nights, you don't get the benifit of bulk buying.

It's all pretty upsetting really, and I think a lot of people have lost interest in Alton's firework shows because if they're struggling to sell tickets for just 3 nights then it suggests something is seriously wrong when they were once able to pack out double that amount. It's not a weekend thing either, the old shows used to run during the week. I can remember going on a wednesday once back in 2003 and we gave up queueing for rides as the whole place was stupidly busy.
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unless you have seen the budget spreadsheets you cant say for sure.
This years shows will be the best yet :)
 
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