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Goodbye Blade…

If Towers was getting three new flat rides (as it should) this wouldn't be an issue. I think a new Pirate ship in Mutiny bay would make sense but the removal of Fabios leaves Walliams world pretty desolate. That area surely can't have long left.

Capacity is going to be a big issue next season with parks of the park woefully unbalanced.
 
I guarantee this has nothing to do with its age and everything to do with staffing costs.

If Skyride opens next year and Hex stays open then the staffing numbers for new ride, hex and Skyride will be around the same as those used for Flávio’s, blade and dungeons.

Merlin will have cut the operating budget for 2025, probably because Blackstone wants their ROI. With the other cuts and closures across Merlin it’s clear something is going on.
 
Didn't Blade have an extensive refurb a few years ago?

If it does appear for sale, its removal will only anger people more.

This whole year-by-year short-term approach does not work. It’s becoming a case of ‘what rides will still exist next year’.
 
Skyscraper said:
Or, even slimmer, the theatre/4D cinema could return.
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I was at Legoland recently and it was pouring so the 4D cinema was absolutely rammed. Fairly high capacity, one person operated (i think), indoor option for adverse weather and no "queue" per se. It's such an easy option, especially considering it's already built.

Why did it close in the first place?
 
Bowser said:
I was at Legoland recently and it was pouring so the 4D cinema was absolutely rammed. Fairly high capacity, one person operated (i think), indoor option for adverse weather and no "queue" per se. It's such an easy option, especially considering it's already built.

Why did it close in the first place?
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The massive benefit they have from a cost perspective with Legoland is they can pay for a 4D film and roll it out at all their parks worldwide.

For Towers it means paying for a film and then only using it at one attraction. This thing is smack in the middle of TWODW and so logic says any film would need to be from that IP.

It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, it’s just harder to stack up the business case and make it pay.
 
Dave said:
Merlin will have cut the operating budget for 2025, probably because Blackstone wants their ROI. With the other cuts and closures across Merlin it’s clear something is going on.
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I'd appreciate it if Blackstone realised more people would go to the park if it didn't give off the impression that it was steadily dying
 
We all now need to embrace what will become the majestic Overgrown Hollow, a glorious testament to neglect.

It’ll sit there gathering moss until they forget it could ever hold a ride again.
 
All this talk about Universal but It would be a absolute travesty to lose Alton Towers, driving past the plot of American Adventure brings an overwhelming sadness to see all those years of dedication to theming, rides, craft and unique experiences just gone to nothing. Be careful what you wish for is all I will say, when the likes of nemesis is just an overgrown “stoned” car park.

Ideal world I would want a American company like universal to boot Merlin out and buy Alton Towers, its always had great potential and it’s a truly unique and exciting landmark for the uk that we really should be proud of. Unfortunately, and understandably we’re not but we’re all here so we must all still vote for the park deep down and appreciate the unique attractions and setting that is there.

If it wasn’t for recent projects like the Wicker, Curse and the new forbidden valley. I would have lost a lot more optimism, but it shows when the budget is there they are more than capable to deliver high quality, unique and immersive escapism with original themes unlike other parks.

I’m kind of not looking forward to the forums in 2025 and I might have to have a break unfortunately
 
TBoy535 said:
All this talk about Universal but It would be a absolute travesty to lose Alton Towers, driving past the plot of American Adventure brings an overwhelming sadness to see all those years of dedication to theming, rides, craft and unique experiences just gone to nothing. Be careful what you wish for is all I will say, when the likes of nemesis is just an overgrown “stoned” car park.

Ideal world I would want a American company like universal to boot Merlin out and buy Alton Towers, its always had great potential and it’s a truly unique and exciting landmark for the uk that we really should be proud of. Unfortunately, and understandably we’re not but we’re all here so we must all still vote for the park deep down and appreciate the unique attractions and setting that is there.

If it wasn’t for recent projects like the Wicker, Curse and the new forbidden valley. I would have lost a lot more optimism, but it shows when the budget is there they are more than capable to deliver high quality, unique and immersive escapism with original themes unlike other parks.

I’m kind of not looking forward to the forums in 2025 and I might have to have a break unfortunately
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I think the only thing people truly want is for Merlin to pull their metaphorical thumb out of their backside and stop at least appearing to take one step forward and two back every single time.

I never got to go to American Adventure but have similar fond memories of Camelot and Flambards. No one ever wants anything to fail but the motivation has to come from management to draw people in.
 
AT86 said:
The massive benefit they have from a cost perspective with Legoland is they can pay for a 4D film and roll it out at all their parks worldwide.

For Towers it means paying for a film and then only using it at one attraction. This thing is smack in the middle of TWODW and so logic says any film would need to be from that IP.

It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, it’s just harder to stack up the business case and make it pay.
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Didn't it close several years before Walliams?

Plenty of other parks have 4D cinemas without having to roll out the film elsewhere to make it work. One of them is Thorpe Park, owned by Merlin, so technically they could potentially even use an existing film they have if the budget is that tight.

I suspect the cost of obtaining a 4D film is rather low in the grand scheme of things, especially if it's not custom made for the park. Even Drayton have one and it's a far more elaborate cinema than the Legoland version.

Appreciate the point about the IP but equally i think it's a bit generous at this point to think that Merlin's dedication to theming continuity is a major consideration. I'm not sure exactly where the theatre is in the park, is it only accessible by entering through Walliams?
 
Bowser said:
Appreciate the point about the IP but equally i think it's a bit generous at this point to think that Merlin's dedication to theming continuity is a major consideration. I'm not sure exactly where the theatre is in the park, is it only accessible by entering through Walliams?
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Yes only accessible from Walliams area.

I am not particularly referencing Merlin’s dedication to continuity, more the restrictions placed on them under their IP contract. I cannot imagine it allows a non Walliams IP to be included in an area called ‘The World of David Walliams’.

It would be like sticking a CITV themed attraction in CBeebies Land.
 
I'm not even sure what to say at this point. It's not a suprise that Blade and Falvios are going. It's not a surprise that The Dungeons are going without a replacement. It won't be a surprise that they'll leave Walliams World and X Sector in their current pathetic states, with Forbidden Valley a no-go area for younger families.

It's all just so sad, and another benchmark in this resort's steady long-term decline. A new low, and we seem to hit them time and time again.

I don't know where this will end. Where is the bottom?
 
AT86 said:
Yes only accessible from Walliams area.

I am not particularly referencing Merlin’s dedication to continuity, more the restrictions placed on them under their IP contract. I cannot imagine it allows a non Walliams IP to be included in an area called ‘The World of David Walliams’.

It would be like sticking a CITV themed attraction in CBeebies Land.
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Probably quite easy to change the boundaries of Walliams world though (contractually permitting, of course)

Move the entrance archway to the right-hand side of the Cinema, and move the Carousel back into the smaller area. That way, the cinema sits outside of WW, and WW doesn't have any non-Walliams IP.
 
If I’m being honest, I’ll admit that the latest round of cuts baffles me.

I know 2024 was said to not be the best year in terms of visitor figures and income, but surely it wasn’t that bad either? There were still plenty of days where the park seemed decently busy, whereas if I think back to, say, 2015-2017, the park spent much of that period between the Smiler crash and Wicker Man’s opening absolutely deserted.

Yet despite this, it feels like the knife of cuts is possibly coming down as savagely as it ever has. In the wake of 2015, I understood the reasoning behind cuts, as visitor figures did absolutely plummet, particularly in the immediate period following the crash. But from an observer’s perspective, 2024 has not seemed like the dismally quiet seasons post-crash, and if Merlin’s latest attendance graph is to be believed, it’s coming off the back of two record attendance years in 2022 and 2023.

So unless the link between guest figures and income has truly been severed beyond recognition, then I’m struggling to see the justification for such savage cuts.

As for the closures themselves; Flávio’s is the only one that really surprised me. Blade has been on borrowed time for years, and I doubt anyone was really that sad or surprised to see the Dungeons go. It is nonetheless disappointing to see two family-friendly flats go without replacement, but if we’re being optimistic, replacements may hopefully come.

My key concern is that the park seems to be becoming increasingly “all or nothing” in terms of the thrill level it caters for. It’s been said for years, but that key demographic of “too old for CBeebies, too young for the Big 7” is now very squeezed at Alton Towers, and I think the removals of Blade and Flavio’s arguably make this problem worse than ever.
 
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