Lack of guests so far this season?

[IanB]

*Team Edit*: Sorry to hijack your post, Ian - have moved a chunk of discussion over from the Smiler construction thread as not only was it off topic but is definitely an interesting matter to discuss in itself. Thanks! - Mags x

They need to get this finished like or they'll end up with their worst season ever.

I think this highlights a bigger problem.

The park is failing to convince people its worth re-visiting. All the cut backs, all the poor maintenance, lack of magic means people only want to visit for something new.

A park like Alton Towers should not need something new to get people coming back. There should be enough at Alton Towers, that makes people visit year after year, without having to have anything new.

Yes, its easy to blame the weather, and its easy to blame the new ride not being open, but when you look at what Towers has the potential to offer, does it need something new to sell it and get people to come back?

Ian

 

[TheMan]

Yes, its easy to blame the weather, and its easy to blame the new ride not being open, but when you look at what Towers has the potential to offer, does it need something new to sell it and get people to come back?

Ian

People don't forget. On the door prices are now astronomical - which does put people off, even at half price, the new ride isn't open which means budgets result in a choice to go later... but not everyone can go later, so their gate figures are suffering and will do, there has been nothing of thrill for many, many years - again, their latest offering being of an inconsistent opening time means potential visitors cannot book the time off in advance. That's no doubt screwed a fair few potential visitors over. You also have the complaints, cut backs, general state and feel of the park (which, contrary to what I personally believed, the public are noticing... this shocked me I will happily admit).

How many price rises did you spot this year?

That's the new kids game ;D

Building a new ride wont fix these issues either, only temporarily disguise them. Merlin have a big attitude problem, the public are now voting with their feet, and even record 2nd half of the season gate figures will be unlikely to even come close to matching SW6 year.

If they made a decision to make the park CHEAPER to enter whilst the delayed ride was, er, delayed, then it wouldn't have been a big budget issue.

Did half term not prove that? Busiest the park has been this season, hardly nice weather, was it?...

None of the decisions make sense to me, the come back for a £1 is a bunch of baloney for many as they CAN'T come back in that time frame.

Obvious stuff to me this, so I have no clue who is making the decisions, this stuff is just sales 101 for goodness sake - not even debatable.

 

[Towseriv]

I think this highlights a bigger problem.

The park is failing to convince people its worth re-visiting. All the cut backs, all the poor maintenance, lack of magic means people only want to visit for something new.

A park like Alton Towers should not need something new to get people coming back. There should be enough at Alton Towers, that makes people visit year after year, without having to have anything new.

Yes, its easy to blame the weather, and its easy to blame the new ride not being open, but when you look at what Towers has the potential to offer, does it need something new to sell it and get people to come back?

Ian

Or you could see that its down to shocking weather and shocking travel conditions and its as simple as that. Unless of course other attratctions are thriving? Nopenot thriving in fact many uk tourist sites are having issues so far this year.

 

[BigDave]

I know this is going off topic but I agree. Some of us are off to Roland's showroom over the next few days, yet they don't have a new ride. Its costing us a fortune to go, but the park is great and warrants a visit. Alton Towers for years has been loosing its magic and I think its getting to the breaking point now. Yes The Smiler will be a truly amazing ride, there is no doubt about that, but the park itself is still seriously poor. Theming damaged, rides not working as well as they should, high prices, poor service... the list just goes on and on. The thing is, this also proves that the park doesn't need to do massive major investments to get people in. They just need to concentrate on making the overall experience great.

In an attempt to get back on to topic, there was little construction today on park. Various managers seemed to be walking around the station area and hopefully they are driving the construction team hard to get the work done. In almost freezing conditions, I guess the moral of the construction team must be very low.

 

[delta79]

[The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Hearing rumours that another lorry arrived today, along with talk of rotating track!? Anyone got any pictures of it?

I've heard it was a Lipra Loof truck, Azerbaijan's Eddie Stobart rival.

Love it, i really do love it. and some people still fell for it after the Lipra Loof truck hint

----------EDIT------------

What is this doing in the lack of guests topic???? not one mention of guests!!!

 

[Rob]

To be fair, I don't think it's a case of them needing a new ride each year to get people coming back. It's probably more that people know there is a new ride but it's opening late, therefore if they only go once each year they want to wait for it to be open than go before it does. If there was no new ride then they wouldn't have to delay their trip. I think it is understandable that many people will want to wait until The Smiler is open.

 

[TheMan]

To be fair, I don't think it's a case of them needing a new ride each year to get people coming back. It's probably more that people know there is a new ride but it's opening late, therefore if they only go once each year they want to wait for it to be open than go before it does. If there was no new ride then they wouldn't have to delay their trip. I think it is understandable that many people will want to wait until The Smiler is open.

Yes exactly but if you made it cheaper to get in easier, it may tempt more in for a bonus trip. Everywhere offers sales when trade is low. You can build good brand loyalty up. Of course, it isn't just Merlin, as it costs loads in fuel to get anywhere too.

Things don't need to be cheap, but they do need to have value - and Towers with other costs on top have become one of those things people will do less. A dangerous market to be in, and have a premium price, at what needs to be a regularly visited attraction.

Other factors contribute of course, aside from The Smiler not being open etc, but half term was busier. Why? It was cheap - and even then attracted a fair amount of criticism by the GP.

Off topic really this is, but it wont have helped.

 

[josht]

They could do with a good summer, scarefest and fireworks after the smiler opens

 

[IanB]

Or you could see that its down to shocking weather and shocking travel conditions and its as simple as that. Unless of course other attratctions are thriving? Nopenot thriving in fact many uk tourist sites are having issues so far this year.

Its always fun to speculate, and of course you could be entirely correct. I do not have access to the guest survey figures, or insight in to the minds of Britain's around the country.

I just hate to think that Jo Bloggs would only visit Alton Towers because there was a new ride or attraction. I would like to think that the magic, and appeal of Alton Towers would be enough to make someone think, I had a great time today, I am going to bring the family back next year. I am not convinced this is happening, and that is why they need to really on a new ride to bring people back.

Now I am not saying, don't ever get anything new, far from that, but make sure when you deliver something new, it is special, magical, and enhances the park, and during the years of nothing new, improve what you already have, make sure things do not look run down.

While its easy to blame the weather, its not that simple, many other factors are contributing to the low attendance, and its the parks job to think outside the box (offering return for £1 is very much inside the box), and get people in while waiting for the Smiler to open.

Ian

 

[Spark]

Personally the parks price and cost once on park isn't a cheap day. And for a family it is even more so.

Its about time they reduced the main gate price, got rid of stupid gimmicks of come back tomorrow for a quid and made it common knowledge that it only costs £20 an adult to enter the place!

I know DMP are doing this, damn sight cheaper that AT's otg price.

 

[Adam]

Personally the parks price and cost once on park isn't a cheap day. And for a family it is even more so.

Its about time they reduced the main gate price, got rid of stupid gimmicks of come back tomorrow for a quid and made it common knowledge that it only costs £20 an adult to enter the place!

I know DMP are doing this, damn sight cheaper that AT's otg price.

This.

If the park can't see a link between pathetically high prices and low gate numbers, they need to wake up and realise that ripping people off isn't exactly the best business model for a theme park in a recession.

 

[Dave]

The only trouble with this argument is:

A) people came in 2011 when they had nothing new

B) every outdoor based attraction in the UK has struggled this last 2 weeks, its not just Towers.

I think people are putting their trip off until Smiler opens but with the 1 pound offer I don't think cost is an issue. It's just that most of Towers clientele unlike some other parks travel more than an hour to get there and if their not an enthusiast they don't wish to put the effort in to go more than once.

Don't get me wrong the tickets are a rip-off and parts of the park are rotting which doesn't help but a lot of the last 2 weeks is down to weather.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

I remember the first day of half term was quite packed - and this was on a day with most of the park closed. Considering this past March has been the coldest in years, with snow so thick there's still some on park (and with lots of rides unable to operate because of this), I'd really blame the weather rather than The Smiler not being open or the park losing it's magic.

 

[HaydenCR]

The only trouble with this argument is:

A) people came in 2011 when they had nothing new

B) every outdoor based attraction in the UK has struggled this last 2 weeks, its not just Towers.

I think people are putting their trip off until Smiler opens but with the 1 pound offer I don't think cost is an issue. It's just that most of Towers clientele unlike some other parks travel more than an hour to get there and if their not an enthusiast they don't wish to put the effort in to go more than once.

Don't get me wrong the tickets are a rip-off and parts of the park are rotting which doesn't help but a lot of the last 2 weeks is down to weather.

I have already been to Alton Towers once this year, and I will be hard pressed to squeeze in a visit in May, let alone Scarefest! It is a long journey from London, especially when yore going by public transport. London Midlands takes 2x longer and is absolutely hellish, but its drastically cheeper the Virgin (even with my exclusive 75% discount!.) Add shuttle bus and lunch and Alton Towers becomes an expensive place. Unless next time someone is willing to drive me to the place, Im really not sure i can be bothered to ride the smiler till October. Alton Towers just is not worth that much to me when I go by myself.

 

[BigDave]

Yes but you contradict yourselves. We are already saying that a new ride does not mean higher gate figures. As you have said 2011 had high gate numbers. So having The Smiler closed should not actually cause too many issues. People should be visiting because of the already decent ride line up, but they clearly are not.

In addition, Feb half term was busy, but gate prices were lower. The park got it right by lowering prices knowing half the rides wont be open and the people would be put off by the cold. In order to get people to come to the park while the smiler is still not ready, they need to lower prices.

 

[Rob]

Personally the parks price and cost once on park isn't a cheap day. And for a family it is even more so.

Its about time they reduced the main gate price, got rid of stupid gimmicks of come back tomorrow for a quid and made it common knowledge that it only costs £20 an adult to enter the place!

I know DMP are doing this, damn sight cheaper that AT's otg price.

Although I'm not sure what it costs to visit Drayton, here's a point to counter that. Drayton's guest numbers are down 50% compared to last year so far this season. So cheaper doesn't necessarily mean visitors. And it is not at all feasible for Towers to just cut the gate price to £20 and have no offers or promotions. They would suffer from this in the short term at least.

And yes, I would argue the main factor for the park being so quiet has been the weather. It's bitterly cold outside, hardly theme park weather. A lot of people won't want to spend days like this outside the whole time. It's a bad Spring for the outdoor leisure industry so far.

 

[TheMan]

In addition, Feb half term was busy, but gate prices were lower. The park got it right by lowering prices knowing half the rides wont be open and the people would be put off by the cold. In order to get people to come to the park while the smiler is still not ready, they need to lower prices.

Spot on, it represented perceived high value. What they did instead was raise the general gate price, in terrible weather, with an advertised ride being late and having no solid opening time.

And yes, I would argue the main factor for the park being so quiet has been the weather. It's bitterly cold outside, hardly theme park weather. A lot of people won't want to spend days like this outside the whole time. It's a bad Spring for the outdoor leisure industry so far.

That doesn't equate to Half Term though does it? It's already been proven they can get people through the doors, people were expecting the new ride - it has not happened. It's not that they are getting a new ride, it's that a planned ride is not yet open that people would be expecting.

If it was a season with no new ride, it would not be this quiet. It couldn't be, it's just not normal.

You need though as a business to react to these issues, and Merlin/Towers haven't. If you think that giving a significant on park reduced price of say £25 wouldn't have bought loads of customers in, then you don't pay enough attention to January sales lol!

People right now, go absolutely bonkers for a bargain and extra perceived value - if anything, it is more prominent in marketing, and more effective in getting people in, than it has been for over a decade.

They seem however to be plodding on like none of this is happening.

Guys, the economy is screwed, you need to react to it not ignore it like it isn't happening.

Be radical, get people in, sell a shed load of hot drinks and do something different till it opens and figures can increase - also, NO picture or marketing does that ride justice like standing next to it, that would create more buzz around the new ride too.

Real no brainer stuff in my opinion this is, no idea why it is even being debated. Pretty much business 101 really.

 

[Rob]

A point regarding Feb Half Term, don't forget that it was marketed heavily as an official Moshi Monsters event. I am sure that was the main reason it was so busy. The vast majority of people on park were families with young kids. Of course the cheaper prices helped, but Feb has always been cheap. This year Feb was far busier than normal.

 

[TheMan]

A point regarding Feb Half Term, don't forget that it was marketed heavily as an official Moshi Monsters event. I am sure that was the main reason it was so busy. The vast majority of people on park were families with young kids. Of course the cheaper prices helped, but Feb has always been cheap. This year Feb was far busier than normal.

Yes because people want a cheap day - that's the point. It was the perceived value. This year, that perceived value goes right down, not only because of the price rises, but because the thing those prices have risen for (natural logic) is not open - therefore, paying for something not getting.

So they needed to do something again, to do that - The Sanctuary was a step towards it, but not really marketed and certainly not new either. Yes, many of us understood that value and appreciated it being open, results suggest that public don't know enough about it to recognise that - plus it is a target market thing again with that.

The weather will not have helped, but the price rise set against a late attraction means people will be spending on different things instead. One trip instead of two, later, you can't squeeze half the seasons visitors on top of a second half busy season, without creating absolute pandemonium and again, unhappy visitors on park.

There hasn't been a strong enough reaction to placate the perceived lack of a major new attraction.

 

[Energetic_starfish]

to me its the little things that make a big impact,good or bad!
1) forever changing the refil cups
2) no longer free next day tickets if staying in the hotel
3) car park prices/priority parking even more ridic! i remember when it was a fiver!
4) public transport is a joke, no need as i have a car but i remember the buses were a pain in the ass from uttoxeter
5) time for some fresh paint, looks so tacky after a while in places
6) toilets are way outdated and in desperate need of a refurb
On a plus side one thing that always makes up a great visit is the staff, most/not all are excellent,especially some guy in guest services, a real merit to them,helped us so much,few ace freebies and fast track tickets always thrown in if we see him.top bloke!