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Major Operational Changes for 2018
- Thread starter Rob
- Start date
KingNemesis
TS Member
So Alton Originally planned to reduce ERT, and have half the rides open by 10 and the rest by 11.
Wait a minute, this will cause outrage, so let put it out there that we will have our major rides open at 12, everyone will complain, give it a week and then we will make it look like we back tracked to our original plan, and everyone is happy
"We're the good guys! Honest!"
I'm not falling for this "reversal", apart from the 12 pm being dropped to 11 am, the rest is the same, except reworded and not as specific. The original statement fits into this one fairly nicely...
Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
12pms to 11am (and some 11am will become 10am on busy days), Rapids are now open all season and they will extend ride close if guest numbers hit the required levels.
Olivus Prime
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Dire straights when it's considered a victory for one of the park's major family rides to be open all year...
KingNemesis
TS Member
12pms to 11am (and some 11am will become 10am on busy days), Rapids are now open all season and they will extend ride close if guest numbers hit the required levels.
And where is the money coming from to fund this, if the previous announcement was legitimate?
Either they've made cuts elsewhere, but what cuts could they have possibly made that would save that much money.
Or Merlin have given them a higher budget, in which case there really is internal fighting over the penny pinching, and this was a strategic move by Alton towers management which I don't think is good news.
Either way, the previous announcement was not really their plan, and was used to generate a backlash for their benefit. Transparent, especially given this year isn't the first time it's happened.
Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Oh man! I can't wait to see that 5:00 pm increased to 5:30 pm!
Better than nothing is it not?
I'm not saying everything is fine all of a sudden, because quite clearly it is not. However the situation is far better now than it was on Monday.
I still think 11am is too late for both of Dark Forest and Forbidden Valley to open (assuming that is the plan), but it seems like on busier days at least this will not be the case.
KingNemesis
TS Member
Better than nothing is it not?
I'm not saying everything is fine all of a sudden, because quite clearly it is not. However the situation is far better now than it was on Monday.
I still think 11am is too late for both of Dark Forest and Forbidden Valley to open (assuming that is the plan), but it seems like on busier days at least this will not be the case.
Oh I agree, to be honest I'm mainly playing devil's advocate... It is better but If I bought a product and it was faulty and then they replaced it with a slightly less faulty product, it's still broken just not as much and as a consumer, I'd still be annoyed with what I was given. People seem to be praising them for this "reversal" when it isn't really due.
Alastair
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Rise of the Resistance
The real depressing thing is the apparent internal battle between Merlin and Towers on this. It appears on the surface that Towers themselves have had to resort to harming their own reputation by announcing the previous cuts just so that they could secure more money. That is an absolute mess, and a shambles of a process - especially for what is supposed to be one of the UK's leading theme parks.
Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I suspect this is what Towers management wanted all along. Well not quite, ideally they'd like a budget that allows them to operate the theme park as most other theme parks are operated!
The way I see it is that they worked out the most realistic way of utilising the operating budget set by Merlin, which included dramatic cuts. They released this information earlier than they really needed to, hoping that they would get a huge amount of negative feedback not only from enthusiasts but from the public. This happened and they went to back to Merlin, it will have been escalated, and they have been allowed to have an increased budget and lessen the impact of these cuts. It would have been portrayed in a manner that meant the negative impact of the backlash was greater than the "positive" impact of cost savings from the initial cuts.
The way I see it is that they worked out the most realistic way of utilising the operating budget set by Merlin, which included dramatic cuts. They released this information earlier than they really needed to, hoping that they would get a huge amount of negative feedback not only from enthusiasts but from the public. This happened and they went to back to Merlin, it will have been escalated, and they have been allowed to have an increased budget and lessen the impact of these cuts. It would have been portrayed in a manner that meant the negative impact of the backlash was greater than the "positive" impact of cost savings from the initial cuts.
What a way to run a business I mean really it’s nuts...
A brand like Alton Towers shouldn’t be dragged through the dirt like this... or maybe that’s the Merlin Way.
The fact that we have all been proved correct about this roll back almost makes me as angry as the cuts in the first place...
it’s all so ridiculous!
I really want Towers do well this year, so all this penny pinching nonsense can stop, and they can move onwards and upwards... but with Merlin at the helm, I think i’d probably prefer some of the other parks to have their time in the limelight.
I mean really it’s nuts...A brand like Alton Towers shouldn’t be dragged through the dirt like this... or maybe that’s the Merlin Way.
The fact that we have all been proved correct about this roll back almost makes me as angry as the cuts in the first place...
it’s all so ridiculous!
I really want Towers do well this year, so all this penny pinching nonsense can stop, and they can move onwards and upwards... but with Merlin at the helm, I think i’d probably prefer some of the other parks to have their time in the limelight.
AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
The proof is in the pudding.
We barely saw any ride close extensions in 2016 or 17. Let's see some 30 and 60min ones this year. Let's see Valley open earlier on some days.
They need to communicate it very clearly each day.
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We barely saw any ride close extensions in 2016 or 17. Let's see some 30 and 60min ones this year. Let's see Valley open earlier on some days.
They need to communicate it very clearly each day.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
People are already posting on Towers Facebook saying “Thank you” so yes people are buying this
As @AstroDan said the proof is in the pudding.
Hmm.
So, Monday, they make a shocking, appalling announcement of cutbacks and late openings. Today, they reverse that (not completely), and suddenly people think that AT / Merlin are doing a good thing?
No. They aren't. FV opening at 11 is STILL two hours LATER than it has opened previously. Nemesis used to operate from 9am, with Air/Galactica & The Blade from 10. It's now 11 for them all, so even WITH this "resolution" which people seem to be rejoicing from the rooftops, we are still an HOUR behind! We lose an hour still!
As for celebrating the return of the Rapids throughout the year, it says it all when it's seen as a good thing that a permanent attraction becomes.... well... permanent......
Sign of the times.
So, Monday, they make a shocking, appalling announcement of cutbacks and late openings. Today, they reverse that (not completely), and suddenly people think that AT / Merlin are doing a good thing?
No. They aren't. FV opening at 11 is STILL two hours LATER than it has opened previously. Nemesis used to operate from 9am, with Air/Galactica & The Blade from 10. It's now 11 for them all, so even WITH this "resolution" which people seem to be rejoicing from the rooftops, we are still an HOUR behind! We lose an hour still!
As for celebrating the return of the Rapids throughout the year, it says it all when it's seen as a good thing that a permanent attraction becomes.... well... permanent......
Sign of the times.