Olivus Prime
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
To start - this isn't a thread intended to bash either Merlin or DIC for the sake of it. I'm just interested in Towers' (and by extension, Chessington and Thorpe's) history of ownership and operation.
I have seen a few instances in different threads across a couple of discussion boards now of people claiming that Merlin's ownership of Alton Towers is still nowhere near as neglectful as how Tussauds were during their later days (particularly under DIC's ownership), which brought a period of almost no investment or interest in the guest experience.
But looking back at closed season archives, there seemed to be a comparable amount of work being done on the park at the time as there is now, if not more. The 2004 closed season in particular saw complete repaints of both Oblivion and Nemesis' stations, the latter of which had to be spread over three years under Merlin's management (though admittedly with better results).
For those who have been familiar with/visiting the park since Tussauds' ownership (I only first visited in 2009), can you explain your thoughts on how the park was being managed/operated by the end of their ownership? And do you think things are better or worse now?
I have seen a few instances in different threads across a couple of discussion boards now of people claiming that Merlin's ownership of Alton Towers is still nowhere near as neglectful as how Tussauds were during their later days (particularly under DIC's ownership), which brought a period of almost no investment or interest in the guest experience.
But looking back at closed season archives, there seemed to be a comparable amount of work being done on the park at the time as there is now, if not more. The 2004 closed season in particular saw complete repaints of both Oblivion and Nemesis' stations, the latter of which had to be spread over three years under Merlin's management (though admittedly with better results).
For those who have been familiar with/visiting the park since Tussauds' ownership (I only first visited in 2009), can you explain your thoughts on how the park was being managed/operated by the end of their ownership? And do you think things are better or worse now?