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Monorail Refurbishment

RoyJess said:
I'm sure that they would want to be the worlds first o_O
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Lol - never thought of that....

On a serious note I can’t any major changes to the monorail within the next 5 years. New owners are going to want to review all rides and infrastructure before they change anything major. Then there is planning for these changes.

I would say though the hotels need more link with the main park. The best way is to move the entrance and build a entertainment complex. Would be sorry to see towers street go though.
 
One of the things that makes Towers for me is the location. Unfortunately this is also one of the biggest issues - getting people to the park.
delta79 said:
Where would they put off site parking?

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I know it's ambitious and perhaps unrealistic, but if they could build an entertainment, leasure and shopping 'village' down by the A50 - incorporating year-round attractions, shops and even a 'discount' hotel and link it to the park somehow (such as with a monorail and busses). The freed up land from the carpark (and perhaps some of the meadows) could be then turned into something along the lines of a golf course.
 
The main problem with the idea of off-site parking is getting people on-site. Realistically, the only way that would be even vaguely affordable would be to use a fleet of buses, but these would cause absolute mayhem on the narrow roads to the park (anyone who has travelled to Towers by bus/coach and met another one coming the opposite way will probably have encountered this problem).

They are lacking in on-site parking as it is though, given that they've recently built accommodation on a good chunk of their grass car parks, they now have to use M & N with far fewer cars on site than just a few years ago.
 
John said:
The main problem with the idea of off-site parking is getting people on-site. Realistically, the only way that would be even vaguely affordable would be to use a fleet of buses, but these would cause absolute mayhem on the narrow roads to the park (anyone who has travelled to Towers by bus/coach and met another one coming the opposite way will probably have encountered this problem).

They are lacking in on-site parking as it is though, given that they've recently built accommodation on a good chunk of their grass car parks, they now have to use M & N with far fewer cars on site than just a few years ago.
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The only way that would work is if the area was a one way system which wouldn't exactly be popular.

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Jb85 said:
Lol - never thought of that....

The best way is to move the entrance and build a entertainment complex. Would be sorry to see towers street go though.
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I would not say that is the best way at all. It would certainly be the most cost effective way but certainly would not be the best way.
 
What they should do is make a nice entrance at Galactica for hotel guests and annual pass holders only. That would certainly help monorail capacity, only issue with that is all guests then have to wonder right across the park to get to CBeebies land, etc.

If not they should make a proper walking route to the entrance. Get rid of the road to the Galactica car park and make it for pedestrians only. Do a similar style to the golden race pathway, however under cover would be nicer, with proper lighting and audio, and a path that can cope with capacity as the path now is not big enough when the monorail is broke.
 
What I think they should do is understand that sometimes money has to be spent to build the overall experience, not every penny spent has to be justified by a direct return on investment. Europa Park and Disney are good examples of this.

Europa Park is a thriving business. The Mack family and management are quite clearly in it for the love of what they do, with the business side second. Their attention to detail has built something amazing. In turn, the popularity and reputation from the public perspectice has exploded, this has directly benefitted the business side. I bet the ROI percentage of a place like Europa is far higher than any Merlin park could ever dream of.

Then there is Disney, probably as ruthlessly corporate as Merlin. However, they understand their market and understand the value in what they do very well within creating the experience.

I have probably explained that really bad, the 2 cents is basically this. Alton doesn't need the monorail, but it is one of the things at Alton that help create a real good day for general punters. You drive up with no rides in sight, then board a monorail to the entrance of a special day out. However, as with everything, because Merlin wont get a direct return on investment from it, it will be gone. No regard for the overall experenice and how that could impact the bottom line.

Not everything has to make money and if they balanced that right they would probably make more money then they would now. Never going to happen with Merlin in it's current state though.

Sad, because Alton Towers was and could he world class.

If my favourite Caribbean bar stopped serving coktails with those little umbrellas in the glass. Or I walked into a decent bar on a Friday night that stopped playing music to save on licenses. Sucre I would get what I went there for, but the experience would be less.
 
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Merlin have spent money on both the monorail and the Skyride in the past, the company has of course changed dramatically since those days, in the build up to being listed as a public company and ever since 2013 when they became one things changed. Every investment needed clear returns for shareholders or it didn’t happen.

This is one potential positive change of the purchase of the company and taking it back private, and they did allude to that fact when the deal was accepted, that being a public company has meant they cannot make the kind of long term investments they might want to.

So there is a glimmer of a chance that in the coming years there could be a change of culture and a return to some much needed investment in aspects of the park like the monorail. I’m not holding my breath mind, just have to wait and see.
 
It would be nice if the recent change of ownership results in things like the monorail receiving investment.

It would be a huge shame to lose it or the Towers Street entrance. As an alternative I agree with the above that investing in a proper path from the hotels to the entrance would be a good alternative if the monorail absolutely has to go.

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DistortAMG said:
The Mack family and management are quite clearly in it for the love of what they do, with the business side second.
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I'd go a step further and say they are even better at business than Merlin because theyve made a massive success without sacrificing value for money or the overall guest experience. Most people would fail at doing that, it's quite a feat! Merlin's parks have been around nearly as long but they could only dream of having such a foundation to fall back on now, built up over a long period of time.
 
I get why people mention Europa Park and Disney, however, Towers will never be a match for them and it is down to catchment area. Go to Europa and you will hear almost every European language - people go because it is a welcoming place. Do you really thing the UK is that welcoming to European guests? Is there anyone at the park who will happily engage in their language. Add in Brexit, where we are actually breaking ties with Europe. Towers will never be more than a seasonal park and investment will reflect this. Plus, they actually have public transport going to the door!
 
ScottishChris said:
I get why people mention Europa Park and Disney, however, Towers will never be a match for them and it is down to catchment area. Go to Europa and you will hear almost every European language - people go because it is a welcoming place. Do you really thing the UK is that welcoming to European guests? Is there anyone at the park who will happily engage in their language. Add in Brexit, where we are actually breaking ties with Europe. Towers will never be more than a seasonal park and investment will reflect this. Plus, they actually have public transport going to the door!
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I disagree, towers has assets that should counter the nagatives, it has amazing gardens and a historical house/towers. The monorail is a massive part to me that makes is a resort. Chessington and thorpe are definitely not
 
SuperMuscleMan said:
I disagree, towers has assets that should counter the nagatives, it has amazing gardens and a historical house/towers. The monorail is a massive part to me that makes is a resort. Chessington and thorpe are definitely not
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This! Monorail is an absolute part of the experience getting into Towers, it adds to the excitement no matter if you've been once or a hundred times. There's nothing like getting the monorail (and seeing out of the windows eh ;) )Nemesis and the coasters before your eyes, it gives you a glimpse of what you're about to experience and intensifies ye'old Magic that used to be and still is delivered (IMO) to the whole park.

Keep it, invest in it as it'a absolutely part of the magic, history and experience of the park.
 
Perfect example here of how Merlin are such a crap theme park operator.

There is absolutely no pride in the appearance of the parks, there is no excuse for a company the size and scale of Merlin to allow attractions to operate in this state.

Especially one that gives the first impression to millions of guests to one of their flagship parks.

 
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