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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-24

I feel a little like some people are blinded at times. To replace two rides with some caravans selling overpriced crappy food isn’t an improvement in my eyes. Not when I compare to the park AND hotels now to the past.

I dunno , maybe things have got so bad that we see the arrival of some caravans as an improvement now. Nemesis aside, yes there are a few developments for next year, but the core fabric of the place is broken.

I would rather see them fixing the core product than build new stuff at the moment so at least I know I can visit or stay at Alton numerous times during the year and have the same great experience every time. Nemesis is lovely and shiny but it doesn’t detract from the general quality of the offerings when considered in their entirety, and especially the price charged.

Anyway like I said, don’t take my word for it, have a read through the TA reviews for the hotels, restaurants, waterpark and theme park.
 
GaryH said:
I feel a little like some people are blinded at times. To replace two rides with some caravans selling overpriced crappy food isn’t an improvement in my eyes. Not when I compare to the park AND hotels now to the past.
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I feel some of the blame and responsibility has to be held by certain popular influencers. If you use your platform to express your dislike of the retro rides to thousands of viewers then Towers will feel pressure to remove them to relieve backlash. I think sometimes using a platform just to take advantage of your power and forcing the park into decisions is silly
 
rob666 said:
Blame the influencers???
Get real.
Blame the owners.
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Influencers demanding changes and forcing decisions is what results in parks rushing and not making the correct decisions. Criticise the retro squad all they want but don’t demand that towers remove them
 
Ethan said:
Influencers demanding changes and forcing decisions is what results in parks rushing and not making the correct decisions. Criticise the retro squad all they want but don’t demand that towers remove them
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Not sure how you can determine that is what caused the park to remove the rides. I'd assume/hope they're sensible enough to analyse the overall reception to them beyond an impulsive response to a few prominent voices.

Equally the park removing three rides with nothing ready to replace them falls completely on them. I'm sure they hoped Nemesis and Hex would cover the shortfall, a risk which arguably hasn't paid off.
 
Much better this morning, all coasters open. Congo seems to have water filling right now too. Asked about Sub terra opening today or tomorrow, got a firm nope!
 
Ethan said:
Influencers demanding changes and forcing decisions is what results in parks rushing and not making the correct decisions. Criticise the retro squad all they want but don’t demand that towers remove them
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Incorrect.

The parks can make informed decisions without the input of influencers. They were doing it long before these influencers were even particles, and will continue to do so long after they're reduced to landfill.
 
GaryH said:
I hardly call 4 caravans in X Sector selling overpriced food a refreshed line up. It’s just filling the gap where rides once stood.

And all this stuff coming….. that’s fine when it’s finally built and open but as it stands at present, for the cost of the visit, it’s very poor.
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I agree they should have kept the retro squad for one more season as much as I hated them. I think they gambled on Hex and Skyride opening and lost the bet.
 
Ethan said:
I feel some of the blame and responsibility has to be held by certain popular influencers. If you use your platform to express your dislike of the retro rides to thousands of viewers then Towers will feel pressure to remove them to relieve backlash. I think sometimes using a platform just to take advantage of your power and forcing the park into decisions is silly
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I think you're vastly overestimating the influence vloggers have over parks. I very, very much doubt Merlin is watching them and thinking "...best remove these rides because ___ doesn't like them."
 
cloudburster said:
I think you're vastly overestimating the influence vloggers have over parks. I very, very much doubt Merlin is watching them and thinking "...best remove these rides because ___ doesn't like them."
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I think bloggers have an influence in terms of marketing new rides and brand awareness. Once you start getting into opinions buried in 45 minute videos you’re looking at a significantly smaller demographic.
 
As I understand it, those rides were on a three-year lease, and the park were obliged to return them to the people that owned them after that time.

In theory they serve no purpose anymore as they were brought in only to cover for reduced capacity due to social distancing, which is no longer an issue. The park has enough rides and attractions now, they just need to start operating them properly. Using temporary rides to mask abysmal ride availability is not the way to go.
 
when they removed them the park probably thought hex and skyride would be back quicker however issues caused longer closure - do you think the park is closing them to spite people??

yes the rest of the availability should be better i agree but the retrosquad isn't the answer, remember twistatron also had prolonged downtime
 
Alexsniff7 said:
I do know for a fact though if retrosquad wasn't removed everyone here would still be complaining about them
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Now come on, In your opinion...
Some of us never gave a damn about them in the first place, simply took one look and walked away.
And I was not the only one by a very long way.
They were useful to distract some from the main ride queues.
That was the total benefit for me.
 
Danscott22 said:
Separate note, it looks like the issue with the Rapids is one of the drums that gets the boats onto the lift hill. Is anything known about Sub Terras reason for closure? Or what the issue is with Hex that has clearly delayed it by months?
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The roating capstan? Rapids can usually operate with one of them. Plus, the only need to turn them on to clear the backlog of boats when they are are all piled up at the start of the day and indeed some rapids do operate like that. River Rapids at Drayton being one, they are switched off for most of the day in contrast to Alton Towers. Poor reason to shut the whole ride if it's just for that.
 
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NuttySquirrel said:
As I understand it, those rides were on a three-year lease, and the park were obliged to return them to the people that owned them after that time.
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I think a few people have said similar and it seems likely.
NuttySquirrel said:
The park has enough rides and attractions now, they just need to start operating them properly. Using temporary rides to mask abysmal ride availability is not the way to go.
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I disagree that the park has enough rides and attractions now, Ripsaw hasn't been replaced (but we know its coming), Enterprise not replaced, Submission not replaced, Charlie&choc is now an up-charge attraction, 4D/Cuckoo theatre is sat empty, pirates show wasn't replaced. Generally I don't think there has been a net increase in the number of attractions in the last ten to fifteen years, almost every new thing was a replacement. Only slight addition has been the shows on the lawns during peak periods, plus a couple of CBeebies things that didn't replace anything (like Go Jetters and Furchester Hotel).
I agree that operations need to improve too, but they also need to replace all the empty plots.
 
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