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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-25

Nemesis has closed due to an unexpected delay, but hey, at least I jave a good view..
 

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Bowser said:
Seems like AT is increasingly becoming a park where you have to rely on fast pass and/or off season dates to stand a chance of a good day.

I remember as a teen we’d often visit for Easter as our sole annual trip and it wasn’t even a consideration of not being able to get on all the rides you wanted.
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Was like that in the 90's never used to go thinking what rides will be working....

If stuff doesn't work tomorrow there will be trouble ;)
 
Bowser said:
Seems like AT is increasingly becoming a park where you have to rely on fast pass and/or off season dates to stand a chance of a good day.

I remember as a teen we’d often visit for Easter as our sole annual trip and it wasn’t even a consideration of not being able to get on all the rides you wanted.
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I think the most obvious point that there was simply more rides to choose from. A concept that Merlin do not understand.

Don’t ever recall being in a queue line in the 90’s and having a ride go down. We used to queue for Black Hole for hours and it just kept going (despite being ancient).

I was casually giving tips to someone at work on what to do as they were visiting Friday. It dawned on me shortly after the conversation finished that the park shouldn’t have to be a pre-planned mission where only the ones who know the downfalls and advantages have a good time. As well as the ones who spend on fast track.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
I have no idea how anyone can wait 157 mins for anything?!
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Haha, especially not Thirteen!

We were iffy on doing it at 100 but we knew it would be busy today regardless and my daughter wanted to go on it, so we thought why not whilst it’s actually operational and everything else was down pretty much! Obviously, had we know we’d be in there an hour more on top we’d have never joined the queue. You do get to a point where your thought process is “we’ve come this far”.
 
Blackhole_Sun said:
I think the most obvious point that there was simply more rides to choose from. A concept that Merlin do not understand.

Don’t ever recall being in a queue line in the 90’s and having a ride go down. We used to queue for Black Hole for hours and it just kept going (despite being ancient).

I was casually giving tips to someone at work on what to do as they were visiting Friday. It dawned on me shortly after the conversation finished that the park shouldn’t have to be a pre-planned mission where only the ones who know the downfalls and advantages have a good time. As well as the ones who spend on fast track.
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You'd think there would have been fewer rides back then too (though probably fewer visitors too).

But yeah your last line nails it really and it's quite sad we now have an entire industry of influencers providing "theme park hacks" for certain locations that have become otherwise unmanageable.

I know i keep coming back to it but it's such a relief visiting a park like Paultons where you simply turn up and get to go on all the rides. That really should be the bare minimum they strive to offer.
 
Bowser said:
You'd think there would have been fewer rides back then too (though probably fewer visitors too).

But yeah your last line nails it really and it's quite sad we now have an entire industry of influencers providing "theme park hacks" for certain locations that have become otherwise unmanageable.

I know i keep coming back to it but it's such a relief visiting a park like Paultons where you simply turn up and get to go on all the rides. That really should be the bare minimum they strive to offer.
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Alton Towers historical attendance data

Annual attendance figures for Alton Towers. Explore the popularity of Alton Towers over the years.
queue-times.com queue-times.com

Bit of an eye opener to be honest. They actually get less now than they did late 80's and mid to late 90's

Also interesting to see that the only new rides that have had a significant impact on attendances after the Corkscrew has been Nemesis and Thirteen. Just shows how little footfall they gained from the Smiler as well, along with the crash it really highlights what a poor investment it has been for the park.
 
Went to AT for the first time in ~10 years.
Didn’t actually ride anything.. (planned as won’t actually fit on anything at present or for a while - but trying to motivate myself to walk more by going to places I enjoy being / experiencing so the map will help more than a national trust pass!) - the monorail and sky ride being down certainly helped with the step count!

Now it was busy and rides kept dropping out and back up but they seemed to be getting things back up quickly. Though there was a lot of head scratching on Wickerman’s lift hill at one point.

I think the thing that stood out the most was the low number of trains everyone else has mentioned.
In general.
Air seemed sluggish on getting trains out.
As did smiler on its two train special (i think)
Also Smiler had one very rattley/ squeaky train going round..

It was my first time seeing wicker man but there seemed to be spurts of action.
It would send train after train consecutively, and then just stop for a bit.

We did notice a behemoth of a queue for guest services early on and several signs saying sold out of RAP, so I assume a very busy day there not helping with wait times.

All told a nice day and the team members we encountered were bubbly and friendly.
 
RIPCorky said:
Also interesting to see that the only new rides that have had a significant impact on attendances after the Corkscrew has been Nemesis and Thirteen. Just shows how little footfall they gained from the Smiler as well, along with the crash it really highlights what a poor investment it has been for the park.
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It is worth noting that in the other cases, the park was coming from a far lower prior base in terms of guest figures. Part of the reason why Nemesis and Thirteen were both able to get attendances to over 3 million could be because both 1993 and 2009 had relatively favourable guest figures up in the high 2 millions, so the park had a higher base to increase guest figures from in the first place.

Those figures suggest that The Smiler brought in around 200,000 additional guests in its opening year, which I would hardly call "little footfall" or extrapolate as meaning a lack of success or that the ride was a flop for the park. I struggle to see how 200,000 additional guests can be referred to as much other than a big success, personally.

To be honest, I think that that data shows that most of Alton's major coasters have been relatively successful at stimulating guest figure increases. If you look at it coaster by coaster:
  • Wicker Man: 2017 attendance was 1,860,000, while 2018 attendance was 2,200,000. Therefore, Wicker Man increased attendance by 340,000, or 18.3%.
  • The Smiler: 2012 attendance was 2,400,000, while 2013 attendance was 2,600,000. Therefore, The Smiler increased attendance by 200,000, or 8.3%.
  • Thirteen: 2009 attendance was 2,680,000, while 2010 attendance was 3,080,000. Therefore, Thirteen increased attendance by 400,000, or 14.9%.
  • Rita: 2004 attendance was 2,120,000, while 2005 attendance was 2,190,000. Therefore, Rita increased attendance by 70,000, or 3.3%.
  • Air: 2001 attendance was 2,170,000, while 2002 attendance was 2,670,000. Therefore, Air increased attendance by 500,000, or 23.0%.
  • Oblivion: 1997 attendance was 2,890,000, while 1998 attendance was 2,900,000. Therefore, Oblivion increased attendance by 10,000, or 0.3%.
  • Nemesis: 1993 attendance was 2,850,000, while 1994 attendance was 3,310,000. Therefore, Nemesis increased attendance by 460,000, or 16.1%.
So if you look at that, I would hardly call The Smiler a resounding failure compared to Alton's other coasters. In fact, I'd still call it a decent success, even if not the largest success of the crop, perhaps.

Looking at that, the most lacklustre performer was actually Oblivion, which increased attendance by a relatively meagre 10,000, or just 0.3%, despite having the highest base attendance to work with from the year prior.
EDIT: It is worth noting that the post-2020 figures on that site come from a different source, the TEA index. The Merlin graph showed 2020 as being closer to 1,000,000 and 2021 being somewhere in the ballpark of 2,350,000, despite that site giving lower figures for those years. 2022 and 2023 figures from the Merlin graph are not yet available.
 
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Matt N said:
It is worth noting that in the other cases, the park was coming from a far lower prior base in terms of guest figures. Part of the reason why Nemesis and Thirteen were both able to get attendances to over 3 million could be because both 1993 and 2009 had relatively favourable guest figures up in the high 2 millions, so the park had a higher base to increase guest figures from in the first place.

Those figures suggest that The Smiler brought in around 200,000 additional guests in its opening year, which I would hardly call "little footfall" or extrapolate as meaning a lack of success or that the ride was a flop for the park. I struggle to see how 200,000 additional guests can be referred to as much other than a big success, personally.

To be honest, I think that that data shows that most of Alton's major coasters have been relatively successful at stimulating guest figure increases. If you look at it coaster by coaster:
  • Wicker Man: 2017 attendance was 1,860,000, while 2018 attendance was 2,200,000. Therefore, Wicker Man increased attendance by 340,000, or 18.3%.
  • The Smiler: 2012 attendance was 2,400,000, while 2013 attendance was 2,600,000. Therefore, The Smiler increased attendance by 200,000, or 8.3%.
  • Thirteen: 2009 attendance was 2,680,000, while 2010 attendance was 3,080,000. Therefore, Thirteen increased attendance by 400,000, or 14.9%.
  • Rita: 2004 attendance was 2,120,000, while 2005 attendance was 2,190,000. Therefore, Rita increased attendance by 70,000, or 3.3%.
  • Air: 2001 attendance was 2,170,000, while 2002 attendance was 2,670,000. Therefore, Air increased attendance by 500,000, or 23.0%.
  • Oblivion: 1997 attendance was 2,890,000, while 1998 attendance was 2,900,000. Therefore, Oblivion increased attendance by 10,000, or 0.3%.
  • Nemesis: 1993 attendance was 2,850,000, while 1994 attendance was 3,310,000. Therefore, Nemesis increased attendance by 460,000, or 16.1%.
So if you look at that, I would hardly call The Smiler a resounding failure compared to Alton's other coasters. In fact, I'd still call it a decent success, even if not the largest success of the crop, perhaps.

Looking at that, the most lacklustre performer was actually Oblivion, which increased attendance by a relatively meagre 10,000, or just 0.3%, despite having the highest base attendance to work with from the year prior.
EDIT: It is worth noting that the post-2020 figures on that site come from a different source, the TEA index. The Merlin graph showed 2020 as being closer to 1,000,000 and 2021 being somewhere in the ballpark of 2,350,000, despite that site giving lower figures for those years. 2022 and 2023 figures from the Merlin graph are not yet available.
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I think it's a far assumption to assume that all attendance increases are due to new coaster investments, Air had a largely mixed reception (that has stayed throughout its entire lifespan) yet by those statistics it is the most successful. Your analysis ignores the impact of other variables, and I'd say 2001 to 2002 attendance increase being down to tourism recovery post-9/11 rather than purely down to the investment in Air.

Furthermore, attendance figures don't directly correlate to bigger profits, when you analyse it from purely an attendance perspective. You ignore the more holistic reasons for coaster investment, such as improving a theme park experience overall or even helping increase spend, by making customers dwell for longer or having a strong brand on which you can sell a strong range of merchandise.
 
The Smiler has not been a good investment for the park at all. The cost, the aftermath of the crash, maintenance costs. Not a success by any stretch. Any gain in guest numbers can be offset against losses in 2015 onwards.

Having it on two trains would be utterly painful. Seems to be an issue plaguing most rides this year. They are one small issue away from a one train service in which case it may as well close.
 
RIPCorky said:

Alton Towers historical attendance data

Annual attendance figures for Alton Towers. Explore the popularity of Alton Towers over the years.
queue-times.com queue-times.com

Bit of an eye opener to be honest. They actually get less now than they did late 80's and mid to late 90's

Also interesting to see that the only new rides that have had a significant impact on attendances after the Corkscrew has been Nemesis and Thirteen. Just shows how little footfall they gained from the Smiler as well, along with the crash it really highlights what a poor investment it has been for the park.
Click to expand...

That is interesting!

Also I’d imagine the season was much shorter in the past so those higher visitor numbers would have been crammed into a shorter timeframe I.e. busier days.

The defence will be “the rides are more complicated “ but these rides are replicated across Europe and the US and the big players don’t seem to have as many problems, with many operating true 365 seasons.

WickerMan is a 5 year old wooden coaster!
 
Bert2theSpark said:
I think it's a far assumption to assume that all attendance increases are due to new coaster investments, Air had a largely mixed reception (that has stayed throughout its entire lifespan) yet by those statistics it is the most successful. Your analysis ignores the impact of other variables, and I'd say 2001 to 2002 attendance increase being down to tourism recovery post-9/11 rather than purely down to the investment in Air.

Furthermore, attendance figures don't directly correlate to bigger profits, when you analyse it from purely an attendance perspective. You ignore the more holistic reasons for coaster investment, such as improving a theme park experience overall or even helping increase spend, by making customers dwell for longer or having a strong brand on which you can sell a strong range of merchandise.
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Everything you say is completely true, but with that data, there isn’t really any other information available. Had there been more information, I would have used it.

And to an extent, I’d argue that at least some of the attendance increases in a big investment year can usually be attributed to said big investment.

I do ask, though; did 9/11 really affect domestic tourism in the UK? I was under the impression that it mostly affected international tourism, particularly to the USA. With this being the case, I’d have imagined that Alton Towers may have benefitted from it, if anything; the park has often had a tendency to perform better during recessions, as seen in 2008/2009.
 
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Matt N said:
Everything you say is completely true, but with that data, there isn’t really any other information you can draw from it.

And to an extent, I’d argue that at least some of the attendance increases in a big investment year can usually be attributed to said big investment.
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Hmm I'm not so sure about that. I would say investing in a new rollercoaster and say the Haunted House and RMT in 1992 pretty much guarantees an increased attendance. If it didn't then they wouldn't build new rides. If these attendances were not important then Merlin would not record them.
jibbsie said:
also a note with the smiler is the public may have felt burned after 13's marketing and it was delayed
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Don't buy that, build it and they will come....
 
Matt N said:
I do ask, though; did 9/11 really affect domestic tourism in the UK? I was under the impression that it mostly affected international tourism, particularly to the USA. With this being the case, I’d have imagined that Alton Towers may have benefitted from it, if anything; the park has often had a tendency to perform better during recessions, as seen in 2008/2009.
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9/11 and the 2002 World Cup, hosted by Japan and South Korea, both had negative effects on international tourism to the UK. Both events are credited as giant nails in the coffin for Cats on the West End, along with theatre land generally struggling in that period (American and Japanese tourists made up a lot of the audience share, you try getting a ticket for Broadway).

I don't know how much impact they had on the theme park industry. If I were to guess I'd say minimal, in terms of international tourism. We do know, however, that there was a small increase in domestic tourism post 9/11, with people being afraid of flying for a bit, along with the additional airport checks that were making going abroad more stressful and time.

If you were going to run some historical statistical analysis on the visitor numbers, I'd be keen to include the rise of broadband access and home video game entertainment systems in your data. With people more readily able to easily and immersively entertain themselves at home, you might expect a drop in overall visitor numbers.

This is getting quite off topic though!
 
Blackhole_Sun said:
Having it on two trains would be utterly painful. Seems to be an issue plaguing most rides this year. They are one small issue away from a one train service in which case it may as well close.
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They would never run it on 1. The queue would be 5 hours they would just close the ride
 
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