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Stargazing Pods

Alton Towers released some new plans for this today where they appear to have done the bare minimum of changes to meet the recommendations set out by the council.

We've got some new concept arts which even if a little more convincing than before, frankly doesn't look great to be honest. The main "feature" appears to be the tree they cut down...

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Also a look at some of the "improvements" to the facilitating building... they've changed the window frames and the shape of the roof slightly, as well as some star and moon shaped decorations on the side of the building.
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And finally, the actual layout has changed. Still not particularly creative. And it doesn't change the fact that they look cheap and unimaginative... still just a load of plain garden sheds to me.

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This is honestly still a seriousely underwhelming project, even by Alton Towers standards. I can only hope it doesn't get the go ahead. :(
 
Please no.

They need to get their shambles of a Themepark operation sorted out first before they even think about adding anything else. At the rate they are going, there won't be a Themepark worth visiting, let alone worth staying over night at
 
Yes lets bring even more people into a theme park which is at breaking point now! If this doesn't clearly illustrate the point that Merlin are all about money and shareholders - and nothing to do with guest satisfaction then nothing will.
 
Croftybaby said:
Looks like a long walk if you're caught short in the night.
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My exact thoughts when I saw this. So how about 100 sheds, each holding say 2 people.... 200 people, and I count 8 toilets and 8 showers in the changing area...... hmmmmmm...... the whole area will stink of pee when people start using the trees and bushes closer to their sheds rather than walking miles and queuing for ages.
 
What an utterly grim development. Where to even begin with this after the aforementioned Varney quote about Merlin being the world leading developer of themed accommodation?

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Yeah, Nick. Absolutely no contest.
 
@Alastair I know this doesn't fit your narrative, but Europa allow you to sleep in an actual tent.

It's all about providing a variety of accommodation to suit needs and budgets. We had a great time when we stayed at Bell Rock, we had a great time when we stayed in the Legoland Germany barrels, did you not like them?

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Rick said:
@Alastair I know this doesn't fit your narrative, but Europa allow you to sleep in an actual tent.

It's all about providing a variety of accommodation to suit needs and budgets. We had a great time when we stayed at Bell Rock, we had a great time when we stayed in the Legoland Germany barrels, did you not like them?
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I'm well aware they offer a camping option. The point here isn't that they shouldn't have a similar offering at Alton Towers, it's the pathetically half-arsed and shoddy, boring effort they're putting into the aesthetic of it. It's quite literally some unthemed wooden huts that any old campsite can (and do) buy, on a grass field, with likely a prison-style changing/toilet block situated in an awkwardly far away location from the majority. How is this representative of a company claiming quite literally to offer the best standard of themed accommodation in the world? Seriously?

Can you even compare EP's offering to this development?

camp-resort_zelte-03.jpg
 
Alastair said:
Can you even compare EP's offering to this development?
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Do you need to? If you don't fancy it, don't stay there.

As for the claims with regards to being second best, you don't need any photos to know that's BS but it doesn't change what the accommodation is, stay there or choose not to. Plus, we still don't know exactly what they will be like.
 
There isn't just one bathroom facility for all those rooms, right?

(I don't mean one toilet, I mean one place place to shower/use the toilet)
 
@Rose Of Dawn - surely the capacity of said building is the important metric, not the total number of buildings? A building with 30 toilets and 30 showers is better than two smaller buildings with six of each?

I only recall one at Legoland but it seemed adequate, I don't recall waiting for either.
 
Rick said:
Do you need to? If you don't fancy it, don't stay there.
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I actually think the comparison with Europa-Park's Camp Resort is reasonable. Both are budget options, with communal washing areas. The big change we seem to know of is that Europa has Silverlake Saloon (which attracts people not even staying at the campsite) whereas this place will have a burger van.

We can't comment on the quality of the theming as we don't yet know what that theming will be in reality. But for everything else they've shown, it's certainly lacklustre - and can't hope to compete with parks that know how to do quality accommodation.
 
@Rose Of Dawn I meant do you need to compare it on the basis that if I am going to Alton Towers, I can't stay at Silverlake Saloon. If I am going to Europa Park I can't stop at Splash Landings.

If you're going to choose one or the other and only visit one park, that's fair enough, but that doesn't seem to be likely given their geographic location.

I don't understand why it's any different than me saying "I am not going to Alton Towers because it's not as good as DisneySea" - it doesn't make any sense to me?

Some things are better than other things.
 
I think the problem is we all know that Merlin could do much better with this accommodation (not considering the fact it isn't even needed), but they have made the decision not to invest the money that it deserves, and as a result, we get 100 garden sheds, tipis, and burger vans... there's just such a distinct lack of quality...

I don't think it is really a case of making comparisons with DisneySea or Europa to be honest, more so that even by Towers own standards, this is bad. Really really bad. :(
 
Robert.W said:
I don't think it is really a case of making comparisons with DisneySea or Europa to be honest, more so that even by Towers own standards, this is bad. Really really bad. :(
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If they suck when they open, or inferior to the Legoland ones, I'll agree. Until then, I'm not on board.

Everyone hated Wicker Man when the plans came out, how did that end up?
 
GaryH said:
My exact thoughts when I saw this. So how about 100 sheds, each holding say 2 people.... 200 people, and I count 8 toilets and 8 showers in the changing area...... hmmmmmm...... the whole area will stink of pee when people start using the trees and bushes closer to their sheds rather than walking miles and queuing for ages.
Click to expand...

Rose Of Dawn said:
There isn't just one bathroom facility for all those rooms, right?

(I don't mean one toilet, I mean one place place to shower/use the toilet)
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AT86 said:
Yes just one.
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It will be just like staying at home, teenagers hogging the bathroom for hours on end in the mornings whilst everyone else is queuing up outside, all running late for the day :eek:

@Ricky remember If you're arguing on the internet, you've already lost. ;) :p
 
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