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Stargazing Pods

Having read all the comments on the TS fb post with the photos of the pods, I don’t think there is actually one positive at all. With the majority of people saying it’s a pig farm or concentration camp with no way of looking at the stars.

Also seeing it in person it really is just pod after pod after pod. There’s no big green in the middle of anything like I imagined. At least with the enchanted village they are in smaller clusters. These are just line after line.

I’ve done some searching and there are some dates when Splash is only £20 more (and that has free towels) or even ATH or Lodges are not much more, where you get a room probably the size of four pods together, with a toilet and shower, full breakfast and it’s in a hotel!

I wonder how long before either the prices go really cheap, or it just becomes SBNO like most new additions added by Merlin.
 
Altonadvocate1 said:
Found it, JB1985 said he would eat his hat if they theme the tunnels on wicker man.

He's safe isn't he?
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No it was @Tuggerz that I'm still waiting for to eat his hat. See links below

I'll eat my hat if it doesn't open on Saturday, They'll be doing everything they can to make sure it has a successful opening.

You can hold me to the hat eating.
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Not looking good mate. I'm sure we can let you off with a skull cap ;)
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I regret everything
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I want to see a video of you eating your hat as proof :p
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Ask and you shall receive, Rules are if it doesn't open on Saturday at some point then the hat eating will commence...

Obviously even if it opens for 5 minutes then there will be no hat eating.
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I've my popcorn ready :p
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It never opened on opening day

https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/2018-wicker-man-general-discussion-spoilers-part-two.4687/
https://towersstreet.com/talk/threa...eral-discussion-spoilers-part-two.4687/page-7
https://towersstreet.com/talk/threa...eral-discussion-spoilers-part-two.4687/page-8

My popcorn is going out of date ;)
 
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BarryZola said:
I'm of the belief that they would rather leave them empty than rent them out for £50-60 a night. Feel free to quote me on this in future. I'll be waiting.
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I was kind of thinking / hoping the opposite. Put them up for a stupid price (like they have) then knock them down to half that to make it look like a good deal, when it is still overpriced and dreadful in reality.

If people think they have a bargain they'll have a much better opinion of the place than it deserves.

Or maybe Towers are truly deluded and think this is a goer at this price?

See also, everything everywhere priced to be discounted across all of Merlin.
 
I'm amazed that Merlin's shareholders aren't beating down the door to Tragic HQ and demanding Varney's head on a pike.
 
More fun will come when they make the inevitable cuts to the offering after the first year. History teaches us that it will happen.

I suspect that bedding will be removed and you will need to either rent that or bring a sleeping bag, the inclusive ‘breakfast’ will go too.
 
Surely this is fixable, they could retro fit a ceiling window in them?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Retrofitting a window in a curved tongue and groove roof is not straightforward...if you fitted curved windows, the cost would be horrendous, flat windows would look shoddy and would be tricky to get watertight.
It would also probably weaken their structural integrity...they would be far less rigid.
Doing the sensible thing and getting them manufactured that way would be cheaper, and more sensible.
But Merlin.
 
Varney: "Hello, Dobbies? Yes, we'd like to buy 200 stargazing sheds. What, the roof windows would cost how much? No no no, scrap that make them normal sheds."

Mmm: "Well we can't call it stargazing now can we?"

Varney: "Shoot, I've already spent the design budget on that concept. Go on Amazon and buy the cheapest telescopes you can find, we'll nail them to posts around the site."

Mmm: "How many shall we order, 1 per shed, 200?"

Varney: "Hell no, we dont have that kind of budget. Just get 5, don't go mad. people will have to share. Just dot them around the site."

Mmm: "What ppn shall we advertise them for? Similar sheds are £20 a night."

Varney: "What? That's practically free! Make it £120. It's Alton Towers, call it magical or some bs like that and people will pay our extortionate rates."

Mmm: "Brilliant idea sir, people are going to love this."
 
BarryZola said:
I'm of the belief that they would rather leave them empty than rent them out for £50-60 a night. Feel free to quote me on this in future. I'll be waiting.
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Agreed. It’s because they don’t want to cannibalise their pricing. Often if you offer various pricing levels for a similar experience, people will understandably choose the cheapest. By making the sheds too cheap, they can undermine their other room pricing.

Now, if you offer the sheds for a higher price and other rooms for a little more, people feel like they’re getting good value from the upgrade.

They’re effectively using the terrible quality of the sheds to make their other sub-par offerings appear better.
 
pluk said:
I was kind of thinking / hoping the opposite. Put them up for a stupid price (like they have) then knock them down to half that to make it look like a good deal, when it is still overpriced and dreadful in reality.

If people think they have a bargain they'll have a much better opinion of the place than it deserves.
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It works to a point but surely this is too far? It only works if at least one of the prices occupies that 'expensive but still within reason', or 'holiday prices' space. Like the standard entrance price is bad but the 2-for-1 price is pretty good, and as long as guests have at least a reasonable day they may even think the full price is ok, furthering the illusion of a bargain so that works.

But this is so obviously awful and so outrageously priced that I just can't see anyone thinking they've got value or a bargain. Seems like it's more of either delusion like you said or a gamble that they'll fillthem with people who'll just put up with it. Or maybe it is some sort of ploy to make the hotels and EV look better and better value.

I just can't work out who this development is for, and with their fetish for market research and KPIs I can't work out how they decided to do this. Towers seem to be aiming these days for the demographic that has enough money to happily pay over the odds to stay over and then continue to spend over the odds at the resort, but not rich enough to know the quality offered elsewhere. Or is it people who do know how much better the offerings abroad are but are too rich to care? Either way I can't see even the most chipper or whimsical of them putting up with this, which is neither camping or glamping, but somehow the worst bits of both. It's going to be a daily mini Fyre Festival and as hilarious as that will be I feel sorry for the staff who'll spend every shift constantly having endless yummy mummies demanding to speak to their manager.
 
It’s a shame they are so bad I’ve stopped in all the towers accomodation but can’t bring my self to pay to stop in that disgrace!
 
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