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Stargazing Pods

One potential chance of this not being a disaster when it comes to capacity of bars/restaurants is that a couple years back it was a medium/long term plan to open FV in the evening for hotel guests - including entertainment on the former Ripsaw site, rides and Rollercoaster Restaurant. Perhaps they could reopen Refresh @Ripsaw for another food option in the evenings too.

I won’t hold my breath of course, but you never know.
 
...They wont...​

Anyway, I cant wait for the big media episode where families complain because of gay/lesbian/ect couples showering together to save themselves the hell of another hours queue/fight to the death...for a basic, uncomfortable, probably cold, dirty, wee soaked shower...And the sequel where Merlin get accused of oppression for stopping these couple showers!

2019 is going to be a fun year!:)
 
Britford said:
...They wont...​

Anyway, I cant wait for the big media episode where families complain because of gay/lesbian/ect couples showering together to save themselves the hell of another hours queue/fight to the death...for a basic, uncomfortable, probably cold, dirty, wee soaked shower...And the sequel where Merlin get accused of oppression for stopping these couple showers!

2019 is going to be a fun year!:)
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Eh? Why on earth would any of that happen?

Apart from the showers being dirty of course, that’s a given.
 
You will probably have to book a time slot for the showers when you check-in. Annual Pass holders can prebook in advance online for an extra pound.
 
Yet more accommodation for a diminishing ride lineup

If it carries on like this then AT will consist of 59 hotels 500 pods and cottages (if that’s what you call them) and 6 coasters

Oh and crazy golf

It really is taking the piss calling it a resort. Build some evening entertainment for the accommodation you have first....
 
This thread is painful. We've been up in the Lakes camping this past weekend for a couple of nights in the big family tent, the place was ram jammed with people using accommodation and facilities far less palatial than what is planned here. It mystifies me why people think there isn't a market for them. I don't buy that people necessarily want something different or something 'more' when visiting a park. It's along the same lines as glamping.

As someone who was brought up going on holiday to Butlins and Pontins, staying in chalets with paint peeling off the walls and kettles that exploded, these are a big step up vs. holiday camp chalets or camping, if they're similar to the Legoland barrels - which I presume they are (Merlin only produce cookie cutter attractions blah blah blah).

As for infrastructure, catering facilities etc - I guess the jury is out on that. Flambos has been closed more than its been open - that may change, RCR has put a huge dent in the hotel eateries since it opened.

I actually wonder if RCR could potentially be another breakfast venue eventually - it doesn't take a lot of work to make it so.
 
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@Rick Making RCR a breakfast facility could be a good idea! Having your breakfast delivered to you by rollercoaster would be a real novelty, and it could be really popular! It would also ease the burden on the hotels AND it would be hugely useful if they were to put FV on ERT instead of Wicker Man and Spinball, because people could literally step out of the restaurant and go on Nemesis or Galactica!
 
Rick said:
This thread is painful. We've been up in the Lakes camping this past weekend for a couple of nights in the big family tent, the place was ram jammed with people using accommodation and facilities far less palatial than what is planned here. It mystifies me why people think there isn't a market for them.
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It's the obsession that Merlin have with accommodation that irks people.

Merlin want to increase the number of visitors by increasing their catchment areas. That makes sense, except they:
  • neglect their theme park, the principle reason people are visiting;
  • already opened a hotel with 76-rooms just over twelve months ago; and
  • have to close Splash Landings hotel for half of the year due to insufficient number of visitors
And regarding the barrel accommodation... it seems Merlin want more people to stay but they are not prepared to put in the money or effort, especially around infrastructure, entertainment, bars and restaurants. They will do the bare minimum they can get away with. To be honest I'm surprised they don't allow guests to sleep in their cars or bring their own tents for a small fee.
 
@Alsty They just built a multi-million pound roller coaster - it's not all about accommodation, it's a hybrid of both because the model that they are operating requires both.

I hate the word 'neglect' when it comes to theme parks, it's needlessly melodramatic and is better served when referring to situations with cuildren and animals where there is real neglect occuring.

But - if you insist on the terminology, if the park is 'neglected' less people will visit and both the new and existing accommodation will remain empty. That is the exact opposite of what I have seen this year.

They built Cbeebies Hotel (with a pretty cool restaurant) to cater for a very specific audience. They also opened RCR which provides higher capacity in that space.

Further, it's also about diversifying your accommodation. If you can generate repeat visits by offering different accommodation experiences throughout the year, that has revenue opportunities associated with it too.

I haven't experienced issues getting a beer or food when staying on property - if anything it's actually been pretty quiet, particularly in the evenings. You do have to book Breakfast early if you want specific times but that's no different than the countless hotels I stay in for work. You can't expand your capacity to cater for all your guests to eat at the same time, it just isn't viable.

Merlin have expressed their vision to the financial community and anyone else who will listen. Accommodation is a key part of that and with very few exceptions it seems to be paying dividends.

Accommodation works if you have a product or products that people want to experience over multiple days - it works for us. We've done it at Chessington and Alton multiple times and will continue to do so.
 
Rick said:
@Alsty
I haven't experienced issues getting a beer or food when staying on property - if anything it's actually been pretty quiet, particularly in the evenings.
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Youve been very lucky! There are an increasing number of reviews on TA where people have been unable to get a table for dinner until stupidly late at night despite seeing empty tables in the restaurants. Except for Flambos of course as the food is so dire you can just walk in and get a table.

As for ATH, the number of times the queue has been out of the entrance to the Dragon Bar with people giving up even bothering to wait in it to get a drink.

But like I said, maybe its due to the days you have been in the resort when its been quiet.
 
@GaryH maybe so. When we visited in June I went straight to Dragon's Bar with no wait each time we got a beer. The only wait was the changing of the barrel on the Goose IPA!

Like we have discussed before, our Flambos experience was overwhelmingly positive. Perhaps it's inconsistent?

Splash is showing as £158 for a midweek break next week. Considering that - I'll report back if we do.
 
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