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The Alton Towers Dungeon

Log Flume's Dennis said:
Haha yeah. I wouldn't believe my luck! First day at the applications office and my first job is to consider my underground log flume, which I submitted the day before at my previous job of rides inventor
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That wouldn't be allowed though, due to Conflict of Interest rules. ;)
 
How about a log flume where the layout takes you inside a lumber mill where the logs get cut in to pieces with the riders inside.
-World's first ✔
-Dark and grizzle idea/concept ✔
-It's very immersive; you feel like you're getting cut in half, because you are ✔
-Can get the IP of the local forestry company ✔
There we go

TheAverageNerd said:
I actually think that this would be the best outcome for this whole situation. Some elaborate theming and actual history could make for a very nice area, maybe with a museum to show off some relics of Alton’s past too.


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I agree that it would, but we'd be getting ahead of ourselves if we were expecting anything decent like this. Would the the members of public who visit Towers currently appreciate this, or are they coming here currently for roller coasters? I'm certain older generations 50+ would appreciate this, and they are probably put off by the atmosphere that Towers currently gives off. If the gardens were promoted more, and a themed area was made to replace CCL that included exhibitions on Staffordshire history, and a themed tearoom, animatronic/wax figure show and dark ride was created, then I think maybe the demographic could change/expand. Merlin are far too cautious to do anything like this though.
 
The budget for next season is going to be, what, £3m? Standard low-ish budget for a post-SW year, which is fine.

For £3m - are we really going to get the best themed immersive indoor Dungeons experience?

I think not.

Buy 2 new flat rides and refurbish Toadstool fully instead.

Honestly. This project is the probably the most absurd thing Alton Towers have ever tried to do. Why the hell build a Dungeon in the park at the moment?!? Idiocy.
 
Craig said:
Then he's lying to you something rotten :tearsofjoy:
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He's been right about things in the past. I appreciate without any evidence it's just a rumour but I can't stress how adamant he is that a Space Jam themed area is on its way.

I also appreciate an underground log flume is unlikely, but the Space Jam thing I am slightly more confident about, so there's no saying they couldn't have a Space Jam dungeon. Or maybe not even the whole ride, it'd be quite cool if the dungeon had a scary, historic theme then the last room you get to play basketball with Bugs Buny
 
On a serious note, let's keep this topic sensible please! Dungeons is a tried and tested formula, almost an IP within itself. You'll not see another IP bolted onto it, and certainly not something from a comedy film from over 2 years ago.

I'm all for speculation, but let's try and put some thought into posting before hitting reply - thanks :)
 
Log Flume's Dennis said:
He's been right about things in the past. I appreciate without any evidence it's just a rumour but I can't stress how adamant he is that a Space Jam themed area is on its way.
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Surely if he was telling the truth he wouldn't actually tell you as he would be bound by confidentiality/secrecy rules? ;)
 
Sauron97 said:
...Merlin are far too cautious to do anything like this though.
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Give credit where credit is due though... they weren't that cautious when they gave the green light for a £16m wooden rollercoaster 3 or 4 years ago - the first in the UK for 20 years - against all market research that said generally the public don't like woodies as they see them as unsafe. In that instance, that's not Merlin being cautions IMO.
 
As much as I like the idea of this "cross-pollenation" of Merlin Brands, and I most certainly see why this makes a perfect business decision - I'm not sure something like this would fit in at Towers right now.

Surely there are enough dark themed areas at Alton Towers by now, I'd love to see Merlin go for something different and perhaps make a logical decision with the guest experience in mind. As I see it, what they don't have is an area for those who don't want to go to CBeebies Land but don't want the larger rides and attractions - surely this is what the next investment should be - they're missing a huge gap in the market!

This project could well work, but the timing is completely out; they also need to actually have enough staff to get the park running well as is, let alone with an attraction which is guaranteed to be staff heavy.

What they need is a re-development of CCL, and this is not what that re-development should be, that area should be re-developed into an area which suits the market I highlighted above. Or even if it's not that, buy some flat rides to absorb the crowds, for heaven's sake!
 
The way that I see it, Alton is a theme park. I don't want to see Alton turn into London's south bank. Before you know it, they will be adding a Shrek attraction and a giant viewing wheel, they might as well add a wax work museum while they are at it.

I don't like the idea of CATCF being turned into the dungeons, it really needs to have a good family boat ride for all ages to go back into it. They need to make Alton great again, instead of chipping away at what was once a great theme park and replacing it all with a one fit all approach carbon copy of what they already have in London.
 
I wouldn't mind betting that the market research was subliminally carried out in a way that would prove their results to be true. And let's not forget, up until very recently, Varney was flat out saying it was never going to happen and was a pointless investment that only catered for enthusiasts, so clearly they were being very cautious. It took ages before they'd realized that there were wooden coaster successes not only in the states (obviously) but also closer to home. Wickerman is a great ride and a good investment I accept that, but as someone said a while back on the Wickerman thread just after it opened (can't remember who), it really is like a flower in a pile of dirt. Wasn't the CAPEX cut again this year anyway (?), so whilst WM might have been a large investment independently, the overall budget at Towers went down.

Cheap rethemes of older areas in Towers right from the outset in 2008
Ridiculous formulaic marketing strategies; you don't have to look very far to see people mocking them for this here on TS...
Midway clones on a national and international scale
Cutbacks at the slightest sign of market uncertainty

I really don't see the argument that Merlin are big risk takers. If they were, I think Alton Towers would be a very different looking place now. And for that reason, I doubt that the end product here will be anything to get excited about.
 
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