Skyscraper
TS Member
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couldn't you just wait for the next train?
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- Nemesis
The most unforgivable thing...
Yup, but if the speedypiss user is on a VIP pass they can sit there repeatedly, though admittedly they would come back into the station on the other platform, courtesy of Mr Mobius, and the gap between trains can often be the best part of ten minutes if the staff are taking their time, even if all four trains are in use, because of the crap KumbaK station system.
The busier the day, the more likely the train will be half full of queue jumper punters as it gets to the airgates, the trick is to not go for the front or back seats on busy days, as those seats are likely to be taken before the train gets into the station.
It is often the same with the Big One, they filter in the pass users via the exit, causing congestion, and if you are going for the "hot" seats, you wait longer. I kicked off (politely) when told I would have to wait a second time for a paid queuejumper, but raising the matter there and then with the ride supervisor meant I got on after a single pusher inner.
I even got queuejumped by Jonathon Ross on the Big One when he was switching on the 'loonymations, though at least he was man enough to apologise for doing it!
Very off topic, sorry.
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Coaster
TS Member
They had started loading SP differently towards the end of last year on National; people were filtered into the queue via a gate just past the scanner. I really hope they continue with this as it worked so much better.
Surely the first answer we should be giving to this question is their poor safety procedures and staff training prior to the crash. I mean, a court described them as "grossly inadequate" and they lead to a life changing accident. When you think about it, that has to be more unforgivable than ride closures (as bad as ride closures are) and whatever else.
Ted
TS Member
No one has mentioned this so far, but I hate the whole "resort" branding and feel Merlin shouldn't have done it. I feel it's not really needed as most people know about the accommodation, water park, spa etc that Towers already has and I've never met anyone who calls it "Alton Towers Resort" so what's even the point.
But at least it's not as bad as it for the other Merlin parks...
But at least it's not as bad as it for the other Merlin parks...
If they keep building more hotels and they keep on reducing the themepark line up along with the opening hours, then I think we will have no choice but call it a resort
Skyscraper
TS Member
yeah, it will be more like a holiday park than a theme park!If they keep building more hotels and they keep on reducing the themepark line up along with the opening hours, then I think we will have no choice but call it a resort
The fact that Alton Tower's are building a new roller coaster and very few people seem to be excited about it. I'm not entirely sure how its reached that point, and I don't think it's completely Merlin's fault, but I can't help thinking that they need to shoulder some of the blame.
BarryZola
TS Member
Closing off parts of the Towers permanently in recent years due to Scarefest activities. The only way I will forgive this is if the extra bits used during Scarefest are opened to the public again on normal days when this Scarefest malarkey is gone and done with (could be many years). But yeah, that's my personal one really.
Altonadvocate1
TS Member
A criminal waste of world class budgets to deliver, attractions lacking in imagination scale or build quality in recent years.
It's almost like a pound of Merlin money is worth a third of the value of real money.
I like thirteen, but £15 million, really.
Charlie and the Cardboard factory flawed in just about every way from day 1 (£8 million). The equivalent of taking a SLOW boat ride past a load of cardboard cut outs about as impressive as the one of Colonel Saunders at my local KFC.
Nemesis Sub Terra - I quite liked it after the improvements, but they could have got a lot more for 3 million (and as they have now left it to rot, it's even more of a waste).
Ice Age 4D So utterly lacking in imagination and costing another £3 million. 4D cinemas are boring, especially after you've done them once. The equivalent of watching one tenth of a movie at your local multiplex without the heating on, and with less comfortable seats.
Other parks can get far better attractions than these on far smaller budgets.
We have some of the best coasters in the world, but AT cannot trade on these forever, and they really need to deliver on midway attractions in their theme parks that appeal to kids too old for CBL and young at heart adults. Merlin seem to find this really difficult to do.
It's almost like a pound of Merlin money is worth a third of the value of real money.
I like thirteen, but £15 million, really.
Charlie and the Cardboard factory flawed in just about every way from day 1 (£8 million). The equivalent of taking a SLOW boat ride past a load of cardboard cut outs about as impressive as the one of Colonel Saunders at my local KFC.
Nemesis Sub Terra - I quite liked it after the improvements, but they could have got a lot more for 3 million (and as they have now left it to rot, it's even more of a waste).
Ice Age 4D So utterly lacking in imagination and costing another £3 million. 4D cinemas are boring, especially after you've done them once. The equivalent of watching one tenth of a movie at your local multiplex without the heating on, and with less comfortable seats.
Other parks can get far better attractions than these on far smaller budgets.
We have some of the best coasters in the world, but AT cannot trade on these forever, and they really need to deliver on midway attractions in their theme parks that appeal to kids too old for CBL and young at heart adults. Merlin seem to find this really difficult to do.
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Rick
TS Member
@Altonadvocate1 You don't really believe those budgets do you?
Indeed, but that is a somewhat awkward fact when you're in the "Merlin is bad, lets go back to the glory days" corner. I imagine it's like being at a UKIP conference.
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Altonadvocate1
TS Member
What, you're surely not suggesting that they exaggerate...
CoasterCrazyChris
TS Member
Yes but 2005 was the DIC ownership era so it's not really awkward at all, they were as bad if not worse than Merlin.
In fact 2005 was one of the worst years ever.
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Rick
TS Member
Bar the fact that it was introduced before the sale was completed - but let's not split hairs. I'm sure your memories aged 10/11 are crystal clear
I think some people underestimate, or at least misunderstand what Merlin attribute to a project budget.
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CoasterCrazyChris
TS Member
Bar the fact that it was introduced before the sale was completed - but let's not split hairs. I'm sure your memories aged 10/11 are crystal clear
It makes no difference at all who was runnning the place when it was introduced, both were trying to squeeze the park for everything they could get out of it, but if anything Charterhouse were worse than DIC and started the downward money grabbing slope the park ended up down around 2002/3.
As I'm sure you know during this period Charterhouse couldn't wait to offload the Tussauds group so they stuck any old rubbish in the parks to fatten up their value and squeezed every last drop out of them before flogging them to the highest buyer.
I do remember clearly going in 2005 age 11 and being disappointed seeing the Black Hole closed and the place generally having lost some of its spark.
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Thinking about it again, doing the sale and lease back with the land after buying Tussaud's ranks high up the list. They effectively expanded with money they didn't really have by buying attractions and selling off the land to fund the acquisitions. Merlin don't have a genuine monopoly, but it has substantially reduced the competition and put a lot of the UK's attraction eggs in one basket. It suspect it now means that it will be difficult for Thorpe Park and Alton Towers to make money regardless of who owns them. They're having to make a substantial amount of money each year just to lease the land the parks sit on, not to mention holding onto the growing collection of intellectual properties.
I was thinking about this the other day. It's definitely the least interest we've seen in a SW project at this point. There's clearly several reasons for this, but for me it's the TH13TEEN factor. Regardless of it being a woodie, the ride layout itself doesn't appear exciting enough to get too interested in. Of course, when the theme is revealed, plus any secret elements, this may change, but for now it's just a family friendly, bland woodie.
