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The Retrosquad: General Discussion

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Squiggs said:
I think it would be a really good use of an SW-sized budget.

Adding a significant number of attractions in a single season, which fill the obvious gaps in the park's line-up, could provide a really strong marketing campaign to bring in new/lapsed guests. A 'compilation' style advertising campaign (in a similar vein to the famous 'Magic Map' add from the 90s) could do the park wonders right now to draw back their lost audience (just so long as they fix some of the real-world problems that have driven those gusts away first)
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Totally agree

To get back where they were this is needed, existing rides refurbed and cleaned, more food types and kiosks and daily shows / parade.

I have to say, if I had billions and brought the asset as it is now, I’d consider closing for a year to do all this and relaunch properly. It seems to me now like there is too much broken, and not enough time or money to do it.

Alton didn’t need lots of new rides, it just needed to maintain them instead of taking them away
 
Imagine around 8 attractions, fully themed, collectively using an SW budget added over the next 4 years. Alton would look like the gift that keeps on giving to general punters. That's almost half a decade of new additions to keep people coming back. Every season something new and marketed. Every season a "New for 20--".
 
Matt.GC said:
Imagine around 8 attractions, fully themed, collectively using an SW budget added over the next 4 years. Alton would look like the gift that keeps on giving to general punters. That's almost half a decade of new additions to keep people coming back. Every season something new and marketed. Every season a "New for 20--".
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It’s definitely a great idea - if they’re flats stick 2 in a year and then give us the new SW in like 2027 or something
 
I really enjoyed funk n fly, been while since I rode one. Fun, fairly mild intensity, quick loading. Good themepark fodder. Installed permanently and themed in keeping I'd be very happy for it to stay.

And while I don't want Bon Jovi in Forbidden Valley (or anywhere else really), I loved the volume, clarity and how much bass the soundsysytem has. Impressive for outdoors, and puts the sound on the rest of the park to shame.
 
Rather than messing about with the rather mediocre set they have now, can we have this replacing Enterprise please?

 
Just spent some time looking through the archives.

It may be nostalgia, but they need to bring back areas like UG Land, and Cred Street.

Bright and fun places with plenty of ride options. On my latest visit this year the place felt depressing. Took my lads for the first time and they just didn’t have the same love and enthusiasm for the place like we had.

I think we as a community should start some sort of petition….. get over 100,000 signatures and get this discussed in parliament. What Merlin have been allowed to do is criminal.
 
If you want to share ideas such as new themed areas and attractions of your own, I've already made a thread about it here:

Your Theme Park Ideas and Concepts

Hi there people. As many of us Theme Park Fanatics/Enthusiasts have an obvious passion for Theme Parks, that being obvious, I've always wondered if some of us out there have had an idea or 2 for Theme parks or specific attractions on what you would do with them, like rethemes or flat out new...
towersstreet.com towersstreet.com
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think Tussaud’s ran Alton Towers so much better than merlin.
Like it’s 30 years next year since I 1st went to Alton Towers and it’s so much different to what it is now. Like when a attraction was moved or retired it was replaced by a new attraction. Like to replace Submission, Ripsaw and the wave swinger with travelling funfair rides is a joke.
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Been 34 years since I first went. In that time it's gone from Glorified Funfair pretending be to a World Class park to World Class park and then back to Glorified Funfair pretending to be a World Class park (only this time with some aging B&M's).
 
Actually, if you think about it from a railway perspective, you'll find out that both Towers and British Rail in the 1980's at this moment in time share a shocking amount of similar points and not for good reason.

The Retrosquad and the infamous Pacer trains were both intended as cheap stop gaps until they had a permanent solution, alas, the Pacers lasted longer than intended a were hated by many and I'm seeing the same regarding the temporary but possibly permanent nature in due course.

Towers itself could be seem as BR itself in which during that time spend money on some certain things that led to much ridicule and were pulled quickly such as the tilting train for BR and for Towers being NST. Merlin itself could be viewed as the government of the day in which they, much like with BR, they have been strapped for cash to invest in things that should be done and honestly a lot of BR's problems of the day mostly could have been solved had they had the funds needed which instead of a rail network is a park that is needing funds for a major overhaul.

Not to say that all is bad though, Nemesis retrack is akin to the success of Network South East of the day and how the staff despite being put through a lot of crap do manage to find a way to get through and honestly given how those on top run things, those in the bottom deserve major credit.

There is probably far more things that both Towers and BR share in common but honestly the more you think about it, the more you can't unsee the striking (no pun intended due to recent events) resemblance all thanks to some funfair rides that I fear might overstay their welcome.
 
I think it's clear the retro-squad are out of place and should be gone next year. Towers really should get one or two very high capacity flat rides and look at adding more in the coming years. Towers should be a high quality theme park not a fun fair with some old B&M's, they're half way there put having temporary fun fair rides completely degrades the experience, it might not be something the public are going to recognise instantly however it certainly leaves a worse impression then if all the rides looked like they fitted in.
 
Danscott22 said:
“Some old B&Ms” do they not stand as high quality? Nemesis, Oblivion and Galactica all might be getting on but people still love all 3!
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Indeed they do, some of the best of there kind. I was actually taking the phrase from something @Matt.GC said the other day although he said it in a completely different context, I was using a similar analogy. However they have little to do with the fact Towers is moving in the funfair direction with the cheap out of place looking rides.
 
Do you think the park would receive much negative feedback, either at guest services or on online forms about the temporary flats? I’m just concerned that if not, the resort management would think they can continue getting away with it.

SW9 - a travelling Pinfari…
 
s_g_k said:
Do you think the park would receive much negative feedback, either at guest services or on online forms about the temporary flats? I’m just concerned that if not, the resort management would think they can continue getting away with it.

SW9 - a travelling Pinfari…
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To be honest I don’t think your average general public punter really cares that the park are using temporary funfair rides that look and sound out of place instead of having permanent flats, it’s only us enthusiasts that really care about things like that.
 
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