The Sinking Ship: (Un)Love Letters to Merlin

[GaryH]

Ive just got back from a 2 week holiday and havent the time to read all 7 pages but all I will say is this....

Those of us who remember visiting the park in the 80's and early 90's will definately without any doubt tell you that the park has gone hugely downhill the past few years. Those younger ones who have only been visiting a few years may not share the same view because they dont realise just how much of a magical place it really was back then.

Sadly - all Merlin are interested in is the strong profit now rather than guest satisfaction and it makes me laugh they refer to tripadvisor, because the past year or so in particular when you look at theme park, hotel, waterpark reviews have decreased in satisfaction hugely. The hotels in particular get awful reviews - people are paying for what they believe to be a premium product and basically getting worse than a travellodge.

2016 has to be the worst I can ever remember it for the park, and lets face it, things got pretty dire under Tussards towards the end - we can only but hope that Merlin are going to sell the parks on to a better company who will actually throw some money into them.

 

[andeyhart]

Ouch, that's a bit assumptive isn't it? Assuming the cause of the accident was due to an unhappy member of staff.

It was referring to the fact that Merlin were found guilty of poor working practises, which reflected on the performance levels of their staff. The members of staff working on the ride made major errors that may be explained by the fact they weren't properly trained and working under relatively bad working conditions. The fact no one checked the track thoroughly before restarting the ride points to a pretty devastating corner being cut, and I tend to find corners are cut more often when employees feel a lack of appreciation from those above.

To suggest that they were all "unhappy" is perhaps a bit of a stretch, but the "less downtime equals bonuses" scheme Merlin had in place wouldn't have made for the best of working conditions, especially in pressured situations.

 

[NickT04]

It's been a while since I posted here, but reading the majority of this thread I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Merlin have always had a unique way of demanding money at every opportunity, but now you get even less for your money than before!

To summerise before I drone on, Merlin now exists to provide greedy shareholders with profit upon profit each year, if they have to cut attractions for that then this has been the year to prove it, they are also obsessed with hotels.

Anyway. The fireworks. I've been every year since 2010 for the fireworks, I never visit in the day because personally one reason for buying a Merlin pass is so I can come on quiet days without the queues. I fully appreciate the system of needing to pre book, or arrive early but being a selfish pass holder I was never going to do that. I was at Tesco Uttoxeter when I saw the Tweet saying the park was at capacity. What annoyed me was not having to pre book but the fact that as a MAP holder I couldn't pre book in anyway shape or form, unless I wanted to sent them another £50 odd quid online. It was a case of we only want the money, we have yours already, if someone is willing to pay to get ahead of you then tough. That's how I felt anyway. To add to it my friend who I was meeting was half hour up the road, got to the car parks and was asked what tickets he had (MAP and bring a friend voucher) they parked him up and he went to the turnstiles. Staff told him it was a capacity, but he just wondered off to a booth, and got in with the voucher. Again as if saying oh you want to give us money? You're in!

I was heading to a party in Kent after the fireworks and then traveling back up on the Sunday to take my parents to the display, but because I couldn't pre book I threw my toys out the pram and said sod ya and returned at a leisurely pace on Sunday.

Little things have annoyed me this season, couldn't get discount on refillable hot drinks at Scarefest, the fact they had no refillable hot drinks at all on the Saturday at the Fireworks was disgusting and nothing but pure greed. Bring a friend voucher are going up 50% and what have I got to look forward to next year? A Cbeebies Land Hotel and two rides returning re hashed to the minimum standard they should be, and not the state they were left to fall into.

My pass runs out in May and whilst I may make visit in March/April/May to see if improvements are made, its very likely I will let my pass expire and pick up a two for one for Scarefest. My day off work is a Tuesday and I couldn't make a visit on the quiet days I used to in (April/May Sep/Oct) so lost value there - the fact most complaints online have just been fobbed off with a "We will pass it on to the relevant departments" I'd rather they just said deal with it than fob me off with that.

My annoyances are all very selfish - things that suited me no longer suit me, but they really do need to pull their finger out across the board as this thread shows. As long as the shareholders get their dividend...

 

[spinba11]

If it helps Nick, I think the park is only closed on Wednesdays next season.

 

[D4n]

Those of us who remember visiting the park in the 80's and early 90's will definately without any doubt tell you that the park has gone hugely downhill the past few years. Those younger ones who have only been visiting a few years may not share the same view because they dont realise just how much of a magical place it really was back then.

I always take this sort of comment with a pinch of salt. A lot of people said something very similar about "Britain before we joined the EU" during the referendum campaign as being this wonderful, magical place which has now been destroyed.

In the case of Alton Towers, I'm slightly more inclined to believe it, but I think changes in personal preference / experience should also be taken into account here. There's often some element of romanticising the past because it's 'gone', and also I think experiences in general are often more 'magical' as a child / teenage / young adult, or as a person visiting somewhere for a 'treat' (as opposed to regularly).

The Magic Factory, for example, suggested there was a fair share of miserable staff back in the nineties, and that 'documentary' effectively amounted to promotional material for the park!

Not saying I don't believe you, I've been one of Merlin / the park's fiercest critics of late, I'm just always skeptical of the "back in my day..." argument.

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

The Magic Factory, for example, suggested there was a fair share of miserable staff back in the nineties, and that 'documentary' effectively amounted to promotional material for the park!

The fact that documentary was even made is testament to how good the park was during the late 1990s.

Could you imagine the BBC ever making a documentary on Alton Towers in 2016?!

No, me neither.

 

[Rick]

Not saying I don't believe you, I've been one of Merlin / the park's fiercest critics of late, I'm just always skeptical of the "back in my day..." argument.

Agreed. I am always a little puzzled with this argument with Alton Towers. I think people typically remember the highlights and not the experience as a whole.

If you rewind 20 years or so, it's easy to get nostalgic and easy to forget you had 1001 Nights rattling away on its showman's trailer, New Beast breaking down every 20 minutes, the 3D cinema showing films older than me in the sweatiest environment ever etc etc.

The fact that documentary was even made is testament to how good the park was during the late 1990s.

In part, it's a testament to the nature of TV documentaries in the 1990s. Pleasure Beach had a documentary as well. It's also part down to the fact that theme parks were going through somewhat of a revolution in the 90s, things were being done for the first time. These days, it's more of the same - most new rides are a variation on a theme that has been done before.

If one of the Kardashian's moved in to Splash Landings for a week, you might stand a chance.

 

[andeyhart]

Agreed. I am always a little puzzled with this argument with Alton Towers. I think people typically remember the highlights and not the experience as a whole.

If you rewind 20 years or so, it's easy to get nostalgic and easy to forget you had 1001 Nights rattling away on its showman's trailer, New Beast breaking down every 20 minutes, the 3D cinema showing films older than me in the sweatiest environment ever etc etc.

I was visiting the park 20 years ago and know exactly what you're saying. To say everything was "perfect" back then is completely off the mark.

 

[BarryZola]

I would just like to put myself forward as someone who was born in '82. I visited in the 80s as a child and during the 90's as an older child and teenager and I can assure people that Towers was a much more pleasant, welcoming and exciting place than it is now. I can remember staff being there year after year who looked like they loved their jobs. H&S was sensible and we could have re-rides on many of the attractions. This was a great thing, not to be under-estimated. Thunder Looper queue empty? Have another ride! Corkscrew queue empty? Carry on! It's a different world now. More crowded and way more commercialised. Broome had it just right and it was still good into the Tussauds days. Things are very different now.

 

[andeyhart]

I'm easy to please though. As long as Nemesis is still there, I'm happy.

 

[Rick]

I'm easy to please though. As long as Nemesis is still there, I'm happy.

The park has been dead to me since Fantastic Fountains went away, being overcome by the smell of mould is what makes my day at a theme park.

 

[CGM]

I consider myself to be a very rational thinker and I'm always wary of applying rose tinted glasses to past memories. Personally, I don't think the 90s in general was anything like as good as everyone says it was. In fact it's bizarre seeing how people apply importance to past trends and media just because they associate it with their youth. Songs which were just throwaway hits are now considered classics. And then you get ridiculous statements like "Weren't things better when we had tape cassettes and dial-up internet?" No, no they weren't. It's made me realise that the 60s, 70s and 80s probably weren't that great either and that all these ideas of 'greatest bands' and being the 'best decade ever' are just blinkered reminiscence.

Despite this, I don't feel the same way about AT in the 90s.

It's easy to explain away people's disillusionment with current day Towers as simply being a product of nostalgia. But looking at the relative position of the park compared to its competitors both nationally and internationally, it's obvious that it was much better placed then.

No one is saying that Alton was ever completely perfect. Every park is a constant work in progress. The difference was that Alton throughout the 90s had a serious positive momentum about it. There were regular large investments, we were seeing world leading ride technology being installed consistently and the theming efforts and levels of immersion were getting better and better. The quality of guest experience was increasing with every season and the park was making moves to become a multi-day resort with a high quality, themed hotel. The park also established itself firmly as a household name and recognisable brand associated with quality.

If you want to understand why that era of the park was so exciting, you have to consider that in the space of 10 years, the park went from being an amusement park with second hand Schwarzkopfs and a Vekoma Corkscrew as headline rides to a fully fledged theme park of international importance with 2 of the 3 B&Ms on the continent.

The park definitely had problem areas but you got the sense that these would inevitably be sorted out and replaced with something far superior. Much like Phantasialand and Efteling today, you couldn't wait to see what Alton would do next.

These days, as an enthusiast you cannot have that same confidence in AT. Many of us are conditioned to thinking of AT as a world leading park with great drive and ambition. So it definitely hurts to see it turn into a park that's just happy to get by and that continues to make major cuts at the expense of the guest experience.

I don't know how anyone can look at the state of the park today and conclude that everything's fine. It's surely got beyond the point that we can reasonably blame people's dissatisfaction on nostalgia. If some people are satisfied with a decaying, grotty park with some decent coasters and nothing else, that's fine, but it's not what inspired me to be a theme park enthusiast.

 

[andeyhart]

I don't know how anyone can look at the state of the park today and conclude that everything's fine. It's surely got beyond the point that we can reasonably blame people's dissatisfaction on nostalgia. If some people are satisfied with a decaying, grotty park with some decent coasters and nothing else, that's fine, but it's not what inspired me to become a theme park enthusiast.

I understand this, and whilst I wouldn't say everything was fine, the point I was making (and have made several times in this thread and others) is that it's still very easy to have fantastic days at Alton Towers, and I have had several in 2016. The coaster line up (the coasters are and always have been my main interest with Towers) is better than it's ever been, and if you have the right company, the atmosphere (or magic) is still there. I go with my two children, and their enjoyment of the park enhances mine. I certainly don't believe the park is in the dire state a lot of people on here think it is (although the ride closures, I concede, are bad).

The grotty/decaying point I think is harsh, but at the same time is also a classic example of what myself (and Rick) were saying earlier about the "glory days" being somewhat exaggerated. I don't believe the park is majorly decaying (the TLC, as contrived as that whole project was, has made a difference), but it is still grotty in places. However the park was not immaculately clean and tidy in the 90's either. I have always, since I started visiting the park, seen one or two areas that could have done with a repaint or a touch up. Yet in all the years I've visited, including 2016, I've never been disgusted by the physical state of the park (the only exception being the toilets occasionally), so I do think "decaying" is an overstatement.

What I'm about to say may be seen as a damning indictment of the UK theme park industry, but for me, Alton Towers is still the best theme park in the UK by a considerable distance.

 

[jon81uk]

the fact they had no refillable hot drinks at all on the Saturday at the Fireworks was disgusting and nothing but pure greed.

Actually as a guest in the park I was glad they didn't offer refillable hot drinks at fireworks. Queues at food outlets were bad enough (mainly in the 5pm - 7pm bit when back of the park closed). If you then added people with free refills as well as those who were willing to pay the queues would have been insane.
At scare fest they are quieter and there is no need to close half the park for fireworks so they can better cope with the hot drink demand. Other option of course would be for them to ditch the slow Nescafé machines and offer refills on filter coffee and tea only which can both be prepared in advance and served very quickly.

I agree with you on the annual pass bookings though, Thorpe Park does it for fright nights so they should offer it at AT on busier days, just take a £5 charge to ensure those who book actually use their ticket. Could even offer a free hot drink voucher for the £5 deposit.

 

[GaryH]

There is one HUGE difference between Alton now and back in 80's..... management invested ALL the money into the park, there were no hotels, no waterpark, no minigolf to share the money around, it all went back into the park and invested in new rides and attractions. Yeah people can argue that these attractions bring more money into the park but its apparent only a small proportion of this money is invested in the park. Take the parking charge for example... you'd think they would spend the money from it on repairing some of the roads around the resort.....

As for why was the park more magical back in those days...... well..... less emphasis on blatant profiteering and money grabbing and more emphasis on giving guests a good time is the first reason which springs to mind.... longer opening hours and late night opening, half day tickets etc.

 

[Rob]

The coaster line up (the coasters are and always have been my main interest with Towers) is better than it's ever been, and if you have the right company, the atmosphere (or magic) is still there. I go with my two children, and their enjoyment of the park enhances mine.

I don't think anyone doubts that the coaster line up is good at Towers but it takes more than just good coasters to make a great theme park. Unfortunately everything other than the coasters has gone downhill over the last few years and that seems set to continue with a coaster replacing a log flume.

The magic is still there if you go with the right company? I understand that fully but surely that implies that it's the people you go with that generates the magic and not the actual place. I could go to somewhere like Europa-Park or Disney either on my own, with a couple of friends or with a large grounp and still feel the magic/atmosphere of the place.

What I'm about to say may be seen as a damning indictment of the UK theme park industry, but for me, Alton Towers is still the best theme park in the UK by a considerable distance.

You are correct, it does indeed show the current state of the UK theme park industry, it is generally poor. Alton Towers is the best and you can still have a good day there but there is no comparison to some European parks that not so long ago you maybe could draw a fair comparison.

 

[Matt Creek]

It's sad but true that times now have certainly changed and the way things are done at the parks.

In the 90's there seemed to be much effort and dedication by management (Pearson) trying to make their park's near Disney level magic, but on a shoe string budget. Everything was done then to make a great guest experience rather than make a great profit nowadays.

Attractions like The Haunted House, Professor Burps and Terror Tomb opened, all bring major attributes at their time yet retaining much charm. Even the coasters were more than coasters, from Vampire's atmospheric station down to the sinister surroundings of Oblivion. Which was s theme that wasn't overused back then.

Nowadays, profit is the word. If the park isn't performing well, they make cuts and even if it is, they may still make cuts.

Upselling and cunning tactics are key words now, and whilst many parks implement both, it's a very "in your face" style they use. From the storming of photo passes, upgrading your ticket to a pass right down to the tactical ticket price system and HB leisure game stall galore.

Whilst it's great the parks are getting more accommodation, the way they are implementing these is certainly more in quantity than quality, where rapid expansions of the likes of the CBeebies hotel and Explorer Glamping are happening. These won't be the last either.

Of course there hasn't been all bad under the Merlin machine. The Smiler despite its many problems and poor attempt at theming is a very distinctive ride, Thirteen is a great family thrill coaster (controversially) and the rollercoaster restaurant has given the park a much needed signature eatery.

It's just a shame though that the park/s could do a lot more by just making good all round additions rather than specifically thinking high-low-medium etc. Outside of big (coaster) investment years, we have only seen the park open a suitably themed pirate area, failed egg museum and CBeebies land galore. This is whilst losing a staple log flume, two flats (and counting) and more.

There's also a lack of shows too, unless your into a repeated 4D cinema whilst parks like Efteling, Phantasialand, Europa and many other parks play home to at least two different shows.

Towers is still good, but it be so much greater if current situations weren't so persistent in running these purely for profit. Most parks do of course, but Merlin's ratio of profit over people is too extreme currently.

Also, most of my trips to Merlin parks of late are mostly enticed down to the social element of seeing and meeting friends, as opposed to visiting them because they are amazing parks.

 

[andeyhart]

I don't think anyone doubts that the coaster line up is good at Towers but it takes more than just good coasters to make a great theme park. Unfortunately everything other than the coasters has gone downhill over the last few years and that seems set to continue with a coaster replacing a log flume.

It does take more than good coasters to make a great theme park, but if I'm honest, it doesn't take much more for me. Yes, I would expect any theme park to have a decent mix of all ride types, and Towers needs to improve on this, but I would still say I'm more of a coaster enthusiast than a theme park enthusiast. To me, Alton Towers is its coasters. Seeing Nemesis when it was brand new, with Thunder Looper and Beast in the background, the hype around Oblivion, the excitement around a new SW project - no non-coaster addition creates anywhere near the same level of hype of interest for me. Ultimately, I can have a good day at a theme park when I only ride the coasters, whereas I wouldn't be able to say the same thing if I just rode the non-coaster attractions. But yes, despite that, Towers does currently need more family/water/dark attractions, and I'd argue I'd rather see additions made here than the arrival of another new coaster.

The magic is still there if you go with the right company? I understand that fully but surely that implies that it's the people you go with that generates the magic and not the actual place. I could go to somewhere like Europa-Park or Disney either on my own, with a couple of friends or with a large grounp and still feel the magic/atmosphere of the place.

I wouldn't personally go to any theme park alone. Disney wouldn't be remotely magical to me if I had no one there to share it with. The "magic" thing with Towers is somewhat overstated. I think any place you've visited countless times over two decades will lose the magic aspect after a while, even if there is a fantastic park atmosphere.

 

[Rob]

I wouldn't personally go to any theme park alone. Disney wouldn't be remotely magical to me if I had no one there to share it with. The "magic" thing with Towers is somewhat overstated. I think any place you've visited countless times over two decades will lose the magic aspect after a while, even if there is a fantastic park atmosphere.

I don't actually like the word "magic" when it comes to theme parks. It is such an abstract and subjective concept; what is magical for one person may not be to the next. And I agree, "magic" can disappear as you become accustomed to it. I prefer looking at the creation of a timeless place which has quality without a name, something that Walt Disney first managed with Disneyland. I feel that the very best theme parks succeed in creating these timeless places. Alton Towers doesn't come close in this regard.

 

[Rick]

There is one HUGE difference between Alton now and back in 80's..... management invested ALL the money into the park, there were no hotels, no waterpark, no minigolf to share the money around, it all went back into the park and invested in new rides and attractions. Yeah people can argue that these attractions bring more money into the park but its apparent only a small proportion of this money is invested in the park. Take the parking charge for example... you'd think they would spend the money from it on repairing some of the roads around the resort.....

I feel like you've made the point I wanted to make by making the point that you made, oddly. During the ramping up of the park in the 1990s, a lot of money was reinvested and the speed and scope of the development was much wider - but it would be crazy to think that that could continue forever.

As the park became more established, the need to expand at the same rate reduces. You reach a level where the park is the right size and the number of would be visitors reduces because you've got them hooked. Before the Smiler incident, Alton had entered a phase whereby they were trying to marginally increase the number of visitors - but essentially it was about growth by diversification, rather than by expansion.

The premise that the business should never return money to the parent organisation/shareholders and that it should all be ploughed into capex is laughable.

The magic is still there if you go with the right company? I understand that fully but surely that implies that it's the people you go with that generates the magic and not the actual place. I could go to somewhere like Europa-Park or Disney either on my own, with a couple of friends or with a large grounp and still feel the magic/atmosphere of the place.

There was no magic. Ever. It was a clever marketing trick that everybody fell for. This whole faux magic phenomena is observable when you go to the fairytale type parks, irregularly. My friend lives 5 minutes drive from Efteling, the 'magic' has worn off. It's just the way it goes.