The World of David Walliams: General Discussion

[ChristmasPud]

Sponsorship is when the sponsor pays in return for advertising (usually if the ride has a high running cost or has only just opened, so contributes to the build cost). But IP licencing is when the park pays to basically franchise the brand, it will usually come with many conditions that the park has to stick to.

If so, why are Merlin obsessed with IPs?

People will say because it brings in more visitors but I think that's a very simplified way of looking at it. You can still create a huge success with an original concept, likewise an IP can flop.

What an IP does do is better assure an idea will be popular, because the popularity of the brand will have already been proven, while an original concept hasn't been proven yet. This is why IPs are loved by park marketing teams and accountants who are only thinking about hitting a target

Of course it's all about taking a creative risk, otherwise everything would be a rehashed old concept forever if nobody ever did anything new! But sometimes parks need that more reliable draw to fall back on.

It's when IPs are used like a guarantee of success that projects can fall down. Look at all the IPs at Thorpe Park in the last few years, big and small attractions. Just because they're an IP doesn't make up for the fact the attractions were bad.

Often it feels like the money gone into licencing big IPs would be much better going into the attraction budget!

 

[djtruefitt]

It’s been announced that the Gansta Granny room is now available to book and stay in at the Alton Towers Hotel. Assuming it was finished and the park would rather make some money from it than let it gather dust for a year.

 

[Tim]

Advertising a hotel room as new has far less effect than a new ride. Like above, it makes far more sence to get it open.

 

[Benjsh]

What does the new area look like from within the park? Can you get down there or is it fenced off?

 

[Danscott22]

What does the new area look like from within the park? Can you get down there or is it fenced off?

It’s fenced off but you can just see the entrance sign to the area.

 

[AT86]

So this area and new ride are pushed back to 2021.

It was expected by many (although never officially confirmed) that a phase 2 would have been coming in 2021 to at least retheme Cuckcoo Cars and perhaps the inclusion of some form of show in the theatre to help ‘round out’ the area into something more complete.

Could any of this phase 2 stuff be coming in 2021 alongside the new ride? Or will it be pushed to 2022? General criticism of the area before it got delayed was that more was needed, so this could be a good opportunity to open the area with more attractions from day one.

Of course that does mean Merlin spending cash. However a new show and slapping some paint on the driving school wouldn’t set them back much in the scheme of things.

Thoughts?

 

[Matt N]

So this area and new ride are pushed back to 2021.

It was expected by many (although never officially confirmed) that a phase 2 would have been coming in 2021 to at least retheme Cuckcoo Cars and perhaps the inclusion of some form of show in the theatre to help ‘round out’ the area into something more complete.

Could any of this phase 2 stuff be coming in 2021 alongside the new ride? Or will it be pushed to 2022? General criticism of the area before it got delayed was that more was needed, so this could be a good opportunity to open the area with more attractions from day one.

Of course that does mean Merlin spending cash. However a new show and slapping some paint on the driving school wouldn’t set them back much in the scheme of things.

Thoughts?

My personal thought is that the park will delay whatever the rumoured “phase 2” entailed to 2022. Most parks seem to be pushing plans back by a year or so, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw the planned 2020 area open in 2021 and then whatever “phase 2” was planned to be open in 2022. I think we could quite possibly see a rethemed Cuckoo Cars open in 2021 as well, as I doubt a retheme of that would cost too much money, and correct me if I’m wrong, but that ride hasn’t reopened yet, has it? Maybe they’re starting work on that ride now?

From Merlin’s perspective, I think it would make a lot of sense financially to open the planned 2020 area in 2021 (possibly with the extra of a rethemed Cuckoo Cars), because then they could use 2021 and the latter half of 2020 to rebuild cash reserves. The reason I say this is because they will be able to claim TWODW as a “new for 2021” addition while spending very minimal amounts of cash (the addition was surely paid for prior to lockdown, wasn’t it?), so it’s a bit of a win-win situation for the park, because they can market the area as a new area while spending minimal money, thus giving them a sufficient season to make good profits.

By the time 2022 rolls around, the park should have rebuilt sufficient cash reserves to invest in some kind of expansion to the area; maybe some rides on the Coaster Corner land, or a reopening of the 4D Cinema, would work? Maybe even a retheme of the Dungeons into some kind of Walliams-themed dark boat ride?

 

[AT86]

I think we could quite possibly see a rethemed Cuckoo Cars open in 2021 as well, as I doubt a retheme of that would cost too much money, and correct me if I’m wrong, but that ride hasn’t reopened yet, has it?

It’s been open for a while now. However a retheme would most likely only need to involve new props and signage which can be built off site and a re-paint, which can all easily be done during the closed season.

 

[Benjsh]

They won't open it all in one go. If they delay phase 2 they get to market it again the following year with 'new additions'. It will bring them in more money.

And the other issue is the cash to do it. The parks have lost shed loads this year so I doubt very much that they will bring it forward anyway.

 

[TheBolt]

It would make more sense to relocate the cars next to Octonauts, using the spare land in front of Spinball Whizzer, as a new CBeebies attraction. The 1.4m height limit isn't a good option for Walli-World.

The 4D cinema is a no brainer, although not this year, with social distancing.

An upcharge attraction like Shreks Adventure, but based around Walliams characters might be an interesting way to retheme the dungeon for 2022.

 

[jon81uk]

An upcharge attraction like Shreks Adventure, but based around Walliams characters might be an interesting way to retheme the dungeon for 2022.

Or make it using animatronics and the existing boat ride so it is less staff-intensive and offer an attraction included in the regular admission price,

 

[dickie001x]

Or make it using animatronics and the existing boat ride so it is less staff-intensive and offer an attraction included in the regular admission price,

Animatronics, you say? Like in the original Prof Burps Bubbleworks!? Nah, if they use animatronics they’ll have to maintain them. /s

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

The Dungeons ain’t going anywhere as long as guests are willing to pay on top of the entrance fee then it will stay to it stops making Merlin a profit.
Also all the big parks know to add small attractions in the kids areas every 1 or 2 years will keep the families coming every year Then every 4 or 5 years open a big 20 million ride to keep teenagers and young adults coming back to the park.
I think they could have given Raj a new ride instead of a rethemed frog hopper as they got the same ride design in CBeebies.

 

[tayspru]

With Williams world being aimed at the “inbetween” market, I think it is fair to expect that this is where any attractions will go along with CBeebies for the foreseeable future .

What I would like to see at Towers , which I don’t think is beyond the realms of possibility , is a flying theatre for Williams world , replacing the 4D theatre space , using the same ride tech as the attraction coming to LEGOLAND next year.

The book “The Beast of Buckingham Palace” could give a perfect excuse to have the flying aspect (again not dissimilar to Legolands new flying theatre ) and it wouldn’t take much to redo the facade of the Theatre building . This could be under a medium investment but would add capacity and variety (and an indoor attraction) to the park

 

[Matt N]

That’s a great idea (and I’d even say that the theatre facade almost resembles a mini-Buckingham Palace now, in a way), but I do think that flying theatre tech is possibly a little too expensive to constitute a medium year at Towers. If Towers ever got a flying theatre, I think it would probably be considered a major investment on par with the SWs by Merlin.

 

[Steve74]

With Williams world being aimed at the “inbetween” market, I think it is fair to expect that this is where any attractions will go along with CBeebies for the foreseeable future .

What I would like to see at Towers , which I don’t think is beyond the realms of possibility , is a flying theatre for Williams world , replacing the 4D theatre space , using the same ride tech as the attraction coming to LEGOLAND next year.

The book “The Beast of Buckingham Palace” could give a perfect excuse to have the flying aspect (again not dissimilar to Legolands new flying theatre ) and it wouldn’t take much to redo the facade of the Theatre building . This could be under a medium investment but would add capacity and variety (and an indoor attraction) to the park

Nah, just bring back Ice Age.

 

[Danny]

A flying theatre would probably cost more than the entire budget for phase 1 of Walliams World.

 

[Skyscraper]

Anyone else concerned about the potential capacity (or lack of) for GG? Don't know how many cars it will have but probably not many considering the size of the track, plus the separate load and unload platforms will only take one car at a time...

 

[Pleasure Beach Valhalla]

With Williams world being aimed at the “inbetween” market, I think it is fair to expect that this is where any attractions will go along with CBeebies for the foreseeable future .

What I would like to see at Towers , which I don’t think is beyond the realms of possibility , is a flying theatre for Williams world , replacing the 4D theatre space , using the same ride tech as the attraction coming to LEGOLAND next year.

The book “The Beast of Buckingham Palace” could give a perfect excuse to have the flying aspect (again not dissimilar to Legolands new flying theatre ) and it wouldn’t take much to redo the facade of the Theatre building . This could be under a medium investment but would add capacity and variety (and an indoor attraction) to the park

Yh i've always thought about that myself and i can see a flying theatre coming to Alton Towers maybe in the future! It is a big space and it would be a good use of a flying theatre! Mr Stink themed with Smiler restraints smellpods?

 

[jon81uk]

Anyone else concerned about the potential capacity (or lack of) for GG? Don't know how many cars it will have but probably not many considering the size of the track, plus the separate load and unload platforms will only take one car at a time...

I do think that yes they've built a mid-level ride as the centre-piece for a new area. If they had used the old Charlie building, and a new show in the theatre one year, then Gangsta Granny as the follow-up addition it would have worked.