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Towers Loving Care

Bert2theSpark said:
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Now that I compare the two photos, I admittedly didn't notice how much the signs were badly needing a repaint. Guess we moan at various other things that we even we forget to bring up other things that need TLC :p

Nonetheless, very happy to see Hex looking well prior to the start of the season.:)
 
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Rob said:
Worse? Why is spending a large amount of money on doing a top notch job on something worse than say asking Leek Signs to product some cheap vinyl signs where the average guest woudn't really know or care about the difference?

Some poeple just love to moan when they don't do things then moan when they do.

:)
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I'm English and its closed season, I love to moan, there's nothing better to do :D
 
QTXAdsy said:
Now that I compare the two photos, I admittedly didn't notice how much the signs were badly needing a repaint. Guess we moan at various other things that we even we forget to bring up other things that need TLC :p
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As a guest you're not supposed to notice every single detail of what needs improvements and what doesn't though.. If this TLC page didn't exist, no one would know that so much work had been done unless they were very very observant. Does that mean it's worth any less? No not at all. So it's an interesting point you raise.. (Of course, most other things like the state of Duel, are so obvious that it's hard NOT to notice it needs improving!)

A good theme park is not about noticing every single change (although it sometimes seems that way for fans!) , it's about maintaining quality and ensuring what should be done is done professionally, so the guests can enjoy the park best. Had the signs stayed in poor condition, whether they were consciously noticed or not, it all adds to the subconscious impression of a quality experience to every single guest. For example, most signage across the park in the last 10 years has changed to be vinyl prints and when I think back to before then, it hits me how much cheaper and more plastic the park feels - without having gone around counting or looking at the signs, it just all adds to the impression.

That's a real factor and it's also why the "most people don't notice" statement from most park managements never gels with me, it just isn't the right way of understanding the guest experience. It is, however, an excuse to save money, and that's why scenic maintenance has been seriously lacking for years unfortunately.
 
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I don't want to moan, I really don't, but I prefer the before pic where the colours are a bit less saturated.
Maybe its just the picture and will look better to me IRL, I hope.
 
I thought the sign looked OK before too. OK to the extent that you wouldn't need to spend a lot of money improving it, at least. Hopefully they got the local college to do it, rather than spending £5,000 on painting a piece of metal which could have paid for quite a few sturdy fences.
 
BarryZola said:
I thought the sign looked OK before too. OK to the extent that you wouldn't need to spend a lot of money improving it, at least. Hopefully they got the local college to do it, rather than spending £5,000 on painting a piece of metal which could have paid for quite a few sturdy fences.
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They will have a separate (existing) budget delegated for "sturdy fences" than for scenic maintenance, which should be done properly by a professional scenic artist - just the same as you wouldn't ask 'the local handiman' to look after a ride.
 
electricBill said:
They will have a separate (existing) budget delegated for "sturdy fences" than for scenic maintenance, which should be done properly by a professional scenic artist - just the same as you wouldn't ask 'the local handiman' to look after a ride.
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With much respect, I personally wouldn't necessarily equate public safety with painting a sign that was already arguably adequate.
 
Hey, I'm a local handiman as well as a gardener...I'll sort the Smiler out anytime, as long as I get travel exes as well as my usual rates, and I'll sort out the stepping stones out at the top of the gardens for an extra couple of hours labour.
Sorry, I draw the line at fences.
 
To be fair the old, faded/weathered signs did fit in more with Dark Forest/Merlin's usual standards than these lovely shiny new ones. I don't know why they didn't just go for a greyscale logo actually!

:)
 
BarryZola said:
With much respect, I personally wouldn't necessarily equate public safety with painting a sign that was already arguably adequate.
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It's all maintenance isn't it? One is certainly safety critical and the other is not, but the company can afford both so it shouldn't matter. They choose to budget for only one. Also the sign was very faded, cracked and in need of a restoration - so they gave it one. Should they not have? I really don't understand enthusiast logic anymore :p

They have done more than repaint the signs anyway.
 
Rob said:
To be fair the old, faded/weathered signs did fit in more with Dark Forest/Merlin's usual standards than these lovely shiny new ones. I don't know why they didn't just go for a greyscale logo actually!
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Don't give them ideas! :p
 
electricBill said:
It's all maintenance isn't it? One is certainly safety critical and the other is not, but the company can afford both so it shouldn't matter. They choose to budget for only one. Also the sign was very faded, cracked and in need of a restoration - so they gave it one. Should they not have? I really don't understand enthusiast logic anymore :p

They have done more than repaint the signs anyway.
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I think we can be 99% sure that the vast majority are happy to see the Hex signs re-done.

Including myself.

:)
 
It's a funny situation though and I think goes to show how even close fans aren't used to this kind of work being the standard. Disney service their effects and check them every night, and very regularly paint their surfaces (cant remember how often I heard this was done, but more than once in 17 years at least). Now Disney are Disney, but still, it shows how much scenic/show maintenance work goes completely unseen when done properly, that's just the unconventional nature of the industry!
 
electricBill said:
It's a funny situation though and I think goes to show how even close fans aren't used to this kind of work being the standard. Disney service their effects and check them every night, and very regularly paint their surfaces (cant remember how often I heard this was done, but more than once in 17 years at least). Now Disney are Disney, but still, it shows how much scenic/show maintenance work goes completely unseen when done properly, that's the unusual nature of the industry!
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Most regular meet-goers visit EP and are aware of the standards that they achieve. It's just so unusual with AT.
 
Disney or individual parks like Europa I mean then. It is appreciated by many I'm sure, but a smaller proportion of Alton Towers fans in the bigger picture. I hope this is the start of climbing up to good standard in the future, perhaps to the standards of independent European parks some day. :)
 
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