• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Towers Loving Care

Another Blade update! :)

C8666183-A0ED-4D4E-BA2F-1A58E0666BEE.jpeg


DA42C20C-CF1C-4BD6-935A-07C9A6A4A03A.jpeg


Posted by Duslasst Ltd on Facebook (same people who posted the pics of some new parts a while back). Looks like it’s going to get some structural work done to it.
 
Wow, looks like major work is taking place on Blade. Got to admit I am very surprised that they are doing this, which must be costly, rather than taking the usual Merlin approach of scrap it. Good to see though as the park could not afford to lose it!
 
Part of me suspects any budget they might have planned to spend on Twirling Toadstools was diverted to saving The Blade.
 
Poopoohead said:
Maintaining rides in a manner such as this should be the norm, not something out of the ordinary
Click to expand...
Do we know what usually happens after the blade is removed during closed season? Aside from doom predictions increasing.

My understanding is that every year it's removed from the site, no?

Are they just documenting it this year?

Serious questions, I'm just looking to understand how unusual this maintenance on this ride is and what they usually do.
 
pj said:
How about praising them for restoring then moan if it does get scrapped? Not tying to sound rude, just think credit where it is due.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
You cannot blame Diogo. He's not just making stuff up out of thin air. We have learnt over time that this is the way Merlin operate, and we cannot trust a single thing they do. It's very tempting to say "Ohhh but give them another chance, they might actually be doing something good this time" "ohhh look Wickerman was a great investment, looks like Merlin are improving now" It is just not true. They don't deserve any credit until they go out of their way to reverse all of the awful decisions they have made, all of the cuts, all of the operation issues, they need to be investing heavily in huge areas, probably in excess of 100 million sterling, before my opinion of them would ever change. And that aint ever gonna happen! So what, they are doing something which they should be doing anyway. Good. Now can they look after the rest of the park?
  • CCL just looks like a multicolored underused mess. Knock it down, or make use of it. Don''t mock the legacy of Sparks and the associated talented designers who had the vision and talent to create an original excellent area by installing some good for nothing 'dungeon' trash on top of its carcass.
  • The park entrance is a disgrace. It looks like bar the odd paint job it hasn't been changed since the 80s (..oh wait). Redesigning it dimension wise to be more appropriate to large inflows of guests would be ideal. Designing it with elegance, and style, to provide a good brand image/brand awareness of the resort would be very ideal.
  • Where are the mascots that provide the charm and character to the place. People are far more likely to revisit a theme park that they can meaningfully attach themselves to.
  • Where are the events like the ice show they used to do, and even small things like the pirate show? Why is the one major ent building/ ex fountain show building area sitting there like an old tomb?
  • Towers street TLC was minimal and was clearly low budget. The original LARC design was admittedly of very high standard, as was the landscaping and rockwork later on, but without the shops and souvenirs to give the buildings a purpose for guests it seems a little pointless and cheap. Sorry dude but it is true as much as people might try to argue otherwise
  • So many walkways through the park, and I'm not talking about the scenic walkways, are just empty and bland, with the odd speaker system here and there. If TLC were given even a remotely decent budget, these issues surely would of been addressed. But they focused it all on major stuff like Nemesis, Duel and Hex, which clearly shows only priority regions were allocated a budget/the budget wasn't stretched enough.
Merlin follow the same business model they always have done, and any TLC work that is out of the ordinary only exists because of 'out of the ordinary circumstances' not out of care for the opinions of theme park lovers or to improve the overall guest experience. It was mentioned by someone in the guest figure head that ATR has an illusory gate price, because of overselling/overgiving of vouchers, and as such the price is low for the resort and income is generated through fast track. Yes I agree absolutely, isn't that the issue? If they spent half a penny on improving the place, perhaps vouchers that cut the gate price in half wouldn't even be necessary. The problem is, shifting your vouchers to having a lower discount is a hard and risky business once you've established a huge discount practice.
AIR is being jet washed, and Blade is being reworked and overhauled, this is normal, and the very least we'd expect.
 
RE: Blade

It is somewhat typical that, IMO, the worst flat in the park is the one which lasts the longest.

Ripsaw, Energizer/Bone Shaker and Submission are all rides I’d prefer to ride than Blade.

What I will say with Blade is aesthetically it fits FV well, with a giant swinging blade, and it provides something for families within an area of thrill rides.

I’m not the worlds biggest flat ride fan either but more variation is definitely needed, one way or another.
 
I agree that all the other flats you mentioned where probably all better.

However Blade is a reasonably enjoyable, simple ride with a low height restriction that the whole family can get on and is thrilling for kids. These kind of attractions are scarce at Towers these days.

It's also a non pre school flat ride at Towers! Scarce isn't the word!

Can't believe it's come to this stage mind you.
 
Matt.GC said:
I agree that all the other flats you mentioned where probably all better.

However Blade is a reasonably enjoyable, simple ride with a low height restriction that the whole family can get on and is thrilling for kids. These kind of attractions are scarce at Towers these days.

It's also a non pre school flat ride at Towers! Scarce isn't the word!

Can't believe it's come to this stage mind you.
Click to expand...

If I’m totally honest I’m not the biggest fan of flat rides, one or two visits to Winter Wonderland a year gives me enough flat rides without needing to see them at AT.

That said, as I touched on above, more variation is definitely needed, whether it’s in the form of flats, or, preferably for me, dark rides/water rides.

I know obviously Alton have no where near the budget of Universal, but I’d rather they follow their model of creating ride experiences both indoor and outdoor, than just sticking flat rides around the park and giving it a corny name.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top