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Towers Loving Care

Is this going to be like Chessington's overkill carousel, or something better?

Does a wave swinger really need to do more than spin and look good, when the rest the park is dying?
 
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don't take my word but i've heard rumours from my mates dog that they are keeping it for the Cloud Cuckoo Land retheme next which which will be a Merlin Entertainments themed area, since it's the only IP they can afford

It'll be painted in Dulux Primary Colours and renamed 'The Money Spinner', it'll be put in a rundown themed warehouse and you'll be charged an extra 3 quid to ride. Also - 'Varney and Friends' will be the show in the theatre and 'Running a Theme Park: Outta Control!' will return to the building behind the frog hopper...
 
waffa said:
don't take my word but i've heard rumours from my mates dog that they are keeping it for the Cloud Cuckoo Land retheme next which which will be a Merlin Entertainments themed area, since it's the only IP they can afford

It'll be painted in Dulux Primary Colours and renamed 'The Money Spinner', it'll be put in a rundown themed warehouse and you'll be charged an extra 3 quid to ride. Also - 'Varney and Friends' will be the show in the theatre and 'Running a Theme Park: Outta Control!' will return to the building behind the frog hopper...
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I know you’re joking but that would probably be the second most immersive themed area in the park after wicker man...


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AstroDan said:
The Twirling Toadstool job is so big it is taking 2 1/2 years. It's going to be beyond anything you would ever imagine once the work is complete.

Merlin's plans for the ride are sensational.
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Wow! Sounds great! That should mean it's coming back next year! I can't wait!

I wonder whether it will have water jets like Monkey Swinger, or whether there will be some nice theming on top and around the ride?
 
Matt N said:
Wow! Sounds great! That should mean it's coming back next year! I can't wait!

I wonder whether it will have water jets like Monkey Swinger, or whether there will be some nice theming on top and around the ride?
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I think he was being sarcastic man...As unfortunate as that is, having it back in any capacity will at least add another flat to the line up.


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I really do hope that after the (mostly) positive reactions that people have been having to the project that they deviate from their initial 3 year plan and make it an ongoing routine to improve the park. I actually think KC could do with a bit of a spruce up in my opinion, it’s looking a little faded these days. It’s not top priority by far though, I’d say that honor goes to the smiler currently.


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waffa said:
don't take my word but i've heard rumours from my mates dog that they are keeping it for the Cloud Cuckoo Land retheme next which which will be a Merlin Entertainments themed area, since it's the only IP they can afford

It'll be painted in Dulux Primary Colours and renamed 'The Money Spinner', it'll be put in a rundown themed warehouse and you'll be charged an extra 3 quid to ride. Also - 'Varney and Friends' will be the show in the theatre and 'Running a Theme Park: Outta Control!' will return to the building behind the frog hopper...
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If this is the case, then keeping the name Cloud Cuckoo Land would suit this intriguing new area.

Don't forget Profit Driving School.

The Scarefest maze House of Monstrosities will feature horrific scenes depicting closed rides, poorly maintained parks, actors in long queues and plans for a new hotel. The attraction won't open until 12 and shuts promptly at 4PM.
 
TLC is a marketing ploy - these sort of improvements should be standard each year. Yet we are lauding them for doing the basics.

I’m sorry but the wool has been pulled over some peoples eyes. The park is a state.... decoration and up keep should not be headline news.
 
JB1985 said:
TLC is a marketing ploy - these sort of improvements should be standard each year. Yet we are lauding them for doing the basics.

I’m sorry but the wool has been pulled over some peoples eyes. The park is a state.... decoration and up keep should not be headline news.
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I agree that some of the things under TLC are just closed for budget but to not recognise how good Nemesis and Hex are under the programme is unfair.


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If TLC is their name for maintenance and they are actively improving the park and showing off the good work to enthusiasts, then I'm happy. It's not as though they are claiming it's anything other than closed season improvements.

If we are honest TLC incorporates basic maintenance, improvements and renovations and heritage works.

Only hope there is more in the future, still lots of stuff that can be easily improved.
 
pj said:
I agree that some of the things under TLC are just closed for budget but to not recognise how good Nemesis and Hex are under the programme is unfair.


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Yes, the monster looks great. But let’s not forget it took three years worth of budget in order to complete the whole thing. That really should show how little this ‘programme’ even exists. The track was going to have to be repainted in 2016 anyway, as the structure needed to be sandblasted for crack checks. So it’s not just out of the goodness of their heart that the nemesis work happened...

The money they’re saving by having all these rides “closed for TLC” will far outweigh the amount they’ve spent on the work in Duel and Hex for example.

This is very similar to Chessington’s mythical “£5 Million upgrade” programme they were advertising back in 2013. It was nothing more than propaganda to explain to guests why all the rides were closed. The Mine Train retheme was arguably the same as Nemesis. Both needed doing for safety reasons (mountain was condemned/track needed sandblasting) and then they spend a little bit of money doing them up and passed it off as part of a grenerous refurbishment “programme”.

Sure the Hex work was nice, and I’m very pleased people are dedicated enough to make the effort; and I suppose the thought was there behind Duel as well. But to suggest this is being done out of generosity, when the park are saving hundreds of thousands by closing rides under the shroud of ‘TLC’, is completely dillusional.

This is just more of the “we’ve kicked you in the teeth but now we’ll polish your shoes” type practice they do with staggered openings- do somthing of massive detriment to the guest experience, then make one moderate improvment and everybody forgives them. They’re taking you for a ride!
 
Yup, nothing more than catching up with what they should have been doing anyway...and parts of the park are absolutely rotten...specifically the smiler slime pit and the new national bramble collection where the gardens used to be.
Spin and cobblers as far as I can see..
Merlin have neglected the Towers overall.
 
One thing I can forgive them in a way is the state of smiler. It was left standing for quite a while.

Again though the maintenance should be budgeted as routine. Not as part of a programme
 
HermanTheGerman said:
This is just more of the “we’ve kicked you in the teeth but now we’ll polish your shoes” type practice they do with staggered openings- do somthing of massive detriment to the guest experience, then make one moderate improvment and everybody forgives them. They’re taking you for a ride!
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I believe though it's part of the disconnect between Merlin and Alton Towers.

Merlin certainly couldn't give a flying fish when it comes to it (all they'd have to do is grant the money, but they have people & policies in place to ensure that never happens), but are more than happy to get improvements from Towers while spending relatively no money at all.

Various people at Alton Towers genuinly care and want things to be good and professional, they're also the ones who get the stick when guests complain about the horrible circumstances and the poor state of rides, or when they don't have enough budget to run things the way they should be.

The park manages to pull through projects like the Nemesis monster repaint by using the track work as an excuse, to plead budget to do the rest (then splitting that budget over 3 years, to get quality results with the money they had).

It shouldn't have to be this way, but under Merlin it's the only way to get things done at a park level.

It's Merlin who are taking their own parks for a ride really, as well as guests. The TLC banner should never have been used to excuse Charlie and other rides for being closed though. And I worry Merlin will start to use "TLC" type brands to propaganda their own poor reinvestment in existing parks in the future.

Also, at least it's better than the usual trick of : ride needs work, but work will only be paid for if Merlin are able to give it an IP rebrand /sponsorship and pretend its new. They pull this trick every time, to the parks' detriment.
 
I have always wondered if TLC was something at park level to get some extra money from head office via the its marketing. So they could do a little bit of work on the park.

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At the very least, there's someone at Towers who gives a stuff about pulling off these refurbs to any kind of a standard.

Runaway Train and Nemesis may have been refurbed under similar circumstances, but while Scorpion Express is an insult to the original ride's design, the Nemesis alien feels like both a complete rejuvenation and a well-considered reimagining of the original concept.

Same with Tomb Blaster and Duel, Tomb had its AV "upgraded" with absolutely no regard for how it was going to affect the ride, whereas Duel at least had some tweaks to improve the experience side of things, even if some of the new effects were equally ill-informed.

It shouldn't be the case that we have to compare TLC to how you absolutely shouldn't refurbish a theme park ride, but equally I have respect for the person/people who decided to put any kind of effort in, considering the state of this country's theme park industry.
 
Olivus Prime said:
At the very least, there's someone at Towers who gives a stuff about pulling off these refurbs to any kind of a standard.
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You will be surprised at how many staff love the park.

The Nemesis alien feels like both a complete rejuvenation and a well-considered reimagining of the original concept.
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This show how they love the park. Even if they have restraints in showing it.

It shouldn't be the case that we have to compare TLC to how you absolutely shouldn't refurbish a theme park ride, but equally I have respect for the person/people who decided to put any kind of effort in, considering the state of this country's theme park industry.
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True very true


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