AstroDan

The park probably want to 'officially' open Wicker Man on Saturday because they want a bit of an opening ceremony, and want there to be some energy around the park - rather than a dull day in March mid-week with less than 2000 on park.
 
I rode Wicker Man on Friday. It is excellent.

A lot of the people saying they are glad to see the back of them. I am confused.
 
It was already a challenge to achieve a throughput of even 950pph on The Smiler. With added faff of a bag storage area on the platform, this will plummet further.

A lot of the people saying they are glad to see the back of them. I am confused.
 
It was already a challenge to achieve a throughput of even 950pph on The Smiler. With added faff of a bag storage area on the platform, this will plummet further.

I was about to say.
 
Thorpe needs more barbed wire in its queue lines. It works so well.

I was about to say.
 
Thorpe needs more barbed wire in its queue lines. It works so well.

TLC is not a 1 year thing. The park are looking it having at as a permanent part of what they deliver and offer every year - which is good news, because Benin is right that this sort of thing should be typical of a normal year, not a special occasion. This year, there's so much going on around Alton Towers that you could be forgiven for thinking it was an EP maintenance programme. It's almost alien to see this sort of level of refurbishment at Alton!
 
The Nemesis re-paint is not all being done this winter, because the cost is too great and it is an enormous job. They have already spent the best part of £150,000 on Nemesis alone and the rest of it will have to wait - especially with everything else going on in Dark Forest, Cloud Cuckoo Land etc. There is also new audio coming to many areas, which will be heard in March.
 
It's easy to assume that TLC is some smoke and mirrors thing, but really - the park are making every effort to improve things across the entire place to make it better for guests after the low ebb of 2015.
 
When TLC was announced some people wrote it off as a lie. Hopefully the massive range of images posted on the Twitter feed have at least re-assured people that they are trying, and are spending, on this sort of stuff.
 
The closed rides at AT this year have not been announced - it is out of AT's hands and totally in those of Merlin.

TLC is not a 1 year thing. The park are looking it having at as a permanent part of what they deliver and offer every year - which is good news, because Benin is right that this sort of thing should be typical of a normal year, not a special occasion. This year, there's so much going on around Alton Towers that you could be forgiven for thinking it was an EP maintenance programme. It's almost alien to see this sort of level of refurbishment at Alton!
 
The Nemesis re-paint is not all being done this winter, because the cost is too great and it is an enormous job. They have already spent the best part of £150,000 on Nemesis alone and the rest of it will have to wait - especially with everything else going on in Dark Forest, Cloud Cuckoo Land etc. There is also new audio coming to many areas, which will be heard in March.
 
It's easy to assume that TLC is some smoke and mirrors thing, but really - the park are making every effort to improve things across the entire place to make it better for guests after the low ebb of 2015.
 
When TLC was announced some people wrote it off as a lie. Hopefully the massive range of images posted on the Twitter feed have at least re-assured people that they are trying, and are spending, on this sort of stuff.
 
The closed rides at AT this year have not been announced - it is out of AT's hands and totally in those of Merlin.

Europa-Park will be getting a very small kiddie coaster next season for their Ireland area.
 
It makes sense, as the current smallest coaster, Pegasus is far bigger than most park's smallest coaster!
 
This will take them up to 13 rollercoasters!

It could be that, rather like what happened with Black Hole at Alton Towers, in order for the flume rides to comply with some change in the law (be it H&S, water quality - whatever), that the parks would have to fork out £x,000 money. Rather than do this, the decision has been taken to close them all as they are all old, and instead (hopefully, possibly) redevelop the sites for 2017 and beyond.
 
Black Hole was always going to be removed at Alton Towers eventually, but they decided not to spend the money on evacuation stairs when the ride only had a few years left in it anyway.
 
It is very sad to see this though, after all - these rides have given long service - and there has been no opportunity to say goodbye.
 
There are still Mack, and Arrow, log flumes operating safely across Europe, of course...

Everyone knows the Flume is awful, old, past it.
 
But it still gets queues and is still loved by many.
 
I mean, it's fairly integral to any visit I make to the park that isn't with enthusiasts.

The Smiler will re-open in 2016. Absolutely.
 
It will be one of few pleasing points...
 
Aside from its rollercoasters, which will remain the best on offer in the UK, everything else about 2016 at Alton Towers appears rotten.

It could be that, rather like what happened with Black Hole at Alton Towers, in order for the flume rides to comply with some change in the law (be it H&S, water quality - whatever), that the parks would have to fork out £x,000 money. Rather than do this, the decision has been taken to close them all as they are all old, and instead (hopefully, possibly) redevelop the sites for 2017 and beyond.
 
Black Hole was always going to be removed at Alton Towers eventually, but they decided not to spend the money on evacuation stairs when the ride only had a few years left in it anyway.
 
It is very sad to see this though, after all - these rides have given long service - and there has been no opportunity to say goodbye.
 
There are still Mack, and Arrow, log flumes operating safely across Europe, of course...

It is quite shameful that a ride like The Flume, which was added in the very early days of the park, didn't even get a send off.

It says a lot about the expectations from our measly theme parks that some folks are saying "I understand X, Y and Z rides but not A and B rides"...
 
It should be remembered that:
 
The Flume regularly attracts a 20-45 minute queue, longer in hot weather.
Charlie regularly attracts a 20-30 minute queue.
Ripsaw may not get a queue, but it certainly is watched by as many that ride - if not more!
Hex gets a steady stream of guests, and in fact had a queue outside during Scarefest and fireworks. It is also one of the UK's most cherished rides.
Driving School... well, what is there to maintain? It's not old and it's pretty good for kids. Shoddy.
NST - the less said the better.
 
It is diabolical in every which way - how can they claim to be a major theme park acting like this? Has anybody ever actually been to a park where 6 rides have just been closed for cost cutting reasons? I can't think I have and I have been to many.
 
The way to regain trust and reputation is not to close rides down. Furthermore, the Mutiny Bay show will be cut for 2016 and I also expect lousy opening times, staggered ride offerings, food and beverage closures, shop closures and the loss of gardeners, technicians, operatives and entertainers.
 
Alton were being made to cut things after the 2.9m guests that came in 2014. Anyone remember opening day 2015? Staggered openings galore. It was a joke - and that was after an amazing year! This isn't simply due to the Smiler. There is a wider agenda at work here and it's all about money.
 
Will they cut the admission fee? Let us see...

It is quite shameful that a ride like The Flume, which was added in the very early days of the park, didn't even get a send off.

It says a lot about the expectations from our measly theme parks that some folks are saying "I understand X, Y and Z rides but not A and B rides"...
 
It should be remembered that:
 
The Flume regularly attracts a 20-45 minute queue, longer in hot weather.
Charlie regularly attracts a 20-30 minute queue.
Ripsaw may not get a queue, but it certainly is watched by as many that ride - if not more!
Hex gets a steady stream of guests, and in fact had a queue outside during Scarefest and fireworks. It is also one of the UK's most cherished rides.
Driving School... well, what is there to maintain? It's not old and it's pretty good for kids. Shoddy.
NST - the less said the better.
 
It is diabolical in every which way - how can they claim to be a major theme park acting like this? Has anybody ever actually been to a park where 6 rides have just been closed for cost cutting reasons? I can't think I have and I have been to many.
 
The way to regain trust and reputation is not to close rides down. Furthermore, the Mutiny Bay show will be cut for 2016 and I also expect lousy opening times, staggered ride offerings, food and beverage closures, shop closures and the loss of gardeners, technicians, operatives and entertainers.
 
Alton were being made to cut things after the 2.9m guests that came in 2014. Anyone remember opening day 2015? Staggered openings galore. It was a joke - and that was after an amazing year! This isn't simply due to the Smiler. There is a wider agenda at work here and it's all about money.
 
Will they cut the admission fee? Let us see...

It says a lot about the expectations from our measly theme parks that some folks are saying "I understand X, Y and Z rides but not A and B rides"...
 
It should be remembered that:
 
The Flume regularly attracts a 20-45 minute queue, longer in hot weather.
Charlie regularly attracts a 20-30 minute queue.
Ripsaw may not get a queue, but it certainly is watched by as many that ride - if not more!
Hex gets a steady stream of guests, and in fact had a queue outside during Scarefest and fireworks. It is also one of the UK's most cherished rides.
Driving School... well, what is there to maintain? It's not old and it's pretty good for kids. Shoddy.
NST - the less said the better.
 
It is diabolical in every which way - how can they claim to be a major theme park acting like this? Has anybody ever actually been to a park where 6 rides have just been closed for cost cutting reasons? I can't think I have and I have been to many.
 
The way to regain trust and reputation is not to close rides down. Furthermore, the Mutiny Bay show will be cut for 2016 and I also expect lousy opening times, staggered ride offerings, food and beverage closures, shop closures and the loss of gardeners, technicians, operatives and entertainers.
 
Alton were being made to cut things after the 2.9m guests that came in 2014. Anyone remember opening day 2015? Staggered openings galore. It was a joke - and that was after an amazing year! This isn't simply due to the Smiler. There is a wider agenda at work here and it's all about money.
 
Will they cut the admission fee? Let us see...

Tomorrow, staff at Alton Towers will find out where the cuts are going to come.

The comparison with the log flume at Europa-Park is not off.
 
OK, how about a comparison with the log flume at Liseberg? Or perhaps many of the log flumes at Six Flags parks? Perhaps 'Le Scoot' at Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Many of which are made by Mack and/or Arrow and opened in the 1970s.
 
The fact is, like many rides in the UK, Loggers Leap has been neglected to the point that it is presumably unsafe to operate.
 
If the parks were actually run with care and love, we wouldn't see the mess we are seeing with many of our rides.
 
It is perfectly legitimate to compare the looking after of Loggers Leap with that of the Tirol Log Flume at Europa-Park. They are both old, both made by the same company, and, with the right management, can both be looked after appropriately.

The comparison with the log flume at Europa-Park is not off.
 
OK, how about a comparison with the log flume at Liseberg? Or perhaps many of the log flumes at Six Flags parks? Perhaps 'Le Scoot' at Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Many of which are made by Mack and/or Arrow and opened in the 1970s.
 
The fact is, like many rides in the UK, Loggers Leap has been neglected to the point that it is presumably unsafe to operate.
 
If the parks were actually run with care and love, we wouldn't see the mess we are seeing with many of our rides.
 
It is perfectly legitimate to compare the looking after of Loggers Leap with that of the Tirol Log Flume at Europa-Park. They are both old, both made by the same company, and, with the right management, can both be looked after appropriately.

Do not let them cloud your judgement with their refurbishment lies.
 
There is no reason a refurbishment could not be completed between now and March. Or even mid-season, if it was that drastic.
 
This is the next of what I expect to be a great many cuts to theme park operations across Chessington, Thorpe and Alton Towers.
 
I fully expect to see some rides slashed at Alton Towers, too.

The fact is, that if 2016 offers a below-par theme park offering, it's hardly going to entice guests and give them the best impression.
 
Merlin were already making cuts at Alton Towers and the like before The Smiler caused a downturn in guests... people must not forget that!
 
I do worry whether this is a race to the bottom. It isn't like there's that much competition in the UK.
 
All that said, as much as Merlin have to report good news to shareholders, if the parks quality declines, then that isn't going to give the shareholders anything long term. At all.
 
Worried. I dread to find out what Alton Towers have planned.

Do not let them cloud your judgement with their refurbishment lies.
 
There is no reason a refurbishment could not be completed between now and March. Or even mid-season, if it was that drastic.
 
This is the next of what I expect to be a great many cuts to theme park operations across Chessington, Thorpe and Alton Towers.
 
I fully expect to see some rides slashed at Alton Towers, too.

Do not let them cloud your judgement with their refurbishment lies.
 
There is no reason a refurbishment could not be completed between now and March. Or even mid-season, if it was that drastic.
 
This is the next of what I expect to be a great many cuts to theme park operations across Chessington, Thorpe and Alton Towers.
 
I fully expect to see some rides slashed at Alton Towers, too.

Do not let them cloud your judgement with their refurbishment lies.
 
There is no reason a refurbishment could not be completed between now and March. Or even mid-season, if it was that drastic.
 
This is the next of what I expect to be a great many cuts to theme park operations across Chessington, Thorpe and Alton Towers.
 
I fully expect to see some rides slashed at Alton Towers, too.