January 13, 20169 yr comment_226079 Of course it's the same rollercoaster track, but with the VR headsets and new theming, it will be a completely new experience. I think it's perfectly justified marketing it as a new ride.
January 13, 20169 yr comment_226087 Of course it's the same rollercoaster track, but with the VR headsets and new theming, it will be a completely new experience. I think it's perfectly justified marketing it as a new ride. I think with the track comment he was saying that the track shown in that promotional picture is clearly a Verkoma track, not a B&M one. It is the standard track they use for these kind of images and have used it many times in the past (despite no longer having a coaster of this type on site). However if some people in the public know it's an Air retheme and others have just heard 'new attraction' from the papers, this poster may lead them all to believe it is a new coaster type thing with the VR, as the poster is clearly not Air. B&M track is very distinctive, even to the public
January 13, 20169 yr comment_226098 Not to mention the promotional images Chessington use, with Vampire on the Nemesis track !
January 14, 20169 yr Author comment_226123 The only thing I can see correct in Coaster Jamie's argument is the idea of the general public being let down because let's face it they will! It's being branded as a new experiance but when people visit and find out it's just a re vamped air they will be probably less impressed :/ It's a great idea and looks fantastic and I don't disagree with the marketing technique because let's face it it will do its job of bringing new customers in and old customers back! But going back to my previous comment about customers being disappointed I have had to deal with the confusion and dissapointment previously when working on Scorpian Express. During the first year of the revamp technical issues caused the area to be shut and when explaining to customers in the morning Scorpian Express was closed I would normally get from the parents "oh we were looking for the Runnaway Mine Train" or "hang on that's the brand new ride? That's the Runnaway mine train", "where exactly is Scorpian Express?", "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BELOVED TUNNELS ON THE RUNNAWAY MINE TRAIN *cri* </3". Some (me included) will love and understand the idea and concept of what they have done and some will love the idea of this crazy new space ride and get confused when visiting the park :S Just as a last example my parents the other night were asking me "So what's the new ride Galectica at Alton Towers?" And I was like oh lol it's just a retheme of Air. Now I must address as well that I know Alton Towers are not labelling it as a new coaster or a new ride as such but when people read "New for 2016 - Galactica" on their website they are not going to expect riding Air with different theming yet again just stating that there will be confusion and complaints. So yeah looks cool, I am not complaining about their marketing technique I know it's what they need to do to bring in the punters, I know if they phrased it differently it would sound lame but we can't hide the fact it's going to mislead customers. If anyone can turn around and say it's not misleading to the General Public .. Good on you
January 14, 20169 yr comment_226124 The only thing I can see correct in Coaster Jamie's argument is the idea of the general public being let down because let's face it they will! It's being branded as a new experiance but when people visit and find out it's just a re vamped air they will be probably less impressed :/ It's a great idea and looks fantastic and I don't disagree with the marketing technique because let's face it it will do its job of bringing new customers in and old customers back! But going back to my previous comment about customers being disappointed I have had to deal with the confusion and dissapointment previously when working on Scorpian Express. During the first year of the revamp technical issues caused the area to be shut and when explaining to customers in the morning Scorpian Express was closed I would normally get from the parents "oh we were looking for the Runnaway Mine Train" or "hang on that's the brand new ride? That's the Runnaway mine train", "where exactly is Scorpian Express?", "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BELOVED TUNNELS ON THE RUNNAWAY MINE TRAIN *cri* </3". Some (me included) will love and understand the idea and concept of what they have done and some will love the idea of this crazy new space ride and get confused when visiting the park :S Just as a last example my parents the other night were asking me "So what's the new ride Galectica at Alton Towers?" And I was like oh lol it's just a retheme of Air. Now I must address as well that I know Alton Towers are not labelling it as a new coaster or a new ride as such but when people read "New for 2016 - Galactica" on their website they are not going to expect riding Air with different theming yet again just stating that there will be confusion and complaints. So yeah looks cool, I am not complaining about their marketing technique I know it's what they need to do to bring in the punters, I know if they phrased it differently it would sound lame but we can't hide the fact it's going to mislead customers. If anyone can turn around and say it's not misleading to the General Public .. Good on you Yes but look at this We've combined the experience of our iconic flying rollercoaster with cutting edge Virtual Reality. Now you can become a space tourist through this unique combination of physically flying coupled with the breathtakingly emotional journey of travelling through space.
January 14, 20169 yr Author comment_226125 Oh come on theres a lot of poo bums out there who won't read that or understand it *shrugs shoulders* *starts to back away from sticky situation*
January 14, 20169 yr comment_226128 I don't think that this alone will get Towers back to what it was prior to Smiler's crash, especially given the ride closures and what not... They need a whole lot more than goggles to get the public back on their side...
January 14, 20169 yr comment_226131 Totally agree Benin - it feels like they are emarrasdly crying in the corner rather than dragging the world onto the dancefloor and ignoring the jeers of "Dad Dancer"
January 16, 20169 yr comment_226265 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-unveils-new-galactica-7162876#ICID=sharebar_twitter They just had to tie it back to the Smiler crash didn't they Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk
January 16, 20169 yr comment_226266 Typical, unjustified yet not surprising. Just the mirror being the mirror really. It is best to avoid feeding the trolls as they are only after you're attention. Whilst I don't think the VR scheme is the way to save towers, hopefully it'll be quite successful considering the terrible last season they have experienced.
January 16, 20169 yr comment_226271 Pretty much every news report I've seen has. At least this one acknowledges it is a re-done Air, many articles out there read like an actual new coaster is going up which as has been said is likely to cause disappointment all round when people turn up and there isn't one.
January 18, 20169 yr comment_226453 Galactica and Derren Brown's Ghost Train. Great year for names. Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk
January 18, 20169 yr comment_226455 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-unveils-new-galactica-7162876#ICID=sharebar_twitter They just had to tie it back to the Smiler crash didn't they Sent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk It's the mirror what do you expect? A flashback to the chocolate volcano everybody has forgotten about?
January 20, 20169 yr comment_226774 Since last Tuesday, I have had trouble breathing, and indeed living. I've now realised what the problem was... THERE'S NO AIR, NO AIR
January 20, 20169 yr comment_226790 My Mum (ie, average punter) yesterday 'oh, I saw in the paper Alton Towers are having a big new ride next year...', 'no Mum, it's just Air which you've been on with some VR goggles', 'are you sure, that's not what it said' etc etc. The perception of what is coming could well lead to a lot of disappointment even if what they produce is really good, which would be a shame. They should make sure it's much clearer, and work with the press to get it conveyed properly. Might even have been a good idea to call it 'Air Galactica', even if just for a transitional period.
January 20, 20169 yr comment_226793 It seems like it might turn out to be yet another case of mis-marketing something causing it to be less successful than it should (and could) be. Getting people back into the park is great and I think the marketing may work in that respect, but how long will the success last if people are expecting a "new roller coaster?"
January 20, 20169 yr comment_226794 I think Alton just want to get the guests back, but if marketing is doing correctly it'll Towers down.
January 21, 20169 yr comment_226830 I'm a complete novice to the whole VR thing. What happens in terms of cleaning the goggles? Surely a lot of people will be sweaty and the goggles could get in a pretty disgusting condition?
January 21, 20169 yr comment_226831 I've seen some people say they'll be wiped clean after every use.
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