March 10, 20169 yr comment_229216 Yep can't beat fresh paint! In my opinion the TLC should have been done on a rolling basis rather than all at once, but since that opinion has a slight hint of being a negative comment it's not valid. So, great job Alton!
March 10, 20169 yr comment_229221 Hopefully it will become a rolling scheme and not just a 3 year blitz. Lots of work needed carrying out at the same time because there wasn't anything like this in place. Yeah the TLC thing is a marketing thing and it should always be happening, but if this is what it takes I'll accept it. And I thought the updates would be full of new paving and boring stuff. Some of the updates have been great and we've been getting a good number of them too.
March 10, 20169 yr comment_229224 Let's move back to generally discussion Alton Towers... Alton Towers is the most visited theme park in the UK. Yay. Go them. That's probably not true any more - how many guests did Thorpe get last year?
March 10, 20169 yr comment_229227 I think it's such a shame that a lot of enthusiasts are celebrating what is just park maintenance. Nemesis looks amazing yes, but the rest is pretty insulting.. Well embarrassing imo
March 10, 20169 yr comment_229232 That's probably not true any more - how many guests did Thorpe get last year? Ooh, good point. Thorpe's numbers were seemingly also affected last season, so I'd be surprised if Towers' drop in numbers was so large that it'd be less than Thorpe. But who knows!
March 10, 20169 yr comment_229233 I think it's such a shame that a lot of enthusiasts are celebrating what is just park maintenance. Nemesis looks amazing yes, but the rest is pretty insulting.. Well embarrassing imo
March 10, 20169 yr comment_229250 Ooh, good point. Thorpe's numbers were seemingly also affected last season, so I'd be surprised if Towers' drop in numbers was so large that it'd be less than Thorpe. But who knows! Well based on my experience of visiting both parks in the same week on what I would consider peak period, Thorpe was by far the busiest (infact on the Thursday we arrived at Towers, we walked onto Nemesis, got front row without waiting, and re-rode without leaving our seat), our friend went to Thorpe the same day, and sat in a queue for 40 minutes (which was half what they'd experienced the same day the year previous, so they said). But Thorpe's numbers could be down this year too since there seems to have been some, oh how can I say, change of direction from our local schools who are no longer fully funding a days trip for the school to Thorpe (they are charging parents, but are going to come unstuck since most of the kids have annual passes and most parents I know have said they're not paying twice). So who knows as you say.
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229264 Well based on my experience of visiting both parks in the same week on what I would consider peak period, Thorpe was by far the busiest (infact on the Thursday we arrived at Towers, we walked onto Nemesis, got front row without waiting, and re-rode without leaving our seat), our friend went to Thorpe the same day, and sat in a queue for 40 minutes (which was half what they'd experienced the same day the year previous, so they said). Since when did Towers allow re-rides?
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229270 That's probably not true any more - how many guests did Thorpe get last year? Legoland had the most last year
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229277 Legoland had the most last year Yep. Apparently one of the days during the summer period had the highest visitor number in the park's history.
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229278 Lego will have had over 2 million. Towers probably just under 2 million and Thorpe about 1.6 if I were to guess. Don't use TEA, they're horrifically off for many parks! Good guesstimates from them but nothing more.
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229279 Surely they only have to guess as certain parks don't release that info?
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229280 2014 TEA figures for Uk parks were Towers 2.6M [although I've heard they actually got nearer 3.0M Legoland 2.2M Thorpe 2.1M Chessington 1.6M I can only estimate the figures in the 2015 publishing will be: Towers 1.8-2.0 [estimated drop of 20-30% Legoland 2.2M [similar level to previous year] Thorpe 1.9M-2.0 [8-15% reduction] Chessington 1.7 [only park I reckon that will see growth from 2015 figures] other figures will likely remain similar except Efteling may overtake Tivoli, Europa had a slightly growth and DLP had a slight drop again.
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229287 Just been confirmed - 2016 means no Hex, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Driving School, NST - as well as The Flume & Ripsaw. NST has been a bit of a nightmare for the park hasn't it?
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229294 I'm not visiting the park! Because I'm at home. Didn't see this coming!
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229296 Incredible that despite this being first reported way back in November it's taken until now for Towers to officially confirm it. The line-up of family rides is looking pretty weak now, not good for winning people back.
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229300 Incredible that despite being this being first reported way back in November it's taken until now for Towers to officially confirm it. The line-up of family rides is looking pretty weak now, not good for winning people back. Couldn't agree more
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229305 According to what I have read the rides are only closed for the start of the 2016 season. Could this possibly mean they may open later on in the season?
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229314 Well I'll be happy if Hex opens - the others, apart from Sub Terra I'm not that fussed about.
March 11, 20169 yr comment_229318 Very disappointing to see so many rides closed, and it is also poor that they have left it until now to let people know about it. Still, I can't say it was a surprise given the rumours have been pointing towards multiple ride closures for months.
March 12, 20169 yr comment_229320 Incredible that despite this being first reported way back in November it's taken until now for Towers to officially confirm it. The line-up of family rides is looking pretty weak now, not good for winning people back. Whilst I agree that cutting the line up isn't the correct way to win people back, I can see the reasoning behind this move here. After the smiler crash, it is going to take months if not years of running the park before people gain confidence in Alton Towers again, and therefore 2016 is going to be a pretty dead year for the park. Unfortunately it's a lose - lose situation here for the park though, they either had the decision to close 6 attractions and suffer a massive amount of negative complaints as a result or keep these 6 rides open, with no one riding them as there simply won't be enough people in the park to be any demand for them, even during "peak" times as there simply won't be enough people visiting this year. The park have lost a tonne of money and extra staffing and running costs of rides which have no demand is just going to burden the park even more, therefore it is financially the logical decision even if it results in negative guest feedback.The reason I say that 2016 is going to be a pretty dead year for Alton Towers is that I think the general public have been affected more by the smiler crash than enthusiasts think. From what I've heard, enthusiasts are eager to get back to alton towers and ride the smiler again but the general public are completely put off the idea of going back to alton towers. In my school the other week, a teacher said they enjoyed thorpe park however they preferred alton towers and a room full of hundreds of people's went up in rage against the park. Luckily for merlin, it's not all of their theme parks which are affected, as trust seems to remain in Thorpe and Chessington, it's just Alton which is going to struggle for a long, long time in the future. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk
March 12, 20169 yr comment_229321 Hex and the flume is a bit of a bummer, had hoped to see the wife puke, sorry enjoy Hex later in the year, I guess I'll just have to trick her into going on The Smiler now.
March 12, 20169 yr comment_229323 James I completely disagree with you... The park had two choices with this season, the route they have taken, which is focus on saving money first and foremost, or the alternative was to go all out with this season in order to gain that trust back... The ticket price has gone UP (probably part of inflation etc.), yet Ripsaw is gone and there's 5 other attractions SBNO... When we add in that they've only just announced this a WEEK before the park is due to open, that's some serious contempt for the public they need to win back... ATM, if the park is dead, it's their own doing with the way this season has been handled so far... Paint will not fill in the family ride quota (especially when they've closed two of the most popular ones)... What happens if this season is a failure? More cuts and closed rides? Why should financial logic of saving as much as possible take over from trying to get the trust and confidence back? I'm not business minded but showing further contempt to those who do visit a now lesser yet more expensive product will cause even more negativity... It's utterly daft to me that they haven't gone all out, and just accepted this year as a write off on a financial level as long as it meant the park was in full performance mode... That's the way they should've gone...
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