JoshuaA Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 TBH I'm not bothered with these budget cuts at all. Flume is dull anyway, The other two aren't that popular in the coldness of October. The staggerd opening times are nothing compared to some other theme parks cough* Portaventura *cough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 As I said in the other topic, this whole situation was going to get worse, before it gets better. I'm actually amazed they're even bothering with Battle Galleons and Congo River Rapids. Why? Â Congo is usually popular at Scarefest from my experience, but in an ideal world I would rather Battle Galleons was closed instead of The Flume as barely anyone seems to go on it at any time of year, let alone October! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeah Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I can't believe Towers are closing all these rides... Hex was unbelievable, Flume good, Sub Terra was good and Ripsaw always will be. I like CaTCF too. Towers, we understand there has to be budget cuts, but spare these five! Closing the rest of CCL would have been a better option imo. No need for 2 kiddies areas in a family park. Towers quite literally never will be the same again. Sent from my SM-T533 using Tapatalk EDIT: Looking over the topic it seems like they're just on scattered openings, yet I've seen quite a few news articles saying they're closed (including TowersStreet) so what is actually happening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan.N Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Nothing has yet been confirmed by Alton Towers with regards to these rumours for next season. Until anything is confirmed by the park themselves no-one can say with any clarity what will happen to these 6 attractions. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see them on staggered opening but I would be shocked if they were all closed for the entirety of the 2016 season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraX Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 I do think that the press getting hold of the rumours is a good thing, as if Merlin have been considering this then added pressure may force them to look at it from a guest experience, rather than what the investors want. Staggered openings can be annoying, but atleast they can be available. Closing those rides would be a baaaad move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Staggered opening would be the times better than having half a dozen rides shut. However I do feel were this to be U-turned, poor Flummy and even Ripsaw won't see the light of day in 2016. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 I thought Merlin had officially announced it when they released their Smiler report findings, a kind of sub-text of 'we got hit bad cos of this crash so this is what we're snowballing next year to keep our bloodthirsty shareholders happy'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeah Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Staggered opening would be the times better than having half a dozen rides shut. However I do feel were this to be U-turned, poor Flummy and even Ripsaw won't see the light of day in 2016.Completely agree with everything you said. Let's face it, Flume is VERY old and will have to close soon. Ripsaw will go as it's old and Towers seem to have a bit of a problem with flats that don't spin. True nothing has been confirmed, but when has a rumour like this ever been wrong? What I didn't get is why they're closing some of the more popular rides e.g. Sub Terra, Charlie, HexSent from my SM-T533 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 So the park hours have been released, with lots of midweek closures off peak.  Oh dear.  "In addition to the new attractions, restaurants and amazing entertainment we have next year, we are also committed to continuing our work to enhance the Alton Towers Resort. As part of this, in 2016 we will introduce ‘Towers Loving Care’, our experience improvement scheme which is all about sprinkling extra sparkle and shine on the Resort. From repainting whole areas of the Theme Park, relaying pathways and improving signage, to complete redesigns or refurbishment of attractions. Over the next 3 years, it is our desire to bring you new and exciting attractions for all ages, develop our accommodation offering and to ensure that the existing areas of the Resort continue to feel our love. As part of this scheme you will see changes to our line up in 2016 but we’ll bring you more news of this in January."  with ride closures to boot!  Oh dear, oh dear.  Etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenVig Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Kerfuffle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Starting with the positives, it is great to see that areas of the park will recieve TLC - Alton is starting to look tired in a number of areas so repainting and refurbishment is good! Â "Changes to the lineup" doesn't sound good, especially when they are having an extended 2015/2016 closed season. Â I appreciate that sometimes rides have to be closed if they are having major work done on them, but hopefully it will only be one or two rides rather than the rumoured six.Also, Air being rethemed does not count as a new attraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 That meme summarises Alton in 2015. So no half term after all then (however I expected this to happen) which hopefully means they have more time to improve the park. Plus closures on Tuesday's and Wednesday's on weekdays. I've also heard somewhere there's only being 2 fireworks this year which isn't good really. The Towers TLC thing though fills me with some hope however as the park desperately needs some major upkeep, with so much of the park looking tired and pathways looking uneven too, so this is much needed. Hopefully the rumour of those ride closures is related to THRM being refurbished too (though that may not apply to Flume & Ripsaw). It's all a mixed bag at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Such a corporate response... Â "We're closing rides for your benefit, honest guv" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Hmmm, the actual park-wide work sound good, an alarmingly large portion of the park had fallen under par recently, so this can only be a good thing. As for the actual ride closures, well... I'll be surprised if this actually happens. Hopefully any work done will be of a high standard, maybe Merlin have finally come to their senses and given everyone a proper maintenance budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Hate to be 'that guy', but I hate the fact that they've decided to big themselves up over the fact they're going to be doing some TLC to the park.  Things like repainting wore-looking areas, relaying paths and improving signage shouldn't be something that is made a big song and dance about - it should just be done.  Don't get me wrong, the fact that they are (planning on) doing it is great - but just do it!  Also, Air being rethemed does not count as a new attraction.  Well, it does.  It's a new experience, likely under a new name, so it's a new attraction.  It's a shame that they're not adding a completely 'new' attraction to the line up, but Air 2016 will still be a new attraction.   And if the rumours are true about Air, it will be more than just a retheme anyway in fairness. BenC, OldFarmerDean, Liam T and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 It's quite a big thing for them to admit that the park is in such a state that it needs all this work. Yeah, it should never have got to this state but the fact they're finally seeing this and hopefully sorting it is something. Is it just an excuse for the rides that are closing? Maybe. But, if they are all heavily refurbed/replaced in the next few years then surely this is good. We don't know that this is down to Smiler. Still don't know what rides are closing but they all make a fair bit of sense.  Somewhere in Merlin there is a group of people who want the parks to succeed, and they'll see that Towers is their flagship park and in no way a fit state to be deemed that. Don't forget as well, Paramount is only supposed to be a few years after this whole 3 year plan so maybe that is giving a little kick to sort the parks out. Could be an influence, even if Merlin aren't worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraX Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 I'll also believe this when I see it (the upgraded bits). This is all marketing prep work before they announce the closed rides next year. Now they'll be able too I say with 'confidence' "sure these rides are closed for our exciting TLC 3 year refurb" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Well, it does. It's a new experience, likely under a new name, so it's a new attraction. It's a shame that they're not adding a completely 'new' attraction to the line up, but Air 2016 will still be a new attraction. And if the rumours are true about Air, it will be more than just a retheme anyway in fairness. It's still the same coaster regardless of whether they change its name or paint it a different colour, it's just like when they renamed Spinball, put a plastic Sonic figure outside it and called it a new coaster - no! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 It's still the same coaster regardless of whether they change its name or paint it a different colour, it's just like when they renamed Spinball, put a plastic Sonic figure outside it and called it a new coaster - no! If it's using VR headsets then yeah you could say it's a brand new experience. Very very different to the sonic situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 It's still the same coaster regardless of whether they change its name or paint it a different colour, it's just like when they renamed Spinball, put a plastic Sonic figure outside it and called it a new coaster - no! Â Same coaster? Â Yes. Same attraction? Â No. Â An 'attraction' is something which starts the moment you entire a queue line, and finishes the moment you leave the 'exit' line. Â Change the name, audio, colour, theme or whatever - if you change them, you change the attraction. Â Â With something like Spinball or Rita, those changes were very minor and I agree that it's very cheap to call them 'new' attractions. Â But they still are. Â Presumably / hopefully, the Air changes are going to be more akin to Scorpion Express' changes than those two though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Scorpion Express still wasn't new though despite being advertised as such, the theming had been changed (well, removed) but it is still the same ride. VR headsets would be a new experience, if that turns out to be what happens to Air - but advertising something as a new ride/attraction is very different to a new experience IMO. Personally the VR idea doesn't really appeal to me, and no doubt there will be an extra charge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 the Air changes are going to be more akin to Scorpion Express' changes What, nothing like as good as it was before?! Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Hate to be 'that guy', but I hate the fact that they've decided to big themselves up over the fact they're going to be doing some TLC to the park. Â Things like repainting wore-looking areas, relaying paths and improving signage shouldn't be something that is made a big song and dance about - it should just be done. Â Don't get me wrong, the fact that they are (planning on) doing it is great - but just do it! Â Â Thing is, Disneyland Paris have pretty much been doing the same thing over the last few years. Advertising that you are refreshing your park is fine. Problem is, Alton has a five month closure, DLP has had four closed days in its entire history and the resort has been making massive losses for yeaarrss. Â I don't believe for a second that Nemesis or general surroundings are going to be put back to the highest standards. I hope I am proven wrong. TraX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 TowersStreet is reporting that Ripsaw has been dismantled including the queueline and theming, which is now residing in the car park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 AT are in desperate need of some new flat rides. Its something I have always felt the park has lacked. Shame about ripsaw. Funny how Blade was supposed to be removed first but somehow seemed to live longer. Cal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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