Mitchada04 Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Do love this new bit of promo from the Merlin email. Hope to see it used alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 I don't want to sound just negative on everything, but that image looks a right old mess to me on the right, I don't really get what it is trying to tell me. Does look though to be a sign of how this will actually work. If the image is based in reality the actual chassis and shell of the train is going to be spun round so the back two rows of the train will actually face the wrong way rather than just the seats. Which will look odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge2002 Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 To be fair to Thorpe, their visitor numbers fell around 15% last year AFTER putting in a new ride. A ride that succeeded Storm Surge no less. I would be milking this shiny new toy as much as possible too if it were myself, and I do feel sorry for Thorpe in a way, since they did very little wrong with THE SWARM. I know the back row thing is gimmicky, but its either that or them doing a Saw again and randomly advertising it as "Scarier than ever!" without actually making any changes... OldFarmerDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 I sware in that photo 2 rows are forwards and 5 backwards. Surely it is meant to be the other way round... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jom222 Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 The ones closest to you in the photo are backwards, you can tell by how her hair is going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Ahh sorry I was looking at it the wrong way thinking that the forwards ones were backwards and vice versa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Assuming the 15% drop is correct, surely Thorpe should be looking at itself a bit more beyond "it's cos of the new ride"? Especially when it's not been doing that well for a few years... Got to be lots more reasons for this, the lack of disposable income for their target market, the reputation the park has as unreliable and full of teenagers good and bad, awful queues, focusing on upselling fastrack... Quite a few reasons why Thorpe isn't as successful as it would like to be... Inferno 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 ^ Agree with this. In my personal experience of talking to people that's what has happened. The subject of TP was brought up at work a couple of weeks ago, and the general consensus was "yeah I went there once. It was expensive and we queued 2 hours for Stealth." (along those lines.) There was a lot of negativity about queues and expense... THAT is the main thing many people are remembering about their trips to Thorpe. I think they've just gained themselves a bad reputation tbh, and need to build it back up. People just don't have the money to blow away on things like Thorpe Park at the moment, it's as simple as that. Everyone's after better value for money right now. Blaming the Swarm's marketing for their drop in attendance is ridiculous. The real reason people are not flooding through the gates is because people don't feel that it's worth it, especially at the moment when their target customers have literally no money to spare. pluk, dragon2000, EC! and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge2002 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I'm not saying I disagree, and I do agree their maintenance is poor compared to other parks, indicating its definitely down to their own routines rather than manufacturers faults. But compared the Alton Towers, instead of making operational cutbacks to spare any losses, Thorpe have invested even more money on extra theming and additional events. I hate to say but I think the route cause probably lies with Merlin. They'll most certainly be the ones who decide ticket prices, and maintenance budgets. Not to mention Alton Towers Operations team is somewhere around 5x the size of Thorpe's, I'm not saying they should be the same size as obviously AT is much bigger, but they definitely shouldn't get priority treatment just because they're No. 1 by default. I just genuinely think the operations team at Thorpe do care about the state of the park and image, but are heavily moderated by Merlin's watchful eye, and sometimes are forced into making decisions that don't always sit right. Then when you look at AT, and their Ops team I think the Fanta branding on Oblivion says it all really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBobJones Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Yes Thorpe have got themselves a very very bad reputation, reading through Trip advisor just proves the number of people who give the pace a 1 star rating. We always expect queues, but at thorpe the queues are always worse than any other park, mainly due to overselling of Fast Tracks, 1 train operation, ride downtime and also I believe the park management are very poor. It is such a shame as they have such good rides, but I would not be prepared to pay the full ticket price to go in. I may have a MAP but I will be going to Thorpe a lot less this year and going to Legoland, Chessington and Alton more as everything Thorpe does is just sub standard compared to the other Merlin parks. They just don't seem to get the basics right in my opinion. I live in hope that over the closed season they have pulled their finger out and fixed many things.... But I'm not going to the Annual Pass day, I will instead read the reviews online as too many people complained about the last one I don't want to waste my time! Inferno and Whiteknuckle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 I'm not saying I disagree, and I do agree their maintenance is poor compared to other parks, indicating its definitely down to their own routines rather than manufacturers faults. But compared the Alton Towers, instead of making operational cutbacks to spare any losses, Thorpe have invested even more money on extra theming and additional events. I hate to say but I think the route cause probably lies with Merlin. They'll most certainly be the ones who decide ticket prices, and maintenance budgets. Not to mention Alton Towers Operations team is somewhere around 5x the size of Thorpe's, I'm not saying they should be the same size as obviously AT is much bigger, but they definitely shouldn't get priority treatment just because they're No. 1 by default. I just genuinely think the operations team at Thorpe do care about the state of the park and image, but are heavily moderated by Merlin's watchful eye, and sometimes are forced into making decisions that don't always sit right. Then when you look at AT, and their Ops team I think the Fanta branding on Oblivion says it all really... Cos this board is so rubbish, I cant just show the quote I wanted without deleting the quote box, so bare with. Towers had temporary, very big "show off" cutbacks instead of the entire season closed attractions like thorpe. But still, had extra money put into terry, and have more events than thorpey. Do agree with majority of what you said - merlin sets the budgetting, they agree to the entry prices (it's the parks decisions what they charge within guidelines - for instance, towers have put up their entrance prices but reduced the cost of the 2nd day to make 2 days incredibly appealing). Marketing is a seperate thing though, thank god for varney eh? EDIT: Ooh it posted your quote twice. Effort going to edit it and make it look nice, this is YOUR FAULT IP board. Edit edit: Deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentez Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Full version of new promo.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideAddict Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 I don't want to sound just negative on everything, but that image looks a right old mess to me on the right, I don't really get what it is trying to tell me. That image is easy to understand. It's going down the first main drop off the lift hill, with the redhead at the back still going through the inline twists. At first, it does look a little bit messed, but study it carefully, from the left to the right (or from the bottom of the track up to the top) and you'll realise it is actually one entire ride car. I just genuinely think the operations team at Thorpe do care about the state of the park and image, but are heavily moderated by Merlin's watchful eye, and sometimes are forced into making decisions that don't always sit right. Then when you look at AT, and their Ops team I think the Fanta branding on Oblivion says it all really... Hang on, now I'm confused. Are you saying that the Fanta branding is good or bad? Personally, I hated it at first, but like most things I get used to it. I hope it's gone for this year considering X Sector is being spruced up, can anyone confirm whether it has or hasn't been de-Fanta'd? I live in hope that over the closed season they have pulled their finger out and fixed many things.... I don't. I go back every year, on the lookout for changes, minor and major. And I see lots of changes that still haven't been made. It's the small things that really get me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 That image is easy to understand. It's going down the first main drop off the lift hill, with the redhead at the back still going through the inline twists. At first, it does look a little bit messed, but study it carefully, from the left to the right (or from the bottom of the track up to the top) and you'll realise it is actually one entire ride car. Actually it isn't, a Swarm train has 7 rows, not 6 . In all seriousness though it is a great bit of promo but that is the one thing Merlin are very good at so it is what I would expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Just a thought but do you think that maybe along with the price of visiting the park that maybe people have stopped visiting because, well, they've already been there and done it? It seems that the park have lost alot of the impact on their guests that makes them want to come back again. I visited last year to go on Swarm, said I would go back but never did, wasn't tempted too either in the end. The staff didn't leave an excellent impression when I visited either (A key factor on ensuring guests return again).I'm not too sure on what age Thorpe's target market are now, but I'm going to have a pop and say 14-20. Now the reason I'm giving that age is because I don't know a single person who went last year (Minus some of you lot). If this is indeed the age that Thorpe are marketing towards then the question has to be asked as to where on earth people of that age group can get the sort of money together to spend on a day out at Thorpe Park.Whilst Chessington, Legoland and Alton Towers continue to attract families (Families will often recieve a discount when booking together, plus parents often have finance to spend on a day out) Thorpe Park seems to be struggling due to it's target audience being less able to splash a large amount of money on a day out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 To me, the suffering of Thorpe Park's figures is mainly down to the fact the park has a bad reputation. It isn't solely down to the Olympics. After 4 or 5 years of reliablity issues, the worst queues in the UK, the highest fastrack sales in the UK and poor quality additions on non-major coaster years... Seriously, when you go to Thorpe Park and see Saw with a 1 hour queue even on a fairly quiet/medium day... Whiteknuckle, Inferno and BigBobJones 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Target market is 16-24 year olds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBobJones Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Target market is 16-24 year olds Oh dear I way too old for Thorpe pluk and Benin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideAddict Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 I'm never too old for most rides. A target audience doesn't mean you can't go, don't let it stop you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Target Audience is pretty self explanitory. It is what the organisation will market towards. Doesn't mean other people will not visit. I just think that years on focusing on attracting the 16-24 age group may have come back to haunt them as this age group are the one with a higher percentage out of work and a lower percentage with finances to spend on trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideAddict Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yes, I know what target audiences are, all I'm saying is that people outside that can visit too. Look at Radio 1, it's target audience is 15-29 year-olds and although they attract that age group, they still struggle. Their average listener is about 33. Why do you think they axed Chris Moyles?! Because they wanted a younger presenter for their target audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Despite Moyles being popular with most age groups? Thorpe's market is aimed at 'Thrillseekers' so I'm guessing like Ricky has said 16-24 but if you look at the recent investments bar Swarm it's more geared to families. So the targets still 16-24 but they have to cater for everyone, thus the lastest investments being more family orientated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 The problem with Thorpe is repeat business isn't coming back in from the GP. If I wasn't an enthusiast and I had paid £43 is it now?! or let's say half that with coupons. Getting on 4 rides throughout the day, constantly pressured and having staff shove fast-track down your throat, a day full of breakdowns and long queues and the park looking a total mess and uncared for. Well, I wouldn't want to return either. Not for £21-45 a pop. I do question the GP at times though and they're intelligence, silly enough to go on peak days, what do they expect? Thorpe's really lacking atmosphere at it stands, the chart music is awful, furthermore, It seems they don't have much regard for families (the people with the £) and aiming the park for a target market for those who don't have a great deal of money when they're students. It's riddled with chavs and reckless youths (myself being one of those ) and doesn't make it a pleasant place to visit. Thorpe need to re-evaluate their aims and think about customer satisfaction and creating an atmosphere within the park again, rather than, 'hi, we're going to over-charge you to get in, but oh no, we won't stop there, we'll also make your day a disappointment too! Have a nice day - oh, and don't forget to buy fast track'. I love the investments (mostly) with the park, especially with the Swarm which is seriously amazing and shows promise still within the team, but adding a new ride will not mask the poor keeping of the park. RideAddict 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideAddict Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thorpe's really lacking atmosphere at it stands, the chart music is awful, furthermore, It seems they don't have much regard for families (the people with the £) and aiming the park for a target market for those who don't have a great deal of money when they're students. It's riddled with chavs and reckless youths (myself being one of those ) and doesn't make it a pleasant place to visit. If you go back 10-15 years, it's still the same story, the only difference being that fastrack didn't leave a hole in your pocket, and we actually had proper themed music in the ride areas. Unfortunately, this is generally an age-old problem Thorpe will never shake off - no wonder I had such hatred for them back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 If you go back 10-15 years, it's still the same story, the only difference being that fastrack didn't leave a hole in your pocket, and we actually had proper themed music in the ride areas. Unfortunately, this is generally an age-old problem Thorpe will never shake off - no wonder I had such hatred for them back then. Huh? 10 years ago, Thorpe was at it's prime for a family audience. They were riding high at the success of Colossus, and were getting ready to introduce Inferno. They had a perfect mix of family rides, thrill rides and everything in between. The farm was going strong, and some see 2003 as one of the park's best seasons. Thorpe, from out of nowhere almost, has become a larger name place which would appeal to everyone. It was reasonably priced, had free Fastrack (or didn't even exist about 12-13 years ago) and aimed at families. Really don't get how you can say it was the same old story? Inferno and Benin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.