Alton Towers Discussion Thread

[Garet]

This is not supposed to come across as backseat anything but I'm genuinely curious why they went with this I.P? I mean is the wicker man that well known? It's been mentioned here a lot about how Thirteen is wrongly marketed but it feels the same here. Are there die-hard Wicker Man fans out there that will hop a plane for this? The park built on local legends with Hex and, even if it wasn't too well received, built into their own Nemesis lore with the short-lived Sub Terra ride.

 

The only thing I can think of is for this "world's first" with the fire and wood, but being in the section of the park called the Haunted Woods, couldn't they have built their own little story like the previous rides, have a similar structure around a flaming tree, with a more family-ish orientated horror theme and skipped on the costs of paying for an I.P. that has a 15 rating for a family ride?

[bill_s]

the costs of paying for an I.P. that has a 15 rating for a family ride?

 

They paying the Druids?

[thedazza]

This is not supposed to come across as backseat anything but I'm genuinely curious why they went with this I.P? I mean is the wicker man that well known? It's been mentioned here a lot about how Thirteen is wrongly marketed but it feels the same here. Are there die-hard Wicker Man fans out there that will hop a plane for this? The park built on local legends with Hex and, even if it wasn't too well received, built into their own Nemesis lore with the short-lived Sub Terra ride.

 

The only thing I can think of is for this "world's first" with the fire and wood, but being in the section of the park called the Haunted Woods, couldn't they have built their own little story like the previous rides, have a similar structure around a flaming tree, with a more family-ish orientated horror theme and skipped on the costs of paying for an I.P. that has a 15 rating for a family ride?

 

They didn't go with any I.P. This has nothing to do with either of the movies of the same name. It just happens to be based on the same druid rituals that those movies are. They paid nothing for any I.P.

[KarlaKoaster]

From TowersStreet:

 

New information on Alton Towers website shows that there will be major changes in park operations for the 2018 season. The theme park will open for half an hour of ERT at 9.30am with other rides opening between 10am and 12pm. The schedule is as follows:

 

9am: Monorail

9.30am (ERT): Wicker Man, Spinball Whizzer, most of CBeebies Land

10am: X-Sector, Marauder's Mayhem, Heave Ho, rest of CBeebies Land

11am: Dark Forest, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Sharkbait Reef, Battle Galleons, Runaway Mine Train, Hex

11.30am: Skyride

12pm: Forbidden Valley, Duel, Congo River Rapids

 

In addition to this, the Congo River Rapids will only open between 6th May – 4th September 2018.

So Nemesis and Galactica will only open for 4-5 hours per day and the Rapids is just a seasonal attraction (of course, there's no such thing as seasonal pricing at the park to reflect this). It's really sad to see how Alton Towers is being run into the ground by Merlin. It's just not a fun place to visit any more.

[A.J.]

Wait... Alton Towers closes at 4 or 5 PM?

[KarlaKoaster]

Wait... Alton Towers closes at 4 or 5 PM?

Yes, reducing their opening times was another one of the cutbacks they made, along with closing on weekdays (eg, Monday-Wednesdays in September and October), closing food kiosks and quick service restaurants, mothballing or removing rides, closing Splash Landings for six months of the year and making a few hundred staff redundant over the last few years. They were making cutbacks even before Smiler crashed, but since then they have accelerated.

[livai]

unfortunately and the price to pay. the park no longer works, or better: it does not make any more money

these are the conditions to stay open

(without considering that alton, he has killed investments in other parks)

[coasterbill]

unfortunately and the price to pay. the park no longer works, or better: it does not make any more money

these are the conditions to stay open

(without considering that alton, he has killed investments in other parks)

 

Is this English?

[chickenbowl]

unfortunately and the price to pay. the park no longer works, or better: it does not make any more money

these are the conditions to stay open

(without considering that alton, he has killed investments in other parks)

 

Is this English?

 

A purer form than you or I could ever comprehend.

[SharkTums]

^&^^ Please remember that not everyone on the forum speaks English as their first language, especially one who lists his location as not in the US.

[livai]

unfortunately and the price to pay. the park no longer works, or better: it does not make any more money

these are the conditions to stay open

(without considering that alton, he has killed investments in other parks)

 

Is this English?

Merlin to save Alton took the money away from all the other parks

[Dar]

unfortunately and the price to pay. the park no longer works, or better: it does not make any more money

these are the conditions to stay open

(without considering that alton, he has killed investments in other parks)

 

Is this English?

Merlin to save Alton took the money away from all the other parks

 

I thought it was the other way around? Up until the Smiler crash Alton was the cash cow, propping up the other resort theme parks?

[livai]

in reality they were Alton and Gardaland. then after the accident with the alton

only Gardaland kept the company (theme parks division, no legoland). but Merlin was able to sink Gardaland too

I tell you, Merlin sells the parks and only keeps Legoland

[Dar]

in reality they were Alton and Gardaland. then after the accident with the alton

only Gardaland kept the company (theme parks division, no legoland). but Merlin was able to sink Gardaland too

I tell you, Merlin sells the parks and only keeps Legoland

 

From looking at the accounts (I know, yawn) Alton made more profit in 2016 than Thorpe and Chessinton combined, so I don't know where that's coming from. i just think Alton is a nice scapegoat because of the Smiler incident

[1aflack]

I would imagine the money is coming from the hotels at Alton. I live just outside London and have a 6 and a 2 year old and I never visit Chessington or Thorpe (Thorpe for obvious reasons), Chessington hasn't had any real investment for years now apart from the two new hotels. I would still always prefer to visit Alton as it just has a nicer atmosphere, the new coaster will also help. I find Legoland incredibly expensive.

 

I would have thought with the new coaster, Merlin would be going all out on great customer service this year to make people remember how good their visit was, people that may not have been for a while. Seems counter productive to open a big new ride (heavy marketing) and increased attendance and then actively try and make peoples visit worse.

[JordyC]

After the announcement of the changes to the opening times of several rides, Alton Towers has now updated their website with this statement.

 

We look forward to welcoming you to Alton Towers Theme Park. We offer early access to the theme park for Merlin Annual Pass holders and Resort Hotel guests with a selection of rides and attractions available for your enjoyment including our brand new ride for 2018 Wicker Man.

 

Theme Park opens to all other guests from 10am with over half our rides available, with all other rides and attractions to be open by 11am at the latest every day. Park open and close hours will always be flexible to ensure we can give our guests great experiences – if the park is busy we’ll always do our best to stay open!

 

So all of the rides will now be operational by 11:00, and Congo River Rapids will also be open for the entire length of the season!

[scbt]

Wicker Man is testing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOEuEMZOViQ

 

Edit: The person who uploaded it took it down.

Edited January 29, 2018 by scbt

[flaffstar]

Do I have to be the first one here to point out how freaking slow this coaster it? Even if it gets faster as time goes by... damn that's a kiddy woodie and not a world class experience xD

[A.T.I]

No doubt Robb will still scream on it though. It's what makes TPR TPR!

[A.J.]

Do I have to be the first one here to point out how freaking slow this coaster it? Even if it gets faster as time goes by... damn that's a kiddy woodie and not a world class experience xD

It looks like they stopped the train on the lift a few times - they may be testing it completely under gravity (center of the train at the very top, and then let go at 0 mph) to make sure it can get through the circuit without valleying, before later letting it go over at the desired speed of the lift hill.

[KarlaKoaster]

Coasters always look slow from the air, plus it's testing so you can't really tell anything about the speed yet.

[BDG]

Official shots.

 

:o

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by jedimaster1227

[Nrthwnd]

Well! That's fire and wood (and fog) working pretty good there!

 

I hope it lasts past opening weekend.

 

Great promo shots!

[thrillseeker4552]

I know Merlin tends to over-hype all of their attractions, but that looks totally sick.

[Canobie Coaster]

I'll hold all judgment on the ride portion until it opens, but that Wicker Man statue looks amazing!