.

No one will be mad at you for posting this lol. its your views and that is what this forum is all about 

I how ever dont really agree with your post. Alton towers is what you make it. Yes unfortunatly sometimes when you visit kiosks may not be open, sound effects not workin etc but to me it does not mean that its lost its touch.

Like you said aswell, the rides were walk ons. I find the more busier it is the better the atmosphere, but thats just me. Alton towers will always have a place in my heart and top of my priorty list. Like they say "Where the magic never ends" 

I think the main reason for the perceived lack of atmosphere so far this season is solely down to how quiet the park has been, as people are waiting until The Smiler opens.

In the current economic climate, the majority of the GP won't visit AT more than once a year, as we all know it can be a very expensive day out.

I think once The Smiler is open the attendances will increase and the atmosphere will return to the park.

Tbh

I think that it could be that I have the disney bug and have been a few times since 2008

I always try to have a good time there but think that due to issues with the annual pass team it is a let down for me but thanks for putting me back on the right track

I don't personally think Alton towers has lost it's magic/touch. I think a lot of older forum members remember the hay days of 'where the magic never ends.' But the GP want something different now I feel. I think it's unfair comparing Disneyland and Alton together because they attempt to achieve different things entirely.

I do take your point about atmosphere, but that is primarily to do with the smiler. I can guarantee there will be plenty of atmosphere/guests on park from the end of may onwards

I didn't compare AT to Disney

I just said maybe its cuz I got the Disney bug

But you are, because of that bug, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it 

think what ya wanna mate but no where did I compare!

stop being so petty

Comon guys, no ones getting petty just expressing there views

Alright, lets just lay off the whole Disney/Alton thing, that debate is old.

Personally, I don't think Alton has "lost it's touch" but I do feel that some management have lost their's. Like many industries, the entertainment sector in the UK is becoming more commercial, and with that comes the increasing importance of profits. I have nothing wrong with this, but the very nature of entertaining is about the "magic" and spontaneity of it all, something Britain doesn't particularly excel in doing. 
Places such as Alton, need to be run by creative people. People that look in the best interests of everyone who own, manage, work and visit the park. This does not mean the park is being poorly run, with investments on the scale of The Smiler, it is obvious the park is doing well. The problem is that these investments have the spotlight for the interests of profit, while the rest decays due to lack of creativity for the rest of the park.

marita wrote:

think what ya wanna mate but no where did I compare!

stop being so petty

I'm not being petty in the slightest. All I was pointing to, was the fact that you mentioned the Disney bug so in effect compared them. They're two completely different monsters are alton and Disney, as Disney is designed with magic at its very heart.

I was adding to the discussion, based on previous points. Pettiness is something I sincerely didn't mean, and don't act on here or in my life.

Yes it has, but a long time ago and for reasons which I think we've gone into many times before in other topics.

The main reason being, that Tussauds (now Merlin) is no longer owned by Pearson. That company and the people behind it, their values, beliefs and business sense are what made Alton Towers what it is.

The companies that have owned it since have raped and pillaged it for all its worth.  Yes, Merlin are investing a large amount of money into the park (which I'm grateful for) but it's at the expense of guest experience and customer satisfaction (which I'm not grateful for).

If you put the client experience first, profits generally follow in the long term. To put profits first backfires in the long run. It's far cheaper to keep returning visitors (and their future families, I started going as a teenager and now my kids love the rides) than attracting new ones so you don't want to lose them.

Sometimes I feel a bit bitter when I visit by the sheer cheek of some pricing - and for me some of the magic has gone. If I felt that Merlin valued me as a customer rather than a profit I would visit far more often than I do, and my annual spend would be higher.

It has. But not forever.

My reasoning is:
- The rides of late have been second rate when compared to TP.
- The park feels a bit stale as a result. All theme and little delivery.
- I can go to TP and get equally good coasters and far better flat rides with far less walking.
- Merlin think it is acceptable to charge nearly £50 for an on the gate ticket (this applies to both TP and AT ofc).

I live closer to TP so I'm unfairly biasing but I do remember AT being the ultimate regardless of distance.

Investment in the park should be standard practice and should be unconditional from the company. Tickets should be £30 or less. You can't charge £50 per ticket then blame recession for lack of investment. We've got 3 or 4 more years of very promising developments both at AT and TP. The last few years have been all about hotels. Now that's out the way we should see more twisted steel and AT will once again become the ultimate park it once was. Just not right now. Not until the end of May at least

I don't think it has. I think the main aspect of losing its "touch" is as you grow older the "magic" disappears slightly but if you look at the kids in the park today they are still going mental with excitement! But still even when you grow older the park is still very entertaining in a lot of ways in my mind. Even if the prices are becoming unbelievably ridiculous but lets not get into that

It's lost its Magic yes, but that was when the experience was everything, whereas now its a great place, just not with the Disney sparkle it once had. Thats the world we live in I am afraid to say.

I just think it's Merlin that's out of touch. I think there putting all there eggs into the same basket. I think how big a company Merlin is they could scrap the 2 for 1 vouchers and charge a good price for adults and kids. Like I thought charging £46.20 for a adult ticket was bad enough but £37.80 for a child is a joke. No wonder the park is dead who gonna pay £92.40 with BOGOF when you can go Drayton manor with a family of 4 £62 which I heard has been quite busy this year. Even Blackpool doing great deals and I'm sure other non Merlin parks are a lot cheaper than any Merlin park.
In the 90's it cost less than £20 to get in at Alton Towers. I got a ticket from the 1998 season and I paid £18 on the door price.

As previously mentioned I think it's largely down to cost to get in. Absurd pricing!

But I also think it's down to the fact Merlin are making it subtly, and possibly accidentally, generic. Alton Towers under the 'reign' of Tussaud's was a much different place. There was something very unique and unpredictable about the park that made the day that little bit more special. Nothing's changed in terms of how unique the rides are, but I've noticed minor issues with AT since TH13TEEN opened. (There's nothing wrong with the ride I'm referring to a point in time.) Something about Merlin makes it...I don't know...a little like every other Merlin park? It makes the park a bit predictable and subtle changes in things like themeing and promotion have caused the excitement to drop. For example, when the Smiler was in early stages of production and a lot was unrevealed, many people knew there would definitely not be certain rides like wing coasters because 'Merlin had made one of those at Thorpe.'

Something about that lack of surprise has really impacted AT. Then again, I guess being run by a business that owns a chain of other theme parks will be like that. It's like owning a few ice cream companies, different names and USP is already there but, when you have all the other companies to look after you end up following a formulaic approach to each one because it's more efficient. I fear that's where Alton is headed.

I wish the 2 for 1 would be replaced by half price.

I went to Sealife the other week as a family of 3, used one 2-for-1 so it cost £45. The gate price for a family of 3 was £51 so I only saved £6.

It would have cost £45 for a family of 4 too, with the vouchers.

But the promo is to get you to the attraction, not to genuinely save money.

mattallennet wrote:

I wish the 2 for 1 would be replaced by half price.

I went to Sealife the other week as a family of 3, used one 2-for-1 so it cost £45. The gate price for a family of 3 was £51 so I only saved £6.

It would have cost £45 for a family of 4 too, with the vouchers.

But the promo is to get you to the attraction, not to genuinely save money.

Buy your child two tickets lol