Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:07 am
You really have two options here:
1) Spend loads and loads of cash on expensive rides, theming etc to create a dream park, and then have the worry about where the money will come from and if it will in fact bring enough new guests through the doors to pay for it all.
2) Forget about making lots of profit and be realistic with it, build what you know will get enough people through the doors and which will also not make the park bankrupt in a few years too.
For me there needs to be investment in two areas:
1) Family attractions and young children (look at how many people visit Legoland each year?)
2) Thrill rides for teens and adults (how many people visit Thorpe?)
I believe you have to cater for the two and have a healthy balance for it to work successfully. Now if you look at the current line up of rides and attractions, they really do have a good line up, so improving what they have does not really mean that they need to spend hundreds of millions of pounds.
One area where I feel is wasted and could be so much better is CCL and Coaster corner. I love CCL and the theme works very well for me, but there really isn't a lot for people to do there. So what could be changed?
-Charlie, needs to be changed to Toyland Tours, they can still keep the glass lift at the end, but have it going through a toy factory. For me Charlie does not have any magic and it is a big disappointment for lots of guests.
-Ice Age 3D I love and this really works well for the area, of course at some stage this will need to be changed to the next IP which is popular with kids, but for me this works.
-Twirling Toadstools - keep it
-Driving school - keep it
-Frog hopper is ideal
-Now the old Nickelodeon place needs to be used for something, it is a waste of space, make it a shop/Costa cafe etc.
-Coaster corner, this could be an extension of CCL, there is enough room for QUIET, low height attractions which will be suitable for families, plus if they put up a heigh fence to minimise noise, then this could be a great young kids area, add a small junior coaster, a Wave Ride like at Legoland and another smaller ride (Sea Storm at Chessington type ride).
I believe it is very important for young families to come, there is a lot of money to be made here as even if it is 1 child, there will always be two parents or even grandparents. Plus with pre-school children, these guests if you give them then ride discounts can come during the week keeping the park busy when it is quiet.
There is also another great bonus, if the young children enjoy it, they will want to come back and if you can keep all ages engaged, then they will come back as a teenager, then adults and eventually in 20 years time with their own kids. So by having rides for all people, you can boost the numbers and invest in the future.
Now here comes to be big investments, you can spend 15-20 million on a big ride, yes it will draw a large crowd, but for that price you can also get more bang for your buck if you spend it on smaller attractions.
-Flat rides would add a lot to the park, a KMG Afterburner, S&S Swing, even a Top Scan. These kind of rides are cheaper, don't take up a huge amount of space, but can easily eat through a good number of riders per hour and give the guests a much better variety of attractions.
My first shopping list would be:
-Junior coaster
-KMG Afterburner (to replace Submission)
-Top Scan
-Flying Carpet (like Quantum)
-Cross valley woodie
-Flume replacement
-A big dark ride
-Improved larger family offering
-A bird enclosure like Lorakeet Lagoon at Chessington, this is very cheap, takes up minimal space, but young children and even big kids love to feed the birds.
I also believe that more effort needs to be made to have things like shows for guests. Alton has lost many of its gems over the year, so bring back the parrot show, the ice show would be good (even if only during high season), plus animals like the Sea lions are also popular. If you read back through history at what made the towers successful in the past, lots of these have been lost over the years.
Last edited by
bensaund on Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
If you go down to the woods today