Kodak Photo Points

What rides and attractions do you miss? Share your memories of Alton Towers' extensive past here.
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PeteB
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Does anyone else remember these?  I was never able to plot exactly where they all were throughout the park but the one I remember most was the one underneath the RMT track on the exit from Katanga Canyon, looking back towards the area the Rapids/RMT mine shaft exit which used to have smoke pouring out as the train emerged.
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Jon
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There was also one at the top of Towers Street so you would get a lovely wide shot of the Towers.

These were a lovely touch. Why on earth were they removed, even if the sponsorship ended? They could have made them sponsor neutral and kept them.
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bensaund
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I remember them at Chessington, they should really put them back in. But knowing Merlin, they will have Picsolve stand next to them £8 per picture or 2 for £12

The brilliant thing behind these photo points is that a large number of the general public are blind and don't know what to take a picture or what to put in it, so at least these photo points give the people who can't take good photos a standing chance of getting a decent picture.

Also they don't have those photo points which have a picture behind so it looks like your standing on top of a skyscraper or in front of some famous landmark. Cheap to install and minimal maintenance. These are the kind of things which put the magic into a day out
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PeteB
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I completely agree.  I just always thought it was a nice touch that when (whoever it was) designed the areas and pathways they must have thought "hang on minute, this point here would be an nice place for someone to take a photo" and they added it in, with a nice little sign too.

They serve no real purpose to Towers themselves, no profit to be made, just a really nice consideration for guest experience and THAT I think is priceless.
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clayj
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bensaund wrote: ...cheap to install and minimal maintenance. These are the kind of things which put the magic into a day out...
Great audition to any park especially with the advent of Facebook etc. I always hear people saying "I'm putting that as my profile picture" when I get home. Great free advertising for the park (on a side like, this is the reason for Alton Towers Resort being added to most rides)
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mezza
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PeteB wrote: no profit to be made, just a really nice consideration for guest experience and THAT I think is priceless.
Not strictly true.  Clearly (from the name) this was a sponsorship tie-in from Kodak, and it dates back to the era of film in cameras, and rolls of film were sold at every shop and kiosk on the park.  Encouraging people to take photos meant people buying more film which meant profit for the park.

Don't get me wrong, they're a nice idea, but don't kid yourself that they date back to a mythical time when AT didn't care about profits.
clayj wrote: Great addition to any park especially with the advent of Facebook etc. I always hear people saying "I'm putting that as my profile picture" when I get home. Great free advertising for the park (on a side like, this is the reason for Alton Towers Resort being added to most rides)
In a sense, they were the 90's equivalent of the free wifi which has now been installed park-wide for guests - again, a nice free perk for guests, but in this case, the benefit for AT is people tag themselves there on FB, and upload photos, which provides free advertising to the park.
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Michelle
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mezza wrote:
PeteB wrote: no profit to be made, just a really nice consideration for guest experience and THAT I think is priceless.
Not strictly true.  Clearly (from the name) this was a sponsorship tie-in from Kodak, and it dates back to the era of film in cameras, and rolls of film were sold at every shop and kiosk on the park.  Encouraging people to take photos meant people buying more film which meant profit for the park.

Don't get me wrong, they're a nice idea, but don't kid yourself that they date back to a mythical time when AT didn't care about profits.
I may be wrong but I think Pete possibly meant NOW if the photo points were brought back , without sponsorship, that they would be a non-profit low maintenance addition to the guests day. I may have read the original point wrong of course so do excuse me if I've misinterpreted.
I am inclined to agree that it's a nice touch that could be brought back and I for one would appreciate it, I don't actually remember back to when they were originally on park as the Kodak photo points!
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bensaund
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With social media having a massive audience, these photo points would be great free advertising for them. So to help with this free advertising, Merlin/Picsolve now charge for digital downloads, which most people don't buy as what would the majority of people who buy a digital download do... upload it to the social networks....
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Themeparksandy1981
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I think they were removed cause they were trademarked by Kodak. The deal with Disney ended last year and all there photo signs have been removed.
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bensaund
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How about Picsolve photo point?

They will charge you £8 to use one of course
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