Our toddlers need thinking of

[gladers2001]

I would like to know what you think, even thou i only live 20 minutes away from Alton Towers, I didn't think it would be appropriate to take my 18 month old child as the park doesn't really cater for her, so after hearing rave reviews about Drayton Manors Thomas land, I thought i would travel the distance and see what all the fuss was about and to be honest i was not disappointed. All i can say is Alton Towers need to go and take a look and need to have a good hard long think on what they need to do for our toddlers up here, The place was rammed from pillar to post. Theres plenty of kids programmes out there so lets start getting some ideas down here for themes....

[going-up]

Pensonitly, I disagree with you there.

Alton Towers do have some attractions that may appial towards toddlars. Rides like Driving school, Haves Ho, Squril nutty ride, Duges Deep, Charlie and the choctale factory, Tracter ride, The Bestie Ect.

Plus bulding a ride based around a "Kids programe" would be very difficult. Probems such as copyright, cost (Charlie cost twise a much to build because of copyright) As you have said "Theres plenty of kids programmes out there" Will those show become a timeless classic like Tomas the Tank. A lot of these shows outdate and become a thing of the past.

Alton Towers have origanal ideas. Which I would like them to use. I hate it when folk say that there is more to do at a little dump like Drayton Manor than there is at an amazing place like Alton Towers.

[Matt]

[quote=""going-up""] I hate it when folk say that there is more to do at a little dump like Drayton Manor than there is at an amazing place like Alton Towers. [/quote]

Unfortunatly. It will get said if its true

well... for small children anyway.

mat
:)x

[Crofty]

[quote=""going-up""]Pensonitly, I disagree with you there.
I hate it when folk say that there is more to do at a little dump like Drayton Manor than there is at an amazing place like Alton Towers. [/quote]

Sadly there is!
Many of the rides you mentioned are not actually suited to toddlers.
Heave -Ho for example would be for older children. Driving school the same due to adults being unable to accompany the smallest kids. I believe Charlie may also be unsuitable due to the "no babes in arms " rule, although I don't know what that means in reality. :P

[gladers2001]

Not once did i say Drayton Manor was Better than Alton Towers,I couldn't agree more, I said it caters more for toddlers which you will find out when you become a parent. As for cost of ride and copyright costs it would just be pocket money to them. Drayton managed to do it charging £23 a ticket, Alton now charges £36, let see what pre tax profits will be at the end of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[going-up]

[quote=""gladers2001""]Not once did i say Drayton Manor was Better than Alton Towers,I couldn't agree more, I said it caters more for toddlers which you will find out when you become a parent. As for cost of ride and copyright costs it would just be pocket money to them. Drayton managed to do it charging £23 a ticket, Alton now charges £36, let see what pre tax profits will be at the end of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]

You have to bare in mind that this is not Disney or Universal this is Alton were talking about. Money is worth far more than just "pocket money"

[gladers2001]

so it cost Drayton 5 million pounds to theme over 3 acres of land and install 12 rides all for children aged 1+ thats not a bad return for the money its spent, its probably already paid for its self, all im saying is it would be nice if Alton did the same,

[rightbackgranty]

I went with my 4 year old cousin a few weeks back, and I realised how hard it was to keep him happy, as there really arent that many rides for toddlers.

That said, he did love Cred Street, as well as the Farmyard. I think if we do see the Cred Street retheme, the situation for toddlers should improve. Its probably a wise move, with Thomas Land doing so well, Towers need a quick solution

[furie]

We actually got a lot out of Alton when maxi-minor_furie was 18 months old. McDonald's farmyard is excellent, but mostly it was just hanging around, looking at the coasters and stuff.

It's only since he hit two (and was strong enough to really enjoy the other rides) we got the most out of Alton. Suddenly there's enough to fill a day.

However, if given the choice, Maxi-Minor_Furie would take Drayton now (at just turned three) over Alton any day. At 18 months, he'd not manage much at Thomas Land, but we still had a good day there about 15 months ago (before Thomas Land), but just as a zoo and a couple of rides really.

Erm, I'm losing the plot here

He loves both parks, but Drayton more because of Golden Nugget and Pirate Adventure - Thomas Land he gets excited about, but doesn't want to stay in (too busy, and although he knows he should like Thomas, he actually doesn't and is always miffed about it ).

The park at the zoo (new for this year) at Drayton is superb though and he loves it.

We have great days at both, and there's tons for him to do at Alton (and I prefer to do the rides at Alton over the old tat at Drayton), but he certainly prefers Drayton, which is what counts I guess?

[aru]

[quote=""going-up""]Pensonitly, I disagree with you there.

Alton Towers do have some attractions that may appial towards toddlars. Rides like Driving school, Haves Ho, Squril nutty ride, Duges Deep, Charlie and the choctale factory, Tracter ride, The Bestie Ect.

Plus bulding a ride based around a "Kids programe" would be very difficult. Probems such as copyright, cost (Charlie cost twise a much to build because of copyright) As you have said "Theres plenty of kids programmes out there" Will those show become a timeless classic like Tomas the Tank. A lot of these shows outdate and become a thing of the past.

Alton Towers have origanal ideas. Which I would like them to use. I hate it when folk say that there is more to do at a little dump like Drayton Manor than there is at an amazing place like Alton Towers. [/quote]


Like you say Thomas has been going for years, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was built off the back of film hype about 3 years ago (which might not last). Cred Street in reality is poor, two of the attractions are no better than what you would find at a funfair, but the driving school works well. There should be more though, much more - Cred St is dead space really, no excitement, no adventre. The Farm on the other hand is doing it's job well.

[Patrick]

Theres not enough for kids? That's all Alton have been investing in these past couple of years and next year they're making ANOTHER kids area. I personally think Alton are forgetting about the thrillseekers, And only investing in kids. Alton has plenty for kids to ride, And you'll have even more if Cred Street gets rethemed.

[Ollie]

I would say Theme Parks like Drayton or Flamingo Land are much more family orientated than Alton Towers.

Both have Zoo's which offer entertainment for all ages, and have very predominant Family Areas, such as Thomas Land at Drayton Manor.

Alton do have very good Family area's, such as Old MacDonalds Farm, however there is a lack of attractions and rides for very small children. The Zoo in itself provides more interest for small children more than any Ride could and it can provide entertainment for a few hours at minimum.

I'm not saying that Alton has poor Family/Small Child attractions, just that Drayton and Flamingo Land have more for them to do

[going-up]

[/quote]Like you say Thomas has been going for years, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was built off the back of film hype about 3 years ago (which might not last). Cred Street in reality is poor, two of the attractions are no better than what you would find at a funfair, but the driving school works well. There should be more though, much more - Cred St is dead space really, no excitement, no adventre. The Farm on the other hand is doing it's job well.[/quote]


Charile was based on the book not the film. I agree with your point about Cred Street it needs some attention. Let hope that Cred Street gets a retheme next year, it would solve the answer to all of our problems (Mabey not all but... you know what I mesn)

[Squiggles]

[quote=""Patrick""]Theres not enough for kids? That's all Alton have been investing in these past couple of years and next year they're making ANOTHER kids area.[/quote]

The problem is that they don't seem to be very good at it. I mean this is the park that decided the Dung Heap was a quality attraction.

And also when I was last in the park I saw two seperate incidents of young children in tears on the Battle Galleons having just been hit in the face by water cannons, so that also seems a bit like a misfire on the toddler front.

[Mattt]

[quote=""Patrick""]I personally think Alton are forgetting about the thrillseekers, [/quote]

Just look at your display picture

But really there was a 4 year gap between Nemesis and Oblivion.
And another 4 years between Oblivion and Air
And 4 years again between Air and Rita!
So it shows that Alton are pretty consistent at adding coasters, so if they add one in 2010, thats only 5 years. So I doubt that there forgetting about the thrill seekers.

[rita's girl]

I can see all points of view here but i'm definatley in agreement that it does not cater for the 'little uns'.

As said previously driving school is not good for children who are toddlers cause parent can't help. Charlie is not very suitable it put the wind up my 9 yr old ( who does nemmy )

I do think that in terms of children Drayton is better as well as in terms of price for the family budget. I can also see Drayton getting a bit more buisness as the credit crunch takes more of a hold.

I personally think that AT could do a little more to help people with toddlers and for children who need somethink inbetween squirrel nutty and spinball whizzer.

I took my 7 year old and his friend the other day and to be honest I wish I had never bothered. He was bored with the little peoples rides. Liked Mutiny Bay and the rapids but hated everything else saying it was too scary. At this comment my 7 year old laughed as he did Spinball at the age of 4 to my delight as I love theme parks. I must be very fortunate to have children who like roller coasters and feel very sorry for families who don;t like them as it is a very expensive day out.

[senor_cooper]

And also when I was last in the park I saw two seperate incidents of young children in tears on the Battle Galleons having just been hit in the face by water cannons, so that also seems a bit like a misfire on the toddler front

Seems like a perfect shot on the toddler front to me! Sorry I couldn´t resist that one.

[Johno]

My advice: Gullivers World.

£10 entry, which makes it worth it, even if you yourself don't go on any of the rides.

Take a packed lunch, and it's deadly cheap.

[Jase]

I don't understand why people are basically saying Toddlers aren't welcome at Alton Towers, and that they should go to 'Gullivers World and Drayton Manor?

Why would Alton Towers want to refuse business, when they already have the ability to attract thrill seekers, simply by adding relatively cheap rides such as Doodle Doo Derby or Old Mac's Tractor Ride?

Alton Towers will eventually have a unique selling point of being able to cater for everyone, which will make it a true FAMILY theme park, which in my opinion, Gullivers Kingdom, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures aren't! They cater for a very select market!

If Alton Towers continue in the way they do, then that's fantastic. There's more chance of getting even better rides and attractions from the extra profits Alton Towers gain from the big spenders that are Families. The Park needs attractions for young children at the moment, something which alot of you may over look, never venturing into these areas of the park. If you actually think what young ones are allowed on, I'd makes for a pretty dull day for them.

Alton Towers may not make all of it's profits from it's entrance fee, It's more than likely all about secondary spend, which is people splashing out in Shops and Restaurants (hence the introduction and investment in non-branded/franchised units), but they need attractions to draw this spending to the resort, in the form of attractions!

[Johno]

[quote=""Jase""]I don't understand why people are basically saying Toddlers aren't welcome at Alton Towers, and that they should go to 'Gullivers World and Drayton Manor?

Why would Alton Towers want to refuse business, when they already have the ability to attract thrill seekers, simply by adding relatively cheap rides such as Doodle Doo Derby or Old Mac's Tractor Ride?

Alton Towers will eventually have a unique selling point of being able to cater for everyone, which will make it a true FAMILY theme park, which in my opinion, Gullivers Kingdom, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures aren't! They cater for a very select market!

If Alton Towers continue in the way they do, then that's fantastic. There's more chance of getting even better rides and attractions from the extra profits Alton Towers gain from the big spenders that are Families. The Park needs attractions for young children at the moment, something which alot of you may over look, never venturing into these areas of the park. If you actually think what young ones are allowed on, I'd makes for a pretty dull day for them.

Alton Towers may not make all of it's profits from it's entrance fee, It's more than likely all about secondary spend, which is people splashing out in Shops and Restaurants (hence the introduction and investment in non-branded/franchised units), but they need attractions to draw this spending to the resort, in the form of attractions! [/quote]

What I'm saying is that Gullivers caters for the age range of 2-8 perfectly!

Adults can go on almost every ride with their children, and there are also some thrilling rides for the adults.

You also don't get 2 hour queues..