Alton Towers Live - Music Concert 19th June 2011

General discussion regarding the UK's No.1 Theme Park. Talk about anything and everything Alton Towers here.
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Rob L
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[quote=""captain""]Part of the problem was a result of the marketing team, marketing it as something it wasn't. This publicity stunts involving d-list celebrities, bans of speedos, made-up crab facts and many others that a lot of us thought were scraping the barrel of lame advertising. Sure it did the job of gaining the park publicity but we don't have to like the method of how it was done. Other Merlin parks do exactly the same and we don't have to like it either.[/quote]
You can criticise the marketing all you like, but it is the facts that matter, and the fact is that the marking in 2010 worked with gate figures for the season up by a considerable amount. I'm not saying well all have to agree with how they choose to do the marketing, but the results of 2010's marketing was fantastic, Morwenna and her team did a great job. Crazy things are more likely to get media attention, so you can't blame them for going down this road.

[quote=""captain""]Same with Shrek, people don't have to like it. Especially when an attraction that should be world-class is going in an old tent, seems to be rushed and ill-thought out and in the end is cancelled allegedly because the quality from AT wasn't good enough for Dreamworks. How would that not garner criticism from the enthusiast community? That was the main reason people complained when the attraction was not created, as, as far as we know, it showed poor business/quality from the park or their Merlin backers.[/quote]
That was not the case, simple as that. Shrek did not happen for a number of reason, but the quality of what was being planned is most certainly not the reason it was cancelled. I think most people on here would have been happy with the quality of what they wanted to do.

[quote=""captain""]I didn't see any Merlin/AT related criticism of the Facebook free day, only criticism of the people who couldn't understand how to get in. It seemed that AT did a pretty good job trying to explain how it would work and setting up a Wifi spot to help people.[/quote]
Sure not many people have criticised it, but with someone saying "it's not a true free day, you still have to pay for food", then that type of criticism is desperation.

[quote=""captain""]Are people not allowed to say when they don't like the acts at this concert? And when they buy an Annual Pass they expect year-long entry to the park. The standard pass has most benefits reduced/taken away so people buy the Premium, and still find out they can't get in. It may be in the smallprint, but who reads it? 1 in a 1000. So they don't have to pay the full price of the ticket, but doesn't it make sense that if the £55 includes park entry that the AP has already paid for, then the AP holders should just pay the difference? I know £15 for those acts is almost ludicrously cheap, but the argument behind it is fair enough. I also know that AT won't be taking the bulk of the money, but this is an AT forum and people are going to complain. We can't accept every disappointing decision every time, this would be such a boring place.[/quote]
People are more than welcome to say if they like or dislike the acts. But hoping that the concert fails simply because they don't like the acts is downright selfish and wrong. Yes, we would all like season long entry to the theme park with our passes, but for the reasons stated in one of my previous posts, on concert dates, Alton Towers can not simply just let anyone in, it was the main flaw in the Pink concert last year. Well done to Alton Towers for learning from their mistake I say. And T&Cs and T&Cs, whether people choose to read them or not is not the point, if you don't look at them, then that's your problem not knowing that you can't go to the park at certain times. The £55 concert ticket includes a vastly reduced entrance price, the majority of the price will be for the concert. £36 for Premium Pass holders is fantastic value for a concert such as this; I paid £50 last year to go and see Pink. Charging £36 for the Premium Pass holders can not be classed as a "disappointing decision".

[quote=""captain""]So has Colossus, and people still complain about that. So has Duel. So has the Bubbleworks disaster. So has the lack of a kiddie coaster in the park. Once something has happened, should we just give up and shut up, even if we don't like it? Should we just accept that things will be sub-par but as it's the company that runs the park we love it's ok? That's a crazy argument. People are still bitter about the MAP parking charges. Why should they shut up because you're sick of hearing it?[/quote]
But when people are taking out their anger with the MAP fiasco on anything Merlin do that isn't classed as amazing it is going too far. Merlin are not perfect, but imagine the position we would be in if Merlin hadn't bought Tussauds. Merlin have so far done a good job with Towers, sure there is still a long way to go and they've not got everything right, but they are getting things back on track. They should not be slated for every other decision that they make as seems to be the case sometimes on here. Like I said before, given the opportunity I'd love to see if some of you could do a better job running either Merlin or Towers, somehow I doubt it. I know no one is saying they could, but it comes across that way sometimes. And finally yes, in life I'm afraid you do have to get over things, otherwise you're not going to get very far. Sitting and complaining about not liking something for years is quite simply a waste of time, moving forward with what you've got is always the best option. That applies to everything in life, not just theme parks.

:)
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James
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Merlin is of course not a great company. Ever company has its ups and downs and flaws but since the MAP saga there's just seems to have been uproar of anger at Merlin/Alton over the closed season. Those along with no new additions for Alton and nothing to discuss the forums have slowly become a bitter place towards Merlin/Alton. I expect people to moan about certain decisions, I moan myself at some of the things Merlin do although it's going from just moaning to just slating everything they do for no reason at all.

Anyway this is becoming more of another Merlin debate so onto the concert... I’m not fussed on the listed acts, I like pop music but JLS, the Saturdays and McFly aren’t my thing. I’m sure it will be a very popular event though, it will certainly attract the teens and Alton could be onto a winner here.

:)
Last edited by James on Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dylan
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Regarding the acts playing at this concert, I personally don't see how any of them are less credible than Pink? They are aimed at the same target market? (Children and gays!) They are probably more successful chart wise at the moment than Pink. The £55 ticket price is justified for those acts really. As has been mentioned before, they would charge that if they all played i the 02, or perhaps in Hyde Park or something. Yet, on top of that you get a day out at Alton Towers.
We are all annoyed about the AP restrictions. Yes, it is bloody annoying that there are more and more restrictions being put in place, but to offer a £19 (or whatever it is) discount to AP holder is great. The standard person would pay £19 to enter the park for the day, so you are effectively paying for the concert only and still getting your free admission to the park.
I won't be going to this, mainly due to the fact that I have no interest in the bands, and secondly I don't think AT's infrastructure is geared up properly for these events, i.e. exiting the car parks etc. It would just stress me out. I would consider a concert if it was a band I liked and I could stay at the resort. It is a credible enough venue. I have been to a huge amount of outdoor gigs over the years, and some of the places these have been held have been way worse than Alton Towers!
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[quote=""damos1""]As for arranging the dates as to the weather nigh on impossible. It is always the luck of the draw with that one, I mean hey do they know the forecast already for the 19th of June.
[/quote]
Well yes they'd have a forecast for all days. It's computer generated over previous seasons plus however much they expect. Then they manually change it when closer to the time. But I know that's not the point you're trying to make ;).

If they said, well these are the three concert dates this year, then something doesn't happen.. we'd have pages and pages filled of moan moan moan, towers is rubbish can't even get JLS to perform here. I dunno what I'd dislike to read more ;).

For MAP - The other parks are open, and don't have restrictions on those dates. You're more than welcome to visit those, as remember your pass price includes entry to these. As for towers pass, well meh. I'm sure you can live for those 3 days of the year. Otherwise you may be a bit too dependant on the park for whatever reason, and doesn't sound too healthy. :)

Finally. Surely if you dislike it so much, you should be contacting them directly rather than constantly where you can get proper sensible responses from Customer Services rather than us lot who don't give 100% answers?
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Nightfall
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I'm surprised there has been so much complaint about the Premium pass not getting you in for free when the Standard pass doesn’t even offer any discount. The money you save by having a Standard pass is roughly the same amount as the discount being offered by the Premium pass. So by being a Standard pass holder you’re getting the worst deal, which is unfair for all those who booked the pass before the terms changed but are collecting them with the new T&C.

Having said that I think the decision to close the park for the day and add an additional cost is a smart one. It sounds like the decision was made after the car park problems last year and if that’s the case I’d happily sacrifice a couple of days in the year. I wouldn’t have visited that day anyway unless I was attending the event. I’d pick a quiet day when nothing was going on.

19th June 2010: Th13teen Event * 19th June 2011: Live * 19th June 2012: ? Olympics anyone...
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Due to not having a functioning computer i havnt posted as much as i would like to say on this topic. But here are my thoughts on a number of issues.

1 - the acts are a fine choice, not my cup of tea but they sell big and work for a certain demographic of the population. Why do people on here take pleasure in bemoaning their quality when i know there isnt a band or group around that doesnt get some who hate their music (U2 are meant to be the bigget group in the world. I would rather listen to nails scraped along the chalkboard)

2 - losing three days on the pass... They have made discount offers i believe for pass holders so you will only be paying for the concert. Knowing the sort of people who get involved in organising this stuff for towers i imagine the discount equates to the cut towers get off the tickets as dont forget the promoters will take most of the ticket price and towers will aim to profit out of food drink and merch sales. And this is the only way they can run the concerts as pink was not a great success in regards to splitting the non concert guests from concert guests

Merlin are evil - i have been a vocal critic of merlin and alton towers at timea but there is a situation now where people have started complaining about things that are hardley a huge issue. And seem to think merlin are a charitee. A few points mainly aimed at captains post

- shrek wasnt cancelled because the quality of the plan was poor... Do you really think dreamworks would have allowed the project to get to the point of starting and not have had input in the plans

- there where obviously other plans in place as some have been leaked on here but for variously reasons they have fallen through.

- towers have had a bit of a management shuffle and likely have suffered without a marketing director and james paulding... Though they will obviously fix this soon.

- everyone gives way to much credit to the management of merlin. They provide funding - they do not put much input into creative decision. And we know funding existed this season because of shrek... However modern buisness doesnt just give a division x amount of money and say "do as you will" they critique an existing plan and greenlight it or not and if the plan falls through the division loses the cash

im way off topic now
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Vik
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Though the lineup isn't my cup of tea, the concert should be a success. I am glad they are expanding on last year with the possibility of one or two more concerts as well. I guess I assumed a lot of the efforts made last year were purely for the 30 years anniversary. Evidently not though.

Last year with the Pink concert was a steep learning curve for them, being the first large scale concert that has been held there since the 90's. Though I didn't attend, it did become apparent from reading how it would all pan out that it would be a bit of a logistical nightmare allowing concert goers and non concert goers access to the park during the day, especially when it came to closing time and the need to somehow segregate those going to the concert and those that are not.

I think the fact that for this concert at least access to the park is only for those who are attending the concert in the evening. This will make organising the crowds much easier as there shouldn't be anyone there who is just there for the theme park only. It will no doubt be monitored closely to see how much easier it makes things in terms of crowd control. Guest arrivals will still be spread out through the day even though the day at the Theme Park is included, so that shouldn't cause a major issue with traffic during the morning at least.

There will still be some concerns regarding exit from the car parks at the end of the concert. Is the following week 1/2 term in some areas? If so, maybe there could be some push towards encouraging people to stay over at the resort hotels. It won't solve the traffic problem full stop, but will at least take a few cars out of the queues of traffic wanting to get out.

I noticed from observing the traffic leaving the park during the fireworks that the worst bottleneck seemed to be the Air Car Park, with traffic from there having only one exit it in to the main car park, filtering in to traffic from the main car park. With 3 lanes open towards the exit, and lane 3 (The one that traffic from the fields exits on to, exiting on to Wooton lane, taking the rather narrow route towards Uttoxeter, there should be no reason why most people shouldn't be out on to the roads within the hour at most, (Though the Air Car park bottleneck will cause a problem). Coincidently, parking in field car park M during Fireworks (on the busiest Fireworks day!) and leaving at park close at 9 with everyone else, I was in Uttoxeter with 40 minutes, so traffic flow can be handled well when needed.

Hopfuly it will be a success and we will see many more concerts over the coming season/years. :D
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Valjean.
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I would've gone for free but none of the artists are interesting enough for me to fork out £55.
Big Dave

Anyone going then as Im gonna book tickets soon
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The amount of Merlin bashing never ceases to amaze me. :bored:

Ok, the list of who's playing isn't up for everyone, fair enough. And with no new attractions for this year, it seems that everyone here on TTF are trying to find someone to blame, and in this case, the unlucky winner is Merlin...oh joys.

So who's side am I on you may say. Well the truth is...neither. I'm only a witness on TTF

People aren't going to like everything that Merlin are going to throw at us (which strangely enough turns out to be almost everything!) I'm not really going to argue here, go ahead as much as like to complain of how :censored: the acts are that AT have chosen, nothing will help for our pleas for Merlin to add something world class, though if they did, I will eat my hat.
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James
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Charlotte O'Connor has now been added to the lineup for the concert.

For those interested the concert is being run by Sam Bush Organisation.

:)
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Adam
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Advert posted on Facebook.

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:)
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NickT04
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A friend of mine had her tickets arrive today, so I guess any early purchases made should be dropping on doormats soon.
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Rob L
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A sixth act has now been added to the line up of this concert, Allstar Weekend.

:)
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Dylan
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Ticketmaster are now offering a 2 for 1 deal on tickets to this event.

[url=http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/promo/2yh ... ton_towers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/promo/2yh ... ton_towers[/url]

Low ticket sales?
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Adam
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Apparently both events have not received anywhere near the sales they expected.

I assume that's why recent Towers TV ads have mentioned the Black Eyed Peas' at the end.

Towers, you wouldn't be in this mess if you just went ahead with the Shrek plans! Stop trying to save money, you make enough! [-X
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Blaze

Wouldn't be in this mess if they had booked acts worth going to.
AstroDan

In all honesty, I am shocked with JLS that it isn't sold out... they are hot property among children at the moment.

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Adam
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[quote=""Blaze""]Wouldn't be in this mess if they had booked acts worth going to.[/quote]

I do feel that's slightly unfair.

Even though the acts are not in my main music genre atall (i'm more a rocker/metal head) I can still appreciate that they are very popular acts and a wise booking for towers. I just don't think it has been advertised very well atall.

They need Mowenna back!
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