Alton Towers Resort General Discussion

[Ladyofthelake]

As reported on TowersTimes News the admission price for an on the day ticket has now broken the £50 barrier with a one day ticket costing £50.40. I think alot of people suspected the price might pass this point this season, and it's no-where near the £59.99 Thorpe Park charge on peak days, however, it's still quite a significant psychological barrier in some people's minds which could put some people off.

I know there are BOGOF vouchers and other offers, however I think this increase will make alot of people think very carefully about their visit. I do wonder if the on the day prices being raised in this way is partially as a result of the sheer abundance of 2 for 1 offers - so many people use them, therefore the resort has to raise prices to make sure they still get a reasonable return.

[Michelle]

My friends thought the BOGOF price was too expensive last year, let alone now. They like Alton Towers but I feel this price hike will probably be enough to put them off a visit in a year with no new coaster.
Price rises are understandable in business and usually just a matter of course but I really feel the new prices at AT and Thorpe are a tad too greedy in the minds of the consumer.
If the cause is abundance of BOGOF then maybe they should reconsider how much they flood the market with them?

[Echo Rider]

I agree that £50pp does look steep but if you book a week ahead it's £37 (and two days for £45) which I would say is pretty good value when compared to similar days out.

[Zach]

Building on what michelle and lakey have said, 2-4-1 offers is one way to look at the reason for the price hike but also if I remember rightly, it was mentioned or I was told directly merlin are aiming to get more and more people to buy and own Merlin annual passes and this is certainly one way to do it. If the normal consumer looks at the normal on the gate price then looks at standard AP price they might think well over next I'm probably going to visit another time or even to other attractions on the pass its worth it.

[Adam.W]

Wouldn't it also encourage people to get the merlin pass, because then they could save money and go multiple times?

[Zach]

Wouldn't it also encourage people to get the merlin pass, because then they could save money and go multiple times?

Yes I just said that above :P

[Morgan]

That's the idea, I assume.

[NemesisRider]

I think though more Annual Passes (mainly attraction specific ones) would encourage people to do more day trips. Doesn't that defeat the main objective of the LTDP? I mean the idea that the want AT to be a short break resort. I believe that was one of the main reasons why they built the Enchanted Village...

[lewis97]

You could take that outlook, or you could come from the perspective that people will want to fully exploit their annual pass and do so by spending a couple of days at the resort, staying over as a result.

[NemesisRider]

I guess it depends on the pass type.

If you have an AT annual pass and live within a distance that would make it OK for just day trips (this isn't a solid value but I'd guess about 2:30 hours away would be the furthest in this range) you'd probably just not stay over and drive down every day.

However, if you had a Merlin pass then you'd most probably either stay over because it's far away but if was close you might stay over at another attraction (as AT is fairly far away from most other Merlin attractions.

I guess it could explain why they don't push the AT annual pass as much as they push the Thorpe annual pass. I mean, if AT only passes get them less overnight stays.

[stealthsmiler]

TBH when we had MAPs and did multi-day trips to AT, we would stay over in a travelodge and drive 15/20 minutes to the park the next morning, even though we only live 2 hours away. These multi-day visits were rare though as we would just visit more weekends rather than less and stay over.

[Zach]

Just going to leave this here.....Alton towers park map official of 2015, this was updated onto the alton towers website normally I know it's big release or first look in the sun but guess this years different anyway no change really same layout and graphics just the addition of the the New items for 2015 and so little speech bubbles offering guidance, the resort are yet to update the accomedation map on there website as at the moment it still only offers the one with just 2 hotels on. Also I'm aware this version is a little small but you can go on the website to get a full size version.

[TomL]

I cannot see Blade on the map or in the side information boxes however it is still listed on the website... Could this mean that it has been retired? Hmmmm

[NemesisRider]

No, as it was running over FHT I'd doubt they would have it shut this season.

[Dan]

The fact that The Blade isn't on the map doesn't bode well for it.

If it was going to be in operation then it would be on the map, but if they were planning on removing it why have it on the FHT line-up?

I'm expecting The Blade to be SBNO this season, unless they find time between now and March 21st to completely remove it.

[Dom]

Well that is a surprise. I know Blade was in the LTDP as a ride to be removed, but i wasn't expecting it to happen this season given the fact it was available at FHT. If it isn't on the map then it is probably likely that it will be SBNO for this season and then its removal will happen over closed season. It is weird that AT seem to be getting rid of their thrill rides and not replacing them.

[Ladyofthelake]

I have to admit I am surprised to see The Blade isn't included on the new map, especially as it was in operation for half term. Having said that, it did strike me as odd when it wasn't included on the ERT line-up for this season when it has been included at the start of virtually every year previously (although it has briefly been removed from ERT line-ups when the resort have made mid-season changes).

Usually the removal of a ride from the attraction line-up so close to the start of the new season would suggest that some issue has arisen during closed season maintenance, however I would have thought if this was the case with The Blade, any issues would have been discovered prior to February. Perhaps the resort planned all along to operate it in February but not for main season?

As Dom said, and as mentioned in the TowersTimes news article, The Blade is mentioned in the LTDP as nearing the end of its life and therefore being removed in the near future. However, what is concerning is that with no direct replacement for Submission, and The Blade seemingly being SBNO this season, this now leaves just Ripsaw and Enterprise as what would be classified as 'thrill flats', and they're both aging rides too. In fact, I usually give both of these rides a miss when I visit.

I really hope that Towers do something to address the ever decreasing number of flat rides soon. I appreciate there is a fair amount of investment going into the new accommodation, High Ropes and CBeebies, but I feel something does need to be done to bring in another couple of flats to balance the thrill ride line-up.

[Aidan Lowe]

I don't like the direction AT is going atm, as you mentioned removal of thrill rides without replacements and a larger awareness/attention into catering for the "younger family experience". I think for most Thorpe will most likely be thrill seekers favorite destination in the years ahead. Time will tell though closed season 16/17 will be interesting, but for this season another thing less to do if I'm on park, may as well just stay in Nemesis/Oblivion/Smiler queues all day.

[Danny]

I don't know if it's been posted yet, but from the weekend the Sun and Merlin are running the two free tickets promotion, as expected. There is an advert advertising this promo with a big mention and focus on coasters and CBeebies land, Octonauts in particular.

[Ryan.B]

It is getting old now, have HUSS changed the technology from 1981? Might have a broken part that they can't replace during testing, they announced submission was going way before this, and that wasn't exactly popular, so why couldn't they tell us it was the last chance to ride at FHT would have been nice to have one of its last ever rides at my second half term trip, considering I went on at 12pm and I was going to ride at 3:59 but I needed a Nemmy fix. Can see an year like 2005 at thorpe when two flats came in, but with a Ripsaw and Enterprise both going, leaving chance for a complete makeover of flat thrill rides