The worst thing they did at Alton Towers was getting rid of the franchised restaurants such as Mcdonalds/KFC/Burger King and replace them all with 'theme park restaurants', basically the price went up and the quality went down...
Charging for car parking does really annoy me, my fiancé and I are annual pass holders yet we still have to pay £10 every time we visit just to park the car! And it's pretty much the only way to get to the park so we don't even have an alternative option
The ceo of Merlin has no experience of theme parks as he came from the sporting industry so all he knows is cost cutting and increasing prices. Things are going to get bad until Universal make their announcement (hopefully to say they are coming to uk)
The CEO has been involved in sports and entertainments for over 25 years, including Alton Towers, numerous American sports clubs, Madison Square Gardens, Thorp Park, Chessington, as well as being the boss of dozens of gateway attractions (Legoland, Sealife, Peppa Pig World, Madame Tussauds, The London Eye etc) as well as running theme parks in Italy and Germany. He also has a degree in Marketing so you could say he knows how to run a tight ship and he also has a master's degree in Business Admin from Harvard. So with this limited information, it looks like he has plenty of experience of Theme Parks, wouldn't you say?
They quietly changed the way their disabled access passes work, too. I went for scare fest, and showed my valid in date disability ID. I got told that I'd had to book an access pass ahead of time. I explained that I'd researched online and that the towers website itself told me I didn't need to do anything. I was told that I would just have to go without and that was that. After suffering in a queue line for 20 minutes I felt so overwhelmed that I went home. I honestly think that towers is on extremely dodgy ground legally for how they handle disability access.
It's a waste of time going to these places anymore. Back in the 1990's you could expect to wait an hour or so at peak times for the best rides, but now its more like 2 hours or more and no ride is worth that. They just let in as many people as they can, with seemingly no limit, and then offer them a poor experience where literally three quarters of the day (or more) is spent waiting in queues. No thanks!
Went on Monday 4th Nov - arrived just before 10am, managed Nemesis x2, Galactica x2, Blade and Wickerman before lunch. Managed to then grab food and do Thirteen, Rita, Oblivion and Smiler before leaving at 4pm.
@@jonathanmartin114we were there during scarefest got on ONE ride as a family (son has additional needs) and I managed to get on one more while my wife waited with our son while he had something (extortionate) to eat.
As a local my issue with Towers is lack of care, attention to detail and theming. I remember years ago working a season there and on induction day they compared themselves to Disney and wanted to rival them. It was laughable. The last time I visited I felt the new lady that took over was on the right track. Things were cleaned up, painted, repaired, fresh signage, planting etc but there’s still room for improvement. I’d happily volunteer to go around the park pointing out things that need improvement, I’m only 10 minutes away. Half the stuff doesn’t even cost much to rectify. One that always sticks in my mind is while on the runaway mine train you can look out over the fence and just see rubbish bins, things dumped and general trash. It doesn’t take much to build a wooden shelter with a grass roof or themed roof to hide this sort of mess. This would never happen at Disney. I think the food situation needs drastic improvement. Needs more variety / independents back in. They need to add more quirky things to look at, more attention to theming. E.g the frog fountains at the start or the parrot. It’s different, it’s cool. It adds to the magic. NEEDS TO BE OPEN UNTIL 9pm IN THE SUMMER
the main reason for decline is thanks to the dreadful local bus service. the bus company used to do a return ticket for 3.50 and a family return ticket for 9.50. now they charge £10 each local teens fron the city just can't afford this .
I’ve just come back from Europa park In German. That park is far better and the difference there is pricing. This country just take the P last time I went to Alton they were charging fiver just for a pack of Cadbury’s buttons, when you can get for a quid in B&M it’s just a joke and people think it will be any better at the Universal. The way it’s going here no one will be going out .
If they charged that much but had a great park then it wouldn't be quite as bad of a problem, but charging stupidly high prices while the park doesn't reflect that is where I really have a problem
I can see Universal drawing in a lot of tourists from London. Someone in the comments here compared AT to Oakwood and that is really interesting. Thorpe and Chessington will have to compete with Universal (if it happens) but AT might become increasingly irrelevant as it really will be for British people who, like you said, won't be going anywhere. I can't see anyone visiting the UK (i.e. London) going to AT if Universal opens unless they're enthusiasts.
Yes. This is the trend in the UK now, sky high and ever increasing prices for everything. Food etc being the worst. Why? TAXES! Everything costs so much to run here, Electric, Gas and Water bills are very high, Fuel and Fuel tax high, Wages for staff then have to be high as well so people can live. And you end up with price gouging as profit is all that drives people and so food etc and costs for everything are stupid. As a nation we make and produce very little. We cant compete due to high wages that are needed and its all part of the spiral. So all we do as an economy, is sell coffee, food and drink in shops, sell houses the people cant afford and sell and deal on the stock market with banks. Thats it. Everything else is sold off abroad and is owned by people outside the Uk. Spain owns some of our banks, BMW own Mini etc and all our utilities are gone, stuff like EDF for gas which is French. Its an utter disaster and its getting to the point as you say where people wont go out and do anything as they cant afford it. So that money also wont go back into the economy. We are in a bad way and no one wants to do a thing about it...
They should invest more in "indoor" dark ride style attractions! Like so many of the popular Disney and Universal attractions! This would limit the amount of closures due to adverse weather! And in all honesty who wants another "thrill ride" after your 7/8th one, I feel like you have such a headache at that point you want something a little different! They also need to put better effort into their seasonal events! For example this year's scarefest is a embarrassing with the same recycled scare mazes (except one new one) they could literally have different mazes every year! Which would attract a lot more guests and again give them a huge boost in revenue during the highest priced season!
i think because it is the off season, they're cutting operational costs so they have enough budget for something like project horizon or one of the events like scarefest
From what I'm hearing in the industry, project horizon isn't happening for awhile with merlin prioritizing those parks near London because of universal. This explains why all of a sudden chessington is getting an indoor coaster very similar to horizons plans. It's been rumoured its been moved to chessington.
@@Dispatch_Jackthe plans haven't been sent to chessington I think beacuse they wouldn't have right planning permission and Enthusiasts would of noticed similarity between the plans
Much respect for an honest look at Alton Towers, earned a sub. I used to be one of those people who’d blindly defend towers in mid 2010s but things won’t get better unless we acknowledge them.
They are fixing the cable car. Its a country estate where they can't build over the tree line. 15 mins to walk through some beautiful gardens if you're slow, about 7 mins for the average walker. It offers a unique experience that no other park in the world can. The operations arent bad at all, their rides are queue eaters even with most being one train operation. The RAP seems to be the main legitimate problem, nothimg else has really changed at the park in the last 20 years apart from more rides.
Yes, but the cable car gets people across the valley to the other side where the second section of park is very fast and easily. What they should be doing is putting on a sort of golf cart, tram service with vehicles towing carriages on the big wide paths back and fourth till the cable car is upgraded. They used to have a train line in there that did that back in the 80s for many years till the cable car was built....I liked the walk around and in the gardens but that was when the park was cheap to go in and had far less to do. When you are paying silly money to go in and ride coasters, you dont want to be walking around and spending all day looking at plants while plodding place to place. You can do that anywhere for free....
Not sure what all the fuss is about, I was there from 10:15 today until 19:30, got on all the rides, some twice, the food (chips, sausage(s) and a drink x2 - fifteen quid) was ok, the atmosphere was great, the park is spotless, the staff were friendly and all for £60 for 2. The parking worked out at less than a pound (£1) an hour - that's pretty cheap where I come from. We go every year - I can't see any decline at all, they've spent a fortune in doing Nemesis up, so for that reason it's actually better than it was last year. They have a lovely site, with the usual restrictions from local government planning permission. How they have managed to keep within these (especially with the height restrictions of any new builds in the area) is pretty amazing in my opinion especially for the massive rollercoasters they have.
Interesting. We visited in August for the first time from the US. I’ve always wanted to go. We purchased FastPasses as it was a once-in-a-long-time visit. Sounds like we were fortunate to have almost everything open - most of the day, except Wicker Man 🙁. I was surprised how remote the park was, not exactly easy to get to, and how early the park closed. Parks here in the states usually are open till 9pm during peak summer, but I feel we had to leave Alton Towers around 6. I’ve read the local community complains a lot about the park, yet I’d imagine it helps their economy? We felt the rides were a lot of fun, but I’d agree there is much room for improvement. My only other wish is on some of the coasters (particularly Nemesis) we could’ve chosen our row.
No, the 1000s of tourists going to alton towers daily dont help the local area except for the campsites . . Most People just drive through the villiage of ALTON, and head to stoke on trent for mcdonalds n crap or straight to the motorway to head home . . . ALTON Hate Alton Towers !!! 🤬 . . Lol😅
I would say it is being over exaggerated it feels like sheep mentality with vlogers one says something then others just copy and it goes round in circles. We have been four times this year and no multiple ride closures for long periods of times.
Glad you visited our ( very ) remote park! Alton towers grew from a stately home and gardens and was never planned as a major theme park. It’s very hard to get to, the locals are super grumpy about it 🙄 but it does have good rides and something special. I can’t wait to visit the US though! Did you go to Thorpe Park?
I just got back from alton towers stayed over, went in the park monday and tuesday was raining both days and every ride was open allday, zero queues on rides was awesome
I get the impression Alton Towers is in awkward transition this past couple of years (they revamped Nemesis and the ghost train also building other rides, old and new). And most of the problems this year and in recent years is a sudden culmination of 15-ish years of stagnation and lack of coherent investment in the park (with obvious staffing issues since Covid).
@TedShatner10 in regards to the staffing issue, apparently they have more than enough staff it's just they are cutting employees hours have the minimum amount of people working
@@Dispatch_Jack I think that's down to general, endemic Late Stage Capitalism malaise that Merlin also got bogged down in since the Smiler incident and in the past half decade Alton Towers is visibly fighting to avoid being the next Oakwood...
@@Dispatch_Jack And all that will happen there, is another large accident. Due to lack of staff, over worked staff, staff spread to thin so corners cut to keep things moving as there are not enough people to monitor everything. Its truly stupid.
0:38 look at the break section on that... it used to hold you there for at least 2 or 3 seconds... now it's like a stop sign on a busy road... doesnt even stop... SAD
tbf they do charge for parking in Florida as well but I get your points about Alton Towers. Its a real shame to see as its been my 'go to park' since the mid 80's 😞
I've never understand why it closes at around 5-5.30 during the summer months when it's daylight until gone 10pm it does seem hardly worth going when the rides don't start until 10.30am
@@baileyboo198 Its due to money. The place and electric etc costs a fortune to run. They wont want people to come into the park in the morning, pay once then stay riding stuff till 10pm at night. No one would go in at 5 or 5pm much for a couple of hours. So they close at 5pm or whatever, kick everyone out or dont run the rides and save costs. The next day more punters go in and it repeats. Its greed, profit and convenience first.
Been talking about this for YEARS! Not to mention about 3 years ago they changed all the restaurant food. It's now premium prices for what is essentially Wetherspoons quality... Passes are now checked as of past few years meaning if you're disabled like me, it now costs over a grand for a 3 days visit (£120 day per fast pass unlimited ticket) and one scarefest about 4 years ago, 7.... yes SEVEN of the main attractions were shut and 1 of the scare mazes was shut, meaning Wickerman and Smiler were a whopping 140-160 minutes wait.... Most people don't even sit through an entire film for that long. Even Shawn from TPWW has been vocal about this and I've spoken to him briefly over the years and even he is frustrated with the lack of engineering and funding in certain places...
@NonApplicableRecords yeah I'm aware of Thorpe's situation, I've went around 35 times this year and the only ride I've had open late was hyperia multiple times. Compared to towers though almost every ride opens late
Extremely sad to hear about this; I’ve been visiting Alton Towers on and off since the early nineties so it’s pretty special for me. Hope something is done about the situation soon! 🤞 Great video BTW; clear and to the point. 👍
We went the other week on a sunday and every coaster was open all day... we even had slight rain for an hour and they still didnt close... the skyride was closed but that didnt matter as it was a direct trip for me and my family for the coasters 😂 awesome day
Just been Today and had similar experience. Really liked the day and did not see issues with a bit of walking. But that £10 Parking charge is a gotcha in a bad way. This is in a middle of nowhere and you still need to pay for parking ?
@@BartoszDebski I parked there today from 10am to 7:30pm that's 9.5 hours, less than a pound an hour - what do people want these days? It was only £29 in too.
I agree with the skyride, as someone mobility issues this not being available means a day there is really hard. Its a massive park with a lot of nothing space inbetween rides, that needs addressing.
Another problem is the price of things once you're through the gate. The food and merch is poor quality but they command eye an watering cost. The games are really overpriced and the activities cost a fortune. It leaves a sour taste and one feels ripped off. Guests won't come back if they're treated like that.
I went for the first time in a few years for scarefest with the kids. I have to say, the decline is really noticeable; not just ride availability, queues. The general state of the park. Everything just looks shabby and unloved. Even the gardens look like they aren’t really being maintained.
I'd say that's always been an issue with Alton Towers, the park sections are too far apart from one another. At least with Thorpe Park, it doesn't take you ages to walk from one park section to the next.
This is exactly why I like Thorpe Park more. You're restricted to the rides around you as it will take 15 minutes to walk from one end of the park to another
went a couple of weeks ago, it was absolutely packed, alot of rides down inc thirteen, smiler, all day, had to queue over 2 hours for wicker man and nearly 3 for nemesis reborn, cost of lunch which was basically 4 chicken nugget meals, £65! yes £65, felt fleeced
Talking about how staff handle the different types of queues - when I went a couple weeks ago the staff were constantly letting single riders on rather then the normal queue on Spinball. I think pretty much every cart they sent had a single rider in, often they'd just take 2 single riders and sit them in the same cart. In the 5-10 minutes I was watching I think at most 10-20 were allowed in from the main queue (which was 40 minutes, FYI)
I used to go every year up until last year. They completely over filled the park and as a result every ride had a 2 hour queue on it. We were forced to buy fast track tickets for all of them adding hundreds to the bill. Never again will I go back now. It’s pure greed!. Shame really
The sky ride being down is such a major issue. Cos the park is so big. But last time I was there.. it did say it was planned to be down for this year. So hopefully it’s back with a refit soon. It is vital infrastructure.
Alton towers is my home park and its sad to see the decline of the park. I think steadily since 2018 the park has got worse year on year. I visited 36 times in the 2023 season but only 23 times so far this year despite living 5 minutes away. I can honestly say the park is just bad now. Reliability, food options, the terrible new rap system. ride re-imaginings instead of anything new of note in the past 6 years, rides closed all season, maintainance closures mid-year and so much more. I honestly think this park is going the way of pleasure beach.
It's such a shame the park has so much potential and it's used it brilliantly before but now the park is cutting things it deems unnecessary without understanding how much of an impact it can have on guests. I never hope for the downful on parks so it's just so sad to see this happening and as you say it it slipping down to pleasure beach level which is something I never thought I would see from the UKs largest theme park.
@@Dispatch_Jack it's honestly to the point now where I think thorpe park is miles ahead which 5 years ago I would have said towers is easily clear and parks like paultons are catching up and fast. with the introduction of universal to the UK soon does tower's future just look more and more bleak as new competitors take money away from Merlin? I hope not but it's a slippery slope for towers
@@calamitycoasters2591 Thorpe park is definitely the Uk's best theme park now. Especially after this year, of course you've got hyperia but the sparkle project just shows the love the park has for its rides and appearance unlike towers. The operations have been incredible too along with reliability. Paultons is definitely on its way up and with vikings it could be the 2nd best as unlike towers the themeing isn't just one big piece such as the smiler or galactica instead the entier land is incredible.
@@Dispatch_Jack Thats one of the things i dont get people say that rides like the smiler are some of the best theming in the country but i think its pretty crap its litterally just the marmaliser slapped onto dirty concrete with a generic station
I noticed that oblivion has a wasp problem (last time I visited which was around about in June-August, I haven’t seen them around in my last visit during scare fest but not sure if the problem is gone) which is a reason why I buy fast track for oblivion because I have a major phobia of wasps
we just got back from Europa park in Germany, its like night and day, over there they have a virtual queue where you just go back at a set time and queue for max 5 minutes, the rides are great and the food is so good plus it stays open till 8pm, has 2 monorails
Found the same issues at Thorpe park which only got worse. Last time we went only got on something like 2 'proper' rides. The limited ride openings probably have very little to do with reliability and more to do with cutting staff costs. Its a poor experience now and probably only worth it if you buy fast passes. Which is what they want
We went in August for the first time in about 20 years. It deffo felt like its glorys days were in the past. It still took ages to get into the park, and once we were in I was horrified to find the sky train thing out of action, we wasted so much time walking from one side of the park to the other, I think we only made it to 5 or 6 rides before we had to head home. Most rides had 1+ queues. It was a nice day out with the family but just a bit "meh" as far as the experience went.
Good video, it lost its way a good few years ago. Last time I remember every ride working was when they had the Thunderlooper (which is now in Brazil). I say "everything", everything apart from the Thunderlooper 😆😆
I visited in August and couldn't ride 13 because the one time it was closed was the only time I was in the area. By the time I found out it reopened, I was well on my way to RMT. Also couldn't get on Oblivion. About the RAP issue, it feels like an extreme sport trying to book it and on my visit last year, the queue for the smiler was 1 - 1 1/2 hours which I could not do; especially considering the scale of the park and how slowly it can move. I hate to admit it, but Alton Towers is really struggling and had slowly declined since the smiler crash. It got extremely noticible last year
Last time I went, we arrived at 9.30am and left at 5ish. Managed to get on 3 rides. This is due to rides breaking down (Rita especially) and the queues being too long.
Apparently Merlin entertainments is reaching a “low” in budgeting essentially affecting staff and rides across all the theme parks Thorpe park, legoland, Chessington, Alton towers etc. they are “low” on money which means staff are not getting as many shifts as they were getting and staff are always short on resort open days. Meaning some rides might be closed in the day. But I don’t understand when the maximum capacity at Thorpe park is 22,000 people per day and legoland is 13,000 people. All the cars parked being £10 a vehicle, tickets for Thorpe being £29 per ticket online and legoland being about £33 per ticket they are making a huge amount but still struggling. The math isn’t mathing when on tickets alone Thorpe park were making approximately £638,000 a day at the end of the season and legoland were making £380,000 per day with the end of the season coming in at half term time. These are just from tickets alone excluding parking tickets from cars coming in and food bought in resort aswell as photo passes, fast track tickets and arcades.
Scarefest yesterday was a disappointing experience, park was just overcrowded and although we had fast track, rides were closed and queue times still taking nearly an hour, resulting in us missing out on Compound :-( also where were the actors around the park? Poor :-(
Me and my daughter went on the 18th of September. we were fairly lucky, though we got stuck on galactica hanging face down in the station while we waited for a technician! When we finally got going, the ride didn't seem as smooth as it once did! Personally, i think galactica needs upgrading or replacing. Oblivion is good but way too short and should be upgraded, and maybe a bit added thirteen felt like a waste as again too short Nemesis and smiler are our favourites buy nothin alton towers have compares to Thorpe Parks Hyperia!
It is such a shame. Alton Towers used to be so “magical”. It was my favourite theme park. It’s not now, not any more. It’s still home to my favourite coaster, Nemesis but Phantasialand, Europa Park and Port Aventura are way better as parks!
I’ve just come back from PortAventura and I was blown away by the park. I was expecting tacky but it was the opposite. The theming was spectacular and you feel like you’re in another world at times. Especially the Polynesia and Wild West areas. And Shambala and Red force were unreal, nothing at Alton comes close. I live just down the road from Alton and always loved the place but it was a real eye opener visiting PortAventura!
I was there on Saturday and was turned away from 4 rides because of technical issues . This really impacted on our day as we wasted much of it queueing to then be turned away. Really disappointed! Was thinking to complain, but i'd probably be wasting my time.
I agree with the ride access treatment because my friend has photosensitive epilepsy and they said at the entrance we couldn’t go on the smiler as it’s a very flashy ride if you get what I mean. But my 1 problem is why isn’t there a separate room where we can queue with no strobe effects?? It’s not right!
@solarflare457 the lights on ride are pretty unnoticeable and the dispatch lights you can just close your eyes to. The ones in the queue go on for a while and are in darkness meaning you will still have light coming through your eyelids while shut and kids tend to scream to get attention when the lights flash adding to the issue
Place is a logistics disaster ,we went there yesterday and when we arrived the monorail only had 1 carriage and when we got there they said the que was over 45 mins.When we eventually got into the park the rapids didn't start until gone 12 midday and the question we nearly 1 hour for each ride, we could only fit in 3 rides and come about 3pm we had had enough and left early ,signage is very poor as well ,we spent 3 quarters of the day queuing and only went on 3 rides.
Actually went there this year for the first time and got fleeced real nicely. Forget the restaurants, we went on a Thursday and Friday and the queues were huge on both days, there were rides with 2h+ queuing times, which I believe they designed on purpose to get you to get the fast track, which was what we actually ended up doing in some. I'll never go back again, it's a one off, I got to ride all the roller coasters I wanted and that's it. If you're planning to go there make sure you go there with a purpose, I know this is plastered everywhere online BUT PLAN YOUR DAY LITERALLY TO THE MINUTES. You'll be queuing on average up to 1h for any given ride which at most lasts less than a minute. Add that the walking distance between rides, momentarily breakdowns, queues being too long they stop the queue, etc... And yes the food is horrible and stupidly expensive, but at least you can bring yours in.
Where they won't show the queue times on the app (unless youre there) was the exact reason I didn't go this year. I wondered why they would show all the other merlin entertainment parks. I was going to go with my family. I thought the exact same thing you thought which was "they are hiding something". I didn't end up going to any of the merlin ones. This put me off.
Went in July ‘24 and no problem with the rides at all. The BIGGEST issue with AT is the unreliability of the cable cars. The last 4 times I’ve been in the last 10 years they haven’t been working. 2019 it was because it was too hot!! As if walking the entire park on that heat wasn’t dangerous enough. Then this year they’re closed all year due to refurb meaning the average trip takes 10 miles of walking without the cable cars. Hopefully the refurb will mean they’re more reliable making visits much more pleasurable for anyone who isn’t a teen or young adult
Yes exactly. When those cable cars opened they ran flat out for years with little in the way of problems. I used to visit a lot and they got you from one side of the park to the other very fast and in comfort. And they moved a lot of people. They were well built at the time and efficient. Its hardly a shocker though that after more then 30 years they were getting worn and unsafe. Its better to rebuild and repair them than have another accident. Those massive metal pylons and cable and the cars etc will have had untold hours and stress put on them over decades. There are a couple of times I can remember them getting stuck with people trapped hanging over the valley and having to be rescued. The weight of all those people, the rain etc and bad weather. Its a testament to how well it was made that its lasted as long as it has...
Interesting narration. Hex was open when I went last weekend. I don’t think speeding up the walking between rides helps capacity, if anything skyline would just make queues longer? And I’m glad they don’t prioritise the access badge lines - too many people are lying and taking the piss with that. Yes you can tell just by looking. Hopefully they’ll be put off and then genuine people with needs will get through faster
The Smiler queue is horrendous for RAP. We queued for over an hour with my ASD son, all the lights, strobes, noises, made it so hard for him, but he was desperate to ride it. Others queues were just flying through.
I’m going this weekend, so I’ll be making my own judgement on whether it has declined or not. Really hoping Oblvion is working again by Saturday, as the website says it’s under maintenance.
@@joshslater2426 I've been here for the last 2 days, oblivion has been testing in the morning I can see them having it open for the weekend crowds, good luck!
I have been going to Alton Towers since the early eighties. I can't remember a member of staff at the ride entrance to measure a child's height. Instead they had a sign telling you what the minimum height was and a measuring line so you could.measure if your child met the minimum height
Yeh, me and my mate went on a US theme park road-trip in the summer of 2023. I know we have construction restraints in the UK, but the ONLY thing we have over the US parks is theming... and that only reallyyyy applies at Alton Towers. Everything else is inferior. Operations are crazy good in the US, its almost like a competition trying to pump out trains. Rides were rarely ever down for us, infinite array of refreshment options including major brands like starbucks near entrances. And best of all, their own branded food was excellent. Parks like Cedar Point, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Six Flags GA - all very impressive and shit all over places like Thorpe Park. It was eye opening. And their parks are open for like 10 or 11 hours minimum. Such a superior experience, cant wait to return.
Hyperia just completed it's debut year - it's a solid ride, really innovative and unique elements. But it's so short. I'd love for someone connected with the design process to explain why they cut the layout down - you hurl into the brake run with so much kinetic energy. Could have easily added an ejector airtime hill, a helix, maybe a zero-G roll into the station following the splash-down element - and it wouldn't have required much more space. Hyperia is already insanely compact as it is. In the US, you never come off a ride and feel like it was too short or was missing something. Go to Cedar Point, you'll literally never view our UK rides the same. Other than Smiler and maybe Icon at BPB, our rides are at best average in terms of ride time, and the queues here are horrible compared to in the states. Even in peak July, our worst queue was 2 hrs for Steel Vengeance, widely dubbed one of the greatest coasters in history. At Thorpe, choose a bad day and you're queuing 2 hours for Saw, an outdated, rough Gerstlauer Eurofighter. Its just such a different experience. In every way. The rides are in a whole different category than ours. I love Hyperia, and it literally had the potential to be one of my favorites ever, but it's cut short. In the US, it would have had at least 3 or 4 more elements before the brakes. And to me, that's a total waste.
@@GakpoliceThe huge issue I think is lack of money in the UK. In US you can upcharge punters a lot easier so funds a better experience. Plus your coaster history is elite compared to ours. I went to six flags magic mountain years ago and the sheer amount of attractions was amazing. Cedar Point is no doubt even a step above that as I remember only X2 been a truly elite ride but I know they’ve added an RMC since.
Really good video. Alot more needs to be done towards RAPS. Queuing for something that says you cannot queue. Also during term time some of the Closing hours have been at 4pm. There is alot more going too. Would be interested to know more about your experience in the RAP queue.
@Neweratourismandevents thank you! Mainly just the smiler queue as it was school trip season and the RAP queue was being let through extremely slowly causing us to wait inside the building before the stairs for around 30 minuets. Around every 2 minuets the strobe lights would go off (already something bad for RAP to be experiencing but it is what it is) but every school kid wanting attention would scream at the top of their lungs pretending to be scared which is what really affected my partner almost to the point of tears. If the RAP queue was being treated the same as the fast track it would have only taken around 5-10 minuets instead of 30.
I noticed this in particular with congo river Rapids, with later opening time of 12PM instead of 11AM and also they're closing it mid October 2024 (from 14th October 2024) onwards, compared to 2023 when it ran until the end of the season. Kind regards Peter
Friday they announced wicker man will be closed Tuesday & Wednesday next week. Brilliant… 4 days notice how nice of them can’t wait to queue longer for everything else now
Add in that they massively over-sell fast pass, meaning you basically have to purchase fast pass if you want to have a halfway-decent day. This also increases the queue for everyone else.
I have visited the park 5 different times over the last 20 years (often more than 1 day) and have really enjoyed it each time, but I gotta say the experience we had this week was just not up to par overall. The coasters are good, but a lot of the policies are annoying bullshit and the park just seems a bit dead as there‘s barely any non-coaster attractions left across this huge park. On top of that, a couple of the attractions really need some love as the age really shows. And yes, the amount of downtimes was quite noticeable. We were a bit disappointed despite the great rides. Wait times were minimal but some of this stuff kinda weighted down the whole experience.
I’m very surprised by this. I must make the point that Alton Towers is by far the United Kingdom’s best theme park, unfortunately over the decades people have continually tried to remove the magical Alton feel. you don’t make enough points about the original ownership which is key to the magical Alton Towers feel.
I visited in aug , I was so disappointed bye the park . So many rides closed . Not enough flat rides . I remember going as a kid and i absolutely loved the place . The Skye ride being broken is just terrible ….its definitely not the uks best theme park
I have a ride acces pass and it was ok but on the smiler whet they were doing was single rider then fast pass then manque then fast pass then 1 group from accespass
You say technical issues I say saving money. Let's be honest, if they could get away with it they would only have the one shop open with an automated till and all the rides closed. Im old enough to remember that when you went to one of these places , all the rides opened when the park opened. None of this staggered opening nonsense. In the summer they would stay open much later.
Hex opened as they said it would. a massive issue for me is the cable cars. alton towers is massive, way bigger than most theme parks in the world. even bigger than disney parks. for kids its exhausting for them they way the lay out is - there has to be a way of getting around - build a train ffs. also get rid of the monorail and allow people to go in at Galactica and let the crowd spread around (and along with that put some family rides in the x sector)
I totally agree, Towers used to be such a nice park but recently it's looking run down and they have a distinct lack of flat rides after removing so many and not replacing them (I know project ocean is coming but the issue is bigger than one flat ride, but at least it's a step in the right direction). The skyride has been out of service for 2 seasons now and Towers ain't exactly a small park, walking 15 mins to get to an area to find a ride is closed is frustrating to say the least. They really need to sort their selves out. Went to Thorpe Park a couple of weeks ago and that was much better. Towers used to have that magical feel to it but it just feels dead in the past idk 5 years or so. I really wish I lived closer to Thorpe Park but it's over a 4 hour drive from me whereas Towers is only 90 mins. Also they got rid of all the decent food places and replaced them with Aramark joints with poor food at exorbitant prices. Idk why they have chose to do this when there are still chains like Burger King at Thorpe Park.
Are you blind? The park has had loads of maintenance work done for this season. And what, you'd rather they kept running the skyride into the ground until it had to be completely ripped out? Honestly get a grip. Also, there's an app for a reason.
@@MGMuttnah mate the park still isn't up to scratch I agree with the author. The place has lost its magic. Much of the themeing is broken or tatty. The whole park needs investments not just new editions of existing rides. 😒
1- If the cable cars are being refurbished I’d say bring back the older versions when I was a kid they were big and a black navy blue colour but could fit up to 12 people each the ones they’ve got now are a bit more polished and colourful which is good and a bit more inviting but can only sit up to between 6-8 passengers I feel like if they used the older models but obviously update the technology it would be easier for those especially with disabilities or those who are injured I feel like it would be more reliable 2- I feel like the Congo river rapids are due it’s corse I feel like a new water based ride with an amazing story either related to the wicker man or a completely new story would be incredible feel like there’s nothing wrong with a water flume based ride I was gutted when the flume had to go, like bring something like that into the park I feel like it would be something different 3- I think bringing back McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King back would be more inviting instead of overpriced restaurants or food courts would be less off putting as I feel like prices for food there are going up it’s easier said than done to bring your own packed lunch but I feel like it would be an alternative option say if you either forgot to pack something to eat or me personally would be more drawn to a McDonald’s than a roller coaster restaurant
There’s very few rides at Alton Towers if you’re not into coasters. Very few dark rides and flat rides. My family love coasters but I do not and I get very bored.
Still 1 of if not the best theme park in the UK. Not just for the rides but for the castle and landscaping but the different areas and themes. Just my opinion. Plus its less than 90 minutes away for me 😂
Universal is coming to the UK. When I thought working at AT was a good idea (which it was not), they were talking about Universal coming to the UK and it being a BIG!!!!!! issue because AT is legitimately heading to the floor head first.
Most of the 'decline' is because of accident that happened on The Smiler in 2015 which left two riders requiring leg amputations. Health and safety takes priority which is why rides are often closed for long periods of time.
@witnesspropro Yes, of course, but with towers, it is different. Rides always breakdown you can't avoid it, but towers have their coasters go down more than any other park it's crazy. On a normal day, you're looking at around 4 major coasters being down at one time, which isn't normal in the industry.
@@Dispatch_Jack Of course it's different with Alton Towers, no other UK theme park as had an accident which resulted in visitors having their legs removed!! 🤦♀
The comments here alone demonstrate that people are judging based on very thin experience. Its either too busy - or a ghost town. A lot of parks are still coping with the backside of the Pandemic, something people seem to have just forgotten about that many parks struggled to stay afloat after several years of severely damaged revenues. Something also never mentioned by doom mongering youtube channels. Towers even in 2020 could be quiet or busy, and I visited in both - the price is pretty fine for a big park that has overheads and you still get access to some of the best rides available in the UK. Its pretty absurd to speak about decline after they just refreshed one of their most famous rides. Depending on when you visit, you can usually get on the majority of rides in the park, and all the hair splitting about pass features honestly, not something Ive heard anyone I know who visits complain about. The biggest shame with Towers is the general upkeep, pricing of food and products inside the park, and lack of franchised food availability. Other than that, its still an amazing park, and the gardens are always beautiful to visit through - plus the cable cars, which are a really excellent feature. Overall have to disagree. Its not the Alton Towers of its heyday, and could use some investment and further refresh, but its a long way from done for.
I don't really understand because Merlin just spent a bunch of money this year at Thorpe Park repainting a bunch of rides and attractions, giving it a really nice face lift. Granted, Collosus and Saw are still migraine-inducing, but it actually felt like they cared. I'm hopeful maybe 2025 is Alton's year of TLC.
If you got rid of Rita, then that is cutting costs because that kind of ride is expensive to run you, it could cut costs and then bianca and the team may make more improvements around the park such as upgrading rides systems so they can run more often and sorting out the rap issues.
@MrILikeThemeParks-yt I don't think getting rid of Rita would be a good move, the ride has a good capacity and is the only launch coaster in the park. It gets long queues and is only 1 of 2 rides in dark forest making the area redundant. Along with the cost of demolition its just not worth it until the ride reaches the end of its service life which isn't for a while
I think Rita is sh*t. When I went years ago, it had just opened. I queued over 2 hours and it hailed as we were on it. 30 second ride to have a seriously exfoliated face.
The park isn't helping themself at all. Closing rides early before end season (rapids example) and theres nothing wrong with it. Ride availability has been shocking the last few weeks. Cutting opening times down... Not fair on anyone who has paid. Every ride no matter what It is should be open all year round. Towers needs to step up their game. And I really see staggered openings coming next year.... I didn't mind them adding a single rider queue when it was closed mid week. But maintenance on rides in season is bad...
I'd never go back. I took my kids when they were little and they were so fed up queueing most of the day for the few rides we went on because they just let on the constant stream of fast passers in front because they paid more. it's just greed...it felt wrong.
The worst thing they did at Alton Towers was getting rid of the franchised restaurants such as Mcdonalds/KFC/Burger King and replace them all with 'theme park restaurants', basically the price went up and the quality went down...
The quality went down from Mcdonalds and KFC? Jesus.
@paulearle3780 yes the quality really is that low now
@@paulearle3780lol I doubt that's true
Same with the other Merlin parks; Thorpe Park, Chessington etc.
At least the franchised restaurants had consistent quality (even if mediocre).
Don't forget pizza hut in X-sector. RIP
I stopped going when they started charging for car parking me and the family used to go every year will never go back its just sheer GREED
Charging for car parking does really annoy me, my fiancé and I are annual pass holders yet we still have to pay £10 every time we visit just to park the car! And it's pretty much the only way to get to the park so we don't even have an alternative option
The ceo of Merlin has no experience of theme parks as he came from the sporting industry so all he knows is cost cutting and increasing prices. Things are going to get bad until Universal make their announcement (hopefully to say they are coming to uk)
The CEO has been involved in sports and entertainments for over 25 years, including Alton Towers, numerous American sports clubs, Madison Square Gardens, Thorp Park, Chessington, as well as being the boss of dozens of gateway attractions (Legoland, Sealife, Peppa Pig World, Madame Tussauds, The London Eye etc) as well as running theme parks in Italy and Germany. He also has a degree in Marketing so you could say he knows how to run a tight ship and he also has a master's degree in Business Admin from Harvard. So with this limited information, it looks like he has plenty of experience of Theme Parks, wouldn't you say?
That’s why they aren’t having any more of my hard earned cash
Universal are coming to the UK. I’m actually 500m from the building site by Bedford
@@craigjohnson4068 Found the CEO's burner account..
@@craigjohnson4068 Everything you mentioned has become demonstrably worse in the last 2 decades.
They quietly changed the way their disabled access passes work, too. I went for scare fest, and showed my valid in date disability ID. I got told that I'd had to book an access pass ahead of time. I explained that I'd researched online and that the towers website itself told me I didn't need to do anything. I was told that I would just have to go without and that was that. After suffering in a queue line for 20 minutes I felt so overwhelmed that I went home. I honestly think that towers is on extremely dodgy ground legally for how they handle disability access.
Agreed the whole disability pass application was less that convenient.
It's a waste of time going to these places anymore. Back in the 1990's you could expect to wait an hour or so at peak times for the best rides, but now its more like 2 hours or more and no ride is worth that. They just let in as many people as they can, with seemingly no limit, and then offer them a poor experience where literally three quarters of the day (or more) is spent waiting in queues. No thanks!
Went on Monday 4th Nov - arrived just before 10am, managed Nemesis x2, Galactica x2, Blade and Wickerman before lunch. Managed to then grab food and do Thirteen, Rita, Oblivion and Smiler before leaving at 4pm.
@@ooABoo That's good. We went in July before schools broke up and we could only get on about 5 rides all day. Very poor.
I went for scariest got on 3 rides all day
@@jonathanmartin114we were there during scarefest got on ONE ride as a family (son has additional needs) and I managed to get on one more while my wife waited with our son while he had something (extortionate) to eat.
Because you went in july @@spooksy1982
Remember first going around 1987 on the coach with loads of the estate, great time and memories
As a local my issue with Towers is lack of care, attention to detail and theming.
I remember years ago working a season there and on induction day they compared themselves to Disney and wanted to rival them. It was laughable.
The last time I visited I felt the new lady that took over was on the right track. Things were cleaned up, painted, repaired, fresh signage, planting etc but there’s still room for improvement. I’d happily volunteer to go around the park pointing out things that need improvement, I’m only 10 minutes away. Half the stuff doesn’t even cost much to rectify.
One that always sticks in my mind is while on the runaway mine train you can look out over the fence and just see rubbish bins, things dumped and general trash. It doesn’t take much to build a wooden shelter with a grass roof or themed roof to hide this sort of mess. This would never happen at Disney.
I think the food situation needs drastic improvement. Needs more variety / independents back in.
They need to add more quirky things to look at, more attention to theming. E.g the frog fountains at the start or the parrot. It’s different, it’s cool. It adds to the magic.
NEEDS TO BE OPEN UNTIL 9pm IN THE SUMMER
the main reason for decline is thanks to the dreadful local bus service. the bus company used to do a return ticket for 3.50 and a family return ticket for 9.50. now they charge £10 each local teens fron the city just can't afford this .
Suggest that to AT, they could subsidize this and gain massively.
I’ve just come back from Europa park In German. That park is far better and the difference there is pricing. This country just take the P last time I went to Alton they were charging fiver just for a pack of Cadbury’s buttons, when you can get for a quid in B&M it’s just a joke and people think it will be any better at the Universal. The way it’s going here no one will be going out .
@@blundergaming7060 I'm at the park now and food pricing is absolutely ridiculous
If they charged that much but had a great park then it wouldn't be quite as bad of a problem, but charging stupidly high prices while the park doesn't reflect that is where I really have a problem
I can see Universal drawing in a lot of tourists from London. Someone in the comments here compared AT to Oakwood and that is really interesting. Thorpe and Chessington will have to compete with Universal (if it happens) but AT might become increasingly irrelevant as it really will be for British people who, like you said, won't be going anywhere. I can't see anyone visiting the UK (i.e. London) going to AT if Universal opens unless they're enthusiasts.
Europa Park is on another level compared to Alton better in aspects and they make use of there space
Yes. This is the trend in the UK now, sky high and ever increasing prices for everything. Food etc being the worst. Why? TAXES! Everything costs so much to run here, Electric, Gas and Water bills are very high, Fuel and Fuel tax high, Wages for staff then have to be high as well so people can live. And you end up with price gouging as profit is all that drives people and so food etc and costs for everything are stupid. As a nation we make and produce very little. We cant compete due to high wages that are needed and its all part of the spiral. So all we do as an economy, is sell coffee, food and drink in shops, sell houses the people cant afford and sell and deal on the stock market with banks. Thats it. Everything else is sold off abroad and is owned by people outside the Uk. Spain owns some of our banks, BMW own Mini etc and all our utilities are gone, stuff like EDF for gas which is French. Its an utter disaster and its getting to the point as you say where people wont go out and do anything as they cant afford it. So that money also wont go back into the economy. We are in a bad way and no one wants to do a thing about it...
They should invest more in "indoor" dark ride style attractions! Like so many of the popular Disney and Universal attractions! This would limit the amount of closures due to adverse weather! And in all honesty who wants another "thrill ride" after your 7/8th one, I feel like you have such a headache at that point you want something a little different! They also need to put better effort into their seasonal events! For example this year's scarefest is a embarrassing with the same recycled scare mazes (except one new one) they could literally have different mazes every year! Which would attract a lot more guests and again give them a huge boost in revenue during the highest priced season!
i think because it is the off season, they're cutting operational costs so they have enough budget for something like project horizon or one of the events like scarefest
From what I'm hearing in the industry, project horizon isn't happening for awhile with merlin prioritizing those parks near London because of universal. This explains why all of a sudden chessington is getting an indoor coaster very similar to horizons plans. It's been rumoured its been moved to chessington.
@@Dispatch_Jackthe plans haven't been sent to chessington I think beacuse they wouldn't have right planning permission and Enthusiasts would of noticed similarity between the plans
I also heard something about nemesis reborn not bringing in as much revenue as expected?
@@monkeygaming2841i think people found out that it’s just the same ride but with a new track
@@Dispatch_Jack Hopefully this means thorpe park can finally get a permanent hotel
Much respect for an honest look at Alton Towers, earned a sub. I used to be one of those people who’d blindly defend towers in mid 2010s but things won’t get better unless we acknowledge them.
They are fixing the cable car. Its a country estate where they can't build over the tree line. 15 mins to walk through some beautiful gardens if you're slow, about 7 mins for the average walker. It offers a unique experience that no other park in the world can. The operations arent bad at all, their rides are queue eaters even with most being one train operation. The RAP seems to be the main legitimate problem, nothimg else has really changed at the park in the last 20 years apart from more rides.
Yes, but the cable car gets people across the valley to the other side where the second section of park is very fast and easily. What they should be doing is putting on a sort of golf cart, tram service with vehicles towing carriages on the big wide paths back and fourth till the cable car is upgraded. They used to have a train line in there that did that back in the 80s for many years till the cable car was built....I liked the walk around and in the gardens but that was when the park was cheap to go in and had far less to do. When you are paying silly money to go in and ride coasters, you dont want to be walking around and spending all day looking at plants while plodding place to place. You can do that anywhere for free....
Not sure what all the fuss is about, I was there from 10:15 today until 19:30, got on all the rides, some twice, the food (chips, sausage(s) and a drink x2 - fifteen quid) was ok, the atmosphere was great, the park is spotless, the staff were friendly and all for £60 for 2. The parking worked out at less than a pound (£1) an hour - that's pretty cheap where I come from. We go every year - I can't see any decline at all, they've spent a fortune in doing Nemesis up, so for that reason it's actually better than it was last year. They have a lovely site, with the usual restrictions from local government planning permission. How they have managed to keep within these (especially with the height restrictions of any new builds in the area) is pretty amazing in my opinion especially for the massive rollercoasters they have.
his just making a video moaning. his talking shit to be honest. its peanuts to go.
Interesting. We visited in August for the first time from the US. I’ve always wanted to go. We purchased FastPasses as it was a once-in-a-long-time visit. Sounds like we were fortunate to have almost everything open - most of the day, except Wicker Man 🙁. I was surprised how remote the park was, not exactly easy to get to, and how early the park closed. Parks here in the states usually are open till 9pm during peak summer, but I feel we had to leave Alton Towers around 6. I’ve read the local community complains a lot about the park, yet I’d imagine it helps their economy? We felt the rides were a lot of fun, but I’d agree there is much room for improvement. My only other wish is on some of the coasters (particularly Nemesis) we could’ve chosen our row.
Best ride ever nemesis ❤
No, the 1000s of tourists going to alton towers daily dont help the local area except for the campsites
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Most People just drive through the villiage of ALTON, and head to stoke on trent for mcdonalds n crap or straight to the motorway to head home
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ALTON Hate Alton Towers !!! 🤬
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Lol😅
I would say it is being over exaggerated it feels like sheep mentality with vlogers one says something then others just copy and it goes round in circles. We have been four times this year and no multiple ride closures for long periods of times.
Glad you visited our ( very ) remote park! Alton towers grew from a stately home and gardens and was never planned as a major theme park. It’s very hard to get to, the locals are super grumpy about it 🙄 but it does have good rides and something special. I can’t wait to visit the US though! Did you go to Thorpe Park?
@@dannyward8450 sadly not that trip. I want to go when Hyperia is a bit more “broken in” and reliable 😝 Looks like a great park, though!
I just got back from alton towers stayed over, went in the park monday and tuesday was raining both days and every ride was open allday, zero queues on rides was awesome
I get the impression Alton Towers is in awkward transition this past couple of years (they revamped Nemesis and the ghost train also building other rides, old and new).
And most of the problems this year and in recent years is a sudden culmination of 15-ish years of stagnation and lack of coherent investment in the park (with obvious staffing issues since Covid).
@TedShatner10 in regards to the staffing issue, apparently they have more than enough staff it's just they are cutting employees hours have the minimum amount of people working
@@Dispatch_Jack I think that's down to general, endemic Late Stage Capitalism malaise that Merlin also got bogged down in since the Smiler incident and in the past half decade Alton Towers is visibly fighting to avoid being the next Oakwood...
@@Dispatch_Jack And all that will happen there, is another large accident. Due to lack of staff, over worked staff, staff spread to thin so corners cut to keep things moving as there are not enough people to monitor everything. Its truly stupid.
0:38 look at the break section on that... it used to hold you there for at least 2 or 3 seconds... now it's like a stop sign on a busy road... doesnt even stop... SAD
They messed up since the smiler accident
The opening hours are awful...charging for parking is scandalous....queue times and ride reliability are pants ...imagine this in Florida.....
tbf they do charge for parking in Florida as well but I get your points about Alton Towers. Its a real shame to see as its been my 'go to park' since the mid 80's 😞
I've never understand why it closes at around 5-5.30 during the summer months when it's daylight until gone 10pm it does seem hardly worth going when the rides don't start until 10.30am
@@baileyboo198 Its due to money. The place and electric etc costs a fortune to run. They wont want people to come into the park in the morning, pay once then stay riding stuff till 10pm at night. No one would go in at 5 or 5pm much for a couple of hours. So they close at 5pm or whatever, kick everyone out or dont run the rides and save costs. The next day more punters go in and it repeats. Its greed, profit and convenience first.
@baileyboo198 Also the locals complain. I believe their contract with the council states they must close at 5
Been talking about this for YEARS! Not to mention about 3 years ago they changed all the restaurant food. It's now premium prices for what is essentially Wetherspoons quality... Passes are now checked as of past few years meaning if you're disabled like me, it now costs over a grand for a 3 days visit (£120 day per fast pass unlimited ticket) and one scarefest about 4 years ago, 7.... yes SEVEN of the main attractions were shut and 1 of the scare mazes was shut, meaning Wickerman and Smiler were a whopping 140-160 minutes wait.... Most people don't even sit through an entire film for that long. Even Shawn from TPWW has been vocal about this and I've spoken to him briefly over the years and even he is frustrated with the lack of engineering and funding in certain places...
Hmm that’s strange, I went during the summer this year and every ride was open and I went on everything. Was class.
Loved it back in the 80s with the Corkscrew and Black Hole. I still have a picture of me, my dad and a few mates on the Black Hole. Good times.
Regarding rides opening late or not being open, Thorpe Park was exactly the same when I went this year in the summer.
@NonApplicableRecords yeah I'm aware of Thorpe's situation, I've went around 35 times this year and the only ride I've had open late was hyperia multiple times. Compared to towers though almost every ride opens late
Extremely sad to hear about this; I’ve been visiting Alton Towers on and off since the early nineties so it’s pretty special for me. Hope something is done about the situation soon! 🤞
Great video BTW; clear and to the point. 👍
We went the other week on a sunday and every coaster was open all day... we even had slight rain for an hour and they still didnt close... the skyride was closed but that didnt matter as it was a direct trip for me and my family for the coasters 😂 awesome day
Well that’s luck for ya I went 4 times this year and 3/4 times some rides were closed and it was mainly summer I went
Just been Today and had similar experience. Really liked the day and did not see issues with a bit of walking. But that £10 Parking charge is a gotcha in a bad way. This is in a middle of nowhere and you still need to pay for parking ?
@@BartoszDebski I parked there today from 10am to 7:30pm that's 9.5 hours, less than a pound an hour - what do people want these days? It was only £29 in too.
I agree with the skyride, as someone mobility issues this not being available means a day there is really hard. Its a massive park with a lot of nothing space inbetween rides, that needs addressing.
Another problem is the price of things once you're through the gate. The food and merch is poor quality but they command eye an watering cost. The games are really overpriced and the activities cost a fortune. It leaves a sour taste and one feels ripped off. Guests won't come back if they're treated like that.
I went for the first time in a few years for scarefest with the kids. I have to say, the decline is really noticeable; not just ride availability, queues. The general state of the park. Everything just looks shabby and unloved. Even the gardens look like they aren’t really being maintained.
Heading here for the day in 3 weeks time. Not been for over 3 years but it holds a special place in my heart. Hope I’m not disappointed
I'd say that's always been an issue with Alton Towers, the park sections are too far apart from one another. At least with Thorpe Park, it doesn't take you ages to walk from one park section to the next.
Literally at towers now it's horrendous, especially if rides go down after walking all the way there
This is exactly why I like Thorpe Park more. You're restricted to the rides around you as it will take 15 minutes to walk from one end of the park to another
Lazy gits!
went a couple of weeks ago, it was absolutely packed, alot of rides down inc thirteen, smiler, all day, had to queue over 2 hours for wicker man and nearly 3 for nemesis reborn, cost of lunch which was basically 4 chicken nugget meals, £65! yes £65, felt fleeced
Talking about how staff handle the different types of queues - when I went a couple weeks ago the staff were constantly letting single riders on rather then the normal queue on Spinball. I think pretty much every cart they sent had a single rider in, often they'd just take 2 single riders and sit them in the same cart. In the 5-10 minutes I was watching I think at most 10-20 were allowed in from the main queue (which was 40 minutes, FYI)
I used to go every year up until last year. They completely over filled the park and as a result every ride had a 2 hour queue on it. We were forced to buy fast track tickets for all of them adding hundreds to the bill. Never again will I go back now. It’s pure greed!. Shame really
The sky ride being down is such a major issue. Cos the park is so big.
But last time I was there.. it did say it was planned to be down for this year.
So hopefully it’s back with a refit soon.
It is vital infrastructure.
Alton towers is my home park and its sad to see the decline of the park. I think steadily since 2018 the park has got worse year on year. I visited 36 times in the 2023 season but only 23 times so far this year despite living 5 minutes away. I can honestly say the park is just bad now. Reliability, food options, the terrible new rap system. ride re-imaginings instead of anything new of note in the past 6 years, rides closed all season, maintainance closures mid-year and so much more. I honestly think this park is going the way of pleasure beach.
It's such a shame the park has so much potential and it's used it brilliantly before but now the park is cutting things it deems unnecessary without understanding how much of an impact it can have on guests. I never hope for the downful on parks so it's just so sad to see this happening and as you say it it slipping down to pleasure beach level which is something I never thought I would see from the UKs largest theme park.
@@Dispatch_Jack it's honestly to the point now where I think thorpe park is miles ahead which 5 years ago I would have said towers is easily clear and parks like paultons are catching up and fast. with the introduction of universal to the UK soon does tower's future just look more and more bleak as new competitors take money away from Merlin? I hope not but it's a slippery slope for towers
@@calamitycoasters2591 Thorpe park is definitely the Uk's best theme park now. Especially after this year, of course you've got hyperia but the sparkle project just shows the love the park has for its rides and appearance unlike towers. The operations have been incredible too along with reliability. Paultons is definitely on its way up and with vikings it could be the 2nd best as unlike towers the themeing isn't just one big piece such as the smiler or galactica instead the entier land is incredible.
@@Dispatch_Jack Thats one of the things i dont get people say that rides like the smiler are some of the best theming in the country but i think its pretty crap its litterally just the marmaliser slapped onto dirty concrete with a generic station
@calamitycoasters2591 nemesis is pretty much the only fully themed coaster with the queue, ride and area having themeing the rest are just bland.
I noticed that oblivion has a wasp problem (last time I visited which was around about in June-August, I haven’t seen them around in my last visit during scare fest but not sure if the problem is gone) which is a reason why I buy fast track for oblivion because I have a major phobia of wasps
we just got back from Europa park in Germany, its like night and day, over there they have a virtual queue where you just go back at a set time and queue for max 5 minutes, the rides are great and the food is so good plus it stays open till 8pm, has 2 monorails
Found the same issues at Thorpe park which only got worse. Last time we went only got on something like 2 'proper' rides. The limited ride openings probably have very little to do with reliability and more to do with cutting staff costs. Its a poor experience now and probably only worth it if you buy fast passes. Which is what they want
We went in August for the first time in about 20 years. It deffo felt like its glorys days were in the past. It still took ages to get into the park, and once we were in I was horrified to find the sky train thing out of action, we wasted so much time walking from one side of the park to the other, I think we only made it to 5 or 6 rides before we had to head home. Most rides had 1+ queues. It was a nice day out with the family but just a bit "meh" as far as the experience went.
Good video, it lost its way a good few years ago. Last time I remember every ride working was when they had the Thunderlooper (which is now in Brazil). I say "everything", everything apart from the Thunderlooper 😆😆
Thunderlooper. That takes me back 😆
Hex opened for Scarefest - I'm an annual pass holder and I went on it 2 weeks ago
I visited in August and couldn't ride 13 because the one time it was closed was the only time I was in the area. By the time I found out it reopened, I was well on my way to RMT. Also couldn't get on Oblivion.
About the RAP issue, it feels like an extreme sport trying to book it and on my visit last year, the queue for the smiler was 1 - 1 1/2 hours which I could not do; especially considering the scale of the park and how slowly it can move.
I hate to admit it, but Alton Towers is really struggling and had slowly declined since the smiler crash. It got extremely noticible last year
Last time I went, we arrived at 9.30am and left at 5ish.
Managed to get on 3 rides.
This is due to rides breaking down (Rita especially) and the queues being too long.
Went early July, everything open and moderate queueing. Coasters were all good fun.
The hotel was decent enough too. Had a great time.
Apparently Merlin entertainments is reaching a “low” in budgeting essentially affecting staff and rides across all the theme parks Thorpe park, legoland, Chessington, Alton towers etc. they are “low” on money which means staff are not getting as many shifts as they were getting and staff are always short on resort open days. Meaning some rides might be closed in the day. But I don’t understand when the maximum capacity at Thorpe park is 22,000 people per day and legoland is 13,000 people. All the cars parked being £10 a vehicle, tickets for Thorpe being £29 per ticket online and legoland being about £33 per ticket they are making a huge amount but still struggling. The math isn’t mathing when on tickets alone Thorpe park were making approximately £638,000 a day at the end of the season and legoland were making £380,000 per day with the end of the season coming in at half term time. These are just from tickets alone excluding parking tickets from cars coming in and food bought in resort aswell as photo passes, fast track tickets and arcades.
Scarefest yesterday was a disappointing experience, park was just overcrowded and although we had fast track, rides were closed and queue times still taking nearly an hour, resulting in us missing out on Compound :-( also where were the actors around the park? Poor :-(
Had to sub! Hope you had an amazing day at thorpe Park!
@THEDUMBOE07 Thanks man, great meeting you
Me and my daughter went on the 18th of September. we were fairly lucky, though we got stuck on galactica hanging face down in the station while we waited for a technician! When we finally got going, the ride didn't seem as smooth as it once did! Personally, i think galactica needs upgrading or replacing. Oblivion is good but way too short and should be upgraded, and maybe a bit added thirteen felt like a waste as again too short Nemesis and smiler are our favourites buy nothin alton towers have compares to Thorpe Parks Hyperia!
It is such a shame. Alton Towers used to be so “magical”. It was my favourite theme park. It’s not now, not any more. It’s still home to my favourite coaster, Nemesis but Phantasialand, Europa Park and Port Aventura are way better as parks!
I’ve just come back from PortAventura and I was blown away by the park. I was expecting tacky but it was the opposite. The theming was spectacular and you feel like you’re in another world at times. Especially the Polynesia and Wild West areas.
And Shambala and Red force were unreal, nothing at Alton comes close.
I live just down the road from Alton and always loved the place but it was a real eye opener visiting PortAventura!
I was there on Saturday and was turned away from 4 rides because of technical issues . This really impacted on our day as we wasted much of it queueing to then be turned away. Really disappointed! Was thinking to complain, but i'd probably be wasting my time.
We came on Saturday ,spent more time queuing than doing anything else ,decided to leave early because was over queuing
I agree with the ride access treatment because my friend has photosensitive epilepsy and they said at the entrance we couldn’t go on the smiler as it’s a very flashy ride if you get what I mean. But my 1 problem is why isn’t there a separate room where we can queue with no strobe effects?? It’s not right!
@Wildsmith_GS replace the single rider queue with the RAP and all problems are pretty much solved as only 2 groups can wait in the indoor portion
Aren't there flashing lights on the actual ride though? Would that not be a problem for him?
there are flashing lights on ride
@@TheCowboyOfEpic yes but those are only brief but in the indoor queue it’s so exaggerated
@solarflare457 the lights on ride are pretty unnoticeable and the dispatch lights you can just close your eyes to. The ones in the queue go on for a while and are in darkness meaning you will still have light coming through your eyelids while shut and kids tend to scream to get attention when the lights flash adding to the issue
Place is a logistics disaster ,we went there yesterday and when we arrived the monorail only had 1 carriage and when we got there they said the que was over 45 mins.When we eventually got into the park the rapids didn't start until gone 12 midday and the question we nearly 1 hour for each ride, we could only fit in 3 rides and come about 3pm we had had enough and left early ,signage is very poor as well ,we spent 3 quarters of the day queuing and only went on 3 rides.
I’m going on the 18th October and am very nervous. What started as a fantastic start to the season has had a slow decline…
Went yesterday with my family Sat 12th October and all the rides were open it was such a great day. Smiler and Wicker Man in the dark were brilliant.
Actually went there this year for the first time and got fleeced real nicely.
Forget the restaurants, we went on a Thursday and Friday and the queues were huge on both days, there were rides with 2h+ queuing times, which I believe they designed on purpose to get you to get the fast track, which was what we actually ended up doing in some.
I'll never go back again, it's a one off, I got to ride all the roller coasters I wanted and that's it.
If you're planning to go there make sure you go there with a purpose, I know this is plastered everywhere online BUT PLAN YOUR DAY LITERALLY TO THE MINUTES.
You'll be queuing on average up to 1h for any given ride which at most lasts less than a minute. Add that the walking distance between rides, momentarily breakdowns, queues being too long they stop the queue, etc...
And yes the food is horrible and stupidly expensive, but at least you can bring yours in.
got stuck on galactica for 25 mins the other day just before re-entering the station 💪
You must ask for subscribers at the start or you will be waiting years to hit 1000. Excellent video. Subbed.
@@lastdimestudios Thank you so much!
Where they won't show the queue times on the app (unless youre there) was the exact reason I didn't go this year. I wondered why they would show all the other merlin entertainment parks. I was going to go with my family. I thought the exact same thing you thought
which was "they are hiding something". I didn't end up going to any of the merlin ones. This put me off.
Went in July ‘24 and no problem with the rides at all. The BIGGEST issue with AT is the unreliability of the cable cars. The last 4 times I’ve been in the last 10 years they haven’t been working. 2019 it was because it was too hot!! As if walking the entire park on that heat wasn’t dangerous enough. Then this year they’re closed all year due to refurb meaning the average trip takes 10 miles of walking without the cable cars. Hopefully the refurb will mean they’re more reliable making visits much more pleasurable for anyone who isn’t a teen or young adult
Yes exactly. When those cable cars opened they ran flat out for years with little in the way of problems. I used to visit a lot and they got you from one side of the park to the other very fast and in comfort. And they moved a lot of people. They were well built at the time and efficient. Its hardly a shocker though that after more then 30 years they were getting worn and unsafe. Its better to rebuild and repair them than have another accident. Those massive metal pylons and cable and the cars etc will have had untold hours and stress put on them over decades. There are a couple of times I can remember them getting stuck with people trapped hanging over the valley and having to be rescued. The weight of all those people, the rain etc and bad weather. Its a testament to how well it was made that its lasted as long as it has...
Interesting narration. Hex was open when I went last weekend. I don’t think speeding up the walking between rides helps capacity, if anything skyline would just make queues longer? And I’m glad they don’t prioritise the access badge lines - too many people are lying and taking the piss with that. Yes you can tell just by looking. Hopefully they’ll be put off and then genuine people with needs will get through faster
Too expensive, stupid long queues, not all rides available ... couldn't think of anything worse these days.
The Smiler queue is horrendous for RAP. We queued for over an hour with my ASD son, all the lights, strobes, noises, made it so hard for him, but he was desperate to ride it. Others queues were just flying through.
I’m going this weekend, so I’ll be making my own judgement on whether it has declined or not. Really hoping Oblvion is working again by Saturday, as the website says it’s under maintenance.
@@joshslater2426 I've been here for the last 2 days, oblivion has been testing in the morning I can see them having it open for the weekend crowds, good luck!
Did it
I have been going to Alton Towers since the early eighties. I can't remember a member of staff at the ride entrance to measure a child's height. Instead they had a sign telling you what the minimum height was and a measuring line so you could.measure if your child met the minimum height
Yeh, me and my mate went on a US theme park road-trip in the summer of 2023. I know we have construction restraints in the UK, but the ONLY thing we have over the US parks is theming... and that only reallyyyy applies at Alton Towers.
Everything else is inferior. Operations are crazy good in the US, its almost like a competition trying to pump out trains. Rides were rarely ever down for us, infinite array of refreshment options including major brands like starbucks near entrances. And best of all, their own branded food was excellent. Parks like Cedar Point, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Six Flags GA - all very impressive and shit all over places like Thorpe Park.
It was eye opening. And their parks are open for like 10 or 11 hours minimum. Such a superior experience, cant wait to return.
Hyperia just completed it's debut year - it's a solid ride, really innovative and unique elements. But it's so short.
I'd love for someone connected with the design process to explain why they cut the layout down - you hurl into the brake run with so much kinetic energy. Could have easily added an ejector airtime hill, a helix, maybe a zero-G roll into the station following the splash-down element - and it wouldn't have required much more space. Hyperia is already insanely compact as it is.
In the US, you never come off a ride and feel like it was too short or was missing something. Go to Cedar Point, you'll literally never view our UK rides the same. Other than Smiler and maybe Icon at BPB, our rides are at best average in terms of ride time, and the queues here are horrible compared to in the states. Even in peak July, our worst queue was 2 hrs for Steel Vengeance, widely dubbed one of the greatest coasters in history. At Thorpe, choose a bad day and you're queuing 2 hours for Saw, an outdated, rough Gerstlauer Eurofighter.
Its just such a different experience. In every way. The rides are in a whole different category than ours. I love Hyperia, and it literally had the potential to be one of my favorites ever, but it's cut short. In the US, it would have had at least 3 or 4 more elements before the brakes. And to me, that's a total waste.
@@GakpoliceThe huge issue I think is lack of money in the UK. In US you can upcharge punters a lot easier so funds a better experience. Plus your coaster history is elite compared to ours.
I went to six flags magic mountain years ago and the sheer amount of attractions was amazing.
Cedar Point is no doubt even a step above that as I remember only X2 been a truly elite ride but I know they’ve added an RMC since.
Really good video. Alot more needs to be done towards RAPS. Queuing for something that says you cannot queue. Also during term time some of the Closing hours have been at 4pm. There is alot more going too. Would be interested to know more about your experience in the RAP queue.
@Neweratourismandevents thank you! Mainly just the smiler queue as it was school trip season and the RAP queue was being let through extremely slowly causing us to wait inside the building before the stairs for around 30 minuets. Around every 2 minuets the strobe lights would go off (already something bad for RAP to be experiencing but it is what it is) but every school kid wanting attention would scream at the top of their lungs pretending to be scared which is what really affected my partner almost to the point of tears. If the RAP queue was being treated the same as the fast track it would have only taken around 5-10 minuets instead of 30.
Hi There, sad to hear but hopefully things will improve soon. Kind regards Peter :)
I noticed this in particular with congo river Rapids, with later opening time of 12PM instead of 11AM and also they're closing it mid October 2024 (from 14th October 2024) onwards, compared to 2023 when it ran until the end of the season. Kind regards Peter
That que choke point on the Smiler is actual hell, nearly had a panic attack in there
Friday they announced wicker man will be closed Tuesday & Wednesday next week.
Brilliant… 4 days notice how nice of them can’t wait to queue longer for everything else now
I remember it when it was busy all car parks were full and grass car park was full now they lucky to get normal car park full now
I went end of 2023 season, the park felt like it had lost character, very tired, dirty, and the ‘own brand’ food outlets were actually quite grim
I went last month and got on everything, including nemesis and wickerman twice...
Went a few years ago and managed to only get on 2 rides for the whole day, absolutely ridiculous. Decided after that to never go back.
I prefer travelling funfairs now. Rides get maintained properly, and the queues aren't insane.
Really?! I am scared to ride travelling fairs because of the maintenance issue.
Add in that they massively over-sell fast pass, meaning you basically have to purchase fast pass if you want to have a halfway-decent day. This also increases the queue for everyone else.
exactly if you wanted to ride everything with a fast pass that adds a lot more to the price.its on average 1 hour to que up.
when universal comes to the uk,this place will fail hard
I have visited the park 5 different times over the last 20 years (often more than 1 day) and have really enjoyed it each time, but I gotta say the experience we had this week was just not up to par overall. The coasters are good, but a lot of the policies are annoying bullshit and the park just seems a bit dead as there‘s barely any non-coaster attractions left across this huge park. On top of that, a couple of the attractions really need some love as the age really shows. And yes, the amount of downtimes was quite noticeable.
We were a bit disappointed despite the great rides. Wait times were minimal but some of this stuff kinda weighted down the whole experience.
I have been visiting Alton Towers every few years for 30 years, and this year was the worse I have ever experienced for ride closures :(
I’m very surprised by this. I must make the point that Alton Towers is by far the United Kingdom’s best theme park, unfortunately over the decades people have continually tried to remove the magical Alton feel. you don’t make enough points about the original ownership which is key to the magical Alton Towers feel.
Nobody cares about the original ownership. If I’m a guest at the park, all I care about is my guest experience and the rides.
I visited in aug , I was so disappointed bye the park . So many rides closed . Not enough flat rides . I remember going as a kid and i absolutely loved the place . The Skye ride being broken is just terrible ….its definitely not the uks best theme park
It’s by far the best theme park in the UK. The problem is the people running it are not sticking to the original plan.
@@Robert-vw3od yeh that’s prob it man . Hope it picks up a bit
I have a ride acces pass and it was ok but on the smiler whet they were doing was single rider then fast pass then manque then fast pass then 1 group from accespass
You say technical issues I say saving money. Let's be honest, if they could get away with it they would only have the one shop open with an automated till and all the rides closed.
Im old enough to remember that when you went to one of these places , all the rides opened when the park opened. None of this staggered opening nonsense. In the summer they would stay open much later.
Hex opened as they said it would. a massive issue for me is the cable cars. alton towers is massive, way bigger than most theme parks in the world. even bigger than disney parks. for kids its exhausting for them they way the lay out is - there has to be a way of getting around - build a train ffs. also get rid of the monorail and allow people to go in at Galactica and let the crowd spread around (and along with that put some family rides in the x sector)
Hex opened this year🎉🎉🎉🎉
I totally agree, Towers used to be such a nice park but recently it's looking run down and they have a distinct lack of flat rides after removing so many and not replacing them (I know project ocean is coming but the issue is bigger than one flat ride, but at least it's a step in the right direction). The skyride has been out of service for 2 seasons now and Towers ain't exactly a small park, walking 15 mins to get to an area to find a ride is closed is frustrating to say the least. They really need to sort their selves out. Went to Thorpe Park a couple of weeks ago and that was much better. Towers used to have that magical feel to it but it just feels dead in the past idk 5 years or so. I really wish I lived closer to Thorpe Park but it's over a 4 hour drive from me whereas Towers is only 90 mins. Also they got rid of all the decent food places and replaced them with Aramark joints with poor food at exorbitant prices. Idk why they have chose to do this when there are still chains like Burger King at Thorpe Park.
Are you blind? The park has had loads of maintenance work done for this season. And what, you'd rather they kept running the skyride into the ground until it had to be completely ripped out? Honestly get a grip. Also, there's an app for a reason.
@@MGMuttnah mate the park still isn't up to scratch I agree with the author. The place has lost its magic. Much of the themeing is broken or tatty. The whole park needs investments not just new editions of existing rides. 😒
1- If the cable cars are being refurbished I’d say bring back the older versions when I was a kid they were big and a black navy blue colour but could fit up to 12 people each the ones they’ve got now are a bit more polished and colourful which is good and a bit more inviting but can only sit up to between 6-8 passengers I feel like if they used the older models but obviously update the technology it would be easier for those especially with disabilities or those who are injured I feel like it would be more reliable
2- I feel like the Congo river rapids are due it’s corse I feel like a new water based ride with an amazing story either related to the wicker man or a completely new story would be incredible feel like there’s nothing wrong with a water flume based ride I was gutted when the flume had to go, like bring something like that into the park I feel like it would be something different
3- I think bringing back McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King back would be more inviting instead of overpriced restaurants or food courts would be less off putting as I feel like prices for food there are going up it’s easier said than done to bring your own packed lunch but I feel like it would be an alternative option say if you either forgot to pack something to eat or me personally would be more drawn to a McDonald’s than a roller coaster restaurant
There’s very few rides at Alton Towers if you’re not into coasters. Very few dark rides and flat rides. My family love coasters but I do not and I get very bored.
Still 1 of if not the best theme park in the UK. Not just for the rides but for the castle and landscaping but the different areas and themes. Just my opinion. Plus its less than 90 minutes away for me 😂
Universal is coming to the UK. When I thought working at AT was a good idea (which it was not), they were talking about Universal coming to the UK and it being a BIG!!!!!! issue because AT is legitimately heading to the floor head first.
Most of the 'decline' is because of accident that happened on The Smiler in 2015 which left two riders requiring leg amputations. Health and safety takes priority which is why rides are often closed for long periods of time.
@witnesspropro Yes, of course, but with towers, it is different. Rides always breakdown you can't avoid it, but towers have their coasters go down more than any other park it's crazy. On a normal day, you're looking at around 4 major coasters being down at one time, which isn't normal in the industry.
@@Dispatch_Jack Of course it's different with Alton Towers, no other UK theme park as had an accident which resulted in visitors having their legs removed!! 🤦♀
It’s actually incredible to think Nemesis Reborn was gonna be the year for the park… and yet the impact wasn’t it.
Hex did open, I went on it last week!
The comments here alone demonstrate that people are judging based on very thin experience. Its either too busy - or a ghost town. A lot of parks are still coping with the backside of the Pandemic, something people seem to have just forgotten about that many parks struggled to stay afloat after several years of severely damaged revenues. Something also never mentioned by doom mongering youtube channels.
Towers even in 2020 could be quiet or busy, and I visited in both - the price is pretty fine for a big park that has overheads and you still get access to some of the best rides available in the UK.
Its pretty absurd to speak about decline after they just refreshed one of their most famous rides. Depending on when you visit, you can usually get on the majority of rides in the park, and all the hair splitting about pass features honestly, not something Ive heard anyone I know who visits complain about.
The biggest shame with Towers is the general upkeep, pricing of food and products inside the park, and lack of franchised food availability. Other than that, its still an amazing park, and the gardens are always beautiful to visit through - plus the cable cars, which are a really excellent feature.
Overall have to disagree. Its not the Alton Towers of its heyday, and could use some investment and further refresh, but its a long way from done for.
I don't really understand because Merlin just spent a bunch of money this year at Thorpe Park repainting a bunch of rides and attractions, giving it a really nice face lift. Granted, Collosus and Saw are still migraine-inducing, but it actually felt like they cared. I'm hopeful maybe 2025 is Alton's year of TLC.
RIP Towers
I was queuing for the smiler it was only 50 mins but then a cart came off the track and i had to que for 3 hours
If you got rid of Rita, then that is cutting costs because that kind of ride is expensive to run you, it could cut costs and then bianca and the team may make more improvements around the park such as upgrading rides systems so they can run more often and sorting out the rap issues.
@MrILikeThemeParks-yt I don't think getting rid of Rita would be a good move, the ride has a good capacity and is the only launch coaster in the park. It gets long queues and is only 1 of 2 rides in dark forest making the area redundant. Along with the cost of demolition its just not worth it until the ride reaches the end of its service life which isn't for a while
I think Rita is sh*t. When I went years ago, it had just opened. I queued over 2 hours and it hailed as we were on it. 30 second ride to have a seriously exfoliated face.
I was there yesterday and postman pat went down.
@@yamyampi36 day ruined, I would leave immediately.
@@Dispatch_Jack luckily my kids just shrugged and moved on.
The park isn't helping themself at all. Closing rides early before end season (rapids example) and theres nothing wrong with it. Ride availability has been shocking the last few weeks. Cutting opening times down... Not fair on anyone who has paid. Every ride no matter what It is should be open all year round. Towers needs to step up their game. And I really see staggered openings coming next year....
I didn't mind them adding a single rider queue when it was closed mid week. But maintenance on rides in season is bad...
I'd never go back. I took my kids when they were little and they were so fed up queueing most of the day for the few rides we went on because they just let on the constant stream of fast passers in front because they paid more. it's just greed...it felt wrong.