NeoXIII
Best Newcomer 2016
Imagine one of their first investment choices would be to remove all those shipping containers..
Lego, Blackstone set to purchase Merlin Entertainment
- Thread starter GuyWithAStick
- Start date
Or put eight circular studs on top of each of them.
JoshC.
Strata Poster
Complete coincidence. There's no way they could organise the budget, appropriate safety checks, get staff in and trained in a couple of weeks. This has been the plan for many months (though why they've announced it so late is anyone's guess).
This takeover will not see instant changes. They'll be slow, if they even happen, and it'll be a good couple of years before we see the effects of them.
This takeover will not see instant changes. They'll be slow, if they even happen, and it'll be a good couple of years before we see the effects of them.
Geeky Pastimes
Mega Poster
I think any new projects will be slow but I can imagine next year we might see operating changes like more staff, longer hours and more trains being run.
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JoshC.
Strata Poster
Possibly I guess.
But it's a long process which is still happening; there's no instant point when things change. And even when things have changed, there won't be a magical pot of money where all the problems can be solved at once.
In fairness, Merlin parks have largely been very good with running rides at full capacity this year, so I don't see that being an issue. And staffing is a greater issue than budget; there's always more positions than people applying, so the whys of that need to be tackled rather than just throwing money at it.
At best we will see some improved operating hours, especially at Towers. At the very least, get rid of those silly 4pm closes...
CrashCoaster
CF Legend
I'd love to see some kind of show venue at AT and Thorpe. And opening times minimum of 10-5. I'm currently at PA and they are open 10am till 12am all of July, with a firework display and parade every night.
roomraider
Best Topic Starter
Matt N
CF Legend
Time for some news; the buyout was reportedly completed recently;
www.insidermedia.com
Also, have a propaganda piece released by Merlin regarding the buyout:
(Video can't be embedded due to its privacy settings.)
Very interesting, and very promising too! Lots of references to "long term investment"; I think the only way is up from here!
EDIT: How can I provide a link to the video without it auto-embedding?
Court approves deal for Merlin Entertainments
The takeover of entertainment and attraction giant Merlin, which operates the likes of Alton Towers, is set to complete after the deal was sanctioned by the High Court.
Very interesting, and very promising too! Lots of references to "long term investment"; I think the only way is up from here!
EDIT: How can I provide a link to the video without it auto-embedding?
GregBoxall
Roller Poster
Looks like the 4pm closes are around for another year, they just released their 2020 calendar.
Matt N
CF Legend
I reckon that the 2020 operating budgets (which decide things like opening hours etc) were likely decided prior to the takeover; if I had to guess, I'd say we will begin to see the impact of the takeover in 2021 in terms of things like opening hours.
In fact, I'd probably guess that this entire takeover could be a bit of a slow burner with regards to its overall impact on the parks.