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Price increase again at Alton Towers!

I like Rita, Thi3teen and Nemesis, I just don't like Oblivion and Air.
Most people I know don't even bother with Air anymore. I enjoy Alton, but it costs to much, rides arn't amazing in my eyes and the theming is rather poor, bar Nemesis station and Sub-terra and I guess Thi3teen has O.k theming but nothing amazing.
 
I think most people (at least enthusiast wise) don't bother with Air because of the long queue it often gets due to the popularity to the guests and the iffy system resulting in a few slow bits of throughput...

Add in the whole "well Air or Nemesis?" debate, and it's kinda a clear answer as to why many might not bother with Air...

And Oblivion does the whole Dive Machine thing better than the counterparts... Length does not equal a good ride... Must be missing the point of the ride which is actually all about the build up and 'fear' (again, aimed at the public), rather than the drop... Extending the ride beyond the drop excessively would mean that this aim would be missed (and planning permission probs preventing anything more than what we got)...
 
^Plus Oblivion design and development probably started way back in 1996 so at the time the coaster was something extreme! The thought "shall we put a loop and extended the track" probably didn’t even cross their minds as they thought back in 1996 that it was extreme enough as it is!

I agree with the comments regarding Alton Towers and how it can offer so many different experiences in one place, I can’t think of any other park in the UK that does and not many outside. You got your intense B&M, a flyer, a launch coaster, a diver and more! Yes some of the experiences are short compared to other parks but they have them! I’m an enthusiast but my partner isn’t and were both losing interest. Because AT is a 4 hours’ drive away we feel, at the moment it doesn’t offer enough for a night or 2 away. I’m talking about the whole "Resort" not just the rides, hence why we don’t go as much as we used too.

The water park doesn’t offer enough, the hotel is quite expensive and the park lacks something! I liked the idea of putting in a City Walk or Downtown Disney area as that would be something extra to give it that "night stay" appeal but I read that ages ago and nothings happened yet!
 
Just a quick heads, its been mentioned on another (UKRides.info) that the scare mazes at this years Scarefest will cost £11 each!!!! And thats only until 5pm... after then, £13 each!

Terror of the Towers is included in entry price though. How nice of them.
 
^Don't get ahead of yourself. There's a whole new "How **** ing MUCH??!!!!" topic just waiting to be made for that one come October.
 
It is insane though, especially as discount vouchers aren't valid for the Scarefest - which I thought was their way of clawing back some of the running costs - so not only will it be £45 to get in, but at least £11 for the mazes.

Do Thorpe now charge for theirs?
 
I've never been to AT during halloween*, have they always charged for the mazes?

* I went once in 2005 (I think) and it was so busy, I vowed never to return.
 
^ Yes, but never quite that much. I think they jumped from £6 in 2009 to £8 in 2010 to £10 last year, so £11 isn't a bad increment by comparison. Terror of the Towers has always been free though and is by far the fabbest, so I'm not too fussed about the prices.
 
Wow, I wonder why they charge at Alton but not at Thorpe? I wonder when they will start charing for Thorpes. Cuz you know full well they will.

Have AP holders ever had discounts, etc?

I don't do mazes so I had no idea.
 
Ah right, cheers Neal. Initially I wasn't too concerned about the entry ticket price increase, but now they've whacked the maze entry up, I'm OUTRAGED.
 
If you think about it Thorpe already are charging for the event £5 or whatever it is.

From going to Halloween stuff in Orlando we had to pay about £25 for an extra ticket on top of what we already paid. Difference is the parks are open until about 2am and the events are amazing. I would never pay that for anything Alton or Thorpe do.

If people stopped paying for them at Alton then they would either stop the mazes or lower the cost.

Tried to look to see if premium pass holders get in for free, but it looks like they only get a discount as well.

Will be interesting to see what they do with sub terra. Will they just keep it as it is or make it a maze and charge £11.

I wanted to go this year just to get night rides.
 
It's ok guys, all other horror mazes become dead to you ( :roll: ) and you couldn't care less about them after doing Terror of the Towers. 10 or so minutes of disorienting amazeballs under the iconic castellet manor house is more than you'll ever need! <3
 
Ian said:
* I went once in 2005 (I think) and it was so busy, I vowed never to return.
Click to expand...

It's worth it for the night time on Nemesis though. You faff during the day, then at about 5:00 p.m. the park starts to empty and the crowds all filter to the mazes. The rest of the rides become pretty much walk on and you can whore Nemesis - literally off the train, into the SRQ and back onto the same train you left "Merlin have a no re-ride policy" being the mantra if you ask to just stay on of course.

It's when Nemesis runs best and it really is worth it if you're into that kind of thing ;) Although to be honest, the fireworks nights are probably better, though the park REALLY heaves during the day for those.

Only ever done Terror of the Towers and it was okay I guess. A bit cheesy and obvious, but good enough fun. Mazes do nothing for me though, although I like to see the work that goes into them - they don't frighten me or appeal as such, but I find them intriguing.

As for the price increases? I've been saying all year that every attempt to reduce costs has been rescinded due to "public pressure", so obviously they've worked out this must be the only was to recoup some money this year.

Sorry, I meant "MERLIN MONEY GRABBING BASTARDS!!!" rather than a more reasoned approach... ;)
 
I don't even remember paying for the mazes last year, so that's how much it affected me haha XD However, as has been said, the ones we paid to do (the circus thing and the boiler room thing) were both a bit poo whereas the free one was fab <3 As long as people keep paying for the mazes and they are in demand, Alton will continue to increase the prices, because people WILL pay it, that's just the way it is.

Also, can't wait for Alton in the dark again this year omg <3
 
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