Alton Towers 2013

[Mysterious Sue]

Ok yes, I totally forgot about the whole 'giving maps away at service stations' thing.
You're right, they definitely advertise the park in that respect.

I've asked round my office though and they still all reckon they use maps. As one of my colleagues put it:

'otherwise you'd have to ask someone!' - Jack Bedder, Senior Analyst*

*He was excited about being quoted by The Force as they call it, so I said I'd give him credit!
It's gonna be one of those afternoons...

 

[SaiyanHajime]

How did you ask the questions, Jordan and Sue? It matters.

Should have been a question in my survey. </3

As for guests making a b-line - they do if they've been to the park before, but that's different as Jordan's said. Guests who go yearly, might not know the park AS well as us, but they know it enough to follow things to the general locations. And they make their way around the park with a "i want to do this next" attitude.

I'd actually guess that these guests use the maps more than the new visitors, but the people who use them most are probably those who've NEVER been to a park EVER before and thus don't understand how to have fun at one. It's a learned experience, they get it by the end of their day.

 

[MouseAT]

Also, I can vouch for Gavin's point, because most of my maps get picked up at service stations, train stations and the like. There's that entire shop in Leed's train station which is a tourist centre, and they literally have park maps from all over the country. I'm not exaggerating. I've even seen them in Sainsburry.

A lot of hotels do the same thing. They'll have a rack of leaflets for local attractions. I know I've seen the Alton Towers map/leaflets in Manchester hotels on more than one occasion.

See, I don't think those maps are as good as the one now? I think the worse one's were the 2005-2007 ones. They didn't capture the park's mood at all.

The 2005-2007 ones were a bit bland in hindsight, but I did like the 2008-2010 design. I think it was a nice compromise between clarity and style. My point is, they could have brought a bit more artistic flair to the design without sacrificing clarity. The two are not mutually exclusive.

 

[nadroJ]

I simply said, if you go to a theme park would you use a map? And they kind of laughed at the idea and were like no? I then asked if they'd ask a member of staff where they could find something and they said yes because it's faster.

 

[Mysterious Sue]

I said, have you ever used a map at a theme park and they sort of said 'yes - why are you asking?'. So I said, would you use it for anything other than a map? and they were a bit confused.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Hm. Now, either it's the tone you asked with, the ages of those asked, the sex majority of those asked, or SOMEONES LYING.

But seriously, probably age? I assume Sue works with proper people who are grown up and so unable to get through life without a map.

 

[Pierre]

I said, have you ever used a map at a theme park and they sort of said 'yes - why are you asking?'. So I said, would you use it for anything other than a map? and they were a bit confused.

Nobodies going to say they use a map for being a victim of advertising though are they?

For what its worth I use maps to see what attractions they have if I'm in a new park and gauge a vague direction/area of the park they're in. I'll also get frustrated when they provide vouchers for food outlets that have to be used at ridiculous times, which is obviously more suitable to the park to increase sales during quiet periods but not for me, I don't want to wait until 3.00pm for fish and chips ALTON TOWERS </3.

 

[furie]

but not for me, I don't want to wait until 3.00pm for fish and chips ALTON TOWERS </3.

At least you won't get a speeding ticket at Alton while rushing for them

 

[Mysterious Sue]

I said, have you ever used a map at a theme park and they sort of said 'yes - why are you asking?'. So I said, would you use it for anything other than a map? and they were a bit confused.

Nobodies going to say they use a map for being a victim of advertising though are they?

No, but I suppose they might say they use it for vouchers, showing family members, that sort of thing, which are all tantamount to advertising.

Joey, if by grown-up you mean over the age of 20, then yes. Cross-section of girls and guys. They are a bit bias towards maps though, being mainly geologists!