Camelot

[Martyn B]

We haven't heard the usual "we're keeping it open for another year" yet?! :?

Anyway, it is opening again on March 31st.

I really dont think they quite understand "pricing people out". Over the last couple of years it has been pretty pricey, but this year takes the biscuit.

£28, yes, TWENTY EIGHT POUNDS for adults AND childen.

:shock:

 

[furie]

I get invited there (with family) each year with my dad's company for a family day out for FREE!

It's still too much...

 

[Lofty]

I get invited there (with family) each year with my dad's company for a family day out for FREE!

It's still too much...

I used to do that with my Dad's company. He worked for Chep Pallets and they used to do that every year!

Yeah, they're not going to be closing any time soon really, the man who took over the pan, who then announced it will be turned into a housing estate (some years ago), didn't gain planning permission through for the housing estate. So basically, he's in Limbo. He can't build his houses, but he has a park on his hands. In my opinion, sell up, it's the easiest way out.

 

[nadroJ]

How do they manage to get away with charging that much? Considering most people (with the use of vouchers, etc) would pay less to get into Alton Towers, just makes you wonder why they're even bothering. Surely they must realise that that is far too much?

I also don't agree with same price for kids and adults. Paultons Park do it too, I think it's a rip off.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Jesus christ how on earth... Unless, they get so little custom and the custom they do get consists of people who just turn up randomly. So that a high price on the day is keeping the place afloat?

I don't really get it because I do think that park has hope in the right hands. It could become a real experience and learning facility with the added benefit of rides and cash in on schools big time.

Like has been said, the owner needs to sell out and hopefully whoever buys it on will have a vision and the cash to risk on it.

What is it like location wise up there, does it just loose out to Blackpool or does it have more competition?

 

[furie]

I also don't agree with same price for kids and adults. Paultons Park do it too, I think it's a rip off.

I think it's to simplify and speed up entry*. There's no "he's under 13 honest, it's just that 6 feet tall and a full beard is normal these days, oh and the others have always called him Daddy, it's a cute nickname don't you think?".

I've always though it should be on the height of the child, laser measured at the kiosk. The child gets a band that says how tall they are and then they don't need to be measured on each ride, plus they get a day out at a cost that is pertinent to the number of rides they can go on. For Thorpe this would be astounding, but would cost Merlin huge amounts of profits... I mean, "would complicate gate entry massively".

Joey, competition is an odd one. There's Gulliver's about 20 minutes away, Blackpool is half an hour maybe at a push the other way. Southport? Not really competition.

It's in a keen location off the M6, in fact I think it's the only park you can see so clearly off a major UK road other than Thorpe. So every person heading South on the M6 (from anywhere properly North ) sees the pigging park. It should do really well, but it's just a dump.



*It's simply to get more money, obv. The other stuff is their excuse.

 

[nadroJ]

I don't really get it because I do think that park has hope in the right hands. It could become a real experience and learning facility with the added benefit of rides and cash in on schools big time.

Like has been said, the owner needs to sell out and hopefully whoever buys it on will have a vision and the cash to risk on it.

I agree with that. I love medieval themed stuff (waits for Phil to correct me haha) and there definitely is potential for Camelot to turn into some kind of museum/learning activity place alongside being a theme park, a little bit like Greenwood. It just needs sprucing up and modernising. A good investment would do this.

It's just so sad, as much of an awful dump as Camelot is, it seems it won't go down without a fight!

 

[T0M]

Their £2 hike is the biggest I've seen so far, although Drayton manor may match or suprass it.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Multi-entertainments places are coming back into fashion, and museums with theme park-esque attributes from interactivity to entertainments and even rides is hot right now too. Camelot could be awesome, and unique.

I didn't expect it to open this year. Just quietly vanish into thin air. In ways I hoped it would, with the coasters sold off to better hands. But I think if it's staying, then **** DO something with it. I don't think anything will happen until it's sold into new hands though, cuz it would require such a massive revamp.

I agree with Phil on pricing by height. The method he suggests would benefit parks massively, especially the big game players. It would improve the happiness of guests and cut down on arguments with staff, too. It would remove the legal complications in the event of accidents. It would make people feel they are being priced fairly. A wristband system like that could also benefit a park like Alton, in encouraging older guests along with the family to enjoy the environment without having to pay an adult fare.

 

[furie]

I agree with that. I love medieval themed stuff (waits for Phil to correct me haha)

Nope, you're good. Most of the material we have for the Arthurian myths come from Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" written in the early 15th Century and based around contemporary life, armour, etc.

While it's a work of fiction, it's still a snapshot of medieval life so could easily be used to base an education or just plain fiction medieval world from. Hell, I'm happy with a completely whimsical approach if it's done well (they used to have a "Merlin" and a jester there many years ago that were both fantastic entertainers, utterly wrong, but they fitted better than any of the theming or attitude the rest of the place vaguely mustered*).

It's a potentially strong theme with near limitless cheesy and fantastically entertaining possibilities. With just the slightest bit of thought and effort it could be a decent park. Sadly, there wasn't even the slightest bit of thought and effort and certainly no money.

I think it's one of those places that seems trapped. There's no money being made, so they don't invest. Then when they do invest, they don't make any more money because there's still something wrong. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it is, but it's a feeling there's just minimal maintenance done, things aren't as clean as they could be, over emphasis on "making money" (the best themed area is just game stalls), no effort made in landscaping, no effort made in using the theme, etc, etc, etc.

I think they probably rely heavily on local trade, but the issue there is that once people start to bad mouth the place, it gets around quickly to the local population they rely on. Somewhere like Lake Compounce for instance will also rely heavily on local trade, so they offer a neat, tidy and entertaining park you want to return to. Boulder Dash helps obviously, but they don't rely on that single attraction and let the rest fall apart. Why do me and Lofty think it's rubbish? We are both locals, or talk to locals who also think it's pretty dreadful. Second thoughts on free trips to a theme park by local firms? It must be doing something wrong.



*Used in medieval parlance, obviously.

 

[Robbie]

I was supposed to meet the Camelot boss at a council meeting the other week but she didn't show so I wasn't able to tell her it's ridiculous to put up prices but have nothing new to offer.

However, I did learn they had 225,000 visits last year - which was fewer than 2010, which was fewer than 2009, etc. They're blaming the weather :roll:

But the Hotel on the site is separately owned and doing fairly well and they're also frustrated with the lack of progress with the theme park so, hopefully, some changes will happen at some point.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

but she didn't show

Sounds to me like this sums it up.

Doesn't give a ****.

 

[nadroJ]

Something I've always wondered about Camelot is did it used to be any good, and has fallen behind simply because it can't keep up and compete? My dad always goes on about what a great day we had there once in the early 90s that I am too young to remember.

 

[Martyn B]

However, I did learn they had 225,000 visits last year

That is actually quite a lot for a small park thats.... such a dump. Like Jordan said though, give them credit, they just will not give up!

I've always though it should be on the height of the child, laser measured at the kiosk.

I think that is how they do it at Camelot. I mean, kids under 1.0m a free, so they have the measuring sticks in place already...

 

[furie]

Something I've always wondered about Camelot is did it used to be any good, and has fallen behind simply because it can't keep up and compete? My dad always goes on about what a great day we had there once in the early 90s that I am too young to remember.

It was owned by the same group that had American Adventure and the Granada Studios tour. From what I've read (and I did Granada Studios Tour in the very early 90's) they were all very popular and good attractions.

I went to Camelot in about 1981/82 and it was pretty naff back then, but so was everywhere (even Alton Towers) apart from the seaside parks. They'd spent a lot on animated figures at the entrance that were really cool at the time (I think the dragon one still exists?). There was a massive rope adventure/assault course through some kind of woodland, a Western train ride and cowboy shoot-out show and massive inflatable play area. That was it then, I think that it improved radically in the break between the early 80's and my next visit in the mid 00's

I could research I suppose, but the parent company hit financial difficulty and all the attractions were sold towards the end of the 90's. Camelot suffered from "Council not like" syndrome and couldn't get rides installed. Both American Adventure and Camelot struggled with financing from parent companies (wasn't John Broome once again involved somewhere?) and once a parent company refuse to invest in basic maintenance and new rides (though if their are local council issues stopping new rides that's also a big factor) then the death warrant is signed.

Anyway, I've no reason to believe anything other than that the park was a decent enough day out in the 90's and possibly still even into the early 00's.

 

[Robbie]

Yeah, it was pretty decent under the Granada regime - there was a fun woodland entrance (with the stiff animatronic dragon), and then plenty of stuff inside. Not amazing, to be honest, but lots going on - there was a whole section behind the castle which is now wasteland but at one point had a dark rollercoaster and water slides.

I don't think there's much opposition from the council to anything the park would like to do there now. Although the Council are fairly clueless regarding tourism in the area they've shown some balls in the face of a big campaign against a Go Ape in the area and I'm sure would be supportive of anything Camelot did.

The park just needs bosses with vision (and money) but they do seem to blame others.

Thing that gets me is with BBC's Merlin getting 9m viewers you'd think they'd capitalise on that popularity somehow.

 

[furie]

Yeah, it was pretty decent under the Granada regime - there was a fun woodland entrance (with the stiff animatronic dragon), and then plenty of stuff inside. Not amazing, to be honest, but lots going on - there was a whole section behind the castle which is now wasteland but at one point had a dark rollercoaster and water slides.

It's a little frustrating because it's somewhere I always wanted to go back to. It sounds pretty decent, but when I lived in the area it was always Alton Towers, Southport and Blackpool. Then when I moved down here, it was all Alton Towers, Alton Towers, Alton Towers until the 00's when the family came along and I needed to look at other alternatives.

So yeah, it sounds like I went too early and there was probably a really good "sweet spot" in the mid-90's when the place was worth it.

I don't think there's much opposition from the council to anything the park would like to do there now. Although the Council are fairly clueless regarding tourism in the area they've shown some balls in the face of a big campaign against a Go Ape in the area and I'm sure would be supportive of anything Camelot did.

Councils do sometimes change. You find that on occasion the vocal ones who are against stuff either retire or are forced to move on because the back-handers aren't profitable any more... I mean that they have to give up public service to attend to private business needs

Go Ape is fantastic. We've got two around us in woodland and it's really low intrusion, but great tourism. People who object to that kind of thing just don't understand much about anything beyond their own tiny sphere of a life. So it's good the council have stood up for it and maybe it could bode well for Camelot, but I just think it'd be too little, too late now.

The park just needs bosses with vision (and money) but they do seem to blame others.

It's in that hideous no-man's land. The park is "worth" a lot in terms of land and rides and possibly even a little for the actual business. The problem is that it's barely ticking over, so there's no payback for anybody wanting to buy into it. It needs money from an external investor though, and a lot. Probably not far off what it may cost to build an entire new park. The books don't show enough interest in the park though to justify it. It can never be a big enough attraction to get the visitor numbers required, or at least perceptually it doesn't. So the park continues to slide.

They need to do proper on the ground stuff. Clean up dirty areas (oddly, Gulliver's is very similar in that there are some rancid areas), repaint, refit, maintain, etc. Make the place somewhere pleasant to go to have one of Joey's dreaded picnics. Some of the park is quite nice actually (like the farm area), some of it (like the medieval midden or whatever the place that stinks of **** is supposed to be) is gross, particularly the soft play area, toilets, etc. Parents don't want their kids playing in places that smell of turds.

Thing that gets me is with BBC's Merlin getting 9m viewers you'd think they'd capitalise on that popularity somehow.

You'd think that. Merlin have with the "Merlin Tower" at Warwick Castle and Merlin merchandise in the gift shops and obligatory "Picture with Merlin" thing (I'll post it one day, honest). So yeah, it's the perfect opportunity for Camelot to unofficially and unashamedly benefit from the "free" publicity the BBC drama gives.

 

[Robbie]

I'd agree that what they need (and could do fairly cheaply) is a bit of landscaping and heritage stuff. An outdoors play area would appeal to families and probably get return visits.

But I assume Excalibur 2 won't be open this year, which means they're one ride down on 2011, which itself was a ride down on 2010 (although they did add Birds of Prey and the expanded farm). I just don't see why people who went last year are going to go again this year.

 

[T0M]

It was pretty cool, I went around 1997 I think and remember being caught offguard by Tower of Terror (Twist N' Shout with a faux castle built around the loop).

It was quite immersive to me as a child, but alas has become tatty and outdated since.

 

[Gavin]

In 1988, I loved it. I've always thought that it's just because I was so young and that pretty much anything would be great, but actually I was a pretty cynical child (hard to believe I know). The more I think about it, I'm convinced it was a decent park back then.

The dark coaster, which was called The Beast when I rode it (later renamed Venom and now it's that Mawgawr thing at Crealy Cornwall), was actually pretty decent as a "scary" kids ride, there were loads of decent filler attractions and some excellent shows as well - the jousting thing and birds of prey spring to mind. It was definitely a FULL day out if you had younger kids.

When Tower of Terror opened, there seemed to be TV adverts on all the time in this area, moreso than Alton. There was a big advertising push when The Rack opened as well. Apparently it was ****, but it was a "first of its kind" sort of affair and they really milked it.

I haven't been back since 1988, but in the late '80s and early '90s it really was one of our major parks. Then again, so was American Adventure. It's all a bit sad really.