Rob
Mega Poster
Merlin Entertainments, for the few readers out there who don't know, are essentially the monopoly power in the UK amusement park market. Representing a total of 4 theme parks, among a host of 22 other attractions, the group is probably the largest competition to all others in the UK amusement industry.
For many years, it has been claimed the group aim to rival Disney, and their visions are set out on their groups webiste; "We believe that the Merlin Entertainments Group (Merlin) is the most exciting leisure company in the world. Our market, location based entertainment, or more specifically visitor attractions, is dynamic, fast growing and fun. Within this, Merlin is truly unique both in terms of its breadth of quality ‘branded’ businesses and its unrivalled commercial success"
But what does this mean for the customer, for those visiting, using and paying into a global giant that is growing at an astonishing rate?
Whilst I open this general overview to all opinions, I'll first express my own (with a bit of history in there).
So we'll go back to 2007, the point where Merlin's acquired Tussauds and added their parks to their ever growing portfolio. I think it's fair to say that, among the community, there was a general feeling of optimism. After the dark days of neglect and lack of far sighted-ness in investments we had seen, especially at Alton Towers under the management of DIC (Dubai International Capital), to hear of the group being merged into a company that specifically tends to theme parks and the amusement industry led to a general consensus that this could only ever be a good thing. I eagerly awaited visiting and seeing the changes in approach Merlin were making to my favourite group of parks.
And so, the new attractions came. The first large scale alteration would be that of Merry England at Alton Towers, to it's new and current identity of Mutiny Bay. This was certainly an improvement and an area of real neglect, that was looking thoroughly tatty and generally run-down was re-vitalized and brought up to date. Received generally with warmth and a re-affirmed optimism, the community (generally, and from my experience), had high hopes. Further afield, SAW: The Ride landed at Thorpe Park.
This scared me. To me, it showed, not only was the company a little bit of a sell out, it also market the start of what was to be the transformation of Thorpe Park, into Thorpe Park (This is meant to be in capitals, didn't initally work for me). From theme park to amusement park. Year on year I was disappointed by the neglect Thorpe was receiving. I still fondly remember Fright Nights 2007, where the bar was set at the highest I can ever remember. The park was taken care of. Music changed on every ride and real attention to detail given to every single attraction in it's Halloween make over (for those of you who don't remember, there were added effects, test dummies quite convincingly used as scary props around ride areas, notably thrown around Rush as if they had been ejected from the ride, and hung from Stealth's launch track by the neck). It was the last time such care and attention (in my opinion) would be given to the parks premier event, and in many ways echoed the same scale of neglect given to the whole 'theme' element of the park.
And at this point, something I found slightly scary also happened in the business world too. Merlin's sold all of it's assets acquired through Tussauds. To the best of my knowledge, Merlin doesn't own it's premier theme parks. They are all operated on contract, for the next 94 years by Merlin's after being sold to a private buyer. Typical of corporate giants, this move did signal something concerning. Merlin's were not interested in the long run. This move, in the simplest of terms (from my understanding), gives the operator a easy get out if things don't quite go to plan. But, what's even worse, is that it signals a clear view towards their assets as purely, a business. And, to my mind, that's totally wrong. The theme park industry is not one that can be run on profit margins alone. Of course, staying afloat is highly important but we're not producing sweet wrappers or envelopes here. We're talking about an industry that exists purely for the entertainment of people. Purely to create fun, to offer people a day away from the real world, a real form of escapism. And, in my mind, that requires passion. That requires the ability to sometimes look beyond the next 'investment' giving after tax returns of £xmillion.
But unfortunately, from where I'm standing, it didn't seem to stop there. The business comes first approach appears to engulf all of their operations; year on year admission prices have risen. They also took an approach of blaming the government for tax on theme parks, blaming higher prices on them. To me personally, I thought this very daft as it wasn't something new; that is to say theme parks have always been taxed so why make a song and a dance out of it? As a consumer I felt as though they were almost trying to pull the wool over my eyes, and, essentially, mislead my feelings. I didn't take warmly to this, and it also created silly prices and silly promotions. For instance, this resulted in the posters, some of which are still on display, where it states, for example, come back tomorrow for £x (+20% VAT, you pay £x+0.2x).
And so it continued. Year on year price rises, in spite of (I believe) year on year guest figure increases.
For instance:
http://web.archive.org/web/200708132001 ... .asp?css=2
Compared with
http://www.thorpepark.com/prices/tickets.aspx
And what's the verdict? 2007 on the day admission: £32.00, 2013: £43.20.
But what also disappointed me was (what I would describe and will explains as) the real stagnation of the parks throughout the group. None of our parks are unique and none of the parks could draw a crowd without their rides. There is no feeling of amazement, the UK industry hasn't been driven in any new directions, we're simply continuing on the same (old) path of worlds first's, totally extreme, amazing rides (as marketed), introduced year on year. To explain further, I would liken this to Universal or Disney. Both parks, minus the physical, mechanical rides, could draw a (admittedly smaller) crowd based on shows, themeing, and the general pleasant feeling of the attractions. I would argue, certainly, the likes of Alton Towers and Thorpe Park wouldn't have me in attendance minus the rides. Even in terms of build up and marketing, nothing even of the scale of Nemesis arose. And that's a particular example I feel shows this well. Nemesis wasn't a worlds first. It wasn't marketed as the worlds most intense or scary or anything to that effect, it simply capture the imagination in the story of an epic legend. The Swarm tried this, and in my opinion it failed. The depth of immersion I was really hoping for never came. Yes, new rides, some of which notably better than previous efforts did arise and I did often feel, in particular, the magic of Alton Towers making a welcome return. But nothing on the scale of Disney or Universal's parks ever came my way.
The biggest shame of all, though, was, and is, Thorpe Park. In my opinion, I feel the park has been left to die a horrible death. Back in 2007/2008, I actually saw TP as being the rising premier park. Yes, there was work to do, and yes, it wasn't perfect but it was heading in the right direction. Not everyone will agree I am sure but what Thorpe did do was create clear themes. Each area had a real vibe and the attention to detail was there, some of this is harking back to the old days, particularly the amity area, but you felt the effort and love of each ride was still there. Each ride had it's own soundtrack, each area (Slammer being the only major exception), had a clear cut, self contained identity. Take Colossus, 5 years ago, everything worked (SFX, audio wise etc), it was looked after and you were cleverly immersed into a little adventure that felt /almost/ genuine. But these days are long gone. Thorpe Park has been driven towards being a 24/7 night club. It's clearly targeting an audience that doesn't care for quality. Short term, out of place new rides (Storm Surge, anyone), the removal of themed areas and ride soundtracks, and the introduction of club nights, and the likes of silent disco's in Colossus' queue line, removing all the work of the team who originally put together an epic of a ride, in terms of themeing, ride area and experience (certainly, for the UK in 2003). I would certainly be interested to see what John Wardly would make of the lost city area today.
But none the less, it wasn't all bad. The Swarm crashed through our doors in 2012, offering something totally new. It didn't deliver a universal-esque ride, but it certainly was a fair effort for a UK attraction. Equally Th13teen, not mind blowing but certainly above-average, were welcome additions.
In my mind, Merlin has brought a higher standard of attraction to our parks. Far higher than we have seen for the past years between 2003 and 2007, and in some ways re-invigorated our parks. Yet, in spite of all the good, they haven't lead the UK on a global scale. They haven't taken us in new directions and I now, 10 years into my real enthusiasm for theme parks, get this feeling that the UK industry is tired. I think a good summary of Merlin's approach is to lift the bar of mediocrity, inching ever higher and higher but never really breaking into the world class ranks that the real powerhouses of the amusement industry posses. This, in turn, in my mind, leaves the UK lagging behind. And so with open arms, I welcome Paramount's proposed new London park. A true theme park would hopefully, if nothing else, stimulate some healthy competition for real theme based entertainment.
And with that, I hand this over to your discussion. All opinions, criticism (of my views as well as anything else!) and complements are very welcome.
(I wish to re-affirm, if not already made suitably clear, that all information, except where backed up by relevant sources is simply to the best of my memory and purely my opinion. It should not be taken as fact except where evidence is provided).
For many years, it has been claimed the group aim to rival Disney, and their visions are set out on their groups webiste; "We believe that the Merlin Entertainments Group (Merlin) is the most exciting leisure company in the world. Our market, location based entertainment, or more specifically visitor attractions, is dynamic, fast growing and fun. Within this, Merlin is truly unique both in terms of its breadth of quality ‘branded’ businesses and its unrivalled commercial success"
But what does this mean for the customer, for those visiting, using and paying into a global giant that is growing at an astonishing rate?
Whilst I open this general overview to all opinions, I'll first express my own (with a bit of history in there).
So we'll go back to 2007, the point where Merlin's acquired Tussauds and added their parks to their ever growing portfolio. I think it's fair to say that, among the community, there was a general feeling of optimism. After the dark days of neglect and lack of far sighted-ness in investments we had seen, especially at Alton Towers under the management of DIC (Dubai International Capital), to hear of the group being merged into a company that specifically tends to theme parks and the amusement industry led to a general consensus that this could only ever be a good thing. I eagerly awaited visiting and seeing the changes in approach Merlin were making to my favourite group of parks.
And so, the new attractions came. The first large scale alteration would be that of Merry England at Alton Towers, to it's new and current identity of Mutiny Bay. This was certainly an improvement and an area of real neglect, that was looking thoroughly tatty and generally run-down was re-vitalized and brought up to date. Received generally with warmth and a re-affirmed optimism, the community (generally, and from my experience), had high hopes. Further afield, SAW: The Ride landed at Thorpe Park.
This scared me. To me, it showed, not only was the company a little bit of a sell out, it also market the start of what was to be the transformation of Thorpe Park, into Thorpe Park (This is meant to be in capitals, didn't initally work for me). From theme park to amusement park. Year on year I was disappointed by the neglect Thorpe was receiving. I still fondly remember Fright Nights 2007, where the bar was set at the highest I can ever remember. The park was taken care of. Music changed on every ride and real attention to detail given to every single attraction in it's Halloween make over (for those of you who don't remember, there were added effects, test dummies quite convincingly used as scary props around ride areas, notably thrown around Rush as if they had been ejected from the ride, and hung from Stealth's launch track by the neck). It was the last time such care and attention (in my opinion) would be given to the parks premier event, and in many ways echoed the same scale of neglect given to the whole 'theme' element of the park.
And at this point, something I found slightly scary also happened in the business world too. Merlin's sold all of it's assets acquired through Tussauds. To the best of my knowledge, Merlin doesn't own it's premier theme parks. They are all operated on contract, for the next 94 years by Merlin's after being sold to a private buyer. Typical of corporate giants, this move did signal something concerning. Merlin's were not interested in the long run. This move, in the simplest of terms (from my understanding), gives the operator a easy get out if things don't quite go to plan. But, what's even worse, is that it signals a clear view towards their assets as purely, a business. And, to my mind, that's totally wrong. The theme park industry is not one that can be run on profit margins alone. Of course, staying afloat is highly important but we're not producing sweet wrappers or envelopes here. We're talking about an industry that exists purely for the entertainment of people. Purely to create fun, to offer people a day away from the real world, a real form of escapism. And, in my mind, that requires passion. That requires the ability to sometimes look beyond the next 'investment' giving after tax returns of £xmillion.
But unfortunately, from where I'm standing, it didn't seem to stop there. The business comes first approach appears to engulf all of their operations; year on year admission prices have risen. They also took an approach of blaming the government for tax on theme parks, blaming higher prices on them. To me personally, I thought this very daft as it wasn't something new; that is to say theme parks have always been taxed so why make a song and a dance out of it? As a consumer I felt as though they were almost trying to pull the wool over my eyes, and, essentially, mislead my feelings. I didn't take warmly to this, and it also created silly prices and silly promotions. For instance, this resulted in the posters, some of which are still on display, where it states, for example, come back tomorrow for £x (+20% VAT, you pay £x+0.2x).
And so it continued. Year on year price rises, in spite of (I believe) year on year guest figure increases.
For instance:
http://web.archive.org/web/200708132001 ... .asp?css=2
Compared with
http://www.thorpepark.com/prices/tickets.aspx
And what's the verdict? 2007 on the day admission: £32.00, 2013: £43.20.
But what also disappointed me was (what I would describe and will explains as) the real stagnation of the parks throughout the group. None of our parks are unique and none of the parks could draw a crowd without their rides. There is no feeling of amazement, the UK industry hasn't been driven in any new directions, we're simply continuing on the same (old) path of worlds first's, totally extreme, amazing rides (as marketed), introduced year on year. To explain further, I would liken this to Universal or Disney. Both parks, minus the physical, mechanical rides, could draw a (admittedly smaller) crowd based on shows, themeing, and the general pleasant feeling of the attractions. I would argue, certainly, the likes of Alton Towers and Thorpe Park wouldn't have me in attendance minus the rides. Even in terms of build up and marketing, nothing even of the scale of Nemesis arose. And that's a particular example I feel shows this well. Nemesis wasn't a worlds first. It wasn't marketed as the worlds most intense or scary or anything to that effect, it simply capture the imagination in the story of an epic legend. The Swarm tried this, and in my opinion it failed. The depth of immersion I was really hoping for never came. Yes, new rides, some of which notably better than previous efforts did arise and I did often feel, in particular, the magic of Alton Towers making a welcome return. But nothing on the scale of Disney or Universal's parks ever came my way.
The biggest shame of all, though, was, and is, Thorpe Park. In my opinion, I feel the park has been left to die a horrible death. Back in 2007/2008, I actually saw TP as being the rising premier park. Yes, there was work to do, and yes, it wasn't perfect but it was heading in the right direction. Not everyone will agree I am sure but what Thorpe did do was create clear themes. Each area had a real vibe and the attention to detail was there, some of this is harking back to the old days, particularly the amity area, but you felt the effort and love of each ride was still there. Each ride had it's own soundtrack, each area (Slammer being the only major exception), had a clear cut, self contained identity. Take Colossus, 5 years ago, everything worked (SFX, audio wise etc), it was looked after and you were cleverly immersed into a little adventure that felt /almost/ genuine. But these days are long gone. Thorpe Park has been driven towards being a 24/7 night club. It's clearly targeting an audience that doesn't care for quality. Short term, out of place new rides (Storm Surge, anyone), the removal of themed areas and ride soundtracks, and the introduction of club nights, and the likes of silent disco's in Colossus' queue line, removing all the work of the team who originally put together an epic of a ride, in terms of themeing, ride area and experience (certainly, for the UK in 2003). I would certainly be interested to see what John Wardly would make of the lost city area today.
But none the less, it wasn't all bad. The Swarm crashed through our doors in 2012, offering something totally new. It didn't deliver a universal-esque ride, but it certainly was a fair effort for a UK attraction. Equally Th13teen, not mind blowing but certainly above-average, were welcome additions.
In my mind, Merlin has brought a higher standard of attraction to our parks. Far higher than we have seen for the past years between 2003 and 2007, and in some ways re-invigorated our parks. Yet, in spite of all the good, they haven't lead the UK on a global scale. They haven't taken us in new directions and I now, 10 years into my real enthusiasm for theme parks, get this feeling that the UK industry is tired. I think a good summary of Merlin's approach is to lift the bar of mediocrity, inching ever higher and higher but never really breaking into the world class ranks that the real powerhouses of the amusement industry posses. This, in turn, in my mind, leaves the UK lagging behind. And so with open arms, I welcome Paramount's proposed new London park. A true theme park would hopefully, if nothing else, stimulate some healthy competition for real theme based entertainment.
And with that, I hand this over to your discussion. All opinions, criticism (of my views as well as anything else!) and complements are very welcome.
(I wish to re-affirm, if not already made suitably clear, that all information, except where backed up by relevant sources is simply to the best of my memory and purely my opinion. It should not be taken as fact except where evidence is provided).
). I think Furie has done a good job of rolling up that summary there, and I totally agree, parks like, for example, Lightwater Valley, make me feel so much happier to return. There is this fantastic feeling of something exciting just waiting round the corner when you visit. Almost as if the magic that theme parks can create is just starting out there, it's quite contagious.