Support UK Theme Parks this year...

[Nicky Borrill]

Oh, right! I mean, it's a bit of a strange crowd to be sure... we were there on a summer weekday and didn't see any trouble. I heard things can get a bit interesting in Ingoldmells after dark though.

Yes, when I was working there, in the height of summer, when the park was open until 10pm, the place was crawling with all sorts of shady characters. I was staying in Addlethorpe at the time, and walking home, along Sea Lane outside the park, was a bit like walking down the strip in Playa Del Las Americas. You couldn't get more than 25 feet before being stopped and offered some kind of mind altering goodies. Obviously it wasn't paying park customers doing these things, just local scumbags looking to profit from the park's crowds. I don't know if it's changed much at night, but most UK towns seem to have gotten worse in this respect since 2004/05, so I can't see it being much better. Pick pockets were a massive issue too, even in the day. Cara had her bag stolen from the buggy (I know, rookie error.) Again though, these won't be paying park customers.

It's really not the park's fault, and there's not a lot they can do about it, given the 'open doors' way that they operate. The fact that they have the market means they're unlikely to solve the issue, the same way Blackpool did, with gated entry. I reiterate though, on my visits since the Mellors took over, I've been amazed by how much nicer the actual park feels, and how well it seems to be run these days. I can't say enough positive things on how they've turned it around, we visited the year before they took over, and it was desolate, the difference now is incredible. Just have your wits about you, especially in the market area, or surrounding streets.

Edit to add: I guess the way to approach Fanny Island, is to look at it as a street fair. Great fun, and definitely a must do, but they can also attract the wrong crowd, only there for other reasons, so have your wits about you.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

The best coverage yet...

UK Theme Parks In DECLINE?! | The Dispatch Podcast Episode 7

In this Your Experience Guide video, we’re taking a look at the recent decline of UK theme parks with ride closures, entertainment cuts, job cuts and park’s ...

www.youtube.com

I know you're on here from time to time Scott, top job!!! Hopefully others take a similar stance / approach now.

 

[Serena]

Just popping in to offer a friendly, but contrarian, point of view on this.

In a cost of living crisis, I say don't waste your hard earned money on:
- lacklustre UK regional parks
- overpriced UK parks that don't cater to thrill seekers (unless milder rides are what you're looking for)
- UK parks that don't have decent ride hardware

Theme parks aren't charities, we don't need to reward them for their lack of investment.

In 2025, I will be prioritising spending money on visiting (mostly overseas) parks that will give me the best experiences.

Perhaps it helps not being much of a credit hunter, but I would much rather save my money to revisit a brilliant park like Walibi Belgium than donate to somewhere dilapidated like Fantasy Island.

I appreciate the generous sentiment of the original post, but it's not our responsibility to prevent outdated, overpriced UK parks that are under invested from closure. Spend your hard earned money on what will give you the best experience, I say!

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Just popping in to offer a friendly, but contrarian, point of view on this.

In a cost of living crisis, I say don't waste your hard earned money on:
- lacklustre UK regional parks
- overpriced UK parks that don't cater to thrill seekers (unless milder rides are what you're looking for)
- UK parks that don't have decent ride hardware

Theme parks aren't charities, we don't need to reward them for their lack of investment.

In 2025, I will be prioritising spending money on visiting (mostly overseas) parks that will give me the best experiences.

Perhaps it helps not being much of a credit hunter, but I would much rather save my money to revisit a brilliant park like Walibi Belgium than donate to somewhere dilapidated like Fantasy Island.

I appreciate the generous sentiment of the original post, but it's not our responsibility to prevent outdated, overpriced UK parks that are under invested from closure. Spend your hard earned money on what will give you the best experience, I say!

Because an even less competitive UK market will really help drive guest experience in the future?

Imagine if the same was said of bands. Musicians aren't charities, why go and support grass roots bands? Instead spend your hard earned money going to watch the high quality, polished, productions of already established bands. There are bands that play for years and years, sometimes decades before they find that spark. They wouldn't be around to find that spark if they weren't supported early on. A loose analogy, admittedly, but one I hope you can understand.

I mean, you do you... But if we only support the Merlins of the world, we can't be surprised when that's all that's left. (I'd only be visiting Towers and Thorpe in the UK this year, if I adopted your attitude.)

Not that I can be too critical of you, or anybody else, that takes this approach to things. You know as well as anybody, from discussions in the past, that this has more or less been my attitude to things for years and years. That's why there's so many UK parks I've never visited. So I don't really have a leg to stand on. To criticise too much would be incredibly hypocritical.

Edited to add: For the record, I'll still be visiting overseas parks this year. (Although Walibi Belgium isn't in any plans, I went last year.)

 

[Nitefly]

Plenty of good messages here:

• Remember to make time and spend to support things you enjoy. If not, they may disappear.
• The decline in quality of a product (and/or the rise in quality of another) is a good reason to change your opinions of it and/or how you invest your energy.
• Don’t spend considerable time, nor money, on things you don’t particularly enjoy at the expense of things you do enjoy.
• Don’t pledge loyalty towards something or someone that takes you for granted.
• You have to ‘give’ in order to ‘get’.

^ I like that last one as it goes both ways.

 

[Rollercoaster David]

Because an even less competitive UK market will really help drive guest experience in the future?

Imagine if the same was said of bands. Musicians aren't charities, why go and support grass roots bands? Instead spend your hard earned money going to watch the high quality, polished, productions of already established bands. There are bands that play for years and years, sometimes decades before they find that spark. They wouldn't be around to find that spark if they weren't supported early on. A loose analogy, admittedly, but one I hope you can understand.

I mean, you do you... But if we only support the Merlins of the world, we can't be surprised when that's all that's left. (I'd only be visiting Towers and Thorpe in the UK this year, if I adopted your attitude.)

Not that I can be too critical of you, or anybody else, that takes this approach to things. You know as well as anybody, from discussions in the past, that this has more or less been my attitude to things for years and years. That's why there's so many UK parks I've never visited. So I don't really have a leg to stand on. To criticise too much would be incredibly hypocritical.

Edited to add: For the record, I'll still be visiting overseas parks this year. (Although Walibi Belgium isn't in any plans, I went last year.)

Imagine if people only went to the pub with the best value... All there would be is wetherspoons.

I like a Wetherspoon's, and it's a safe bet for a cheap pint, but many smaller pubs have a unique charm to them, even if some are a bit run down.

I always try and get the best bang for my buck, but sometimes spending £7 to sit in a lovely beer garden with a nice pint of much more enjoyable.

Apply that to the theme park industry however you like, I think I might of gotten a bit carried away with the metaphor.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Imagine if people only went to the pub with the best value... All there would be is wetherspoons.

I like a Wetherspoon's, and it's a safe bet for a cheap pint, but many smaller pubs have a unique charm to them, even if some are a bit run down.

I always try and get the best bang for my buck, but sometimes spending £7 to sit in a lovely beer garden with a nice pint of much more enjoyable.

Apply that to the theme park industry however you like, I think I might of gotten a bit carried away with the metaphor.

To be fair, it's not the first time parks have been related to pubs in here... Very similar industry to be fair.

Off topic, but we were just discussing Wetherspoons recent decision to stop selling steaks, gammon, mixed grills etc, from May 14th, with the staff. They said "won't that really hurt them" I said, "probably not... Nobody 'goes out out' specifically for a (microwave) meal at Wetherspoons. They eat there because they're drinking there, or because it's close by, cheap, convenient and fairly reliable... Those kind of guests will just choose something else off the menu."

Anyway, back on topic, kind of...

Imagine if nobody went to watch lower league or poor performing sports teams, there'd literally be no competition. Now that's an ever looser* analogy, given the local, personal and sometimes emotional ties, that some people have to their team... But it's a valid analogy nonetheless.

* Is that a word? Looks wrong,

 

[Geeky Pastimes]

I agree with Serena, we're consumers, not patrons.

I don't like the way the Merlin parks or BPB or Pleasurewood Hills (my local park) have been operating and the decisions they've made, so I won't give them my money because I don't think it's worth it. That's on them, not me.

We will be going to Efteling, Walibi Holland, Toverland, the Florida Parks, and USS this year (and have already been to USJ) because we thought they were worth it, so we're happy to give them our money.

I think the idea that people will keep going to Alton Towers whatever they do, because of nostalgia or routine is probably what has allowed Merlin to keep getting away with crap decisions like the terrible food, the fairground games (I really hate that stupid golf thing on the lake) and terrible operations and hours.

 

[jasone]

I think the idea that people will keep going to Alton Towers whatever they do, because of nostalgia or routine is probably what has allowed Merlin to keep getting away with crap decisions like the terrible food, the fairground games (I really hate that stupid golf thing on the lake) and terrible operations and hours.

Agree with this. Alton in particular are riding on nostalgia at the moment. I'm glad they retracked Nemmy, but im not sure whether to renew my annual pass for the return of a topspin, if they can't keep the majority of their rides open every time i visit. Ride availability is so bad ive been embarrassed when I've convinced my non coaster friends to go... they've also made it harder and harder for people without cars to visit, having stopped the shuttle bus from stoke along time ago. I'd rather take a quick flight to Europa, Energylandia or Phantasialand and know i'm going to have a great time and not just leave frustrated or have my friends feel like they wasted their hard earned money.