Universal Great Britain

[Excalibur]

Merlin are deciding not to charge the prices of the likes of Disney and universal because they can’t people are already moaning about park hours if I use Alton Towers as a prime example considering how many rides are there at the moment and how big the park is just for our American friends who maybe don’t know what Alton Towers is. It’s a theme park built around a stately home however the size of it is enormous and it is largely spread out this year alone they are doing extensive work on the Sky Ride which is a cable car system however, it does take up a lot of walking to get to area to area with this coupled with the current opening opening hours. It is really hard to fit in in one day.

Reliability at the park this year alone is having major complications and this is then demonstrated in the current times of rollercoaster. There are being in excess of one hour plus this is something that I would be happily willing to wait in America due to them being a lot longer in terms of ride length and themeing. When you compare it to the likes of universal or Disney standards when you’re in a queue at Alton Towers, there is barely anything to look at because of constraints and budgets.

Food is another major thing. I agree that the park offering a food this year and for the past two years is absolutely diabolical and you are quite right in saying that around £20 or so for a burger meal is disgusting for what you actually get again comparing it to American food and offerings, is just abysmal. Referring to our American friends the food outlets Merlin recently got took over a few years ago by a company called Aaramark and it was found out that it is the same company who deal with prison food as you can imagine the quality of food isn’t there.

I think when it comes to it that people will be willing to pay that bit more because of universal standards and what they can achieve and nothing like this on this scale has ever happened in the UK before and I think that the UK are in for a treat For the rides food merchandise and so on as to what universal could really pull out the bag again referring to people that can’t afford to go to the states they are for a treat!

 

[rob@rar]

I agree that the current UK theme parks and what we hope Universal will build could target different audiences, but I’m sure there will be some overlap and that’s where things could get challenging for the current players in that market. I’m a big fan of theme parks: 20+ weeks in Orlando, been an annual passholder to Disneyland Paris, several visits to Disney and Universal in LA, couple of visits to Tokyo Disneyland. But despite being 20 minutes from Thorpe Park I’ve only visited once in the 30 years I’ve lived nearby, and I’ve never been to Alton Towers. It’s not a financial consideration, Thorpe could offer tickets for £10 and I’d not be tempted to visit, it’s just the nature of the experience there I don’t find particularly enjoyable. So UK families who know Thorpe, Alton or some of the other parks as their only “theme park” experience might find a visit to Universal GB as a wonderful eye-opening adventure, which they enjoy so much that they are prepared to spend the extra money it will no doubt cost. That’s the segment of the market that I think Merlin should be concerned about, not the determined thrill ride crowd, or those on a very tight budget, or families with very young kids for whom their local attraction is more than good enough. It’s families who think the Universal experience warrants the extra cost and perhaps extra distance to spend time there, rather than the cheaper and perhaps closer traditional UK park that might be where they would otherwise spend their money.

Of course, all this depends on Universal building a genuinely world class theme park. We know they can, let’s hope that’s what they decide to do, rather than aiming to be just a bit better than what the UK currently offers.

 

[Chessy]

I’ve not been to Thorpe Park for a while. But I’ve noticed some online reviews recently regarding the opening of their new ride Hyperia, in relation to the queue line. Apparently queue line bins have been overflowing at times with rubbish, likely because there’s no access gates in the line to empty the bins during the day. That seems like very poor foresight to me and bad management. People notice things like a lack of cleanliness and it doesn’t look good for a parks image.

Another thing is these queue line shops which in theory sound like a good idea. But in reality they hold up queues or you lose your place in the line, plus the excess of rubbish built up. You can just simply take a drink in the line with you and dispose it in the bin. This is where it differs with Universal as there is ample theming to keep you interested in the line and no unnecessary hold ups. It’s all about keeping your guests impressed with the small things and that’s where I think Merlin might suffer as well with this.

 

[Steeb]

As a former Merlin passholder, I would happily watch them either step up or get tanked by Universal. They have clearly been running with a "well, this will do" attitude for far too long.