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.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Greetings from Orlando,

Been lurking in this thread for far too long.
You all seem like your in for a real treat.
I feel a lot of theme parks over there have been operating on the “Dust it under the rug” attitude that some of you pointed out simply abecause of the lack of great competition.
They are really in for a rude awakening.

Your park sounds like it will be amazing nonetheless!

 

[Excalibur]

Greetings from Orlando,

Been lurking in this thread for far too long.
You all seem like your in for a real treat.
I feel a lot of theme parks over there have been operating on the “Dust it under the rug” attitude that some of you pointed out simply abecause of the lack of great competition.
They are really in for a rude awakening.

Your park sounds like it will be amazing nonetheless!

It’s because Merlin have he monopoly over the UK at the moment as mentioned it’s always a “that will do” attitude instead of trying to make things right which is sad. Of course we have the theme parks in the UK But Merlin have the big four.

I’m sure as said they will have a rude awakening when Universal hit the UK and I hope they do scramble to get some kind of plan together because the rides Uni add will blow Merlin out the water.

 

[BBPH]

Merlin are a completely different experience, we can bag on them as much as we like but they’re successful and are plenty good enough for the standard theme park day out.

Universal is more than that and a more premium experience.

For what it’s worth Merlin does indeed have plan to solidify themselves as that middle ground experience, but don’t expect world class additions.

What they’re more worried about is seasonal events, that’s been a huge area of growth for them in the last few years.

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.

Or… perhaps as fans of or people who work in the industry, we hope the best for everyone and that both can easily be successful.

I’m no Merlin defender, but we just can’t compare them to the likes of Universal or Disney.

 

[Altonsky]

Can I just say I live within walking distance to Alton Towers, so close I get free tickets every year.

I’d rather they didn’t tank

I don’t think they will. Thorpe imo is more at risk than Alton, Alton is quite unique.

 

[Excalibur]

Merlin are a completely different experience, we can bag on them as much as we like but they’re successful and are plenty good enough for the standard theme park day out.

Universal is more than that and a more premium experience.

For what it’s worth Merlin does indeed have plan to solidify themselves as that middle ground experience, but don’t expect world class additions.

What they’re more worried about is seasonal events, that’s been a huge area of growth for them in the last few years.



Or… perhaps as fans of or people who work in the industry, we hope the best for everyone and that both can easily be successful.

I’m no Merlin defender, but we just can’t compare them to the likes of Universal or Disney.

I completely get what your saying, but I think Uni has Merlin by the b*lls.

We know Merlin LOVE to chase a worlds first, but universal is going to knock them out the park. I think it’s more than achievable for Uni to do the following

- Longest coaster in the UK
- Highest Coaster In the UK
- Most Loops (If they would ever do this)
and these are only off the top of my head.

In terms of events, they’ve scaled back on some of there events this year they attempted Mardi Gra for I think two seasons? And then cut it, admittedly we think the budget has gone on Scarefest (For Americans this is there Halloween event) but again it shouldn’t be a choice of cutting events etc.

I think they’re only real big pull will be Oktoberfest what they do as I don’t think Universal have attempted anything like that before?

 

[Jake S]

We know Merlin LOVE to chase a worlds first, but universal is going to knock them out the park. I think it’s more than achievable for Uni to do the following

what reason is there to expect universal to compete on the basis of record breaking roller coasters? not a single universal park currently operating has done that, despite existing in markets with “competition” that absolutely does this.

I appreciate the desire to have a luxury theme park in the area, but universal is no more in direct competition with Thorpe Park than Universal Hollywood competes with Six Flags Magic Mountain.

 

[xtpower]

Universal will never go for 'headline records' as a marketing ploy, if they hit any of those records it'll purely be a coincidence, not deliberate. They don't need to go down that route to gain attention, their brand power alone is enough to blow the regional parks out of the water. When you pair that brand power with a World Class resort with World Class theming and astonishing rides, they will not need to market any records they may have broken in that process.

As for the 'competition' aspect, Alton Towers will be right in the firing line, purely because Towers has the reputation of being the UK's best resort and themed Park, it's the one that will be competing on the same idealogical platform as Universal. Thorpe Park is the UK equivalent of a Six Flag's Park, sure it may hurt because of proximity to Bedford but it doesn't tout itself as a Themed resort.