What the boss has to say

[Stu]

The following are some extracts from an interview featured in attractions management magazine (Vol 9 issue 3.04, 2004) with Bruce McKendrick, the managing Director of Theme Parks with the Tussauds group, see what you think, very interesting . . . .

How Was 2003?
Last year was more difficult than planned for the parks. Also in 2002 we launched a new ride at Alton Towers called Air. It led to big queues and customers’ expectations went down. Because we hadn’t cdelivered as well as we should have, it may have put some people off.

How would you describe your expansion plans
We’re not actively looking for new properties in the UK as there are huge organic growth opportunities on our existing parks. We opened two hotels and an indoor water park at Alton Towers but are still only using a fraction of the land there and at Thorpe Park and at our park in Germany.
We also feel there are acquisition opportunities in Europe, but only if the time’s right. It would be nice to get somewhere with reasonably nice weather.

What can you tell us about your future plans?
To grow the parks organically and make the experience better. Theme parks in the UK suffer a down market image. Many think they’ve had their day or that they belong to the seaside. Families who’d happily go to Disney won’t go to theme parks here because they don’t think they’re as good. They are good though, and we need to make them even better and get the message across.
We need seasonal shows so people have a ‘mustn’t miss it’ sense of urgency. We may take a leaf out of the Madame Tussauds book and have temporary shows at the parks.
As well as providing great rides we need quality food and beverage outlets. We’re bringing in the brands – Café Nero’s just opened at Chessington – and we are improving our own offers. If you have a good food and beverage offer, people trust you. Plus they stay longer.

Where would you like to see the group in 10 years?
I’d like to see all our theme parks open 365 days a year. We need a mix of activities so weather would no longer be an issue. I’d also like to see a number of new acquisitions in the Tussauds portfolio in Europe.
When people have a free leisure day I’d like a Tussauds attraction to be at the top of everyone’s minds. I want them to almost sleepwalk there, because they’re so good, so trusted and so relevant that people know they’re going to have an excellent day out.

[in2ob1ivion]

He says they are only using a fraction of the land at Alton, which I would agree with, I really think they should utilise the lake in the centre of Alton, with a nice coaster swooping down over it, don;t know how feasible this would be, but from the log flume to Oblivion, is a long uninteresting walk (well, maybe Spinball gives a bit of life to that area, just).
He hits the nail on the head regarding uk theme parks having a down market image, they are all underthemed and feel very rushed in their final results (as good as FL's Lost river Kingdom is, it is still unfinished....rushed!!). Parks need to slow things down and take more pride and joy in their toys, after all they are the parks assets.
I have long thought that Tussauds (especially Alton) are pushing towards an all year round opening, I remember filling out a survey from the official Alton site asking should it stay open all year....my answer was indeed..YES, I will gladly visit a theme park and ride the attractions (including water rides) in wind, rain, snow, even thunder storms, so they are quite welcome to stay open 365 days a year for me.
I hope that what Bruce says is a genuine attitude to the parks and not just a glorified lie to look good and to look like he and the Tussaud group care.

[Stu]

A mix of activities sounds like they're planning more attractions (not theme park rides) like sporting & leisure facilities to become more like "center parcs with rides" . . . it's always puzzled me on the Alton Towers questionnaires it says "which other theme parks have you visited?" and lists, legoland, disney butlins and centre parcs! Maybe this is why?

The only problem i can see with the open all year round is will it be in terms of actually open for members of the public to visit or will it be just for the hotels guests (Chessington are building one too) and corporate hospitality clients . . . in which case will it just be open for a few hours like Alton Towers does for the winter weekends?

I'm currently planning a trip to Thorpe Park with my mates from Uni, i'm slightly nervous to what the weather will be like because if it's raining there's going to be virtually no rides we'll be able to enjoy, I'm also going with some people who aren't too keen on the "big rides" there isn't going to be much they can ride and enjoy together with us (without getting wet!)

I think to actually be open all year round they need to build more indoor / undercover attractions, which at Thorpe in particular would help balance the ride collection out and would greatly improve Alton Towers. To be honest i think Chessington has the best balance of rides (including indoor ones) out of the 3 uk parks.

Plus i don't think, from what we know so far, that "Rita" is going to improve the image of Alton Towers, Since Hex every addition to Tussauds parks has been much cheaper / tackier and fickle, they aren't adding very sophisticated attractions at the moment and the development plans of each of the parks suggests that isn’t about to change in the future

It is a real shame, as you say oblivion, big rides are the parks assets, they should do them properly in the first place and keep maintaining them to make sure they stay fresh and “relevant”

[Graeme]

Also in 2002 we launched a new ride at Alton Towers called Air. It led to big queues and customers’ expectations went down. Because we hadn’t delivered as well as we should have, it may have put some people off.

Hmm, I wish he's been more specific about that! I'd love to know if he's referring to the breakdowns, reduced capacity/loading times or even the actual ride itself being disappointing! I don't think it is disappointing, but then I speak as someone who watched the track go up and knew exactly what to expect. I don't know what you'd expect of it if you'd only seen the adverts.

I do think Tussauds have "fluffed" some of their recent rides somewhat. Colossus? Decent ride, but manufacturer was sacrificed for the inversion record. A wasted opportunity to get a B&M. Inferno? Much harder to fault, but why was it deliberately kept so much more modest than Nemesis? They didn't have the terrain, so why not add a couple more inversions? An immelman would have added much interest to the ride and differentiated it.

They're good rides, but we need to go back to the days of Nemesis, when everything was done right. I still think a nice big 6-inversion B&M floorless would go down really well! Theming, landscaping, tunnels etc. All there. And quality. Don't forget the quality!