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The allure of attractions
17th September 2010. Posted by Sam Dowling. Trackback
Cadbury World first opened its doors in 1990 to hoards of hungry chocoholics, and twenty years and eight million visitors later the attraction is still regarded as one of Birmingham’s treasures. I was lucky enough to be invited to help Cadbury World celebrate its 20th Anniversary, and as I listened to Sir Adrian Cadbury express his delight with its continued popularity, I started to consider the continued allure of these types of attractions.
Cadbury World was built as an extension to the previous factory tours, but Sir Adrian himself admits that he couldn’t have predicted its phenomenal popularity. Looking back over the history of some of the nation’s favourite attractions, I wondered if anyone could have foreseen the explosion of the current attraction industry.
Someone who appears to have first spotted this potential was Alderman George Bean, who founded Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1896. Bean bought an extremely ambitious forty-two acre plot of land but over the years the addition of new rides has ensured the attraction has grown to fill this space and realise Bean’s original vision. The attraction industry itself has also grown during this time and we’ve witnessed numerous attractions popping up across the county.
The key question is however, in this new age of attractions how do they continue to keep their allure?
Evolution is definitely a major factor, and theme park based attractions have adapted to appeal to a more thrill seeking market. Take Alton Towers for example, during the 1890’s it began drawing visitors by simply holding summer fetes in its extensive gardens. In contrast, in order to keep bringing visitors back nowadays more thrilling rollercoasters such as the new TH13TEEN ride are required.
The addition of fast rides obviously isn’t the answer for all attractions, and sites such as Warwick Castle and Cadbury World still manage to attract record numbers without the big thrills. For this breed of attraction the emphasis is just as much on history and heritage as it is fun and entertainment. For example, it’s impossible not to be drawn into the animated tale of Cadbury’s history during your visit to the Bournville attraction, but likewise who can resist the chance to play with, and obviously taste warm, liquid Cadbury chocolate?!
That’s the great thing about attractions, their versatility. Everyone likes something different and nowadays we’ve got attractions to satisfy our every need and if they manage to combine it all in one then all the better. In fact, I’ve recently returned from a trip to Disneyland Paris which promises something for everyone and in my case it certainly delivered. As a self-confessed scaredy cat, I was more than happy to become immersed in the magical fantasy land of Walt Disney, and quickly fell in love with the fairytale Sleeping Beauty castle. My other half however was much more impressed by the 183ft freefall drop experienced on the Tower of Terror. Like Alton Towers, Disneyland is clearly keen to attract the thrill market but it also understands the core of its business lies with the magic and traditions associated with the Disney brand. It’s this careful balance which I feel has helped Disneyland earn its place as Europe’s most visited tourist attraction.
Obviously Disneyland isn’t the only attraction to have realised this importance and sites such as The London Dungeons and Drayton Manor have all taken steps to ensure they offer a healthy balance. Whilst Drayton Manor is best known for its thrill rides such as Shockwave, it also caters to the younger market through Europe’s first and only Thomas Land. Thomas Land is based around the popular Thomas and Friends characters and combined with the attraction’s on-site zoo takes the park to a different level.
I for one will continue to feel the allure of the attraction industry and feel lucky that whether you fancy screaming yourself silly or making history fun, we’re lucky that we’ve got a whole host of fabulous attractions right on our doorstep.