NEWS FROM ALTON TOWERS

Lucky FOURTEEN
Alton Towers Resort renames new rollercoaster after TH13TEEN deemed too unlucky

The Alton Towers Resort has today renamed it newest ride: FOURTEEN. The Resort bowed to public demand after announcing it would close its ultimate rollercoaster TH13TEEN on Friday 13th August because it was deemed too unlucky. However, bosses are so concerned about tempting fate that rather than simply opening the ride, they have rebranded the coaster, calling it FOURTEEN instead.

For one day only the ride will be known as FOURTEEN to appease fans and all signage has been changed. Staff have all been briefed to avoid using the official name of the ride, and will to refer to it as FOURTEEN for 24 hours. During this time fans will also be able to buy limited edition FOURTEEN ride merchandise at the park.

The Resort announced in July that it would be closing TH13TEEN following research which showed that 30 million Brits* are superstitious and that many would refuse to ride on this year’s only Friday 13th. The decision to reverse the closure came after the Resort was inundated with calls and letters from guests protesting the decision and the creation of several ‘Save TH13TEEN’ groups on Facebook.

Morwenna Angove, Sales and Marketing Director at the Alton Towers Resort said, “We understand that many people were disappointed with the decision to close TH13TEEN and so we have found a solution that will hopefully satisfy fans by allowing them to ride, whilst still ensuring that our more superstitous visitors can still enjoy a day at the park.”

Fans can ride FOURTEEN at the Alton Towers Resort on Friday 13th August 2010.

Friday 13th Stats
• 31.6 Million Brits are superstitious
• Glasgow and Norwich are the most superstitious cities in the UK, Manchester and Sheffield are the least
• Women (74%) are more superstitious than men (50%)
• 1 in 10 of the UK population would not go on a rollercoaster on Friday the 13th
• A third of people (32%) change their behaviour on Friday the 13th for fear of bad luck
• Loss of business due to superstition is estimated to cost the US economy $800-900 million every Friday 13th**.
• Friday 13th is a modern superstition, with the first reference appearing in 1869 and is believed to have come about through a combination of fear around both Friday and the number 13***
• It’s actually statistically safer to drive on Friday 13th because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home****


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For more information please contact the Alton Towers Resort PR team on 0207 693 6999 or email altontowers@frankpr.it
The MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS GROUP is the leading name in location based, family entertainment, which has seen the most successful and dynamic growth of any company in the sector over the last five years. Europe’s number one, and the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin has 62 attractions and 6 hotels in 12 countries, across 3 continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 38.5 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and more than 14,000 employees. Merlin Entertainments operates the following attractions – SEA LIFE – the world’s No 1 aquarium brand, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND, The Merlin Entertainments London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, THORPE PARK, Chessington World of Adventures, Heide Park, Underwater Adventures, and Earth Explorer.
Notes to editors:
*The survey was carried out online by Tickbox.net/Opinion Matters between 15th-19th July and used a nationally representative sample of 1,111 UK adults aged 16+.
**Based on Ng, T, Chong, T & Du, X. (2010). The Value of Superstitions. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31, 293-309.
*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th
**** According to a report by the Dutch Institute of Statistics, June 2008 as reported by Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSHER25778420080612