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Car Parking - Improvements

Recent air ambulances called this year have landed on the car parks near the hotels. They will basically land wherever is closest and safest.


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I recall staying in ATH when it first opened and seeing helicopters landing on there, was told at the time it was used by celebs.

Anyway, car parking, just looking at the figures, so say 6,000 cars a day... at £6 each...£36k a day.... not bad little earner!
 
Anyway, car parking, just looking at the figures, so say 6,000 cars a day... at £6 each...£36k a day.... not bad little earner!

Less disabled parking (?), Hotel guests, waterpark users, Premium annual passes, mates of the guy on the gate, aggressive refusers, people who leave later, sneak out the entrance etc. Still a strong income stream, but probably less than you would imagine.

I always suspect the theme park is something of a loss leader for car parking, food & beverage, poncho sales etc.
They probably only make a profit if you spend £5.65 on donuts.
 
In the 26 years I been going to the towers the car parks haven’t changed 1 bit. The best thing they could do is how on the app pin my car so when you get back to the car park you know where u left it.
 
If they are serious about saving money then do away with the barrier attendants on exit - more staff seen there then I did serving food !
 
If they are serious about saving money then do away with the barrier attendants on exit - more staff seen there then I did serving food !
I'm kind of surprised they haven't gone for an ANPR barrier system like you see on a lot of.Multi story caecpaeks these days. Would speed up outflow from the park a lot
 
I'm kind of surprised they haven't gone for an ANPR barrier system like you see on a lot of.Multi story caecpaeks these days. Would speed up outflow from the park a lot
There was chat of ANPR over a TPM as a way of resolving the flow issues at Thorpe.

The barriers in a way help the flow of exit as it creates the bottleneck there instead of pushing it down to the entrance and saturating the local roads.
ANPR if done properly and linked to traffic lights would manage the flow and allow proper management.

They could link the system to the app, parking machines or any retail outlet and let people pay the fee. Pass holders who get parking included could scan their pass instead of paying or let you register your details against your pass but restrict how many times you change vehicle as obviously some would abuse it by changing the registered car to let friends get free parking.

In reality Merlin wouldn’t make the investment would they.
 
There was chat of ANPR over a TPM as a way of resolving the flow issues at Thorpe.

The barriers in a way help the flow of exit as it creates the bottleneck there instead of pushing it down to the entrance and saturating the local roads.
ANPR if done properly and linked to traffic lights would manage the flow and allow proper management.

They could link the system to the app, parking machines or any retail outlet and let people pay the fee. Pass holders who get parking included could scan their pass instead of paying or let you register your details against your pass but restrict how many times you change vehicle as obviously some would abuse it by changing the registered car to let friends get free parking.

In reality Merlin wouldn’t make the investment would they.

Even just having the barrier open based on the numberplate without having to faff around by moving up to the ticket reader and scanning the barcode would save 75 percent of the time it takes to get a car though the current barrier system.

I have seen other car parks using the same software and hardware gate system as Merlin using ANPR based barriers for exit
 
Should not have to pay at all full stop. Unlike Thorpe, or other parks, Alton is in the middle of the countryside and there is very little in the way of any viable alternative but to drive. People already pay a small fortune to visit and the parking charge is a bit of a slap in the face at the end of what is already an expensive day out for many people.
 
Should not have to pay at all full stop. Unlike Thorpe, or other parks, Alton is in the middle of the countryside and there is very little in the way of any viable alternative but to drive. People already pay a small fortune to visit and the parking charge is a bit of a slap in the face at the end of what is already an expensive day out for many people.
I think the park shouldn't be profiting from the parking, though I do feel it's only fair that car drivers cover the cost of maintenance of the parking facilities.

I imagine most of the parking fee is just profit so this would lead to a reduction in parking costs

This should be couples with a BIG increase in the amount of public transport to the park
 
I think the park shouldn't be profiting from the parking, though I do feel it's only fair that car drivers cover the cost of maintenance of the parking facilities.

This what the price of the "resort" admission ticket is for, or the price of staying in the "resort" hotels, or the price of the "resort" waterpark.

The car park charge was only introduced to fund a relief road. When the road got binned, they kept the parking charge as it was a nice little earner and they knew people had little choice but to use their cars. I would rather they add a few quid on the price of an admission ticket, or a few pence on food/drink, etc so the cost is maintained "indirectly", rather than hitting people with a £6 charge as they walk out after having spent a whack in the first place!

And lets be fair, the existing money hasn't been spent much on the roads which have had potholes for years, or the mass transit (i.e. monorail) in to the park, nor has it been spent on any public transport options.
 
The relief road was always only ever a possibility, but from what I recall, Tussauds had already spent a fair sum and a decade surveying the area, consulting locals and preparing for the possibility of its construction. When Merlin took over, it was one of the first things they definitively said was never going to happen.
 
The car parking charge was never introduced to pay for the relief road, that was just enthusiast theory and marketing spin to justify it being introduced. It’s the equivalent to when the park makes some form of cut back these days and states it’s due to ‘guest feedback’ - it’s just pure bull.

Car parking charges have been in existence at Alton Towers for 18 years now, (and were of course introduced by Tussauds long before Merlin came along). They just aren’t going anywhere, it would be a crazy business decision to remove them, making that money back in other ways wouldn’t be as easy or guaranteed and it’s pretty much universally expected by guests that you need to pay for parking these days. There are very few theme parks that don’t charge.

Disney, Universal, Europa Park, Astérix, Port Aventura, Efteling and many more all charge for parking.
 
I would rather they add a few quid on the price of an admission ticket, or a few pence on food/drink, etc so the cost is maintained "indirectly", rather than hitting people with a £6 charge as they walk out after having spent a whack in the first place!

It makes sense that the people visiting 17 times on a season pass pay extra on a per visit basis, in my opinion.
 
Last time I visited I took a taxi to the park which cost over £15 after splitting four ways. I know there's little public transport options and it needs improving but I don't think it's right for people who do use public transport/taxis to be subsidising car drivers.

At the same time I reckon the park is overcharging for parking, the cost should only be to cover maintenance of the car parks and the staff who run them
 
At the same time I reckon the park is overcharging for parking, the cost should only be to cover maintenance of the car parks and the staff who run them

and in the USA you can pay three times as much! I think the Florida parks are up to about $24 now.
£7 for all day parking isn't too bad compared to council car parks. But given there is almost no other option at Alton Towers as the public transport is so poor, they should consider if buses can be further improved and whether the parking charge is the right amount.
At Thorpe Park where there is a great bus service I think there is scope to increase the parking charge higher still.
 
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