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2021: General Discussion

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John said:
re: WM preshow

Based on a ride capacity of about 1000, the preshow room would have to fit an average of 50 people if it ran every 3 minutes (20 times per hour). Given how long it takes to get everyone in and out of the room, I'd say it's running less often than that.
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So if the station is usually full of 3-4 trains worth of punters and the preshow runs less than every 3 minutes = more than 50 people in the room?
 
I watched TPWs fireworks vlog and Shawn mentions there being rumours about the Feb half term event coming back for the first time since the smiler incident. I wonder if this is a possibility and if it did happen I wonder what coasters would be open
 
Ethan said:
I watched TPWs fireworks vlog and Shawn mentions there being rumours about the Feb half term event coming back for the first time since the smiler incident. I wonder if this is a possibility and if it did happen I wonder what coasters would be open
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It used to be RMT, Nemesis, Oblivion and as it was at the time of the last FHT, Air. I think these are correct, but I'm not 100% sure. Spinball might've been on as well but I'm not too sure.
 
Don't think all the schools are off on the same week anymore though, half term has been spread over 2/3 weeks, many local Catholic schools round here don't break up for Easter until Maundy Thursday (day before good friday for the heathens), so have a later half term.
 
Can’t believe it’s the last day of the season! Doesn’t feel like a second since opening on April 12th!
 
Probably not. I expect that they like it the way it is. Now that we have been conditioned to accept it it'll probably be possible for them to extend it as long as they want to.
 
Ally said:
Interesting. A prime site for a new permanent flat ride so fingers crossed it's to allow for work to start ASAP and not that they're charged per day for renting the temporary rides!
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Can't imagine how much it cost to hire 3 fair rides for a year. Although I didn't do the retro rides I'm sad they're leaving will be weird to just see empty spaces again
 
They've already been taken off the app. So that pretty much confirms that all 3 were just a 1 season thing and none will be staying longer
 
Shame if there’s gonna be nothing in their place. There was 2 occasions this year where I’d ridden Rita as my first ride and TH13TEEN hadn’t opened on time so I rode Roller Disco and then TH13TEEN had opened by the time I got off of Roller Disco - giving me something else to do. Had Roller Disco not been there, I’d have left Dark Forest after Rita and then the queue for TH13TEEN would’ve probably been too long for the rest of the day.
 
I think capacity will become a real issue again if the 3 rides aren't replaced. They did the job perfectly at sucking in some of the crowds to try and keep the queues for the coasters lower. Particularly Mixtape that did a brilliant job as it got quite a queue sometimes and if it wasn't there then those people would just be in the queue for smiler or Oblivion. During the summer I regularly saw Smiler on a 120 min wait despite Mixtape being 60-80 itself, so imagine how busy the smiler will get now without that extra ride in the area
 
Suppose there's nothing to say they won't put 3 different temporary rides in those locations for next year?

Either way these things were never going to sit idle at AT all winter.

Be surprising if they reduced their offering for next year, especially after spending time and money getting the sites ready.

Be interesting to see what way they go with it.
 
Ethan said:
I think capacity will become a real issue again if the 3 rides aren't replaced. They did the job perfectly at sucking in some of the crowds to try and keep the queues for the coasters lower. Particularly Mixtape that did a brilliant job as it got quite a queue sometimes and if it wasn't there then those people would just be in the queue for smiler or Oblivion. During the summer I regularly saw Smiler on a 120 min wait despite Mixtape being 60-80 itself, so imagine how busy the smiler will get now without that extra ride in the area
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X Sectors other support ride Enterprise was also down for a significant period of time (around 2 months) over summer this year so without Mixtape there it’d have been even worse.
 
So. That's that for another year.

Highlights:

- Events galore. So pleased to see an event per quarter of the season, and hopefully we will see Mardi Gras on a larger scale next year. Oktoberfest was much improved without the shackles of Covid, and Scarefest wasn't as bad as I expected. Not entirely perfect, but certainly better than last year by far.

- Entertainments. After being drained to the point of virtually no existence, entertainments have been forced down our throat this year. The absolute insanity I experienced today of being locked in Raj's Shop with the area actors and no guests was unimaginable five years ago. Utterly bonkers, hilarious, and a spectacle to those outside.

- The Retrosquad. Not everyone's cup of tea, but proof that Alton does need flat rides and that people do enjoy them. The marketing behind them as well was a nice ploy to put them in the park, not just slap them in as bog standard fairground rides with no context, which was my original fear.

The Gardens and the Towers. Great to see lots of improvements to the general tidiness of the Gardens this year, particularly earlier on in the season. The lighting over the latter month remains a treat. Also a treat, the length of time the ruins were open this year before being closed for Scarefest. The restored windows look grand and splendid, and I'm delighted they were able to utilise and highlight them as the perfect backdrop to the Fireworks.

- Fireworks. One of the best displays of the past decade, perhaps only edged out by 2013's display. A shame that a few rides were totally overlooked, but the overall package was incredible. Tonight's performance was by far the best of the three. "Neighbours? What neighbours? Get the volume cranked to full!"

Lowlights:

- The quality of the hotels. See the deep seated culture of mediocrity topic. Also, the food and beverage availability/wait times this weekend has been dire. The temperature in Ma's last night was also insufferable.

- End of season woes. The cracks normally show at the end of the season, but oh boy were they visible this year. Whilst Hex and The Smiler were out of Towers' hands, the ride availability towards the end, with Thirteen being as reliable as a local bus service, made for some pretty shoddy appearances on the park's behalf. Hopefully the Rapids leak can be fixed and the ride restored to full quality next year. Oh, and get the Monorail's window vinyls ripped off already!

The Monorail air gates.

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All in all, a good weekend to end what has been a decent recovery season following the unparalleled circumstances since the last Fireworks display. I'm really hoping the guest numbers and total revenue reflect and reward the efforts the park have made this year.

Cheers to all TSTers for the copious amount of alcohol throughout the season, and to the resort. For the first time in a very long time, there were whiffs of that cherished magic that makes the place feel so special.
 
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