4:00pm ride closes scrapped!

EDIT: We have since been informed that the park will now close at 5:00pm on the below dates!

Important information for anyone thinking of visiting during September and October 2012

Earlier in the 2012 season, Alton Towers took the decision to slash opening hours during September and October. This is in response to a range of cost cutting measures across the Resort Theme Parks Division of Merlin Entertainments. On roughly half of all operating days, the park plan to close rides at 4:00pm - the earliest main season closing time in recent memory. Aside from special "Adrenaline Week" style events and limited openings, such as February Half Term, the park has closed at a minimum of 5:00pm.

With ticket prices having risen to £45.00 just a few weeks ago, there have (as yet) been no advertised plans to cut prices on these 4:00pm closing days, therefore you will have a maximum of just 6 hours based on arriving at park opening. This is not usually considered enough time, even with short (<15 mins) queues to experience everything the park offers, and eat lunch.

Therefore, please familiarise yourself with the following dates over the coming two months, when the park will close rides at 4:00pm and ensure you are fully aware of the closing time before your visit, so you are not in for a nasty suprise. On dates not listed, the park closes at 5:00pm or later.

SEPTEMBER 2012
Sunday 9th
Monday 10th
Tuesday 11th
Wednesday 12th
Thursday 13th
Friday 14th
Monday 17th
Tuesday 18th
Wednesday 19th
Thursday 20th
Friday 21st
Monday 24th
Tuesday 25th
Wednesday 26th
Thursday 27th
Friday 28th

OCTOBER 2012
Monday 1st
Tuesday 2nd
Wednesday 3rd
Thursday 4th
Friday 5th
Monday 8th
Tuesday 9th
Wednesday 10th
Thursday 11th
Friday 12th
Monday 15th
Tuesday 16th
Wednesday 17th
Thursday 18th

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

This is just getting ridiculous now. Seriously, 6 hours on Park (Without ERT), unbelievable!

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Six hours is an embarrassment. For the extra couple of hours you can gain, what, in reality is the expenditure? I refuse to believe that they lose enough money in this time to warrant leaving guests so dissatisfied.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

I'm now silently facepalming as this is just the norm. So close to Scarefest when marketing is at peak time and the odd Sunday in there.

It's time to just make a Merlin meme template with a simple reaction from us so we don't descend into anarchy and be more in the dumps. Maybe if we don't moan, less cuts will come. This is logical, but disgusting for the UK's number one theme park. It isn't, but it seems that Alton WANT there worst season ever to hopefully wow us next year. And we thought 2011 was bad, the redeeming factor of something new has made this season "pleasureable" for a enthusiast but I'm now branching to other parks away from Merlin due to the value for money. Visiting the cleaner, posher, cheaper, wider-variety and nicer Pizza-Pasta at Blackpool has really made me worry for Merlin's sakes. Why not cut abroad for once Merlin, we've had enough. Flog some attractions instead of making new ones for pete's sakes. I won't begin to rant further as I will only hurt myself more. I may be overreacting especially since I'll be at school then but I just find it unacceptable.

Will Thorpe/Chessie/LL be getting the same treatment especially the latter 2 being family parks. Maybe around Oct some are closing early due to last minute Scarefest/Fright Night preps too?

Anyone got Trading Standards on speed dial?

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

These closing times are firm it would seem - because they already backed down over a load of 4:00pm cuts earlier in the season.

I doubt they'll change their minds on this one, the thread was mainly to raise awareness in case anyone was planning to visit on these days.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Considering Pleasure Beach are now extending opening to 8pm and 9pm on a regular basis it seems weird that Alton feel the need to make themselves less attractive as a destination. With Pleasure Beach looking to open late through the illuminations we might see a lot of people choosing to go elsewhere for better value.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

That's 12.5p a minute folks! (if I've done my calculations correctly). And most of those minutes you'll be standing in a queue anyway!

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Sam said:

That's 12.5p a minute folks! (if I've done my calculations correctly). And most of those minutes you'll be standing in a queue anyway!

Click to expand...

If that's right, then it mean you're only paying £2.50 to watch the pirate show, great value for money!! *leaves topic quickly!

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

A joke. Plain and simple. I can't think of any other park with such ludicrous closing times. When I went to Phantasialand I noticed they are open until 6pm almost every day of the season. Better still they open the whole park at 9! So that's like Alton doing 10-7 every day.

Second to Disney? The phrase "trolololol" comes to mind. The local fair has better opening times when it comes! Merlin are an embarrassment to the amusement industry. Worst of it is, people already perceive theme parks in general as expensive days out. Given Alton is one of the UKs best known and well publicised attractions they look to them for the standard. In offering poorer value for money they not only tarnish themselves, but the rest of the industry!

Parks like Drayton are trying to beat the financial situation with their online £20 tickets with free car parking. You want to make more money? Lower prices, advertise it, and draw in more people. Alton are well and truely pricing themselves out of the market. Combined with the appalling (lack of) value for money and people will simply refuse to visit.

Sam said:

That's 12.5p a minute folks! (if I've done my calculations correctly). And most of those minutes you'll be standing in a queue anyway!

Click to expand...

LOL! It's now officially better value for money to ring Merlin's premium rate booking line than it is to visit their park!

It makes me wonder how many of the higher powers have the slightest clue what they're doing...

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

And people wonder why I refuse to give them my money any more.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Oh dear *facepalm*

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Ian said:

A joke. Plain and simple. I can't think of any other park with such ludicrous closing times. When I went to Phantasialand I noticed they are open until 6pm almost every day of the season. Better still they open the whole park at 9! So that's like Alton doing 10-7 every day.

Click to expand...

Phantasialand never used to open all rides at 9am - there used to be a few (Maus au Chocolat, Colorado Adventure spring to mind) that opened then, but then other rides opened by 10:00am with exception to Wuze Town which always used to open at 10:30am.

Sounds good if they have amended that.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

DiogoJ42 said:

And people wonder why I refuse to give them my money any more.

Click to expand...

I think they more wonder why you still happily give it to Thorpe who have cut just as much if not more.

Its a stupid decision based on faulty logic but thats accountants for you, i and many others here just got back from a park that didnt close before 8pm the whole trip. And its seen a 7% increase in revenue this year compared to Merlins rumoured 40% drop....

Merlin, go back to school.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

After the raise in ticket prices, you would think M£rlin would at least extend the closing time by an hour. But, NOOOOOO! Some companies are too selfish to do anything like that!

But seriously though, this is getting out of hand. Are they trying to have a bad season or what?! Typical
M£rlin...

:-X

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Actually, since my MAP has run out, I am now boycotting everything M£rlin till they sort their act out.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

AstroDan said:

Ian said:

A joke. Plain and simple. I can't think of any other park with such ludicrous closing times. When I went to Phantasialand I noticed they are open until 6pm almost every day of the season. Better still they open the whole park at 9! So that's like Alton doing 10-7 every day.

Click to expand...

Phantasialand never used to open all rides at 9am - there used to be a few (Maus au Chocolat, Colorado Adventure spring to mind) that opened then, but then other rides opened by 10:00am with exception to Wuze Town which always used to open at 10:30am.

Sounds good if they have amended that.

Click to expand...

Maybe they still do, and it was off chance that on our visits everything I noticed was up and running at 9am. Either way it's still a down sight better than Merlin's hours

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

I will still go to Alton/Merlin because they have some great rides, and I have to pay very little per visit.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

I think they more wonder why you still happily give it to Thorpe who have cut just as much if not more.

Its a stupid decision based on faulty logic but thats accountants for you, i and many others here just got back from a park that didnt close before 8pm the whole trip. And its seen a 7% increase in revenue this year compared to Merlins rumoured 40% drop....

Merlin, go back to school.
[/quote]

Hey I'm a accountant, not all of us are the same! Yes we are always looking to cut costs but it looks like Merlins aren't looking at the bigger picture! If I was them I would be wanting to get as many people on park maybe by reducing the gate price and online price further during the quiet spell? Because even though you would be loosing out on the money off the gates you would be gaining it back from the sales of food and merchandise. With this theory it all depends on if the cut in prices would be outweighed by the money they make in increased guest numbers. We are doing the same calculations the other day at work with our stoneware (I work for a company that makes garden ornaments). That if we reduced the trade and retail prices of our products by 20% would the increased sales A) reduce the amount of stock that the garden centres are holding (as most of our products are on sale or return, so our money is tied up in the stock at the garden centres) and B) cover the cost of putting them on sale and actually make us more profit for the next few months? See it's not a easy choice! It's all lots of lovely stats and stuff but we decided to take a knock on the prices for the increased sales as we need to reduce the amount of money that is tied up in stock and convert it back into cash ready to start building up new stock to give to the garden centres at the start of next season.

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Oh I don't think anyone was trying to brand all accountants as such or anything like that. Just emphasis that Merlin seems to be ran and governed by some pencil pushers who have little or no idea about the market they're in (That's my unterpretation of what's been said anyway )

You have hit the nail right on the head though. If you want to shift more stock/increase gate figures/whatever you want to use as an example, you cut prices to make your product more appealing. This means you make a smaller margin on every unit sold, but as a tradeoff you increase the numbers being sold. Eventually you make back what you have lost in cutting the cost, and in some cases will actually begin to generate more.

This is the kind of logic which seems to be missing at Merlin attractions. Instead they seek to make the highest margin possible on every sale, without seeming to account for the loss of sales as a result. You'd think someone would have put two and two together and said "hey, when prices go up gate figures go down. That means people don't like our prices" as oppose to "hey, when prices went up gate figures went down, so we lost money. Make more money off each person by increasing prices to cover our loss."

Going back to my earlier post, Drayton for example seem to understand this logic, with their online reduction in prices. Just the other day the walk up adult price was just £20! All because someone from TOWIE was on park! A daft reason perhaps, but it no doubt had some impact on the number of people coming!

Re: Advance Notice: Park Hours Cut to 4:00pm

Balancing the cash books against the expensive to operate 9pm closures most likely? That is pretty grim but wouldn't surprise me if it was the reason.

I had two more trips planned for this year, both dates included in that 4pm list. Based on this news I'll certainly be cancelling one and moving the other, if not cancelling both and waiting for SW7 to open. The cost in total for the day against the amount of ride time just wouldn't be worth it.

It raises the inevitable question of course; will 2013 follow a similar timetable for off-peak days?!