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Park Hours: Updates and Discussion

AstroDan said:
Most major parks close queues at closing time.

I can think of a small number of exceptions like Liseberg and Efteling.

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Thanks for the clarification.

If that's the case, then Merlin closing times are poor considering they are suppose to be 2nd to Disney

Like I said in my post yesterday, I didn't know how other park operate with closing the queue times. It's been a good 10 year since I've been abroad and won't do so for the foreseeable future due to my wife's disability.

I can only compare with other non Merlin parks that I visit in this country (mainly Drayton Manor and Blackpool)
 
I think 5pm ride close is perfect for the family market as now been a dad after walking round the park all day I just want to go home but atm as my daughter under 1.2m tall it’s easily to end the day in CBeebies land but say when she is taller we could be over by Nemesis which is a good 20 min walk to the main entrance then a another 15 min walk to the car unless we wait to get the monorail then queue to get out then drive home so I be lucky if I be in my house by 8pm. I bet the Ops who work on Wickerman or the Smiler don’t get home much before 10 with a 6pm ride close.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think 5pm ride close is perfect for the family market as now been a dad after walking round the park all day I just want to go home but atm as my daughter under 1.2m tall it’s easily to end the day in CBeebies land but say when she is taller we could be over by Nemesis which is a good 20 min walk to the main entrance then a another 15 min walk to the car unless we wait to get the monorail then queue to get out then drive home so I be lucky if I be in my house by 8pm. I bet the Ops who work on Wickerman or the Smiler don’t get home much before 10 with a 6pm ride close.
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If we’re that end of the park, we wait for the gates to open and it’s a 5 min walk to the car. Have to be quite militant in ignoring the staff when they tell you where to park (especially as earlier in the year they stacked everyone near the monorail station knowing full well it wasn’t running!)
 
In terms of the number of rides - I would say that the quality of the rides is better than it was... so that's got to be a plus.

I do feel that there is a glaring lack of flat rides - and not specifically 'great' flat rides, but just things to ride. I feel that this is where parks like BPB excel. I get that there are staffing costs etc., but why cant towers have either a flat in each area that is seasonally open, or even an area (CCL?) with several flats that only opens when busy?

Entertainment options are lacking, but who in their right mind would go and watch a show when ride times are so restricted?
 
So there we have the reason for crap short open times, its to make the times they are open longer a better guest experience :D

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Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think 5pm ride close is perfect for the family market as now been a dad after walking round the park all day I just want to go home but atm as my daughter under 1.2m tall it’s easily to end the day in CBeebies land but say when she is taller we could be over by Nemesis which is a good 20 min walk to the main entrance then a another 15 min walk to the car unless we wait to get the monorail then queue to get out then drive home so I be lucky if I be in my house by 8pm. I bet the Ops who work on Wickerman or the Smiler don’t get home much before 10 with a 6pm ride close.
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To be clear, on a 6pm, rides such as Wicker Man and Smiler will typically be clear of guests within 60 minutes. On exceptionally busy days, it could be slightly longer.

Staff will categorically be home well before the times you stated.

If you are in Forbidden Valley at ride close, leave by the Galactica gates... you'll be out of the park within seconds.

I note that the park have today extended until 6.00pm. Good. I don't get the inconsistency. Queues are only 10-15 minutes longer than they were the day they extended to 4.15pm. It will also be 6.00pm tomorrow.
 
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AstroDan said:
I note that the park have today extended until 6.00pm. Good. I don't get the inconsistency. Queues are only 10-15 minutes longer than they were the day they extended to 4.15pm. It will also be 6.00pm tomorrow.
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Merlin could be playing the old 'customer service' trick. If you turn up expecting a 5pm close, but you get a 6pm close you perceive that you are getting something for nothing.

I suppose the big problem for any UK park is weather. If the had, say, 7pm closes and the weather was crap - bringing forward a ride close to 4 or 5pm is pretty shocking. So preparing for the worst, but extending maybe makes sense.

Here is another option Mr. Merlin - how about a standard operating day (10am - 4pm) and then 'Premium Hours' - charge an extra £20 for 4 - 6pm ;):rolleyes:o_O
 
bluesonichd said:
So there we have the reason for crap short open times, its to make the times they are open longer a better guest experience :D

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To counter this corporate clap-trap:

  • They do not review opening hours due to feedback such as this. They review it based on finances and try to open for the least amount of time possible in order to satisfy their financial targets and situation (which is dire) - this is also the reason why rides such as RMT and Duel open at 11am. You have to remember that until 2016, Alton Towers had never closed at 4pm under Tussauds/Merlin in main season. However, they can not get rid of them now because they have demonstrated the capacity to operate as such
  • They do not always extend due to higher than expected guest volumes. They do sometimes, but a lot of it comes down to the whimsical decisions of whoever is the park director of the day. Some are much more generous (and better) than others at this kind of thing.
  • Closing times, whilst they do affect maintenance schedules and staff training, are not early because of that. That said, it would seem there are a lack of personnel within technical services. Generally, staff training (e.g. working at heights) would take place after ride close on a quieter day. The last thing staff want after a busy day is an hour or two of training.
  • Their 'exciting' half term and summer? What exactly is exciting? There is nothing different about these periods than the rest of the year
Although some individuals at Alton Towers do care about closing times and know it should open later, perhaps till 7pm on a busy day, it would be remiss to assume that the organisation as a whole cares. It doesn't. It can't. Until there is direction or change from the ivory towers, I am afraid we're at a standstill.
 
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To put it bluntly opening hours at towers are crap.

I’ve been a couple of times this season on so called “quiet days” when it’s been busier than a weekend, with park close still at 4pm.

You’ll get a longer day at Drayton Manor or Fantasy Island than at Alton Towers, and you’ll get on far more rides than at Towers.

For the park to have 45-80 min queues on a quiet day 4pm is clearly too early, especially when it’s hot and sunny.

Problem with towers is it’s all just cost cutting, constantly. Yet Thorpe, Lego and chessie can somehow stretch to 5 or 6pm closes.
 
djtruefitt said:
For the park to have 45-80 min queues on a quiet day 4pm is clearly too early, especially when it’s hot and sunny.
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I agree. But it is possible to get on all the rides you want on a busy 4pm day. You just have to plan and know which way is best to go around the rides. As for shows and entertainment, I go for the rides so doesn't bother me that they offer little in this department.
 
Ethan said:
I agree. But it is possible to get on all the rides you want on a busy 4pm day. You just have to plan and know which way is best to go around the rides. As for shows and entertainment, I go for the rides so doesn't bother me that they offer little in this department.
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It is possible, if you get there with a plan of action and enter the park as early as you can. But - let's face it, 90% of the public won't have this plan of action - and a visit to a theme park should not be guests acting as though they are a bull in a china shop by riding 7 coasters (2 or 3 of which have 30-60 minute queues), 2 dark rides and a water ride plus a lunch break. Stress or what.

The opening hours question is entirely cost-cutting.
 
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On certain days they lose more profit by opening longer than they do from anyone that is put off by shorter hours not going.

If that dynamic changes in time, then I'm sure they would return to 5pm/7pm standard closes on certain days.
 
AT86 said:
When was this out of interest? This certainly hasn’t been the case for the last 20 or so years. Advertised ride close has always been when the queue line closes and then they run the ride until the queue is empty.

In the Tussauds days they also operated the ‘magic 5’ policy where the queue lines would stay open an extra 5mins beyond the advertised time to give guests a good last impression being able to get on a ride at the very last minute.
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I think you will find the extra 5mins was more to do with avoiding complaints / arguments at ride entrances when the gate was closed (back in the Tussauds days most ride entrances had a host on them - they've been cut now as a host = £).

Allowing 5mins covers slight differences in guests watches time. If a guest turns up at 5:01 and the ride entrance is closed it could kick off on a 5pm ride close. 5:05 and the park have a leg to stand on as they have allowed a reasonable margin of error.
 
AstroDan said:
The opening hours question is entirely cost-cutting.
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It's not cost-cutting, it's profit maximisation.

Plus, it means more people will come back for a second day if they don't get through all rides. Yes, the admission will be 'free', but the food, drink and parking isn't!
 
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ScottishChris said:
It's not cost-cutting, it's profit maximisation.

Plus, it means more people will come back for a second day if they don't get through all rides. Yes, the admission will be 'free', but the food, drink and parking isn't!
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OK - it's both.

Alton Towers' operating budget is less in real terms now than it was in 2014. They simply do not have the budget to operate all rides from 10-5 every day.
 
Kraken27 said:
I think you will find the extra 5mins was more to do with avoiding complaints / arguments at ride entrances when the gate was closed (back in the Tussauds days most ride entrances had a host on them - they've been cut now as a host = £).

Allowing 5mins covers slight differences in guests watches time. If a guest turns up at 5:01 and the ride entrance is closed it could kick off on a 5pm ride close. 5:05 and the park have a leg to stand on as they have allowed a reasonable margin of error.
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Wicker Man and smiler have entrance hosts.
 
Even if the park did find the budgets to bring their opening hours to an acceptable level, the post Smiler Incident job losses mean the park management teams have been stripped back to its bare bones. The 'frontline' managers are on a limited number of contracted hours to leave their salaries as low as possible, as soon as you extend ride close even by an hour the "Duty Managers" are likely to very quickly rack up way too many hours now they are already working way more hours than they used to.. just another problem they have got themselves into.
 
bluesonichd said:
So there we have the reason for crap short open times, its to make the times they are open longer a better guest experience :D

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Who writes this stuff? It's worded so poorly and what's with all the random capitalisation? Infuriating also given it's clearly blatant lies.
 
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