• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Opening times

I would like to express how disapointed I am in Alton's opening (well closing) times for the 2013 season. I refuse to celebrate the demise of the 4pm closing days, they were a farce anyway and should never have even been dreampt up in the first place. However to have the latest closing time set at 6pm in the summer with the Smiler opening is a disgrace IMO.

Not impressed at all.

Ash
 
It's not great I agree, but at least every ride is running from 10am (as well as quite a few from 9am) unlike some other parks in the UK which compensate by opening slightly later.
 
They're okay. Infact they're pretty bog standard when it comes to towers.

5pm Easter is a bit worrying, but obviously they can (and hopefully will) extend should it warrant it.
 
They're earlier than they were back in 2010 and 2011.

There are hardly any 6pm closes outside of August...!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
Just out of interest, how often/likely is it for Towers to extend. I keep hearing of it happening but have never seen it for myself.

Ash
 
Rarely last year.

Frequently before last year.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
I'd much rather they announce early (6pm) ride close times, and then stay open longer on busy days, than announce late openings and cut back - but it remains to be seen whether they will in fact open longer.
 
Alastair said:
It's not great I agree, but at least every ride is running from 10am (as well as quite a few from 9am) unlike some other parks in the UK which compensate by opening slightly later.

Apart from Log Flume Unplugged and Congo River Rapids ey ;)
 
Withnail said:
I'd much rather they announce early (6pm) ride close times, and then stay open longer on busy days, than announce late openings and cut back - but it remains to be seen whether they will in fact open longer.

Thats true, but like you say, they have gotta do it to make it happen!

Ash
 
The opening hours aren't great but to be honest I wasn't expecting them to be. I know The Smiler is opening late but most ride close times over Easter appear to be 5pm, surely that's too early?

Compared to most (or maybe all) other major theme parks Towers' opening hours are shocking. It would have been nice to see the return of 7pm ride closes in the summer with The Smiler as I'd imagine the park will be busy. In reality we get nothing later than 6pm and August apart there aren't very many of them at all.

:)
 
Rob said:
The opening hours aren't great but to be honest I wasn't expecting them to be. I know The Smiler is opening late but most ride close times over Easter appear to be 5pm, surely that's too early?

Compared to most (or maybe all) other major theme parks Towers' opening hours are shocking. It would have been nice to see the return of 7pm ride closes in the summer with The Smiler as I'd imagine the park will be busy. In reality we get nothing later than 6pm and August apart there aren't very many of them at all.

:)
Which summer did it open till 7 was it 2010, I really liked the 7 o'clock ride close it gives you time to sit in the gardens :)
 
Although opening times don't often change on the day, they do increase a few days before or even the morning before.
 
Yeah, was last year they got rid of the 7pm ride closes. It's a shame, I had a few really good days on park when it closed at 7pm. On a nice sunny day it gave you time to not only do the rides but have some fun in the gardens and whatnot. Hopefully they may return one day.

:)
 
The park opened till 7pm in Summer holidays from 2009 to 2011.

Then the pinch happened!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
End of last year they started changing openings based on pre-booked tickets, it was speculated that this would happen this year too.

Seems to me to be the best plan as the summer hols are not always that busy. Yet some Saturdays in May last year deserved a 7pm close. Hopefully they will have a more responsive schedule this year, but Towers will never have huge late opening except for Scarefest and Fireworks as the park is quite remote so people dont want to stay late.
 
Seems a great way to plug the resort side of it, if it's so remote!

"8pm closing today! Why not stay the night in one of our fantastic resort hotels? Only £blah B&B"

Unless I'm missing something, it appears that Alton are throwing money away?
 
A full resort only gives them at best 2000 residents, 2000 people left on park after 5pm for 3 hours is a massive money drain (towers feels dead with less than 5000 on park)

They need more accommodation (hence the lodges) and more resort attractions.
 
They have tried staying open latter and it isn't that cost effective as not enough people stay and spend more money than shutting say at 6pm and didn't make much difference to attendance figs, people weren't choosing not to visit as park shut at 6pm.

Some kind of show or event helps keep people in later and the park tried this in 1999 and 2000 with the summer spectacular stunt show on the lake in the evenings, but again it wasn't cost effective running this and staying open latter with amount of revenue and extra guests it brought in (along with cost of keeping rides running and staffing etc).

There are things they could do to try and encourage people to stay but I can't see that happening in the near future. Even if hotels full its not enough guests for it to be cost effective to keep park open late.
 
Top