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2017: General Discussion

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I think they've done what I've recently done. Gone round the house changing bulbs to led's. Make it look nice, get a pat on the back from Mrs slugjc.
 
10.30 --- so much for running to HEX on open day for first rides then :(

isnt this what they did last year, or attempted to do and failed
 
More like straight for whatever is in ERT. I'm not planning on joining the meet until after midday and I've done the rounds XD
 
bluesonichd said:
10.30 --- so much for running to HEX on open day for first rides then :(

isnt this what they did last year, or attempted to do and failed
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Indeed we've had late opening areas a fair bit before, including the water rides etc. Ultimately, anything that's an extension on peak days is better. A later opening time puts people off travelling miles to visit (including myself!), so reverting to 10am after the feedback they had seems positive.

That said, the park needs to show flexibility to extending opening hours on busy days. We've seen it time and time again on busy days even before The Smiler incident that the park was very much averse to doing this in recent years. I'm still unhappy about off peak days being so short, 6 hours of opening against the 5.5 hours it takes for me to get there and back is a tad ridiculous. Late opening of DF and Hex I can cope with, heading to Valley or X Sector is always first on the list anyway.

It is clear that things are being squeezed yet again by Merlin though, and they clearly need to save money from these changes to hit the most likely ridiculously unrealistic targets that have been set by their parent company for the season ☹️.
 
Craig said:
Indeed we've had late opening areas a fair bit before, including the water rides etc. Ultimately, anything that's an extension on peak days is better. A later opening time puts people off travelling miles to visit (including myself!), so reverting to 10am after the feedback they had seems positive.

That said, the park needs to show flexibility to extending opening hours on busy days. We've seen it time and time again on busy days even before The Smiler incident that the park was very much averse to doing this in recent years. I'm still unhappy about off peak days being so short, 6 hours of opening against the 5.5 hours it takes for me to get there and back is a tad ridiculous. Late opening of DF and Hex I can cope with, heading to Valley or X Sector is always first on the list anyway.

It is clear that things are being squeezed yet again by Merlin though, and they clearly need to save money from these changes to hit the most likely ridiculously unrealistic targets that have been set by their parent company for the season ☹️.
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I reckon once SW8 opens we will see opening hours return to "normal"
 
SW8 will help, but personally I think the park really needs to see an improvement this year to be sure of that really. At least we're down to only one closed day a week rather than two as well. 2016 was very much a 'limp along' season for the park, this year is where it really needs to fight back.

I'm hoping a lot of these shorter days are extended, and the lower online ticket pricing also helps with making better decisions on both staffing and getting the park open longer when they're expecting more visitors.
 
Brilliant news :) As for DF opening at 10.30, this is a silly move, means that we have to head over to FV after ERT instead of DV :(

Also the off peak closing times have been change from 4.30 pm to 4.00pm :(

So with the off peak now closing at 4pm and some of the attractions opening at 10.30, the off peak opening time is even worse than they were advertised before the change :(
 
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They tried opening Hex, CCL and DF at 11 in 2015, so it's not surprising these are the areas targeted.
 
RoyJess said:
Brilliant news :) As for DF opening at 10.30, this is a silly move, means that we have to head over to FV after ERT instead of DV :(

Also the off peak closing times have been change from 4.30 pm to 4.00pm :(

So with the off peak now closing at 4pm and some of the attractions opening at 10.30, the off peak opening time is even worse than they were advertised before the change :(
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I was far more offended by the 16:30 closes than I ever was the 10:30 opens. This sounds like they've made things worse, not better!

At least 10:30 (or 9:30 ERT) means less time stuck in traffic. I don't think the park should ever shut half way through the afternoon, anytime before 18:00. Or not give a good 7 hours at least on park. It's an insult to any full paying guest expecting a DAY out.

If margin was the problem, I'd far sooner have the 2 day midweek closures back and phased opening if needs be.
 
The 4pm closures are only on the off peak days though right? If the off peak days this year are anywhere near as empty as some of last year's were, then you'll easily be done by 4, even with re-rides.
 
bluesonichd said:
But who wants to go home at 4pm ?! I want a proper full day out. If I'm out out then I want to be out.
Not back home in my pjs in time to watch neighbours .
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Oh I agree. Just saying the park, especially since the closures, is easily doable in less than 6 hours.

No park should close in the mid afternoon, that goes without saying.
 
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Depends on the time of year too, in March or early October if I had ridden everything and done all the re-rides I wanted by 4pm I would be happy and just go (done this at Thorpe Park a lot as I feel sick after too many re-rides there). But in the summer its nicer to sit and watch other people or dry off from the water rides (I don't bother at all with them in winter).

So yes on quiet weekdays in March I don't think 4pm close is too awful, its not great either but I would rather have 7pm closing in August than 5:30 in March/April (excluding Easter)
 
4pm is fine on some of the days. If its dead or the rain is I'm then fair enough. Plus for most, gets you a good hour + to get clear of rush hour around Derby.

Though I still see it as a way of getting people to buy a overnight stop and come back next day.
 
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