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2017: General Discussion

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Slugjc said:
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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Yet its the later closing (ScareFest & Fireworks) that really makes people stay over as it means they can't get home at a reasonable hour. As you said, closing at 4pm gives people time to get home avoiding the traffic. 7pm summer closing would probably get more people to book hotel rooms than closing early.
 
jon81uk said:
Yet its the later closing (ScareFest & Fireworks) that really makes people stay over as it means they can't get home at a reasonable hour. As you said, closing at 4pm gives people time to get home avoiding the traffic. 7pm summer closing would probably get more people to book hotel rooms than closing early.
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People still want to stop. If you live 2+ hours away its harder to come to Alton just for 6 hours. If your childless, peak times means kids. Nobody without a child wants to be round kids. I think its still a carrot to get people to stop over.
 
Minimum opening should be 10am to 5pm then the actual close time should be decided on the day based on crowds.

Prior to the Smiler incident it always baffled me how you could go on a Scarefest mid week, be open until 9pm with 8,000 guests on park, yet a summer Saturday with 18,000 on park still rammed yet closing at 6pm.

I could forgive cuts more if they stopped throwing good money after bad in other areas first.
 
Its a good 4.5 hour drive for me to get to Alton so I will always stay up somewhere. Used to be in the hotels, particularly when you could pay a deposit as, even if the price was a tad expensive, it gave me chance to pay a bit then save up and pay the rest at a later date. Now they want all the money up front, and the "sale" is close to Christmas, forget it. Particularly the prices they are charging.

So, to be honest, regardless of the closing times, for me, a stay is essential. However, if its a choice between a £70 B&B or hotel down the road or a £170 night in one of the resort hotels, it wont be the resort hotels I stay in! Shame as i do like the atmosphere of staying in the hotels, particularly in the summer.
 
I feel like this is a stupid question, but just in case...

I'm about to buy a MAP with my tesco clubcard points. Although it says on the page that tokens are valid for 6 months (I will definitely be getting my MAP within 6 months anyway), will my MAP then be valid for 12 months from then?

I wouldn't put it past Merlin to validate it from the point I exchange my clubcard vouchers.
 
Amy said:
I feel like this is a stupid question, but just in case...

I'm about to buy a MAP with my tesco clubcard points. Although it says on the page that tokens are valid for 6 months (I will definitely be getting my MAP within 6 months anyway), will my MAP then be valid for 12 months from then?

I wouldn't put it past Merlin to validate it from the point I exchange my clubcard vouchers.
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Your MAP will be valid for 12 months when you go and collect it from wherever you buy it from. I've used Tesco vouchers in the past. :D At Towers take the voucher to the pre-pay admission widows they will give you a park entry ticket so you can get in and get your MAP from the Boc Box Office
 
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Amy said:
I feel like this is a stupid question, but just in case...

I'm about to buy a MAP with my tesco clubcard points. Although it says on the page that tokens are valid for 6 months (I will definitely be getting my MAP within 6 months anyway), will my MAP then be valid for 12 months from then?

I wouldn't put it past Merlin to validate it from the point I exchange my clubcard vouchers.
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Your Tesco reward tokens are valid for 6 months, so exchange them for the MAP before the 6 months are up. Your MAP will be valid for 12 months (and usually an extra 7 days which is the norm for all MAP holders) from the day that you actually exchange your Tesco token.

You can still get a free carer MAP if exchanging the Tesco token for a disable MAP. Certainly the best way to get hold of a MAP for £50pp (or £25pp for disable and carer) for the year, its been the only way that we've purchased ours for the past decade or more :)
 
For the sun super days offer when should you start collecting tokens if you want the Alton towers tickets?
 
In regards to the sun offer am I correct in saying that if there are 4 people wanting to go together using the offer they won't be able to guarntee the same date?
 
Bert2theSpark said:
Annnddd... It's just been announced that opening times are 10am-4pm. To be honest 4pm is a ridiculous closing time. Oh and CCL, DF and Hex will open at 10:30. TS Atricle here
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4pm IS a ridiculous closing time. The only reason many on here are saying it's fine, is because they are either a. local to the park or b. are so used to visiting the park that they know exactly what rides they want to go on, and in what order so. Of course it's perfectly possible to run around doing what you want in those hours. But who wants to do that? Isn't a theme park supposed to be about a leisurely experience?

I remember going last April, on a rainy and cold Thursday. I managed to do all the major coasters by 11:30, lunch out the way by 12:00, an hour of exploring walks around the valley and then spammed as many rides as I could handle on all the coasters again until 4. But what family wants to come in and do that? They want to explore the park, try out all the rides, soak in the atmosphere, sit down and relax over lunch, have a nice stroll around the gardens or Towers, take in the sights, etc etc.

Most visitors want a good day out, a decent memorable family experience, not just loads of targeted rerides on a predetermined selection of coasters. Who can have that kind of experience by 4 in the afternoon? That's not a DAY out, it's an afternoon of coaster riding. Just have a quick look at the park Facebook page, tonnes of complaining about short hours and how people feel it's poor value for money. Who wants to travel 2,3,4 hours, maybe more, to be on their way home by 4?
 
6 hours in any park is ridiculous, but in a park as expansive as Towers it's laughable.

If you spend an hour for lunch, that's down to 5 hours.

Get there a little late or get caught in a queue at the entrance, that's down to 4 and a half hours

One loop of the park, from TS to thirteen and then over to forbidden valley and back to TS, just the walking with no rides taken into account, that's down to 3 hours

So, you're looking getting one cycle on each ride in the time left with maybe a couple of re-runs on your favourites.

And that's assuming you just want to ride the rides and don't want to have a nice, leisurely day out with your friends/family.
 
Towerslover said:
In regards to the sun offer am I correct in saying that if there are 4 people wanting to go together using the offer they won't be able to guarntee the same date?
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If you save the codes from the back of the sun and do it online instead of saving tokens, you can choose a specific date. (Plus you can save on buying the sun... Just go in a shop and take a photo of the code!)
 
danni87 said:
If you save the codes from the back of the sun and do it online instead of saving tokens, you can choose a specific date. (Plus you can save on buying the sun... Just go in a shop and take a photo of the code!)
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Thank you! How do you do it online instead?
 
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