2018: General Discussion

[ringo]

They did learn their lesson from 2016 fireworks as they reduced the amount of tickets available for last year's fireworks, so the park was slightly more bearable.

I know they did limit last year for Fireworks but did it actually reach the limit or were people put off from 2016?

 

[VerticalLoop123]

I know they did limit last year for Fireworks but did it actually reach the limit or were people put off from 2016?

I don’t think it reached capacity as they didn’t close the gates as they did in 2016. It definitely felt less busy compared to 2016, I think a lot were put off by the chaos!

It’s nice to see the park reinvesting more as they’ve made a profit. Hopefully (probably silly for thinking this!) they’ll bring back the Single ride queues and improve queue times. and throughputs.

 

[Josh]

I know they did limit last year for Fireworks but did it actually reach the limit or were people put off from 2016?

The Saturday completely sold out, but was less busy than the 2016 Saturday.

The main issue in 2016 is that they ran out of parking space, which is why they had to close the gates. I think the gate figure for the Saturday was around 25,000 that year.

 

[John]

Dear Alton Towers,

Please fill the boats on the rapids when it gets busy.

Yours sincerely,

Everybody

 

[Poopoohead]

I know they did limit last year for Fireworks but did it actually reach the limit or were people put off from 2016?

I won’t be attending a fireworks event ant time in the next few years after the shambles on the Saturday in 2016. It was so bad it was dangerous

 

[themeparkfan]

What I keep thinking is if merlin had just been brave enough and progressed with sw 8 to open in 2017 as first planned would this years recovery happened a year earlier so more profit for shareholders?

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[AT86]

What I keep thinking is if merlin had just been brave enough and progressed with sw 8 to open in 2017 as first planned would this years recovery happened a year earlier so more profit for shareholders?

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I’m not so sure. Last season the papers were still full of stories on ride stoppages and evacuations. It’s only really died down this season with no Francis Jackson video in sight. It would have been a big dampener on their new £16million investment if Wickerman has opened last year.

It pains me to say it but I think Merlin got this one right.

 

[GaryH]

I stopped attending the fireworks in 2016 when they dropped it from 3 days to 2. I wont return unless they reintroduce the 3rd day again, mainly due to the fact it was bad enough over 3 days with the volumes of guests and time taken to get out of the car parks. No way am I going to go near the place with it 2 days

 

[Brad97]

Looks like the Woodland Walk has reopened.

 

[delta79]

As i walk from the car park to the entrance. I am interested to see the fencing along the walk route is designed to defend against car attacks on pedestrians. With bollards at the start and finish of each section.

Just goes to show the problem fill world we now live in.

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[Rob]

As i walk from the car park to the entrance. I am interested to see the fencing along the walk route is designed to defend against car attacks on pedestrians. With bollards at the start and finish of each section.

Just goes to show the problem fill world we now live in.

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Indeed, but it would be silly on Towers part not to do this. They'll also help in the case of any unfortunate accidents, it just makes sense to make the walk safer, especially now that more people walk due to poor Monorail capacity.

 

[Matt N]

On an unrelated note, I thought Alton's monorail was capable of something like 3000pph or something like that, so the capacity is actually pretty good? I remember reading that the theoretical throughput of Alton's monorail was either 3000 or 5000pph, can't remember which.

 

[AT86]

On an unrelated note, I thought Alton's monorail was capable of something like 3000pph or something like that, so the capacity is actually pretty good? I remember reading that the theoretical throughput of Alton's monorail was either 3000 or 5000pph, can't remember which.

The capacity was brilliant. But over the years the number of trains in use has fallen plus the awful loading procedure they now use where guests can only enter the platform once the train is in the station and parked means the capacity these days is rubbish.

 

[Rob]

Yes theoretically the capacity should be huge. However it is operated in such a manner that it will never come close to achieving thing.

 

[Matt N]

Ah right. So they run the monorail on less trains now? Thanks guys! Must be a maintenance fault. Out of interest, what do you guys estimate the capacity is like now (in pph)?

 

[Dave]

As i walk from the car park to the entrance. I am interested to see the fencing along the walk route is designed to defend against car attacks on pedestrians. With bollards at the start and finish of each section.

Just goes to show the problem fill world we now live in.

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To give them credit they have installed the barriers in a relatively aesthetically pleasing manner.

 

[Rob]

Ah right. So they run the monorail on less trains now? Thanks guys! Must be a maintenance fault. Out of interest, what do you guys estimate the capacity is like now (in pph)?

It has been running on less trains for a number of years now, partly because of staffing cuts. The new loading procedure, whereby guests are only allowed on to the platform once the train has parked up, also causes huge delays and reduces the throughput further.

I have no idea what the current throughput tends to be mind.

 

[AT86]

Ah right. So they run the monorail on less trains now? Thanks guys! Must be a maintenance fault. Out of interest, what do you guys estimate the capacity is like now (in pph)?

I wouldn’t have a clue on capacity, there is definitely one less train since the Daisy train died (RIP) it is (or at least was) rotting away behind the scenes somewhere. They also only run 2/3 trains quite often which restricts capacity.

 

[Matt N]

Ah right. Thanks @Rob and @AT86! I'd presume the new operating procedure was imposed upon them by the HSE, so they couldn't really get away from it. I couldn't really say about the monorail though, because when we took a trip to the park on it in March, it was the first time we'd used it to get to the park in quite some time! My family and me find it quicker to walk!
Anyway, on a more on-topic note:

To give them credit they have installed the barriers in a relatively aesthetically pleasing manner.

I agree! I think the towers are quite cute on the concrete blocks, myself!

 

[Rob]

I'd presume the new operating procedure was imposed upon them by the HSE, so they couldn't really get away from it.

The HSE do not impose such things. It is an internal decision by Alton Towers and their H&S team.