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2019: General Discussion

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The combination of SRQ closure and 4pm finish was the killer for me.
Used to visit 2 or 3 times every year, using Sun vouchers, 2 for 1 offers and bouncebacks.
Now it will remain 1visit on Sun vouchers and nothing else.
Merlin have squeezed all the lifeblood out of the Towers, the death of one or the other can't be long now.
 
Rob said:
The 4pm closures are still a joke but is anyone really surprised by them? I can't see them going anywhere anytime soon.

I'd much rather see ERT scrapped on the 4pm off peak days and the park stay open until 5pm. But that's never going to happen for a variety of reasons.
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Sadly, no, highly predictable and what we've come to expect from a park in long term (and I fear terminal) decline.

A 'meet in the middle' option would have been to stay open to 6pm daily and cut the capacity back on rides to save costs on quieter days, perhaps even late openings and early closes on less popular rides. Sure it wouldn't save operational expenditure as much as a blanket 4pm close but you'd increase food, bev and merch sales, and at least be able to offer a good 8 hour day out on park. Its not just about "getting the rides in" like it is for us, most people want a day out of escapism.

4pm closes is the cheapo max that is the earliest close they can get away with.
 
A few people have mentioned that there's little point the park staying open late because most people will start heading home after 4 anyway. I agree that keeping the park open when rides become walk on is not good business sense.

However this suggests a flawed business model to me. Why not provide entertainment and activities in the evening that people want to stay for? I'm sure people would stay late if there was something worth staying for. The fact people head home suggests they're missing opportunities; that people have "had enough" of the same format all day. Perhaps they want entertaining in a different way?
 
The opening hours of Merlin parks are a complete joke

Two of our local zoo's open 9.30 daily and close 4pm during the winter months and 6.30 during the summer months

Even Great Yarmouth Pleasure beach and even Joy Land (a kids pleasure beach) have later opening times :rolleyes:

Dave said:
If it was me I would get rid of ERT make all non event days 10am to 5pm as standard and have enough budget in my pocket to extend on the day by anything up to 2 hours......
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Rob said:
I'd much rather see ERT scrapped on the 4pm off peak days and the park stay open until 5pm. But that's never going to happen for a variety of reasons.
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Getting rid of ERT to extend the park for another hour don't make sense. The only losers here will be Pass holders and Hotel guest. We have already loss 30 minutes of ERT.

ERT is a great way to beat the queues as well as helps to distribute the crowds. I personally would rather see them extend the ERT back to an hour, but the closing times should be at least 5pm off peak and 6pm peak days regardless of ERT.
 
RoyJess said:
Getting rid of ERT to extend the park for another hour don't make sense. The only losers here will be Pass holders and Hotel guest. We have already loss 30 minutes of ERT.

ERT is a great way to beat the queues as well as helps to distribute the crowds. I personally would rather see them extend the ERT back to an hour, but the closing times should be at least 5pm off peak and 6pm peak days regardless of ERT.
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I agree, but that's not going to happen. ERT won't go because it is a nice perk to market alongside hotel stays but there would be far more winners than losers if ERT was to go and the park was open until 5pm rather than 4pm on those off-peak days.
 
Most people work 8 hours a day, So saying you will open 6 hours giving 1 hour before and after the shift to tidy up and get ready for the next day seems excessive. I think my boss would moan if i only did 6 hours work and tidied up for 2 hours
 
Spark said:
Most people work 8 hours a day, So saying you will open 6 hours giving 1 hour before and after the shift to tidy up and get ready for the next day seems excessive. I think my boss would moan if i only did 6 hours work and tidied up for 2 hours
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You have to remember that many of the ride ops are the same people who open and test the rides before opening and after close are the ones going round litter-picking and sweeping up. And of course the general public are a messy lot. So from Tower's perspective, most if not all ride ops are putting in a full 8 hour day on a 10-4 day. I don't know this for sure, just stating what I have seen when been at the park.
 
Spark said:
Most people work 8 hours a day, So saying you will open 6 hours giving 1 hour before and after the shift to tidy up and get ready for the next day seems excessive. I think my boss would moan if i only did 6 hours work and tidied up for 2 hours
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You consider testing the rides at the start of the day and running off the queue after ride close and picking up all the litter in the queuelines just "tidying up"?
 
Spark said:
Most people work 8 hours a day, So saying you will open 6 hours giving 1 hour before and after the shift to tidy up and get ready for the next day seems excessive. I think my boss would moan if i only did 6 hours work and tidied up for 2 hours
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I worked on F&B for three years, it could take sometimes 1.5hours to clean up after we closed on a busy day.
 
Maybe i have it wrong but the ride ops arent expected to go litter picking are they?
 
Ride ops and ride hosts will have a series of closing down checks they need to sign off. This will include emptying queue line bins, ensuring there is no litter left in the queue lines or station, plus taking any lost property to the relevant location.

Of course if they're feeling lazy or have had a particularly long day then shortcuts will probably be taken (ie bins not emptied), but it is expected of you.

Whilst not working at Towers, on my previous Merlin job of starting at 9:00 and working through to attraction close at 18:30, there were times where we stayed past 8pm doing close down checks and cleaning of the attraction, including litter picking. This was for both ride ops and ride hosts.
 
Danny said:
Whilst not working at Towers, on my previous Merlin job of starting at 9:00 and working through to attraction close at 18:30, there were times where we stayed past 8pm doing close down checks and cleaning of the attraction, including litter picking. This was for both ride ops and ride hosts.
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And its those extra hours after park close that many people don't realise staff do on a daily basis, and they all add up to extra costs for the park
 
Spark said:
Most people work 8 hours a day, So saying you will open 6 hours giving 1 hour before and after the shift to tidy up and get ready for the next day seems excessive. I think my boss would moan if i only did 6 hours work and tidied up for 2 hours
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9:00 - Morning Briefing
9:15 - Head to ride, begin start up checks
9:30 - Test Ride and get signed off for day
9:45 - Clean surrounding area
10:00 - 17:00 - Ride is in operation
17:30 - Final guests leave and can begin close checks
17:45 - Final clear up and sign off to leave/Assist other staff in area
18:00 - Go Home

BUT IT'S SO EASY!
 
Install a few of these bad boys and there will be no litter picking required...

200px-Matroos_2.jpg
 
Benzin said:
9:00 - Morning Briefing
9:15 - Head to ride, begin start up checks
9:30 - Test Ride and get signed off for day
9:45 - Clean surrounding area
10:00 - 17:00 - Ride is in operation
17:30 - Final guests leave and can begin close checks
17:45 - Final clear up and sign off to leave/Assist other staff in area
18:00 - Go Home

BUT IT'S SO EASY!
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Shifts.
 
Lurker said:
Shifts.
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So you're suggesting that for a seasonal job the parks hire (and pay) even more staff so they can have shift patterns?

For an (average hour) 9-6 job?

London Eye did shifts in summer times (not sure rest of the year), but given it was a 12 hour day they couldn't legally force everyone to work all day... I think Thorpe and probably Towers do it during Halloween season too due to the longer hours... Chessie never did though, you worked that 12 hour shift (9-9) and enjoyed your extra 15 minutes break...
 
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