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2020: General Discussion

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air_head said:
I wouldn’t say it’s ridiculous. It’s been advertised in plenty of places that masks will be required on rides; social media, emails, videos, posters as the park. There’s been plenty of notice.

In terms of guests getting to the station to be refused, they won’t be sent back along the queue line. They’d be either asked to leave via the exit or via a fire escape door as in the wicker man station.

Whilst I agree that it might be more practical to wear masks at all times, government guidelines don’t enforce this. And it’s not comfortable either. I’d say that Merlin/Towers are trying to strike a balance between guest satisfaction and staying safe.
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I’m not saying people should have to wear them in the pathways while walking around, but I definitely think people should have to wear them in queuelines, particularly in indoor sections of the queueline. If a staff member enforced putting on masks at the beginning of the queue then that would make the process a lot smoother and make me feel more safe.

I’m guessing there aren’t staff members in queuelines to enforce social distancing then, it’s just down to trusting the guests?
 
TPJames said:
I’m not saying people should have to wear them in the pathways while walking around, but I definitely think people should have to wear them in queuelines, particularly in indoor sections of the queueline. If a staff member enforced putting on masks at the beginning of the queue then that would make the process a lot smoother and make me feel more safe.

I’m guessing there aren’t staff members in queuelines to enforce social distancing then, it’s just down to trusting the guests?
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Smiler did numerous pa announcements reminding people.

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"I’m guessing there aren’t staff members in queuelines to enforce social distancing then, it’s just down to trusting the guests?
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Well, yes. We're all responsible for our own actions. Short of someone standing between each group with a pole, how else can it be enforced?

I work as a railway guard. I make announcements on every train about where to sit, and that masks are mandatory. Not everyone listens. Am I going to go and get in an argument with them about it? No. It comes to a point where we as members of society need to speak up, and stop relying on companies to protect us.
 
air_head said:
Well, yes. We're all responsible for our own actions. Short of someone standing between each group with a pole, how else can it be enforced?

I work as a railway guard. I make announcements on every train about where to sit, and that masks are mandatory. Not everyone listens. Am I going to go and get in an argument with them about it? No. It comes to a point where we as members of society need to speak up, and stop relying on companies to protect us.
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Well in efteling, they have staff members in the queuelines enforcing social distancing. At Phantasialand and europa park, they have staff members in queuelines enforcing mask wearing. There have been arguments, and people have been kicked out.

If there’s no one enforcing rules no one will stick to them at the end of the day, and thats what will lead to the parks closing down again if HSE visits and sees that it’s all descended into chaos and no one in social distancing.

I think the last thing we all want is for everything to shut down again, and if people aren’t sticking to the rules, it could cause a second spike in the virus and things will have to close again.
 
TPJames said:
Well in efteling, they have staff members in the queuelines enforcing social distancing. At Phantasialand and europa park, they have staff members in queuelines enforcing mask wearing. There have been arguments, and people have been kicked out.
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There's no one size fits all approach to this. Every park and every country is going to do things differently. These are the guidelines that Merlin/Alton have come up with. They've been signed off by the relevant authorities. They've laid down the rules and the foundations for a good day out - the rest is up to us.
 
why is it so difficult for people to follow the markings in the queues, they’re so clear. Had to ask a middle aged guy to keep his distance from me this morning, he refused so I had to get a staff member. Not the park’s fault, but it’s people like this who will force the closure of the parks again.
 
People need to chill a bit, of course there is going to be downtime, the rides haven’t ran with guests for 9 months in most cases. It’s always ropey on the first week of season and normally that’s after only 4.5 months of closure.
 
rob666 said:
But they do tend to clog up the general discussion topic with fine detail that is redundant within seconds.
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Didn’t we used to have a yearly “operations” thread that was for queue times and random stuff? or did I imagine that
 
Dave said:
People need to chill a bit, of course there is going to be downtime, the rides haven’t ran with guests for 9 months in most cases. It’s always ropey on the first week of season and normally that’s after only 4.5 months of closure.
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I mean I would agree, but it’s not like the ride closures are specific to Alton towers, it’s consistent year upon year across all merlin parks. Let’s face it, half the rides are closed due to budget cuts, not due to social distancing. If tomb blaster at chessington can open, there’s no reason hex for example can’t.

You may be a merlin annual pass holder, but I’m not, and I wouldn’t be happy paying 40 quid for that many non advertised ride closures. These closures weren’t advertised on the website in advance so I wouldn’t be happy paying full price to turn up and half the park to be closed off.

Most european parks have been able to offer their full offerings(as advertised) for their opening weeks, all of these ride closures should have been advertised in advance before people being mislead by all the rides on the website and no specific mention of which rides are closed. Furthermore, rides Rita and 13teen “require masks”, which would indicate to the common guest browsing the website that they would actually be open.

How are blackpool doing with ride availability today, that’s a good comparison to towers as they are similar locations in the uk, with similar weather conditions etc.
 
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