2020: General Discussion

[ringo]

The throughputs are not very good today. Combine social distancing and then big gaps to clean the rides and it's making for large queues. This is with probably the smallest allocation of guests allowed in for a day as well. People are going to have to get used to very big queues this season if they bother going. Just left myself and didn't bother waiting for any rides.

Pretty much as I expected but doesn’t bode well for future if they do increase capacity.

 

[Skyscraper]

As has been said, I think the reason for Duel is the moving loading/unloading, which involves a constant flow of guests from different cars. Tomb Blaster has stationary loading/unloading so it's easier to keep guests apart.

 

[TPJames]

If you actually read what people are saying, the main point isn't that they're closed, it's that they're not advertised as closed.

But as I said, if parks outside of the Merlin group can open all / the majority of their attractions then there's no excuse Merlin can't.

• Pleasure Beach have re-opened with all attractions bar a select few that include touching a lot of surfaces / social distancing cant be implemented ,i.e Impossible, Chinese Puzzle Maze.
• PortAventura are opening with attractions bar children's play areas.
• Disneyland Paris are opening with all attractions bar children's play areas and shows.
• Universal have opened with all attractions bar shows.
• Europa Park have opened with all attractions bar children's play areas and shows.

...and on a slightly different note, Chessington and Legoland have opened with indoor attractions meaning some indoor attractions meaning there is no need for Duel to be closed at Towers.

So actually, yes, I would expect the majority of attractions to be open, and if not they should be advertised as such.

Thank you, finally someone who understands what I’m saying. Pleasure beach are probably the UKs leading park for customer service right now, I admire how hard they have been working.

If chessington can open tomb blaster and Europa park and Phantasialand can open their shooting rides, there’s really no excuse for duel to be closed. If Phantasialand efteling and Europa park can open their mad houses, towers can open hex.

At the end of the day it boils down to budget cuts why these rides are closed. Pick out the rides people are least likely to notice are closed and slash them from your park offering to save some money. You can argue all you want it’s social distancing measures but when other parks open similar style attractions it’s just not the case.

Regardless of this, parks at this current time should be posting on their website what attractions aren’t operating right now. It’s what any respectable and professional park would do (and what most are doing).

I don’t agree with full paying customers not being told that 2 of Alton’s major coasters (Rita and th13teen) are going to be closed, along with an array of other attractions. The planned closures should be advertised in advance on the website, as Europa, efteling, chessington are doing etc. It’s hardly much to ask.

 

[TPJames]

As has been said, I think the reason for Duel is the moving loading/unloading, which involves a constant flow of guests from different cars. Tomb Blaster has stationary loading/unloading so it's easier to keep guests apart.

Geister ricksha and abenteuer Atlantis are open in germany? Policies can easily be in place for continuous loaders, it’s not that difficult.

 

[Skyscraper]

No, you wouldn’t but looking at that list it’s reasonable to expect there to be less closures than there currently are.

Whilst I take the mitigating circumstances point, the inverse of that is that they’ve had months to get everything running smoothly and they haven’t done, if on the other hand the closures are forced on them due to social distancing measures then these should be advertised beforehand as it would have been known.

This is exactly why I’ve got little by way of plans to go to a theme park this year as if I was there today I’d be gutted. Why can they not open Thirteen, for example?

Thirteen requires a minimum of 18 guests per train in order to clear the second lift hill. That's more than half the train needing to be full.

 

[rob666]

They havent had months to get everything working, staff have not been working...furlough.
I am not a season pass holder, despite my tone, I simply have realistic expectations in the current situation.
And how many full paying punters do you think the Towers have visiting today?
I bet you could fit them on a single nemesis train!

 

[John]

Just heard an announcement on Spinball, single riders cannot ride at the moment - possibly due to rain, I couldn't hear clearly over the ride itself

EDIT: 1 group per car due to social distancing, no single riders for the foreseeable

 

[Danscott22]

The problem is they are saying on twitter they intended to have all outdoor attractions open today, instead of just being honest at why Thirteen is not running in particular. Essentially they're saying they planned to have it running, when we know they didn't.

 

[TPJames]

They havent had months to get everything working, staff have not been working...furlough.
I am not a season pass holder, despite my tone, I simply have realistic expectations in the current situation.
And how many full paying punters do you think the Towers have visiting today?
I bet you could fit them on a single nemesis train!

And I have realistic expectations that alton towers should do the right thing and put a list of the unavailable attractions in their FAQs section of their website. It’s realistic to point out that lying and cheating customers out of their money isn’t the way forward. Rita and 13teen are advertised on the website, it doesn’t say they are going to be closed for the time being, so they shouldn’t be closed.

I’m pretty sure the park is either sold out or close to full capacity today, so there’s probably a couple of thousands full paying ticket holders? Not everyone can afford annual passes, some people only visit once a year, and it’s hardly a good experience to be greeted with an abundance of closed rides on your annual visit.

 

[siralgenon]

They havent had months to get everything working, staff have not been working...furlough.
I am not a season pass holder, despite my tone, I simply have realistic expectations in the current situation.
And how many full paying punters do you think the Towers have visiting today?
I bet you could fit them on a single nemesis train!

So has every other park? Yet they have everything ready. It's not an excuse.

 

[Islander]

It’s realistic to point out that lying and cheating customers out of their money isn’t the way forward. Rita and 13teen are advertised on the website, it doesn’t say they are going to be closed for the time being, so they shouldn’t be closed.

From the park Ts&Cs:

we reserve the right, without prior notice, to close and change the programme of rides and attractions and/or the Attraction's operating hours. Merlin in its absolute discretion reserves the right to close the whole or any part of the Attraction at any time or to restrict the number of persons having access to the Attraction. The reason for any closure or restriction provided by this condition may include technical or operational reasons, capacity, inclement weather, special events or to ensure the safety and security of guests or if Merlin reasonably considers the circumstances so require

 

[Skyscraper]

Smiler's still down, don't know what up with it. Wonder if the alarm went off again like this morning?

 

[ringo]

In an ideal world they should have a list of rides that are unavailable that day available for you to see before buying a ticket.

Smaller parks manage but in the grand scheme of things anyone who visited today should of gone with a low expectation.

If you aren’t happy let them know, if you are happy also let them know

 

[siralgenon]

From the park Ts&Cs:

That's the same with any park around the world, it doesn't mean they're meant to do it.

 

[TPJames]

From the park Ts&Cs:

So basically you’re saying it’s ok for them to be unprofessional and cheapskates?

No wonder I haven’t visited in so long. I’ll just stick to the european parks. The uk industry is falling apart and merlin need some proper competition over here.

 

[Dave]

It doesn’t even matter why these attractions are closed, my point is the closures should be clearly advertised on the website before visiting. Day passes are £40+ and you simply aren’t getting any value for money whatsoever if you aren’t being clearly told what’s going to be open and what’s going to be closed for the whole day (last minute unexpected closures of course are not relevant to this).

It’s a typical merlin strategy, don’t advertise the full offering to get people through the gates and get the cash, and then disappoint them when they arrive with half the rides unexpectedly closed as it wasn’t advertised on the website before arrival.

This is exactly why I haven’t been to a merlin park in 5 years. I was thinking about going to chessington next week but after seeing ride availability today across the merlin parks, it’s not worth the £34.50 price tag anymore.

The website states there is reduced ride availability, I have better things to do than check their website daily so I have no idea if that information was on there before today.

So basically your saying it’s ok for them to be unprofessional and cheapskates?

No wonder I haven’t visited in so long. I’ll just stick to the european parks. The uk industry is falling apart and merlin need some proper competition over here.

You haven’t visited for years but are spending your Saturday on a forum about the place... Pubs have reopened you know.

 

[TPJames]

In an ideal world they should have a list of rides that are unavailable that day available for you to see before buying a ticket.

Smaller parks manage but in the grand scheme of things anyone who visited today should of gone with a low expectation.

If you aren’t happy let them know, if you are happy also let them know

It’s not really in an ideal world though, every other park is doing it? Chessington, Legoland, Europa park, efteling, Drayton manor and I could go on. It’s just the responsible thing to do in current circumstances.

Of course, everyone understands in the current circumstances the full offering isn’t going to be available, but what’s not going to be available should be advertised in the FAQ: on the website. Every other park can do it, so there’s no reason towers and Thorpe can’t.

I don’t care half the park is closed, if it’s closed it’s closed, but it needs to be advertised on the website. It’s the responsible thing to do.

 

[Croftybaby]

The 2 big questions we need to know.

1. Did they turn a profit?
2. Is the Twirling Toadstools had its 'TLC?'

 

[siralgenon]

Rita, Thirteen and Battle Galleons have all now been removed from the app which makes me think Rita won't be opening any time soon either.

 

[Danscott22]

I really don't get it with Rita? Part of me thinks they've thought "well Rita would be the only ride open at this end of the park so lets just not bother". I know that sounds ridiculous but it wouldn't surprise me.