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2020: General Discussion

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Yesterday I posted over in the Scarefest thread that day tickets for Scarefest dates have gone up in price by £4 to £38 if booked 5+ days in advance.

I have also just seen that all weekends are now priced at this higher rate, not just during Scarefest.

So it seems the ‘new’ structure is £34 in the week and £38 for weekends and Scarefest dates.

Also bear in mind that due to the reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% which wasn’t passed on to guests who booked these online tickets, the park were already pocketing more of the ticket price before this additional ticket price rise.
 
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AT86 said:
Yesterday I posted over in the Scarefest thread that day tickets for Scarefest dates have gone up in price by £4 to £38 if booked 5+ days in advance.

I have also just seen that all weekends are now priced at this higher rate, not just during Scarefest.

So it seems the ‘new’ structure is £34 in the week and £38 for weekends and Scarefest dates.

Also bear in mind that due to the reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% which wasn’t passed on to guests who booked these online tickets the park were already pocketing more of the ticket price before this additional ticket price rise.
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I replied in the Scarefest thread but it seems more relevant here, so copied and deleted.

Overall is the price way too high? For scarefest and fireworks £38 seems ok for a 10 hour day.

Also of course with restricted numbers being let into the park so the lost income needs to come from somewhere.

The rest of the year, particularly with the already reduced levels of entertainment (no shows or 4D cinema) I don't think the park is worth more than £35.

Compared to other parks
Drayon Manor £28
Paultons £35
Blackpool £28-32-35 depending on date

So £38 probably makes them the most expensive park in the country. But the previous £34 price was about right.

If they continue pushing online booking for next year I think AT should offer more seasonal pricing, where September weekdays are cheaper (maybe £30), school holidays and weekends about the same (£35) and scarefest and fireworks a slight premium for the longer days. (£38 weekends).
 
So they charge more for peak times when they know people will get on less rides and therefore less value for money. Doesn't make sense to me I would've done it the other way round
 
Ethan said:
So they charge more for peak times when they know people will get on less rides and therefore less value for money. Doesn't make sense to me I would've done it the other way round
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You could argue they are putting the price up to deter some people so they'll visit on less busy days therefore spreading the crowds, and thereby reducing the numbers on the busier days.

Social distancing would be far easier to manage and enforce on average crowd days rather than manically busy days
 
Ethan said:
So they charge more for peak times when they know people will get on less rides and therefore less value for money. Doesn't make sense to me I would've done it the other way round
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Then everyone goes on the cheaper day and the busier day gets even busier.

The park really wants the same number of people to show up most days, as a lot of costs are fixed. They can reduce staffing slightly, but there are a minimum number of staff needed to safely operate a rollercoaster.
Some days in the past they have not had enough paying guests to make the park make any money as the costs were higher than income (hence them closing some weekdays in the last few years). By offering a lower price on weekdays they can try to get more people to turn up.

Its a similar thought to the eat out to help out only being Monday to
Wednesday or Pizza Express giving discount vouchers Monday to Thursday. More people go to the restaurant on Saturdays so there is no need to discount.
 
Ethan said:
So they charge more for peak times when they know people will get on less rides and therefore less value for money. Doesn't make sense to me I would've done it the other way round
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That's how attractions (including Alton Towers) used to work (and some still do now) many years ago before they started charging a flat rate for whatever date you went on.

In business it is known as supply and demand
 
Continuing Towers specific discussion from the coronavirus thread, it looks like a fair few changes will need to rapidly happen by Thursday to comply with the new rules, plus some alterations to late night operations.

Thameslink Rail said:
So could that mean popular rides closing before 9pm to make sure everyone is out the park by 10?
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A staggered closing wouldn't surprise me. Dark Forest and X-Sector going first, FV potentially open the longest. Any technical issues and breakdowns could also run the risk of guests at the back of the queue not actually being able to ride if queues are left open too late.

Additionally, they're going to need to adjust breakfasts at the hotels to entirely table service. Which will be an interesting challenge to get done in 2 days.
 
Swarm Chris said:
Continuing Towers specific discussion from the coronavirus thread, it looks like a fair few changes will need to rapidly happen by Thursday to comply with the new rules, plus some alterations to late night operations.



A staggered closing wouldn't surprise me. Dark Forest and X-Sector going first, FV potentially open the longest. Any technical issues and breakdowns could also run the risk of guests at the back of the queue not actually being able to ride if queues are left open too late.

Additionally, they're going to need to adjust breakfasts at the hotels to entirely table service. Which will be an interesting challenge to get done in 2 days.
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I don’t think the park has too much to worry about to be honest. Chances of a queue longer than one hour forming at 9pm is low. If the last few guests are still leaving just after 10pm it will be fine. Unless the bars are open and serving the police won’t be coming round to a theme park where the last few riders got off an outdoor rollercoaster at 10.10pm.

As you say it’s going to be hotel operations that will be more affected with everything table service and all guests in their rooms at 10pm. Have they managed to effectively run table service drinks?
 
jon81uk said:
I don’t think the park has too much to worry about to be honest. Chances of a queue longer than one hour forming at 9pm is low. If the last few guests are still leaving just after 10pm it will be fine. Unless the bars are open and serving the police won’t be coming round to a theme park where the last few riders got off an outdoor rollercoaster at 10.10pm.

As you say it’s going to be hotel operations that will be more affected with everything table service and all guests in their rooms at 10pm. Have they managed to effectively run table service drinks?
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Wouldn't it just be a matter of borrow the rcr system or just the system they are using for woodcutters and co?
 
Well, they had a QR code you could scan to order drinks to the table in Marg's bar. I guess things will move exclusively over to that system in the hotel bars.

Perhaps more of a problem would be breakfast. Presumably the new table service rules preclude a buffet style breakfast?
 
Rides will all be fine at 9pm, places have to close at 10pm, it doesn't necessarily mean everyone has to be out by then. Scarefest will run as normal until/unless any other rules are announced.
 
Does the thing about closing at ten apply to pubs and restaurants? Would theme parks appear under that? Of course it will apply to the hotels, so that’s the bars closing early. They already have table service this year so no change there.

in terms of the theme park, I imagine the majority of outlets are classed as take away and don’t serve alcohol anyway, woodcutters is TSB,e service this season with a QR code to scan, and of course RCR is. None of the other outlets serve alcohol and are generally take away.
 
djtruefitt said:
Does the thing about closing at ten apply to pubs and restaurants? Would theme parks appear under that? Of course it will apply to the hotels, so that’s the bars closing early. They already have table service this year so no change there.

in terms of the theme park, I imagine the majority of outlets are classed as take away and don’t serve alcohol anyway, woodcutters is TSB,e service this season with a QR code to scan, and of course RCR is. None of the other outlets serve alcohol and are generally take away.
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It definitely applies to pubs, but I'm not sure about restaurants. There's also the issue of restaurants potently having to revert to table service-only in order to remain open.
 
djtruefitt said:
Does the thing about closing at ten apply to pubs and restaurants? Would theme parks appear under that? Of course it will apply to the hotels, so that’s the bars closing early. They already have table service this year so no change there.

in terms of the theme park, I imagine the majority of outlets are classed as take away and don’t serve alcohol anyway, woodcutters is TSB,e service this season with a QR code to scan, and of course RCR is. None of the other outlets serve alcohol and are generally take away.
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Nope. All hospitality needs to be shut down by 10pm under new measures. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-what-has-changed-22-september

  • Businesses selling food or drink (including cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants), social clubs, casinos, bowling alleys, amusement arcades (and other indoor leisure centres or facilities), funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities, and bingo halls, must be closed between 10pm and 5am. This will include takeaways but delivery services can continue after 10pm (from 24 September).
 
djtruefitt said:
Does closed mean been and gone by 10pm, or like in a pub could you have last order at 10pm and leave slightly later?
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The way I understand it from research is everyone needs to be off premises by 10pm (so last orders will need to be before this). This is different to Wales where last order can be at 10pm and people are allowed a "reasonable amount of time" to vacate the premises.

Guess we will find out for sure tomorrow though.
 
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