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2020: General Discussion

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Mikw said:
Yes, with special precautions, social distancing and Dungeons being closed "due to the nature of the attraction.
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Rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic springs to mind.

Disney, Universal, Six Flags, EP, Port Aventura, Busch, Seaworld, Knotts have all closed their parks.

Merlin are the odd ones out. I feel for the staff who are dealing with potentially thousands of guests a day.
 
I'm never going to a Merlin attraction again. It shows the lack of safety conserns from the '2nd to Disney company'. The company has totally lost it and are just greedy. I have loved Alton and Thorpe since a kid but I really hope Merlin go under and people boycott the company. Yes there are great staff members but the company has a huge rot in the middle of it. It's a list cause.
 
the chancellor says ""For those venues which do have a policy that covers pandemics - the government action is sufficient to allow them to make claims,"
So with Towers still wanting to say open, I guess their insurance policy doesn't cover Pandemics
 
Looking at how deserted the likes of London are already, I'd imagine that Saturday will be very, very quiet for those who choose to go.
 
SuperMuscleMan said:
I'm never going to a Merlin attraction again. It shows the lack of safety conserns from the '2nd to Disney company'. The company has totally lost it and are just greedy. I have loved Alton and Thorpe since a kid but I really hope Merlin go under and people boycott the company. Yes there are great staff members but the company has a huge rot in the middle of it. It's a list cause.
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There will be people who call you out on this. I just want to get in early and say that while it may be worded in a slightly melodramatic way, you raise a good point. This hadn't even occured to me!
 
Says certain rides and attractions might not operate, would this include pretty much anything that needs harness checks due to proximity of guest and staff?
 
Poopoohead said:
Says certain rides and attractions might not operate, would this include pretty much anything that needs harness checks due to proximity of guest and staff?
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They've said that harness checks will still be conducted, but exposure will be minimal.

I think they're more referring to attractions where people are very close together in things like pre-shows, or staff-heavy attractions. Things like the Dungeons, Hex and potentially even Wicker Man.

I must admit that I'm still staggered that they're pressing ahead with opening weekend, though. My school has now partially shut due to staff shortages, and all sorts of local businesses around me (which are substantially smaller than Alton Towers) are now closing their doors. They definitely are out of step with the rest of the worldwide leisure industry right now; whether that turns out to be a good decision or not remains to be seen. It could potentially help the park financially, or it could have unintended consequences.
 
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Very two sided coin this one.

On one hand, it’s a business. I see a few ‘£££’ posts - well yeah, as much as we love Towers it’s there to make money at the end of the day.

Closed theme park = no money whatsoever. The only income would be from merchandise online I guess. I understand why they’d want to stay open till they have to close (I’m guessing as everyone else has said, then some insurance would/might kick in).

Equally, you could probably argue that it is an open air attraction and people can distance themselves safely but then I wonder how this is possible in queue lines and on rides themselves so yeah I guess it could be seen as irresponsible by Merlin. Perhaps they’ve got a good system organised and we shouldn’t be quick to criticise them - I don’t know, just a thought?

I think Towers will be open on Saturday and I’ll be interested to see how it pans out and looks. I think they’re putting the onus on the people visiting to take the right precautions.


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This is now unquestionably the biggest world wide disaster since WWII. Sod money, lives are at stake! The time for giving a toss about profit is long gone.

Unless Merlin is run by the Ferengi, of course.
 
With social distancing I can’t see them loading full trains. Maybe diagonally loaded to keep distance?

If it formats correctly like this; where every x is a guest and every o is an open seat, using a four across train such as Nemises

xoxo
oxox
xoxo
oxox

Further I’d suspect wicker man probably would open but the batching and ore show to not be available, hex unavailable and dungeons.


I think it’s something to be said about Merlin opening the parks, they either have a damn good plan or they’re insurance won’t pay out. Or maybe, they honestly believe that the opportunity to wander the open air is the mental break a lot of people need. Either way, I’ll be withholding my judgement on my end of April trip for a couple weeks yet.


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I'm sure that Merlin have thought about this and taken necessary steps; they don't want to spread this virus, and they don't want to make the situation any worse. They care about their employees and guests; the park is in the very business of giving people fun and enjoyable days out, so spreading a deadly virus negates the point of the park's existence. They will take the necessary precautions, and I'm sure they will open in the safest way possible.

I'm sure everything will be fine for those who want to visit, and the park is perfectly safe to be in, but I'm not personally sure that I want to disobey the government's current advice on mass gatherings. As much as I hate to admit it, theme parks certainly aren't essential travel at the moment. I don't want to risk giving the virus to someone vulnerable, whether they're in my family or a complete stranger to me. The rides will still be there for me to ride once all of this has blown over, and I should hopefully still have a Premium Merlin Pass (as far as I know, it's valid until February 2021). People are free to make their own choices with regards to what they do, and I have full respect for anyone who does visit, but I personally don't think I will be visiting next weekend (when I was originally due to go).
 
They do care; within Merlin, there are people who really care about providing great days out for people. If they didn't care, then the company wouldn't exist!
 
Matt N said:
I'm sure that Merlin have thought about this and taken necessary steps; they don't want to spread this virus, and they don't want to make the situation any worse. They care about their employees and guests.......

.......I personally don't think I will be visiting next weekend (when I was originally due to go).
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HAHA! Thats priceless.

They should close. OR open up the park with a heavy discount and a very small number of attractions. Many people would like a nice walk for £10

Are all of the Merlin attractions remaining open?
 
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