2020: General Discussion

[jon81uk]

Wow; as much as I admire their resilience, I must admit that I'm staggered that they're still allowed to open considering the advice put into place by the government. I'm wondering how long they will be allowed to open for...

Everywhere is allowed to stay open, the government has only advised against going to places where there are a large group of people like a pub, theatre etc. So they are still allowed to stay open as the government has not forced anything to close, just advised the public not to go there. As Alton Towers is a predominately outdoor venue where people can try to distance themselves more it is a lower risk than a pub so they obviously think until government say definitely close down.
I don't think Alton Towers is a much bigger risk than a supermarket, but it is non-essential venue so people probably shouldn't go.

This isn't to say I agree with what the government has said, but there is nothing stopping the park staying open.

 

[jon81uk]

I never expected anything less from Merlin, i'm surprised people are so shocked. Universal and Disney are able to see the bigger picture, with this being a global pandemic and all, but yet again Merlin have demonstrated just how low they're willing to go in order to make a buck.

Official government advice on preventing the spread of coronavirus states:

• People should start working from home wherever possible
• All unnecessary travel stopped
• Pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues to be avoided
• Anyone living with someone who has a cough or a temperature to stay at home for 14 days

We can only hope people are sensible enough to listen to this advice and make it uneconomical for Merlin to keep these parks open.

This is the issue, it is what the government is doing that is ambiguous not what the park is doing. Alton Tower are free to open. People are free not to go to the park and are advised not to go. But until they are forced to shut a lot of shops, pubs and venues are not closing down.

A government mandated complete shutdown will probably come, but until it does places do not need to shut down. There is legislation coming in soon and we will see what it demands.

 

[Rob]

This is where the government needs to get off its arse.

If it wants the public to be social distancing, it should not advise. It should mandate. They should force premises to be closed if that's what they actually want. People are looking for direction and they need to make it unambiguous.

Agreed. I have seen and heard people say they have got to venues that the government is advising we avoid simply because they have been told not to go. They would not have done so otherwise!

I am extremely surprised that Alton Towers are planning to open on Saturday, it clearly goes against all government advice. Avoid all essential travel? Well anyone going to Alton Towers will be travelling, and it clearly is not essential. Avoid social gatherings? Alton Towers is a social gathering by default.

They say that they are going to enforce social distancing in queue lines and on rides, I look forward to seeing how they think that might work.

As Rick says though, a lot can change between now and Saturday.

 

[Kraken27]

Total and utter 100% irresponsibility from Merlin in planning to open their theme parks. They're clearly only interested in the balance sheet, not public safety.

Put aside the Smiler harnesses that stink & house god knows however many germs... the Nemesis & Oblivion seatbelts are bad too. I know from working on Nemesis that after 2hrs on the ride checking harnesses, your hands are filthy and stink. You certainly wash them on break before considering handling any food. It's even worse on a rainy day too.

As to social distancing & proximity to guests - all are pretty much impossible. Harnesses have to be checked & some of the ride host positions require hosts to stand close to guests to press control buttons (e.g. Nemesis remote enabler has to be next to bay 8 (or bay 1 on 2 host operation, which is rare).

Merlin should think of their staff here. They are forcing [mainly] young people on the minimum wage to expose themselves to guests who could have come into contact with Coronavirus. They will then go home and potentially spread it even further. I know for a fact from working in aviation that people will lie about any possible illness if they want to fly. Ditto swimming within 48hrs of having diarrhoea when there is a waterpark like Alton Towers / Center Parcs on offer - they'll be in the pool in a flash.

 

[BarryZola]

I'd say that every one of the thousands of supermarkets staying open and being rammed where hundreds of thousands of staff are forced to mix with the public is more of a problem than one entertainment venue in Staffordshire. I suppose you'll be petitioning them to close to protect their staff also? If Alton Towers will have blood on their hands (as someone else said in one of the threads) for allowing people to mix then just remember that the next time you go shopping and the part you're playing.

 

[Rob]

I'd say that every one of the thousands of supermarkets staying open and being rammed where hundreds of thousands of staff are forced to mix with the public is more of a problem than one entertainment venue in Staffordshire. I suppose you'll be petitioning them to close to protect their staff also? If Alton Towers will have blood on their hands (as someone else said in one of the threads) for allowing people to mix then just remember that the next time you go shopping and the part you're playing.

Yes, of course supermarkets are a risk. But food is essential, theme parks are not. This is about stopping non-essential activities and contact.

 

[MellowPasta]

I'd say that every one of the thousands of supermarkets staying open and being rammed where hundreds of thousands of staff are forced to mix with the public is more of a problem than one entertainment venue in Staffordshire. I suppose you'll be petitioning them to close to protect their staff also? If Alton Towers will have blood on their hands (as someone else said in one of the threads) for allowing people to mix then just remember that the next time you go shopping and the part you're playing.

In all fairness food shopping is essential, riding coasters is not.

 

[spinba11]

The London dungeon have just announced they are closing from today, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Alton will follow.

 

[BarryZola]

I agree that food shopping is essential. I'm just pointing out the fact that one place staying open will make very little difference in the grand scheme of things. People should at least be frequenting supermarkets fewer times but it's actually getting busier. Would be great if people could shop alone instead of dragging their whole brood along if possible too. No need for families to be going in when one single person can do it therefore reducing the amount of people who might spread the virus.

 

[Rick]

Yes, of course supermarkets are a risk. But food is essential, theme parks are not. This is about stopping non-essential activities and contact.

I don't disagree, the confusion comes from the official position which is essentially "No social interaction. Don't go in pubs, but we're not closing them and post this speech MPs will be going to a bar in the commons". If you look at the response across parts of Europe, it's very clear and not open to interpretation.

 

[Alsty]

Every interaction should be reduced. That's the whole point of social distancing.

 

[Rob]

I don't disagree, the confusion comes from the official position which is essentially "No social interaction. Don't go in pubs, but we're not closing them and post this speech MPs will be going to a bar in the commons". If you look at the response across parts of Europe, it's very clear and not open to interpretation.

I don't disagree with you either!

 

[AT86]

Let’s stop muddying the waters and comparing this to that, apples to pears, theme parks to shops.

Just focus on theme parks. Compare Merlin’s response to that of nearly every other operator. They are clearly the odd ones out here. Theme parks by their very nature attract people from 100s of miles away to mix in close proximity for the day and then go home and take any germs with them.

Think of a typical day at Alton Towers. Queue for monorail, sit in monorail carriage right next to or opposite strangers, stand in queue for tickets, stand in queue for turnstiles, have bag checked by member of staff, spend the next 8 hours standing next to and sitting within centimetres of other guests on rides whilst they open their mouths and scream right next to you, and you might also be screaming and have your mouth wide open.

Queue up for lunch, look around shops picking up merchandise having a look, put it back down. Take the monorail back to the car with more strangers.

Both staff and guests then go back home to carry these germs to their families, friends, coworkers etc.

If these so called measures they have put in place were good enough then all these others parks around the world would not be shut. It is beyond irresponsible for Alton Towers to be opening.

 

[jon81uk]

The London dungeon have just announced they are closing from today, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Alton will follow.

Alton Towers already announced their Dungeon is closed.

 

[jon81uk]

If these so called measures they have put in place were good enough then all these others parks around the world would not be shut. It is beyond irresponsible for Alton Towers to be opening.

In many other countries the government (local state or national) has mandated that large gatherings must not happen, that was the main driving force for places to close. In the UK we haven't got to the point yet of mandatory shut down. The main reason Disneyland closed was because the California government banned large gatherings by law.

 

[MellowPasta]

I’m not sure how the 1 meter social distancing would work, especially such as the Smiler queue, even if you’re giving space to people infront , you’ll most likely have someone at the side of you on the other side of the cage.

 

[AT86]

In many other countries the government (local state or national) has mandated that large gatherings must not happen, that was the main driving force for places to close. In the UK we haven't got to the point yet of mandatory shut down. The main reason Disneyland closed was because the California government banned large gatherings by law.

There is absolutely no reason for them to hide behind this excuse (I am not giving the government a free pass here, I agree they should be doing more). Merlin have a duty of care to their staff and guests, just because it is not a legal requirement to shut, doesn’t mean they should stay open.

For a UK example, Flamingo Land have delayed the opening of their theme park - they didn’t have to by law, but have done it anyway - and they are an independent operator, not a multi billion pound worldwide business.

 

[RobH]

I don't think Towers will close because it's the right thing to do. They will close due to the public uproar because of their decision to stay open. Should the park open on Saturday, they will get a lot of bad press via both social media and the papers/news sites.

I saw an article about Disney World staying open, "‘If I’m Going to Get Sick and Die, I Might as Well Do It at Disney World’". Basically shunning Disney's decision to stay open despite the safety risks of the virus... A day later they closed all the parks....

I would not be surprised if this happens for Towers.

 

[rob666]

You cant say it's just Merlin.
BPB are still taking bookings for this weekend, and refusing to alter booking dates, allegedly.

 

[Rick]

There seems to be a lot of selective outrage about what is (potentially / maybe) staying open here, is this because of the Merlin hate or just because we're staying on topic, God forbid!

Glastonbury was only announced as cancelled an hour ago, I would argue something like that is far more problematic than Alton.