2021: General Discussion

[Matt N]

There's a potential problem though. Even if the government do allow certain places to open, they may still be telling people not to travel outside of their 'area'. For example, I'm hoping to do a couple of mountain walks in Snowdonia (complicating it more by travel between 2 countries) in the next couple of months but although they may be allowing more people to mix and children are going back to school etc I'll still probably be stopped from driving in my car to a mountain and not mixing with anyone. So, if Alton Towers is open but you're ordered not to leave your area and you're 70 miles away, what are you going to do?

The legal “stay at home/stay local” requirement will be removed on 29th March, so I’m thinking that that shouldn’t be too much of a problem by the time Towers opens.

 

[BarryZola]

I think there's possibly a difference between 'Stay at home' and 'Don't leave your locality/area' though. Pretty sure at some points last year we weren't under stay at home orders anymore but were still asked not to travel long distances.

 

[Matt N]

I think there's possibly a difference between 'Stay at home' and 'Don't leave your locality/area' though. Pretty sure at some points last year we weren't under stay at home orders anymore but were still asked not to travel long distances.

Boris hasn’t currently made any kind of reference towards restrictions on travel distance, so I’m hoping that they won’t be imposed.

To be honest, I’d be surprised if they were imposed or enforced strongly, as those kinds of restrictions didn’t really come into force in 2020 until the tier system was introduced late on in the year, as things started to get worse again.

To me, it almost seems like it wouldn’t be a particularly useful requirement when the whole country is under the same level of restrictions (lockdown aside, of course; staying at home is important in those circumstances), as Boris currently plans for.

 

[Ethan]

I think there's possibly a difference between 'Stay at home' and 'Don't leave your locality/area' though. Pretty sure at some points last year we weren't under stay at home orders anymore but were still asked not to travel long distances.

Why would they allow these attractions to open if people can't travel to them. What you're saying doesn't make sense. You're basically saying that the government are saying 'outdoor attractions will be allowed to open from this date. Oh but by the way if you don't live local you can't go'

 

[Matt N]

Why would they allow these attractions to open if people can't travel to them. What your saying doesn't make sense. You're basically saying that the government are saying 'outdoor attractions will be allowed to open from this date. Oh but by the way if you don't live local you can't go'

To be fair, I do remember parks being allowed to open even if their areas were in Tier 3, but for locals only, so it’s not out of the question. But I’m unsure if it’s something Boris would resort to now that the tier system is effectively extinct.

 

[Ethan]

To be fair, I do remember parks being allowed to open even if their areas were in Tier 3, but for locals only, so it’s not out of the question. But I’m unsure if it’s something Boris would resort to now that the tier system is effectively extinct.

But people still travelled anyway

 

[BarryZola]

Why would they allow these attractions to open if people can't travel to them. What you're saying doesn't make sense. You're basically saying that the government are saying 'outdoor attractions will be allowed to open from this date. Oh but by the way if you don't live local you can't go'

Well, you know, that's exactly what they were saying at times last year. You obviously have a very short memory.

 

[Ethan]

Well, you know, that's exactly what they were saying at times last year. You obviously have a very short memory.

As I said I seem to remember people travelling out their local area regardless. The government can't police people leaving their area how are they supposed to do that

 

[Matt N]

As I said I seem to remember people travelling out their local area regardless. The government can't police people leaving their area how are they supposed to do that

They did attempt to do that using spot checks during the lockdowns (I think they are currently), so they could resort to this if need be.

I have another interesting theory; Boris said that “all legally binding restrictions on social contact” will be removed on 21st June if all goes well. Do you think this would allow Alton and the UK’s other theme parks to operate without social distancing, masks, pre-bookings etc after this date, or do you think he was purely referring to household/private mixing? He did say that things like nightclubs would be allowed to open, people would be allowed back into sports stadiums, and limits on things like weddings and funerals would be removed, so I think it could possibly mean the former, although I wouldn’t want to be too sure.

 

[Danscott22]

They did attempt to do that using spot checks during the lockdowns (I think they are currently), so they could resort to this if need be.

I have another interesting theory; Boris said that “all legally binding restrictions on social contact” will be removed on 21st June if all goes well. Do you think this would allow Alton and the UK’s other theme parks to operate without social distancing, masks, pre-bookings etc after this date, or do you think he was purely referring to household/private mixing? He did say that things like nightclubs would be allowed to open, people would be allowed back into sports stadiums, and limits on things like weddings and funerals would be removed, so I think it could possibly mean the former, although I wouldn’t want to be too sure.

I think it means the former from what I can gather.

 

[Matt N]

I think it means the former from what I can gather.

So that would mean Alton could effectively operate in the way it did before, besides a few minor details? If all goes to plan, this could be a major win for the park and Merlin!

 

[Danscott22]

So that would mean Alton could effectively operate in the way it did before, besides a few minor details? If all goes to plan, this could be a major win for the park and Merlin!

That's just the thing though, as it's just provisional I'm doubtful of the set dates.

 

[Kraken27]

That's just the thing though, as it's just provisional I'm doubtful of the set dates.

Indeed. Today's announcement was basically "this is what I would like to do and when I would like to do it if the Covid numbers look right". The caveat that was alluded to on several occasions was that these dates are not set in stone & if the Covid numbers are not good then restrictions may stay in place for longer / possible imposition of tougher measures if we're really in the do-do.

The announcement at least gives Merlin / their attractions something reasonably solid to base planning for the 2021 season on.

 

[AstroDan]

I think it's pretty likely the park will open on 12 April. Hopefully, by May, things can ramp up.

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[Thameslink Rail]

I take it that Indoor rides can't open until stage 3 so no Gangsta Granny but would Alton Towers open the remainder of David Walliams at the start of the season or wait until the whole area can open?

 

[AT86]

I take it that Indoor rides can't open until stage 3 so no Gangsta Granny but would Alton Towers open the remainder of David Walliams at the start of the season or wait until the whole area can open?

I suspect they will wait until they can open it all. May half term could be the best bet for both covid and commercial/marketing reasons.

 

[James]

I wonder whether they may go for gardens only from April (worked well for them last year) and then open the entire park for May half term.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

It’s hard to say what do they class as indoor as will be also included queue lines like Wickerman and Thirteen. I think masks will be in place to the end of the year at least.

 

[Steve74]

To be fair, I do remember parks being allowed to open even if their areas were in Tier 3, but for locals only, so it’s not out of the question. But I’m unsure if it’s something Boris would resort to now that the tier system is effectively extinct.

Theme parks were mentioned specifically in the news last night



Of course down to individual parks as to whether they'll open that day but in everything I have heard during and since the announcement, there has been no mention of [distance-related] travel restrictions apart from international travel. So if everything goes to plan between now and then, April 12th does look like the date we can all legally travel to theme parks.

 

[Alsty]

One consideration is overnight stays won't be permitted on 12th April, so in many ways parks will still only be for "locals" (depending on how far you're prepared to travel in one day).