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2021: General Discussion

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tayspru said:
I’d have said the same of Disney yet here we are. If they can justify it alongside a policy where masks are only removed when actively eating , no exceptions ,I don’t see what would be stopping Merlin from doing the same ?
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Don't they fill every row on most rides anyway? The only 2 they don't is wicker man and th13teen. Surely if they're adding these new flats to increase capacity then the coasters will end up with the same queues anyway
 
Heidi said:
I get what you mean as in since they are at limited capacity at the minute, they'll want to add more rides in order to limit queues, but by doing this aren't they expanding their capacity meaning more guests can visit in one day? Apologies if I have misunderstood!
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I expect they will increase the capacity slightly with more rides, at least once all the indoor rides/attractions are open too. They also will hopefully have learnt from last year as to how the park copes.

But what I meant is they won't advertise the fairground rides as "new" attractions. Gangsta Granny is new for 2021. The temporary rides will likely be on the park map but I expect 95% of guests won't know they are there until they arrive at the park.
 
Ethan said:
Don't they fill every row on most rides anyway? The only 2 they don't is wicker man and th13teen. Surely if they're adding these new flats to increase capacity then the coasters will end up with the same queues anyway
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I think you misunderstand , the flats are to increase capacity, but not in the sense that they want to let more people in than last year. It’s so that when they have the same volume of guests as last year , there is more for them to do and therefore shorter queues / higher guest satisfaction. Say (for example) the max capacity was 10,000 last year , it will stay the same this year , but with 4 more rides to distribute crowds better.

It is just Wickerman and Thirteen that leave gaps , but these two (especially Thirteen) were really suffering from the reduced loads , so if this can be avoided it would really help !
 
tayspru said:
I think you misunderstand , the flats are to increase capacity, but not in the sense that they want to let more people in than last year. It’s so that when they have the same volume of guests as last year , there is more for them to do and therefore shorter queues / higher guest satisfaction. Say (for example) the max capacity was 10,000 last year , it will stay the same this year , but with 4 more rides to distribute crowds better
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Personally I am expecting them to up the capacity, perhaps not by the same amount as these additional rides will give them - but up it by perhaps half way. That way people have a better chance of getting on rides and the park get more revenue on tickets.

If these rides added an extra capacity of say 6000 riders per day. They could up the number of people in the park by 3000 for example.
 
I don’t think that’s the case , the top complaint at the park for years , and exacerbated by Covid , has been wait times. The original solution to the lengthy queues caused by a combination of low capacity and distancing was to introduce a virtual queue , but this was scrapped in favour of adding new rides as this cost less . I don’t see them then going ahead and adding more guest capacity and us being back where we started with long queues
 
I think it’s fair to say all rides still leave gaps - rows are four aren’t filled completely which could equate to every other row on rows of two being missed out.
I don’t think rides will start fully loading again until the date the restrictions end, currently scheduled at June 21st
 
Being sat directly next to someone not in your party is of course currently a no go, but the rows are far enough from each other that wearing a mask would be sufficient to follow the current guidance (given the 1m rule)
 
Danscott22 said:
don’t think rides will start fully loading again until the date the restrictions end, currently scheduled at June 21st
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Does this seriously mean the park is going to go from limited capacity, social distancing, masks to then no restrictions whatsoever like pre covid within a day. So 20th all restrictions will still be same but 21st there will be nothing
 
Ethan said:
Does this seriously mean the park is going to go from limited capacity, social distancing, masks to then no restrictions whatsoever like pre covid within a day. So 20th all restrictions will still be same but 21st there will be nothing
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I guess that is down to Towers themselves to decide but when you think that the Government roadmap says nightclubs and similar venues can open from the 21st (effectively the last part of the economy to reopen) - which lets face it promote far greater intimacy than a theme park - then there is no reason to have social distancing and masks etc anymore, anywhere. I mean, how can you insist on masks and distancing in a theme park or a supermarket yet that night go to a nightclub and dance very close to people on a crowded dancefloor?
 
Whenever the date is, it'll be restrictions one day and then not the next, regardless of when that date comes to be. Like has been said about nightclubs, it wouldn't make sense for the spacing out of people on rides after that. The rules would still be in place on June 20th, so I guess we'll be back at full capacity on the first date which allows it.
 
Matt.GC said:
You said that Disney have far stricter policies overall than Merlin. I was highlighting that they don't

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They certainly do with regards to distancing, mask policy and other Covid measures. You’ve highlighted the one area where the parks differ , but Merlin water effects are turned off due to the DM incident , not Covid (as evidenced by misters being used on Oblivion and Wickerman)
 
That’s the point, in the good old litigious USA, Disney only implement procedures they are confident are safe, and they seem confident that loading every row is safe . So why don’t Merlin ?
 
Both Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs are now able to operate without barriers is my point, what is actually stopping Merlin
 
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