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2021: General Discussion

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Matt N said:
On the flip side, another question I have is; why is it that the park’s threshold for letting kids ride unaccompanied is height-based as opposed to age-based, as surely age is a bigger indicator of how maturely a child can behave unaccompanied on a ride than height? Under the current way of doing things, wouldn’t that mean that if a ride had a height restriction of 1.2m to ride unaccompanied (as an example), a very tall 5-6 year old, who you’d typically expect to still need/want company, can ride alone, whereas a very short 7-8 year old, who might be mature enough to ride alone, isn’t able to? I guess height is an easier method to enforce than age, but it’s still a question I thought was an interesting point to consider.
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Interestingly, Paultons require both an age and a height for riders to go unaccompanied. I think on some rides the manufacturer insists on a certain height for unaccompanied but I think you are right in guessing that it is likely height due to it being easier to enforce.
 
Matt N said:
In fairness, though, I think it’s very kind of the park to even offer free entry to under-3’s; they could just charge everyone full price if they wanted to, regardless of age or height!
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it used to be under 5s for free I think but changed with CBeebies land. I also think someone mentioned there is something in the agreement with BBC studios that they have to keep the under 3s go free as part of the contract with BBC.
 
Matt N said:
On the flip side, another question I have is; why is it that the park’s threshold for letting kids ride unaccompanied is height-based as opposed to age-based, as surely age is a bigger indicator of how maturely a child can behave unaccompanied on a ride than height? Under the current way of doing things, wouldn’t that mean that if a ride had a height restriction of 1.2m to ride unaccompanied (as an example), a very tall 5-6 year old, who you’d typically expect to still need/want company, can ride alone, whereas a very short 7-8 year old, who might be mature enough to ride alone, isn’t able to? I guess height is an easier method to enforce than age, but it’s still a question I thought was an interesting point to consider.
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Ride manufacturers will base their restrictions on whether the rider can adequately brace themselves rather than how mature they are.

The unaccompanied height to ride Duel is 1.1m, which is probably the height of a 6 year old. They will likely get very scared riding alone, but technically speaking they will at least be able to touch the floor with their feet and reach the lap bar to hold on, so will be "safe".
 
jon81uk said:
it used to be under 5s for free I think but changed with CBeebies land. I also think someone mentioned there is something in the agreement with BBC studios that they have to keep the under 3s go free as part of the contract with BBC.
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It was never under 5’s it was always under 4’s
 
Steve74 said:
Count me in!

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Now wondering who they have copied this idea from, Blackpool has been doing walk the Big One for years, Plopsa have been doing that weird exclusive dining experience on the tea cups and I've seen plenty of parks do behind-the scenes tours before (sometimes free for the enthusiast communities).
 
Are the hotels running at reduced capacity at the moment?

Looking at the booking options for half term and it’s very limited as to what’s available. Great news for the park of course to see them busy.

Enchanted Village and Stargazing Pods seem to be fully booked all week, with most dates also only having a few rooms in CBeebies or ATH available. Everything else is booked up.
 
AT86 said:
Why must they be ‘copying’?

Alton Towers have offered behind the scenes tours and lift hill walks before, but it all stopped after the Smiler incident when they cut everything back.
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Yeah I remember behind the scenes tours back around 2005/2006 which included lift hill walks


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AT86 said:
Are the hotels running at reduced capacity at the moment?

Looking at the booking options for half term and it’s very limited as to what’s available. Great news for the park of course to see them busy.

Enchanted Village and Stargazing Pods seem to be fully booked all week, with most dates also only having a few rooms in CBeebies or ATH available. Everything else is booked up.
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That doesn't really surprise me I'm afraid. There is probably a huge backlog of families who booked for October half-term/Christmas/Easter etc. all trying to get in now they're finally allowed to re-schedule. If you think about it, this is the first opportunity a lot of people have had to properly stay away from home since last summer. I'd be giving it a few weeks to let things settle if it were me! I always avoid the place like the plague during school holidays anyway!
 
Well, was in the park yesterday for the first time in over a year. Had a a really good day but it was actually a pretty busy day work 45 min queues on some of the bigger rides - and the 4pm finish was way way too early
 
GaryH said:
Well, was in the park yesterday for the first time in over a year. Had a a really good day but it was actually a pretty busy day work 45 min queues on some of the bigger rides - and the 4pm finish was way way too early
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Don't know why towers use so much budget towards weekends. Make weekdays 5pm and weekends 7pm, not 8pm
 
Alsty said:
I would imagine two extra hours on a weekend makes more profit than an extra five hours mid week.
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Yep, if you want to take hours away to improve other days, then closing Wednesdays so that Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri can be longer would be an option.
But the park would likely make more money from being open more days and getting more entry fees.
Unless the Tripadvisor score takes a hammering I doubt they will think it is worth changing.
Maybe once the weather improves we might also see a change?
 
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