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2022: General Discussion

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Jarnsaxa said:
Me too. I am choosing to focus on the met office forecast which is the most positive and has a mix of sun and rain. Also hoping the bad forecast may have put off
some people from going as I'm sure it will be rather busy.
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Lots of school trips tomorrow I have just learned. Absolutely fuming tbh as School trip season is in the summer. They've only been back 6 weeks and already having trips. :(
 
October school trips is a new one... I only left secondary school 3 years ago, and I assure you I never had a reward trip (the only time we would ever have gone to a theme park with school) in October. Our trips were mostly in the summer... actually, we did go on reward trips around Jan/Feb to celebrate our Christmas term reports when we were in lower school, come to think of it, but we certainly never went this close to the start of the year.

I wonder why schools are going in October now?
 
Alastair said:
Sunday looking worse - currently predicting thunderstorms into the evening. Assume that will mean essentially full park closure (or at least all rides)? Never been in thunder before!
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Not sure if the park itself will shut, but most of the rides will.
 
Matt N said:
October school trips is a new one... I only left secondary school 3 years ago, and I assure you I never had a reward trip (the only time we would ever have gone to a theme park with school) in October. Our trips were mostly in the summer... actually, we did go on reward trips around Jan/Feb to celebrate our Christmas term reports when we were in lower school, come to think of it, but we certainly never went this close to the start of the year.

I wonder why schools are going in October now?
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Maybe because they park aren't opening for about 4 hrs. Hahahaha

Can't understand why teachers would be keen on their school week and term being extended though unless they were into theme parks that is.
 
I will say the weather forecast was rather pessimistic for today and while it did rain until 4, it wasn't the full day of rain forecast. so hopefully for those going tomorrow it'll be alright, stay positive! can't say to stay positive about those school trips though...
 
Absolutely fuming tbh. I wouldn't have booked for tomorrow had I known. First trip to Towers for a few years and it's a bleeding school trip day. :(
 
Yep I was already worrying about the weather and now with lots of school trips and 1 hour + queue times, I'm definitely not looking forward to it so much. It's my first Scarefest in 15 years so maybe I'll cave and buy some maze tickets after all, although live actors scare the * out of me.

Saturday at least looks like good weather, so hopefully those going then will have a good time and maybe even get to go on Thirteen.
 
I will definitely be going to Forbidden Valley first I think now. Get loads of rides in on Nemmy and Galactica before the school trips arrive. Try and work against the crowds best as I can
 
Benjsh said:
Absolutely fuming tbh. I wouldn't have booked for tomorrow had I known. First trip to Towers for a few years and it's a bleeding school trip day. :(
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Remember, school trips usually arrive late and leave early. So you should still have plenty of time to get rides in once they’ve left presumably at around 3, 4pm at the latest.

My children’s school ran a competition and the winners got to go to Legoland which happened today. Could be another reason why there seems to be school trips around this time of year if other schools have been running similar completions to win a trip to Towers etc.

The weather for Sunday and Monday looks awful😂 I can only hope that it puts people off going so it won’t be horrendously busy like I’ve been expecting. Doesn’t look like I’ll be getting any night rides on Thirteen though!
 
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On Park today, Fairly busy but not overwhelming.

Thirteeen down for most of the day, opened for 1hr but then closed again.

Wickerman was walk on around 4.30 despite saying 20mins on the board, literally nobody in the main queue just a couple of RAP and Fast Pass.

Nemmy went down to 1 train around 7ish

School trips were there but didn't have a massive impact on waiting times.

Really enjoyable evening after a day of rain, best event out the 4 this season.

Bigger secruity presence than normal, justified I think having seen a few nubheads kicking off at staff in Smiler load on and outside the Attic maze.
 
Benjsh said:
I will definitely be going to Forbidden Valley first I think now. Get loads of rides in on Nemmy and Galactica before the school trips arrive. Try and work against the crowds best as I can
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You'll hopefully find, like today, Nemesis and Galactica were walk on from about 6PM. School trips usually leave a few hours earlier. Rita was walk on from about 8PM too. Had 4 rides in 15 minutes. But Forbidden Valley in particular always seems to empty later in the day.

We even got lucky and hit Wickerman about 4PM, which for a short period was walk on.

The coach carpark was full today also. I would be optimistic after today. We rode everything multiple times, could be busier due to being a Friday.

@Sambiasso we hit Wickerman about that time you said today, expecting a 20 minute queue for it to be walk on, it was great.
 
DistortAMG said:
You'll hopefully find, like today, Nemesis and Galactica were walk on from about 6PM. School trips usually leave a few hours earlier. Rita was walk on from about 8PM too. Had 4 rides in 15 minutes. But Forbidden Valley in particular always seems to empty later in the day.

We even got lucky and hit Wickerman about 4PM, which for a short period was walk on.

The coach carpark was full today also. I would be optimistic after today. We rode everything multiple times, could be busier due to being a Friday.

@Sambiasso we hit Wickerman about that time you said today, expecting a 20 minute queue for it to be walk on, it was great.
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Fingers crossed. Night ride on Nemmy then followed by Wickerman is the plan. I just hope the weather and queues allow it.
 
School trips have been a bit of a pain for a decade now.
Midweek termtime always used to be deader than dead, now you get "Icebreaker" social trips at a lot of private schools, reward trips for individual classes, and many schools here do their big outing in May and June to avoid the "schools rush".
Themed "educational practical science cross curriculum cobblers" days are now a thing as well.
Then there are the new student social groups who get big freshers discounts.
Primary school groups are easier to avoid as they keep em roped up.
Ban all school groups in termtime, or just ban kids generally.
 
Benjsh said:
Lots of school trips tomorrow I have just learned. Absolutely fuming tbh as School trip season is in the summer. They've only been back 6 weeks and already having trips. :(
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There were lots of kids for my visit last Friday as well. A lot of them are off this week and next though so that may explain it a bit more
 
Maelstrom said:
A lot of the school trips are ones delayed from the last few days of Summer term when it was 40 degrees+ . Most moved to tomorrow as last day before half term in Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
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And Gloucestershire.
Matt N said:
October school trips is a new one... I only left secondary school 3 years ago, and I assure you I never had a reward trip (the only time we would ever have gone to a theme park with school) in October. Our trips were mostly in the summer... actually, we did go on reward trips around Jan/Feb to celebrate our Christmas term reports when we were in lower school, come to think of it, but we certainly never went this close to the start of the year.

I wonder why schools are going in October now?
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When I was at secondary school in the late 1980s, we did go to Towers every year in October but on a Saturday. If I remember correctly it was a school club outing rather than one organised as a reward by the school so there is always chance these autumn trips - if not the ones postponed from the summer - are just school club trips. Or Brownies/Guides/Scouts. Or other non-school clubs.
 
Matt.GC said:
When I went to secondary school I was in a class room with 40 other kids making fart noises with my armpits and throwing paper aeroplanes around. I wasn't at Alton Towers in October. Shouldn't they be learning about Henry VIII and doing long division or something rather than riding coasters?
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In slight fairness to the schools - I think quite a few deferred their school trips from the "traditional school trips fortnight" in July due to the extreme heatwave we had. Probably a good idea on safety grounds as you could guarantee some of the kids would have totally ingored the "drink plenty of water to keep hydrated" advice they would have been given.

No danger of any schoolkids over-heating / getting excessively dehydrated today!
 
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