Running rides in the winter is a solved problem, you just have to adjust your operating model and stick your hand in your pocket, in order to make it happen.
I think there's a conscious decision to grow the out of season stuff slowly and really ensure that there is the demand by providing 'something' at Christmas and through the winter months. With the extremes in weather that we're seeing, I am not convinced that there is a demand for anything close to a full park offering. Events like Adrenaline Week often had lukewarm attendance and can't have made much of a positive impact on the bottom line. With the added cost pressures, I just don't see that in the mix anytime soon.
That said, I think that there is a market for what they are currently doing - I just think it has a ceiling because there is so much competition. Not everyone can provide world class roller coasters ... A faux German market flogging a sausage on a stick and some pretty lights is a lower bar to reach.
All sorts of attractions have put on something Christmassy with huge demand and high margins, with things like light trails, Lanterns and the usual Christmas markets being highly profitable.
With Alton, I don't think that the location helps and I also think people's perception of Alton as a winter destination has a long way to go. It almost feels harder to drag people out to the park with all the rides closed than it does to get them to a stately home that is likely proffering a similar event.
There's always a clamour for growth, theme parks and everything that they contain are very expensive assets, so to have them dormant for large chunks of the year is sub-optimal in a lot of ways - but you can only squeeze so much juice out of the lemon.
As I've said before, I am cool with not visiting theme parks in the winter - that's as someone who is a huge fan of them. I like that the off season provides a forced break, of sorts - if I want a Christmas event, there are loads of comparable offerings nearby without schlepping all the way to Staffordshire.
For all the discussion about Winter Wonderland (of which I am currently on the Tube en route to), I am much happier dropping £100 or more on something festive that I can't do mid-June, than I would be going to Alton for their Christmas event.