That's not quite how the licencing act works. Your licenced hours are those in which you have to operate and sell alcohol. If your licence says you can serve until 23:00 and you're still selling alcohol at 23:01 you've broken your licence.
The amount of time given for "drinking up" varies depending on the licence given to the premises. Some specify how long customers can stay after the final sale of alcohol, some don't (leaving it up to the licencee's discretion.
Similar practices happen with temporary event licensing. Some licenses will state how long the venue / event has to close / get people out after the event has ended, some won't.
In practice, many licensed premises have longer permitted hours to serve than they advertise. Your local pub is most likely licenced until 00:00, but will still call last orders just before 23:00. This gives the pub the ability to serve those few extra stragglers just past 23:00, and not break the law, and gives ample drinking up time.
I'm unaware of the particular conditions on the license held by Thorpe Park, but it is a public record which can be requested from Runnymede council. -
https://www.runnymede.gov.uk/entertainment-licenses/premises-licences-certificates
That was exactly the point I was making. To clear the "queue" in a public house, in an ordered way, you would "call last orders" appropriately. A really busy pub, maybe 30 minutes before closing, to clear the "queue" by closing time. A quiet pub, maybe 5 minutes before. As in dynamic based on how busy the pub is, and giving people a sensible warning to manage people "queuing". Not much point shouting "last orders" in a heaving packed out pub, with just 1 minute to go, queue would go mental. Dynamic common sence queue management, according to the spirit of the law (ignoring obvious pun). Thorpe Park with Hyperia are doing the same thing, in principal. Calling last rides, get in the queue, and we will honour it, even if the last ride is at 21:30. Exactly my point, the ride stays open, for a reasonable time to clear the queue. The actual queue itself would/will close to ensure that extra time (aka drinking time/riding time) is kept to a reasonable level. Benefits both staff who want to get home to family/friends, and local residents. At the same time as ensuring those who have queued for the ride, actually get to go on it. The ride itself is open, well past the advertised closing time of 9pm, people can still ride it, as promised on the publicity material and on social media posts by Thorpe Park. However, the queue is managed dynamically according to demand, to benefit all stakeholders, staff, riders, residents etc; as would be the same principal of public houses.
As per my point, the police and local licencing would not be impressed wth a pub who pushed the boundaries. A serving 1 minute past, does break the law, but far more importantly, such boundary pushing risks licencing restrictions in the future. In the same way the opening hours of Thorpe Park would have objections from stakeholders if boundaries were similarly pushed.
The important point, if you visit on Saturday, get in the queue line in good time to get a ride in the dark - its the last one of the summer. Likely to be much busier this weekend, as the weather forecast is so much better than forecast for last Saturday.
Opening times at Thorpe Park rely, in part, on the good will of residents etc. Over its history, complaints have been made, and the local council have to balance the needs of all sides, staff, residents, visitors and Merlin etc.