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ERT......or lack of it!

badlydrawnkelBel

badlydrawnkelBel

TS Member
Not sure if this is somewhere else....but the last few times I have visited. .....the GK, one man and his dog have been allowed in and allowed to ride! I know hotel guests, MAP/AP holders and prebooked tickets from the Internet are entitled to ERT.....but why is everyone else?

I know there was a H&S issue in the past with crowds of people congregating. ..but surely they could allow people to disperse throughout the park as normal but check passes/tickets on rides like previously? Is ERT no longer a perk?
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As far as I'm concerned, ERT no longer exists. The park opens at 9 these days (as it should if you ask me). It's just that only a couple of rides are open for the first hour. ::)
 
Last weekend tickets/passes were being checked at the entrance to Nemesis at least.

On the other hand, letting everyone is 9 means that AP holders and hotel guests have no advantage when it comes to queueing for the Smiler
 
Oblivion or The Smiler should be added to ERT on weekend and holiday dates.

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But there is no ERT anymore as anyone and everyone can get in at 9 and has access to the whole park. Not once this season has my pass been checked to get onto a ride before 10am. :(
 
Exactly! No advantage for the smiler or to enjoy the quietness and emptiness of the park and rides.....I don't pay all this money for the perk not to be executed incorrectly or be non existent!

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It was better when only annual pass holders and hotel guests were allowed through the turnstiles at 9am. That way there was no need for any staff to check any tickets/passes inside the park and as people have importantly pointed out, it gave pass holders a chance to get in the queue for the busiest rides before masses of people piled in at 10am.

I suppose it limits the amount of food and drink you can sell to customers between 9 and 10 though if most of them are not inside the park ;) Or am I actually being too cynical? Are there any genuine reasons why they changed the system? I'd be happy to learn of them as I'm currently unaware.
 
I think it would be better if ERT was a mix of the old way and the way it is now.

Have the same rides as they do now, just instead of checking tickets/maps at the ride entrance block off the entrance to the areas and check them there.

Have x sector, dark forest and forbidden valley sectioned off for people that can use ERT and let the GP use the other rides that aren't sectioned off (as these rides don't generally get a big queue maybe with the exception of RMT)

Everyone gets the best of both worlds then as the GP can still go on some rides but the more popular rides are still exclusive for those that are eligible for ERT.


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The old system ws the simplest. Unless you were entitled to ERT, you could not enter the park at all. It works fine for other parks.
 
So does anyone think I can get away with going into "ERT" with my The Sun tickets on Monday? :)
 
I have noticed this and have complained (about a week ago and noone has ever replied).

I would say lets all complain if you see it happen, Merlin want AP users to feel valued so if you think this devalues the product let AT and Merlin know.
 
As someone who doesn't have an MAP and doesn't plan on getting one any time soon, I'm quite happy for things to stay as they are. 10:00 am is far too late an opening anyway in my view. When we went on the 23rd, the park was still pretty dead before "official" opening and this was supposedly a busy day. Most day visitors either don't know about ERT, can't make it to the park on time or don't realise that they can get in at 9:00 with standard tickets.

I'm not a fan of any preferential treatment in parks anyway, in my ideal park there would be no fast track and no ERT. I believe that all guests at the park should be treated equally and it shouldn't matter if you have an annual pass or whether you can afford to skip the queue or not. The word guests is key really, you wouldn't expect to be invited to a party and be excluded from the house for an hour because you're not a premium guest.

Also there should be no front row queues. Getting the front row is a privilege, not a right!
 
Joseph said:
So does anyone think I can get away with going into "ERT" with my The Sun tickets on Monday? :)
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Yes, but my advice would be to get in The Smiler queue by half 9 at the latest if you're getting there for ERT. It will ensure the shortest queue time for it all day.
 
I don't quite understand the argument about front row. Yeah it's a privilege but I doubt anyone sees it as a right... And it's quite right that people should queue for it if they specifically choose to do so. They gain no advantage over others...

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ERT is a great perk though it should really just be for pass holders and hotel guests. Adding it for those who have pre booked too starts to make the whole thing a bit silly and if tickets aren't checked then what's the point? Just open the park at 9...

The old system worked great. Gates open at 9 for ERT only... Others are let in at half 9 but can only go to the bottom of Towers Street. However, this caused crowding issues and was difficult for staff who had to drop the rope.

Last years system was arguably better (when done properly). Gates open at 9. Non ERT guests allowed in at half 9 and passes checked at attraction entrances with those who do not have ERT able to queue by the attraction until 10.

Seems to have all gone to pot though?
 
Scott said:
I don't quite understand the argument about front row. Yeah it's a privilege but I doubt anyone sees it as a right... And it's quite right that people should queue for it if they specifically choose to do so. They gain no advantage over others...
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The problem is, on certain rides it means an unfeasibly long wait on top of the normal queue time. For example, I've never ridden Rita front row because every time I've ever been on it the front row queue is absolutely massive.

At least with a random process you are odds on to get a front row after a few rides.
 
Scott said:
I don't quite understand the argument about front row. Yeah it's a privilege but I doubt anyone sees it as a right... And it's quite right that people should queue for it if they specifically choose to do so. They gain no advantage over others...
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As in, it should be luck of the draw and it's a nice surprise if you get it. Somehow the idea of a special queue that guarantees you the front row (or guarantees that you wan't get it if you choose not to go for the extra wait) drains some of the fun from the day as does fast track.

Single rider I have no problem with as if it's implemented properly, it brings down wait times but other than that, I think that queues should be kept as simple as possible.
 
Alastair said:
Scott said:
I don't quite understand the argument about front row. Yeah it's a privilege but I doubt anyone sees it as a right... And it's quite right that people should queue for it if they specifically choose to do so. They gain no advantage over others...
Click to expand...

The problem is, on certain rides it means an unfeasibly long wait on top of the normal queue time. For example, I've never ridden Rita front row because every time I've ever been on it the front row queue is absolutely massive.

At least with a random process you are odds on to get a front row after a few rides.
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But you have a free choice to make that decision to queue and you don't have to pay to get it. As for ERT i think a perfect world everyone is equal but if you advertise a product as exclusive it should be. Also it doesn't effect other guests as they are not restricted in their use of the park, it has always opened at 10am since time long ago. The ERT unlike Fastrack adds something for those who can claim it unlike FT which takes something away from guests to give to those with money,
 
Good. Kill off ERT and be done with it. Some of the whinging is coming across as being very elitest.

ERT mainly serves to eliminate queueing for people who have already been on everything 50 times anyway. It offers a pretty naff 'perk' to MAP holders whilst being yet another two fingers up to anyone who has to stand in that stupid mass of bodys at the bottom of Towers Street for an hour.

Now, if Towers Street was twice the size, all the shops were open, it had plenty of places to sit and grab a coffee or some breakfast and had good street entertainment etc then ERT would be a great perk. This is what most other parks of a similar scale offer, but at Towers you just have a mass of increasingly frustrated people at the bottom of Towers Street getting irked as they watch MAP holders swan on by.

I also agree that Towers opening hours are too restrictive to run ERT. 09:00 - 18:00 everyday would be ok. Not great, but a solid day out. 10:00 - 17:00 on any day of the year remains an insult and I'm pleased to see that they have in part recognised that and started letting the general public in at 09:00.
 
Whilst I still think ERT is a valuable perk and should be restricted to passholders and hotel guests only, what irritates me more is that the park still advertise it as "exclusive" and special when it is clearly not. Especially as a hotel guest, there are seriously no benefits any more except for the fact that you are on property in the first place, and this is what leads them to still list ERT as a key perk. If they didn't, there would be nothing to advertise at all.
 
I have to agree with Novas, some very elitist comments, especially from those who are annoyed that the Towers not upholding ERT means they won't have the advantage of queueing early for the Smiler. Why complain about the lack of 'ERT' when you're not even using it?

If they had a complex even remotely like CityWalk to keep guests entertained, then fair enough, but leaving people to stand in large crowds around the entrance and/or on Towers Street is a bit of a joke, just stick with the method of checking tickets at ride entrances.

Letting people in will stop people from getting frustrated, will ensure an even flow of people and will encourage more spending. Put people in a good mood and they'll spend spend spend.
 
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