bluesonichd
TS Member
Interesting...
3 Day Fireworks are back... ? hmmm
3 Day Fireworks are back... ? hmmm
yes, Im bored and its only NovemberWhat were you trying to book? RCR?
The staff continuously told people to hang around after the show because it would be a nightmare getting out of the carpark. We waiting 1hr 1/2 before even trying to leave, and we still sat in the carpark for 1 hour queueing to get out!
Good! Hopefully this in in response to the thousands of complaints they got regarding the fireworks last year (all I could see on Facebook and Twitter was complaints!). It was my first time ever going to the fireworks and with nothing but positive experiences to share of Alton Towers, I thought I was in for an absolute treat.
The show itself was fine, but the organising around the show really showed Alton Towers up and in a terrible way. It was obvious very quickly that too many people had been admitted into the park, to the point where we couldn't be bothered to queue for any rides because it was freezing and lines were way too long and we couldn't get into any of the restaurants or cafes because they were packed.
We decided we'd go and get a space early for the fireworks if we weren't going to do much else. Which was all well and good, apart from the fact we stood and absolutely froze for 5 hours with no entertainment, no street entertainers, no music...nothing. Like I said, the show itself was very good. But the experience we had around the show really put a downer on the night.
Right after the show, everyone started moving all at once. There was no lighting at all, no floodlights so you could see where you were going. It was horribly dangerous - you could easily have lost a child and/or been trampled to death. We were informed by a member of staff that there were tens of thousands of people there. It seemed like an absolute money grab on Alton Towers' part, without thinking about visitor experience or safety when selling tickets.
The staff continuously told people to hang around after the show because it would be a nightmare getting out of the carpark. We waiting 1hr 1/2 before even trying to leave, and we still sat in the carpark for 1 hour queueing to get out! The worst part of this being that there was absolutely nothing for us to do whilst we were waiting to leave the park. All restaurants and cafes were absolutely packed to the rafters again, nobody wanted to queue for rides (even though the queues got extremely long very quickly afterwards). Everyone was freezing and just wanted to be inside, but Alton Towers doesn't have enough inside space for people to go to!
I've never had such a bad experience at Alton Towers. It's my girlfriend and I's favourite place so I will not allow it to ruin the place for us, but it certainly was a nightmare experience. I won't be rushing back to the fireworks again. Alton Towers need to seriously re-think this event. I'm hoping the extended fireworks days (3 instead of 2) is just the beginning of that. Next step would be drastically cap entrance from what it was last year! But as I said, I won't be attending the fireworks again.
With the size of area to cover, i think they check the area as fast as they can.We went on the Sunday in 2016 and didn't really experience any of these issues.................This is the only thing for me that is still main issue at AT fireworks, the wait to get into X Sector and Dark Forest.
Sunday is traditionally the quietest of the fireworks days, so that probably contributed to your experience. The lights did come back on at the end of the show, and you still could not see anything. It's fine that you don't "agree" with my experience, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I'm not sure how you can disagree with someone's personal experience of something - for which you were not there for. An odd statement.
Okay, sorry, I'm not denying you had that experiance, but I would assume the video screen messages about not moving until lights are on and the communication (that was much improved this year) would be the same on both nights?
Also I thought Friday was always the quietest day?
I don't believe there was a Friday show last year. But I can't remember.
It's only January 9th, I'm sure even Towers management don't have a clue of season dates right now! I can't imagine that there will only be one night of fireworks, that would be somewhat disastrous.