I will start by making no apologies for the tone this post is going to take.
Ive sent merlin an email about my premium pass, im not happy about about no ERT , and all the closures.
Hope they add a week or two on it.
I only tend to use it at Alton Towers, i understand the seriousness of it all, but ive spent good money on it.
I may get called insensitive on here, but ive seen pictures of people on here queueing at guest services when a ride or two has been shut before.
id made plans a week before to go on the Wednesday with someone else who wasn't a pass holder, the day after the accident. It was a spanner in the works.
They responded, seems they don't care about pass holders. just a standard response, i wont bother renewing it next year, im only a month into this one.
Thank you for contacting the Merlin Annual Pass team.
Following the incident on The Smiler our priority was investigating the cause and ensuring that all our rides are operating entirely safely.
Our number one priority is always the safety of our guests and staff, and whilst we are confident that these rides are absolutely safe, we want to take this time to review our procedures and reinforce their safe operation. We understand that this may have caused disappointment and to keep our guests informed we have advertised the closed areas on our website and have also made this information available at the Hotel reception and Theme Park entrance through team members and information boards.
We can confirm that the area X Sector is closed to allow access for the HSE and to facilitate the investigation and we hope to be able to open the other rides soon. The Smiler however will remain closed until further notice.
Thank you once again for your feedback and we look forward to welcoming you back to our attractions again soon,
Its not out of order at all, Ive paid for a product, ERT is part of it, i accept the smiler being closed, but the others no.
They don't care about pass holders any more.
Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
Who do you think you are? You have an ANNUAL pass. Guess what that means? Yes that's right, it allows you access for a whole 12 months. If you cannot live without ERT for one visit, or Oblivion, after what has happened then my god. You will get called insensitive because you are insensitive.
As it happens ERT has returned today. Spinball will open as soon as they are able to introduce the extra level of safety. Oblivion and Enterprise will open once the HSE are largely offsite and it is appropriate to allow guests back in the area; Towers say this will be soon. The Smiler will remain closed for the forseeable future. But you are not happy with this? You feel that you should be allowed into areas where the investigation is ongoing, or if not deserve an extension to your pass? Please. People like you give enthusiasts a bad name and I hope Towers give you nothing.
A very serious incident has happened at Alton Towers. People are seriously injured and one poor girl has lost her leg. Yet you want compensation for it? This has really not impacted on your life at all. Why should Towers have to give you things just because you have an annual pass? I also have an annual pass, I am going on Sunday, if certain rides remain closed then I do not expect or want anything at all. It is a totally understandable situation. Believe it or not the safety of their guests in their number one priority, not that all MAP holders get to go on every ride all the time regardless of anything.
Yes you have spent good money on it. But that good money allows you to go at other times when all rides are open. And yes you have seen people on here queueing at guest services about rides being closed, but for extremely different reasons.
Towers have given out free tickets to guests visiting the park this week. In my opinion this is going beyond what is expected in terms of customer service. All T&Cs state that all rides are subject to availability etc. so they could easily have just done nothing. But they are showing this goodwill. You have an annual pass so there is your free return ticket for any day you want.
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Right, sorry to everyone else for that but I was angered and needed a rant!
In terms of The Smiler testing this morning, that will be part of the HSE investigation I think. They probably want to get an understanding of how the ride works and is operated as well as test out current safety mechanisms. It will also allow them to make their own predictions of imact speed etc. Got to admit it is a little strange seeing it testing.
And then in terms of the new operational procedures. I understand why Merlin have introduced them and they won't cause much of a problem on quiet days like they are having this week. But if these are permanent measures going forward they are going to cause real problems for the park. Rides such as Thirteen and Air be impacted badly. It remains to be seen how the changes could affect Oblivion and Spinball. I hope it is temporary whilst they carry on investigation and think it probably is. There's no reason why only Merlin should have to operate their coasters differently when thousands around the world operate safely and 'normally'. As a temporary measure though it is sensible.
