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Mardi Gras & Oktoberfest 2021

That's 2 events in a row now they've had to amend the later ride opening description to avoid being caught out.
EDIT: Actually, the Dungeon is open until 6, so on second thought it probably isn't a sign of reduced hours. Thorpe's Saturdays for Oktoberfest are 10-8, their Fridays are 10-7.
 
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That irrelevant for people deciding whether to go or not. 6pm last year was great, 5pm this year isn’t so great.

Based on these hours I am inclined not to visit this time around. It’s disappointing they have decided to cut the hours whilst the event is still in its early years.
 
I think we'd have likely have seen the 6pm/8pm closes if it weren't for the practicalities getting in the way. We know that the place is really struggling for staff at the moment, and even without the "pingdemic" of the NHS app they still have self isolations for confirmed cases to contend with.

We shouldn't be under any illusion that staff have had already had a very long summer to contend with, and going into Oktoberfest with Scarefest and then Fireworks following in quick succession that's a very substantial period of longer opening hours with fewer than usual staff.

I'd far sooner lose an hour from last year's hours with the flexibility of ad-hoc extensions nearer the time according to crowds/weather than have long hours for no reason.
 
Craig said:
I think we'd have likely have seen the 6pm/8pm closes if it weren't for the practicalities getting in the way. We know that the place is really struggling for staff at the moment, and even without the "pingdemic" of the NHS app they still have self isolations for confirmed cases to contend with.

We shouldn't be under any illusion that staff have had already had a very long summer to contend with, and going into Oktoberfest with Scarefest and then Fireworks following in quick succession that's a very substantial period of longer opening hours with fewer than usual staff.

I'd far sooner lose an hour from last year's hours with the flexibility of ad-hoc extensions nearer the time according to crowds/weather than have long hours for no reason.
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pretty much what I was about to type. The parks main issue is staffing and these big events cannot possibly be done with longer hours consistently. The staff are already working ridiculously hard to cover their colleagues who are off, it's just not fair on them.
 
Craig said:
I think we'd have likely have seen the 6pm/8pm closes if it weren't for the practicalities getting in the way. We know that the place is really struggling for staff at the moment, and even without the "pingdemic" of the NHS app they still have self isolations for confirmed cases to contend with.

We shouldn't be under any illusion that staff have had already had a very long summer to contend with, and going into Oktoberfest with Scarefest and then Fireworks following in quick succession that's a very substantial period of longer opening hours with fewer than usual staff.

I'd far sooner lose an hour from last year's hours with the flexibility of ad-hoc extensions nearer the time according to crowds/weather than have long hours for no reason.
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Completely agree with you on that one. I was there at 8pm one Saturday night last year and it was very, very quiet - apart from the small crowd doing a socially distanced conga with the entertainments staff in front of the stage!
 
Was honestly expecting 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays to encourage people to stay over at the weekend. Perhaps hotels already have solid booking numbers.

Cutting back to 5pm midweek is no surprise. Remember these dates have been 4pm closes, or a total park closure, in recent years. Understandable.
 
Got to remember that as much as ride/park close was 8pm they did carry on entertainment for some time after as well. That's always been one of the annoyances in recent years, Towers Street packed with people and nothing really going on. Having a bit of entertainment/food and drink around there for a little longer really helps ease the queues getting out...and get a few extra quid out of guests too of course!
 
Is there any indication that they will be continuing entertainment and food/drinks after ride close this year as they did last year?
 
Craig said:
Got to remember that as much as ride/park close was 8pm they did carry on entertainment for some time after as well. That's always been one of the annoyances in recent years, Towers Street packed with people and nothing really going on. Having a bit of entertainment/food and drink around there for a little longer really helps ease the queues getting out...and get a few extra quid out of guests too of course!
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Yeah, anything to get them out of that doughnut queue so I can get my doughnut fix quicker!
 
AT86 said:
Is there any indication that they will be continuing entertainment and food/drinks after ride close this year as they did last year?
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Nope, nothing at the moment but just mentioning it as a possibility based on last year's event. I would imagine that being independent you'll certainly see the food places wanting to continue serving while there's people around though.
 
From an email sent out today.

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