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Opening Hours cut

With our poor summer Merlin might want to use some kind of opening scale based on weather. Call it a 5 or 6 close but allow for an extra hour or two dependent on the weather. The extra hours could even just be restricted to the Farm, Adventure Land, Mutiny, Katanga and FV leaving X Sector and the Intamin Forest to close at the advertised time.

It would be difficult to engineer but on a nice day people would like to stay longer, would appreciate staying later and would keep the remaining guests at the front end of the park whilst saving money on the closed rides at the back for an hour or two.

The way our weather is, more often than not Merlin wouldn't be staying open later than usual but the days the weather was nice they would make a great positive impression on guests, they'd spend more money and the positives would probably outweigh the negatives.

This wouldn't happen though :(
 
Are the park allowed to (if they wanted to) stay open till around 8ish in summer months when its still light at like 8/9pm? Personally I wouldnt mind if the rides did close and attractions like Shark Bait Reef and The Towers stayed open along with the gardens. It gives people a chance to unwind and relax from a hectic day from the themepark. It bugs me that Shark Bait Reef closes early i'd love to have a wonder round when the rides are closed also I think a good move would be to have the resturants open longer a meal at the end of the day in the sun sounds mind boggling!
 
What about if the park had Ride Close and Park Close? So lets say ride close is 5, but park close is 7. During this time all the attractions such as Sharkbait Reef and Ice Age 4D are open, along with all the shops and restaurants throughout the park.

They could even, as suggested earlier, close off areas like Forbidden Valley completely as none of the rides in that area would be open, so having the shops open too would be rather pointless. They could maybe keep some of the smaller rides open such as the Farm, Storybook Land, Duel, Hex, and Mutiny Bay. The sort of rides which aren't making too much noise and aren't too demanding to run. This way guests still have the chance to go around the park and do some more smaller bits even after the main ride close time.

Also, by keeping shops and food outlets open it allows for people to go and look around them, something which they may not want to do during the day as they are busy trying to get on as many rides as possible due to the reduced hours. And if they purchase anything then it's all extra income for the park :)

It may also be a good way to reduce the impact traffic has on the park and village. Some will still leave at ride close, but some will remain, reducing how many people are trying to get out in one go. It'd stagger the flow, and reduce traffic jams.

I think this would be a happy compromise between the two. The majority of the attractions which use the most staff and cost the most to run are closed at a still earlyish time, but to compensate guests can still enjoy some of the other things on offer. This could then be a great chance to work on the resort's covered attractions and entertainment facilities. The more they have of those they could cut any other rides like Duel and Hex as I suggested earlier and replace them with other, cheaper to run attractions.
 
Ian said:
What about if the park had Ride Close and Park Close? So lets say ride close is 5, but park close is 7. During this time all the attractions such as Sharkbait Reef and Ice Age 4D are open, along with all the shops and restaurants throughout the park.

They could even, as suggested earlier, close off areas like Forbidden Valley completely as none of the rides in that area would be open, so having the shops open too would be rather pointless. They could maybe keep some of the smaller rides open such as the Farm, Storybook Land, Duel, Hex, and Mutiny Bay. The sort of rides which aren't making too much noise and aren't too demanding to run. This way guests still have the chance to go around the park and do some more smaller bits even after the main ride close time.

Also, by keeping shops and food outlets open it allows for people to go and look around them, something which they may not want to do during the day as they are busy trying to get on as many rides as possible due to the reduced hours. And if they purchase anything then it's all extra income for the park :)

It may also be a good way to reduce the impact traffic has on the park and village. Some will still leave at ride close, but some will remain, reducing how many people are trying to get out in one go. It'd stagger the flow, and reduce traffic jams.

I think this would be a happy compromise between the two. The majority of the attractions which use the most staff and cost the most to run are closed at a still earlyish time, but to compensate guests can still enjoy some of the other things on offer. This could then be a great chance to work on the resort's covered attractions and entertainment facilities. The more they have of those they could cut any other rides like Duel and Hex as I suggested earlier and replace them with other, cheaper to run attractions.

This is a very good idea, although having Duel open and isolated in between closed Katanga and FV would perhaps be rather strange. I presume you could still walk around the park at your leisure though, even with the rides mostly closed - which would eliminate that problem. It'd also give you time to walk around the Towers, something which I did last time I went and gives you a whole other perspective on the park.
 
The park today changed the opening times again, and the 21-27 July has now been restored to 6:00pm...

:)
 
AstroDan said:
The park today changed the opening times again, and the 21-27 July has now been restored to 6:00pm...

:)
Certainly a step in the right direction, but I'm still annoyed that once again, they've gone back on a decision following feedback.
 
The Psychoaster said:
This is a very good idea, although having Duel open and isolated in between closed Katanga and FV would perhaps be rather strange. I presume you could still walk around the park at your leisure though, even with the rides mostly closed - which would eliminate that problem. It'd also give you time to walk around the Towers, something which I did last time I went and gives you a whole other perspective on the park.

The best way to do it, I think would be:

  • Gates/temporary fencing put across the area next to Magic HQ service gate and Katanga Canyon sign
  • Close both ends of Gloomy Wood off, so Forbidden Valley and Katanga Canyon are isolated
  • Put a signpost next the entrance to Haunted Hollow showing people the way to Duel through it
  • Open the gardens but have gates closed to prevent access to FV and DF
  • Close off access to both Cloud Cuckoo Land and Dark Forest at Fountain Square, and signpost people to go through the archway next to Hex's queue to get to CCL
  • Close off access to X-Sector at the area entrance and the servant tunnel

This would allow people to go around the majority of the park unhindered, while shutting off any areas where no rides are running. The resort seems to have an abundance of temporary fencing, so just have some kept in the vacinity of these areas and ask staff to pull it across once each area has been cleared, with a "Look at me" sign stuck to them saying "This area is now closed". Keeping the ruins open would be a good move too, as it's something which is overlooked by a lot of people, but which they may look at if they had the time to.

Then at "park close" they can clear out the park as normal and lock up for the night. All the fencing can stay out over night and all be put away when the staff arrive to set up for ERT in the mornings :)
 
The above sort of system works at DLP when they close the rear end of the park before the fireworks so I see no reason why it shouldn't work for Alton!
 
It seems like too much of a faff. People will be wandering about all over the place until god knows what hour. At least at the moment, every thing closes and people leave. ???

There is a simpler solution.

Offer People a good QUALITY day out at a REASONABLE Price

Blame the weather, lack of good attractions, poor service & reputation from previous visits or the economic crisis. The fact is, People are staying away. Now what do you think the first thing many business might consider if people were not visiting their establishment? Would it be to alienate the people who have bothered to turn up and give the people who haven't further excuse not to bother? NO!

They need to run the park as it should and ram it full of people! Cut the bloody ticket price, do away with the bog offs! Let people in for FREE after lunch if you have to. Just fill it up and get people spending. Give them a GOOD DAY so they will come back and recommend it to people rather than complain to friends about how expensive it was and how early it closed.


:) :)
 
£10-£15 tickets after 3'oclock?

SEA LIFE Birmingham are doing it at the momment and it works even if it is just a midway attraction.
Theyre opening times of a weekend are 10am last admission 5pm Centre shuts 6pm.
 
That probably wouldn't work as well at Towers. With a midway attraction you've constantly got loads of potential customers walking past at all times of day, but most AT guests travel a long way to get there and wouldn't be interested in going for a couple of hours, even at a significant discount.
 
John said:
That probably wouldn't work as well at Towers. With a midway attraction you've constantly got loads of potential customers walking past at all times of day, but most AT guests travel a long way to get there and wouldn't be interested in going for a couple of hours, even at a significant discount.

You have two big cities within 30 minutes, as the saying goes every little helps.
 
I think what John means is people are probably already in places like London and Birmingham. Sightseeing, doing shopping, having a minibreak, and so on. Most of them will walk by a SEALIFE Centre, or a Dungeons and think "Hmm, I might try that", or they might be stopping in say a local B&B or hotel and see a leaflet.

People aren't just going to casually be walking through Alton or Farley and go by the bottom of Hotel Drive and think "Yeah, why not!". 90% of people will be there for the park, and park alone. I doubt many people would be walking through Stoke or Derby and just think "Lets pop to Alton for an hour or two". If they are going to go they'll want to make a day of it, and they'll plan it in advance.

Midways are the sort of attractions people will stumble on or walk past and visit on a whim, and just visit them to kill a few hours as parts of a day or trip. They're in a completely different league to theme parks.
 
Ian said:
I think what John means is people are probably already in places like London and Birmingham. Sightseeing, doing shopping, having a minibreak, and so on. Most of them will walk by a SEALIFE Centre, or a Dungeons and think "Hmm, I might try that", or they might be stopping in say a local B&B or hotel and see a leaflet.

People aren't just going to casually be walking through Alton or Farley and go by the bottom of Hotel Drive and think "Yeah, why not!". 90% of people will be there for the park, and park alone. I doubt many people would be walking through Stoke or Derby and just think "Lets pop to Alton for an hour or two". If they are going to go they'll want to make a day of it, and they'll plan it in advance.

Midways are the sort of attractions people will stumble on or walk past and visit on a whim, and just visit them to kill a few hours as parts of a day or trip. They're in a completely different league to theme parks.

Point taken, but it might encourage some people from these cities to come and spend half a day if they though they would get in for half price.
 
But while they are close in terms of distance (I like just over the other side of Derby) it still means making the journey out to Alton, which if you ask me is a bit far for just a couple of hours. I have a MAP, a car, and live 45 minutes from Alton, but I still want to have a full day if I'm going, otherwise I just feel I've made the journey for nothing.

Also, remember, a lot of people driving from these places would still have to pay for parking. There also isn't really anywhere near there to get food outside of the park, so that's more expense. Even with reduced admission it can still be an expensive day out even for locals when you total up all the prices and fees. More-so than it is to visit a Midway you walk past in the street.
 
Granted I live a bit closer in Ashbourne, but I do go quite regular for a couple of hours.
I can't believe anyone pays for parking when there are other options, and if you see how busy the buses are going to the park from Derby there must be a market to run the buses more than once a day.
I'm not saying it would be thousands and your right it doesn't compare to people walking past but it might bring in something and that thinking seems to be missing at the moment.
It's all cut, cut, cut.
 
I think it's worth noting Drayton Manor have a £20 Summer Pricing until 3rd September, which includes parking.

Least with Alton closing so early some of us will be home for tea... :D
 
See that's logic and common sense! People perceive theme parks as an expensive day out so therefore don't go, or do less regular? So slash prices!

It's this kind of simple thinking which the park seems to lack. They seem to be suffering from a lack of guests, yet they won't budge on pricing, and as shown with cuts like the opening times actually begin to offer you less for you money. Then they have the cheek to ask you to pay more every couple of years.

Someone at Drayton has their head screwed on the right way around. I wonder if Towers would care to headhunt them for their team :p
 
£20 for Drayton Manor is great value. The park has lacked value so far this year.

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