• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Park Hours: Updates and Discussion

Benjsh said:
Without sounding like I'm sticking up for Merlin (I most certainly am not) I think the location of towers causes serious travel issues for staff. Considering it's a park propped up by kids, many of which who won't drive, they are totally dependent on getting public transport or getting a lift from somebody.

As we all know.....it's not an easy place to get to and I don't think the bus companies would keep running buses until 9/10pm purely for staff. It probably wouldn't be cost effective for them to keep a bus driver working until that time.

Hate Merlin as much as anyone but I think there are a lot of issues out of their hands quite frankly.
Click to expand...
I don't think most people are suggesting regular 9/10pm closes, they are suggesting a reasonable closing time for the time of year; 6pm would be perfectly adequate, 4pm is a kick in the face to anyone who has paid for park entry.
 
evilcod said:
I don't think most people are suggesting regular 9/10pm closes, they are suggesting a reasonable closing time for the time of year; 6pm would be perfectly adequate, 4pm is a kick in the face to anyone who has paid for park entry.
Click to expand...

Oh absolutely. 4pm is shocking.

My point was more addressing why they probably won't ever have really late finishes in summer. It's the location I think.
 
34x8ob.jpg

#memeyourscream
 


I have visions of senior management begging Varney on the phone for a few quid so they can extend ride close.

He of course laughs and taps his fingers in a Mr Burns-esque manner before getting fed up and shouting ‘FINE. BUT YOU CAN ONLY HAVE 15 MINUTES! Immediately slamming the phone down.
 
15 minute extension.... Truly second to Disney.... At least they had enough self respect not to anouce it on twitter :p
 
It’s about time Towers management got a shake up, Chessington, Thorpe & Legoland are all still open (5pm close today as standard)
 
GaryH said:
I thought AT had their own staff transport? Or they used to?
Click to expand...
Yes there is a staff bus that runs at various times. The last one for the park is scheduled to leave at 18:15, however the timetable states it can be delayed by up to 2.5 hours at the request of Alton Towers depending on ride close.
Benjsh said:
Considering it's a park propped up by kids, many of which who won't drive, they are totally dependent on getting public transport or getting a lift from somebody.
Click to expand...
An extended ride close wouldn't require extra buses, they'd just defer that last bus to a later time as required.
 
I've been an enthusiast for decades, I'm a huge fan of woodies and have been hoping for a decent modern one in our UK parks since the last one opened. That finally happened last year, but I haven't ridden it; I can't consider a trip to Towers from the south for the opening hours they offer and overall park they run. Me not going to ride this would have been unthinkable a few years ago, but I cannot bear to give them my money for what they offer now.

Cuttingy off my nose to spite my face? Maybe. But they only keep doing it because people keep going, and I'm not going to be part of that.
 
Even 10-5 is frequently insufficient, I think that if any queue reaches 1 hour then it should be at least 10-6. All four Merlin parks reached this limit today but closed at 4:15 or 5. 10-5 can be used on actually quiet days and 10-4 should never happen at all.
 
ringo said:
It’s about time Towers management got a shake up, Chessington, Thorpe & Legoland are all still open (5pm close today as standard)
Click to expand...

I suspect that Towers are running on a smaller budget relative to the size of the park compared to the other parks. Meaning the higher associated costs with operating such a large park don't go as far with their given budget.

Hence why we see things like the worse opening hours.
 
I think extending the ride close for 15 minutes is actually *worse* than doing nothing in this scenario.

It means that the conversation has definitely been had and they acknowledge that the park has been very busy, but are only willing to do the bare minimum to try to rectify things.
 
AstroDan said:
People did stop going. That's why they made it 4pm.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

You have a point, this year has seen an improvment in the park, better operations, loss of staggered openings, reinstallment of The Smiler single rider queue, and more open park days BECAUSE of increased attendance

People saying "Don't go, it'll teach them a lesson" will get the exact opposite of what they want
 
Benjsh said:
Without sounding like I'm sticking up for Merlin (I most certainly am not) I think the location of towers causes serious travel issues for staff. Considering it's a park propped up by kids, many of which who won't drive, they are totally dependent on getting public transport or getting a lift from somebody.

As we all know.....it's not an easy place to get to and I don't think the bus companies would keep running buses until 9/10pm purely for staff. It probably wouldn't be cost effective for them to keep a bus driver working until that time.

Hate Merlin as much as anyone but I think there are a lot of issues out of their hands quite frankly.
Click to expand...

Yes but surely the company should be paying for a bus service to get its staff home safely. That’s just being a responsible employer. NFU do it by us
 
Mikw said:
People saying "Don't go, it'll teach them a lesson" will get the exact opposite of what they want
Click to expand...

Nonsense. Guests and fans shouldn't felt held to ransom by a business. Alton Towers is major theme park owned by an enormous conglomerate; I don't owe them anything, and nor do you. For me, personally, the overall product is so poor, I have stopped visiting. It would be some very twisted logic for me to do so in the hope that I'll somehow make a difference to the future of the park.

As @AstroDan and others have highlighted, the park are now one major thrill ride success story and several hundred extra beds beyond the aftermath of The Smiler incident. Closing at 4PM, sorry, 4:15PM in July is absurd. Who cares where the buck stops at this stage?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top