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Phantasialand: General Discussion

Smilertron said:
Where do you find these cheap flights? I can never find them yet people tell me they only paid like £20 for return flights.
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A lot depends on where you live, as different airports have different costs. I live right by Heathrow, which has some of the most expensive carriers and flights (due to its ludicrous landing fees). If you live by a cheaper airport you've a much better chance of getting a cheap deal. If you are willing to travel that's great, but you have to consider the costs of getting to the airport, especially if early morning or late night flights.

You also have to be as flexible as possible, flights are always cheapest off peak (which isn't always when you might think), so just scatter your searches across different days of the week and different times for better prices.

Skyscanner or or other comparison sites can also help - but make sure you check around for deals and vouchers and check direct with airlines too.

That's not to say you can't get a good deal from an expensive airport, you can, you might just have to look harder.
 
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Yes everything is open except River Quest.
The rides have been developed to run all year around so Chiapas can operate unless it goes under 0°. Black Mamba, Talocan and Colorado Adventure -5°. And Taron and Raik are capable of running to -10°.
 
MakoMania said:
Meanwhile at Alton Towers opening weekend, it's about 5° and the entire park is shut.
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Agreed so what’s the deal with this temperature issue at AT then? Surely it’s the manufacturer that sets this ok working temp within its spec.

Although I would prefer Congo to be on ice!
 
I don't think Phantasialand has that many trees within the park, correct me if I'm wrong, whereas Alton is essentially set in the forest, so falling trees was definitely a danger at Alton due to the high wind speed.
 
Taron was specially desiged for Phantasialand to run in extreme cold temperatures, which is why it likes to throw hissy fits whenever there are warmer temperatures.
 
monkeyboy said:
Agreed so what’s the deal with this temperature issue at AT then? Surely it’s the manufacturer that sets this ok working temp within its spec.
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There will be standard operating limits but most technical problems can be overcome during design and installation. If the park want it to operate in extreme temperatures then the manufacturer can adapt the design and incorporate features to make it possible, but those features will cost money. It's then a simple cost-benefit decision.
 
Also, Colorado Adventure can't run properly in rain as the heavy trains can't make it up the lift hills.

So it's not all the paradise of operation.

:)
 
^ Rain very rarely effects Colorado these days. For the last few years now its been sorted.
And should it have issues they just close off last few rows to lighten it and the train can then make it perfectly.
 
Winter operating has a cost implication, pretty much all the wheels have to be changed to winter running and the oils have to be changed to a cold running variety, some parks have gear boxes and motors they swap out between the seasons. It’s a big job but Phantasialand have developed their winter season into a cash cow so it’s worth their while. This didn’t happen overnight.

Parks like towers need to start a more grand winter operating plan. Over time guests will start coming and it becomes more financially viable to invest in the equipment to prepare rides for cold operations. But again it won’t happen overnight.
 
I don't understand why almost all theme parks close in the winter. Look at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. Combine the Christmas market and lights with proper roller coasters that don't cost £9 a shot and Towers could be onto a winner. Just bring a coat...
 
Also the various intricacies of operating a theme park in the winter whilst re-managing when you can do your annual maintenance and other issues...
 
They probably worked out that 90% of potential visitors will visit over the summer anyway. And not that many people visit Staffordshire in the winter, is my guess.
 
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