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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-24

addy2503 said:
It's an MAP restriction date today for all but the platinum passes, so likely fewer people on park. Think similar has happened with restriction dates earlier in the year?
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I've tested this theory a few times this year to my cost. Spring Bank Holiday just as busy at Towers as any other day that weekend. Sunday before August Bank holiday at Thorpe Park was heaving. Have come to the conclusion that blackout days make no difference really, most visitors appeared to be paying ticket holders.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
I've tested this theory a few times this year to my cost. Spring Bank Holiday just as busy at Towers as any other day that weekend. Sunday before August Bank holiday at Thorpe Park was heaving. Have come to the conclusion that blackout days make no difference really, most visitors appeared to be paying ticket holders.
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There is some inconsistent standing to this theory that Restriction Days are as quiet as any other weekend.

I've seen the times at Thorpe Park on Easter Monday and the May Restriction Days and they seem quieter than I thought.

August Bank Holiday and October definitely isn't quieter and is as bad as the non restriction days.
 
owenstreet7 said:
There is some inconsistent standing to this theory that Restriction Days are as quiet as any other weekend.

I've seen the times at Thorpe Park on Easter Monday and the May Restriction Days and they seem quieter than I thought.

August Bank Holiday and October definitely isn't quieter and is as bad as the non restriction days.
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I think that we can all safely agree that attendance forecasting is not an exact science, or even a science at all.
 
AstroDan said:
Alton Towers is at its lowest ebb.

The park has rapidly gone from merely 'having issues caused by long term poor decision making' to being a total car crash, lacking in nearly every way.

It's currently the worst major park in Europe to visit.

To say this park was once in a loose club that included Europa-Park, Efteling, Parc Astérix and Liseberg.

It's actually upsetting what has happened.
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Ferrari Land is worse. Towers with 0 rides open is nicer than that hovel. Major being with it in resort with PA.
 
Had an interesting breakdown experience today on Smiler. Was in SRQ in station. Rides comes to a halt. Tech services rocks up-
next thing you know it they’ve got there drill out and they’re drilling what looks like either on the train or platform.

They then cleared out the queue back down the stairs- waited a while as thought it was a good sign and also very curious about what they were drilling! Unfortunately they did evac the queue- forgot about the no priority passes these days :cry:. Fair play to techies though it was open about 30min later.

Ride availability been hit and miss- when ops have been going they’ve been brill- however does all of sudden ground to a halt! Currently posting from a nemesis breakdown queue- was briefly fixed then broke again. Hopefully tech services haven’t actually left the op cabin.
 
Had our Scarefest visit tonight and availability was better than anticipated, managed 8 rides in around 4 hours!

Two rides we walked to and found them closed but luckily they opened minutes after we arrived so got straight on.

Wickerman was breaking down all day, not sure what the issue was. We got to the pre-show for our first ever night ride and it broke but we managed to wait it out and was only down about 15 minutes in the end.

Otherwise most of the time things seemed to be running well. Never saw any queue exceed 60 minutes and often they were around the 30-40 minute mark.

I still don't think we will be back for a few years as whilst everyone had a good time i'm aware that we were pretty lucky rather than that being the norm.
 
Towers yesterday was great on availability and queues for 95% of the day. 3 coaster were down at a specific point of time but outside of that, no more than 1 at once and most of the time all working. Big 7 dispatched with ease, double Rita and double 13 before 11, Oblivion and smiler around lunch, FV not long after with Spinball and Wicker Man happening later on.
 
Was at Alton Towers today, a very different day to most i've had recently.
First off, all coasters opened ontime other than Rita which is good.
Secondly, most rides were cycling empty trains frequently throughout the day due to it being quiet. I didn't wait any longer than 10 minutes for anything, when i did it was due to:
- wicker man pre-show
- nemesis being on 1 train
- rita's slow ops
Genuinely tho, downtime was incredibly low compared to most days, typical that availability is good on the dead days😂
Anyway yeah just wanted to highlight that the operations were good and thought i'd spread some joy haha.
Seeing the firework lighting be tested was also a plus when it got dark.
Seeing a tree infront of the towers get cut down wasn't a highlight however😂
 
Loui Richards said:
Genuinely tho, downtime was incredibly low compared to most days, typical that availability is good on the dead days😂
Anyway yeah just wanted to highlight that the operations were good and thought i'd spread some joy haha.
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Delighted for you...

the simpsons lemon GIF
 
Loui Richards said:
Was at Alton Towers today, a very different day to most i've had recently.
First off, all coasters opened ontime other than Rita which is good.
Secondly, most rides were cycling empty trains frequently throughout the day due to it being quiet. I didn't wait any longer than 10 minutes for anything, when i did it was due to:
- wicker man pre-show
- nemesis being on 1 train
- rita's slow ops
Genuinely tho, downtime was incredibly low compared to most days, typical that availability is good on the dead days😂
Anyway yeah just wanted to highlight that the operations were good and thought i'd spread some joy haha.
Seeing the firework lighting be tested was also a plus when it got dark.
Seeing a tree infront of the towers get cut down wasn't a highlight however😂
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Which tree?
 
I've seen a couple of comments elsewhere suggesting that tree was already dead, in which case they may have deemed it a fire risk.
 
Ash said:
Is it wrong I’ve been waiting for years for that “one” tree right in front of the banqueting window to disappear.

It kills the view
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Absolutely not. There are some fine 18th & 19th Century views on landscapes around the country that are now ruined because of tree growth. Nothing wrong with trees complementing views of houses etc but when they almost completely obscure them then I'm not a fan.
 
We’re limping over the finish line somewhat, it would seem, as Dark Forest had no rides operating at one point today (and still does according to the queue times; Shawn posted this over an hour ago):

I do hope Alton can get a handle on ride availability in 2025. Although to be fair, it’s seemed a bit better lately after the chaos of half term.
 
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