Re: Selected rides opening from 11:00am
Just got back from a trip to the park, my first since these changes. One of the main things that stood out to me about my day was how these operational changes can have a huge effect on those who don't have annual passes or can only visit very occasionally.
Take today as an example, we arrived at about 9am, enjoyed some early ride time on Nemesis, Runaway Mine Train and then 10am arrived. One half of our group had to split up because Air wasn't open till 11, and there was nothing (The people in my group weren't too keen on thrills or the dark, so Blade, Ripsaw and Duel were out of the question) for them to ride close by. I know this seems like a bit of a very specific winge, but with no sky ride till 11am either it meant a very long walk to the other side of the park. It meant more time walking and less time to spend on rides, a shame really, it meant that areas we visited were 'half done'- ridden Nemesis, but having to go back for Air.
I saw a lot of disappointed faces and regardless of the fact that the queue time boards were letting people know in advance, it was still very sad to see people turned away from Air et al. I personally have been four times so far (Annual pass whore I'm afraid) so I wasn't too fussed about riding everything, but others in my group wanted to get on as much as they could, and these operation times really don't help.
It just seems very sad that Alton Towers have decided to make these changes. I hope they're just a trial like some previous 'ideas'. Unfortunately I don't see any other way to save cash as easily as this.