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Strange questions that sometimes need answering (or not asking in the first place really).

I've been wondering, assuming a normal proportion of pass holders, how many daily guests does Alton Towers needs to break even and what would that look like from a queue time perspective? I doubt that information would be common knowledge and the park probably wouldn't want people to know but it's a thought.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
I've been wondering, assuming a normal proportion of pass holders, how many daily guests does Alton Towers needs to break even and what would that look like from a queue time perspective? I doubt that information would be common knowledge and the park probably wouldn't want people to know but it's a thought.
Click to expand...
That's a more complex question than it first seems, because you've also got to work out all of the different ticket types, offers and when people purchased them (surge or not surge). A better way would be to find out how much revenue the park requires to break even, and then work it back from there.

If it helps, in a recent article from The Times about Legoland Windsor, they reported that Minifigure Speedway uses 6.67 kWh of electricity per cycle (for both trains). You could use that as a base for working out how much energy the park requires for rides alone, and then how much it would cost for an average commercial deal.

Ignore F&B and side stalls as those are farmed out, so they significantly save on costs there.

Next, really, you just need to work out how many staff the park have and the average salary, but we also know that most employees are on minimum wage. Other salaries can be guessed from the recruitment page.

Water, I imagine you could break down to a lump figure and spread it over the costs of a year. Ditto with taxes and business rates.

Don't forget insurance though, it's a cost which most people don't factor in.

If you feel the need you probably ought to include a percentage of any licencing deals too, for a "true" reflection.

There's probably some additional costs I've forgotten about, which are staring me in the face.

TLDR: Lots, but you've got the time to work it out if you want!
 
Each guest has a figure attached based on an average paid per guest and I would imagine rides are averaged too. Then work out how many guests cover the expenditure.
 
I’ve always thought.
Would it be possible for humans to fly if they had arm sized wings?

And how do flies make their wings flap so fast so you can hear them buzz.
 
Jb85 said:
I’ve always thought.
Would it be possible for humans to fly if they had arm sized wings?

And how do flies make their wings flap so fast so you can hear them buzz.
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Isn't the buzz thing a very small and often sonic boom?

I guess they can't hear their own buzz. Would drive ya mad. Or maybe it's why they constantly fly it mirrors and windows. Stop the noise.
 
A friend asked me the other day:
"When the magnetic poles flip, will coaster brakes launch and launches brake?"


Thats.... That's not how... I don't even..... did you even GO to school‽
 
But...when, not if, the poles change...on earth, not the sun.
What happens then?
Mobile phones die, massive power surges...planes gps failures, grounding all flights...massive northern lights displays...collapse of economies and the end of civilisation.
...and it is overdue.
And we have had the displays of the northern lights.


edit...and further random googling...
The north pole is shifting towards Siberia at 55kpy...or kilometres a year!
That's roughly 0.004 miles per hour, in old money.
 
Last edited:
rob666 said:
But...when, not if, the poles change...on earth, not the sun.
What happens then?
Mobile phones die, massive power surges...planes gps failures, grounding all flights...massive northern lights displays...collapse of economies and the end of civilisation.
...and it is overdue.
And we have had the displays of the northern lights.


edit...and further random googling...
The north pole is shifting towards Siberia at 55kpy...or kilometres a year!
That's roughly 0.004 miles per hour, in old money.
Click to expand...

Will I able to watch pole to pole with Micheal Palin?
 
I’ve had a random thought. With the general election being today, my thought was; what would happen if Labour won by a landslide, but Keir Starmer failed to win his own seat?

I know it’s very unlikely to actually happen, but I was more thinking hypothetically. If a party won emphatically, but their leader failed to win their own seat, would they actually be able to govern? How would they actually govern without the main person who got them their mandate?
 
Matt N said:
I’ve had a random thought. With the general election being today, my thought was; what would happen if Labour won by a landslide, but Keir Starmer failed to win his own seat?

I know it’s very unlikely to actually happen, but I was more thinking hypothetically. If a party won emphatically, but their leader failed to win their own seat, would they actually be able to govern? How would they actually govern without the main person who got them their mandate?
Click to expand...
Doesn't actually strictly matter. Precedent suggests that the Prime Minister should be an MP, but they can be a Lord or nothing at all. The Duke of Wellington wasn't an MP. You don't need to be leader of the party, you don't need to be a member of the party with the majority, you don't even need to be a member of any party at all.

The Prime Minister is the Monarch's choice to lead their government. King Charles III could decide tomorrow that @rob666 should be Prime Minister, even though he's not running for any political office, has no intention and he's not affiliated with any party at all. This would cause a constitutional crisis, however, and Charles would probably have his wings clipped again by Parliament, but it is an interesting thought.

In your hypothetical scenario though, and being realistic, either Angela Rayner would step up or they'd give a peerage to Starmer and he'd govern from the House of Lords.
 
And you will be the first sir.
Organised before the election was called, I agreed, on the condition Sunak stood in the rain for half an hour...
 
How come that Bristol Panel Signal Box has just gone chuffing up my back passage at twenty miles an hour?
GBRf 66750 for the geeks.

You see some strange stuff cordoning the sweet peas round here.
 
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