March 7, 201510 yr comment_204322 well.... we said the loggers tunnel was coming back and no ones believed me... were see who's right on Saturday What's the point in getting everyone's hopes up, if the tunnel isn't back then why say it is?
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205643 The Nemesis SRQ has been removed. I won't be visiting nearly as much this year, as re-riding Nemesis was one of my main reasons for going (as it's one of two coasters at Towers that I actually rate highly). Very poor decision, if I see empty seats going out I won't be impressed!
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205647 That's such a shame, re-riding nemesis last time I went was one of the best parts of alton towers. I don't understand why they've done this? Yes people can re ride or whatever but what harm is this causing? It's literally just filling up empty seats? A really disappointing start of the season from Alton towers hearing about all the cost cutting, and now this Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205653 I would say that single rider on Nemmie was always a bit of a logistical nightmare for the staff to contend with... SRQs always seem to work better when they're properly integrated into a queue...
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205654 That's such a shame, re-riding nemesis last time I went was one of the best parts of alton towers. I don't understand why they've done this? Yes people can re ride or whatever but what harm is this causing? It's literally just filling up empty seats? It slows down dispatches. For the sake of filling a few empty seats, it's really not worth all the time thats lost.
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205656 Quite saddened to hear this. My Mum loves Nemesis, and to her the SRQ was vital, as she is 71, and can't get around as much any more.
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205660 From my experiences it only slowed down dispatches when staff weren't on the ball, when they were working efficiently it was fine.
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205681 I too liked the SRQ for Nemesis, and the staff seemed to use it very quickly, planning their use of it based on the numbers in the "grids" opposite. That is a shame, as it did not appear to slow things but ensured most departures were full, which was a management requirement.
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205682 From my experiences it only slowed down dispatches when staff weren't on the ball, when they were working efficiently it was fine. From my experiences from running a single rider queue line, it slows down the ride if the SRQ is on the exit side of a platform.
March 21, 201510 yr comment_205684 I think the reason they could cope with this was that the staff were SRQ side too, and could make their decisions on what they could see as the incoming train was offloading and were already directing the SRQ riders as it off loaded - spilt milk I suppose.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205798 Is the sign supposed to look that naff? (Not the 21, the overall state of it).
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205800 The reason the SRQ has been removed is because an extra ride host is required in the station. This costs money and with the massive cuts to Alton Towers operational budget this season, it has gone. It is for the same reason that the SRQ has gone from Rita, too.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205804 The reason the SRQ has been removed is because an extra ride host is required in the station. This costs money and with the massive cuts to Alton Towers operational budget this season, it has gone. It is for the same reason that the SRQ has gone from Rita, too. They really have no consideration for guest enjoyment. Money, money, money!
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205805 No. It has very little to do with guest consideration, it has alot to do with cuts. Of course they consider guest enjoyment. That statement is ludicrous. It may be a slight disadvantage to guests being on their own, however it's not going to completely shatter someones day. The ride itself is an element of enjoyment, not queuing for it.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205806 No. It has very little to do with guest consideration, it has alot to do with cuts. Of course they consider guest enjoyment. That statement is ludicrous. It may be a slight disadvantage to guests being on their own, however it's not going to completely shatter someones day. The ride itself is an element of enjoyment, not queuing for it. Nemesis is one of two coasters at Alton Towers that I actually rate, and I make the effort to visit the park in the knowledge that I can re-ride it a lot, as it is a brilliant coaster, and in my opinion most of the others are weak (aside from Smiler), so it does actually leave me with little enthusiasm to visit. And SRQ's don't just have to be used by people on their own, I used it with my family but we just split up. As for it being cuts, that is true, but they have made this cut without caring for guest enjoyment - thousands of people rely on single rider queues at Alton Towers, not just enthusiasts, and it's not as if AT is short of money so these cuts are just being made to maximise profit in a very unfair way.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205808 They really have no consideration for guest enjoyment. Money, money, money! As for it being cuts, that is true, but they have made this cut without caring for guest enjoyment - thousands of people rely on single rider queues at Alton Towers, not just enthusiasts, and it's not as if AT is short of money so these cuts are just being made to maximise profit in a very unfair way. 95% of guests probably don't even know about single rider queues, let alone use it. I genuinely doubt hundreds of people rely on SRQs, let alone "thousands". Getting rid of an SRQ won't affect guest enjoyment on the whole; only a vast minority of people will be disappointed by it. In this case as well, you do have to ask yourself - is paying someone £7ish an hour to try and fill up a couple of seats REALLY worth it in the long run? Not really. I really don't like to see these cuts, but I really don't think seeing the SRQ go is a big issue, especially when SRQs tend to have their own problems.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205809 There seems to be some confusion as to why Single Rider has been spited (amongst other cuts)... Towers (and Thorpe, and Chessie, and Lego), all get given a set operational budget by Merlin, what they do with said budget is up to the individual parks, but of course, sometimes what is required budget wise, isn't given to the parks... And the park has to take it on the chin... Hence why this (and Rita's, but no-one seemingly cares enough) has happened... And the other issues such as the staggered openings and the like... Therefore not everything Towers' fault in this regard, but Merlin trying to run their parks at the bare minimum outgoing costs... Towers have had their hands forced a lot more than the other parks presumably because they have the highest requirements of operating budget... What can we do to combat this? Seemingly the only avenue is to tell Merlin to stuff it and not visit or buy MAPs... They're currently in that phase last seen in the days of DIC, where there were numerous cuts, crap low expense additions and a general malaise amongst the parks... The similarities to the current 'standards' are scary to say... I highly doubt THOUSANDS of people rely on a single rider queue though... Indeed, most guests don't tend to actually understand the true concept of one, and see it more as a shorter queue (I wonder how regular it is for staff to have to deal with guests who lack the common understanding of it)... No-one's crying over Sub Terra losing IT'S single rider queue... Double standards </3
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205811 I'm sure that well over a thousand people use a SRQ on a busy day, and given the negative feedback AT have received over Facebook, Twitter and at the park I think that people do care. Towers won't be getting a visit from me until they change things, I can get awful operations at Thorpe which is 40 minutes away (although, once they get everything open, they will probably be better than AT is at the moment), I don't see why I should make the effort to travel three hours for a park which is making cuts it shouldn't need to make. Blasted M£rlin, or the company above them! No-one's crying over Sub Terra losing IT'S single rider queue... Double standards </3 I'm not too fussed on that because it rarely has a queue, and it's not an attraction I would re-ride more than 2/3 times in a day, unlike Nemesis which I'd happily stay on for hours!
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205812 Reading various sources suggesting the operating budget for Towers was cut from 15-20% from last year... After their most successful season in years? Good job lads...
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205813 Reading various sources suggesting the operating budget for Towers was cut from 15-20% from last year... After their most successful season in years? Good job lads... That's exactly what I'm trying to put across, they don't need to make these cuts, it's just greed.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205816 That's exactly what I'm trying to put across, they don't need to make these cuts, it's just greed. No-one is disagreeing that the cuts are down to Merlin's greed... But stop blaming Towers for it (or at least, certain things)... I'd reckon the majority of staff are just as unhappy about it as the guests (apart from maybe losing Nemmie single rider, since it was never the easiest for them to operate)... That the loss of a single rider queue is lamented more than staggered openings and loss of off-peak hours (with no drop in price, at least Thorpe have an off-peak price) shows how skewed enthusiasts can be with the big picture...
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205819 No-one is disagreeing that the cuts are down to Merlin's greed... But stop blaming Towers for it (or at least, certain things)... I'd reckon the majority of staff are just as unhappy about it as the guests (apart from maybe losing Nemmie single rider, since it was never the easiest for them to operate)... That the loss of a single rider queue is lamented more than staggered openings and loss of off-peak hours (with no drop in price, at least Thorpe have an off-peak price) shows how skewed enthusiasts can be with the big picture... I'm not suggesting that the SRQ removal is worse than staggered openings, I can see that they are by far the bigger problem with the overall park at the moment but from a personal viewpoint the removal of the SRQ is bad as well. And I'm not really blaming AT for it, but at the end of the day if they aren't being given enough money to run the park properly then they need to speak out.
March 23, 201510 yr comment_205820 None of the changes are good. Single Rider probably does count for around 800 people per day on Nemesis. Those 800 will now either not ride or join the main queue. It is also damaging to Oblivion because with 1/2 capacity running on all days where >10000 guests are forecast will reduce the single rider spaces and cause backlogs of Fastrack. The whole thing is poor. I suggest people write to Alton Towers and/or Merlin to express their feelings.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.