Are the towers open at the start of season?

it is uncertain.

With the David Walliams allegations today in the mainstream media surely The World of David Walliams land is now untenable. Especially the nature of the allegations against young women.

With Merlin's current financial difficulties this is clearly the worst possible timing.

Do you think the land will remain closed throughout 2026 or is there enough time for a bodged retheme?

I said a couple of years ago that Merlin slowly turning to people as IPs could come back to bite them. Walliams, Derren Brown, that YouTuber Daz, etc. All it takes is one unsavoury claim against them and it puts Merlin in a hugely difficult (and totally preventable) situation. I'm not saying that any of those people are problematic (okay, Walliams definitely seemed dodgy, but the other two definitely not), but it was always a risk.

Obviously there's still nothing confirmed in terms of Walliams. If Towers kept Walliams World during his previous controversies, I don't see why they would get rid now. The bigger issue is, if something came out confirmed tomorrow, what would they do? They wouldn't realistically have the time or associated funds to retheme it for season start, so it'd surely be just closing the area. Or very very hastily removing all Walliams references and just keeping Gangsta Granny closed in a best case scenario.

The area is crap anyway so destroying it is probably the best bet.

Towers is depressing at best of times but that section is just dead.

They'll just remove any mention of him, the rides will probably remain for a short while.

Sonic Spinball had to be rethemed for similar reasons, the allegations that Knuckles filed meant they had to quickly drop the brand in closed season so it's definitely possible they could reopen as just David Land and drop the Walliams.

So I’ve just been having a look around at prices etc for trips this year, and have noticed something about the prices Merlin are charging for their “short breaks”.

It looks like the prices aren’t quite as ridiculous for some dates this year, but I think they’re still too much.

Having done my usual bits of spot checking etc, I’ve just done a quick comparison test on a super off peak 1 night / 2 day stay on the cheapest dates I can find, and for 2 adults and 1 toddler to stay at ATH on 22 March it’s £368.

That’s very good for Alton Towers, but considering that’s the super off peak price I still think it’s a lot for what it is.

By comparison with the notoriously expensive Disney, if you go end of Jan next year it’s £419 at Santa Fe, although to be fair AT aren’t booking that far in advance, so for fairness sake if you go start of Feb this year it’s £477 to stay at Santa Fe. Bearing in mind this is entry to 2 parks until well in to the evening too, and the prices per night improve if you stay longer.

I have always struggled to understand why Alton Towers hotels are so expensive even in super off peak, and have yet to stay in one during the open season.

Does anyone know what the occupancy rates are at AT? It would be interesting to know if they regularly sell out, or if their prices are kept high despite low occupancy.

I recently booked a trip to Efteling, Sunday/Monday in March, for 2 adults and one child. That cost £335.

Similarly, Phantasialand for their off peak price for same number of people is £387. Parc Asterix would be £355. Port Aventura would be £155(?!).

I guess, Port Aventura aside, Towers' pricing isn't wildly different to many other big resort theme parks across Europe. That's the level they're pitching at.

The bigger issue is the value it offers. Towers on those off peak days will presumably only be open until 4pm. The others would be open until 6pm as a minimum. Towers lately has minimal stuff to do in the evenings; the other parks' evening offerings vary but some offer bits, others don't.

Realistically, you are getting better value for money at any of the other parks through sheer number of riding hours and number of attractions available.

I have no clue how busy the hotels get, but I have stayed a couple of times years ago (when I worked for Merlin, so got staff rates which are nice). The hotels certainly never felt quiet is all I can anecdotally say. Obviously, things may have changed in the years since.