Coaster Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 The car park (including the grass ones) only has capacity for 5000 cars. Obviously you usually get way less. On 5 trains, even on the busiest of days at the end of the day, the queue is never more than 20mins, usually a fair bit less. 1800pph is on 3 trains which'll be the minimum during the morning/evening peak. Yes, but the average number of people in a car at a place like Alton Towers is probably 4, so that equates to 20,000 people. 1800pph minimum does not meet these needs considering that the majority of guests are trying to enter the park at a similar time (or if they aren't then they end up doing so because of the queue). On a different note (and rant ), I think that the opening times for Towers are appauling, especially for a bank holiday weekend! Thorpe and Chessie are open until 6:00pm, Blackpool Pleasure Beach until 8:00pm and then 6:00pm on Monday yet Towers still shut at 5? (Doesn't look like it will improve later in the year either judging by the website bar scarefest - 6pm in summer holidays is awful). This is not on for a theme park who consider themselves to be the UK's greatest. I don't think so! If Blackpool Pleasure Beach (which imo is a far, far better park but doesn't have the vast amount of money as Merlin parks) can open until 8pm then why the hell does towers shut at 5?! And they wonder why they aren't getting people through the gates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 It really is silly. Opening times are an important factor for most and I think that extra hour would make more people who think twice about going actually go! Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 Cos it costs them an absolute fortune to staff each and every hour. I imagine they kept today at 5 to try and claw back the losses they must've been making the past few weeks. Though, they should really have closed at 530 (even though the rides closed with a maximum 10min queue excluding the usual spinball). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrortomb Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 Is there a back entrance to Alton Towers? aka, one other than the main park entrance? I swear there was once a way to get in through the woods or something (that sounds reeeally dodgy doesn't it lol) I'm asking because I'm going in a months time and the BnB is at the back of the park (in Alton), around where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is? Basically, we will have to walk around the side of the entire park somehow in the morning, but I wonder if there is another way to access it (I don't even know if there is a pathway to walk on that leads to Alton Towers!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 Woodland Walk is Towers Hotels only, and is pointless since it opens at 10am these days... Gonna have to go to main entrance like everyone else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 BBC One, 8pm tonight, Alton Towers are on Watchdog. Should be interesting! ste193 and Inferno 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S217 Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 the Smiler Hmmm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 BBC One, 8pm tonight, Alton Towers are on Watchdog. Should be interesting! Shades of Thorpe in 2001 then... Inferno 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Oh dear... I guess this can only be about the Smiler. Shades of Thorpe in 2001 then... I imagine it will be exactly the same story again, about selling customers a product even though they knew it was impossible to deliver. Maybe they should have been a bit more pro-active on telling everyone about the second delay, rather than leaving it until the day before opening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Oh dear... I guess this can only be about the Smiler. I imagine it will be exactly the same story again, about selling customers a product even though they knew it was impossible to deliver. Maybe they should have been a bit more pro-active on telling everyone about the second delay, rather than leaving it until the day before opening! To be fair to them, if an issue wasn't discovered until the day before opening, then it's impossible for them to be pro-active... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 I get what you're saying, but from all the evidence I've seen the Smiler was still a building site on Thursday morning when it was supposed to open. I know the rides are "subject to availability", but It doesn't matter how you look at it, they were selling tickets, selling hotel stays and advertising for an attraction that realistically had no chance of opening on time. Not trying to have a rant, I'm just looking at it from Watchdog's POV (assuming that's even what their article will be about It will probably end up being about prices or something now!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 It's on now! ... Barely mentioned at all, how boring. Inferno 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Guest services queue today.. Credit to TowersStreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Now the thing is... At this point only Oblivion and The Smiler are closed. Considering that over the last four days, Oblivion has been largely ignored by the public (We queued five minutes yesterday at 3pm whilst the Smiler was advertised at 3 hours), the only reason these people can be complaining is because of The Smiler. Does it not seem ludicrous to anyone that people are willing to wait in that long a queue outside guest services to have a moan. To have a moan when everything else is going, when there is beautiful sunshine all around them. The queues are displaced of course because of the Smiler valleying but even so it just seems beyond me that people travel across the country for the sole purpose of wanting to ride one attraction. alexander 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Yes but it always happens with new attractions (except for The Swarm - but I don't know what happened there). Of course people are going to come to ride it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Oh god! I didn't think Scaffold The Ride was that bad, but then I have never been to see it so I don't know if that is normal, judging by the smiley I guess not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 That's my idea of a fun day out right there. 80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S217 Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 when The Smiler reopens boom The Beast The Drop and the Queen of The forest will more than likely be walk on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 when The Smiler reopens boom The Beast The Drop and the Queen of The forest will more than likely be walk on IF it reopens... Though why a Kings Island coaster would be affected by Smiler I have no idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks to towers times. Well......... Either that is badly wrong, or some people are very desperate queueing in an 8hr 40min queue line! Or TT did some fakery there lol jom222 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokesyboy Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 It's a mock up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 I knew lol, every one facebook thought it was real lol. probably felt that long though for some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jom222 Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 I don't blame them if it had been advertised as open but you get there to find out that it's closed. That would be the first thing I would do and hope to get some compensation like premium fastrack or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 I don't blame them if it had been advertised as open but you get there to find out that it's closed. That would be the first thing I would do and hope to get some compensation like premium fastrack or something. But this can apply to any park in the world that has a ride closed on you... Parks do cover themselves for this in the majority in their T&Cs but Smiler is certainly the exception with it being brand new... Lots complaining about X-Sector being shut as a result... Clearly no-one realising it was purely due to access reasons for the crane rather than a 'media blackout'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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