James6 Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 As this is a kind of general topic, I was unsure where to put it, I decided upon Chessington as I feel they are the biggest offender.Does anyone else find the opening times of the majority of our parks really frustrating?The whole month of August Chessington closes at 6! The likelihood is that opening will be extended but even so, that is just ridiculous. This is happening at the same time, as Legoland, with a younger target audience is closing at 8!I just find it irritating how early the park closes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamkitty Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 I was annoyed when I saw the opening times online. Last time I went to Chessington was in 2007 & I remember the park close at 9-10PM, why on earth did they cut down the opening hours? thats just frustrating because more people will be queing towards the end of the day and my sister went to Thorpe Park which with her friends and the park also closes at 6PM, she came to the park at 11am and rode 10 rides, she said she wanted to ride more lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themeparkmad Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 I was annoyed when I saw the opening times online. Last time I went to Chessington was in 2007 & I remember the park close at 9-10PMReally? I seriously don't remember a 10pm close at CWoA in 07!I think the whole 5pm close thing on weekends is a bit bad but I think 6pm is alright for summer.Obviously we all want it open later but the park does extend opening if it is busy anyways.7pm in August guaranteed would be good though in my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 CWOA certainly did not close it 9-10pm in summer 07, I personally don't ever remember it stating open that late, even in Halloween it shuts at 8pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamkitty Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Maybe its my memory lol I can't remember exactly the last time I went to Chessington, maybe it was in 2006, I don't know but I do remember it closing something like 8 or 9PM. But my family came home early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 We should partly be grateful. Thorpe close at 8pm in August which is good. Alton Towers close rides at 7pm but it wasn't long ago when even they only closed at 6pm in August - and the park takes a good hour to empty, so you can actually still be loitering in Towers Street at 8pm. As for Chessington, I think 6pm is too early - 6.30pm or 7pm would be better in Summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Depends in my opinion. Chessie is too quiet to have a guaranteed later close, especially at the beginning of the summer holidays when it is practically dead. But yeah, I'm sure they'll extend the last weeks of august if there's volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 6pm is fine for Chessie due to it's market... Anyone who's been during Halloween knows how empty it usually gets around 6 and that's with another 2 hours left to ride...Plus also if you're only into the rides, you can get the major ones done if you plan right... Of course, 7pm is always an option should they deem it busy enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 I was annoyed when I saw the opening times online. Last time I went to Chessington was in 2007 & I remember the park close at 9-10PM, why on earth did they cut down the opening hours? thats just frustrating because more people will be queing towards the end of the day and my sister went to Thorpe Park which with her friends and the park also closes at 6PM, she came to the park at 11am and rode 10 rides, she said she wanted to ride more lol.1) Chessington used to do 10pm close in the 90's at it's Fright Night events. Now-a-days its latest is 8pm during Halloween.2) The queues go down at the end of the day as people start to leave the park.3) 10 rides is good in seven hours if you include lunch and all the wandering around.As for the question being asked, I sort of agree but not about Chessington. Being a park for younger memebers of the family, it's the perfect opening times. It may be frustrating for teenagers but for kids they get so tired after 5-6 hours on park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Chessie has managed to get a full array of opening times this year. No zoo days at all according to the website.(yeah you can find the opening times yourself ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Chessie has managed to get a full array of opening times this year. No zoo days at all according to the website.(yeah you can find the opening times yourself )So...Pretty much the same hours its had for the last ten years then. Move along people, nothing to see here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 There is a lot more 6pm closes. Especially around the weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 There is a lot more 6pm closes. Especially around the weekends.Thats hardly that different.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 There is a lot more 6pm closes. Especially around the weekends.You mean the bank holiday weekends... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 So...Pretty much the same hours its had for the last ten years then. Move along people, nothing to see here...Yeah, literally only reason I posted was its open fully in Sept and Oct. Other than that, woo for bland opening times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themeparkmad Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 The first few days last year were 6pm and are now 5pm...I swear if the park is getting busier they should be open longer... then again, I dont mind the odd 5pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 The first few days last year were 6pm and are now 5pm...I swear if the park is getting busier they should be open longer... then again, I dont mind the odd 5pm. Is Chessington getting busier?I remember visiting during peak summer and halloween periods and queueing 5 minutes for Kobra and Vampire at around 5pm.If the park isn't able to keep its audience for the full 8 hours then it's a waste of time in the park extending its hours if only a minority will feel the benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 September openings are random considering how dead the park is at that time... Hence why they've never bothered...Hmmmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Maybe they just feel its beneficial to be open consistently, so guests will turn up on a whim.. rather than worrying about whether its open, so just dont turn up.It's a tactic done by shops and cinemas etc.. be open even if there's noone.. just to build up that image Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
professorburp Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 I think the opening times are much better than last year. Also prefer the fact it does not drag into November unnecessarily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 I think the opening times are much better than last year. Also prefer the fact it does not drag into November unnecessarilyIt would if Halloween wasn't on the Monday... Only seems to happen when Halloween is on Friday or weekends... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topsyturvy15 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Surely it is popular enough to at least go until 7pm in the summer? Extra revenue from food etc I can see no reason why they don't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Surely it is popular enough to at least go until 7pm in the summer? Extra revenue from food etc I can see no reason why they don't Park dies off about 5.30.If gate figure warrants it at 1pm, they'll extend it an hour to 7pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Surely it is popular enough to at least go until 7pm in the summer? Extra revenue from food etc I can see no reason why they don't Extra food revenue does not and probably will not equate to another hours worth of pay to all the staff...Plus, as Outfit said, 90% of the time the park isn't busy enough for a 7pm close... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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