Is closed season necessary?

[leeprice]

I'm just curious, is the closed season really necessary for maintenance or do they just close due to lower visitors and weather during the winter.

I defiantly think AT could benefit from the Christmas period with all its 'magic'

[The Moon]

Maintainence cycles need to happen, and is easier to do it in one go. But where climates are warm and visitor numbers high through the yeqr, they cycle closures and maintain them then, but the winter is the best time for Alton. Ever wonder what Feb half term is for? Testing. Refining. Improving. Very clever.

[roary01]

At the moment, the way the Resort is, its not quite ready to scrap Closed season, however i do believe there working there way towards this with the additions of Ice Age/Sealife/Sub-terra these indoor additions will begin to help towards the idea of scrapping the closed season but they still need the entertainment complex which i think will come with the lodges as this will finish the resort side nicely.
The problem they have is when its bitterly cold some rides simply wont run, Th13teen has problems, so does RITA and oblivion, and not only this, they have to give a lot of the big rides big overhauls and it takes a lot of work, which without a closed season would mean some of the popular rides would have to close meaning complaints from guests...
Also the weather is another factor, because the perception is who wants to walk around a park all day freezing cold, it wont be an enjoyable experience especially with some of the harsh winters we sometimes get now, and this also causes problems because the roads to get to Alton over winter often come close to closure/get quite dangerous which is another factor.
On the positive side.. As is shown by opening the farmyard and this year Ice Age the park have got plans to expand xmas opening and if we give them time, im sure we could see them trialling different methods, but only time will tell...

[Delta79]

I think winter closing is good. as i don't want to turn up and find my favourite ride closed for maintenance. anyway grease become thicker when its cold, so the coasters would be slower and there would be a higher risk of stalls.

[leeprice]

Why can't oblivion and Th13teen operate in cold weather? Does this mean that if the weather is particularly cold even during the open season they have to close the ride?

They could build a indoor complex with maybe just a few flat rides, kinda like you find at Weston pier

[MattsDesigns]

sorry if this seems obvious but riding in the cold weather is not as nice as in the warm. Almost every ride you have air hitting you in the face and as I well know, hats don't always stay on. THAT SAID I would probably still be up for it if theirs xmas lights all about the place.

[leeprice]

I just think AT could do so much at Christmas

[altontowerskid]

I just think AT could do so much at Christmas

I agree, a few days around Christmas would be nice, maybe the week before.

I can imagine Towers Street transformed into a German themed market, selling all the Christmassy foods, generally seen at places such as Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland, a temporary ice rink on the lawn and a few areas open with family rides available, with maybe a few thrills.
With reduced gate prices they could see good attendance, capitalising from profits on food and extras such as the ice rink. It would also bring more people staying at the resort during this period. I could see it being a brilliant idea for the park

[jackcullen]

Until that one year comes in when the roads are 6 inch thick with snow and no one can get there ala February! (Or even March with the weather now)

[leeprice]

I think there'll always be people determined to get there, just like every business in the entertainment industry

Maybe they could build a giant monorail around the UK to bring guests all year round (I think this needs to be moved to the Future of Alton Towers) haha

[bensaund]

If you look at the fact AT is already do events and offers to keep the hotels, water parks and other facilities open during the closed season, I can believe we will be seeing a possibly xmas opening in a few years. I fully understand that major coasters will require their annual maintenance, to be honest I would rather the coasters be down during the closed season, where as Thorpe seem to think it is ok to do this maintenance during the busy season, examples of this Stealth, Colossus and Saw all had long outages.
I would rather no coasters during these events and full running time during the main season.

Rides I can expect can be opened for such xmas event:

Towers
N:ST
CATCF
Ice Age
Duel
RMT (I'm sure they would be able to get this simple coaster running during the event if they shifted the scheduled maintenance)
SeaLife
Heave Ho
Tea Cups
Squirrel Nutty (maybe many attractions from storybook land/cloud cuckoo)
Possibly scare maze

Obviously the main coasters will need their maintenance and water rides will be too cold,  but they can use the hospitality tent and maybe the circus tent for indoor attractions.

For nerds like us maybe a paid behind the scenes tour?

Then the added ice rink. maybe market stalls. If the towers maybe got one of those French of German travelling markets in and had that down Towers Street, Mutany Bay etc this will add lots of atmosphere.  Now if rides were an issue, they could possibly get a travelling fair to provide some dodgems or something

Then the must would be a santa's grotto, and reindeer.

Ensuring you have Captin Edward, both Ice Age characters and the rest of the pirates, this would be very magical and if well advertised I can see this being packed and if well done this could turn in to an annual event which can grow. The Towers has so much potential, look at he effort they put in the Scarefest down Towers Street.

Picsolve can also get involved and do a photo with Santa or some other Christmas set. Or your present from Santa was a free photo with him (If kids would go for that of course) Failing that Alton can wrap up any unsold stock from the shops and give that away free! lol

[Delta79]

I love the idea of the behind the seance tour of rides during maintenance. as you can see it with all the covers off. 

[Dan77]

N:ST is just like Rita and Th13teen it's one of them rides that will never been ready because of the work its need done during close season... this is one it will not be open for Feb Half Term!

[altontowerskid]

Bensaund, you've elaborated and expanded my idea perfectly! That's exactly what the park needs during the week or weeks running up to Christmas They would not only be earning through park tickets but this event will see a huge increase in overnight stays.

As long as they have enough rides open to keep the GP happy, I would see this being a success, especially if the main focus was around families. A huge number of working adults take the week running up to Christmas as holiday, and it would be a perfect time for the Towers to capitalise on family visits

[leeprice]

I think this is a good idea... AT are missing out on some festive holiday makers

I think they could publish the maintenance schedule, so maybe open some of the big rides and people can see what rides are likely to be open during their visit

[oliviamae]

If you disregard maintenance and work on the park, people get excited for the new season, they plan visits, and it makes it more exclusive because you can only visit at certain times in the year. It makes it a little more special for kids "ooh, you won't be able to come back until half term next year, so make the most of it!" etc.

[12344321]

The towers are already open with Santa and his reindeer being present on the farm. Pics olive take your picture and towers street is decorated fantastically with trees and lights everywhere.  It gets pretty packed during daylight but becomes really quiet at night.

[Kenzie2012]

We've got The German Christmas Market here in Leeds ATM and its Epic....

That's beast at the end of Towers street open till late would be enormous fun with a few rides thrown in there too.

[JoshC]

Why can't oblivion and Th13teen operate in cold weather? Does this mean that if the weather is particularly cold even during the open season they have to close the ride?

Yes, even in the open season if the weather is below freezing then a lot of the rides cannot run.

Does nobody remember the chaos of feb half term opening day this year? Where the only attractions that were open were sealife, duel and blade....

[Jammydodger]

If Extremis can run year round, I don't see why Sub-Terra couldn't?