Alton Towers Resort General Discussion

[JenRawrRizzle]

It such a shame that 2 of my best friends are total yellow bellies when it comes to rollercoasters I'm hoping to go sometime in late March. Hopefully the Wicker Man will be open by then

[PhNx Survivor]

I'm sure, at this rate, you won't be disappointed with Wicker Man being open.
Fingers crossed nothing happens from now to the season opening!

[Dom]

It such a shame that 2 of my best friends are total yellow bellies when it comes to rollercoasters I'm hoping to go sometime in late March. Hopefully the Wicker Man will be open by then

Well if you wanted to experience the park with some like minded coaster nuts than may i suggest looking at a TTSP event/meet up. More details can be found in this section here!

[MakoMania]

Less than 3 weeks to go until the start of the season, cannot wait! It's within touching distance now

However, we still have no park opening times, no ride opening times and no opening date for the park's signature attraction. Happy trip planning folks :P

The other Merlin parks have had their opening times up since before the new year, why is Towers always so last minute!?

[Dan]

However, we still have no park opening times, no ride opening times and no opening date for the park's signature attraction. Happy trip planning folks :P

The ride opening times were announced a few weeks ago, do you not remember the amount of backlash Towers got before amending them a few days later?

I’d imagine that, with today being the last day of the Pirates & Princesses event, we will hear more news around both the ride close times and the opening of Wicker Man in the next week or so.

[MakoMania]

However, we still have no park opening times, no ride opening times and no opening date for the park's signature attraction. Happy trip planning folks :P

The ride opening times were announced a few weeks ago, do you not remember the amount of backlash Towers got before amending them a few days later?

I’d imagine that, with today being the last day of the Pirates & Princesses event, we will hear more news around both the ride close times and the opening of Wicker Man in the next week or so.

The ride opening times were announced and then removed, now we have nothing

To be honest though, ride opening times is probably the least important one for people to know in advance.

[Dan]

The ride opening times were announced and then removed, now we have nothing

To be honest though, ride opening times is probably the least important one for people to know in advance.

I agree, however Towers have said that all rides and attractions will be open by 11am, so this at least gives guests a bit of information with which to plan their day.

Either way, it’s better than turning up on opening day and finding a barrier across the archway leading up to Fountain Square and finding out it doesn’t open until 11 o’clock .It’s sad that it’s come to this, but at least they are getting into the habit of telling people when various areas will open.

[Justin]

The ride opening times have been announced. They can be found on the TowersTimes website, although we are still awaiting an announcement about closing.

[Dan]

I think what MakoMania is saying is that the specific ride opening times aren’t detailed on the Alton Towers website anymore.

The ride opening schedule that we reported was at the bottom of the Opening Times page on the website, whereas now it says this:

We look forward to welcoming you to Alton Towers Theme Park. We offer early access to the theme park for Merlin Annual Pass holders and Resort Hotel guests with a selection of rides & attractions available for your enjoyment including our brand new ride for 2018 Wicker Man.
Theme Park opens to all other guests from 10am. Park open & close hours will always be flexible to ensure we can give our guests great experiences – if the park is busy we’ll always do our best to stay open!

[MakoMania]

Yeah, that's what I mean. I hope they can avoid a situation when people are walking to rides at 10am only to find that they don't open until 11am.

[Justin]

After the backlash received, I don't think they will change it, although never say never!

[Dan]

Work has been continuing on the remodelling of the Entrance Plaza at Alton Towers.

The concrete bases are all that remains of the area where the kiosks once stood, whilst scaffolding still surrounds the turnstile building. New ticket collection windows have been installed in the building on the left hand side of the Plaza with posts and ground markings visible for what will be a new queue line. The ticket collection buildings have also received a fresh coat of paint.

New bollards have been installed at the entrance points to the Plaza, whilst the pedestrian gateway from the coach park now looks to be in the process of being permanently blocked.











To view the photo update in full, head over to the TowersTimes Facebook page.

[Robert.W]

The new colour scheme makes the entrance look very smart, I really like the look of it!

[Bert]

The entrance will flow a lot differently this season, Instead of having 10 or so lines of guests queueing to get into the park, It'll be to the left hand side which'll give the entrance that even more of a 'wow' factor for first time guests (which there will be quite a few this year). 

[Stan.H]

Does anybody know if the security procedures will be the same as last year? Or a bit more 'permanent' looking? As last year I did experience quite a slow entry into the park as it was taking a while to check everyone's bags, with that said, I'm not sure what else they can do or where they could move it - however, I'd love to see a more efficient way of checking all bags etc... 

[Zach]

Does anybody know if the security procedures will be the same as last year? Or a bit more 'permanent' looking? As last year I did experience quite a slow entry into the park as it was taking a while to check everyone's bags, with that said, I'm not sure what else they can do or where they could move it - however, I'd love to see a more efficient way of checking all bags etc... 

Unfortunately this is current climate of the world we live in, a short delay getting into a site is a small sacrifice for safety. Just like security in large venues (arena’s/sports venues/etc). I’d like to hope the bag checking is here to stay, from experience I’d also go as far to say the checks aren’t thorough enough. It’s very casual which yes you could argue for a day out you don’t want to feel over run with security but I know it’s possible to deliver high standards of service with thorough checks and with a smile and high customers satisfaction. 
I’d like to see it be a more perminent structure and procedure, all easily implemented, with lanes for bags and those without bags, amongst the other possible procedures they could implement to make it a smoother operation.  

[jwewan]

A new picture of the updated entrance courtesy of Theme Park Worldwide.

[Justin]

I really like that. It neatens that side up so much!

[Zach]

I really like that. It neatens that side up so much!

Means no short cut at the end of the day though my poor legs!

[Robert.W]

Honestly, I really do like this new blue and white colour scheme, makes the entrance looks really smart. I'm so glad they didn't just stick a big sign with some promotion on it.