Tom170499 wrote:Isn't that the cable room for Rita?
Yes it is - you can even see hydraulic oil stains on the block paving by the double doors into the launch plant room.
That said, I agree with the above comments. I think Alton Towers are going to play the 2016 season very softly-softly. There will initially be notably less staff around - as evidenced by the 190 permanent redundancies later on last season, plus the ride & F&B closures announced / hinted at for this season. I would expect the rides to run on slightly reduced staffing levels too (you can lose one host per big ride relatively easily). This would also explain the demise of the SRQ's on all rides but The Smiler.
If the season picks up well, it is fairly easy for Alton Towers to hire more staff (especially for the July / August period when students are off Uni) so some of the cutbacks could be reversed if the park is doing well and customer service is suffering. Time will tell though - certainly the bean counters at Merlin HQ in Poole will be keeping a very close eye on things.
I am not surprised at all by the midweek closures in very low-season. Alton Towers has been the only Merlin (or indeed Tussauds back in the day) park that remained open every day of the season. The two Southern parks always had midweek closures on very off-peak slow days - this decision makes good commercial sense.
The fireworks cutback to just two shows does surprise me though, as these days must make a huge amount of money. I know they are restricted to just 3 firework displays a year - personally I would have done the Saturday, miss the following Sunday, then do the final Saturday & Sunday of season - attendance is always higher on the Saturdays.
As above, Alton Towers need to play this season very carefully. Constant price hikes, with reduced offerings will be noticed by guests (even if those reduced offerings are F&B which cost extra). You can only cut so much back before people decide to vote with their feet - as they clearly did after June 2nd last season, albeit for differing reasons.
