Alton Towers Resort General Discussion

[Nickolai]

I believe they did ID checks last year however I am not certain.

[Loakin]

This talk with the Rapids must be something quite recent, when I went on a weekday the other week the staff were filling the boats at full capacity. It is interesting that they’re not filling boats up recently.

[Robert.W]

This talk with the Rapids must be something quite recent, when I went on a weekday the other week the staff were filling the boats at full capacity. It is interesting that they’re not filling boats up recently.

They've not been filling the boats up properly all season.

[Tom170499]

I believe they did ID checks last year however I am not certain.

They ID’d me last year and I had to produce my driving license, so I assume the same will be done this year.

[ROYJESS]

I've visited 4 times this season and not once were they filling up the boats, even on busy days, the queue line was running to the entrance of the rapids.  Normally the wooden rapid foot bridge that crosses the over to where the storage outbuilding is, just before you get to the waterproof vending machines, usually is around 10 to 15 mins wait, last time it took me around 30 to 40 mins wait just because they weren't filling the boats.  I dread to imagine how long the wait is from the ride entrance.  In all the years that I've been visiting the park since 1987, I've never seen the queue lines for the rapids so long. 

[Swarm Chris]

It still seems really weird that they're going out of their way to not do something that any other operator would do for the same ride. The boats have a lot of seats for a reason and it make no difference cost wise for them to be filled up.

One thing I did notice on my visit in April were boats getting stuck just before the conveyer back up to the station. One time a single boat had stopped next to the left side well away from the conveyor holding point, but that only had 2 people on it. Another time there were probably 10 boats jammed in there and staff were going out with a stick to try and sort it out. It's possible they'd had to shut down the conveyor for a bit in that instance, but in the previous it was simply the water not pushing the boat enough. Whether this is a factor in the not filling boats decision, I don't know.

[ThemeCrafter264]

When you buy tickets, over 12 year olds are counted as adults, yet for the rapids, the age to become an adult turns to 18 years old. Now that's logical bearing in mind the ticket office where you spend money is under a 15 minute walk to the rapids where the main aim is to have fun, not make money. This rapids rule really annoys me and if the park wants consistency, the age needs to be shifted to 12.

[Stan.H]

This talk with the Rapids must be something quite recent, when I went on a weekday the other week the staff were filling the boats at full capacity. It is interesting that they’re not filling boats up recently.

They've not been filling the boats up properly all season.

He didn’t say all season, I was there last week and they were batching groups to fill the boats fully. There was a staff member standing at the end of the bridge (near the ORP kiosk) merging fastracks and standby guests - filling ALL the boats. They have been doing this for my past to visits to the park, all in the last fortnight.

[Robert.W]

This talk with the Rapids must be something quite recent, when I went on a weekday the other week the staff were filling the boats at full capacity. It is interesting that they’re not filling boats up recently.

They've not been filling the boats up properly all season.

He didn’t say all season, I was there last week and they were batching groups to fill the boats fully. There was a staff member standing at the end of the bridge (near the ORP kiosk) merging fastracks and standby guests - filling ALL the boats. They have been doing this for my past to visits to the park, all in the last fortnight.

More often than not they haven't been filling the boats up properly. It's been a problem for the entire season so far, regardless of the few random days where they may decide to fill the boats up fully.

[AltonOperator]

When you buy tickets, over 12 year olds are counted as adults, yet for the rapids, the age to become an adult turns to 18 years old. Now that's logical bearing in mind the ticket office where you spend money is under a 15 minute walk to the rapids where the main aim is to have fun, not make money. This rapids rule really annoys me and if the park wants consistency, the age needs to be shifted to 12.

That would completely defeat the point. The point is to not let school groups on without a teacher.
The age rule is nothing to be worked up about. This happened last year and it got removed after the school trip season. I'm sure the same will happen this year

[Swarm Chris]

TowersStreet are reporting that Congo River Rapids will no longer allow 8 people per boat. Additionally they are running a number of empty boats.



This gives a fair bit of support to the idea that there is a technical issue causing the partial loading. With reports that the water has been running at a lower level this year, it's entirely possible the current isn't strong enough to reliably allow full boats.

Running empty boats seems to be suggesting that this ride is getting old and is probably in need of some TLC.

Source: TowersStreet Twitter

[Robert.W]

The more we find out, the more I worry about this ride. I seriously worry that Merlin might want to remove it... I'd rather they give it the TLC it needs so that they can fill all the boats up properly, so that they can turn the water levels up, turn the waterfalls back on. They should even add some new scenery. Unless they want to spend mega money on transforming the entire Katanga Canyon, keeping what's already there in good condition is the best way forward.

[Dan]

I'd rather they give it the TLC it needs so that they can fill all the boats up properly, so that they can turn the water levels up, turn the waterfalls back on.

I imagine that all these issues are as a result of the accident at Drayton Manor last year.

The waterfalls are definitely off because of it, as that was a high-risk place on the route for guests to stand up to try and avoid getting wet.

The low water level and practice of not filling the boats are linked. With the current water level, a full boat would be much more likely to bottom out and scrape the bottom of the trough. My theory around the water level is that with less pumps running, the ride isn’t as “violent”, which reduces the risk of guests standing up and potentially falling out.

[Swarm Chris]

Agree that the Drayton Manor incident is the most likely cause for low water levels, calmer ride and in-turn not being able to fill the boats up. I guess Thorpe don't have these issues because they can staff the majority of the course with spotters.

Edit: By technical in the previous post, I meant from the perspective of not being able to run the boats full given the lower water levels.

It's the empty boats and overall reduced number of boats, which is giving me the hint that this isn't the whole story. It doesn't make a great deal of sense to run empty boats unnecessarily.

I can't see the rapids going anytime soon, but simply this is because they won't be building a new rollercoaster anytime soon. But if they can't get it back up and running fully for whatever reason, it feels like it starts to lose its purpose and may well go.

[Bert]

I'd imagine the rapids is one of the most popular rides in the park as it appeals to both thrill seekers and families alike as well as being a theme park staple, they'd be stupid to remove such a popular attraction. 

What the rapids need now is a major overhaul, new scenery, new theming, new effects and a refurb in general. 

[Robert.W]

I think it's a bit sad that Alton have had to react they way they have to the Drayton Manor accident. I guess until they can properly staff people to monitor the ride, the only option is to lower the levels to make it a less violent ride, and hope that it reduces the likelihood of an accident happening, sadly to the cost of the rides capacity. Again, it seems to be Merlin's cost cutting that is having the largest effect here.

I completely agree with Bert. Although it's especially hot at the moment, the rapids are always pretty popular throughout the year and it would be a massive mistake of Merlin to remove them. I'd love to see it given a bit of a refurb – it does seem like it may be needed with some of the boats not being used at all, etc. A general update adding some extra theming, effects and scenery, as well as restoring the waterfalls, would keep the ride fresh for years to come. 

[Tom170499]

I can't see the rapids going anytime soon, but simply this is because they won't be building a new rollercoaster anytime soon. But if they can't get it back up and running fully for whatever reason, it feels like it starts to lose its purpose and may well go.

The Flume was left SBNO for a full season before any work started on the site, so it’s entirely plausible that The Rapids could be closed a year or two before any development would take place, especially given Merlin’s current focus on cutbacks to every section of the park other than accommodation. 

[lewis97]

This blog post from Alton Towers about their preparations for this year's school trip season contains the following, potentially suggesting that students will get access to Early Ride Time:

This year, the team has also arranged for schools to enjoy an extra half-hour on park before it opens to the public to help them make the most of their trip and enjoy even more thrills.

Can't help but feel this will be a bit pointless if there are going to be "thousands of children" showing up, especially if ERT attractions continue to struggle to open on time. It will also perhaps not be best received by those usually entitled to ERT who are visiting during the coming few weeks, although I suppose you could say more fool them for planning their visit for then.

Even though this is being positioned as a perk, I wonder if part of the reasoning is so they can start admitting schools as promptly as possible, so as to avoid chaos and crowds in the entrance plaza at the start of the day.

[streetmagix]

That probably means more people with ERT than without. I mean, I admire them for putting Wicker Man on ERT but it seems like they've rarely been able to open it for 0930.

I'll be there next Friday, will be interesting to see if they've changed the entrance plaza since earlier in the year.

[Dan]

That probably means more people with ERT than without. I mean, I admire them for putting Wicker Man on ERT but it seems like they've rarely been able to open it for 0930.

I'll be there next Friday, will be interesting to see if they've changed the entrance plaza since earlier in the year.

Spoiler

They haven’t.

In all seriousness though, if they are allowing school trips to have ERT too, then it dilutes the already poor offering, even more.

If they added more rides to the ERT lineup, or put it back to an hour instead of 30 minutes, it may go some way back to being a “perk” but right now it’s more like an opportunity to start queuing 30 minutes before everyone else, given the poor reliability that we’ve seen lately.