Alton Towers ride closures

rikkyshh

Hello all
Planning a trip to Alton Towers, have been keeping an eye on queue times, definately the quitest of the three, but I often see 2-3 big rides closed as a last minute result.
Im guessing due to safety which is understandable,
But if im paying for a ticket is it unfair of me to expect to be able to ride any ride i want (queue permitting of course)??
I dont want to travel 200+miles to get there and find the big attractions are closed.
Ive emailed their team 2 weeks ago, still no reply. On their T&Cs it says they reserve the right to close attractions as they see fit.

ToxicWomble

Personally I wouldn’t bother.
Arguably there are only a handful of “big” rides and unless you buy a fast pass are Unlikey to get to go on more than 6 or 7 in a day.
Not very good value for money either way imo - especially when you factor in travel time and expense for a 200 mile trip there

bradders1983

By buying a ticket you agree to their terms that rides may close at short notice.

Dont like it, simply dont buy a ticket.  Really dont know what emailing them will achieve. 

Barny1979

Why bother during this present time, not sure it would be particularly enjoyable.

Diamandis

rikkyshh said:

But if im paying for a ticket is it unfair of me to expect to be able to ride any ride i want (queue permitting of course)??

Is it unreasonable that you expect to go on rides they need to close for safety reasons? Yes. 

DCFC79

I also wouldnt bother OP, just dont see the point at the current time.

SweetPotatoPie

Don’t do it. We went a few weeks ago and there were no safety measures in place whatsoever. Ride queues were 60-120 minutes long and it was a complete free for all. Made a complaint but received a generic response. 

jon81uk

Their terms and conditions (https://www.altontowers.com/terms-and-conditions/) state
"Merlin will endeavour to ensure that as many rides and attractions as possible are available for use by guests at the Attraction. However, we reserve the right, without prior notice, to close and change the programme of rides and attractions and/or the Attraction's operating hours. Merlin in its absolute discretion reserves the right to close the whole or any part of the Attraction at any time or to restrict the number of persons having access to the Attraction. The reason for any closure or restriction provided by this condition may include technical or operational reasons, capacity, inclement weather, special events or to ensure the safety and security of guests or if Merlin reasonably considers the circumstances so require. For tickets purchased in advance, if the whole Attraction is closed for any of the reasons set out above, Merlin may offer replacement Tickets for admission to the Attraction on an alternative date in substitution for any other form of redress."

Wickerman was closed for urgent repairs for a few days a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes repairs are needed, its better than running an unsafe ride!

Unless a significant number of rides or the full park are closed for a major reason (high winds or storms, electrical supply failure) you are not going to get anything, even if the majority of the park closes you will just get re-entry on another date. If you are in a queue and a ride breaks down after you waited an hour, you may get a pass to re-enter through the fastrack queue and skip the wait on something else.

If you are that concerned about something breaking down and you not getting to ride everything then maybe don't go to theme parks.

But pick a weekday at the moment and queues can be fairly low.

MAdmonkey123e

I was there with my wife and 3 kids on Saturday,

It was absolutley fine, the longest queue was the octonauts roller coaster at 60 minutes, followed by wickerman at 50 minutes. Some rids were  temporarily closed during the day, but that was mostly when the queue exceeding the maximum length. There are chevrons on the floor in all the queues to keep groups two meters apart, which for the most part was followed, this in turn meant the queues looked longer than they were.
Worth noting that they have a kind of one way system in place, if you go round to the rapids, you will have to go the long way to get back to wicker man etc, this was enforced by security gaurds.

emilyjane92

Mixed opinions it seems. Yes, extra rules and regs in place that make the day a bit "less enjoyable" but same everywhere at the moment. I think you know what you are going to get at these places at the moment, it is just whether you're the sort of person it is going to bother. My OH is very impatient and doesn't like queuing so I generally avoid these places with him but doesn't bother me so I'd happily go without him LOL!