Spent a fortune on Alton Towers and nearly everything was closed

The whole thing is one big rip off. I understand they are a business, their raison d'etre is to make money, but the line of reasonability was crossed long ago. I haven't been for at least 15 years and wouldn't bother now.

They're not closing rides for an hour here and there for "safety reasons". It's job cuts. They don't have enough ride operators and hosts on a given day.

It’s off season and they state in advance what rides are closed.

Thanks for letting me know. I was planning on going for the first time this weekend but will look elsewhere now.

Edited: Posted too soon

It’s not half the rides though. Oblivion has been open. The water rides open closer to summer. Runaway mine train is down for essential maintenance. All other rides open

That’s a cop out.
They’ve had all winter to get them up and running.
Even if they hadn’t had time it’s unreasonable to charge full price for half thd experience. No one minds when a ride is closed for vomit etc but should be reopened speedily.

I went a year past in October for the weekend and due to the amount of rides closed & queues on the ones open we got on 4 rides the full weekend, we had also bought tickets for the scarefest attractions and again didn’t get in all of them, we stay 6 hours away so 2 days travelling then 2 days in the parks for 4 rides, I emailed a complaint to them and I did get a partial refund, they tried offering me free tickets to go back but I wouldn’t waste my time!

This is awful. The british public really needs to be more demanding.
We went to a zoo in deep valley country ij france last year. Out of nowhere there was an epic thunderstorm and all the animals were put away and we were evacuated via truck after about an hour there. Without even asking we were issued free revisit tickets. Valid for 3 years. Because of something no one has no control over!! Incredible

YANBU although the screenshot of the ride availability does look worse than it is at a glance. However Oblivion is one of only two rides in x-sector, with quite a walk to other areas of the park, so it’s bad news for the length of The Smiler queue when that is down.

They have the same issue when either Wickerman or 13 go down, as they are the two ‘big’ coasters suitable for younger riders, if one goes down the queue for the other skyrockets and if they’re both down you have a load of disappointed kids wandering about the place as they’re too old for CBeebies but too short for the bigger thrill rides and they’ve already done what filler rides there are left. They also sell fast track which slows down the main queue significantly on many rides, but it’s easy money for them so they won’t stop it (go to a park with no fast track and you will notice how much faster the queues move along). This and the fact that Alton Towers has been on a downward slope due to Merlin’s running of the place for the last few years is why YANBU. I love Alton towers and have a pass, but I’m considering cancelling as I’m finding myself wanting to go less and less. It’s not what it used to be, they used to claim they were second to Disney and at one point maybe they were, but now they are not even close to that standard.

We don’t know how to do theme parks in this country, the exception being Paulton’s. Universal is going to blow Merlin’s socks off when it opens. It will be pricey, but the experience will be miles better.

Yes, thank you. People banging on about the website when the experience inside the park is one of queueing for rides that go down, then open, then down again. We went last year on a weekday and they were constantly doing this - Wicker Man would go down for an hour, so everyone would go up to X Sector, then Smiler would close but Thirt3een would open for a bit so everyone shot up there. It was exhausting and meant we didn't get on 4 of the large rides even though they were "open".

This happened to me at Halloween a couple of years ago. Only two big rides were open and by 6pm we were getting on our second ride. I complained and got free tickets and went another time when it wasn’t so busy.

I came to say this. YANBU. There’s loads about concerns for Alton Towers on YouTube.

I watched one video that said Merlin are focusing on new content for all their southern parks so that they are ready to compete with Universal.

the suggestion was that Alton Towers is being allowed to decline and should be sold off.

What's unfair, 2 rides area closed and I believe Oblivion opened this afternoon

That’s not half the rides at all. Sky ride never open (it’s just a cable car not a ride). Monorail- there’s a replacement bus if you don’t want to walk, hotel guests can use the nearby galactica entrance anyway so you don’t need the monorail). Rapids open closer to summer.

runaway line train is closed, yes, but oblivion has been open the last few days. It opened back up on Saturday evening after essential maintenance and then high winds. We went there and stayed in the hotel Friday and Saturday and all rides were open bar mine train and oblivion so loads were open and running fine. On Saturday, smiler went down due to the high winds but that’s to be expected in over 30mph gusts

YANBU I’d be furious if this happened! I hope you get your money back- ridiculously unfair.

nearly everything closed”

really? Current closures on the website listed as

Skyride
Monorail
Runaway Mine Train
Oblivion
Congo River Rapids
Battle Galleons

Ive just been checking the website and every ride i have checked seems to be open. What exactly is shut?

I don't understand why OP has said 50% of the rides were closed, that list shows
2 methods of transport
2 closed rides due to maintenance
2 closed rides which are always closed this time of year and it's on the website.

That's not 50% of the rides.

But surely the company should not be charging full priced tickets in the first place if half the rides are closed? 🤦‍♀️ It’s not just the entry fees families are paying an arm and a leg for - it’s the travel and most often accommodation. They could have travelled up the night before and stayed in a hotel. Most tickets are pre booked too!

Also re waterpark - we had a day there some time ago and it was awful - so crowded and noisy, it was a relief to leave (we didn't stay long).
We couldn't even get a meal as the restaurant was closed - tried to get something at the bar but it took ages and when it came was the worst kind of junk food. Apparently they were short staffed.
Clearly management are just milking it for all the money they can get and don't care what it is like for the people going (or staff). It would not be surprising if it was the same at the theme park.

If you really want to go, then I do recommend the half marathon and the shorter races if that's not your thing. From memory the parking was free and as it was an event the whole park was booked out. Beautiful sunny day as well. Only problem after I've run for more than 2 hours is I couldn't be arsed to hang around. The actual ticket for the race was probably cheaper than a day entry ticket especially as I got it on early bird pricing. The pain was free!

Thanks for the heads-up OP

The whole bloody point of a place like AT is to be FUN and SAFE and OPEN. A whole lot of closed rides doesn't spell any of those, frankly.

I've not been since I was a kid, but it sounds shite.

From the t&cs section when you book tickets.
Our commitment to provide a service:
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.

but I totally agree that it’s bad so many were closed ho far in advance did you book?