Spent a fortune on Alton Towers and nearly everything was closed

I stopped going to merlin attractions when an employee said ‘we are merlin- w will have the shirt off your back” when I asked if I could fill a water bottle at a sinks outlet. Plus, the smiler accident.

Of course YANBU Op!

Honestly some of the prize arseholes posters on here would argue that black is white.

It's £13! Robbery.

Alton Towers used to be an awesome day out! Unfortunately now it's become just like everything else - a total rip off. It's really a shame. When I last went I think even the car park was expensive, I mean you'd think it would just be free?!

y reasonable person is expected to buy tickets knowing that rides can't be guaranteed. Closures that can be foreseen, and those not opening until certain dates are advertised clearly on the website yes. Anything else is effectively the same as buyer beware, they will do their best to have things running and anything requiring time and maintenance has to he done for obvious reasons.

There we are then

I would write to the CEO of Merlin (parent company) and complain- you may get a free pass or two, worst that can happen is they don't respond.

I think the OP has a very valid complaint. Had she just decided to go on a whim and hadn't checked then more fool her. But she bought the tickets and paid for hotels in advance and its unreasonable to expect her to be psychic. at the very least the venue should have offered tickets for another day although she would still be out of pocket for the hotels etc.

I don't think AT will last much longer. I took my DC there this time last year. The previous year we went to Efteling in the Netherlands. The difference was striking. AT was really long queues for just a few big rollercoasters. It already cost a fortune to get in but if you didn't then spend a huge amount of money on fast pass queues then you spent most of the time lining up. Very limited and expensive eating options. No theming to speak of, just seemed to be endless concrete paths with the garden area in the middle. If you don't enjoy big coasters but are too old for cbeebies land there is almost nothing to do. I'm on a FB group for theme parks and AT gets nothing but criticism.

Efteling was spotlessly clean, beautifully laid out with lots of theming and characters. There aren't loads of big rollercoasters but enough to keep the thrillseekers satisfied and there was also a range of different rides for those who don't enjoy rollercoasters. Even though it was school holiday time the maximum time we queued for anything was 25 minutes - there are no fast passes so everyone queues in the same line and it moves more quickly. There were lots of different food options at different prices.

Theme parks in the UK just don't seem to be an enjoyable experience. I now take the DC to a seaside adventure place rather than a theme park. The rides are smaller but it's much cheaper- if you don't ride, like me, you don't have to pay anything.

True.
Although I have to say Adventure Island in Southend is fabulous.
Wouldn’t dream of going to the other ride places in the country as have no intention of waiting in long queues for a ride.
Haven’t been for a few years mind.

How could she check before booking hotels and tickets in advance?

I'm really surprised they didn't give you a come back voucher, they usually dole them out to anyone who complains (as they know that most people won't bother as it's too far!)

I'm not convinced that Merlin will last 10 more years so they don't need to worry about competition with Universal.

I think all Merlin-run attractions have become pretty terrible to be honest, we've had awful experiences recently. They just absolutely squeeze people for the maximum they can while making their parks practically unusable through closures and overcrowding. They deserve to go bust in my opinion.

I live right by the park and it has gone downhill. Food is now ridiculous as well.

Good job we've got such an arid climate!

LOL. Why?

Dont go when its wet. It doesnt run in the rain 😂

Go to Efteling. We were there over new years with rain and snow and everything was open.

Yeah the appalling ride availability has been well documented since they opened....same as drayton manor

We have been merlin pass holders for 8 years this is the first year weve not done opening weekend at towers (locals) because I saw in the weeks running up to it how bad it was going to be.

This country is so so bad at customer service and value for money now. Being passholders we are regulars at all merlin attractions for years and the decline is evident. Such a shame.
We wernt going to renew our passes at Christmas as usually get gold and thought we'd have a break while they sorted themselves out but then there was an offer for £69 passes with barely an restriction dates so we thought sod it 🤷‍♀️

Couldn't even get the well publicised bluey rollercoaster right, opening day it kept shutting and second day didnt open til gone 2pm as it "cant run in the rain" laughable really.

Saving for DLP, Florida and Universal in years to come. Id rather do one mad crazy good experience once than do a mediocre one 12 times a year 🤷‍♀️

But op doesn’t live near the park, so booked a hotel in advance. Of course she wouldn’t be able to see what was open.

Most people book the tickets in advance to get a cheaper price.

But the website is not reflective of when you actually get there - they close rides after an hour of queueing, then open after an hour and you have to start again. They're really short of money so maintenance is poor.

Im a great believer in chargebacks for "not as described" but the card issuer will want to see that You have made a reasonable effort to settle your dispute with the providor. Write them a stiff letter asking for a refund so you can show you have attempted to negotiate. Then do a chargeback if they will not budge.

Because OP could have looked up online prior to going to see what was open and what was closed!

We had the same problem back in September, drove 4 hours there and none of the 'big' rides were open. Nothing on their website bar one ride that was closed for maintenance. I emailed them with a complaint and they offered me 2 fast track tickets per person valid for 1 year. Didn't really do it justice but we've decided to go later this year and take advantage of the fast track. Also hoping we have a better experience this time round