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The 'How Busy' Thread

T

Themepark-newbie

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Went last week and Park seemed pretty quiet but this week looks like another story (obviously half term).

Seems to be quite a bit of grumbling on social media and people questioning the 'limited capacity' statement. Whilst I understand the Park being sold out, how can they possibly control season ticket holders and clubcard voucher people just turning up? Or are they being turned away?

It just seems a little strange that the two ticket types making the Park the least money are on a free for all, where as day tickets sold at full rate are being restricted.
 
They will factor in on average how many pass holders attend on any given day and account for it in the numbers. I suspect there are far fewer at any given time than you would expect.

Also pass-holders are generally less incentivised to go at busier times as it's busier and they can pick an alternate time to go.

I think part of the problem is it seems busier because queues are spaced out (which makes it look worse than it is) and there are a number of attractions closed so more people flock to the ones that are open.
 
I went on Saturday and didn’t get to the park to roughly half 1 was let in no problems. In less than 3 hours we did:
Maelstrom
Dodgems
Drunken Barrels
Bounty
Polperro Express
Sheriff showdown
Captains sea adventure
Spend about half hour in the zoo checking out the indoor areas and see the new baby monkey.
Stormforce 10 joined it just before 5 before the queue closed. That took a hour with a breakdown.
 
I don’t think people understand what reduced capacity actually means. Drayton probably haven’t hit 100% capacity for years, so even if they only sell 70% of tickets for arguments sake, it’s probably similar numbers to a usual Summers day.

We’re pass holders and went today with no problems at all, got on plenty of rides and had a great day.

I saw one Facebook post saying the queue to get in to Thomas Land was the length of the whole park, which is a complete fabrication. They limited numbers until about 12 and then it was fully open.
 
In the early 2000’s they had to put a sign at the main entrance that the park was full. Even when I 1st got a pass 4 years ago I joined the queue to get in which took over a hour.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I went on Saturday and didn’t get to the park to roughly half 1 was let in no problems. In less than 3 hours we did:
Maelstrom
Dodgems
Drunken Barrels
Bounty
Polperro Express
Sheriff showdown
Captains sea adventure
Spend about half hour in the zoo checking out the indoor areas and see the new baby monkey.
Stormforce 10 joined it just before 5 before the queue closed. That took a hour with a breakdown.
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We went Saturday too and it really wasn't too bad. Food queues in the main park were terrible (they really do need to sort the efficiency out), but ride-wise is was ok.

Wilko said:
I don’t think people understand what reduced capacity actually means. Drayton probably haven’t hit 100% capacity for years, so even if they only sell 70% of tickets for arguments sake, it’s probably similar numbers to a usual Summers day.

We’re pass holders and went today with no problems at all, got on plenty of rides and had a great day.

I saw one Facebook post saying the queue to get in to Thomas Land was the length of the whole park, which is a complete fabrication. They limited numbers until about 12 and then it was fully open.
Click to expand...

I've seen similar Facebook comments, it's busy but I can't believe what people are saying.

I know there are comments about people feeling it's too busy for social distancing, but I can't see those same people being happy if they halved the capacity and doubled the price to compensate.
 
it didnt help today when i went because the bigger rides eg apocalypse and shockwave were all off doing their inspections, bit annoying as everywhere crowded and then u had to queue ages when they opened, i get it needed to be done but rlly on a sellout day, seems a bit worthless going today just for an afternoon where it was mobbed, i normally speak highly of drayton but today was just a shambles all round
 
Can understand when 2 of 3 1.4m rides is out of a action and Pandemonium today it does well like it’s more of a under 10 family park but you only got to look at Paulton’s park how well they do with a 1.2m max height.
 
Went Saturday and Sunday this weekend, Sunday was walk on for pretty much everything, which was great as got to go on a load more rides without having to leave the kids for too long. Also, with less queues I got to take my oldest (4) on a few new rides as usually confined to Thomas Land. She enjoyed Wild West Shootout (basically just watched the animatronics I shot) and Flying Dutchman. It was a shame the park was pretty empty considering a small Fathers Day push from the park, but it was great for us!
 
Think many dad’s like me went out for a meal or had family round for dinner. I went 2 years ago and they had a special deal for a pint and pie from the tea shop and the bar by the staff rooms as I had to get my pie 1st then get my pint as u had to drink it in that area.
 
They letting guests know how long the queues are now.
56640E48-2356-42B4-894F-E58C265625A2.jpeg
DB644C3F-3A18-45FC-9970-284C486BCE9E.jpeg
 
Ciaran said:
Where is that inside section? Has the queue line been extended? I haven't seen that before.
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That inside section is Winston i am pretty sure because there is the window to the right to look on to Emily's soft play upstairs, correct me if i am wrong
 
Ben R said:
That inside section is Winston i am pretty sure because there is the window to the right to look on to Emily's soft play upstairs, correct me if i am wrong
Click to expand...
Ben R said:
That inside section is Winston i am pretty sure because there is the window to the right to look on to Emily's soft play upstairs, correct me if i am wrong
Click to expand...
Oh, my bad. I thought the second photo was also Troublesome Trucks' queue line.
 
dont know, id imagine its without limited capacity but they look like they quickly put them up. I wouldnt bother for any ride at drayton tha says 60 unless its apocalypse and shockwave if im in the mood to wait an hour for the coaster
 
Ethan said:
dont know, id imagine its without limited capacity but they look like they quickly put them up. I wouldnt bother for any ride at drayton tha says 60 unless its apocalypse and shockwave if im in the mood to wait an hour for the coaster
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Half the problem with Drayton is the insane turnaround time for rides. Today we were waiting for the fire engines and the amount of time it takes to load, run and unload is crazy (it's the same for most of the rides). IMO they need more staff per ride to handle different parts of the process.

I know Drayton is a smaller park than say Alton Towers, but I frequently see comments on Facebook moaning about the number of rides people manage to get on during a visit (when it's busy).

I don't think it is the fault of the staff, who are always really friendly. I just think they have too much to do on their own when it's busy.
 
remlap said:
Half the problem with Drayton is the insane turnaround time for rides. Today we were waiting for the fire engines and the amount of time it takes to load, run and unload is crazy (it's the same for most of the rides). IMO they need more staff per ride to handle different parts of the process.

I know Drayton is a smaller park than say Alton Towers, but I frequently see comments on Facebook moaning about the number of rides people manage to get on during a visit (when it's busy).

I don't think it is the fault of the staff, who are always really friendly. I just think they have too much to do on their own when it's busy.
Click to expand...
From now working there they're getting the staff at a rapid rate - i went from Interview to working in 2.5wks
 
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