Alton Towers announce opening plans

The Alton Towers resort have announced some of their plans as they hope to reopen soon.

The resort says it will be limiting the number of guests allowed at the resort who on arrival will have their temperatures taken before being allowed access.

deep cleaning will take place every night and high traffic areas will be subjected to regular cleaning.

Social distancing procedures will be put in place across the resort and staff will all have Covid-19 training and have PPE provided for them.

Alton towers has also changed its policy to allow face coverings on site.

Johnathon Ellis, Security and health and safety director for the resort said:

"This week, the country is preparing to enter the very significant next step in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we enter ‘Stage 2’ of the Government response, that will see some schools and non-essential businesses start to reopen, we are watching these first steps back to normality closely and in the hope that all goes well. Like many other businesses, we chose to support the Government efforts to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by closing the Resort ahead of the lockdown. We have now been closed for more than 10 weeks except for a very small team who have continued to perform essential work and care for the animals we have on site

Our phased reopening will see strict limits on the initial number of guests who can visit the Resort each day, and also for individual attractions and facilities within the resort. This is so that we can best maintain social distancing in all areas of the Resort, whilst making sure that our guests can enjoy the same number of rides and attractions as they would normally expect to. In order to stick to these limits, we are considering a system of online booking, similar to our Fireworks events, in which we would ask all guests to book their trips in advance to guarantee entry.

As our primary focus is to minimise the risk of exposing guests and employees to coronavirus, we will be asking all our staff and guests to monitor their own health and not travel to the resort if they feel unwell, have a temperature or a cough. We will also be conducting temperature checks on all employees and guests arriving at the Resort. Whilst we never want to turn anyone away, unfortunately if someone arrives at the Resort with a high temperature they will not be allowed to enter.

We all know by now that washing our hands regularly and thoroughly is the best possible protection from the virus. Hand washing advice will be part of the COVID-19 training that our employees will need to complete before we reopen, and we would also encourage our guests to wash their hands regularly during their trip. We’re installing dozens of hand sanitiser dispensers around the resort, including at the entry and exit points for most rides and attractions. Our teams will also wipe down any surface that is frequently touched at regular intervals through-out the day, with communal areas (like toilet facilities) being deep cleaned every night. "