On the 1st of July 2019, Walibi Holland will open the first hybrid roller coaster in Europe. The present wooden roller coaster Robin Hood is being rebuilt by manufacturer RMC into a roller coaster consisting of a combination of wood and steel. In September 2018 RMC and Walibi Holland will start the renovation. In recent years, we worked hard on the plans for the renovation, which Walibi Holland now announces. Until October 2018, guests can still enjoy the current Robin Hood, after which the ride will be converted into a completely new roller coaster. In September of this year, the first work behind the scenes will start, says Maschio van Till, director. "This is the dream of many amusement park fans in Europe", says Walibi director Mascha van Till. "We are very happy that we can finally announce this." With the opening of the new roller coaster, Walibi Holland will open the third new attraction in four years. After the virtual reality experience NeuroGen in 2017 and the roller coaster Lost Gravity in 2016, in 2019 Walibi Holland will open a new roller coaster. The opening of the new Robin Hood in 2019 coincides with other renovations in the area of Sherwood Forest. In the coming years, a part of the park will be taken care of every winter, working on the Main street this winter. The different areas are thematized on the basis of a newly developed styleguide, under the name Festivalization. Source

So after a few days of social media backlash Alton Towers back pedal and reverses its decision to stagger ride opening times. When was the rides scheduled to open? 9am: Monorail to the entrance to the park 9.30am: (Early ride time: For hotel guests and Merlin Annual Pass holders only): Wicker Man, Spinball Whizzer and a selection of rides in CBeebies Land; Postman Pat Parcel Post, Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride, Justin's Pie-O-Matic Factory, In The Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, Something Special: Sensory Garden & Numtums Number-Go-Round. 10am: CBeebies Land and thrill seekers can head to X-Sector for The Smiler, Oblivion & Enterprise in X-Sector with Marauder's Mayhem and Heave Ho! in Mutiny Bay also open. 11am: The Smiler, Oblivion & Enterprise in X-Sector with Marauder's Mayhem and Heave Ho! in Mutiny Bay also open. Selected rides & attractions opening later include:- Dark Forest, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Sharkbait Reef by SEA LIFE, Battle Galleons, Runaway Mine Train and Hex 11.30am: The Skyride 12pm (noon): Forbidden Valley, Duel and Congo River Rapids But on the 25th Jan 2018 Alton Towers website was updated again with a new announcement Theme Park opens to all other guests from 10am with over half our rides available, with all other rides and attractions to be open by 11am at the latest every day. Park open and close hours will always be flexible to ensure we can give our guests great experiences – if the park is busy we’ll always do our best to stay open! Its really nice that Alton Towers have listened to its fans and taken a u turn on this decision. But did they really think people would be happy having some rides open for only 4 hours a day when people are playing upto £55 a ticket. We can now put this issue to one side and look forward to the park opening and getting to ride the new Wickerman Coaster.

Alton towers have updated the ride opening times and ERT early ride time and people are not happy, Below we have posted the details from Alton Towers site We offer early access to the theme park for hotel guests & Merlin Annual Pass holders. There is a selection of rides & attractions available for your enjoyment. The Monorail opens at 9am everyday to get you to the theme park entrance. Rides & attractions opening at 9.30am for our exclusive early ride time for those eligible (see above) include: our brand new ride for 2018 Wicker Man, Spinball Whizzer and a selection of rides in CBeebies Land; Postman Pat Parcel Post, Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride, Justin's Pie-O-Matic Factory, In The Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, Something Special: Sensory Garden & Numtums Number-Go-Round. In addition to the rides in Early Ride Time, our other fantastic rides, attractions and areas around the theme park open from 10am - Young families can enjoy CBeebies Land and thrill seekers can head to X-Sector for The Smiler, Oblivion & Enterprise in X-Sector with Marauder's Mayhem and Heave Ho! in Mutiny Bay also open. Selected rides & attractions opening later include:- Dark Forest, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Sharkbait Reef by SEA LIFE, Battle Galleons, Runaway Mine Train and Hex which open at 11am, the Skyride which opens at 11.30am and Forbidden Valley, Duel and Congo River Rapids* which open at 12. We have different ride close times throughout our season, but it is the queue lines which close at this time. If you are in the queue at the closing time, you will still get chance to ride one last attraction! The Theme Park will be close an hour after ride close. * Congo River Rapids will be open 26th May – 4th September 2018 So are you happy about the news? have Alton towers missed a trick here, or is it the right thing?