It seems that Planet Ice isn't the only rink really hacking off its regular customers this way...
I went to my "local" rink (Plymouth) this morning, expecting the usual session from 10.00am through to 3.30pm, with a section coned off between 10 and 11.30 if there are any toddlers in attendance. I wandered in at about 10.45, to be told that they'd changed over to the "Holiday Timetable" and that the session would now finish at 11.30. And cost more. I'd come from 25 miles away in Cornwall, over the toll bridge, paid to park, etc and was going to get little more than half an hour for my £7.20 admission. If I wanted to skate longer, I'd have to pay another £7.20. I skate there regularly - twice a week at least - and at no stage did they put up a sign saying that they'd be starting their "Holiday Timetable" earlier than normal. They decided to do it as they thought that some of the private schools are breaking up earlier. And the official line is supposed to be, "Oh, we have to do it from the start of the week, now..."
I do wonder how ice rinks expect to make money when they totally disregard their regular customers? Those same people who shell out a lot of money each week, rather than the occasional ones. All it would have taken was a notice by the ticket office last week saying, "New Holiday Timetable starts Monday 26th March!" and a lot of people who travel a long way (Plymouth is the only rink in the real South West of the UK) would be a lot better prepared. And I would have simply have gone in earlier instead of being very frustrated and upset.