Alton Towers Discussion Thread

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Someone really needs to tell that news anchor that people are dying, yes actually dying, in the most horrifying gruesome ways imaginable on freeways and highways every single day, including in the UK.

[robbalvey]

Remember, if you haven't done so already, please go re-tweet this:

[Xmeister]

As someone who has worked for Merlin and Disney, I can say that although Disney does a great job in keeping their parks and rides safe, Merlin takes even more precautions and is even stricter. They are the very definition of safety conscious.

 

I worked at Legoland California in 2009 and 2012-2013 and just by looking at how meticulous they require their employees to be with making sure that riders meet all requirements, I can say that Merlin might be the safest park company in the world.

 

Legoland California is very strict in making sure that age requirements and size requirements are both met whereas I find that most parks tend to focus on the size requirements instead of having both. Just an example of their extremely strict rider requirements, one of the first attractions I ever operated was the Royal Joust at Legoland California. When I worked there the height requirement was 36" and the age range was 4-12. The age requirements were what excluded the most riders from riding out of the two. In fact we were trained that absolutely no exception to either requirement would be acceptable. While this is obvious for any size requirement, there were times where I had to deny ride access to children who were three, but turning four the very next day.

 

My own experiences with Merlin combined with the fact that I can't think of another serious ride incident that they've had are the reasons I know that Merlin's attractions have a safety standard that is not only above average, but one that should be an example to the industry as a whole. In fact in some cases I think that their rider restrictions are too strict, but in this industry safer is always better so I'm not complaining.

[Xmeister]

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to double post.

[snoflake15]

Just watched the Sky interview. She got nowhere and Varney held his own.

 

Can just imagine those in hospital being so pleased to see him at their bedside.

 

Petitions like that above just give her more oxygen. She is best ignored.

[Purplepills]

I expect over on the Mainstream News forums they're laughing at how silly the petition to get her sacked is the way way we laughed at how silly the petition to tear down The Smiler is.

[KarlaKoaster]

I expect over on the Mainstream News forums they're laughing at how silly the petition to get her sacked is the way way we laughed at how silly the petition to tear down The Smiler is.

I nearly posted the same.

 

So sad to see one of the victims is described as still being in a critical condition. I hadn't heard any of the victims described as critical until yesterday, only as serious.... I hope her condition improves soon

[snoflake15]

Paul Burton from European Coaster Club just on bbc news. He emphasised the rarity of this, the importance of safety etc. Always good to hear some sanity in all the hysteria.

[KarlaKoaster]

The BBC have been very good at reporting this accident unlike Sky. They had Justin Garvanovic from the ECC say a few bits yesterday and their news stories have had infographics on explaining in numbers just how rare accidents are, while Sky just love to scaremonger.

[UKCoasterFan]

While not a lot new to read in the actual article, there is a new video with an eye witness at the very bottom:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11654706/Rollercoasters-across-Britain-shut-in-the-wake-of-Alton-Towers-crash.html

[Garet]

The BBC have been very good at reporting this accident unlike Sky. They had Justin Garvanovic from the ECC say a few bits yesterday and their news stories have had infographics on explaining in numbers just how rare accidents are, while Sky just love to scaremonger.

 

Yep like this very helpful infographic, maybe this should be shared with the sky news reporter when she keeps talking about how they've been operating unsafe rides.

 

[Purplepills]

While not a lot new to read in the actual article, there is a new video with an eye witness at the very bottom:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11654706/Rollercoasters-across-Britain-shut-in-the-wake-of-Alton-Towers-crash.html

 

Very interesting to hear, plus he sounds genuine (i.e. not trying to be sensationlist about it). Just his story plain and simple. No stupid journalists trying to push blame, say rides are unsafe or scaremonger in any other way.

 

I don't like the way the story uses the term 'design flaws'. Procedures, is what Merlin said, not design flaws. I guess this is why I don't tend to believe anything in newspapers as they're usually inaccurate/ignorant to the facts.

[Purplepills]

Just been announced the Park will remain closed for Tomorrow.

 

Given they've had the go ahead to open from the HSE, I guess they still have training to do, or there are still investigations going on so X Sector might be closed? With that closed, and also Spinball not operating (stands to reason if Fury at Chessington is closed, Spinball would be too), possibly a decision to close rather than open without X Sector and Spinball operational?

[KarlaKoaster]

It might be that they want to reopen on a weekday so that they can ease back into things. I would imagine the events have taken its toll on staff and also with new procedures in place they probably want staff to get used to them on a quieter day to take some of the pressure off.

[Purplepills]

^Very true, I forget it would be much quieter Monday. It was nice to see a lot of people offering messages of support to the staff on Twitter. Things like this would affect anyone, but given the ride staff are as young as 16 I can imagine some of them have been quite upset by the whole thing.

[robbalvey]

Just been announced the Park will remain closed for Tomorrow.

 

Given they've had the go ahead to open from the HSE

So, I have to be honest, this seems silly to me. If they have been given the "ok" to open from HSE, doesn't it look WORSE for Alton Towers staying closed? To everyone here I think we know this is not the case, but to the public, it makes it look MORE like maybe there was something seriously wrong at the park and maybe that crazy lady on Sky News had a point? (ugh, I can't believe I just said that!)

 

I don't agree with them staying closed after HSE said they could open. I think that's a dumb move on Merlin's part.

Edited June 6, 2015 by robbalvey

[snoflake15]

^ I suppose we need to trust their judgement on this. They may well still be working behind scenes on new procedures etc. May also want to have smiler hidden away a bit and get x sector opened.

 

Think the GP will have their own views on seriousness and future safety. Doubt an extra day will make too much of a difference on their views long term.

 

And Robb I can't believe you said that about Kay Burley either!

[robbalvey]

Doubt an extra day will make too much of a difference on their views long term.

Wasn't it two? I thought HSE cleared them to open on Saturday, but they remained closed Saturday & Sunday. I dunno, I think I'd be extremely upset if I had made plans to go to Alton Towers for the weekend and was booked into one of their hotels. I just cannot imagine how staying closed when they weren't required to is going to win them that many points with the public. But that's just me.

Edited June 6, 2015 by robbalvey

[T-Dawg]

Yeah I find it quite strange that the park is staying closed too, especially since their other parks are open with the exception of the very few rides previously mentioned.

 

The only two possible scenarios I would assume are either something systemically wrong at AT (I'd be surprised) or some sort of PR damage limitation, which I'm not sure I get the logic of...

 

Either way, they're losing so much money that I'm sure it's a decision they must have spent ages going through the options on, so I'd assume they must have a solid reason behind closed doors

[Purplepills]

I haven't really seen any news reports going into detail with any negativity (yet) about them staying closed when the HSE have said they can open. I'd guess people will accept the fact its shut without overthinking why they haven't opened when the HSE have said they could.

 

I'd be a little annoyed had I booked a hotel stay tonight, but then I'd also be a bit annoyed if I turned up to find the whole of X Sector still closed off as well as Spinball closed as it makes the lines for everything else longer. Selfish I know, but thats how I would feel. Whether thats the case or not I guess we wont know.

 

Personally I think that the rides shut in the other parks will be open by Monday (or Tuesday perhaps). as will Alton Towers including X Sector and Spinball. Time will tell.

[certifiedcoastergeek]

The media will do anything to garner viewership on a slow day, and fear-mongering is one of them.

FUN FACT: You're 3x more likely to be killed in a plane crash than you are to be injured on an amusement park ride (source: Alltime10s and the IAAPA).

However, this is operator error. Nothing much else to be said about it. My thoughts go to the families of those afflicted.

[snoflake15]

Doubt an extra day will make too much of a difference on their views long term.

Wasn't it two? I thought HSE cleared them to open on Saturday, but they remained closed Saturday & Sunday. I dunno, I think I'd be extremely upset if I had made plans to go to Alton Towers for the weekend and was booked into one of their hotels. I just cannot imagine how staying closed when they weren't required to is going to win them that many points with the public. But that's just me.

 

I agree that if you were booked up for this weekend you'd be pretty angry. Given the loss of income to AT that's what makes me think it's a pretty sound basis for keeping it closed.

 

Merlin seem fairly rattled by this. Rightly so given its a serious accident with a flagship ride. Maybe it's over caution, maybe it's for sound logistical reasons. We may never know.

[Swede]

Just been announced the Park will remain closed for Tomorrow.

 

Given they've had the go ahead to open from the HSE

So, I have to be honest, this seems silly to me. If they have been given the "ok" to open from HSE, doesn't it look WORSE for Alton Towers staying closed? To everyone here I think we know this is not the case, but to the public, it makes it look MORE like maybe there was something seriously wrong at the park and maybe that crazy lady on Sky News had a point? (ugh, I can't believe I just said that!)

 

I don't agree with them staying closed after HSE said they could open. I think that's a dumb move on Merlin's part.

 

I'm with you 100% on that conclusion Robb. We are talking about people who think that there is something seriously wrong and dangerous with a ride that stops in a lifthill when that is the ride working as designed if it "senses something wrong". This might just play into the hands of the scaremongers.

[Purplepills]

Regardless of what we think, overall we've no idea how long the 'procedure' writing and publishing process takes. By the time its all been done, it might be a few days, so, if they didn't finish discussing it until Friday it stands to reason they wouldn't open this weekend until the procedures are finalised and staff given training. An organisation this size it might not be a straightforward thing.

 

I know theoretically it would only affect Smiler and perhaps Spinball, but, if their procedure for example said it was OK to operate in manual/maintenance mode with guests on the ride (although I would think this unlikely), this would obviously need to be changed for ALL rides.

 

Wouldn't surprise me one bit if this human error was against procedure in the first place. To me its better they wait to open than open too soon. If there was any risk of another accident now, even if it meant one of the staff making the same error in a very unfortunate set of circumstances, that would have dire consequences in public confidence.

 

The HSE may have given them the go ahead to open, but if they need to change procedures park wide this might explain why they are still closed.

[robbalvey]

Regardless of what we think, overall we've no idea how long the 'procedure' writing and publishing process takes. By the time its all been done, it might be a few days, so, if they didn't finish discussing it until Friday it stands to reason they wouldn't open this weekend until the procedures are finalised and staff given training. An organisation this size it might not be a straightforward thing.

You have obviously never worked for a park, have you?