Alton Towers Discussion Thread

[thewesker]

From Mirror:

[Coaster Hero]

^Take that with a grain of salt. It's just the GP being paranoid, as usual

[Heth]

Agreed, it's exactly the kind of poll answer I'd expect following and article claiming how unsafe the Smiler is in a less-than-balanced way.

[Purplepills]

I will be interested to here what you find out.

 

None of the maps have changed, paper or park ones.

[timetrial3141592]

Don't you just remove a piece of coaster then reinstall and the peeps will think it's a new coaster? That's how it worked in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Why bother? Just shop around for a good deal on an ass-load of paint, slap some on-board audio onto the trains at the expense of some seats; this will result in longer lines, which is just another way of saying that your ride is popular and everyone wants to ride it. Don't worry about the actual content riders are treated to- once those restraints are locked you have their undivided attention (pro-tip: no need to throw money away for maintenance either, if it lasts longer than a few seasons, you're doing it wrong).

Lastly, the best way to let guests know that a super-lot of planning, time, and thought went into your design is by adding some flamethrowers along the course of the ride. No one will like you or your ride if you don't. I know for a fact that this is a big reason Son of Beast was torn down, and why Geauga's Big Dipper is still rotting away on-site instead of thrilling millions every day somewhere in Africa.

 

The cherry on top of this sundae? By following these steps, you leave the door open to reap even more publicity and ridership if you ever choose to bring the ride back to it's original state.

 

Make sure to change the halfway-decent audio to some melange of garbage and remove the flamethrowers later. Also, bonus points if the audio system makes the trains track horribly and the new restraints are uncomfortable as heck.

[gisco]

That poll showing Smiler should be shut down should have a few follow up questions like Have you ever ridden this ride? Do you ride coasters or visit theme parks? Totally useless poll and just the Mirror trying to make news instead of report it.

[snoflake15]

If there was a poll "would you ever buy the mirror?" then I would be a no.

[Anything]

That's a sensationalist tabloid newspaper, the poll means nothing as the paper's readers are typically of low intelligence.

[StealthFan]

I will be interested to here what you find out.

 

None of the maps have changed, paper or park ones.

 

Well that to me says it is possible they are some what optimistic that the ride will re open this year. If the ride was shut down for the year I would expect to see new maps. Im convinced this year they started out with maps that didn't feature "The Blade" but when they decided that the ride was staying for the season new ones were introduced featuring the ride. Or am I just imagining that happened?

[Purplepills]

You may have been imagining it. The map I got yesterday, as you rightly say has Blade missing.

[Purplepills]

Another note from the 2 days is that there were still quite a few school trips there. I know some schools had cancelled after the Smiler incident, but not all. However there did seem to be less younger teenagers than normal there for when we visit. We do normally visit in May though, so the different time of year may have made a bit of a difference? There were quite a few larger groups of 6-10 year olds there though. We noticed this as they kept all going in their groups of 30 kids, 60 seconds before my daughter decided it was time to go on the same ride! 15 minute wait instead of 5...argh!

[toibs]

Latest info (again, direct from the media, so take with a pinch of salt!)...

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1505306/alton-towers-smiler-ride-may-never-reopen

[snoflake15]

^sounds like more Sky News over dramatisation to me.

 

The source is simply a lawyer for the families. Why would AT tell him anything?

 

And the word 'disaster' used again. Tragic accident for those involved but "disaster"? Not my definition of the word.

[ernierocker]

"Disaster" is an awful term to use in this context. Disasters are major catastrophic events like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. And I thought Fox News was bad...

[Purplepills]

Problem is people read this without thinking about it and then its gets misquoted as fact. Its a quote from a lawyer with no basis other than hm stating its a possibility.

 

Still, it generates more clicks than the headline 'Alton Towers Sparing No Expense in Smiler Accident Investigation' doesn't it

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

^This. I think Alton Towers and official investigators are going to find some little issue responsible for the incident that could get corrected pretty easily. If they were to close it, it would have to be as a last resort. Is it a possibility? Yeah, but it would have to require finding major issues that cannot be fixed.

 

I'm hoping this is comparable to the issues with a ropes course killing someone a few months back. Just a few minor things that came together at the wrong time, but patched with little issue:

It was so obvious once we figured it out, it was like `Holy crap,'...It's just a weird bunch of circumstances all happened and we have got to make sure it doesn't happen again."

[Fallen Heretic]

For anyone interested in the HSE and what they do in relation to rides in particular, there is a free PDF guide on their site which gives advice, guidance and some legislation for ride operators. Its alot of reading though. You would have to be VERY interested.

 

http://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/saleproduct.jsf?catalogueCode=9780717662494

 

They also describe what enforcement power they have, which might give a hint as to whether there could be a threat of a court ordered closure (I think its really unlikely).

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/index.htm

 

A quick skim of that leads me to believe that, if there are measures which can prevent a similar incident in future, there will be no law-backed permanent closure of the ride. If a permanent closure happens, it will be because Merlin have chosen to do it. It may come down to two things. Will any required changes be too expensive to implement and sustain running the ride, and is it better for the company as a whole PR wise to let it go. Remember that gullible, tabloid believing GP we complain about is where the vast majority of ticket sales come from.

 

 

Dont forget Big Dipper in Blackpool had a block crash and after upgrades it reopened. Okay, so injuries were not as severe, but its about risk. The consequence is only one part of the equation.

[KarlaKoaster]

Unfortunately a second girl has had to have her leg amputated following the Smiler collision: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-33296533

[snoflake15]

^ was about to post the same. Really sad. The fact it's taken so long to happen almost seems worse. Must have had an awful time of it.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Unfortunately a second girl has had to have her leg amputated following the Smiler collision: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-33296533

 

Such sad news. Hopefully she can recover (the best she can) as soon as possible. my heart goes out to all of them involved.

[KarlaKoaster]

^ was about to post the same. Really sad. The fact it's taken so long to happen almost seems worse. Must have had an awful time of it.

Yes you're absolutely right. She's had something like seven operations, presumably most of which were to try and save her leg. Fortunately it is a below-knee amputation which is a lot easier to live with, while the other girl had it amputated above the knee. I hope that Alton Towers will be true to their word in being as generous as possible with compensation so that they can both have the best prosthetics, best rehabilitation and best support so that they can live as normal a life as possible. I don't doubt that this will be the case.

[Purplepills]

Sad news indeed

 

I hope that Alton Towers will be true to their word in being as generous as possible with compensation so that they can both have the best prosthetics, best rehabilitation and best support so that they can live as normal a life as possible. I don't doubt that this will be the case.

 

Me too, I think in terms of how the park has come across in the handling of this 'aftercare' it seems very good so far. I guess they don't really have a choice given whatever the outcome of the investigation they are ultimately responsible for guests safety, but the fact that there haven't really been loads of negative headlines about that sort of thing shows I think they're doing as best as they really can.

 

I always see the multi million pound compensation headlines which sounds a lot, but then lets face it, if thats what it costs to support these people for the rest of their lives, thats what they deserve.

[lewis97]

Merlin reported profits of £311 million in the last financial year, so it's not as if they can't afford it. It's in their interest to maintain the generally positive public opinion of them in relation to how they've handled the incident.

[Brassinthegrass]

It's not really about them being able to afford it. It's about doing the right thing, and I am sure this company (which seems to ALWAYS does the right thing) will do the right thing by its guests.

[chadster]

If faced with the choice of more surgeries that likely would never restore my leg to even some level of walking normalcy, and starting over with a prosthetic that would allow me to run and or be active at a level much closer to the real thing, I'd choose amputation in a heart beat. Sure I would try, as she and her doctors did, to save my leg, but if the end result was going to be a greatly diminished quality of life, off it goes.

 

Granted, this accident should have never occurred in the first place, but it did, so it has to be dealt with in the most positive light.