Accident at Alton Towers
- Thread starter silenthillXD
- Start date
Darren B said:
No offense here, but what the hell are you on about? The incident at Air is not even near 'tragic' speaking from first hand experience when it did the same thing last year on my visit. The ride is known to shut down (not break down) from time to time, especially on that lift. Even people who were interviewed were admitting that breaking down is a risk and although it was a bit distressing at that time, it's not going to put them off riding rollercoasters. Why would Air get removed because of it?
Again, the monorail didn't leave anyone emotionally scarred, again where have you got that from? Look up the photos of that incident and you can see that AT were serving the people with refreshments to keep them from dehydrating and the doors and windows of the monorail were flung open to stop anyone from overheating. Even claustrophobic people wouldn't have had a problem since they had access to open air. Please research a bit more into an incident before stating such a thing.
At the end of the day, this happens in EVERY theme park from time to time and if you are not prepared for the risk of a ride breaking down, don't go to them. The smiler was a terrible and tragic accident but that doesn't mean every ride is a death hazard.
mcg0ughchris
Mega Poster
Neil20143 said:
What are you on mate...
Obviously the post was tongue in cheek
SilverArrow
Certified Ride Geek
Haha, yes!Mysterious Sue said:
I think we need some proper news as the conversation keeps going in circles now. Wonder how long it will be before we actually get some. Probably months and months.
Edit: Another first post-accident photo. I think the girls are really brave for doing this, although they might have felt like they needed to after all the hype. It probably helps with coming to terms with the changes but it is pretty heavy stuff! Bless them for being so determined to fight back after their injuries!
http://www.itv.com/news/2015-07-04/roll ... mputation/
Jordanovichy
Credit Whore 2016
I had some awful woman try and tell me how unsafe rollercoasters now are whilst at work tonight. I had to get someone else to finish her order so I didn't spit in her chips and punch her in the face. People legitimately think the power cut the other day was life threatening and completely Alton Towers' fault. Ugh, general public.
cjbrandy
Hyper Poster
I remember when I went Alton back in April, as I was waiting for Ripsaw it got stuck for 10 minutes with riders on it. If that happened today it would have made national **** headlines for **** sake!
If I had taken pictures back in April and set them to say, the Daily Mail or the Mirror, their reaction would be "**** off, this isnt newsworthy" whilst now it would be gold to them.
If I had taken pictures back in April and set them to say, the Daily Mail or the Mirror, their reaction would be "**** off, this isnt newsworthy" whilst now it would be gold to them.
Pink Cadillac
Giga Poster
Jordanovichy said:
Similar thing happened to me. I won't go into details, but it was frustrating coming from a friend who is seemingly clever.
Jordanovichy
Credit Whore 2016
Gazza said:
Sorry if I'm being stupid or not understanding sarcasm etc. but was this actually a thing? I knew there was an incident but had they actually collided??
mouse
Giga Poster
Last time I was at Alton a wasp flew out of bin and stung me on the arm. It was near Oblivion so it may have been the vibrations from the coaster that made the wasp angry. There were absolutely no precautions to minimise the wasp-anger rate in the park, and once I had been stung I was panicked to realise they didn't have a trained wasp response team.
I'll have to sell my story to the Mail, hopefully they'll pay me enough to get a Merlin annual pass
.
I'll have to sell my story to the Mail, hopefully they'll pay me enough to get a Merlin annual pass
.
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
I bet that Alton's staff have to do some BS procedure that makes a mountain out of a mole hill, causing those guests on Spinball to realise there was an issue and freak out about it. Because there is NO WAY a regular nudge on a wild mouse style coaster could ever be considered a big deal. It happens all the time.
spicy
Giga Poster
Ok they really are scraping the barrel to keep this fresh in the media now...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/al ... on-6010014
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/al ... on-6010014
I think one of the contributing factors why the media are hanging on to every problem is not only down to the skilful lawyers dripping information and idiotic guests wanting their five mins of fame, but down to the way Merlin (and AT in particular) respect the media.
I've always thought that Alton Towers have a "holier than thou" attitude towards the media. It's not like they need the publicity so they can afford to be borderline arrogant. I've had first hand experience being classed as "not real media" (which I full appreciate and accept) and when I went to do the Guardian interview a few weeks ago, it felt like the reporter was being treated as a burden despite him doing a positive piece. It was one of the hottest days of the year and not once was he offered a drink!
Having met a a lot of park PR people over the years, there is a huge gulf between Merlin and other parks. Most, but not all, of the Merlin people tend to be grey suited, corporate conditioned PR people with no actual passion or care for the rides or the park. It's a job working for the world's second largest amusement park company, something great to put on the CV. That's why we see lame PR stunts that have next-to-no relevance to the ride itself. It's stuff designed to grab headline and get people talking. I don't doubt that style of publicity at all, but I think a change of tact where they concentrated on the fun and enjoyment that a ride can offer and why they're good would be a welcome change.
This is why this the accident caused a storm here in the UK, whereas similar accidents (if not worse ones) in the USA are only minor blips on the bad-news radar. Rides in the USA tend to be promoted as the "best this" or "world record that" or "highest whatever". It's all about the excitement and joy the rider will get when they give it a whirl. People want to ride the coasters due to they way they are promoted, and not just inserted into the public consciousness through some silly stunt with drag queens on a ride, bringing bottle of wee to the park or, dare I say it, silly things like monorails breaking down. If the ride has a reputation for being the coolest thing in the world EVER when it is launched, that vibe will stick with it for the rest of the coaster's life. Because the Smiler had a lacklustre and forgettable launch, it will only now be remembered for the accident on 2nd June 2015.
Finally, if you are irritated, like I am, with the sensationalised and ill-researched reporting by some of the gutter press, then email the editor. I have emailed countless publications in the last month. Not in an aggressive way, but to "inform them that their level of journalism should maintain it's high standard and reports on factual occurrences". Don't whinge about it on social media, on a forum or sign a petition as that will make little difference. Bombard the editor with an email politely informing them of reality and who knows, they might actually pay attention.
I've always thought that Alton Towers have a "holier than thou" attitude towards the media. It's not like they need the publicity so they can afford to be borderline arrogant. I've had first hand experience being classed as "not real media" (which I full appreciate and accept) and when I went to do the Guardian interview a few weeks ago, it felt like the reporter was being treated as a burden despite him doing a positive piece. It was one of the hottest days of the year and not once was he offered a drink!
Having met a a lot of park PR people over the years, there is a huge gulf between Merlin and other parks. Most, but not all, of the Merlin people tend to be grey suited, corporate conditioned PR people with no actual passion or care for the rides or the park. It's a job working for the world's second largest amusement park company, something great to put on the CV. That's why we see lame PR stunts that have next-to-no relevance to the ride itself. It's stuff designed to grab headline and get people talking. I don't doubt that style of publicity at all, but I think a change of tact where they concentrated on the fun and enjoyment that a ride can offer and why they're good would be a welcome change.
This is why this the accident caused a storm here in the UK, whereas similar accidents (if not worse ones) in the USA are only minor blips on the bad-news radar. Rides in the USA tend to be promoted as the "best this" or "world record that" or "highest whatever". It's all about the excitement and joy the rider will get when they give it a whirl. People want to ride the coasters due to they way they are promoted, and not just inserted into the public consciousness through some silly stunt with drag queens on a ride, bringing bottle of wee to the park or, dare I say it, silly things like monorails breaking down. If the ride has a reputation for being the coolest thing in the world EVER when it is launched, that vibe will stick with it for the rest of the coaster's life. Because the Smiler had a lacklustre and forgettable launch, it will only now be remembered for the accident on 2nd June 2015.
Finally, if you are irritated, like I am, with the sensationalised and ill-researched reporting by some of the gutter press, then email the editor. I have emailed countless publications in the last month. Not in an aggressive way, but to "inform them that their level of journalism should maintain it's high standard and reports on factual occurrences". Don't whinge about it on social media, on a forum or sign a petition as that will make little difference. Bombard the editor with an email politely informing them of reality and who knows, they might actually pay attention.