Accident at Alton Towers

[ATTACKHAMMER]

My thoughts are with the young girl and her family. Amputation is a horrific consequence.

I think the very least The Smiler needs is a re brand, but that isn't important at the moment. The victims need top quality care and support provided by Merlin.

 

[Rollercoaster David]

terrible news about the injuries, above knee too and at such a young age. I'm sure she'll end up with a very significant settlement from merlin.

Regarding if the ride should re-open I think the most sensible thing would be to replace the section of track where it occurred, get new trains and consider a re-brand. It might take a bit of creative engineering but maybe the bat wing could be changed for a twisted horseshoe roll or even a helix, something where the train is less likely to stall. Given the footprint of the smiler it might be tricky but there have been other transformations such as steel phantom to phantoms revenge that have been successful. I think in the eyes of the public replacing the section where it happened and emphasising new safety protocols would show that enough changes had been made to make it safe.

 

[Slayed]

I'd be surprised if the ride was scrapped entirely, but if they keep it I would expect them to solve the stalling issue - any more valleyed trains in the future and there'd be uproar.

Since that's likely to require major work, it's going to be 2016 at least before it re-opens.

 

[tks]

The hysteria of the public in the park seeing a train valley would be cause enough to get rid of the element.

Can't they just put the Black Hole back in and pretend it's new?

 

[Martyn B]

I don't get why people are saying they should rebrand it? This isn't RCT, you can't change the name, colour and then test it for a few days, and everyone's forgotten!

Like somebody has already said, rebranding it will look like they're trying to cover it up.

I understand that this is a big deal to us Brits because it's a massive coaster, at our biggest park, that we've all been on. But SO much worse has happened the world over, the subsequent rides have soon reopened.

 

[SpeedyWorm]

^This. Again to all those thinking a re-brand will be enough over time are mixing there own rational with that of the general public. Even Mindbender and New Texas Giant did not have this narrative created about them being accidents waiting to happen plagued by problems in the past. How many times did the press ask for either of those rides to be ''torn down'' as they have done with the smiler?
That kind of is not forgotten about very easily and a re-brand may be considered as way of trying to lull people into a false sense of security by many. Squarely on the back of respect for the people injured many people may be angered at the ride re-opening, that isn't even taking the safety side of things into consideration.

 

[Smithy]

Which is why I said talk of re-branding is far too premature.

Get the compensation settled. Get those injured out of hospital and on the mend. Then start thinking about a re-brand.

Also, has anybody seen the claims of serious injuries from the family on the second row? The daughter was giving interviews the day after the incident, yet only today has it come out on the BBC that her mother who was apparently also riding with her has had to have surgery due to serious internal injuries including internal bleeding and kidney damage. Yet after the incident they declined medical assistance and left the park immediately in a taxi.

I'm a naturally cynical person, but that strikes me as a bit fishy.

 

[elephant58]

^This. Again to all those thinking a re-brand will be enough over time are mixing there own rational with that of the general public. Even Mindbender and New Texas Giant did not have this narrative created about them being accidents waiting to happen plagued by problems in the past. How many times did the press ask for either of those rides to be ''torn down'' as they have done with the smiler?
That kind of is not forgotten about very easily and a re-brand may be considered as way of trying to lull people into a false sense of security by many. Squarely on the back of respect for the people injured many people may be angered at the ride re-opening, that isn't even taking the safety side of things into consideration.

I don't get why people are saying they should rebrand it? This isn't RCT, you can't change the name, colour and then test it for a few days, and everyone's forgotten!

Like somebody has already said, rebranding it will look like they're trying to cover it up.

I understand that this is a big deal to us Brits because it's a massive coaster, at our biggest park, that we've all been on. But SO much worse has happened the world over, the subsequent rides have soon reopened.

I agree completely. Alton Towers have done their best to try to persuade guests to return to the park and they'll do the same for the Smiler. It'll probably be SBNO for the rest of the year, out of consideration for those injured if it's usable. They'll then sort out any stalling issues in the off season and by 2016, the park should be ready to reopen it.

 

[Ian]

It does feel disrespectful to talk about rebranding, closing it down etc when a poor girl has lost a leg but, although our thoughts are with Leah, as enthusiasts, it's no surprise that we want to talk about the coaster's future.

I can't see how they can reopen it as it is now. I doubt they will announce its reopening to prevent a media onslaught. It'll probably happen quietly one day with no fanfare. And will Oblivion open soon, or will they be keeping people as far from the Smiler for as long as they can.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

I feel so awful for the woman, her family and all those involved. Dreadful news.

 

[Martyn B]

Do we reckon this incident will affect SW8? After all, Smiler is still the 'new' coaster at the park....?

The incident on PMBO could be the reason that it took BPB 11 years to open their next coaster. Can anyone on here remember the media storm surrounding that incident? And is it similar to what's happening now?

 

[elephant58]

It does feel disrespectful to talk about rebranding, closing it down etc when a poor girl has lost a leg but, although our thoughts are with Leah, as enthusiasts, it's no surprise that we want to talk about the coaster's future.

I can't see how they can reopen it as it is now. I doubt they will announce its reopening to prevent a media onslaught. It'll probably happen quietly one day with no fanfare. And will Oblivion open soon, or will they be keeping people as far from the Smiler for as long as they can.

Which is why I think it will open, probably with the current theme, at the start of next season with the rest of the park.

I'm honestly surprised that the rumour is in fact true and it's absolutely awful news. This may be the worst accident in recent UK history.

^To be honest, I think the park will want to be marketing SW8 as much as possible, when the time comes.....

 

[Smithy]

Do we reckon this incident will affect SW8? After all, Smiler is still the 'new' coaster at the park....?

The incident on PMBO could be the reason that it took BPB 11 years to open their next coaster. Can anyone on here remember the media storm surrounding that incident? And is it similar to what's happening now?

Yes. No chance of a woodie imo, was already a massivw struggle to convince people they were safe

 

[SilverArrow]

Do we reckon this incident will affect SW8? After all, Smiler is still the 'new' coaster at the park....?

The incident on PMBO could be the reason that it took BPB 11 years to open their next coaster. Can anyone on here remember the media storm surrounding that incident? And is it similar to what's happening now?

Yes. No chance of a woodie imo, was already a massivw struggle to convince people they were safe

I was thinking this too although wood could be a good change from steel multi inverters.

Still so gutted about the victims. I hate when you feel like nothing is ever going to solve something or make it fully better. I can't remember whether it was here or TT but someone mentioned about hoping that they have positive people around them which I would like to second. It will make a huge different to their recoveries which I hope are speedy.

It literally is a combination of such horrid events for everyone involved. Obviously the massive tragedy for the victims, their families and any staff or onlookers who might have been affected and we hope that everyone can recover as best they can from it but also from it being the worst time of year for the park, their newest ride with an imaginative theme they'd worked very hard on and with the dawn of a woodie finally looking to be on the horizon.

It's hard to get your head around how something which could have been just a momentary lapse in concentration or technical glitch can have such a domino effect on so many things (people's lives and wellbeing, ride design, PR, marketing, stocks, future plans for rides and operations, reputation and engineering practises or even local businesses and numbers at other UK parks).

That's the nature of accidents though you can't predict them or their effects.

We'll have to see how it pans out regarding changes. I'm on the fence about how they'll deal with the ride as different comments sway me either way.

 

[Ian]

It does feel disrespectful to talk about rebranding, closing it down etc when a poor girl has lost a leg but, although our thoughts are with Leah, as enthusiasts, it's no surprise that we want to talk about the coaster's future.

I can't see how they can reopen it as it is now. I doubt they will announce its reopening to prevent a media onslaught. It'll probably happen quietly one day with no fanfare. And will Oblivion open soon, or will they be keeping people as far from the Smiler for as long as they can.

Which is why I think it will open, probably with the current theme, at the start of next season with the rest of the park.

If they don't re theme, perhaps they might reconsider the rides description on their web page? It currently reads...

Experience the world's first 14 looping rollercoaster! Not for the faint hearted, The Smiler also features a series of twisted psychological effects, including optical illusions and blinding lights designed to mess with your mind and body.

You belong to The Smiler

Not only does The Smiler have a jaw-dropping 14 inversions and plunging 30 metre drops, the ride also features twisted psychological effects to mess with your mind!

Join us…

I'm not one of those irritating people who gets offended on somebody else's behalf, but the wording seems somewhat inappropriate to me.

 

[elephant58]

^I have to admit, 'mess with your mind and body' needs to change. Also, might it be better to focus on the 'smiley' aspect of it, as opposed to its scary side? I don't think they should get rid of the theme/backstory completely, but toning some of it down must do more good than bad.

 

[ems991]

I was thinking the same as Speedyworm. Have there been any other major incidents at large well reputed parks which have garnered so much attention? I am speaking from the point of view as just general public I vaguely remember reports of Hydro having that incident and a few others but I would not have been able to tell you where they were or anything, just somebody unfortunately died at some obscure park. I say obscure park, again talking as general public because to me the Merlin parks they all have such a large reputation compared to say Oakwood, that average people across the country/globe have heard of them.

The press attention has been unprecedented. Perhaps again because this ride has been dogged by problems so they've been able to latch onto this idea of "cursed rides" etc. But again I'm interested if anybody can tell me of a high profile ride which has had such a large proportion of problems in its short life span and then a crash which has injured riders?

And what were the results for those rides?

However I don't know if any of you saw the park on the Channel 4 News tonight, I thought it was good how the general consensus was that AT had handled everything well. Although these were the people happy to be there on the first day of it reopening so you would assume they'd be positive, and the park didn't look overly busy in some shots.

 

[cjbrandy]

I wouldn't have wanted to be at the park today, I bet the atmosphere was rather depressing and melancholic following the news about Leah. I bet if you were there and waiting in a queue, you'd hear virtually everyone talking about the crash.

 

[elephant58]

^I'm going on a school trip in July and it's going to be weird seeing the Smiler and thinking that's the site of a serious accident.

 

[cjbrandy]

^I'm going on a school trip in July and it's going to be weird seeing the Smiler and thinking that's the site of a serious accident.

Yeah it will, they have the entire X Sector closed right now so they have room to work/investigate without rubberneckers interfering but hopefully Oblivion will be back in business when you go