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Accident at Camelot, Lancashire

Why the hell do some of you lot want a UK park to close? Especially an independent UK park. Another soldier lost in the battle against the massive Merlin monopoly corporation. What the hell kind of theme park enthusiasts would hope for a theme park to close down? :(

Knightmare (and if you like your rides rough, Whirlwind) is one of the best coasters in the UK. There's no guarantee if the park closes that it'll find another home in the UK. Why would you celebrate one of the UK's best coasters being closed down? :?
 
^Have you been to the same park as people on here?

It IS dire and in it's current state deserves to close just for the sheer fact that it thinks it's worth £26 on the gate for it...

I'm sure if someone took charge and invested into it THEN it could be worth saving... But currently, it's really not worth the money I paid to go there...
 
Nemesis Inferno said:
^Have you been to the same park as people on here?

It IS dire and in it's current state deserves to close just for the sheer fact that it thinks it's worth £26 on the gate for it...

I'm sure if someone took charge and invested into it THEN it could be worth saving... But currently, it's really not worth the money I paid to go there...
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I don't think it's dire. The theming (sadly) is some of the best in the UK. It is better themed than Flamingoland, and has better rollercoasters than Flamingoland, so RELATIVE to UK parks I'd hardly call it "dire". I think they are a struggling smaller park who do the best with what they have, and Knightmare was a masterstroke of an investment.

I've never paid £26 as the four times I've been I've used 2-4-1 vouchers. Like most people (presumably) do. I think it's worth £14 for a day's worth of rides on Knightmare and Whirlwind alone. I don't think it's ever a good thing to see a UK park go under...
 
Having visited extremely recently and have done in the past too it really is in a poor state. I would even struggle for the £14 with a 2-4-1 voucher. The only thing of merit is Knightmare. It is a sad moment when you realise that they only thing worth going to Camelot for apart from Knightmare is the jousting show.

Better themeing than Flamingoland? I don't exactly understand that. I am sure if people were asked to choose between rides that don't look like they are falling apart and themeing they would side with the former option.

Whirlwind is dreadful. It is still on its lorry bed no matter being at the park for many years. It was truly scary to ride because it looked like it was falling apart. It was rusty and just worn out.

It would be sad to see it go, I admit that but it needs money investing in it. If that isn't going to happen then I am afraid it would time for it go. It can't keep up at the moment with other local parks to it such as Blackpool. When I was there, people were commenting that they could get into Blackpool for the same price.

According to the local news, the boy's injuries aren't life threatening but they are serious.
 
Martyn B said:
^ It *think* its been confirmed that the park is staying open for at least another 5 years.
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Yeah, but it's gone bust before! If the park is unprofitable (the season ends in just a week and a half) and this kid's family sues then it's going to struggle, I think.
 
I really don't want to see the place close, I REALLY don't want to see some of their rides snapped up by another UK park forming some shoddy new half-arsed medieval area. I'm quite surprised anyone here would wish a park to close really, but each to their own.

Does anyone have a good picture of the actual restraint setup on Excalibur 2? I've seen the images of Evolution on the Fabbri site and I'm not sure that Obliterator (same model) at Pleasure Island has OTSRs like that. Would be interested to know exactly what Excalbur 2 has?
 
I don't want the park to close, but I can understand 100% why it's possible, even likely. The place really is pretty dire, with a single good ride and some pretty dreadful areas. It's close to the superior family park of Gullivers, and the superior ride park of Blackpool. It needs to do everything so much better, but doesn't. There's no money, and without the investment, there never will be (even with it, it's a tough market), so the place is between a rock and hard place.

As for the accident, it's pretty shocking. I seem to remember it being one of those rides where you get an OTSR, then a cage that locks it all into place. So it seems like one of those odd accidents where there's a lot of safety devices in place. I do have a video of Stone Cold getting out under the restraints of a ride at Camelot though, so it's possible if you're determined (not saying the kid deliberately got out of the restraints).
 
Strange, I remember even at the CF-Live enjoying Excalibur 2. Apparently I'm the only one on the forum that does.

Probably it's just because it's local (biased), but I always want Camelot to do well. I have really good memories of it from when I was going at 11/12 years old. When I used to visit, Whirlwind was an amazing ride. I'm actually not sure whether it's nostalgia or that it just wasn't rough 8 years ago... then again, I used to enjoy The Gauntlet which was a Pinfari loopy thing... and that was dire. Knightmare is a fantastic ride, but one ride can't hold up an entire park.

I can't see the park realistically getting much better, and if legal battles follow from this incident, then that'll make life even harder.
 
The thing with Camelot is that is has a lot of potential to be a really lovely park. The entrance plaza with the castle and things is all quite cute and the land they have to work with is sufficient enough, it just needs some money pumped into it and a LOT of TLC and they could have the place looking fab! It just feels grimy when you go there, like the people who work at the park don't really give a **** and that it's all a bit neglected. I'd hate to see the park closed and the rides sold off, it just needs some attention (and money).
 
If this park was in RCT it would be Ivory Towers, it had it's heyday, but now it's fallen into disrepair and looks grimy, rubbish and it's laid out all wrong. Back to reality the park has great potential, it's in an easy to reach location, Knightmare was a step in the 'right' direction for the park.
 
Some woman has said she experienced the same thing a few weeks ago.

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/woman_s ... _1_3710589

1. Why didn't she report it to the HSE, let alone the park.
2. She's a coaster fanatic so surely she'd know if something was wrong and would have made a fuss.
3. She didn't fall out, she said it "felt" like she was falling out.

I really hate sensationalism like this.
 
Does anyone have a good picture of the actual restraint setup on Excalibur 2?
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This is from the same ride type at Barry Island:

25p31x3.jpg
 
Another woman, Valerie Willis, 48, said she warned Camelot and Health and Safety bosses the ride was dangerous 10 years ago.

She said: “I seriously thought I would come out of it. I had to keep pulling myself up on the bars.

“I said sooner or later there would be an accident but they insisted it was safe. I’m absolutely appalled.”
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10 years ago, and after millions of riders one person finally falls out. I've been telling the civil aviation authority for years that aeroplanes are dangerous and it's only a matter of time before there's an accident - I never feel safe on them. They keep saying they'll keep on flying planes and then one crashed over the weekend and killed a man, I'm absolutely appalled.

Absolutely **** ridiculous statement to make. Eugh!
 
Well, I went today (paid for with Pub Quiz winnings and a 2-for-1 voucher) and it was pretty decent. The best things were the jousting and the excellent Birds of Prey, although the rides were fun too - especially Whirlwind and Knightmare (though the only real nightmare of that one is the slow throughput).

It does desperately need touching up, a new ride or three, and a better idea of what it wants to be but the place was busy - definitely more people there than last time I went (and that was on a weekend).
 
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