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WTF Merlin?

davidm said:
Do feel sorry for Merlin/Alton when they have to do with ****wittery like this too ; https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/alton-towers-ruined-sons-700-1718057
(to save you the click, some guff about someone who was not safe to ride the roller coaster being denied riding the roller coaster)
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That's one case where I think they have a point, if the policy hasn't changed why was he allowed on whereas now he's not? I guess as a disabled person myself I feel more strongly here.

Very upsetting that they can't assist people while evacuating roller coasters. I was always under the impression that wheelchair users could ride if they had two legs (functioning or not). What next, blind people can't ride as they can't safely evacuate?
 
davidm said:
Right sorry, thought they were just whinging about wickerman
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Not at all, actually the article is rather unclear.

I wonder why the Wicker Man (and also the Smiler, according to Alton Towers disability guidelines) are more restrictive than other roller coasters? Much of our public transport network is inaccessible simply due to money not being spent, I wonder if it's the same at Alton Towers.

I really feel for them here. :(
 
lachlan said:
That's one case where I think they have a point, if the policy hasn't changed why was he allowed on whereas now he's not? I guess as a disabled person myself I feel more strongly here.
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He was allowed on rides previously by mistake? Is that out of the question, considering how intensely they're being scrutinised all the time? Just a thought...

It's a tricky situation, as I do sympathise with them suddenly now being turned away, but conversely I think if I was in that situation I'd have made contact with the park in advance (probably before every visit, to be honest) asking for confirmation that everything would be okay. I absolutely agree that the park should be doing everything in their power to help people who need it (for whatever reason), as should all public spaces, but equally I think there should be some cases where there is responsibility placed on the person and/or their carer to make appropriate checks given their specific situation.
 
Hixee said:
He was allowed on rides previously by mistake? Is that out of the question, considering how intensely they're being scrutinised all the time? Just a thought...

It's a tricky situation, as I do sympathise with them suddenly now being turned away, but conversely I think if I was in that situation I'd have made contact with the park in advance (probably before every visit, to be honest) asking for confirmation that everything would be okay. I absolutely agree that the park should be doing everything in their power to help people who need it (for whatever reason), as should all public spaces, but equally I think there should be some cases where there is responsibility placed on the person and/or their carer to make appropriate checks given their specific situation.
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That's possible that it was a mistake, though if that is the case it doesn't give me much confidence in their operations.

It's similar to the filming on rides incident earlier this year, nobody checks to see if the rules have changed. I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned when he picked up his ride access pass.
 
From what I could tell, that article was badly written - as most of you know, my brother's paraplegic and has been on all coasters at Alton except Smiler and Wickerman. It's a matter of picking him up and effectively throwing him into the seat, but they've not had an issue with it before. As such, I'd have thought it was still permissible for all coasters except the two new ones (is there even a way out of Wicker Man that doesn't involve stairs?)

I've dug out the disability guide here: https://www.altontowers.com/media/5550/online-resort-access-guide-2018.pdf

If I'm right, that article will have caused a ****storm that Merlin don't deserve. If I'm wrong, then said ****storm is probably more justified. Coincidentally, Liseberg is great for disabled guests.
 
Will said:
From what I could tell, that article was badly written - as most of you know, my brother's paraplegic and has been on all coasters at Alton except Smiler and Wickerman. It's a matter of picking him up and effectively throwing him into the seat, but they've not had an issue with it before.
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I know I haven't talked you properly for quite some time Will, I knew there was issues with your brother, didn't know it has got worse for him. That sucks!

Sent from my FRD-L09 using Tapatalk
 
I mean, I can see why you wouldn’t be able to just put someone on your shoulder and carry them down the Oblivion lift hill like it’s fine.

OK it’s weird they’ve been allowed to up until now but... come on...
 
I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that a lack of evacuation ramp for disabled riders was one of the main factors in Black Hole being removed, so it's a bit strange if they've carried on building rides with this problem.

To be honest, I can see Ben's point and I did ask Borg about that last night and he wasn't sure but again, it seems strange that Liseberg, Canada's Wonderland etc. were fine with it. It's a tricky one, especially with all the anti-discrimination legislation that gets thrown around...
 
As big fan of the Dungeons attractions I would love to see one in the Towers themselves. Just like the Dungeons in Warwick, it would be such an atmospheric setting and could be something great. Although this probably just going to be a Sub Terra retheme isn't it... :(
 
Calling it now, they're going to make a massive mystery marketing stunt about it again, tagging it as the "most intense experience" you've ever seen and throw so many "secrets" around like there's no tomorrow.
To be fair, never been to a Dungeon before, so I couldn't tell if they're actually good.
 
I swear someone made a joke about a dungeon in the towers a while back and now it's probably coming true. Ew.
 
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There are rumours that The Dungeons will not be in Sub Terra or The Towers themselves but will be a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory retheme with the ride layout modified and lifts being utilised.

There is little evidence whether it is true or not but when it comes to leaks in the past, the source has been correct.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
There are rumours that The Dungeons will not be in Sub Terra or The Towers themselves but will be a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory retheme with the ride layout modified and lifts being utilised.

There is little evidence whether it is true or not but when it comes to leaks in the past, the source has been correct.
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Imagine a Dungeon themed water ride.
How is that elevator scene going to turn out then lol
Joking aside, putting it over where Charlie was would make it quite out of the way of everything to be fair. Unless AT decided to ditch CCL and move everything to Cbeebies?
 
They'll definitely use the "ride" from sub terra but a dungeon in Forbidden Valley doesn't seem like a good fit. Charlie would be a really odd place to put it too though unless they retheme the whole area.
Saying that, the London Dungeon features a boat ride section so it would make a lot of sense to use the building, boat ride and simulators from Charlie and bring in the sub-terra drop.
 
Peet said:
They'll definitely use the "ride" from sub terra but a dungeon in Forbidden Valley doesn't seem like a good fit. Charlie would be a really odd place to put it too though unless they retheme the whole area.
Saying that, the London Dungeon features a boat ride section so it would make a lot of sense to use the building, boat ride and simulators from Charlie and bring in the sub-terra drop.
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Yeah, interesting point, maybe they'll botch it together from other stuff they've got throughout the park.

It'd be like an episode of Scrapheap Challenge.
 
Charlie's pretty close to both the Towers and Dark Forest, so is there really a reason why they couldn't merge all three areas into one big spooky-themed area? As far as I remember, CCL was the only thing separating the similarly themed Dark Forest and Towers. Also I think using the Dungeons brand to retheme Charlie could turn out really cool tbh.
 
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