• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

"Danger of Death"

Since AT is predicting a fall in profit, maybe they should put the next new attraction on hold and use the money to do a massive overhaul of all the tired and run down theming. They would end up investing less but it would give them a massive new park overhaul campaign for the new season. It would give the whole park a boost and from the GP perspective, people will know that they have made tons of changes and ease safety concerns, even if it is just repairing scenery and adding better theming.
 
Stuntman707 said:
Since AT is predicting a fall in profit, maybe they should put the next new attraction on hold and use the money to do a massive overhaul of all the tired and run down theming.
Click to expand...

That'd be a grave error. The general public are only interested in new rides and attractions. Fortunately Nick Varney said today that they will not be slowing down at Alton or Thorpe.
 
Very few guests actually care about the theming, most just visit to get thrills on the new ride. Postponing the new ride would stop visitors going, only we would visit to see the new theming.
 
Theming helps guests to come back as they remember the escapism and immersive experience, however it pales in comparison to the effect of adding a new ride.
 
The amount of these signs is quite comical really, I had a look earlier this week and they are everywhere, Rita's queue line has about 15, the area around Rita probably has 20, the rapids and flume queues are full of them. Even the outside of Heave Ho and Maraderes Mayhem has them!

Yet there are some areas where you could probably die and there is no mention, such as the small fence near the Rapids, which has a massive drop below. Or the drop from nemesis queue line in to the waterfall.

I personally don't like the signs, but if they really do have to install them I don't see the need for so many. In some areas you can see 4 or 5 all on one fence.

Some of them are also strangely placed, there are some near Rita telling you to keep out of the smallest bit of land, which contains bushes and one support, where the track is 20 foot in the air, yet the ride is lower down over the queue line and public paths!
 
Theming is a big thing in my book, I love rock n roller coaster but I'm not interested in the coaster that is a clone of it and is outside and has next to no theming (can't remember it's name), I haven't seen the new signs at Thorpe yet and I was there last week.
 
AndrewH said:
A danger of death sign probably wouldn't have stopped him. He know where he was going and the risks associated with that. It's very sad that he died but it was his own fault.
Click to expand...
And that my friend, is why the signs are there.
 
Rob said:
Your point being? I'm sure the presence of the signs Towers have would have made no difference whatsoever.

:)
Click to expand...
My point is exactly the same as it has always been, but worries of "ruining thematic elements" naturally take precedence.

The signs are not to stop you from doing something, merely to provide you with a warning of what could possibly happen (and has happened in this example) if you opt to ignore them. It also removes any real blame from the park if a visitor has hopped a fence with full knowledge of what could occur if they did. No warning - a court could potentially find a way to blame the park (any park).

In the same way a sign on a pylon says "Do not climb - a kajillion volts - danger of death" - the sign isn't preventing you from climbing the pylon - you're free to do so, there's no barrier, it's merely a warning of what could happen if you ignore the instruction from the owner.
 
Common sense tells you the same thing, although I accept not everyone has common sense. I still maintain that the previous "Danger, ride area, keep out" signs were sufficient.

:)
 
Rob said:
Common sense tells you the same thing, although I accept not everyone has common sense. I still maintain that the previous "Danger, ride area, keep out" signs were sufficient.
Click to expand...
I guess someone at Alton, or Merlin thought otherwise. If the new signs prevent something like that that happened at Cedar Point happening at Alton, I'm alright with that. If they don't and it happened anyway - I think Alton are in a much better position from a legal standpoint.
 
AndrewH said:
A danger of death sign probably wouldn't have stopped him. He know where he was going and the risks associated with that. It's very sad that he died but it was his own fault.
Click to expand...

It's not always obvious where the ride may come from, particularly on interted & flying coasters. I think Air (at AT) used to get a lot of e-stops due to people in the ride area as it is difficult to tell where the ride actually is. I know common sense should say don't go over a fence, but some people may not realise how close to danger they are.
Without seeing the actual fence he jumped it is hard to say if he fully understood the risk or not.
 
jon81uk said:
Without seeing the actual fence he jumped it is hard to say if he fully understood the risk or not.
Click to expand...

I believe this is the area where the accident happened:

20557547621_f0a679120a.jpg


So two lots of fencing and plenty of signs! But for some people nothing will make any difference. The danger is pretty obvious without signs.

:)
 
Obvious enough that less than 24 hours ago, someone ended their life in the most tragic and needless way and affected the lives of the ride crew, medical staff and of course the people on the ride that witnessed the incident right before their eyes. Right?

I think it's perhaps more of a problem with the inverted rides, because somehow people don't associate the danger as much because there is plenty of clearance between the track and the ground, but people forget just how big those trains are.
 
Rick said:
Obvious enough that less than 24 hours ago, someone ended their life in the most tragic and needless way and affected the lives of the ride crew, medical staff and of course the people on the ride that witnessed the incident right before their eyes. Right?

I think it's perhaps more of a problem with the inverted rides, because somehow people don't associate the danger as much because there is plenty of clearance between the track and the ground, but people forget just how big those trains are.
Click to expand...

Yes, obvious enough. Sometimes you can't account for stupidity, maybe that's harsh but it is true. What more could Cedar Point to do make it any obvious? There are two fences, one fairly tall, signs and it states this on the park maps:

thumb_20150813_203345_1_.jpg


Without hiring people to patrol the edges of ride areas there's not much more you can do! That or barbed wire fences maybe?

You are right in what you say about inverted coasters though, a similar incident happened on the invert at SFOG last year I think. As it happens it's probably far more dangerous entering a ride area of an inverted coaster than it is a sit down.

:)
 
Rob said:
Yes, obvious enough. Sometimes you can't account for stupidity, maybe that's harsh but it is true. What more could Cedar Point to do make it any obvious? There are two fences, one fairly tall, signs and it states this on the park maps:
Click to expand...
But we're back to square one... the purpose of the sign is two fold, one which you are alluding to and one which you are ignoring. Forget about its "Don't do it function" - that's not disputed and of course it's impossible to track how many people haven't entered low zones because of them, because the only people we can count are the fatalities and injuries of those who choose to ignore.

The other purpose, is the "So you did it, got killed/injured - we DID warn you" - that's what this is all about.

Rob said:
You are right in what you say about inverted coasters though, a similar incident happened on the invert at SFOG last year I think. As it happens it's probably far more dangerous entering a ride area of an inverted coaster than it is a sit down.
Click to expand...
Indeed, it's very sad - at least one every year and they are very often with B&M inverts.
 
I don't feel sad reading this. I feel sad for the people on the ride, and the medics, but as for the complete t@@t who entered the ride area, knowing the risks, oh well, one less idiot on this planet which is already inhabited by too many of them as it is. No one can say they have entered a ride area without knowing not only are they putting themselves at risk, but the people on the ride. These morons are no better than drink drivers in my view.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top