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I don't find the Smiler that rough either. I don't mind rough rollercoasters as long as they don't have OTSRs (I'm looking at you Gwazi). Colossus is the only rollercoaster I've actually sustained injury on due to roughness, even the Corkscrew couldn't manage that.

Not even going to click on the article and give the Mirror the visitor numbers. I'd say Merlin are skating on very thin ice sacking someone for the event, particularly where the ride systems have been upgraded, which is pretty much an admission of an inadequate Human-Machine Interface. This is...

I do actually, you hear of plenty of people that face their fears and "get back on the horse" so to speak.

Whilst I do get where you are coming from, I think we do have to be a little bit sensitive that being a public forum, Leah, Joe, Vicky and Daniel could be reading this, and perhaps not share the sentiment. If any of you four are reading this, you would be very welcome to join us. We will...

It's not as if it is technically beyond the Towers to do this, after all, that's how Nemesis and Oblivion hide their height. It would actually create a ride I'm fearful of. Imagine getting on at the surface, with a polished version of the Sub-Terra story, and then you are lowered slowly down...

I will, the addition of the reset buttons at various locations around the track is the clincher for me. However, it will have a major affect on downtime with staff having to walk around to every point per restart.

With the announcement that the Smiler will reopen in 2016. Will you ride it? Now I know an enthusiast forum will be full of bias, but your reasons will make for interesting reading.

Why is everyone so keen for Sonic Spinball to close over Hex? It's a cracking ride!

I'd be interested in what @MichelinMan has to say about all this. He's righted a few wrongs in my assumptions due to a greater depth of knowledge.

'Human Error' is a bit of a weasle-wriggle. Human error, and indeed unofficial shortcuts to procedure is to be anticipated as part of a Human Reliability Assessment. It's an organic thing too, just because an HRA was valid when the ride was initially commissioned, doesn't mean it was valid at...

Interestingly, the Mirror are claiming the ride will be open next year http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-smiler-rollercoaster-crash-6890481 Unusual for them to be so positive.

You're not wrong there, Thomas has nostalgia for today's parents, yet is child friendly. I cannot see the next generation of parents having such fond memories of Iggle Piggle.

Well, it looks like that could be it for Charlie with the announcement of 2016's closed rides. I cannot see anyone backing a campaign to force a U-turn either.

It's personal taste of course, but whilst I always have a degree of trepidation for the first ride of the day on Oblivion, Apocalypse is a ride that I have actually left the park unridden due to my own fear of it. Nemesis is a much better ride overall, but it has never intimidated me as much as...

I think it has already been mentioned, but I could really see a Midlands power shift if Drayton Manor were to put up a B&M winged coaster in 2017. Drayton Manor already cover a wider thrill spectrum than Alton Towers, from the tame rides of Thomas Land, right the way up to Apocalypse, which is...

And to think I visited Drayton Manor this year and not the Towers because I thought things were bad, next year sounds pretty catastrophic!

Merlin will love that then, they do like minimal development costs!

If I had my wishes: 2016: A good scrub up, Air theme improved, Nemesis theming restored and Ripsaw removed. Create a boundary between the rest of Forbidden Valley and Air, with the latter being a flight-themed area. 2017: Install a flat like Air Race in place of Ripsaw, and a modern equivalent...

Might be a while until I can get back again to do Stealth. Also, I forgot one. Flying FIsh: Very punchy for an entry-level coaster, although I preferred the Beastie because that was a genuine roller-coaster rather than a powered coaster.

Agreed, but I hope it still has the interlocks in place to stop riders from colliding with the floor if the stop procedure isn't done in the right order. But yes, it looked knackered, it feels kanckered, it is knackered.