• 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.

Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
It is clear that there is an intention to open it - the testing, all of the work around the ride and what has come out in the media. We simply do not know if Merlin have been influenced in its re-opening by what has or has not been said in the media. I still think it will open sometime before Scarefest and really hope that it does!

:)
 
Everyone thought its reopening was imminent at the start of the month. It turned out to be under prohibition notice. For all we know it still is.
 
Tom said:
Everyone thought its reopening was imminent at the start of the month. It turned out to be under prohibition notice. For all we know it still is.
Click to expand...
If it was caused by human error I would doubt that it is still under notice. As long they have displayed an increased safety layer to stop ops sending the car over with another car in the same section or have re-trained the staff.
 
On 11 September it was still active. This surprised me slightly, but it still being under one 18 days later would hardly be mind blowing if it was still under one after three months.
 
We probably won't know until the reopening. It could be that it's the last box to be checked and as soon as the notice is lifted, boom - the ride's open and that's the first we'll know of it.
I guess the positive thing is that visible progress is happening towards getting the ride re-opened, even if we don't know the timescale involved. I'd say it's ready when it's ready, but I'm optimistic it'll be (fairly) soon.

On a related note, I was on park yesterday and it was testing intermittently - I went to check on it in the afternoon and it was running on 2 trains (2 and 5).
 
BarryZola said:
Yes, and other people have the right to their opinion if they disagree with what the victims say. Just because someone has had a terrible ordeal in life, it doesn't mean that everyone else in the world has a duty to pussyfoot around them and agree with everything they say. If one of the victims say something that people don't agree with, then said people are entitled to respond to it with their own opinion, as long as they do it in an appropriate and respectful manner. This isn't a "I'm the most caring for the victims" competition.
Click to expand...

No you're right, it's not a competition. I've read posts on here that suggest that the victims are after 5 minutes of fame, extra money etc etc.

I'm not trying to show myself as Mr compassionate, but I do read a lot of posts on here that seem somewhat harsh towards the victims.
 
I'm saying this because all of crap has been said and to be honest a lot of heartless stuff has been said by people that having read this forum for a while, I wouldn't expect them to say. I think a lot of people have been lost in the "I want this open now damn you" brigade and I fully understand, I for one haven't gone this year because of the lack of a smiler, that makes me one of heartless ones as well. same way that I get pissed off that a motorway is closed even though people have been killed. someone being run over in London once cost me to miss a train, as well as being caught up in the Tottenham riots. This is the same, we all kind of forgotten the injured just for our own selfless gain. That is natural. "I'm alright jack"

But after miss b's appearance on this good morning Britain Kelly or whatever that programme is called, I think to me it hit home that people have been affected by this and have physical and mental scars to cope with. We all want rides to re-open, but they are people that for years will hear people talking about roller coasters, people asking about "that" accident, not to mention sitting down in front of corrie one night to see an advert for Alton Towers new shiny SW8 (please not cross valley woodie) and will be brought back to that moment when there life was changed. Now yes as a community we can all say "move on I want to ride" This ride should open ASAP I want to open before scarefest so I can nudge the missies and say Fancy it? But to call the people involved attention seeking and having 15 min of fame is short of disgusting. They have the right to speak out about it closing for good as we have in saying HURRY UP MERLING AND GET IT SIGNED OFF.
 
So read what you want into this and it was likely someone's interpretation of something he heard in the staff toilet but a guy on air told me today that they had been trying to recreate the situation that caused the accident but they haven't been able too as it was a bit of a freak situation. Just putting that out there and like I say maybe not really what's happening.
 
Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Top