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Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

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One can only hope :) I hear the marmaliser is being worked on/has been worked on. If it carries on at this pace there won't be much left to check....
 
Nice to see that regardless of this opening this season or next, they are working on effects which have broken over the last year or two of operation. I feel strongly that the rides in the park should have rolling closures for upkeep, a la Disney, regardless of winter closing.
 
rightbackgranty said:
Nice to see that regardless of this opening this season or next, they are working on effects which have broken over the last year or two of operation. I feel strongly that the rides in the park should have rolling closures for upkeep, a la Disney, regardless of winter closing.
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Going off topic bur this is such a valid point . All the major rides need a revamp all areas need a clean. Ot appears the budget for this is non existstant. I guess they get little to no return on investment so they just don't invest
 
The thing is, we moan about investment, and when they do do it, it has barely any return, look what they're doing with air, giving it a bit of improvement, we are looking forward to that, but let's be honest, if a ride was to close for a refurb in the middle of the season at Alton, like Disney do, especially a coaster, then everyone would moan about missing a coaster. Alton only really has 6 thrill coasters, and two thrilling flats. The smiler is simply a case of preparing it. I doubt unless a lot more rides were built there would be enough rides if a coaster was closed for refurbishment at Alton. I reckon we could see a repaint on one coaster and a spruce up of closed season as well as what's confirmed.

Anyway, back on topic, there seems to have been a lot of cosmetic work done. I definitely think today or tomorrow will be the opening, then on Sunday it can have a full peak day operating before scare fest. :)
 
Photo credit to Andy MC

One of those wind things
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Techy blowing wind into the wind things
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maintenance by the V lift
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Campbell Scientific on site
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Maintenance on the marmaliser
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Tomorrow? Lol (wood chipper) cant see it being till next week at the earliest now :( Time is running out fast
 
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By Tuesday is all i ask, if it opens tomorrow, i will book splash straight away.

I have been putting off this years Pilgrimage to the towers because i was hoping for a full ride lineup.

If i have to wait until next year i won't be too bummed out about it.
 
spinba11 said:
Disney is open all year round, that's why the do rolling closures.
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I quite understand. Alton Towers is shut for 5 months, but does that mean things are refurbished... er, no. Hence why I would start a programme of short rolling closures of the major rides to ensure their upkeep. More staff around to a) complete the upkeep programme (b) notice what needs to be done.

Slightly off topic but does anyone really think, if this ride hadn't had this level of downtime, that the current cleaning / repairs that are taking place would have happened (over the closed season). On current form (and looking at nemesis / Dark Forest) I'd say no. There's too much work to be done over the closed season to get things neat and tidy and far too few staff.

Back on topic - I look forward to getting on The Smiler again. Hopefully will open towards the end of the season, get the taboo of re-opening out of the way, and let the ride operate as normal from next year. Nothing to lose anymore, as others have alluded to.
 
rightbackgranty said:
I quite understand. Alton Towers is shut for 5 months, but does that mean things are refurbished... er, no. Hence why I would start a programme of short rolling closures of the major rides to ensure their upkeep.
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If they cannot keep the rides up to your expected standard during a 5 month closure, then what makes you think rolling closures during the season is going to improve the situation? It's not a time constraint, it's a man hours and budget constraint. Do I think they should spend more on maintenance? Yes. Do I think they should close the rides during the season? Hell no.

Please don't give them reason to shut the rides down during the season. 5 months is more than enough time, not to mention the opening hours are much shorter at Alton, allowing basic cleaning out of park hours during the season. More detailed, intricate, and careful maintenance is taken out on elaborate Disney rides in a far shorter period of time than 5 months.

It's got nothing to do with having enough time to carry out the work.
 
Constant testing this morning into the afternoon with 2 cars on the track together frequently, duelling etc. Nothing new noticed around the site with regards to workmen etc. Seems like they're just getting loads of ride testing done. Noticed cars 1&5 a lot (I think). I was out of there by 1pm so not a clue after that.
 
BarryZola said:
Constant testing this morning into the afternoon with 2 cars on the track together frequently, duelling etc. Nothing new noticed around the site with regards to workmen etc. Seems like they're just getting loads of ride testing done. Noticed cars 1&5 a lot (I think). I was out of there by 1pm so not a clue after that.
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Judging by this forum testing has slowed down a bit with maintenance being done when testing is not being carried out.
 
Just saw towers have posted the map for Scarefest this year on Facebook. The Smiler is actually on it but all text related to The Smiler (including the name) have been removed?
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Nemesis Sub Terra and The Flume are also not there either due to their closures, I don't see pictures of them at all though unless I'm being stupid.
 
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