I think the reason they were handled in such different ways is because they are two such different incidents.
What if The Smiler had caught fire and been burned to the ground? Would it have had as much press scrutiny as it has? Probably not. Undoubtedly there'd still be a lot of finger pointing and blaming done, as seems to be the norm in our society at present (I detest this whole blame/compensation culture, in case you can't tell
), but there's much less to be held accountable for, unless perhaps there is proof of arson.
The timing and nature of the attractions involved are also very different. The Bobs were both very dated attractions which would have vanished from the park years ago were it not for the blaze. The facades were mostly foam and incredibly tired, which only added to the fire.
The Smiler by contrast was the star attraction which everyone was hearing about! The fact it had only been operating for a few months at the time of the incident, coupled with the already questionable track record the press had helped instill in it, meant that it really hit home. Throw in the extent of the injuries and you have one hell of a scoop which can go on for months/years.
Injuries with the fire were I believe mostly smoke related. The fact the park was able to clear the rides and surrounding area and avoid anything more severe is very impressive, especially given the fact this happened during normal operation in a dense area of the park. However, with these circumstances there's only so long you can string a story out for.
After the incident PL already had most of their following developments underway in one form or another, so were able to press forward with plans and quickly introduce all their new attractions. At the time the park was (and arguably still is) beginning to go through a major transformational period, starting to remove most of their older hardware and invest in newer, more modern attractions, Mystery Castle being one of the first. They were already reinventing their image.
Towers on the other hand was perhaps in a more passive position, banking on The Smiler supporting income for another few months to see them through the budget cuts to new attractions. They'd just done CBeebies to update one of their weaker areas. The crash completely derailed plans. I also have to wonder with the nature of their incident compared to PL how it would be perceived if they opened 4-5 new rides almost immediately afterwards. No doubt the press would be able to give this some spin!
The only other thing I can also throw in is the shift in communication and culture. The way we absorb news is radically different to how we did in 2001. We now have the viral factor thanks to social media and newer digital news sources. When The Smiler news broke it was all over Twitter and Facebook. Photos and videos emerged within minutes. We didn't have to wait for tomorrows headlines or the 6 o'clock news. We saw it unfold in real time. Whether you wanted to or needed to, you knew what had happened! Even just compared to the RMT incident it's a very different landscape to what we witnessed in 2015.
Yes, there are photos, videos, and news reports of the PL fire, but far fewer than you'll find of Smiler.
So yes, both parks have handled them in very different ways, but they are both very different circumstances, and I find it difficult to compare them too directly
