[The Smiler] Construction Updates / Ride Speculation Part 2 *SPOILER FREE*

[TheMan]

Honestly the way some people react to the criticisms of Towers here is as if we've nicked a 5 year old girls teddy bear and ripped the stuffing out of it.

You are, in life, allowed to critique things that you are passionate about - especially when 1000's of people have booked off time, made plans, took holiday, paid for tickets, paid for hotels, and goodness knows what.

I personally hope the front of house staff all over the park do not have to deal alone with the issue, that the management will have the good grace to get out in suits, make themselves obvious, and help take the strain of the inevitable.

In the mean time, I will not choose to lend my empathy to a pretty much faceless multi billion pound valued company over the countless people who invested their faith & money in a tough financial climate.

You are welcome to side with a corporation if you wish of course, however my loyalty here now is with the staff that will have to pick up the stress from it, and the public who will rightly be furious about it all.

H&S check the day before opening? Utterly ludicrous and inexcusable.

Most of us here must have thought, they aren't going to make it are they?

I know I did especially once those paths came up.

EDIT: Though of I do respect everyone's right to an opinion, which is all any of us have right now

 

[EuroSatch]

No, Towers and Merlin have had plenty of opportunity to prove they know how to operate and develop a theme park, and have fallen at every hurdle.

 

[Plastic Person]

It's like the crabs dying all over again.

 

[TheMan]

No, Towers and Merlin have had plenty of opportunity to prove they know how to operate and develop a theme park, and have fallen at every hurdle.

I don't quite agree THAT strongly there Mr Satch, but LOL non the less ;D

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

Well its alright for you, I doubt you've just shelled out £55 for rail tickets to be at the park tomorrow. :

This is exactly why Towers deserves all the critisism heading their way.

I came SO CLOSE to purchasing a train ticket today, even after calling their customer services to verify whether it would be opening. They told me it was - this was at 1PM, and in the next half hour that would change to a definite "no". If I'd have gotten the train tickets, I'd be down £45. But it's even worse for people who would have got hotel rooms, used holidays that would be hard to sort out and more.

For Alton to leave it so late is an insult to their biggest fans.

 

[khalichanan]

No, Towers and Merlin have had plenty of opportunity to prove they know how to operate and develop a theme park, and have fallen at every hurdle.

The way they run an historical attraction is good though and the castle is better off in the hands of Merlin than National Trust/English Heritage.

There, I said it, the big elephant in the room today.

I personally think we should wait and see if Alton Towers are going to say. They're probably as we speak working out the PR response. It was obviously a decision made today, so we shouldn't expect anything yet.

 

[HaydenCR]

Perhaps it would be better to go back to the old four year cycle of major additions if they keep cutting it too closely with opening new rides?

Th13teen was being finished the day it opened (the queue line at least), 2011 saw nothing because plans were rejected and there wasn't time to do anything else (besides add crabs) Sub Terra opened and needed immediate changes as a large proportion of guests weren't liking it (and by the looks of the queues, it's still not doing amazingly), Ice Age was a poor effort (perhaps if they'd planned better they could have added a 4D cinema in place of the Shrek ideas for 2011 which would have given it a better budget, as well as Sub Terra) and now Smiler has been delayed at least twice (we don't know if the park had any other dates planned between March 16th and May 23rd) and aspects of the project have had to be cut or toned down to make up for increasing costs and a lack of guests due to it still not being open).

I think it's pretty obvious that if they gave themselves more time to plan, build and test these rides, we wouldn't have so many problems. Even Thorpe Park are considering moving their 2015 coaster back after the poor reception for Swarm. Oh, and if four years worked for Tussauds in the 90's, there's no reason why it can't work now.

These projects aren't small. It's better to have a ride ready a bit too early than for it to be as late as Smiler. Especially when it affects guest satisfaction, your reputation and weakens the response to a major addition that you've just forked out £18 million for!

I completely agree with this. The delays with Zufari and now this have not put a positive light on Merlin, and so are rides that dont feel complete when openend. While we eventually do get some seriously good rides and attractions, is it worth all the issues beforehand?

 

[Borrissey]

The only good that can come from this personally is if less people end up going and swap their tickets for another date. The other rides should be quieter.

The way they run an historical attraction is good though and the castle is better off in the hands of Merlin than National Trust/English Heritage.

And sorry to sound really annoying but it ain't a castle.

 

[khalichanan]

The only good that can come from this personally is if less people end up going and swap their tickets for another date. The other rides should be quieter.

The way they run an historical attraction is good though and the castle is better off in the hands of Merlin than National Trust/English Heritage.

And sorry to sound really annoying but it ain't a castle.

I forget not everyone knows me...

I was talking about Warwick Castle.

 

[BarryZola]

The only good that can come from this personally is if less people end up going and swap their tickets for another date. The other rides should be quieter.

The way they run an historical attraction is good though and the castle is better off in the hands of Merlin than National Trust/English Heritage.

And sorry to sound really annoying but it ain't a castle.

I was wondering if the poster was talking about (Merlin's) Warwick Castle myself so didn't post. Most of the work on the Towers that has been carried out in recent years has been as a result of the Towers only being allowed to produce certain leisure attractions on the condition that they perform some sort of restoration work with regards to the heritage of the place (in conjunction with advice from English Heritage, if I remember rightly).

 

[Borrissey]

The only good that can come from this personally is if less people end up going and swap their tickets for another date. The other rides should be quieter.

The way they run an historical attraction is good though and the castle is better off in the hands of Merlin than National Trust/English Heritage.

And sorry to sound really annoying but it ain't a castle.

I forget not everyone knows me...

I was talking about Warwick Castle.

Oh, sorry duck. I wondered how you would have managed to dodge that fact.

 

[EuroSatch]

Re: Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates / Ride Speculation Part 2 *SPOILER FREE*

No, Towers and Merlin have had plenty of opportunity to prove they know how to operate and develop a theme park, and have fallen at every hurdle.

The way they run an historical attraction is good though and the castle is better off in the hands of Merlin than National Trust/English Heritage.

There, I said it, the big elephant in the room today.

I personally think we should wait and see if Alton Towers are going to say. They're probably as we speak working out the PR response. It was obviously a decision made today, so we shouldn't expect anything yet.

I really detest what Merlin have done to Warwick Castle

 

[GaryH]

I dont know why everyone is blaming Alton Towers as such....

A company would have been employed to survey the site
Another company would produce the plans, and project manage the whole project
The company building the ride is responsible for ensuring they can deliver a ride which works on time

Alton Towers simply evaluates all the proposals, accepts them if they are realistic which no doubt they were and lets these companies get on with it.

I doubt Alton Towers will lose any money over this. Firstly, the initial delays I was told was due to one of the retaining walls collapsing 3 times due to poor foundations underneath, i.e. the surface wasnt stable. This was the fault of the surveyor.

The faults with the vertical lift hill again are not Towers fault this is the problem of the ride manufacturer. No doubt Alton have clauses built into these contracts where they will be compensated by these companies for any delays to the project.

Unfortunately though, like with cars, if Toyota fit a brake servo made by lets say Bosch and the part is defective, even though Bosch said they tested it and it will do as it should, they dont get the blame, Toyota does. Same situation here, and in a way I do feel sorry for Alton Towers as this will result in more bad publicity for them, for something which seems to have been totally out of their control.

 

[khalichanan]

Re: Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates / Ride Speculation Part 2 *SPOILER FREE*

I really detest what Merlin have done to Warwick Castle

They put more investment into the restoration of the Castle than Tussauds ever did, and significantly more than it would get if it was in National Trust/English Heritage hands.



Hopefully this will all mean that Alton Towers won't trust Gerstlauer...and only use B&M now...

 

[TheMan]

I dont know why everyone is blaming Alton Towers as such....

Because the time of the opening is entirely down to them. I got a fair bit of grief for suggesting that people were to blame early on in the project for the failings. I do not believe all these things just "happen" without someone being responsible, I wasn't blaming Towers before - indeed I believe they did come a cropper of other peoples work. That is my opinion based on what information we have to hand.

In this case though, they avoided the sensible soft openings option (which will no doubt now actually happen, which will annoy me, as I had now committed to actual being bothered to go when it first rides lol!), or at very least, giving themselves more time to get it done properly.

So whilst the lead up to today, can be speculated upon broadly, IF the H&S check rumour is true (big if), or indeed IF this is a continuation of issues from previous, and indeed even if they aren't, the fact is they hadn't left themselves enough time to do it... AGAIN.

Too many rush jobs, this time though, it's hit their customers harder and that just isn't right.

 

[Martin]

Is this still going on?

 

[Rob]

I dont know why everyone is blaming Alton Towers as such....

A company would have been employed to survey the site
Another company would produce the plans, and project manage the whole project
The company building the ride is responsible for ensuring they can deliver a ride which works on time

Alton Towers simply evaluates all the proposals, accepts them if they are realistic which no doubt they were and lets these companies get on with it.

I doubt Alton Towers will lose any money over this. Firstly, the initial delays I was told was due to one of the retaining walls collapsing 3 times due to poor foundations underneath, i.e. the surface wasnt stable. This was the fault of the surveyor.

The faults with the vertical lift hill again are not Towers fault this is the problem of the ride manufacturer. No doubt Alton have clauses built into these contracts where they will be compensated by these companies for any delays to the project.

Unfortunately though, like with cars, if Toyota fit a brake servo made by lets say Bosch and the part is defective, even though Bosch said they tested it and it will do as it should, they dont get the blame, Toyota does. Same situation here, and in a way I do feel sorry for Alton Towers as this will result in more bad publicity for them, for something which seems to have been totally out of their control.

But Alton Towers are responsible for the planning of their attractions. If they planned their new attractions properly in advance then there would be time for issues to be ironed out etc. See one of my previous posts for a more detailed analogy.

---

In other news it is sounding more and more likely that this new delay is due to The Smiler failing H&S checks. TT are have heard this from two 'reliable' sources, obviously I don't know what these sources are but to me it makes sense. We know all too well how H&S have 'ruined' certain aspects of the park recently so it wouldn't surprise me if it's failed a small insignificant check that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world! In all seriousness though, hopefully it's something that can be sorted and signed off ASAP.

 

[smudge]

I would certainly not prefer a b&m over this. Although as ridiculous as it sounds (according to some) This has without a doubt affected my attitude towards AT.

I visit approx 15 times a year and absolutely love the place. Myself & son have followed this from day one and this was a massive thing for us.

I also fail to understand how "its not their fault" when it most certainly is. This is not a flippant show or delay at an airport, this was a 18m world beating roller coaster and I for one certainly sacrificed a lot to make it tomorrow.

Oh well. If it opens on a weekday then I won't be there. My loss. I guess that wouldn't matter to a multi-million pound corporation like merlin. What's one dissatisfied customer who spends merely in the £1000's annually at their parks.

 

[Scott]

You're right smudge, they aren't going to care about just one customer - however loyal. No business actually cares for the opinion of random individuals, as at the end of the day someone else will fill your place. That's not a Merlin thing, that's a thing with any big business.

What might actually affect Merlin is if this bad publicity effects Alton's attendance for the rest of the season and for next season too. The only way these things effect business is if many people don't go.

Sorry, but it just annoys me when people assume that a multi-million pound organisation will care about one individual person's story. No business that large does, no matter how much it may suck.

 

[GaryH]

I agree Scott, this will really hit Alton in terms of bad publicity. Personally, I still dont think its totally Alton's fault, if its something out of their control, and lets remember it has been testing and been running ok, apart from that press day incident, so for this to happen now must be a huge kick in the gonads for Alton, who no doubt were looking forward to the opening day just as much as we were.