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Wardley's autobiography published
- Thread starter bartlettmike707
- Start date
Sazzle
TS Administrator
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Interesting to hear about the discrepancy in page numbers and images as well as the actual content...
I spent two days by the pool at PortAventura with Stampida roaring in the background, totally engrossed in this book. I'm quite upset to learn I've missed some quite juicy bits!
Waaaahhh
!!
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
I spent two days by the pool at PortAventura with Stampida roaring in the background, totally engrossed in this book. I'm quite upset to learn I've missed some quite juicy bits!
Waaaahhh
!!Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
KingNemesis
TS Member
Well I bought the signed book from the smiler shop and mine ends on Air I believe on pg. 156 well chapter 15 - Air today, gone tomorrow and no mention of Third edition. A little miffed.
Also price has gone up from £13 - £15.99 I believe as sign was stating the lower price and it threw of the shop assistant, I got it for £10.70 with AP so not too bad.
P.S They were selling the book in the morning at the till but by the end of the day there was no book stand to be seen
Also price has gone up from £13 - £15.99 I believe as sign was stating the lower price and it threw of the shop assistant, I got it for £10.70 with AP so not too bad.
P.S They were selling the book in the morning at the till but by the end of the day there was no book stand to be seen
Sazzle
TS Administrator
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Well if its not one of his coaster designs causing rife discussion then its the number of pages in his book. John Wardley - keeping geeks talking. Always.
On a serious note, I'm kinda desperate to find out what's going on! Considering purchasing a second copy but I'm worried I'm not guaranteed one of these flashy new publishes :-/.
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On a serious note, I'm kinda desperate to find out what's going on! Considering purchasing a second copy but I'm worried I'm not guaranteed one of these flashy new publishes :-/.
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Tim
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Air / Blue Fire
Ok, as you've asked for this I shall provide. Here are the highlights from The Smiler section which was not in the original publication:
I think that about covers everything you wanted to know
Of course I must stress this is not a substitute to actually reading it, just the key points I felt were worth highlighting for those who previously bought the book and missed out on this section.
Paragraph 1:
Opens with John deciding The Smiler would be the last ride he works on. Mentions the 2011 "All Time Greats" poll and how Nemesis, Oblivion and Air were the most popular despite their age and how he felt it was wrong that the most up to date rides hadn't won, (although he was pleased that his rides won ). Design team agreed 2013 would be "big, different, spectacular and thrilling".
Paragraph 2:
Brain-storming, I'll summarise the really interesting bits -
+ debated if the new ride had to be a roller coaster, decided yes because they "capture the public's imagination and where considered the signature attractions of the park".
+ He mentions stand-up but only to say they aren't as thrilling as people imagine
+ Also mentions a wing coaster but rules it out because of The Swarm the year before.
+ states that a wooden coaster would be perfect but also notes the public's pre-conceptions made them very hard to market... however he thought Alton's new marketing director (did we know there was a new one?) was talented enough to pull it off but the majority went against him.
Paragraph 3:
Blue-Sky approach for off-the-wall ideas -
+ Ball coaster (not what you think, like a marble)
+ Trackless coaster guided by... something
+ double-decker trains, one above the track, one below.
+ Trains with different seating positions
But they were running out of time and budget (mentioned that based on past experience it takes 18 months from breaking ground to completion) so instead turned to looking at where a ride could go that would cause the least planning issue.
Paragraph 4:
Chose the Black Hole site, but still needed a unique selling point. Knew that the park needed another inverting coaster so decided to go with that. Chose 14 to beat the record in style and ensure it wouldn't be beaten by anything already in development.
Paragraph 5:
How to fit in that many inversions? Worked out 14 inversions would require a lift height of over 50 meters. As Alton could never manage this they split the ride in two half’s, each half having its own character and lift type to match.
Paragraph 6:
Using balloons to find the sits height limits, followed by creating the design. Not much of interest from this bit but he does mention it was him and Candy that created the version seen in the planning document with some of the inversions taken out.
Paragraph 7:
Once the layout was done John stepped back from the project, as with Th13teen this was when Candy’s team and the marketing department took over.
Paragraph 8:
The 18 months had long passed leaving a very tight schedule. Construction hit several problems; the one he mentions is the coldest and hardest winter in Staffordshire’s records.
John then mentions how he was brought back 2 months before the ride was supposed to be completed to do PR work as the rides “creator”. Although he makes it quite clear that this is more of a role than the truth as other were a lot more involved than him.
Paragraph 9:
Continues to talk about the delays, and how they missed opening date. Then he mentions that on the 10th of May (after this book came out, hence why this section was originally missing) they had an interview with the ITV weather presenter. That morning the ride got its safety certificate allowing them to ride it.
Paragraph 10:
He talks about his first ride and how he (like us) was concerned about it being really rough. After riding it however he came off completely satisfied, and to quote “we arrived back in the station two very happy guys. Keith had supervised the construction and I had helped conceive a ride that would undoubtedly knock Nemesis off the number one spot”.
He then finishes the book off by telling his thoughts on the journey home and how he decided to write this book... although as I’ve previously noted the book was already out when this happened so it’s a bit of a lie
Opens with John deciding The Smiler would be the last ride he works on. Mentions the 2011 "All Time Greats" poll and how Nemesis, Oblivion and Air were the most popular despite their age and how he felt it was wrong that the most up to date rides hadn't won, (although he was pleased that his rides won
). Design team agreed 2013 would be "big, different, spectacular and thrilling".Paragraph 2:
Brain-storming, I'll summarise the really interesting bits -
+ debated if the new ride had to be a roller coaster, decided yes because they "capture the public's imagination and where considered the signature attractions of the park".
+ He mentions stand-up but only to say they aren't as thrilling as people imagine
+ Also mentions a wing coaster but rules it out because of The Swarm the year before.
+ states that a wooden coaster would be perfect but also notes the public's pre-conceptions made them very hard to market... however he thought Alton's new marketing director (did we know there was a new one?) was talented enough to pull it off but the majority went against him.
Paragraph 3:
Blue-Sky approach for off-the-wall ideas -
+ Ball coaster (not what you think, like a marble)
+ Trackless coaster guided by... something
+ double-decker trains, one above the track, one below.
+ Trains with different seating positions
But they were running out of time and budget (mentioned that based on past experience it takes 18 months from breaking ground to completion) so instead turned to looking at where a ride could go that would cause the least planning issue.
Paragraph 4:
Chose the Black Hole site, but still needed a unique selling point. Knew that the park needed another inverting coaster so decided to go with that. Chose 14 to beat the record in style and ensure it wouldn't be beaten by anything already in development.
Paragraph 5:
How to fit in that many inversions? Worked out 14 inversions would require a lift height of over 50 meters. As Alton could never manage this they split the ride in two half’s, each half having its own character and lift type to match.
Paragraph 6:
Using balloons to find the sits height limits, followed by creating the design. Not much of interest from this bit but he does mention it was him and Candy that created the version seen in the planning document with some of the inversions taken out.
Paragraph 7:
Once the layout was done John stepped back from the project, as with Th13teen this was when Candy’s team and the marketing department took over.
Paragraph 8:
The 18 months had long passed leaving a very tight schedule. Construction hit several problems; the one he mentions is the coldest and hardest winter in Staffordshire’s records.
John then mentions how he was brought back 2 months before the ride was supposed to be completed to do PR work as the rides “creator”. Although he makes it quite clear that this is more of a role than the truth as other were a lot more involved than him.
Paragraph 9:
Continues to talk about the delays, and how they missed opening date. Then he mentions that on the 10th of May (after this book came out, hence why this section was originally missing) they had an interview with the ITV weather presenter. That morning the ride got its safety certificate allowing them to ride it.
Paragraph 10:
He talks about his first ride and how he (like us) was concerned about it being really rough. After riding it however he came off completely satisfied, and to quote “we arrived back in the station two very happy guys. Keith had supervised the construction and I had helped conceive a ride that would undoubtedly knock Nemesis off the number one spot”.
He then finishes the book off by telling his thoughts on the journey home and how he decided to write this book... although as I’ve previously noted the book was already out when this happened so it’s a bit of a lie
I think that about covers everything you wanted to know
Of course I must stress this is not a substitute to actually reading it, just the key points I felt were worth highlighting for those who previously bought the book and missed out on this section.
KingNemesis
TS Member
Hi everyone,
Just spoken to John Wardley and he has told me that yes there are two version due the smiler delay.
In Johns words:
Just spoken to John Wardley and he has told me that yes there are two version due the smiler delay.
In Johns words:
bartlettmike707
TS Member
I emailed him yesterday, and got this very nice reply:
"Hello Mike
Thank you for your kind email, and for buying my book which I’m glad you are enjoying reading.
The book was published to coincide with the start of the 2013 theme park season at Easter, and because The Smiler’s opening was delayed, the first edition of the book could not include this. As soon as The Smiler opened, a new edition of the book was published to include this.
Anybody who bought the previous edition without the new section on The Smiler is free to read this on the internet. Follow this link:
http://www.john-wardley.demon.co.uk/autotext.htm
I hope you enjoy reading it.
If you know of others who have bought the book and might be interested in reading this additional text, please feel free to spread the link."
So there you have it! He seems a really helpful guy.
"Hello Mike
Thank you for your kind email, and for buying my book which I’m glad you are enjoying reading.
The book was published to coincide with the start of the 2013 theme park season at Easter, and because The Smiler’s opening was delayed, the first edition of the book could not include this. As soon as The Smiler opened, a new edition of the book was published to include this.
Anybody who bought the previous edition without the new section on The Smiler is free to read this on the internet. Follow this link:
http://www.john-wardley.demon.co.uk/autotext.htm
I hope you enjoy reading it.
If you know of others who have bought the book and might be interested in reading this additional text, please feel free to spread the link."
So there you have it! He seems a really helpful guy.
James
TS Founding Member
Thanks Tim, Mike and KingNemesis! Very much appreciated for you all to go do that for everyone else who missed out the section.
I find the bit interesting regarding a wooden roller coaster. Reading that suggests that they WOULD (WOOD) build a woodie. Certainly contradicts the outright 'no' during 2010. Shame Wardley had too many people against it though. But reading that little bit certainly suggests that they would build a woodie permitting it was marketed correctly. Damn those against it, Alton Towers is the only theme park in the UK I think could create a one-of-a-kind wooden roller coaster and make it a massive hit with the GP.
Tim: I'm not sure about enthusiasts as a whole but I knew a few months ago the park got a new marketing director. Can't remember who told me or where I heard it from though. Like all the senior staff since Morwenna and Crabbe (when he started there - as I believe he still works at Alton?) though they all stay quiet and in the dark now.
I wonder who will be the new 'face' of future rides. Now that Wardley has sadly retired someone will have to fill his boots. I'm hoping Candy appears in future. She seems to know what she's doing so it would be nice to see her come into the light. Although sadly I cannot see that happening, which is a shame.
Anyhow I'm swaying a bit off topic now. Thanks to those who have done the above and obviously thanks to John Wardley (if you're reading this) for taking your time to put that section up online for those of us who bought the earlier version of the book. Gives a lovely insight into how The Smiler developed.
I find the bit interesting regarding a wooden roller coaster. Reading that suggests that they WOULD (WOOD) build a woodie. Certainly contradicts the outright 'no' during 2010. Shame Wardley had too many people against it though. But reading that little bit certainly suggests that they would build a woodie permitting it was marketed correctly. Damn those against it, Alton Towers is the only theme park in the UK I think could create a one-of-a-kind wooden roller coaster and make it a massive hit with the GP.
Tim: I'm not sure about enthusiasts as a whole but I knew a few months ago the park got a new marketing director. Can't remember who told me or where I heard it from though. Like all the senior staff since Morwenna and Crabbe (when he started there - as I believe he still works at Alton?) though they all stay quiet and in the dark now.
I wonder who will be the new 'face' of future rides. Now that Wardley has sadly retired someone will have to fill his boots. I'm hoping Candy appears in future. She seems to know what she's doing so it would be nice to see her come into the light. Although sadly I cannot see that happening, which is a shame.
Anyhow I'm swaying a bit off topic now. Thanks to those who have done the above and obviously thanks to John Wardley (if you're reading this) for taking your time to put that section up online for those of us who bought the earlier version of the book. Gives a lovely insight into how The Smiler developed.
Sazzle
TS Administrator
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Thank you very much for the link to additional content! Obviously the link is meant for those who have purchased the book as an add-on, but I guess the vast majority of people reading this will have a copy already.
Such a fantastic read I had to laugh at the clever deception with The Smiler plans! It was under our noses on the overhead planning document and they just made it too tough to see
Inspiring stuff!
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Such a fantastic read
I had to laugh at the clever deception with The Smiler plans! It was under our noses on the overhead planning document and they just made it too tough to see Inspiring stuff!
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Dan
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
A note from John Wardley
Quite a lot of enthusiasts have been suggesting that my book "Creating my own Nemesis” should be made available as an audio book, so I thought I’d let you know that this has been released on Amazon, and Audible now, and on iTunes within the next couple of days. In the meantime if you care to spread the word around that it is available that would be great.
Quite a lot of enthusiasts have been suggesting that my book "Creating my own Nemesis” should be made available as an audio book, so I thought I’d let you know that this has been released on Amazon, and Audible now, and on iTunes within the next couple of days. In the meantime if you care to spread the word around that it is available that would be great.
ChristmasPud
TS Member
Had a listen to parts and it is John Wardley reading it himself. Also he censors the F word, I was looking forward to a John Warldey F word!