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Accident at Alton Towers

Apparently the park is really suffering at the mo. Some pictures I've seen are showing the likes of Rita with no queue at all, from last saturday!

I wouldn't be surprised if this was a result of all the bull **** follow up articles from The Mirror. Have more serious accidents around the world had similar consequences for the park involved? It all just seems a bit ott to me.
 
I wonder if visitor numbers seem abnormally low because of the accident and [strike]pathetic[/strike] negative publicity following minor breakdowns or due to Smiler's closure? Some people won't visit if one of the key attractions is down.

I bet a lot of school trips were cancelled due to overreacting parents/headteachers, which is probably why the numbers are low. We'll know for sure by the start of September.

Call me Mr Cynical but I'm sure they'll be another negative news story, or one of the lawyers will release some new information, just as the school holidays start. If AT isn't in the news next week, I'd be very surprised.
 
Yeah, the weeks leading up to today (start of summer holidays) are school trip season. The main cause of business is school trips. Weekends in this time are usually less busy than weekdays.

I suspect it has put some off, but I agree with Ian - vast majority are put off by a major ride being down, I think. Of course its damaged them, but the time between the accident and now are not the busiest. If its still quiet from here onwards, on a nice sunny day, we have an issue.
 
I ain't just saying this, but I visited midweek in June last year and it was **** ing rammed full.

Rita being walk on anytime of the year is unheard of, let alone a weekend in late July!
 
Given those boxes first came out over two years ago and they probably stopped the campaign over a year ago, I'm surprised there's still in date boxes to be sold in shops.

But yay for more non stories in the media!
 
JoshC. said:
Given those boxes first came out over two years ago and they probably stopped the campaign over a year ago, I'm surprised there's still in date boxes to be sold in shops.

But yay for more non stories in the media!
Click to expand...
They didn't stop the campaign last year, it was still running this year.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
To be fair a few of us on here said we were surprised the media hadn't yet picked up on the whole "marmalise your body" marketing at the time.
 
owentaylor121 said:
JoshC. said:
Given those boxes first came out over two years ago and they probably stopped the campaign over a year ago, I'm surprised there's still in date boxes to be sold in shops.

But yay for more non stories in the media!
Click to expand...
They didn't stop the campaign last year, it was still running this year.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Ah, fair enough. Practically all the Krave boxes I've seen in the past several months haven't had Smiler links to them, so I assumed the campaign had stopped a fair while ago!
 
Crash-related profit warning from Merlin;

Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments says the rollercoaster accident at the theme park in June could affect profits by up to £47m.

The accident, which resulted in four people being seriously injured, led to the temporary closure of Alton Towers.

Merlin said that the incident had an adverse effect on trading at the start of the important summer trading period.

Profits for the theme parks division in 2015 are expected to be between £40m and £50m, compared with £87m last year.
Click to expand...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33672357
 
^It does at least go on to say that improved revenue at the other attractions has helped plug the gap a bit, so it's not doom for the group as a whole.

I just worry what it means for any potential creds! I hope they understand the best way to get people back is a casual RMC.
 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/al ... in-6149349

(Yet another!) New article with the usual content but these particular parts stand out as being partially new information:

"Trade at Merlin’s Thorpe Park resort in Surrey had also been hit, the company has said.

"It temporarily shut Thorpe Park’s Saw roller coaster and the Dragon’s Fury and Rattlesnake rides at nearby Chessington World of Adventures amid safety fears.

Merlin also suspended a marketing drive for its sites, further denting demand."


"Mr Varney insisted that it hoped to reopen The Smiler ride at same stage.

He told the Mirror: “Our aspiration would be but we’re not going to do it unless it is the right thing to do.”

But he revealed: “It won’t be opening this summer, that’s for sure.”

He also pledged to be the first person to ride The Smiler if it got the safety check go-ahead.

“I will definitely be on that ride and if it is important that I am the first person, then I will be as well,” he said.

Mr Varney said that he had not considered resigning over the incident.

But he added: “I can’t deny the whole incident has been a shock to me because I have been in this business for a long time.”

He went on: “The accident should never have happened but we have tried to do the right thing by the victims by accepting responsibility and we continue to support them however we can.

“I still look at myself in the mirror and think, I wouldn’t have done this any other way.”"
 
FYI I saw Rattlesnake testing at Chessington yesterday. Not sure what that means, but seems like a good sign it'll reopen soon.

6GBoY4z.jpg


Nothing new on the Smiler front but this was related so I thought I'd post.
 
SilverArrow said:
"Mr Varney insisted that it hoped to reopen The Smiler ride at same stage.

He told the Mirror: “Our aspiration would be but we’re not going to do it unless it is the right thing to do.”

But he revealed: “It won’t be opening this summer, that’s for sure.”

He also pledged to be the first person to ride The Smiler if it got the safety check go-ahead.

“I will definitely be on that ride and if it is important that I am the first person, then I will be as well,” he said.

Mr Varney said that he had not considered resigning over the incident.

But he added: “I can’t deny the whole incident has been a shock to me because I have been in this business for a long time.”

He went on: “The accident should never have happened but we have tried to do the right thing by the victims by accepting responsibility and we continue to support them however we can.

“I still look at myself in the mirror and think, I wouldn’t have done this any other way.”"
Click to expand...
If you compare NV's interviews in the days after the crash and now, you can see a change of tone.

It get the impression from the above comments that he is passively-aggressively trying draw a line under it. Merlin has accepted responsibility, they're working with the victims and are looking to the future. It's almost like he's shoving a **** stick in the face of reporters by subtle asking them to move on and give the victims privacy. At the end of the day NV is a successful businessman and there comes a point when he has to concentrate on making the parks profitable. The profit information yesterday was obviously a wake up call so he needs to reassure investors. I don't blame him for moving the story on.
 
I think they're going to have to do some work on the ride to reassure the public, and for PR are probably better doing it while the park is open rather than the close season so the general public can see that something is being done.

I do hope this has been a 'wake up call' about operations and PR too - there's no need to rush to be the "world's first" just give us solid tried-and-tested rides. That said, you look at the success of The Smiler against The Swarm and I hope they see what happens when they put some effort in.
 
SilverArrow said:
“I will definitely be on that ride and if it is important that I am the first person, then I will be as well,”
Click to expand...

Well, the accident happened to the people in the second train...
 
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