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Thorpe Park |"The Swarm"| B&M Wing Coaster

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I'm shocked it took this long...

http://www.stainesnews.co.uk/staines-an ... -28237511/

THORPE Park has drawn criticism from a pilots union for its latest rollercoaster ride - which simulates a plane crash!
The Surrey theme park has submitted a planning application to Runnymede Borough Council for the new 38m tall 'coaster, which is as yet unnamed.
However the theme for the new ride will be a post-apocalyptic crash scene, with the wreckage of a helicopter, rescue vehicles and a crashed jet airliner.
The plans have been labelled 'unfortunate' by the British Airline and Pilot Association (BALPA) who say the park should reconsider the theme with its proximity to both Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
A BALPA spokesman said: "Many will think this is tasteless. These tragedies happen from time to time and in fact the accident rate is currently increasing. These incidents bring so much heartache and devastation and so many lives are lost.
"With Thorpe Park so close to Heathrow and Gatwick this will be a terrible reminder of what might happen. If it's not too late, the park might thing again."
However Mayor of Spelthorne, John O'Hara, who organises the annual memorial for the 1972 Trident crash in Staines where 118 people died, felt enough time had passed that Thorpe Park was not 'stepping over the line' in terms of taste.
He added: "It was 39 years ago, it would not be in the minds of anyone younger than 45, so won't affect anyone using the ride. I would rather they had avoided it [the theme] but I don't think it amounts to poor taste."
Ex-British Airways pilot, Andrew Telford, from Englefield Green also felt the ride would not prove a problem.
He said: "You can't really see Thorpe Park from the air in that much detail. I don't think there would be any distraction from flying out of Heathrow and I don't think people will necessarily associate that ride with the Staines crash - I was involved with that and it was nearly 40 years ago."
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People really need to get a life and get over things, I mean LA Universal have an earth quake section on their backlot tour should they get rid of that due to earth quakes in the area.

I hope Thorpe stick with the plans after all it is only theming.
 
Ian said:
I'm shocked it took this long...

http://www.stainesnews.co.uk/staines-an ... -28237511/

THORPE Park has drawn criticism from a pilots union for its latest rollercoaster ride - which simulates a plane crash!
The Surrey theme park has submitted a planning application to Runnymede Borough Council for the new 38m tall 'coaster, which is as yet unnamed.
However the theme for the new ride will be a post-apocalyptic crash scene, with the wreckage of a helicopter, rescue vehicles and a crashed jet airliner.
The plans have been labelled 'unfortunate' by the British Airline and Pilot Association (BALPA) who say the park should reconsider the theme with its proximity to both Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
A BALPA spokesman said: "Many will think this is tasteless. These tragedies happen from time to time and in fact the accident rate is currently increasing. These incidents bring so much heartache and devastation and so many lives are lost.
"With Thorpe Park so close to Heathrow and Gatwick this will be a terrible reminder of what might happen. If it's not too late, the park might thing again."
However Mayor of Spelthorne, John O'Hara, who organises the annual memorial for the 1972 Trident crash in Staines where 118 people died, felt enough time had passed that Thorpe Park was not 'stepping over the line' in terms of taste.
He added: "It was 39 years ago, it would not be in the minds of anyone younger than 45, so won't affect anyone using the ride. I would rather they had avoided it [the theme] but I don't think it amounts to poor taste."
Ex-British Airways pilot, Andrew Telford, from Englefield Green also felt the ride would not prove a problem.
He said: "You can't really see Thorpe Park from the air in that much detail. I don't think there would be any distraction from flying out of Heathrow and I don't think people will necessarily associate that ride with the Staines crash - I was involved with that and it was nearly 40 years ago."
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Indeed Ian. I saw this one coming a mile off. (I even heard the words Told Ya So in my head :p)

However, IF the theme gets approved imagine the amount of publicity this will give them!!!!! It will be a heyoge deal. I really hope it gets approved now :p

Also, Im glad to see that the newspaper is interviewing people from both perspectives! Balanced media is good!
 
Whilst disappointing and ridiculous, I'm not surprised, and part of me almost wonders why on Earth they didn't see it coming.

EDIT: This reminds me of how Tsunami is offensive, but Tidal Wave isn't. Simple minds. Numerous attractions have a car crash in their theming, despite the fact that MORE people are killed by car crash than a ****ing plane crash and more people would be "effected" by it. Also, like Marc said, wtf about all the other natural disaster attractions? How many ****ing Earthquakes have killed people?

It's a joke, it really is.
 
Yet another reason why I hate living in the UK. Next they'll be saying that due to the big dipper derailling, all rollercoasters in the UK are now found offensive.
 
That's ridiculous. So company's are allowed to release computer games which give anyone hold of a 'real' simulated plane, to do what there like with it, I can't disagree I find myself crashing planes into other planes on Just Cause 2 because it looks ****ing awesome! I guarantee a lot of people do that too. I feel for anyone who has lost relatives or friends due to plane crashes, but seriously, no-ones going to die on a rollercoaster based on a crash, definately not in the same way that people do in a plane crash...

Thorpe decides to release a 'rollercoaster', themed to a POST-APOCALYPTIC plane crash and it's horror across the country. What is this world coming to? I would've though there would've been more controversy over predicting the end of the world as we know it in 2012 rather than a plane crash... :?

It's actually a great theme, a brilliant theme for once, and then you hear rubbish like that. They better not change it...
 
They won't change the plans at all. In fact, I don't see why people are all that enraged when we all know that this is just the press stirring things up in the hope of getting people enraged.

I very much doubt many in Staines or the surrounding areas would object to a new coaster at Thorpe simply on the grounds that a plane crash which occurred 39 years ago... :roll:
 
ciallkennett said:
They won't change the plans at all. In fact, I don't see why people are all that enraged when we all know that this is just the press stirring things up in the hope of getting people enraged.

I very much doubt many in Staines or the surrounding areas would object to a new coaster at Thorpe simply on the grounds that a plane crash which occurred 39 years ago... :roll:
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What like the people in Lockerbie didn't complain when soaps run storylines of plane crashes? Like people don't complain when something relates to war etc?

Of course people will complain, its the British way. The challenge here is whether Thorpe have the balls to say balls to the PC nonsense and stick by their horror apocolypse theme, regardless of Gatwick and Heathrow nearby!

In essence a theme park can be like a movie. It is another arm of storytelling. This theme is a STORY, no different to what a film would do (and has done).

People need to stop getting so bloody worked up and crying 'Bad-Taste'. Christ, its like the Daily Mail are running the country...
 
lmao! This might just be the friday night drink talking, but thats so ridiculous, its laughable. I mean, for one thing, since when has 35 miles been regarded as "close proximity". I (kind of) wish Gatwick was in "close proximity" to Thorpe, then it would take me a lot less time to get there. On the other hand, that would mean I lived closer to Thorpe so, y'know. In fact, I did used to live 4 miles from Heathrow and, you know what, this really isn't offending me. In fact, looking at the "BALPA" website, it looks so fake. Not saying it is, it just kinda looks it. But, like I said, that could be the drink talking....
 
Nic said:
lmao! This might just be the friday night drink talking, but thats so ridiculous, its laughable. I mean, for one thing, since when has 35 miles been regarded as "close proximity". I (kind of) wish Gatwick was in "close proximity" to Thorpe, then it would take me a lot less time to get there. On the other hand, that would mean I lived closer to Thorpe so, y'know. In fact, I did used to live 4 miles from Heathrow and, you know what, this really isn't offending me. In fact, looking at the "BALPA" website, it looks so fake. Not saying it is, it just kinda looks it. But, like I said, that could be the drink talking....
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<3
 
Just a thought... With all the whacked out, insane publicity stunts that Merlin pulls, does anyone think this story could have been 'planted' by the PR folks?

I mean, it isn't headless monks or experts in the supernatural, but still...
 
^Thinking about it, you're probably right. Who's to tell that the news and media could play a big theme in LC12? I mean think back to Hadron Collider days, the media was going mad and thus scaring the public! Similarly, they could scare the public by creating false allegations leading up to the end of the world maybe? This wouldn't surprise me, I can't wait until they spam Youtube with fake media coverage... :)

Hm, who knows really? It doesn't surprise me that the media would create such controversy, so this could be for all we know, true affairs.
 
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