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Should Alton Towers Re-Open The Smiler
Fury of Alton Towers girl who lost leg in rollercoaster horror as boss tells her: 'We've lost a lot of money' Millionaire Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments, visited Vicky Balch 'They said they are not making as much money,' said a furious Vicky Student was one of the four seriously injured young people on the ride She had to have her right leg amputated following the horror crash in June A student who lost her leg in the horrific Alton Towers Smiler crash said she was ‘insulted’ when the theme park’s boss told her they were losing ‘a lot of money’ – and that they would reopen the ride ‘as soon as possible’. Millionaire Nick Varney, CEO of the park’s £4 billion parent company Merlin Entertainments, visited Vicky Balch, 20, at home this month. ‘They said they are not making as much money as they used to,’ said Vicky. ‘I feel upset and insulted. ‘This happened to me on their ride so why would they want to reopen it so quickly? It has changed my future – my independence has completely gone and I cry all the time.’ Vicky was one of the four seriously injured young people on the ride when their carriage slammed into an empty test vehicle at up to 50mph in June. She had to have her right leg amputated. Fellow victim Leah Washington, 18, lost her left leg. Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Vicky from Preston, Lancashire, revealed the moment she heard the news that the Smiler would be reopened if accident investigators lift a prohibition order. Vicky added: ‘They weren’t asking our opinion, they were just informing us. I got upset. I knew they’d want to reopen it, but not so quickly. It’s disrespectful.’ Vicky’s mother Karen, 51, said: ‘I’d like to see them tear it down after what happened. 'For them to come and talk about lost profits when they’re looking at a 20-year-old girl who’s lost a leg and had her entire life changed forever is appalling.’ Vicky said Mr Varney and another senior executive told her their internal inquiry blamed ‘human error’ when two members of staff over-rode a safety mechanism preventing two carriages on the same section of track at once. The Health and Safety Executive probe continues, and the company, which has seen more than £750 million wiped from its share value, has issued a £47 million profits warning. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz3mxvMzXrv Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook .. |
I think not yet... i do think it should be re-opened as long as it's safe and secure like other rides.
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Considering the freak nature of the accident, yes, why shouldn't it reopen? The roller coaster is an investment for the park and its closure is losing money.
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I don't think people go to Alton Towers because of the smiler tbh. They are losing money because of this story people have been put off.
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Yes cause I want to go on it
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I think they should get rid of it and put a better/more stable coaster in it's place
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It was human error so the ride wasn't at fault
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From a safety / morals point of view, there's really no reason not to if the fault has been identified, it's no less safe than any other rollercoaster (and despite this incident, they really do have an excellent statistical safety record). I've voted "not yet" though as I think it's all too fresh.
"Should" they reopen it from a business standpoint? Probably not. Even though it's just as safe as any other ride, it won't generally be perceived that way, and I can't really foresee a time where people won't be wary of it and (perhaps) the entire park simply because it's there. It could potentially be a PR disaster. It would potentially be a better idea to scrap it and build something else in its' place... although if the financial hit they've taken is even half as big as reported... that might be a stretch. On the other hand - does scrapping it send the message that they're not confident that it ever was / ever could be safe? Does it suggest that other rides aren't safe either? Is it better to stand up confidently and say "all of our rides are safe"? Hmmm. Tough call really. |
The theme park was doing great before the smiler existed and now it's dead because of the story
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I love roller coasters, but don't think i'd risk going on The Smiler after seeing 2 girls lose a leg each
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Should just replace it tbh, take the loss. Not because I think the ride is dangerous, but surely it's not good for business to still have it and remind visitors of the tragedy on their fun day out.
Some thrill seekers aside, going to a theme park and seeing a ride and thinking "oh yeah, that's the one where people lost legs..." isn't exactly appealing... regardless of how safe you think it is. Seems like it'd be a bad smell that's better off gone. |
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All they need to do is upgrade the car system
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Closing the ride completely and ripping it down is ludicrous
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Maybe that could be part of the thrill though? "Come on the smiler! You might lose a limb!" |
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http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9...q2opo1_500.jpg |
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