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Alton Towers will re-open the Smiler Rollercoaster next month, after it has been closed for five months following a crash were five people were seriously injured.
The ride was closed in June, after two women had their legs amputated as a result of their carriage colliding with a stationary carriage on the same track. The theme park will open the ride again on March 19, when the new season begins. Alton Towers owner to be prosecuted over Smiler crash A review of the incident has revealed the crash was caused by “human error” and not a mechanical problem. The theme park said it has new safety measures across all multi-car rollercoasters in a bid to prevent a similar crash from happening. “On re-opening, The Smiler ride will also incorporate an extensive set of new safety measures, including technical improvements and enhanced training. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY
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The Staffordshire-based adventure park said Galactica would open in April, following two years of planning. Several virtual-reality recordings simulate rollercoaster rides, but Alton Towers said Galactica would combine the two experiences for the first time.
Over the course of the three-minute ride, the headsets will show passengers a journey across a series of different galaxies, timed to coincide with the ride's twists, turns and falls. Lying facedown, they will experience a maximum g-force of 3.5gs, which the park says is more than astronauts typically experience during rocket launches. Gill Riley, the park's marketing director, said it represented a "multi-million pound investment". FULL STORY For more information about Galactica from Alton Towers visit: https://www.galacticatours.com  Two staff from Alton Towers are under investigation over the horrific Smiler ride crash that seriously injured four people, including two young women who each lost a leg.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that human error and a failure to follow basic safety procedures led to the devastating accident. An engineer overrode an automatic safety lock, allowing the ride operator to send the carriage full of people careering into an empty vehicle that had ‘stalled’ further down the track. Our revelations – particularly the fact that staff are able to perform manual overrides at all – will raise disturbing questions about the safety features on the Smiler and other rides. FULL STORY  Alton Towers has hit back over concerns about its range of Ride Me t-shirts - which have been called "provocative". According to the Mirror, school IT manager Steve Horsley, 44, from Bedford, said he spotted the "suggestive" tops at the theme park’s main gift shop.
He claimed the clothes could put girls in danger and told the national newspaper: "I was with friends at the time and we couldn’t believe what we were seeing. "They are making these shirts for small-sized girls and they say ‘ride me’ – that’s very suggestive. FULL STORY Leah Washington was on the front row of the Smiler ride, which crashed into an empty carriage in front of it.
Three others who were also in the front row sustained serious leg injuries, while a fifth person is being treated for internal injuries. The theme park reopened on Monday and bosses said they would ensure the injured would be compensated. FULL STORY According to the West Midlands Ambulance Service, there were 16 people riding in one carriage on the attraction when the crash happened just after 2pm.
It is believed the passengers crashed into a stationary carriage which was empty at the time. Danny Simm, who was at the theme park when the accident happened, tweeted: "People unconscious, knocked out. Blood everywhere. It really was shocking. Air ambulances landing now, people still stuck." FULL STORY The crew from Alton Towers is at it again. For their new roller coaster, The Smiler, they have commissioned the help of people from The New Scientist to break down what the optimum "thrill factor" of any ride actually is. Upon further research, The New Scientist is an actual English-based non-peer reviewed scientific magazine. In their "Thrill Report," they describe what types of happenstances on a ride lead to the greatest amount of enjoyment for the rider. They equate the entire experience to that of a well written play. The first part is the exposition where guests are exposed to the ride's branding and theming. Next, is the rising action that happens when the coaster ascends the lift hill. Third is the climax/crisis that starts as the ride speeds through its first drop. The falling action comes after where terror turns into catharsis where more smoother elements are experienced. Finally, is the dénouement where rider can talk about the ride and of course buy an on ride photo.
Jeremy Webb, New Scientist editor, says, “All the experiences we use to generate thrill involve an element of fear. This ancient emotion is triggered by either a physical stimulus, such as pain or being thrown around, or a mental one, most commonly the anticipation of danger such as the rising action on a roller-coaster. Roller-coaster designers believe that by pulling both our mental and physical strings, it is possible to create the best possible thrill." The Smiler is set to open in may of 2013 and features 98 foot drops and speeds reaching 52 miles per hour. Alton Towers is also highlighting specific psychological elements that they feel will elicit a specific form of fear to reaches guests on an individual level that will in effect "marmalise" them. Some of these elements include "The Inoculator" which provides a stab of happiness as one passes, "The Tickler" that tickles you, "The Flasher" that blinds you as you speed past, "The Giggler" that supposedly releases "laughing gas," and "The Hypnotizer" that disrupts your self-awareness. Each of these five psychological effects are designed to maximize the thrills each rider experiences. Alton Towers theme park and resort in Staffordshire, United Kingdom has announced the name of their roller coaster that will debut in 2013. According to a story bythemeparktourist.com, the new roller coaster, known for its codename “SW7,” will be named The Smiler and will be themed to tie in with The Sanctuary, a horror maze debuted at the Scarefeast in the 2012 Halloween Event, that focused on the mysterious "Ministry of Joy" which undertook experiments on humans during the early 20th century.
The Smiler will boast a secretive “World’s First” element that is currently under construction. The ride will feature at least eight inversions, two lift hills, and the highest drop will be approximately 100 feet. The Smiler is set to be located alongside Oblivion, a steel roller coaster located in the X-Sector area. The Smiler will cost approximately $18 million, which is estimated to be the largest investment the park has made in a while. Alton Towers will premier the ride with a “distinctive” logo that has already started to appear in prominent locations around the country. The ride is currently set to open May of 2013. In a move which could be viewed as an “insurance policy” in case the opening day slips for the new ride, the park has confirmed that it will bring back The Sanctuary for the start of the new season.  The buzz around Alton Towers attraction for 2012 has been growing, and the park recently gave us some new information. The park announced that the ride will be named Nemesis: Sub-Terra. Also the opening date has been set for March 24, 2012. Nemesis: Sub-Terra is going to be an indoor ride that plays off the same theme as the world famous Nemesis B&M inverted coaster. According to the Los Angeles Times, the ride is being built in the Forbidden Valley section of Alton Towers, which will place it near Nemesis and AIR. The new ride is going to be built by ABC Rides. Due to this fact, it is heavily rumored that the ride will be of the same type as Extremis at another of Merlin Entertainments, the parent company of Alton Towers, park named London Dungeons. This ride features an indoor drop tower as well as some animated scenes. Nemesis: Sub-Terra will descend to depths of around 2 stories below ground, yet again displaying the ability of Alton Towers to get around their restriction that prevents them from building too high into the air. According to the Los Angeles Times the exterior of the building that houses the ride will be themed to fit in with the industrial and military theme of the surrounding Forbidden Valley section of the park. Also, the Lava Lump rock-climbing wall and the Body Zorb bumper orbs have been removed in order to free up space for Nemesis: Sub-Terra. As a build-up to the ride Alton Towers has been releasing teasers and other tidbits of information periodically. Their latest teaser is this YouTube video. It contains a comic strip that goes into the back story of the extraterrestrial Nemesis monster. On Saturday, March 20th, 2010, the highly anticipated coaster Thirteen (Often spelled Th13teen) opened at Alton Towers amusement park. The park has kept the ride under extreme security through the ride's construction under the code name "Secret Weapon 6". When the perennial favorite Corkscrew was removed in 2007, people wondered what kind of ride would replace it. Now, after months track arriving, the park teasing, and lots of speculation about what secrets this ride holds that earned it the rumored title of being the World's First Psychoaster, it has finally been revealed.
The ride begins with a nerve-racking climb up the lift hill. After a brief moment at the top, the train plummets towards the earth, followed by a hard right turn leading you through a trip through the woods with twists, turns, and empty seat airtime to fulfill a thrill seeker's desires. However, when the train runs out of speed and pulls into a warehouse, where most rides would end, this ride is far from over. After passing some spooky scenery that caused this ride to be dubbed a "Psychoaster" (Which was, oddly enough, not operating during the grand opening), the ride has a world first. The train comes to a stop, and instead of slowly crawling foreword or having a ride operator say the ride is over, the train lurches downward a few feet, installing terror in the unlucky passengers. After a brief moment, the train is propelled downward in a world first, a free fall drop on a roller coaster. It doesn't end there, though, as then the train is launched backwards into some twists and turns, though this time inside dark tunnels. Afterwards, the ride enters some switch track and pull into the station for the next unlucky victims ride Thirteen. So if you are in the Alton area or are planning a large coaster riding trip and will end up in the UK, you should stop by and experience Thirteen. |
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