Benin

Cos everything on Facebook is true eh?

What good things? It's a Vekoma SLC, it shares pretty much every flaw they have, even with the brand new trains the other year it was still rough as hell... It's also pretty boring and the wind really affects the ride in a negative manner (when it's running) in a similar way to how Big One can feel sluggish if the wind is against it...

Millenium is surprisingly great actually, like I really enjoyed it... Odyssey is just dreadful though, like most SLCs, especially when you factor in it's hardly ever bloody open in the first place... I was lucky to get it myself on my first trip and even that involved waiting for 3 hours (although granted, that was because of a thunderstorn rather than wind)...

Was it ever on track in the first place? Let's hope they dump the shabby market at minimum, that's a lot of space that is better used for, well anything really...

Ride hosts can't do it, only engineers can... With this incident, it comes down to miscommunication... Op was probably told there was a train stuck, but not stalled... What with a train on the lift, it's a fair assumption to make in my book... They got it wrong, but even the more stringent procedures cannot account for human error without going overboard (take this for example, multiple hosts will now have to do visual checks outside and press a button/use a key... What was once a quick reset will take a lot longer to do, safer yes, but not practical)... The high pressure of the theme park world causes a lot more human error than is actually openly documented, I can tell you that for certain... But risk assessments, as detailed as they are, cannot always account for them... And that's the same for any industry...

Should you not be able to override any computer system then? Oh, the electronically controlled train thinks the junction is open when actually there's another train there, but oh no the driver can't override it so everyone dies... A more grounded similarity would be when your printer jams, oh you've removed the jam, but it still says there's one... Best get a new printer then cos the machine is right...

Given that the ride crashed due to Human Error, then there is absolutely NOTHING the HSE can do to remove that in it's entirity...

Some classic Six Flags gimmick jumping there...

But Marc, my point is that Swarm has suffered breakdowns (it doesn't matter if its managed to not close for an entire day, its still had them), and it has also dumped a bolt... Same for Vampire and many other rides worldwide actually... So close them all I say!

Also Sub Terra... Its doable, depends if the park bothers...

I assume you mean the breakdowns and shearing bolts? Best close down Swarm then, its a danger to everyone...

Rehearsal is being used because they know there will be teething problems... Just a fact of any new attraction worldwide unfortunately... But I'm sure you can all look forward to some celebrity jumping past you all in the queue...

The same contractors who put a piece of track in the wrong way around? Saw's had a fair amount of problems too, so there's that to consider as well... As for your question Josh, to build a full on filtration system to remove the dye and being able to dump it back into normal water? No idea, but I cant imagine it being below several hundred grand...

If I wanted to be scared by a tramp on a Tube train I'd just get on the last train out of Kennington...

All that Jamie is literally what is done at EVERY single park that does this... You have to queue for ages when leaving to grab your token, or you ask on the way in... They're all barrier operated (though the Europeans tend to have someone stood nearby during the peak hours of departure), then one idiot messes it all up for everyone... These problems aren't exclusive to the UK... This said, Drayton I believe are going back to free parking this season...

Well, that's more because some numpty said the ground was a certain type and it wasn't so they had to concrete it all to ensure that the ride wouldn't fall apart... Obviously that didn't work, because the contractors were useless...

Not gonna happen unless they build a proper filtration system...

Think the thing is though, when people lose limbs (or worse) in a car/train/etc crash, you don't see any call for them to be closed/removed... It's a whole necessity concept, we view transport services as essential and write off any incidents as part and parcel, but because rides are an amusement/un-essential delight and don't have these accidents happen on a large scale (especially in the UK) it's all torch and pitchforks... Imagine our press with the incidents on Bizarro/Texas Giant...

Attracting circa 15 million people in 2014 is struggling? The money woes come from when it first opened, such are the perils of building 6 massive hotels in one fell swoop and an American based IP trying to get over to the French (who detested the whole idea at the time)... In regards to the solvency/profit side of it, depends if the people behind Paramount have a plan for that, one would assume most parks even the tiny ones make little profit at first... But that old adage of spending money to make money comes to mind, especially if that 2 billion covers the entire resort costs (park, hotels, entertainment district, transport, etc)...

The irony being that I don't think people are comfortable with Merlin at the current time...

But Paramount did, back in the past, have some IPs that worked in a theme park environment... Granted they eventually got brought out by Cedar Fair, but I'm not 100% sure for the reasonings without trying to do some serious research, I don't think it was completely down to monetary failure... I could be wrong here... Times have changed, rides based off Bond and Star Trek (and whatever others they had planned) would get a LOT of punters in... Plus of course they'd say a lot of catchment would be across the Channel, since you know, the location is by Ashford International... Then again, Varney wouldn't say anything positive about the place in front of Merlin investors and scare them off... So pinches of salt for all!

That took long: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-crash-survivor-vicky-7468051

Well, if they are spending £30m on DBGT that kinda makes them... Right?

It's almost as if the parks take turns with their massive investments..........