Dan.N
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If HSE weren't satisfied that the incident couldn't be repeated they wouldn't have lifted the prohibition notice. The new safety procedures and systems they have in place ensure that an incident such as the one on 2nd June can never be repeated.
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By giving a ride a new name you are altering the original theme, so in this instance retheme is the correct phrase IMO. I'm sure it was officially confirmed by Merlin but not much exposure was given to it. I believe it was mentioned on a conference call where the details of the call were made public.
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The Smiler was never going to be rethemed. That was confirmed pretty quickly in the aftermath of the incident.
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Hex is heavily rumoured to be closed for the duration of the 2016 season. It's not a case of it needing TLC, it's simply a cost-cutting measure.
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Nothing has yet been confirmed by Alton Towers with regards to these rumours for next season. Until anything is confirmed by the park themselves no-one can say with any clarity what will happen to these 6 attractions. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see them on staggered opening but I would be shocked if they were all closed for the entirety of the 2016 season.
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The main difference between The Beast and Samurai is The Beast is always operated on manual (which is the only way the incident on it can occur) whereas as far as I know Samurai is always run on one of the pre-programmed cycles. I wouldn't be surprised if Mondial do have a look at it in relation to this incident but I would have thought that will only occur once it has been rebuilt.
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I agree that changing the age restriction with a little over 2 weeks until Scarefest starts is very poor, however they won't have done it without a good reason. They have also said that anyone under the age of 15 who has already bought maze tickets will be able to get a full refund from the Resort Box Office.
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Alton Towers have confirmed it on their Twitter.
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TowersTimes have reported that Alton Towers have increased the age restrictions to their scare mazes to 15+ and it is understood that this will be strictly enforced. Alton Towers have also posted the following in a comment on their Facebook page: It is as yet unclear as to how this age limit will be enforced.
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The recommended minimum age for the standard mazes at Towers is 14. For both the paid Extreme mazes and the Maze ALONE! VIP extras the age limit is strictly 18+. The Extreme mazes are taking place after park close (9pm onwards) while the Maze ALONEs are taking place before the mazes open to the general public (I have ToTT booked Alone on Sunday 25th October and have been advised to be at the entrance to the maze for 12:45pm)
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For all we know the prohibition notice could have been lifted. If we think back to the rides construction it had a prohibition notice placed on it then but there was never an official release that said it had been lifted so it is quite plausible that HSE have already deemed it safe to operate.
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The ride will open as soon as the prohibition notice is lifted. The full report could take a lengthy period of time to put together. I expect one morning people will enter the park and head to X-Sector to see all the signage back up along with the music blaring out. On that morning I think Merlin will release a short statement along the lines of: "The Smiler will re-open today. This is what happened and these are the steps we've taken to ensure it can never happen again. The HSE are satisfied with the action taken and have deemed the ride safe to run" I believe a 2015 opening is highly likely, probably a week or so before Scarefest starts in order to get any negative press out of the way.
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Could it not be that they have encountered a technical issue with the ride and have decided to close it now so it's back up and running for FN? I find it hard to believe that it will be closed for the rest of the season when the social media team are saying otherwise.
