Alton Towers Hire

[kitlane]

Woo another language to learn :)

 

I keep meaning to learn C. To be honest I was going to start a fresh with everything and learn C. MPLAB is the software we have at home but I'll have a better look in to Arduino at some point.

 

Cheers :)

 

You'll get to do PIC programming at Derby, particularly in the 3rd year Embedded Systems module. Most people seem to do this in assembler.

 

This year we started a new 2nd year module (Computer Systems and Networks) and I taught Processing as the programming language. Processing has close links with Wiring, the Arduino language

[Joe Bleasdale]

People seem to forget how long Alton Towers have been running an entertainments department. I worked there when I was 16, with Simon (who had just started) back in 1996. In those days, we ran the ice show, a magic show, a 3D cinema, loads of street theatre along and an outdoor show in the piazza with responsibility for all park sound and effect lighting. Over time they've employed good staff and built up a wealth of experience and have some impressive equipment which is probably due to having bigger budgets than a lot of theatres.

 

They put on more shows per year than a lot of theatres do in two, alright they might be the same show several times a day but....

 

I don't know about now but back then they ran a pretty tight operation. No venue was allowed to open with so much as a single lamp out (this included the little P-lamps on the stairs not just the obvious show related ones), everything was checked and signed off by each technician when they arrived at a venue, all technicians were rehearsed to work in every role within the park and were rotated to keep them from A) getting bored and B) forgetting what they had to do in each role. Oh and one other thing, they were very strict about uniform, including ther colour of your socks, every morning you had to roll up your trousers and prove you were wearing the correct colour socks even if that meant removing your 10 eyelet DM's that hid your socks from view!

 

If you see Simon tell him Graham said hello, he'll remember me as the guy whos caravan bunrt down with him inside it!! :)

 

Ahh. Towers was my first tax at source job as soon as I left High School. They still run a tight ship, the uniform requirements etc are still the same and every Tech has to be up to speed on the COSWoP for the nevue they are working. Everything is still checked and signed off down to the small details like the small lamps lighting up the pictures in the foyer. Big top is now Ents storage and the Ice Rink has gone... however the Olympia machine is still sat in the corner I think... :) The Pirate show and Theatre show are run 7 days a week. The pirate show has 3 shows per day, and the theatre has 3 public shows per day. But the venue tech does a full run through (without cast) before he can sign the venue off, this tests the show control, lighting, sound etc to make sure the show runs correctly before the start of the day. There is also a short mic check before every show.

 

 

Wow when I was doing my work experience there (2 years ago) they were over run with Evl Prospot 250's to the point where when one broke we just fetched another one from the big top! Unless of course they have ha a big clear out in the past few years, I'm a little out of touch, I was (embarrassingly) a towers nerd up until about a year and a half ago!

 

Still over run... There are some skeletons in Big top that have been stripped of parts, to keep the others serviced. They are all in the theatre, some have even been taken down this year, painted blue and become part of the set! They had a MASSIVE clear out before I arrived, they had a JCB in and even pulled down some cabins! The inside of the tent went from a large pile of cable and kit, to a cleanly sorted storage area.

 

It really is an interesting place to work :)

 

Thanks.

[danburns]

Did you see the before photo's Joe? I was working scarefest the year before you were there and the entire of Big Top and backstage there was a TIP!