As I starred in this show personally I have omitted my section from the review to provide an unbiased overview of the rest of the programme.
Theme Parks Go Horribly Wrong aired on Channel 5 this past weekend as this near-two hour show dives into some quirky and unusual stories of the show’s title ‘When Theme Parks Go Horribly Wrong’.
From a girl getting stuck on a water slide-style ride to the Disney Maleficent dragon spontaneously catching fire at a parade the show highlights (for the most part) some light-hearted theme park stories alongside celebrity and industry insider reactions to the clips shown.
In a very simple format, this Channel 5 documentary is a mix of green-screen interviews and user-submitted clips giving a very ‘turn your brain off and enjoy’ kind of television reminiscent of every show-and-tell TV show that you see on screens around the holidays but instead of soaps and celebs it’s time for theme parks to take centre stage.
Or is it?
Whilst the show’s name is When Theme Parks Go Wrong there seems to be an abundance of funfair ride clips throughout the show which are some of the more disturbing clips that the show displays.
A gentleman falling out of a travelling Ferris Wheel along with a Miami swing-style ride that ejected its passengers are clips that are used at the very start which instantly made me concerned about what the show would feature as these harrowing clips were shown briefly but thankfully the worst bit was over in the opening sequence as for a brief moment it felt as though the show would glorify these accidents throughout but thankfully the tone of the show changed bar one story in particular, The Smiler accident.
The Smiler accident is a very well-documented accident that took place at Alton Towers back in 2015, an accident that highlighted theme park safety procedures and the show included the incident resulting in some controversy online.
Whilst I agree that it should have been omitted from the show I felt the way in which it was portrayed was no different to any news story or content creator who has covered the ride previously in the past. What did seem a strange choice though however was to include this story amongst the other theme park stories which in comparison were rather tame.
A rollercoaster getting stuck atop its top hat and a kid getting upset on a kid’s ride at LEGOLAND doesn’t quite compare to the harrowing incident that took place at Alton Towers back in 2015.
As is the case with many of these shows there is a duty of care that goes on behind the scenes so I would imagine that the victims were contacted about the show beforehand and with recent appearances on TV from some of the victims they’re planning for a positive future with the events that occurred on that tragic day a constant reminder but now behind them.
Leaving this particular story in the show, given the nature of the other theme park stories was in somewhat bad taste but I didn’t think it was handled particularly badly as such but it just wasn’t needed to be included in my own opinion. If a clip like this was in the show you’d instantly expect the show to highlight more tragedies along this line where serious injury (or worse) occurred, thankfully the show didn’t go down this route and all of the other theme park clips thereafter were much more lighthearted in nature for the most part.
The clips shown in the show are clips that have been covered, shared and posted online for many years with many of the interviews with the figures involved in the events highlighting the fact that their videos of the event went viral. None of the clips shown in the show are particularly new as is the case with many show-and-tell shows on television nowadays. 
For me (The Smiler incident aside) the other theme park stories were mostly lighthearted, well told and were more tasteful in nature where they were either comedic in nature or unusual events where there was no harm or threat to human life. On the other hand, I felt the funfair content was very sensationalised and really shouldn’t have been included in a theme park show like this.
It’s not called When FUNFAIRS Go Horribly Wrong now is it?
Two hours is quite a lot to palate and for me, if they had taken all the funfair content out and replaced it with more hilarious stories like on-ride reactions such as two girls on KingDa Ka (currently the world’s tallest rollercoaster) this show could have been much more lighthearted in tone.
If there was no option but to leave The Smiler content in I would have handled it much better with having someone talk about ride safety, the odds of it happening etc then quickly move on to the more lighthearted stuff. That would have been my go-to method had I been in charge of the production and I had no choice but to leave The Smiler segment in.
A 60-minute runtime would have been a much easier watch that’s for sure as bits just seemed to drag on over time as it’s a very copy-and-paste format show and for me unless it’s around Christmas and I’m a few sherry’s down then I lose my attention span rather quickly! 
If anything it should be the funfair community up in arms about the show with the theme park crowd getting off very lightly indeed and for the most part the general public loved it and the show ratings were the 2nd highest on Channel 5 the day that it aired, it went down a treat in the eyes of the public.
These are stories that have been online for many months and even years in some cases and despite us being aware of them we still visit theme parks and funfairs knowing these risks are few and far between.
Things happen every single day but it never puts us off from living or indulging in the very things being reported on and that’s just facts. 
Another review of the show commented on ‘scripted reactions’ when it came to the celebrities discussing the clips and once again, this was clearly written by someone who doesn’t quite understand how TV shows work.
All reactions were naturally captured as the celebrities would have been shown the clip in question and discussions regarding the clip would have been much longer in runtime before being edited into more bite-sized and digestible content for viewers.
Having this commentary from known faces lent a nice balance to the rather biased reaction that the show got from theme park fans whereas previously mentioned it really should be the funfair crowd with the bitter taste in their mouth after the opening few clips that were displayed and those clips I do not agree with showing whatsoever.
The show was pitched as lighthearted and fun and whilst a good 80% of the show is exactly that there’s a 20% that is sure to rub people up the wrong way. When Theme Parks Go Horribly Wrong has a sensationalised title but the content within it could have been much more harrowing (as a whole) than the clips shown.
Just make sure to stay towards the end because they saved the best for last! *Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge*

Our Rating

Summary
Whilst this lower-budget Channel 5 will rustle some feathers with those communities, for the most part, the show is a good watch it just needs considerably trimming down and re-editing into a more digestible and palatable watch.