A Titanic-themed 'ride and slide' at a family farm has been branded 'disrespectful' for attempting to recreate the downed ship. The children's ride, featuring a replica of the 1912 sunken vessel, was promoted this summer at Graveley Fruit Farm near Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
Costing £2 per ride, the ship, depicted with two of its iconic funnels, tilts upwards before ejecting riders onto a crash mat. Some families were left bemused by the attraction, claiming it was a 'distasteful' homage to the tragic sinking, which claimed the lives of some 60 children.
Criticism on Facebook
Andy Turner wrote on the farm's Facebook page: 'I'm sorry, but this is one of the most distasteful, disrespectful, and strange attractions for children. I cannot believe that you have created a game and ride based on a such a tragedy. Would you create a game based on Auschwitz or the twin towers? The Titanic is infamous for sinking, causing the deaths of 1,500 people of which 60 were children. This is sickening and anybody who doesn't see an issue with this clearly has no sense of morality.'
Claire Borchers commented: 'Strange bunch of people who not only enjoy, but endorse this. A simple change to the name/colour of this ship would make it far less offensive and more appropriate as a children's ride. There wouldn't be a ride focused around the twin towers or other historical tragedies, so why is this acceptable?', she added.
Farm's response
Graveley Farm opened in 1981 and offers a playground, crazy golf and strawberry picking during the summer. The Titanic ride returned in May after having previously ran for several years. Responding to criticisms, the farm said it would change the name of the ride 'ASAP'. However it later reversed this decision, saying it had received lots of support to retain the name, the Sun reported.
RMS Titanic sank on her major voyage after sailing into an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Of the 2,220 passengers and crew onboard, nearly 1,500 lost their lives. Graveley Farm told Metro that while it did receive criticism for the ride, it got a far larger backlash when it removed the Titanic name and 'gave into the wokes'.
It added: 'Titanic has become almost a byword in the English language. There are no survivors, or for that matter children of survivors alive today. I would like to think if we could talk to the ghosts of the people who drowned over a hundred years ago when the ship went down, that if they knew that there was a children's slide made in their memory that gives a lot of pleasure to so many people, then it would be met with a kindly smile.'
