The Smiler - your thoughts?

[SaiyanHajime]

I didn't think Alton's feedback was ever that great...

Just guessing here, but Thorpe's audience probably is terrible at leaving feedback and the only people who do are regulars and families. Not portraying accurate pictures.

Chessington's is all sodding annual pass holders. Again, messing things up. Over praising, complaining about unimportant things and not noticing issues that effect real guests.

I would guess Alton's are the only fairly accurate one, because the target audience is more lilkey to fill out forms in the first place. You're going to get more negativity as a result.

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[fefa]

Ok ... I went to Alton Towers last week wednesday...

Smiler had a Q of 10 min - I queued up seeing those heads smacked against the restraints, sat down, felt the hard restraint, got up and left before the restraints were closed

Those times where I accept a headache in order to get a new count are definitely over! :lol:



My friend who rode it by himself confirmed the headbanging so I'm kinda glad that I didn't do it!

 

[owentaylor121]

^I find your story highly unlikely!

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Guess fefa must never ride Vekomas then...

How pointless...

 

[MouseAT]

So, The Smiler then...

I finally got to ride it yesterday, and it just rattled its way around the entire layout. What a disgusting piece of crap. Gerstlauer really are turning out to be the new Vekoma of this decade. Ugh.

If you want 90% of The Smiler experience, just ride a boomerang a couple of times in quick succession. They're a more manageable length, won't have a massive queue, and there's at least 50-50 chance that the boomerang will be smoother.

The ride looks quite impressive from off ride, but I can't say I care for the look inside the building. In fact, that trend extends to pretty much the entire ride, from the coaster itself to its theme. There are some nice ideas, but none of them really live up to their potential.

 

[nadroJ]

I went on it yesterday and it was actually good! Rode it twice because we had posh-twat-fast-track and enjoyed both rides. Even the kink in the last bit of the cobra roll wasn't utterly vulgar, more like just a little twinge? The cars weren't rattly, it wasn't smooth either, more like a vibrating sensation as we went around.

Just, yh, shocked to say I was impressed.

 

[Brookes]

I went to Alton on both Friday and Saturday the past week thanks to Sun free tickets and it was clear to see the effect on attendance that the Smiler has had. On Friday, the park was dead, barely anything had a queue but the Smiler, which started the day at about 70 mins and still had a 35 minute queue by closing at 5 PM. Saturday was the busiest September weekend day I have seen there in many a year however. The Smiler held a 100 minute queue the entire day and all the major coasters had an hour queue by mid-afternoon (Rita peaked at 70 minutes and the SRQ was longer than the main queue). Closing was pushed back by half an hour because of it. Personally, I think it's safe to say that from an advertising point of view, the Smiler has been a success in getting people into the park. Whether they were happy with their visit and if they'll come back soon is another matter.

Construction-wise however, it has obviously been a nightmare. It is closed again today and tomorrow for more scheduled works and is evidently still causing them problems 6 months into the season. I rode it again on Saturday and I once again felt the roughness at three certain parts of the ride that I did earlier in the season (whip on the first inverted drop; second half of the cobra; entry to the first barrel roll). I felt more pain on my shoulders than I did before though but I'm not sure why. Though I doubt these problems will be fixed, I hope for Alton's sake that these "scheduled works" get finished soon so they can get the Smiler operating continuously and can move on.

 

[Jambo]

Rode it twice just before summer and got to say I loved it, however the rough parts are prominent. Its a good ride, if only the manufacturers were more reliable and could actually build something that wasn't continuously breaking itself due to the roughness.

I have seen that its closed today and tomorrow (what maintenance is this, track smoothing? or more technical). Im going on Friday so hopefully its open then and hopefully the queues aren't too big. I was thinking it would be cold, out of season (just about) and shouldn't be any school trips so touch wood it won't be very busy and that smiler is open!

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

Rode it twice just before summer and got to say I loved it, however the rough parts are prominent. Its a good ride, if only the manufacturers were more reliable and could actually build something that wasn't continuously breaking itself due to the roughness.

I have seen that its closed today and tomorrow (what maintenance is this, track smoothing?

The Smiler's problems aren't related to track smoothness in any way. The latest incident is to do with inadequate drainage in the pit area, so perhaps this downtime is due to the park correcting the issue?

Whatever the case, it's unacceptable.

 

[fefa]

^I find your story highly unlikely!

Errm, I don't have a clue what you're trying to say by "finding my story unlikely".....?

Guess fefa must never ride Vekomas then...

How pointless...

Excuse me?
Same as ownrita's post I don't get what you're trying to say.
Avoiding rough rides is pointless? I don't really see much intelligence in that post mate.

I dunno about you two but I wanna go on a ride to have fun not to be tortured.
If you don't agree with that then I recommend minding your own business and not worry about what coasters I ride and what coasters I avoid. #feeling like being back at nursery


PS: Whats up with all that negativity going around the forum recently?

 

[Jambo]

Rode it twice just before summer and got to say I loved it, however the rough parts are prominent. Its a good ride, if only the manufacturers were more reliable and could actually build something that wasn't continuously breaking itself due to the roughness.

I have seen that its closed today and tomorrow (what maintenance is this, track smoothing?

The Smiler's problems aren't related to track smoothness in any way. The latest incident is to do with inadequate drainage in the pit area, so perhaps this downtime is due to the park correcting the issue?

Whatever the case, it's unacceptable.

Yep still unacceptable since its had so many problems within its first year, but were still expected. Although I thought Alton said that they were looking into the rough parts of the ride, and wasn't the bolt issue due to the rides roughness, or was that because it was just a bad fixing then?

Hopefully the maintenance isn't too long, the drainage reason seems plausible since its coming upto winter and would be more likely to flood and hold too much water. Just hope its open as a few people in our group haven't yet ridden it, and its annoying paying for ticket, parking and food and the main attraction not being open - Kinda like going to watch ice skating but the skaters have forgotten their blades... haha

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

and wasn't the bolt issue due to the rides roughness, or was that because it was just a bad fixing then?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure it was due to extreme metal expansion from the heatwave back in June/July.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Bolts pop fairly often. Temp changes or otherwise. Coasters are manufactured to be safe (temporarily at least) if it happens.
Track shouldn't come apart when a bolt pops. That simple. That is not safe. Demonstrates the stress on that track where it was forced together. Im surprised Smiler is even open - not because I think an accident is lilkey, its not, but given how OTT Merlin's H&S is in other areas, I don't get it.

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[furie]

^I find your story highly unlikely!

Errm, I don't have a clue what you're trying to say by "finding my story unlikely".....?

Guess fefa must never ride Vekomas then...

How pointless...

Excuse me?
Same as ownrita's post I don't get what you're trying to say.
Avoiding rough rides is pointless? I don't really see much intelligence in that post mate.

I dunno about you two but I wanna go on a ride to have fun not to be tortured.
If you don't agree with that then I recommend minding your own business and not worry about what coasters I ride and what coasters I avoid. #feeling like being back at nursery


PS: Whats up with all that negativity going around the forum recently?

I think it's because this is an enthusiast site and people kind of think "biggest coaster installation in the UK in years, premier park, practically no queue and an enthusiasts chooses not to ride" is hard to swallow. Considering the hassle I've had for not riding a Corkscrew and Wild Mouse for similar reasons, I can understand why people are incredulous.

To be fair to the ride, I've had two good, pain free runs on it (and I'm very brittle). I enjoyed both of those rides, it was fun. I've also had a hideous ride which wasn't bad enough to put me off ever riding it again (unlike Speed, or Baco), but which I also wouldn't want to voluntarily experience again either. It's one of those "I'm willing to take the risk because the good ride is worth the gamble".

It's one of those things. Why miss a coaster which is getting mixed reviews? It could be you get the good ride and it's pain free and goes right to your number one. It seems odd not to take the gamble for what can be a great ride for some people. You never know until you try it kind of thing.

Obviously it's your choice and your life, but it will seem very odd to most people here you'd miss such a major and important ride because it might be a little rough. Especially when everyone's idea of rough differs so wildly.

 

[nadroJ]

^To elaborate on that and back up what owenrita is saying, it IS VERY weird to not only join the queue, but to then spend time in the queue, get all the way to SITTING DOWN, feel the restraints and go 'nah, not for me'. We know how coasters work, you don't exactly have much of a chance to sit in the seat, feel the restraints and go 'well, these things are jolly hard aren't they?' and proceed to get up and LEAVE THE TRAIN. Especially if you weren't right at the edge and had to them clamber over people to get out.

Sorry, but I'm in agreement that I don't believe you.

The accounts of roughness are over the top in my opinion. I've ridden it three times. The first I was just 'meh' to the whole thing and the second and third I really enjoyed.

 

[CookieCoasters]

There are only three or four parts of the ride that actually jolt you. The rest has some vibrating, but nothing to spoil the ride too much really. The main problem I actually have with it is that the restraints get so tight which really does make you feel trapped.

Fefa if it was just another boomerang or SLC which most likely will be rough and not very good than missing them would be more undertstandable. Whereas the Smiler all though not an amazing ride IMO is very unique and is an experience regardless what you think of it. You should have just tried it and if you hated it just left it at that.

I'm not saying your lieing (note I am a very trusting person), it's what you did that I personally disagree with and even though I really dislike the restraints, you can't really tell just from them what the ride is going to be like. It is your choice though and tbh I couldn't care less what you do and don't ride. All these comments are for your own benefit and I'm not trying to tell you what to do, (ride it for goodness sake )

 

[nadroJ]

THAT AND YOU'RE LYING WHY WOULD YOU LIE?

 

[furie]

I think it's a little rude to accuse somebody of lying to be honest.

 

[Screaming Coasters]

I think Gerstlauer made a mess of a coaster. As much as I love Alton Towers, they should have gone with Mack.

Corrected.

No way.. Mack's inexperience with this sorta stuff would have been the wrong choice in my opinion. Just because their rides are smooth, don't mean they could have pulled this off. There is a reason why Alton went for Gerstlauer, and their capabilities and requirements was probably one of the strongest factors for going with them due to their tight nature.. Intamin however, has the most experience and I would have chosen them.

 

[fefa]

I honestly find it HILARIOUS that someone gets upset about another person not trying a ride.
It's not like YOU cooked for me and I refuse to eat it, right?

I think it's nothing but my choice not to ride a rollercoaster that looks and feels uncomfortable.
I do not consider myself to be a rollercoaster junky like most of you are and do not follow a coaster count, yet I would think that I've been on enough rides to have a rough idea which type of rides I like and dislike.

You guys act up as if I offended you mum and even accuse me of lying - seriously guys, grab yourself a bag of maturity!

Again, I think it's all very immature and super hilarious what you guys are writing.