Alton Towers | The Smiler | Gerstlauer Infinity

[Kebab]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Seeing as it's nearly 3 minutes long, at least we can't say it's a short ride like everything else at Alton...


Also just noticed the drop is 98ft! Thats about the same size as Saw: The Ride, pretty big for that park!

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

According to a Press Release (to do with the sheep reveal), expecting opening month will now be May...

PANIC STATIONS!

Oh wait, source first, then PANIC!

ALTON TOWERS RESORT BAFFLES THE NATION IN A BAAAARMY HOAX

Alton Towers Resort stages a hoax as it prepares to launch The Smiler, the brand new coaster for 2013


Today, Alton Towers Resort has admitted responsibility for the mysterious branding of sheep which has swept across the UK. It was all part of an elaborate stunt to reveal the name of its new rollercoaster for 2013, The Smiler. The stunt, which has puzzled the nation for the past week, saw hundreds of sheep across the county emblazoned with a strange symbol. The symbol has been identified as the logo for The Smiler, which will open to the public later this year.

This seemingly mysterious discovery caused bewilderment amongst local residents in Perthshire, North Yorkshire, Middlesborough, Exeter, Melton Mowbray and South Wales and resulted in several pieces of news coverage with one headline from the Mail Online reading Just grin and baaaa it! Mysterious 'smiley face' symbol sparks internet debate after appearing on hundreds of sheep across the country’. TheSun.co.uk also covered the story with the headline Farmers baaa-ffled after hundreds of sheep are branded with smiley face’.

Last week a group of farmers, who were recruited by the Resort, branded their flocks of sheep using black livestock aerosol marker and a stencil of The Smiler symbol. Pictures of the painted sheep were leaked on Twitter after being posted by the farmers involved and bewildered members of the public. The pictures soon went viral as many people re-tweeted the posts and sharing their own thoughts and theories on what the symbol meant. A number of newspapers and websites picked up the story causing widespread confusion across the country.

It has since been revealed that it was all part of a stunt for Alton Towers Resort. Katherine Duckworth from the Resort commented, “We wanted to create some mystery around the name of our new world first rollercoaster, The Smiler. We’ve managed to baffle the nation and hopefully made a few people smile. The Smiler will be our biggest and most thrilling attraction the Resort has ever seen and we can’t wait for guests to join us in May and experience it for themselves.”

Ros Turner, a farmer from Melton Mowbray said: “Everyone loves a mystery and it was great to be involved in the hoax. It made a nice change from milking cows and ploughing fields!”

The Smiler is the new world-first rollercoaster coming to the Alton Towers Resort in 2013. The Smiler is an all-knowing controlling force that will make riders compliant until they become a smiling advocate.

The ride, which is the Resort’s biggest ever investment, will feature a track the length of ten football fields, gut-wrenching 30-meter drops and hurtling speeds of up to 85km per hour. For more details on the The Smiler, coming to Alton Towers Resort in 2013 visit www.altontowers.com/thesmiler


Notes to editor:

About The Smiler:

In 2013, Alton Towers Resort will launch its biggest ever rollercoaster – The Smiler (www.altontowers.com/thesmiler). The first of its kind in the world, The Smiler will be the biggest ever investment for a ride at the Resort. Whilst many of the details are still a closely guarded secret, here are a few exclusive facts:

· Highest drop – 30m
· Maximum speed – approx 85km/hr which is 10km/hr faster than Air
· Track length – 1,170m. This is 3x the length of Oblivion
· Ride time – 165 seconds which is 3x the ride time of Rita
· Passengers per ride train – 16 (4x rows of 4)
· Minimum rider height – 1.4m
· Location – X Sector, on the site of the old Black Hole ride
· Investment for the Resort - £18m

http://press.altontowers.com/news-alton ... hoax-11714

 

[marc]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Ah cool its going to be more thrilling then Nemesis, cannot wait :wink:

I dont mind the name either.

I also think Louis has a point about that spider thing.

 

[Lottie.]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

I don't mind the name, I think it has a sinister feel to it. As for the opening in May, I hope that this amount of delay will mean that we will have a good finished product with all theming elements.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Maybe saying May is a safety net... Anyone recall if they've done similar before?

 

[marc]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

All I remember is them opening up rides on opening day for them to break and then be shut for a few weeks. I think they are best to delay it so they can fully test it and get it working 100% rather than let people down.

Alton is miles away for a lot of people to travel and they wont be happy of it not to be open. Plus they are trying to get people there from London.

This is one of the reasons I was not going on opening day anyway. May is quite a long way off though seeing it was going to be March, so by then it should be ok to go for opening

 

[ECG]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

So how accurate is this?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liu91c_r9dU[/youtube]

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

From what we've seen on the plans, it's fairly accurate.

Them off ride shots show how nice this thing looks. It might end up being nasty to ride, but it is going to look awsome!

 

[Mysterious Sue]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

I seem to have the opposite view to most people about this. I've really enjoyed the marketing stunts and do actually think the subtlety of it will work. In a world where everyone has access to Google within about 5 seconds, it's easy for people to see the logo, be intrigued, and go find out what it is - giving you a much stronger attachment to the brand than if you just saw a boring old advert. The sheep stunt was funny and tongue-in-cheek, and yet at the same time whimsical enough to hold the attention of your average Internet blogging cat-lover. As others have stated, it's nice to see Alton not taking themselves too seriously for a while. I also love that they have been advertising in London and not just in their local area - but then I'm bias as I live in London

On the other hand, I really dislike the name 'The Smiler'. Ok, I get that the sexy inversion looks like a smile, but the name is frankly just silly. I just can't picture myself saying 'come on, let's go ride The Smiler'. Just reminds me of a Chelsea Smile. *shudders*

 

[Dar]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

I like the name in a really sinister way. Who expects the name "The Smiler" to be attached to a massive multi-looping coaster?

 

[nadroJ]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

To be fair to Alton, it was only ever our own fault that we assumed it would be open for March, they never actually said that did they? I'm obviously with those disappointed by the delay, but in saying that I'd definitely much rather ride the finished product than something rushed for opening day.

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

^ They had a count down for the opening on March 16th.

I dont understand why so many people are going mental over it being delayed. Blaming Alton for being useless at project management etc... ugh. Get a grip people.

 

[T0M]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

To be fair to Alton, it was only ever our own fault that we assumed it would be open for March, they never actually said that did they?

Yes, it was in the inital press releases and adverts around the park and also there was a countdown on their website.

I'd rather it be ready to go properly than be rushed and a let down, but they've still been massively incompetent over this.

 

[marc]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Who's blaming them? It does not matter when it opens really as long as it works and is themed 100%.

It could cost Alton some early season visitors though as a lot of people will hold off.

I just find it funny that a few people kept on about it not being late and even sent stroppy pm's to people who said it will.

I wonder if they will say sorry now lol.

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

^ They had a count down for the opening on March 16th.

I dont understand why so many people are going mental over it being delayed. Blaming Alton for being useless at project management etc... ugh. Get a grip people.

Yeah, honestly! From what I understand, the whole area has been experience terrible landslide problems due to excessive rainfall. Extreme weather is beyond everyone's control.

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Who's blaming them? It does not matter when it opens really.

SO many people on other forums.

The world ending has nothing on Alton's new coaster being delayed.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Whilst I believe rides should be ready and open for the start of season, this is the first time this has happened with Tussauds and Merlin.

In the USA, its standard practise for rides to open late May, usually just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Which is dumb.

I'm also secretly more content about the later opening, because it saves me money.

I'm surprised at the delay, because I figure opening for the start of season must be a big deal to them, as they've gone out of their way to ensure it happens very time. I've always assumed a new ride encourages people to visit out of season, and thus why the stupid American approach of waiting is stupid. If people visit in March for a new ride and like it, they'll return for summer.

So, I'm surprised, but far from pissed off.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2

 

[nadroJ]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Ohhh, my bad then, I haven't really been following this as I kind of want it to be a surprise (more so than Thirteen anyway), that's probably why I missed that then.

I wonder what the exact reason for the delay is?

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Ohhh, my bad then, I haven't really been following this as I kind of want it to be a surprise (more so than Thirteen anyway), that's probably why I missed that then.

I wonder what the exact reason for the delay is?

Just been encountering a few unexpected issues with construction (in addition to the awful weather causing as much havoc as possible)...

 

[CoasterCrazy]

Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1

Let's just hope that they can push on to meet the schedule,since I'm sure that they can. To be fair, there's nothing wrong with automatically presuming that Smiler will open in March, since all of Alton's current coasters, save the Runaway mine train, and Rita (1st April) have all opened in March.

Merlin seem to be a little dull at the moment, especially with their paint jobs; since 2009(or earlier) all major Merlin coaster have been either black or grey. Now this...and what's with the usage of 'the' - surely they should've learnt from Swarm that everyone will omit it anyway. Smiler sounds much better without the 'the'.

Anyway, forget about the name, as it's a blemish on an almost perfect coaster. The design of the area couldn't have been better, with the coaster visually impressive and *slightly* foreboding. My one problem pertains with the conflicting themes of oblivion and Smiler.

I love what Gerstlauer have done with the trains, and if I'm honest, lap bars would be a little weird anyway. I suspected a compacted floorless coaster and this be undoubtedly brilliant.


Merlin need to stop 'changing' the feel and theme of the parks, with Swarm never fully assimilating into the park, and sadly, I doubt this will much either.