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Eau de Smiler

Sam

Sam

TS Member
Think this deserves its own topic, as it's getting intolerable now and really needs bringing to the park's full attention.

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The objects circled above are the offenders. They are ostensibly padding for the neck, but actually serve merely to emit one of the foulest smells known to man. Anyone who has been on The Smiler and has turned their head any more than ten degrees in either direction will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Unlike the hard plastic of Nemesis and Oblivion which absorbs nothing at all and is odourless, these pads are spongy and semi-absorbent. They soak in the sweat from every single rider whose neck comes into contact with them - and due to the roughness of the ride, that is everybody.

They let off an appalling stink, particularly by the end of the day. The smell is one of stale sweat, and it makes me almost vomit everytime I ride. What is a misery during the winter becomes something else entirely during summer.

The extra perspiration caused by last Sunday's roasting heat made the ride smell worse than London during the Black Death. A random woman behind me loudly complained in the brake run that she'd waited an hour just to feel nauseous due to the smell. Something has to be done about this. The obvious solution? Remove the padding.
 
I've never actually noticed this, despite having ridden it multiple times. The obvious solution? Remove the whole blasted ride, and replace it with a B&M something, with a better drainage system and less strobes in the indoor section of the queue line.

Sorry, got a tad carried away there.
 
Try smelling the seat belts on Nemesis after it has rained. And it's more than just sweat, though you can all probably guess what...

:p
 
Anything spongey gets it.

But without spongeyness it'd be the most painful experience ever. Let's get Vekoma restraints on there!! (oh wait they smell too).
 
I agree Sam, it's extremely unpleasant. Just another reason why it should've had lap restraints.
 
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they could have soft pad without the soaked in sweat problem by having the padding in the covering that is used on ambulance cots (stretchers) as it is waterproof and cleans easily with a hard surface wipe.
 
delta79 said:
they could have soft pad without the soaked in sweat problem by having the padding in the covering that is used on ambulance cots (stretchers) as it is waterproof and cleans easily with a hard surface wipe.
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Do you work for the ambulance force peoples? :p
 
If they clean them with anti-bacteria cleaner regularly, then the problem wont be as bad, but after working on air, I can say that most spongy surfaces do indeed stink.
 
The solution is as simple as changing the material, which really can't cost much. You just know it will never happen though, just as the train roughness will never go away until the ride is finally put out of its misery in probably the near future.
 
It is unfortunately a problem on many rides with some form of spongy restraints however I do agree that it seems to be worse on The Smiler. It was foul on Sunday, not something you really want to be smelling when on a ride. Apart from cleaning them every so often I doubt there's anything they'll do though.

:)
 
I have to say I completely agree, it is absolutely repulsive and makes for an extremely unpleasant ride experience!

However there is one ride that in my opinion is far FAR worse for it... Infusion! It is completely unbearable as your entire head is literally encased in said offending sponge! Ughhhh
 
I anticipated the gradual roughness of the ride due to the bodged ground and track installation, but never did I expect such a wretched odour being emitted from what is supposedly designed to make the ride better. I've never encountered this problem on Saw with identical restraints, so I fail to see why this ride in particular is much worse.

I'm surprised Towers haven't cottoned onto this yet and started to force people to buy deodorant/antiperspirant to spray yourself with before boarding.
 
Danny said:
I'm surprised Towers haven't cottoned onto this yet and started to force people to buy deodorant/antiperspirant to spray yourself with before boarding.
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Or personal antibacterial spray :p

"Prevent the otherwise unavoidable onset of herpes with The Smiler anti-viral spray. Guarantees your health...at least until your next ride #getcorrected"
 
The water being sprayed from the Marmaliser probably doesn't help the situation - which would also be why Infusion's sponge is bad too.
 
I doesn't really bother me, I'd certainly rather they were there than not.

I'm sure 99% of people don't give it a second thought, although I appreciate we make up most of that 1% that do, so I can understand peoples comments.

Personally I've never heard people complaining of the smell, which of course, doesn't mean it never happens.

If the sponges absorb water/liquid then when it rains it should wash it out a little anyway, although the deeper you get, the worse it must be. I found Nemesis' old OTSR's to smell worse after 20 years of sweat & sick tbh - the harder coating has been worn away leaving just the sponge layer.

Nothing will be done about it - until/unless guest satisfaction is SEVERELY & directly affected, which as much as The Smiler gets mixed reviews from the enthusiast community, the vast majority of the UK GP think its the best thing since sliced bread.
 
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