I wouldnāt say I rate the ride as highly as most, but it does have to be Nemesis for me. Itās fast, itās intense, itās not too rough (the original Nemesis got a little rougher towards the end of its life, but it was never horrifically rough by any stretch of the imagination), there are some great elements on there; whatās not to like? Others have said plenty about Nemesis, so I donāt think Iāve got a whole lot more to add to those comments. It places 3rd among Altonās big 7 for me.
Looking at the thread, it would appear that my opinion on The Smiler falls roughly in the middle of the range showed here.
I donāt hate Smiler as much as some, but I equally donāt love it nearly as much as others. Itās not a bad ride by any stretch, but itās certainly not one of my absolute favourite coasters either. It ranks 6th among Altonās big 7 for me.
It has some good moments, with the second airtime hill being a particular highlight for me, and it has an interesting layout. When itās running smoothly and not too nauseatingly, it can be a really good ride.
Howeverā¦ itās too inconsistent for it to even be in the same conversation as Nemesis for me. It can run rough, and sometimes, I can find the repeated back-to-back inversions to provide a somewhat nauseating flat ride-style sensation that Iām not huge on.
On my most recent visit in March, it wasnāt running too badly, in fairness. However, it was still pretty inconsistent; I had one great front row ride that was smooth, fast, floaty, and not nauseating at all, but I also had a back row ride that was rougher and more nauseating.
In the recent past, Iāve had rides on Smiler that have been really pretty rough and rather nauseating. A particular nadir was the ride where the restraint somehow managed to whack me right in the crotch during the cobra roll jolt, and I walked off in considerable painā¦