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[The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation
- Thread starter Wilsy
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BigDave
TS Member
Well this seems to have a great layout AND apparently it will have a worlds first/world beating feature too. It really does sound good. I just hope it lives up to this hype we are creating ourselves. As long as its smooth and it is fairly intense, there is no reason for this not to challenge Nemesis for the parks top spot!
TheMan
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- NemiLerVion
Prometheus said:
Tea spittingly brilliant. He probably rang B&M with something similar and they put the phone down this time ;D
"Sorry John, we're crazy not insane..." *Click....tone*
(He probably got half way through dialing Intamin, had a think, and hung the phone up).
Alastair
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Rise of the Resistance
TheMan said:
B&M would have hung up once he'd said both "plenty of inversions" and "the longest coaster you've ever built." As that'd have to be at least 5500ft, over 2000ft longer than Gerst's longest ever coaster. Unless it was the cross-valley there'd be no chance of anything of that length at AT.
daveclarkedaveclarke
TS Member
Alastair said:TheMan said:
B&M would have hung up once he'd said both "plenty of inversions" and "the longest coaster you've ever built." As that'd have to be at least 5500ft, over 2000ft longer than Gerst's longest ever coaster. Unless it was the cross-valley there'd be no chance of anything of that length at AT.
Very off topic but which b n m has the most inversions?
Back on topic the pace is picking up now with getting everything in place and it does look like a beast of a coaster. Can't wait to ride it in June when I'm planning a visit.
Danny
TS Contributor
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- Steel Vengeance
daveclarkedaveclarke said:
Dragon Khan.
I'm not too sure if Wardley would have considered B&M to create such a compact layout with as many inversions as The Smiler is suspected to have. But even if he did, I can see the reasons as to B&M turning the project down if they were even presented with the idea.
James
TS Founding Member
I'm sure if you wave any large amount of money at a manufacturer they will be willing to try anything out.
B&M would have never been considered for this though. The beauty of Gerst and their Eurofighter's is that you can create an insane layout in a tight space. It was obviously going to be the key choice of manufacturer for Merlin Studios, Alton Towers and John. It's pretty clear on site though this has been one hell of a complex project, even for Gerst, this is beyond insane. The structures they've had to create is quite amazing.
B&M would have never been considered for this though. The beauty of Gerst and their Eurofighter's is that you can create an insane layout in a tight space. It was obviously going to be the key choice of manufacturer for Merlin Studios, Alton Towers and John. It's pretty clear on site though this has been one hell of a complex project, even for Gerst, this is beyond insane. The structures they've had to create is quite amazing.
Alastair
TS Team
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- Rise of the Resistance
daveclarkedaveclarke said:Alastair said:TheMan said:
B&M would have hung up once he'd said both "plenty of inversions" and "the longest coaster you've ever built." As that'd have to be at least 5500ft, over 2000ft longer than Gerst's longest ever coaster. Unless it was the cross-valley there'd be no chance of anything of that length at AT.
Very off topic but which b n m has the most inversions?
Back on topic the pace is picking up now with getting everything in place and it does look like a beast of a coaster. Can't wait to ride it in June when I'm planning a visit.
It's not that so much as building a B&M with more than 8 inversions which is longer than Leviathan would be literally insane and would almost certainly cost more than £18m.
ThemeParkJack
TS Member
Too be honest them supports near the toilet areas have gone up really fast. I think if they pull there finger out we could maybe have a soft opening in April. Plenty of rumours say they will so?
BigDave
TS Member
Well I showed the photos to a friend who works in construction and he says they still have loads to do. Wiring, testing, themeing, relaying half the footpaths to make it safe. I really don't think this ride will be anywhere near ready for April and it could even be a tight squoze to get it ready for May.
Rollercoasters4Life
TS Member
As we have seen from the recently released photo by Alton Towers that the support on the left is in an inverted position (As I've illustrated below):
Now there has been speculation for some time about an inverting drop which with the above support looks like it may happen. I then went back to The Smiler game app photos and this image looks very much like an inverting drop to me:
(Original image)
(My attempt at blowing it up a little)
As you can see, the train is coming out of a banking drop. Now the banking is correct with that support as you would roll right (clockwise) down the drop (you can also see the 'conversion zone' (bottom of second lift hill - black and yellow rectangles) to the bottom right of the image which can be seen in this photo:
So it is in the right place. Now before anyone says I can't see *insert element* on the game images that is because you unlock more as you go along. This has been sat in front of us for weeks and only now does it become clear. An inverting drop? Looking likely!
*removes detective coat*
Now there has been speculation for some time about an inverting drop which with the above support looks like it may happen. I then went back to The Smiler game app photos and this image looks very much like an inverting drop to me:
(Original image)
(My attempt at blowing it up a little)
As you can see, the train is coming out of a banking drop. Now the banking is correct with that support as you would roll right (clockwise) down the drop (you can also see the 'conversion zone' (bottom of second lift hill - black and yellow rectangles) to the bottom right of the image which can be seen in this photo:
So it is in the right place. Now before anyone says I can't see *insert element* on the game images that is because you unlock more as you go along. This has been sat in front of us for weeks and only now does it become clear. An inverting drop? Looking likely!
*removes detective coat*
Dar
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
BigDave said:
Things like wiring can be done in stages. They can be doing the basic station wiring while the supports are being sorted by the toilets.
The themeing is being made off site so will probably be a case of just plonking it down.
As for the inversion at the top of the lifts, I'm calling a jojo roll at the top of one!
ThemeParkJack
TS Member
Well yeah of course theres still alot to do. The ride will be complete by May. My worry is experiencing it in stages like i di with Sub-Terra. I went on N:ST opening day. When they added some new effects and then with the scare maze. I think if they do that with The Smiler i will be a little bit mad. >
James
TS Founding Member
BigDave said:
There is still a possibility of soft openings in April.
The construction can move as fast as they want it. They can have multiple contractors on site if need be, and probably in most projects of this scale, it's possible at times for multiple jobs to be done at once.
Once fencing is up and the majority of the landscape is complete, I'd guess that they will be able to have multiple jobs happening in one go. Paving, wiring, theming, fencing etc... - if they got track up, then theming, then fenced off the dangerous zone testing can begin then when all the other jobs can continue to be done.
CGM
TS Member
If I'm understanding this correctly, the "inverted drop" idea looks a like a variant of a zero G roll unless you're suggesting that it stays inverted for a length of time.
Why must people keep coming up with unnecessary new names for elements that already exist? It's bad enough that we have about a million different manufacturer names for cobra rolls/boomerangs/batwings. We don't need "Staffordshire Knot" and "inverted drop" thrown into the mix.
If there's one element that is arguably worthy of a new name, it's the opening one on the plans. I don't think it has ever been done before on a coaster but I've seen no one else mention it so correct me if I'm wrong. By the looks of it, it's a variation on the aerobatic manoeuvre, the Cuban Eight. In this case, effectively back to back dive loops. G-Force at Drayton has a similar element but with back to back Immelmanns and a Norwegian loop could be seen as having one of each.
I'll admit that the differences between these elements are subtle but I find it strange that people are determined to give every element on the ride a new name apart from the one that's new.
Why must people keep coming up with unnecessary new names for elements that already exist? It's bad enough that we have about a million different manufacturer names for cobra rolls/boomerangs/batwings. We don't need "Staffordshire Knot" and "inverted drop" thrown into the mix.
If there's one element that is arguably worthy of a new name, it's the opening one on the plans. I don't think it has ever been done before on a coaster but I've seen no one else mention it so correct me if I'm wrong. By the looks of it, it's a variation on the aerobatic manoeuvre, the Cuban Eight. In this case, effectively back to back dive loops. G-Force at Drayton has a similar element but with back to back Immelmanns and a Norwegian loop could be seen as having one of each.
I'll admit that the differences between these elements are subtle but I find it strange that people are determined to give every element on the ride a new name apart from the one that's new.
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