Personally, I prefer Thirteen to The Smiler! As someone who values a good, fun and thrilling ride that’s rerideable rather than something that’s out and out intense, Thirteen ticks my boxes a fair bit more than Smiler does. Of the currently operating Big 6 (would be Big 7 if Nemesis was open), I’d probably put Thirteen in 4th place (behind Wicker Man, Oblivion and Rita, in that order). Smiler sits in 5th place, but in my overall rankings, it is a fair bit behind Thirteen (for me, there’s quite a chasm between The Smiler/Galactica and the rest of Alton Towers’ thrill coaster selection; Runaway Mine Train actually sits between Thirteen and The Smiler, out of Alton’s overall crop of coasters).
I probably wouldn’t join an advertised 70 minute queue for it, in fairness, but if you’re a family with kids below 1.4m or someone who doesn’t like inverting coasters or overly intense coasters, what other choice do you have? Folk who don’t like overly intense coasters do exist, and for them, Thirteen is one of the few choices on park; on both occasions where my Nan has visited with us, Thirteen has been one of the biggest coasters she’s ridden. As she also rules out anything that spins, Wicker Man and Runaway Mine Train are her only other coaster options on park.
