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Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

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Rob said:
I've just cleared up some posts relating to a fake screen shot of ride times posted showing The Smiler as open. Please, no spam! It's not what these forums are for and does not contribute to discussion in a meaningful way.

Thanks!

:)
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Thanks ks for that Rob.

I think saw is better than the smiler and nemesis but that's just my opinion, I also likes nemesis inferno, u dey rated but not as good as the origional
 
For me personally Smiler is number one out of the rides at AT. And I definitely like it way more than Nemesis which left me with massive headache both times I went on it...
 
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WTF...

I know I will get shot down for my list:

1. Oblivion
2. Nemesis
3. Thirteen
4. Rita
5. Sonic
6. Smiler
7. Monorail
8. Air
 
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AirFAN said:
Do any of you actually like this ride? Is this a classic case of wanting what you can't have? I honestly didn't think people cared this much about The Smiler.
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I love the smiler and have since it opened. Of course we like the ride (the majority anyway...) we like some other rides more though. Yes, it has been criticized, but it deserves to be criticized! It opened late, has been plagued with issues, and has stalled (coasters should never stall). The effects are often broken.

Does this mean I dislike it? NO!! I dislike only one coaster at towers, Rita, and that's because I find it unbearably rough. Some are better than others, but I rate most of towers coasters higher than most other rides in the world - the smiler included!
 
Ash123uk said:
WTF...

I know I will get shot down for my list:

1. Oblivion
2. Nemesis
3. Thirteen
4. Rita
5. Sonic
6. Smiler
7. Monorail
8. Air
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That's not too bad tbh. I wouldn't agree with any of it but everything's quite close to that (basically, I'd swap nemesis and oblivion, remove monorail and Rita, and move air above thirteen. And put RMT in there some where :))
 
The cobra roll wasn't forced into place as such, it was one of the first pieces placed. It was the first inverted drop that was forced into place and yet it tends to feel like one of the more comfortable elements of the ride.
 
It is important for it to re open this season to avoid bad press come March but it has only had 1 full operating season so a lot of people still wouldn't have rode hence why SW8 is probably delayed.
 
I don't know for definite, but during construction there were a number of photos taken of track pieces requiring a bit of persuasion to go together. That's not what you want with a coaster. Ideally every precisely fabricated piece should go together perfectly, and if it doesn't even a small problem with the fit can have a big effect on riders' comfort when they're moving over it quickly. I presume the cobra roll exit is one area which required a bit of tweaking; the first inverting drop is infamously similar.

I also don't know whether these specific adjustments had to be made because of this, but Gerstlauer are also well known for their interesting way of securing track supports. Most coasters have the support bolted to the top of a concrete footer, ensuring very specific positioning for the support. Gerstlauer rides have supports positioned in a hole in the footer during assembly, and once the structure is complete extra concrete goes into the footers to hold them in place. That allows for adjustment, possibly at the expense of precision. It will probably also make Gerstlauer coasters a bugger to demolish when they start going for scrap in the decades ahead!
 
I remember there being multiple pieces of track that didn't fit/needed to be readjusted. I only remember because of the pictures and videos of construction workers yanking and hammering pieces of track to fit in place, which didn't look too pretty at the time.

Personally I love The Smiler, and it's on a level 1st place with Nemesis for me.
 
Next Friday or I will be very sad. It's not like OMFG trip ruined but it's a bit aww man. If its not open will try to snap some pictures!
 
Leah said:
I love the smiler and have since it opened. Of course we like the ride (the majority anyway...) we like some other rides more though. Yes, it has been criticized, but it deserves to be criticized! It opened late, has been plagued with issues, and has stalled (coasters should never stall). The effects are often broken.

Does this mean I dislike it? NO!! I dislike only one coaster at towers, Rita, and that's because I find it unbearably rough. Some are better than others, but I rate most of towers coasters higher than most other rides in the world - the smiler included!
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I love The Smiler. It's a great coaster. The anticipation in the queu line is tremendous, the music whilst you wait is intimidating and I love the drop out of the station before any lift hill because it is so unconventional and gets the adrenaline flowing straight away. I also love the more cheerful version of the formerly intimidating music at the end of the ride to show that you have been corrected.

It is disorienting and forceful to the extent that I never know quite where I am
My favourite part is the second of the two bunny hops where the G Forces clearly max out.

Is it perfect... no. I still think it would work better as a 12 inversion coaster with conventional drops as opposed to inverted drops after each lift hill. Most of the time the roughness doesn't bother me, but if it had the silky smoothness of the B and M's it would be a better ride. Only B and M can achieve this ride quality, but only Gerstlauer can fit such an epic coaster in such a small space. It's also great to have a coaster that isn't over in a minute.

The Smiler is a great coaster and I can't wait to have it back, but as fantastic as it is, just half a mile away is a coaster that gets everything right, is a work of genius and is one of the best, if not THE BEST coaster in the world, the mighty NEMESIS. It beats The Smiler in every department apart from duration .

But hey... coming second to Mohommed Ali, the greatest of all time is no disgrace... that's how I feel about The Smiler. If SW8 can deliver on the intensity of Nemesis, with the duration of The Smiler, then AT will have a trio of coasters that would hold their own in any park in the world.
 
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