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[The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation

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Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Fair enough Rob! And thank you for providing an explanation as to why you think the weather might not be completely responsible. I would disagree - I think the weather could have delayed them far more than 2 weeks but as you say, I have no idea also.

I find it really refreshing that Alton haven't said anything at all. There have been opinions in the past that our disappointment in Thirteen was due to our own expectations being too high. I would argue that it was the marketing, making all sorts of outlandish claims, that resulted in our high expectations, even though there were some crazy rumours and speculation flying around back then also. But with this coaster we know next to nothing other than what we assume is a relatively accurate plan of most of the layout. Thus any expectations we create beyond 'this should be pretty ace because the outdoor layout looks great and it has a genius self-duelling aspect' are based on our own hopes rather than an illusion conjured by Morwenna and friends. I think also that the latest aerial photograph suggests there isn't room in the building, at least at the start of the ride, for any kind of secret element/trick-track, so I shall be happy to get a multi-inverting, probably self-duelling next-gen Eurofighter that does what it says on the proverbial tin. It would be really nice to have a coaster that's not centred around a gimmick, or a great showpiece element scuppered by an abysmal coaster layout.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Moley said:
Has anyone put forward the idea that Merlin are purposely slowing down construction so the ride opens a few weeks late in the hope they can get a compensation deal on another coaster from Gerst?
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This is utterly ludicrous.

Merlin have no control over the construction. It gets handed over to them by the contractor, once the thing is built.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

I think we should entertain the idea that Moley was just throwing some bait out there for his own amusement.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Rupert, it's good to see a voice of reason on this thread!

TheMan - are you seriously trying to suggest there's a ride redesign going on when all the track has been sat in the car park for weeks?!

Simple rule when it comes to stuff. If there's a simple solution, then that's usually the right solution. Humans have a tendency to come up with elaborate explanations for things when they can't accept that something dull and simple may be to blame.

Noone really knows what is happening with the ride. It may even be running on schedule for all we know. Though if it is delayed, I wouldn't be at all surprised.

TheMan said:
I disagree entirely, with the very half soaked attitude of some towards whether it gets done on time or not, they would not last long in any employ of mine that is for sure. It gets done, end of story!
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I can't tell if the half-soaked attitude you're referring to is people on this forum or the builders of the ride.

If it's forum members - it's probably a very healthy attitude to have as if you pin all hopes on the ride running on a certain day at a certain time you're there then you're potentially setting yourself up for disappointment.

If it's at the builders - delays happen. Some reasons are completely unforseen and nothing can be done about them quickly. No matter how much you scream and shout, you just have to accept that something will be late and people are indeed trying their hardest to make a bad situation a little bit better.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Wow Adsyrah, nice meaty post I like it!! ;D

adsyrah said:
TheMan - are you seriously trying to suggest there's a ride redesign going on when all the track has been sat in the car park for weeks?!
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Not remotely. What I am saying though, is it is not beyond the realms of possibility, and the person whom speculated this, is able to do so without the idea being touted as outlandish, because it isn't.

You did follow SW6 right? They had to redesign the braking system, because they did the numbers wrong, in situ. If there have been problems that have occurred during excavations - there may well have to be modifications done, regardless or whether or not already fabricated track was delivered on site, prior to these problems occurring.

I did not come up with this idea, neither do I think it is what has happened, that doesn't mean the idea is without merit or logic in the construction/design industries!

adsyrah said:
If it's forum members - it's probably a very healthy attitude to have as if you pin all hopes on the ride running on a certain day at a certain time you're there then you're potentially setting yourself up for disappointment.
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I'm not talking about whether we should sit here depressed, or moderate our expectations on a personal level. I am talking about the fact, this is the UK's flagship park, with high level budgets, backed by massively wealthy venture capitalists, working on a very important ride that represents the pinnacle window of ride design in this country.

It should open, on time, to great fanfare and be of high quality. You throw more people at it, to make sure the job is done. This is not some filler attraction, or 250k visitors a year park.

This is the first proper thrill ride, installed at the UKs most prestigious park, for many years, and is the most likely time we will attract attention on the world stage.

I'm not saying things don't happen, what I am saying is, some bad weather etc, should not be the standard of issues set, to result in the Towers taking down any reference at all to an opening date.

It is then logical for people to suggest, bigger problems, that pay more credit to what the building teams may be up against. Redesign of the track, due to a difference in soil composition than expected resulting in changes to the pit etc.

Though I doubt it is true, I would also not be surprised if it did turn out something has had to be redesigned or re-fabricated for some reason or another. I do however feel, that those looking for a more complicated reasoning behind this apparently delay, are paying far more respect to the individuals working on developing and building the ride.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

One thing to note about track changes is that Maverick originally had a heart-line roll which was replaced during construction with an S bend because of the forces on the train. Same could of happened with SW7 but before they put any track in they could of had second thoughts on a certain area of track thus why footers of late have been delayed as they weren't entirely sure where exactly the new ones would go - sort of backs up the last minute change from a rumoured B&M on Airs car park to this late Gerstlauer on the Black Hole site.

Obviously I am not saying this is defiantly the case, but just food for thought maybe and it proves plans can change at the last minute.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

There are so many people trying to turn this thread back around now, it's ludicrous. I think we should really try and move on. Are we still guessing "The Smiler" for the name?
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

I guess that's the only thing we can guess for now. Eventhough "The Smiler" doesn't appeal to me, it's the only evidence we've got for a name.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Also - is anoyone even certain anymore there will be a "Secret Element" to SW7 - personally, i'm not putting any bets on this whatsoever.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

I think there will be some sort of 'secret element', there's space under the maintenance shed for some sort of pre-show before the first lift, but I'm pretty much certain that there won't be any sort of trick-track. In fact I've never really been convinced by any rumours of rotating washing machines and the like. :p
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

GaryH said:
Also - is anoyone even certain anymore there will be a "Secret Element" to SW7 - personally, i'm not putting any bets on this whatsoever.
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I think what is secret is that it's going to feature a record-breaking number of track inversions. I don't think there's going to be a contraption away from that of a conventional rollercoaster.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Rollercoasters4Life said:
One thing to note about track changes is that Maverick originally had a heart-line roll which was replaced during construction with an S bend because of the forces on the train. Same could of happened with SW7 but before they put any track in they could of had second thoughts on a certain area of track thus why footers of late have been delayed as they weren't entirely sure where exactly the new ones would go - sort of backs up the last minute change from a rumoured B&M on Airs car park to this late Gerstlauer on the Black Hole site.

Obviously I am not saying this is defiantly the case, but just food for thought maybe and it proves plans can change at the last minute.
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This whole Maverick situation really interests me. I've only seen pictures, but they did have the track actually in place before they changed it. Who's to blame? Intamin? I assume they only realized after testing the ride, or they wouldn't of erected it in the first place. So I don't agree that they will change the layout until they at least try to erect the structure / test the trains.

I'm convinced that there will be no trick track, but maybe some illusion of some kind in an on-ride pre-show.

Lastly, for those complaining about the topic of discussion being about late opening - I would rather read 10 pages of any discussion re: AT (mainly intelligent & well thought out too, may I add) than nothing at all.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

cool_boy_jon said:
I guess that's the only thing we can guess for now. Eventhough "The Smiler" doesn't appeal to me, it's the only evidence we've got for a name.
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Really hope it doesn't get called the smiler, it sounds like a fair ground name
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

josht said:
cool_boy_jon said:
I guess that's the only thing we can guess for now. Eventhough "The Smiler" doesn't appeal to me, it's the only evidence we've got for a name.
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Really hope it doesn't get called the smiler, it sounds like a fair ground name
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Funnily enough, SW7 seems to have got inspiration from Coney Island's The Tickler for the ride's marketing logo. It wouldn't surprise me if they've deviated off the name alongside that too.

800px-The_Tickler_Luna_Park_Coney_Island.JPG
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Out of interest I spotted a promotional for Tripsdrill's new coaster the other day and noticed that it along with the other recent Gerstlauer coasters will be built with lap bars:

tripsdrill_neue-achterbahn_2013_01_08.jpg


Hopefully a good sign :D
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

After a Facebook chat, I would like to plug the fact I still have about 50 SW7 car stickers should anyone want one. I will probably be bringing them to the first TST meetup.
 
Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

LiamC said:
I find it interesting that they refer to it as:

And 2013 project - SW7!
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They couldn't be anymore non-committal if they tried!

To anyone else still banging on, trying to tell everyone else what they should/shouldn't discuss, it is possible to have more than one topic being talked about at the same time, as people have generally managed all through this project.

Honestly, are you like that in real life? Proper ignorant that is.

Onto those names, that tickler one is very interesting actually - and for me shows it can be done, even on a low-grade attraction, and have quite a sinister feel to it. That doesn't look cheesy in anyway, aside from that fact it is supposed to, if that makes sense.

That "Tickler" ride wouldn't look out of place in a Chuckie movie ;D

EDIT: Also, after that Gerst update, my money is on Lapbars being a near certainty!
 
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