[The Smiler] Construction Updates / Ride Speculation Part 2 *SPOILER FREE*

[Coolbeans14]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

that looks great with plants, less obvious its a massive pit from that view now.

 

[PG Ricey]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

It couldn't be just me who would take the banner on the floor could it?

I don't think I've ever been more excited by plants though!

Was just picturing how I could stuff it in my jumper and run!

 

[cotda]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

The jacket is back, this ride is now officially amazing.

 

[Jonathan]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

A picture of the ride testing, courtesy of Theme Park Worldwide.

Puts all the size of everything into perspective!

 

[JAMMY_Jaunts]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Also the Tickler and the Giggler are testing again. Hope someone catches a video with the trains zooming by the effects.

 

[Burn.e]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

The more I look at this, the more I wonder why they ever even bothered with Th13teen. The 'Corkscrew replaced with an inversion record' was such a convenient marketing angle.

 

[Tom]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

The success of Thirteen has led for this ride to be built a year early, it's as simple as that. The ride was a great success and achieved all of its objectives.

 

[James]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

To be fair, Th13teen is a pretty good ride. It was just marketed wrongly.

 

[Rob]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Thirteen was indeed a success in 2010, it got a lot of people through the gates which was the primary objective. However it could be argued that it didn't provide prolonged success in the same way that say Nemesis did in 1994, however the unfortunate events of 2011 may have had a big impact there. I do also feel that Thirteen filled a big gap in Towers' coaster line up, it just wasn't marketed as a ride to fill this gap.

 

[Rollercoasters4Life]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Join us later this evening for a full of ride multi angle video of The Smiler, including working marmaliser effects!

 

[Burn.e]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Thirteen was indeed a success in 2010, it got a lot of people through the gates which was the primary objective. However it could be argued that it didn't provide prolonged success in the same way that say Nemesis did in 1994, however the unfortunate events of 2011 may have had a big impact there. I do also feel that Thirteen filled a big gap in Towers' coaster line up, it just wasn't marketed as a ride to fill this gap.

I'd disagree. Park figures fell significantly the year after and I think a lot of that had to do with ruining customer confidence after they went in expecting 'the ultimate roller coaster' and got a mine train (a pretty good mine train, but a mine train). If you've got massive gate figures one year then a significant portion of customers refusing return visits, you have a problem with your investment.


Ironically, I could see Th13teen being more successful 'on it's debut' than The Smiler, primarily because how much of a shit storm this has been in construction. This should have gone off with a bang, yet it's actually going to be a bit of a fizzle. A week until opening and not even a blip advert. Even more ironically, not only did all that Morwhatshername hyperbole work, it wouldn't have been that hyperbolic pertaining to this ride.

 

[rightbackgranty]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

I love Thirteen. Remove all of the excessive marketing and overhype (that was undoubtably successful at bringing in the punters) its a great little ride. Its testament to the ride and its technology that the new Gringotts Coaster at Universals Harry Potter extension is rumoured to include a similar concept of drop track that we see at Alton Towers. As much as it's not Alton's shining star, it can hold its own I think.

But back on topic, this ride is looking fantastic. I haven't had the joy of seeing the scale of the ride in person, but thought I had a fairly good idea of its sheer size from some of the recent pictures. However, seeing how diminutive that car flying out of the staffordshire knot looks has really taken me back. Plus, seeing the ride cars against the Marmaliser has rammed home how big that particular piece of theming is too.

Really, really excited about this ride.

 

[EuroSatch]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

SW7 being built for this year has nothing to do with Thirteen. Merlin's investment cycle is for capital expenditure to Thorpe, Towers and Chessie in consecutive years every 3 years. SW8 will be 2016.

Thirteen was not a success and was an embarrassment for Towers and failed to provide repeat custom

 

[Burn.e]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

No-one suggested otherwise. Though evidently 'The Smiler' has been on the cards for a while. It's even more incredible they were potentially going to wait until 2016. Getting this in first was certainly a better move.

[Sorry, veering wildly off topic but it's humorous that 2 years after that 'embarrassment' they would build 'Th13teen: The Dark Ride].

 

[Martin]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Weren't the 2011 gate figures pretty similar to 2009 though?

They quite openly admitted they didn't expect Thirteen to boost figures forever.

I wouldn't call a ride that bought a lot of visitors and still can pull fairly long queues, an embarrassment because some people don't like it. It replaced a ride which was lucky if it ever got a queue at all.

 

[James]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Park figure in 2010: 3 million
Park figure in 2011: 2.7 million

Where's this 'PR disaster'? A 0.3 million drop is pretty expected after a big year like that.

 

[Burn.e]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

It wasn't expected, no.

 

[Rob]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Thirteen was indeed a success in 2010, it got a lot of people through the gates which was the primary objective. However it could be argued that it didn't provide prolonged success in the same way that say Nemesis did in 1994, however the unfortunate events of 2011 may have had a big impact there. I do also feel that Thirteen filled a big gap in Towers' coaster line up, it just wasn't marketed as a ride to fill this gap.

I'd disagree. Park figures fell significantly the year after and I think a lot of that had to do with ruining customer confidence after they went in expecting 'the ultimate roller coaster' and got a mine train (a pretty good mine train, but a mine train). If you've got massive gate figures one year then a significant portion of customers refusing return visits, you have a problem with your investment.

That's exactly what I said though. It was a success in the year it opened, 2010, in terms of guest numbers. It got people into the park. However because it wasn't what Towers marketed it wasn't a prolonged success. Thirteen does not continue to attract people to the park in the same way Nemmy and Blivvy do.

I do agree with James though, a 0.3 million drop in attendance between 2010 and 2011 isn't a disaster. I'd imagine it is quite normal for them to fall the year after a major investment. No new attractions in 2011 would not have helped either, and considering that a 0.3 million fall probably wasn't seen as that disastrous by Towers.

 

[TheMan]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

It wasn't expected, no.

A new ride will not maintain visitor numbers of a peak season like SW6. SW7 may well hold sway for longer being a world record thrill.

As with any company, you reinvest and develop to maintain your visitor share. 3m visitors, is actually a monumental amount of visitors, representing a customer base of roughly 5% of the UK! Within that you can exclude the elderly, those who have no interest, those too young to actually pay for themselves, and you are left with a consumer marketplace of actual paying customers of way, way less.

Those whom could pay and may visit - 20/25m? When you put 3 million visitors into context, that is pretty exceptional. I'd be very surprised, if the year after, they'd not factored in a visitor drop. Also you are dealing with recessions at the same time, so whilst a new ride may make it a "must go" - afterwards, it does not become so important.

If you do not invest, and keep a place like this fresh and attractive, visitors will DROP. You take an average across the investment period to get sensible figures. Otherwise it is akin to a football club basing it's takings on making the Champions League final every year (Leeds). Business stupidity. Merlin are many things, stupid they aren't.

SW7 will actually probably result in a steadier spread across the remainder of this season, and next, due to it's late opening. In a fiscal sense, it may actually be a blessing. If it rides well, it can keep momentum into next season quite easily, where as SW6 was all based on purely a new, very impressive, technology.

I think people also don't get a sense of how successful and popular that ride still is! I know many people, for whom it is quietly their favourite ride on park, it is almost like a taboo to vocalise. The fact it isn't quite as bad on the queues, is actually often down to the monstrous throughput it achieves!

A fantastic addition to the park, that when put alongside SW7 brings a coaster balance the park has needed for many years. SW6 was part of a long term plan clearly that is now beginning to make an awful lot of sense!

 

[AstroDan]

Re: [The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation Part 2

Can we try and stay on topic - the issue of Th13teen has been discussed to death and, whilst relevant to a degree in the realms of SW7, it's not what this topic is for at the moment.