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

[Wilsy]

I don't see the issue with the queueline shop, it doesn't affect anybody's waiting time and people can't be expected to wait up to 3 hours in the queue without some form of refreshments.

 

[BigDave]

Shope should be put right at the entrance so people can grab something to eat or drink during the queue and then not hold the queue up. I dont see the point of having them 3/4 the way through the queue has you then have an half drunk bottle of pop or half a chocolate bar to get rid off.

 

[Dave]

Shope should be put right at the entrance so people can grab something to eat or drink during the queue and then not hold the queue up. I dont see the point of having them 3/4 the way through the queue has you then have an half drunk bottle of pop or half a chocolate bar to get rid off.

That kinda defeats the object though, you can go to a normal shop before you enter the queue. I also don;t get the issue with the queue stopping to purchase stuff, it's not like you are losing your place in the queue, your only going to meet it again 20 yards down.

 

[BigDave]

It does when the queue zig zags back and forth and people just jump the fence or push past saying they have been waiting at the shop when actually they havent. It causes unnecessary hold ups.

 

[Dave]

It does when the queue zig zags back and forth and people just jump the fence or push past saying they have been waiting at the shop when actually they havent. It causes unnecessary hold ups.

Never saw any of that, the queue fence around the shop is about 9 foot high.

 

[Ian]

I thought Smiler's queueline shop was one of the better ones if I'm honest. It's in a good place I'd say. Not right at the start, but not so near to the station that you don't have time to really eat/drink before boarding (Looking at you here Air).

The high fences really help with the problems Th13teen's shop has with pushing, and it seems to narrow down a bit as well, which helps. It didn't seem to be causing any problems when we were there (And a fair few people did use it)

 

[djtruefitt]

The shop is in a much better position that TH13TEEN as its quite early on in the queue line, rather than TH13TEEN which is near the station, there are sometimes times when TH13TEEN is waiting for guests as there is so much faff at the shop. At least with the Smiler people have plenty of time to finish things.

In terms of today (yes I was busy posting on TowersStreet FB today ) the park was a lot busier than I was expecting (and I think the park), and the Smiler running on three trains for most of the day meant constant 2 - 3 hour queues, even single rider was outside the station all day. They did add the forth train a few times in the day, but it was taken off a few times as well.

Finally at the end of the day the ride broke down for quite some time, they then evacuated the whole queue line. It turns out there were two trains at the bottom of the 2nd lift hill, and staff were manually releasing the harnesses there and getting the guests out.

 

[Tim]

I think we've had this discussion before but queue line shops can be annoying because they give a false impression of the queues length. Nobody likes to be standing still while queueing because it gives the impression of going nowhere. likewise nobody likes cattle-pens because they give the impression your not getting anywhere. Neither of these two things physically increase queue time but both make the wait seem longer as there appears to be no end in sight.

 

[John_P]

I think we've had this discussion before but queue line shops can be annoying because they give a false impression of the queues length. Nobody likes to be standing still while queueing because it gives the impression of going nowhere. likewise nobody likes cattle-pens because they give the impression your not getting anywhere. Neither of these two things physically increase queue time but both make the wait seem longer as there appears to be no end in sight.

exactly, when you see the rest of the queue near the front moving at a decent pace but then your only moving a few feet forward. when I got past the shop the first time the next two queue rows were empty due to the bottleneck the shop had caused

 

[Mi-Nigle]

I don't know if this has been mentioned but on Saturday I noticed a potential problem with the single rider queue. After dropping off bags you have a choice of whether to walk up single rider stairs or regular stairs. What is to stop a group queueing in single riders then walking into the normal queue after dropping off bags? Is this policed by staff?

 

[T]

I don't know if this has been mentioned but on Saturday I noticed a potential problem with the single rider queue. After dropping off bags you have a choice of whether to walk up single rider stairs or regular stairs. What is to stop a group queueing in single riders then walking into the normal queue after dropping off bags? Is this policed by staff?

Both times I've been on a member of staff has been present at the bottom of the stairs directing you which stairs to go up. Also, I dare say there's cameras that would pick up on anyone abusing the system and changing queues.

 

[Spark]

With regards the shop I think its great, I used it twice today and people were not pushing by etc,

There was a member of staff policing the single rider/main queue today, so that seems to work well.

Generally a very decent addition, I do think the actually marmaliser is wasted when on the ride as it is so fast passing it, the only part I noticed was the mist spray as you pass through it.

Also the inside was a bit of a let down too, much prefer Saw's internal layout but still less things to go wrong lol

 

[BigDave]

I think effects are still not working properly. Their main aim will be to get the ride running smoothly. Effects will take a back seat.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[djtruefitt]

The inside looked crap today. The smoke is the station was very very minimal, on our 2nd go they mights as well had turned it off for all the use it had. And there was zero smoke in the indoor section on both rides.

 

[Alastair]

The dispatch misters were also pitifully weak today. In fact they barely produced anything visible whatsoever! I hope that's only going to be a temporary thing because they looked great on Friday in combination with the strobes.

 

[TheMan]

Er, can I direct the above posters, including one that SHOULD KNOW BETTER *Ahem - Mr truefitt - Ahem* - to the SPOILER topic where all of us who HAVE YET TO RIDE, are trying to avoid (with great difficulty by the way) and do not wish to know WHICH INDOOR EFFECTS WORK/NOT WORK!

Thank you

;D

 

[DiogoJ42]

Surely, given that the ride is now open, this construction topic is done with and should be locked? There are currently three topics which all have pretty much the same things being posted in them.

 

[James]

Yeah, having a multitude of topics all discussing the same thing seems a bit pointless now - and it's annoying as you never know which topic to post in!

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Regarding the smoke. Could they purposely tone it down/not use it during term time, when technically it will be quieter on park? Just to save costs.

Although saying that, it sounds like more of the usual Alton Towers maintenance to me, with staff either not filling it up, not turning it on or there being no fluid in the station for them to fill it up with.

 

[EuroSatch]

The only issue with the shop is on Sunday afternoon the staff were directing people to move past if they weren't buying anything, which I think is a bit unfair. Not really sure why they did it

 

[stretchy]

I am receiving reports that we have a valleyed Smiler again

Photo courtesy of and is the property of King Nemesis who is on park at the moment.