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The Smiler - General Discussion

Had some lovely pleasant rides on The Smiler in the past that were reminiscent of a quiet village stroll.

But I’ve also had horrific rides which bent my girlfriend’s earrings from the head bashing and rattled my head that much that it was painful to ride other rides during that day.

It’s the squeaking that you hear as you enter X Sector which gets to me. Honestly sounds like they’ve put mice in the wheels to keep them turning so that it doesn’t stall
 
Ethan said:
I've never know a ride slated by enthusiasts as much as the smiler these days! Even more so than Rita!
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As someone whose favourite ride in the park is Smiler, it's totally right to say that it's badly built, full of shoddy craftsmanship, makes odd noises and is wildly inconsistent in terms of comfort.

It's been a ride plagued by issues since the start.

Rita is small game by comparison.

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Rita is no less a SW than the other coasters at the park. "Secret Weapon" never meant any more than untitled 'Project' and just a promo term these days. If anything the odd one out is Thirteen because it's far from a thrill coaster like the others
 
OilyWater said:
Rita is no less a SW than the other coasters at the park. "Secret Weapon" never meant any more than untitled 'Project' and just a promo term these days. If anything the odd one out is Thirteen because it's far from a thrill coaster like the others
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Wicker Man is more a family-thrill coaster too.
 
skyscraper said:
Wicker Man is more a family-thrill coaster too.
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A lot more thrilling than Thirteen, which is more in common with Runaway Mine Train, but either way the SW thing is just a tagline slogan really.

Rita is a gimmicky coaster and could really do with being sold and the area totally revamped, but it's still fun, just should be so much more for a park like Alton Towers

Smiler is a really bad example of a themed coaster too
 
Rita was, and is - not the same level of investment as any of the park's major SW projects.

It was an £8m rush job. Don't forget that.
 
A cheap rushed addition that destroyed a great area, but about as fun as some more expensive developments Merlin have made at their parks- in their convoluted quest to get a world's first title on the advert. It's just a different type of 'missed opportunity' to others
 
rob666 said:
Wrong topic I know, but I have never understood the rita hate.
Somebody must like it, it always has a considerable queue.
First rule of coaster geekery, love Nemesis, hate Rita.
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A long queue does not always indicate popularity, otherwise Peter Pan's Flight would have to be the most popular ride at Walt Disney World.

Rita always has a queue simply because it has a dire throughput. The same goes for The Smiler.
 
Smiler's queues aren't just due to low throughput (though it doesn't help), it's a very popular ride. After 2 of the fireworks shows last year I headed to the back of the park after the show. On Friday I went to Rita and was pretty much on my own after passing goalstriker - hardly anyone else went towards dark forest and I was comfortably the first person to get to Rita despite walking fairly slowly. On Sunday I headed towards Smiler, along with around 95% of the people on the path - practically noone went to Spinball, Oblivion or Rita.
 
Rita doesnt have a dire throughput though.
Over a thousand an hour routinely.
Two trains, short track, no lifthill.
Staff usually on the ball.
You done the Streak on the Beach?
Now there is an example of dire throughput.
Back on topic, anyone worked out how to re-route the cattlepen in the pit to keep the puntres two metres apart?
Edit...puntres, french punters?
 
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they could open the entire q line including extension, then put gaffer tape on the floor 2 metres apart like in the supermarkets.
once the q extension is full not allow any more guests in
 
And the people coming back in the opposite direction would not be two metres away...half the lanes would have to be closed and fence panels moved, or the whole pen closed.
 
I quite like Rita, it's a decent ride and if it is a 15 min queue I'd probably go on. Best trick for it is go to it during the last hour of the day as you can usually get 5 laps in quite easily as it can die down.
 
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