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The Smiler - General Discussion

Long time lurker and first time poster.

I was also one of the “victims” which joined the club yesterday.

Front row left, first inversion had vibration which I could handle fine. First half of the ride was generally OK. I rode it 6 times this year from May through to October and every single ride has been unbearable for me.

Second half of the ride yesterday was violent. My group had one front left, one row two second from right and one on the back right. The jolts were so bad I genuinely thought it was going to come off the track. We all felt the same and didn’t go back on it again. Can’t imagine the stress on the wheels/cars at these points and wonder just how long it has left in its current form.

Coming from someone who grew up with Corkscrew/Blackhole, I’m pretty used to rough rides.
 
I know a lot of people on here have been to pleasure beach so I'm surprised you find smiler rough when you've been on national and infusion
 
Did it eight times yesterday. I didn't think it was that bad at all.

Operated great yesterday as well, never stopped pumping out those trains, and it was on a four train service on a not too busy night.
 
Ethan said:
Been on all 3 trains today and one of them rides like a bag of spanners. Extremely juddery
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Still didn't find any of my many rides on smiler on Monday very rough but then I was lapping it in the dark with heavy rain when single rider was walk on for the last hour or so so maybe I am a glutton for punishment.

Nemesis dark rides in the pouring rain was absolutely phenomenal too, even galatica seemed quite rapid.
 
George W said:
Still didn't find any of my many rides on smiler on Monday very rough but then I was lapping it in the dark with heavy rain when single rider was walk on for the last hour or so so maybe I am a glutton for punishment.

Nemesis dark rides in the pouring rain was absolutely phenomenal too, even galatica seemed quite rapid.
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I wouldn't say it was rough as such, it was just shaking and vibrating a heck of a lot. Its got to be to do with the wheels on that train as it felt much slower than the other trains
 
Pretty sure I’ve had rides on all 4 trains across two visits (8 times) and thought they were all fine 🤷🏻‍♂️ Just not a ride I find rough so hard to relate to people’s bad experiences
 
Danscott22 said:
Pretty sure I’ve had rides on all 4 trains across two visits (8 times) and thought they were all fine 🤷🏻‍♂️ Just not a ride I find rough so hard to relate to people’s bad experiences
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My brother has the same experiences, we rode the same train, one front right and me back left and he said it was a smooth ride and I thought it was very very jolty. One ride cut my shoulder (somehow).

It is his favourite ride, I assumed he was just masking it over and accepting it for what it is.

I’ve had about 10 rides this year and all the same jolty vibrating awful experience. Going to try again this weekend at the fireworks. I don’t hold out much hope.
 
I do think where you sit can affect how it rides (not quite as much as it does with Saw), I’ve been on trains and even on same rows and had different rides to others sat near me, I guess depends on wheels and which trains you are on as well.
 
I've always thought the outer seats on The Smiler tend to be rougher than the inner seats, and that its also rougher the further back your row is. However I'm lucky enough that I haven't had a truly unbearable ride on it for a good few years now (Could definitely be down to not visiting as often though!)
 
Definitely rougher at the back. Did single rider 4 times once and got a back row outer seat every time! Suppose u will always get an outer seat on single rider but still, what are the chances! Haha
 
djtruefitt said:
I do think where you sit can affect how it rides (not quite as much as it does with Saw), I’ve been on trains and even on same rows and had different rides to others sat near me, I guess depends on wheels and which trains you are on as well.
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There's definitely something in that but it's not the be all and end all. Riders with differing body shapes and dimensions experience things differently and furthermore, two people who have the exact physical characteristics can have completely different experiences in the same seat ... not least because the whole thing is entirely subjective.
 
To me, at least, The Smiler has seemed somewhat rougher since I’ve started using single rider on it, and therefore only using the outer seats.

It has still varied, though… I had a pretty uncomfortable ride in June that was very rough and bashed me around quite a bit, while I had others in August that while still a bit uncomfortable, weren’t too bad.

Simply put, there are far too many factors involved in ride smoothness to measure it empirically based on only one particular factor.
 
Think everyone on here are too used to the glossy smooth B&Ms like nemmy. For nearly 30 years old that is far smoother than Smiler and that's probs why people say Smiler is rough. I personally find the front silk smooth and 2nd row isn't bad either. 3rd and 4th seem more juddery but that could be down to the train as some rides are smoother than others
 
Nemesis is definitely NOT the definition of "glossy smooth". It might be after the re-track, but I've had far worse of a time on that, than on The Smiler, which is probably why I'm not a Nemesis fan. There will probably be one day in years to come when I find The Smiler rough, but that time is yet to happen.
 
I wouldn’t personally call Nemesis rough per se, but from my experience, it’s certainly not glass smooth, and it is a bit fierce in places.

It does vary somewhat, but on a bad ride, Nemesis can certainly have a bit of a rattle and a few fierce ear bashing moments, from my experience. I’d certainly argue that Nemesis Inferno is smoother, and I’d also argue that Galactica and Oblivion are a fair amount smoother. I’d almost go so far as to call Galactica and Oblivion “glass smooth” based on my experiences with them; those two literally just glide along the track!

Nemesis is not a coaster I’d call rough per se, but as a general rule, I’d certainly say that it’s not the smoothest coaster out there these days, and that is one thing that holds it back ever so slightly for me in its present form. I’d certainly make an argument for it being the park’s roughest B&M and one of the rougher B&Ms I’ve done.

As has already been said, though, these factors vary so much for so many reasons…
 
Danscott22 said:
Nemesis is definitely NOT the definition of "glossy smooth". It might be after the re-track, but I've had far worse of a time on that, than on The Smiler, which is probably why I'm not a Nemesis fan. There will probably be one day in years to come when I find The Smiler rough, but that time is yet to happen.
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Not many would agree with you there regarding this ride not being dog rough. It shouldn't be vibrating and rattling/jolting around the track like it is and you know it.

Nemesis will always have movement in the cars because it's an inverted coaster so transition to the inversions at speed will always move the train about, that's unavoidable. Plus it's nearly 30 years old....

If Smiler was a shorter ride it would be tolerable. It's a ride once a trip
 
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