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The Smiler - General Discussion

The ride always has a lengthy queue.
It has never given me a headache, but it does rattle.
It remains the ride with the most inversions, a genuine worlds first, and that attracts more people to the park.
There should never be any incidents on rides, but a single, non fatal accident a number of years ago won't stop me riding...if it did, there would be few coasters to ride!
My only issue is the repeated inversions, a few extra non inverting airtime hills would have made the ride a bit more varied.
 
@Poisson which Grand National death are you referring to ?

I very rarely ride Smiler these days, but when I do I am very much aware of its history and the speed that you're travelling at where the impact occurred.
 
SMT_ said:
I rode It afew times towards the end of last season and personally didn't find it rough bar the last two inversions

It will never compare to Nemesis but people saying it's too rough must be forgetting the GBH machine that was Corkscrew. No where near as unbearable.
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I personally never find the last 2 inversions that bad just intense, it's the one before that on the exit of the cobra roll where I put my hands down for a second and brace though.
 
Rick said:
@Poisson which Grand National death are you referring to ?

I very rarely ride Smiler these days, but when I do I am very much aware of its history and the speed that you're travelling at where the impact occurred.
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Under the belief it killed someone in the 1950's. OL killed someone recently, Twister in 2001 and Astro Storm did its murdering as Space Invader. Also visited Tivoli Friheden just after the Cobra incident
 
George W said:
I personally never find the last 2 inversions that bad just intense, it's the one before that on the exit of the cobra roll where I put my hands down for a second and brace though.
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Definitely agree with this. The last 2 inversions aren’t great but are bareable. The exit of the cobra roll on the back row (outside seats especially) is ‘brace, brace’ tho lol
 
If you're ever worried about getting injured or dying on a rollercoaster, remember that (according to IAAPA) getting injured on a rollercoaster is a 1 in 25 million chance, which is almost 250,000 times less likely than dying in a car crash.
Also according to IAAPA, the chances of dying on a rollercoaster is 1 in 750 million, which is 16.68 times less likely than winning the jackpot in the National Lottery.
Of course, when a rollercoaster accident occurs, it is terrible, but they are generally near-perfectly safe.
 
SMT_ said:
I rode It afew times towards the end of last season and personally didn't find it rough bar the last two inversions

It will never compare to Nemesis but people saying it's too rough must be forgetting the GBH machine that was Corkscrew. No where near as unbearable.
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Yes the Corkscrew was rough but it was a much shorter ride than the Smiler.
zeock said:
If you're ever worried about getting injured or dying on a rollercoaster, remember that (according to IAAPA) getting injured on a rollercoaster is a 1 in 25 million chance, which is almost 250,000 times less likely than dying in a car crash.
Also according to IAAPA, the chances of dying on a rollercoaster is 1 in 750 million, which is 16.68 times less likely than winning the jackpot in the National Lottery.
Of course, when a rollercoaster accident occurs, it is terrible, but they are generally near-perfectly safe.
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I don't think anyone feels like they're going to die on the Smiler. But it does ride like it has square wheels, all the rattling and the jolting makes it feel like it's going to come off the track at times. It struggles through a couple of the inversions and that's definitely noticeable when riding it. They got their world record but at a cost, the ride experience is pretty awful.
Look back to the early part of this thread and people complained it was rough and vibrating from new.
 
RIPCorky said:
I don't think anyone feels like they're going to die on the Smiler. But it does ride like it has square wheels, all the rattling and the jolting makes it feel like it's going to come off the track at times. It struggles through a couple of the inversions and that's definitely noticeable when riding it. They got their world record but at a cost, the ride experience is pretty awful.
Look back to the early part of this thread and people complained it was rough and vibrating from new.
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I was mainly responding to this post:
RyanUK said:
It’s a good ride with the car synchronisation. Generally gives a good ride although I haven’t been on it since 2014, so I can’t comment on the jolts etc. It’s a pleasure to watch although it’s a tangled mess which I feel is too close together with added complications such as the brilliant Marmaliser.

When I think of rollercoasters at the park, I can sometimes think of one word to sum them up - unfortunately the Smiler will always be a negative one for me.

Nemesis - legend
Air/Galactica - slow
Rita - fast
Thirteen - dark
Spinball - spinning
Oblivion - down
Smiler - crash. 😐

I make no apology for seeing it that way because that’s how it made headlines and many who don’t visit the park will unfortunately see its negatives before it’s positives. Those who do visit will take a different view.

I could watch it go round for a long time - but I’m never setting foot on that thing again. This is the only ride to ever have this sort of impact on me.
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Danscott22 said:
Still a great ride in my opinion, and gets far too much unnecessary hate.
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I can't even be bothered to read comments about this ride anymore. People slander it constantly no matter what. Frustrates me that people hate on it when it's just as good a ride as Nemesis, which gets worshipped to an unhealthy degree
 
Ethan said:
I can't even be bothered to read comments about this ride anymore. People slander it constantly no matter what. Frustrates me that people hate on it when it's just as good a ride as Nemesis, which gets worshipped to an unhealthy degree
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If they find it rough, then they can say that it is rough. Slandering an attraction for no reason is of course wrong, but I think the negative points that people have made about this ride have all been rational and fair points to make.
 
zeock said:
If they find it rough, then they can say that it is rough. Slandering an attraction for no reason is of course wrong, but I think the negative points that people have made about this ride have all been rational and fair points to make.
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But saying its a disaster? It's had a rough history but it's far from a disaster. Probably the most famous ride in the country and the GP love it. Still attracts many guests to the park and is a must ride for most people
 
Ethan said:
But saying its a disaster? It's had a rough history but it's far from a disaster. Probably the most famous ride in the country and the GP love it. Still attracts many guests to the park and is a must ride for most people
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Most infamous ride in the country, yes
Makes me chuckle when people believe one ride attracts guests to the park. It's not 1980 anymore and a rollercoaster is a new thing. You go to ride all the rides, not just one.
 
A must ride for most people?
Not sure on that one...
Lots of little kids see it as too scary.
Lots of older punters know it as a vomit comet or headbanger, so don't ride it anymore.
Some people simply avoid big queues.
Some people refuse to ride it since the accident.
So a must ride for some people.
Still attracts a few people to the park, for the world record for inversions, but I don't think many people go to the Towers specifically to ride the smiler, it is just one coaster in a good selection.
 
It’s my favourite ride at the park, but I don’t go just for it. The reason I go is because I like numerous of the coasters, the dark rides and I’m someone who will go on the retro squad on visits as well.

It just so happens that The Smiler is my overall favourite attraction at the park.
 
Jb85 said:
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but really, as good as nemesis? It rides poorly
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Its not the smoothest ride no but its completely bonkers and out of control. I like it because its relentless and pushes the limits. Nemesis feels quite gentle compared to Smiler imo
 
Ethan said:
Its not the smoothest ride no but its completely bonkers and out of control. I like it because its relentless and pushes the limits. Nemesis feels quite gentle compared to Smiler imo
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Nemesis was a European first built into a blasted out pit with a fantastic theme and an unbelievable feeling of speed and near misses. The smiler on the other hand is a rattling Gertlauer, pulling itself out the ground and built on a flooding algae infested concrete pit. Again don’t take this personally, it’s a rollercoaster and we are all entitled to think whatever we want about them.
 
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