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The Smiler - General Discussion

I was expecting them to give it a spruce up seeing as they’re focusing one of their events on it this year. It’ll be pretty embarrassing if festival of thrills begins and it’s still in its current state, it’s really obviously dirty from top to bottom not just a bit of grime.
 
Had 3 goes today (all walk on) and it rode fairly well I thought. Not as shaky as it has been for me previously.

The state of the ride area is disgusting though. Truly revolting given its only day 5 of the proper season.

Who's bright idea was it to put yellow floors down too? Hahahaha.
 
Benjsh said:
Had 3 goes today (all walk on) and it rode fairly well I thought. Not as shaky as it has been for me previously.

The state of the ride area is disgusting though. Truly revolting given its only day 5 of the proper season.

Who's bright idea was it to put yellow floors down too? Hahahaha.
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It was my first ride of the season on Saturday morning and it was riding better than it has in a long time imo. I was really surprised.
 
It is pathetic the state they leave this coaster in! I’m not it’s biggest fan but it’s a hugely popular ride with both enthusiasts and the general public. Imagine that being the first thing your greeted with if you made if your first ride of the day, instantly gives bad VIBES. Surely a repaint is due.
 
RIPCorky said:
Needs more than a lick of paint I think
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Absolutely, the whole site is a mess. But surely a repaint of the coaster would be the best way to start and make the most impact. The rest of the stuff such as the algae infested pit could be dealt with on a year on year basis. But let’s not forget they caused this issue with the inadequate drainage and poor theming quality.
 
Connor98 said:
Absolutely, the whole site is a mess. But surely a repaint of the coaster would be the best way to start and make the most impact. The rest of the stuff such as the algae infested pit could be dealt with on a year on year basis. But let’s not forget they caused this issue with the inadequate drainage and poor theming quality.
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I think you need to change the word could to should. Keeping the rides clean should be routine maintenance.
 
RIPCorky said:
Needs more than a lick of paint I think
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final judgment GIF
 
havaska said:
The Smiler isn’t rough. It isn’t smooth either but that’s not the same as being rough.
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It’s horrificly rough, especially if you compare the other rides on offer in the park. We could compare to 100 year old wooden coasters like some have but that would be what is expected? This ride is 10 years old, that’s nothing for a coaster, nothing at all.

I gauge opinions from everywhere online and generally it’s a big complaint of the ride apart from the torture cell queue line.

It only takes more and more to complain about it and it ends the way Corkscrew did.

It needs big investment, and it needs it now before something potentially happens.
 
Matt N said:
What kind of thing do you think could potentially happen?

Plenty of Gerstlauer coasters that are allegedly rougher than The Smiler have operated happily for many years; some of their older Euro-Fighters are close to 20 years old now.
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Jolting and stressing metal one way and then another quickly is not good.

There have been cases in the past of the ride losing bolts etc.

Who knows?
 
Nope, sorry.
Smiler is a bit rough on limited sections, it isn't horrifically rough at all, that would be The National.
It needs regular checks, and gets them, careful and detailed, and well recorded after the crash I'm sure.
It needs big investment now before something potentially happens???
Scaremongering!
What exactly do you know that the Towers skilled, educated, professional structural maintenance teams don't?
And it ends the way the Corkscrew did...yup...twenty eight years of popular entertainment to the punters...and a feature at the entrance to the park to celebrate its popularity over the years.
That gives the Smiler another couple of decades doesn't it?
 
rob666 said:
Nope, sorry.
Smiler is a bit rough on limited sections, it isn't horrifically rough at all, that would be The National.
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Absolutely spot on. Smiler isn't the most comfortable ride but those saying it's very rough clearly aren't realising some of the coasters we have in this country. Colossus, Saw, National, Big dipper, Infusion, Big one, Hero are all rougher than Smiler imo. And I don't personally think Smiler throws you about any more than Rita does
 
Matt N said:
What kind of thing do you think could potentially happen?

Plenty of Gerstlauer coasters that are allegedly rougher than The Smiler have operated happily for many years; some of their older Euro-Fighters are close to 20 years old now.
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The Smiler was the first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster, which means that it may age slightly differently to Eurofighters. However, I believe that it only needs regular checks and maintenance to prevent potential accidents.
 
I wouldn’t consider The Smiler as rough. It’s uncomfortable but not rough. If it didn’t have jolts in the track it would be a fine ride, the jolts ruin it for me, more so toward the end.

The thing that ruins The Smiler more than the ride itself, is the state of the area that surrounds it and the concrete jungle pit. It’s in an appalling state, even though it could do with a good clean, it will only look filthy again a few months down the line.

The whole pit could do with some kind of textured overlay, something like Taron at Phantasialand, or anything by Universal Rocks.
 
rob666 said:
Nope, sorry.
Smiler is a bit rough on limited sections, it isn't horrifically rough at all, that would be The National.
It needs regular checks, and gets them, careful and detailed, and well recorded after the crash I'm sure.
It needs big investment now before something potentially happens???
Scaremongering!
What exactly do you know that the Towers skilled, educated, professional structural maintenance teams don't?
And it ends the way the Corkscrew did...yup...twenty eight years of popular entertainment to the punters...and a feature at the entrance to the park to celebrate its popularity over the years.
That gives the Smiler another couple of decades doesn't it?
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You've gone from saying it isn't rough, to it's a bit rough now. So which is it?
By modern standards it is not the smooth ride that it should be. Whether that's down to track design or quality is up for debate. Corkscrew was a much shorter ride and the sections of track that would have been under the most stress would have been very short indeed. It's the length of the smiler that is it's biggest problem.
 
Am I the only one who doesn't see why people want rides to be really smooth. Thirteen and Galactica are the smoothest on park and there's no thrill to them. Smiler and Rita, which some say are quite rough, actually feel thrilling and like they're doing something. They're damn rollercoasters, they're not meant to be nice and comfortable and smooth, they're meant to throw you around
 
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