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The Smiler - General Discussion

Here are some photos (similar to Amys) from yesterday. Strangely the Marmaliser screen was off when we were there, but the queue line screens were on.

The fence has been moved further back (it used to be in front of the rocks). This could mean a new permanent queue line extension is being added.
1610009_603656646371450_1337174381_n.jpg


The whole top area of the Smiler ride area has been cleared.
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Major work seems to be taking place with this support, all the earth from below the foundation has been removed.
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It may be closed season, but the queue line screens are still turned on! (Just to the left of the support).
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The whole top area of the Smiler ride area has been cleared.
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Scaffolding surrounds the first drop.
1560504_603657863037995_1839390626_n.jpg


These supports have cleared had work done recently.
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Lots of work is taking place near the toilet area of the ride.
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djtruefitt said:
Here are some photos (similar to Amys) from yesterday. Strangely the Marmaliser screen was off when we were there, but the queue line screens were on.

The fence has been moved further back (it used to be in front of the rocks). This could mean a new permanent queue line extension is being added.
1610009_603656646371450_1337174381_n.jpg
Click to expand...

GOOD! It looked stupid in front of the rocks! The rocks are used to create a natural border, so sticking a fence in front of them always looked daft in my opinion.

A queueline extension could only be a good thing. If every time the ride queue goes over an hour or so we're going to see those temporary fences outside the entrance it's ridiculous.
 
Ian said:
djtruefitt said:
Here are some photos (similar to Amys) from yesterday. Strangely the Marmaliser screen was off when we were there, but the queue line screens were on.

The fence has been moved further back (it used to be in front of the rocks). This could mean a new permanent queue line extension is being added.
1610009_603656646371450_1337174381_n.jpg
Click to expand...

GOOD! It looked stupid in front of the rocks! The rocks are used to create a natural border, so sticking a fence in front of them always looked daft in my opinion.

A queueline extension could only be a good thing. If every time the ride queue goes over an hour or so we're going to see those temporary fences outside the entrance it's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I imagine a new fence will then go in front of the rooms to create a queue line that runs up and back down that current fence, like they used to do with the temporary fences.
 
Could they be building a queue extension on the cleared land at the top of the site? If they do build a permanent extension it'll be CATCF all over again with the entrance sign part way round the queue line.
 
John said:
Could they be building a queue extension on the cleared land at the top of the site? If they do build a permanent extension it'll be CATCF all over again with the entrance sign part way round the queue line.
Click to expand...

You could if you moved the entrance forwards turn guests left immediately after entering, up the hill, do a cattlepen near the toilets, then bring them back down the hill before going down the steps.

Though they will probably just have a weird extra entrance knowing towers.
 
Is this the most amount of work ever done after a ride has opened?

I can't remember anything like this before?
 
TheMan said:
Is this the most amount of work ever done after a ride has opened?

I can't remember anything like this before?
Click to expand...

Maybe for a Towers coaster yes. But certainly not for work on other coasters around the world after they've opened. Yes I305 and Intamin, I'm looking at you!

:)
 
Dave said:
You could if you moved the entrance forwards turn guests left immediately after entering, up the hill, do a cattlepen near the toilets, then bring them back down the hill before going down the steps.

Though they will probably just have a weird extra entrance knowing towers.
Click to expand...

Pretty much exactly what I suggested half way through the ride construction.

Then they could have left the Black Hole arch where it was and we would of had a better entrance as well as a better queue.

It would be much less claustrophobic up there and you would get a good perspective of the ride and a sense of 'progression' in the queue (ala Nemesis).

The current arrangement is an abomination. I doubt it will be much improved.

:)
 
Like everything currently being built by Merlin studios, no one is thinking about important guest movement practicalities such as queue psychology, loading and unloading and throughputs. These are basics that should be laid out before theming is considered!
 
It's saddening to think how much better the whole ride experience could be, if instead of digging a huge square pit, they had carved trenches in to the ground that conformed to the track, a la Nemesis. There's no good reason I can see why the queue could not have wrapped around the top of the site before working it's way in to the pit without turning into a cattle pen.

Instead we got something that looks like RCT3 where it carves a massive cube out of a hill when the track you wanted to build would only just have touched the ground.
 
John said:
Could they be building a queue extension on the cleared land at the top of the site?
Click to expand...

Yes, I think this might be the case too. This really has been a total disaster, but hopefully they can move forward from this stage.

Incidentally, when Nemesis opened, a team of builders came on site each night to construct a longer queue that was sorely needed more everyday.
 
I doubt they would have had time to plan a Nemesis style queue line even if they wanted to. The Smiler was very last minute as it was. I'm surprised they managed to get it open when they did!

Merlin do really need to learn how to create an exciting queue line though. Cattle pens are the easy way out. Something with a little more thought would really add to a ride/attractions experience. That's where the experience starts in my eyes.

Arguably with The Smiler though the cattle pen adds to its theme... mental.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Instead we got something that looks like RCT3 where it carves a massive cube out of a hill when the track you wanted to build would only just have touched the ground.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this, although I don't mind that it is in a giant pit thing, why not push the concrete further back, then landscape in front of it to create some curves.

The queue is horrific, and for Towers is damn near unforgivable. It is not to exaggerate to suggest there are a few members on this site that could have literally done a better job of creating the theme/queue - and what is more, it doesn't need endless cash thrown at it, it requires some imagination.

Really, looking at the state of it now, for such a high cost/profile coaster at our flagship park, it is an abomination.
 
One thing they need to do this year is put some shaded places in the queue line. Last summer I heard a few people collapsed from the heat and being surrounded by all those people, below ground level with no air and surrounded by reflecting concrete its just a hell hole.
 
GaryH said:
One thing they need to do this year is put some shaded places in the queue line. Last summer I heard a few people collapsed from the heat and being surrounded by all those people, below ground level with no air and surrounded by reflecting concrete its just a hell hole.
Click to expand...

Yeah I heard about this too, putting queue gripes and Merlin bashing to one side here, and speaking absolutely pragmatically, it is horrendous in the heat in there.
 
Indeed - after queuing for 2 and half hours in the summer, by the time I got on it, I had a horrendous headache, caused by:

1) the heat on my head with no shade
2) the claustrophia down there
3) the noise of the ride going so close overhead
4) the constant loop of the music

Put it this way - if I could have got out of the queue halfway through queuing, I would have.
 
This looks to me like they are now properly connecting the first piece of track (after the first lift hill) to the support, as beforehand it was not in contact with the support, it was merely held laterally in place by four large bolts. There was a large gap between the top of the support and the base of the track, which I never felt was entirely safe! Glad to see this is being sorted! :)

(Photo originally posted by djtruefitt)

Scaffolding surrounds the first drop.
1560504_603657863037995_1839390626_n.jpg
 
Hopefully they will sort the one or two bumps out as well.

I would imagine Gertlauster have spent or are due to spend a few weeks recommissioning the Smiler, when it opens this year I expect it to be a lot smoother.
 
A strobe warning sign on the outside of the indoor queueline building wouldn't go a miss.

But, then again it only worked for hour(s) day(s), after a lengthy period of downtime...

Where did I put the number for Leek signs?
 
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