The Smiler - General Discussion

[Rob]

Well, erm, The Smiler. Yes. They have somehow managed to make it worse over the closed season. My two rides yesterday were awful. It was as if the trains were running on hexagonal wheels, it was just vibrating and rattling all the way around in a manner that it did not do last season. Today I rode it (train 2) and it was better, more like how it was last season so mainly just jolts at various points. However Russell and Saz were on the train after (train 4) and they said it was awful. So it is clearly a train dependant thing; there are at least two bad trains as train 3 was rough yesterday.

It doesn't look like they've improved the reliability either. I believe that yesterday it had to do a vertical lift reverse and then it broke down two or three times when we were in the queue at the end of the day. Today it seems like it's been up and down like a yo-yo.

 

[Wilsy]

I rode The Smiler and it was exactly the same as last year...

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[smudge]

I thought it was worse too, but that could also be because I'd forgot how bad it was last year..

Oh, and I think the reverse down lifthill yesterday was caused by stacking. When the train reached the top of the vertical lift, the train infront hadn't cleared the breaks thus having to stop and they are unable to re-start with a train in tow. (Apparently)

 

[Burbs]

I thought it was worse too, but that could also be because I'd forgot how bad it was last year..

Oh, and I think the reverse down lifthill yesterday was caused by stacking. When the train reached the top of the vertical lift, the train infront hadn't cleared the breaks thus having to stop and they are unable to re-start with a train in tow. (Apparently)

: Stacking is slacking.

 

[Rob]

I rode The Smiler and it was exactly the same as last year...

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On some trains it is. On other it has developed an awful rattling vibration all of the way round. If you get one of those trains you can tell as soon as you leave the station.

 

[Benzin]

I thought it was worse too, but that could also be because I'd forgot how bad it was last year..

Oh, and I think the reverse down lifthill yesterday was caused by stacking. When the train reached the top of the vertical lift, the train infront hadn't cleared the breaks thus having to stop and they are unable to re-start with a train in tow. (Apparently)

: Stacking is slacking.

Either that or they were so damn fast getting the trains out they over-cooked the system...

#optimisticviewpoint

 

[Burbs]

I thought it was worse too, but that could also be because I'd forgot how bad it was last year..

Oh, and I think the reverse down lifthill yesterday was caused by stacking. When the train reached the top of the vertical lift, the train infront hadn't cleared the breaks thus having to stop and they are unable to re-start with a train in tow. (Apparently)

: Stacking is slacking.

Either that or they were so damn fast getting the trains out they over-cooked the system...

#optimisticviewpoint

Yeah... er... NO!

 

[Mark-Cal]

I managed two rides today and can't really comment on the better/worse than last year thing 'cos I only rode it once last year. But I can say I really enjoyed it.
I got front row early in the day then three rows back late on and didn't experience anything I'd consider too rough or unpleasant.
The only unpleasant aspect was standing in ankle deep water in the cattle pen for an hour when something broke again.
There was also a lack of duelling which disappointed me a bit, in all the time we stood in the queue line only once did the trains set off together and properly interact.

 

[Wilsy]

I thought it was worse too, but that could also be because I'd forgot how bad it was last year..

Oh, and I think the reverse down lifthill yesterday was caused by stacking. When the train reached the top of the vertical lift, the train infront hadn't cleared the breaks thus having to stop and they are unable to re-start with a train in tow. (Apparently)

: Stacking is slacking.

There is enough blocks in the brake area for 5 vehicles.

So maybe have a think before saying people where slacking. Maybe the vehicle couldn't proceed forward due to a technical error?

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[Burbs]

I thought it was worse too, but that could also be because I'd forgot how bad it was last year..

Oh, and I think the reverse down lifthill yesterday was caused by stacking. When the train reached the top of the vertical lift, the train infront hadn't cleared the breaks thus having to stop and they are unable to re-start with a train in tow. (Apparently)

: Stacking is slacking.

There is enough blocks in the brake area for 5 vehicles.

So maybe have a think before saying people where slacking. Maybe the vehicle couldn't proceed forward due to a technical error?

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It was more of a joke tbh. Just something a lot of TST-ers were saying yesterday! Maybe the : wasn't appropriate though.

 

[Wilsy]

A lot of TSTers need to be more respectful and not make comments about things they have no idea about then

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[Unicorns_are_lovely]

I rode on the back row today and the rattling and vibration was pretty grim to be honest (sorry, not sure which train number I was on). Maybe I was unlucky and got the "bad train" but I don't remember the vibration being that severe last season. I did get to experience proper duelling though and it's fab

I was sat at the back of 5 trains on the brake run this afternoon while they switched a train out of the garage (shed?) so there is definitely room to stack them up if required. Reliability seemed OK but I didn't spend too much time in XSector so may have missed some breakdowns

Anyhow, I'm back on park next weekend so will see how many Smiler runs I manage

 

[Dave]

It's the same as last year

There is one horrid train, one bad train, one ok train and two smooth trains. The roughness isn't due to the track (except the 2 jolts). Clearly the bearings on 2 of the trains are buggered, it needs sorting really.

As for the new queue it's fine when compared to the rest of the queue (better as less claustrophobic) though the entrance now looks messy.

 

[Rob]

A lot of TSTers need to be more respectful and not make comments about things they have no idea about then

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I'm not sure TTF/TST memes have ever been respectful! The whole "stacking is slacking" thing has been going on for a couple of years and is just a bit of fun. Tom was on his first meet yesterday and it's great to see someone joining in with memes etc so early on, I know I certainly didn't after my first meet!

 

[Burbs]

A lot of TSTers need to be more respectful and not make comments about things they have no idea about then

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I'm not sure TTF/TST memes have ever been respectful! The whole "stacking is slacking" thing has been going on for a couple of years and is just a bit of fun. Tom was on his first meet yesterday and it's great to see someone joining in with memes etc so early on, I know I certainly didn't after my first meet!

Are there any other memes I'm missing out on?

 

[Jonathan]

A lot of TSTers need to be more respectful and not make comments about things they have no idea about then

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I'm not sure TTF/TST memes have ever been respectful! The whole "stacking is slacking" thing has been going on for a couple of years and is just a bit of fun. Tom was on his first meet yesterday and it's great to see someone joining in with memes etc so early on, I know I certainly didn't after my first meet!

Are there any other memes I'm missing out on?

There are a few, but I'm sure you'll pick up on them as the season goes on.

 

[DiogoJ42]

Not the most up to date list, but... click me!

 

[Sam]

A lot of TSTers need to be more respectful and not make comments about things they have no idea about then

That might be the generally held view if enthusiasts didn't frequently spot staff operating rides or hosting on rides in an obviously inefficient or bad way.

You don't always have to be an expert on operating procedure to see when staff are not doing a very good job, which is all-too-frequent at Towers, unfortunately.

If staff take 'stacking is slacking' or 'when throughputs are falling, Varney comes calling' seriously, then they maybe need to lighten up a bit.

 

[BigDave]

The problem is as well, we know how good the vast majority of those rides can run and have run in the past. They don't push for throughputs as much as they use to and as a result, it seems as if the staff do have the attitude that its ok to take their time. A good example of this is when staff are talking amongst themselves and forget that they have to give a dispatch signal in order for the train to be sent.

I will stick up for most staff members in most cases and I know some throughput problems are down to new procedures, but one thing that does proper annoy me is when they "slack" off when working. This might not have been the case in this instance, but the throughputs as a whole on the park are shocking.

 

[Dave]

Throughputs are always dodgy in the first week, you have a lot of new staff to train.