The Smiler - General Discussion

[towerslover101]

I don't think it's fair to judge levels of theming on just ride station buildings, do you? Let's take a look at ride areas. It's hardly equitable to collate Katanga Canyon/Forbidden Valley with an area like Angry Birds Land, or Amity Cove, is it?

I quite liked Amity Cove and the radio announcements, if there were more levels of theming then towers would be more world class, the smiler station is a joke

 

[Burbs]

I quite liked Amity Cove and the radio announcements, if there were more levels of theming then towers would be more world class, the smiler station is a joke

I still find it rather difficult to believe that you are making a theming comparison by looking at one coaster station in each park.

Yes, every theme park has it's flaws, but when you look at overall immersion and experience, do you prefer Alton Towers or Thorpe Park? I know which one I do.

 

[towerslover101]

Im not, what I was saying is how poor Altons extra touches are, the smiler is cheap and tacky but a great ride.

SWARM is another ride thats very immersive, the control booth, the fly through, the effects .

Alton also has issues with special effects not working, look at the red water on Nemmy, the projectors on the smiler, at Thorpe ALL the special effects were working yesterday.

I love Alton, I will still visit a couple of times a month, if not more, I probs wont go back to Thorpe till next summer , but there is no reason for Alton to be lazy with the "Extra" touches , it's the best park in the UK, It COULD be the best park in Europe , were it not for being complacent .

 

[James]

I don't think Towers were expecting so many problems with groundworks. I don't even think they were expecting soft ground either.

The ground needed a hell of a lot of reinforcing and concrete. This was obviously overlooked when budgets were drawn up. So naturally when it came to groundworks disasters they had to cut a lot of things out. We lost four pieces of theming and a platform overlooking the ride area. But these things happen sadly.

I wouldn't say The Smiler looks tacky. The Marmaliser is still an amazing piece of theming and in terms of hardware it is up there as one of the best roller coaster designs in the UK.

Maintenance is a bit of a mess at Towers. It has never been perfect. I do find it annoying when you go on something like The Smiler and see Marmaliser effects not working and projection screens out of place. They have the most basic of effects and they never seem consistent!

 

[Burbs]

They really need to re-align the projectors in the marmalisation block. Every time I've ridden it, there's been a problem, be it the projectors slightly off centre or the dreaded blue screen!

 

[Ian]

at Thorpe ALL the special effects were working yesterday.

I can assure you they were not.

I know of at least one special effect which isn't used at Thorpe (Unless something has changed in the past week), and has not for years, which is the fireball on Tidal Wave.

Similarly, when I was last there the other week Tidal Wave had no show water running as the pump had been removed.

Equally the area under Colossus used to include a rather nice little water feature which has since been abandoned and left to rot (Much like the ride itself really).

In Nemesis Inferno's station the lighting and sound systems, whilst better than they have been in the past, are still not how they should be.

Loggers Leap looks a state since they tore the roof off of lift one and the first drop, and likewise the tunnel in Rumba Rapids is devoid of any life or effect these days.

Whilst I would agree that SAW provides a better themed attraction than The Smiler, I really wouldn't go so far as to say that Thorpe has better theming overall.

Consider with SAW that they had a film studio to impress in order to obtain IP rights and it's glaringly obvious why the effort was made.

I would never deny that Thorpe do have some wonderful bits of theming. Amity Cove is one of my favourite areas in the UK. It's well themed, and WWTP Radio provides a buzz not found in other UK Merlin parks since the removal of Thunder Rock Rally. There is a fun vibe about it which is how parks should be. The same extends to Amity Speedway. Whilst the plaza is somewhat empty the quirky 50s feel is extended on, and as a ride Stealth certainly integrates into the area better than Rita ever has.

Swarm similarly is a pretty well put together product. It's not perfect, but it certainly has its place at the park, and doesn't impact on anything else too badly.

On the other hand we have the likes of Colossus, which these days is covered in oil and dirty paintwork. What bits of theming it has have been forgotten about, and it generally looks shabby. It's a shame really, as when it opened it did look rather pretty, and the landscaping is fantastic. However, it's still not perfect, and if you ask me Nemesis has aged more gracefully (Station aside).

Ninferno is a great looking ride at a glance. But 10 years on it still remains unfinished! The back of the ride is nothing but a tin shed with a service road! Alton's big coasters may have their flaws, but at least none are as blatantly forgotten as this. Even Th13teen as much as we panned it made a very vague effort to cover the literal holes in its station facade with the tarps and scaffolding (I can't believe I actually aimed some very loose praise at it! Better than a tin shed though at any rate.).

I will stop here, as I could go on and turn this into an essay, but I hope I've made my point. I love Alton, and I love Thorpe, but even in this day where we have a concrete coaster flooded with mucky water Alton still tops Thorpe in so many ways. Thorpe will need a lot of work to properly rival Alton. They have some fantastic individual bits as outlined above, but they also have some glaring faults (Yes Storm Surge I'm looking at you). It all needs tying together into one neat package, rather than being a disjointed mish-mash of ideas.

First visits are always nice to places, and I too have on occasion come away from a ride or park feeling the same way, that it's the best thing ever. However, upon reflection and after another visit it becomes easy to see past the initial blinkers, and notice the park for what it really is.

Back to The Smiler

 

[TheMan]

@towerslover101 - I was once like you, after my first THORPE visit lol!...

THORPE is doing what Alton is doing, it's going in the WRONG direction.

It has immeasurably worsened since my first visit a few years ago, I remember my first trip I ADORED the place - it's almost like they know you are going for the first time, and all the stops are pulled out to make you feel welcome and have fun... I have NEVER since returned and had the same experience, with either service, queuing, fast track rubbish, or theme slowly being removed/not working etc.

THORPE are AWFUL, utterly diabolical, I mean really when I look at what they've added since my first visit they took a quaint if not great kids area and replaced it with that MONSTROSITY of Storm Surge, Amity has been invaded by angry old IPs, they seem to want to try and get the record for "Worst way to run a B&M in the world" - they should have that darn ride confiscated, it's an utter travesty how they run N:I they should hang their heads in shame at this! It's become nothing more than a Fast Track money generator for them - it is sacrilegious!

THORPE, a place with enormous potential, that had a great them idea, "an Island like no other" - indeed. Colossus was superb when she opened, what have they let happen to her? I never went when it was new but I have seen the pictures and it makes you realise how they've let this beast of a ride (and it is a GREAT ride still why they don't sort it out I have no idea! Morons) fall into such disrepair I have no idea.

New trains on that, clearing it up, and marketing it as Colossus II would have been better than that CRAPPY lazer show in X and Angry Birds land!!

Honestly, I wonder who the heck is running these parks sometimes, I really do, they seem to have no business savvy at all!!

Is it budgets and pressures from above, bean counters, a lack of communication across park divisions? I don't know - but whatever it is, for THORPE and Towers right now, it just is NOT good enough!

£350 MILLION profit last year Merlin....

Over a THIRD OF A BILLION POUNDS, and the budget was cut on the publics experience of The Smiler because they found construction issues...

OVER A THIRD OF A BILLION POUNDS.

Saving up for some bulbs for their pinnacle events...

See my point.

There's no defense.

 

[Burbs]

Hear, hear!

 

[thefatone]

They really need to re-align the projectors in the marmalisation block. Every time I've ridden it, there's been a problem, be it the projectors slightly off centre or the dreaded blue screen!

They re-align them loads. Unfortunately a day of running (and the vibration of the building) means that they'll always slip.

 

[phildenholm]

you see you say that but ive been on it 10 times and never noticed it so far!

So had a good look at the glass floor and its a total waste of time, you cant see anything through it (as you have all said) no point at all. I went on for the 2nd time of the day (yesterday) just before closing time at 5pm and though it was amazing how quick the queue went down when it was time for the staff to go home . Smoke still not working and the projector on the right as you go in the dark section was displaying a blue screen saying something about the input not being available, the one on the left was working but the one straight ahead was out of alignment, come on towers its not rocket science!

 

[towerslover101]

I've rode it on aropund 6 visits this year, each time the right hand project said the same "check input" and had the blue screen, ive no idea what should be displayed on it.

 

[Burbs]

I've rode it on aropund 6 visits this year, each time the right hand project said the same "check input" and had the blue screen, ive no idea what should be displayed on it.

Just general 3D projections I believe, much like the ones that work.

 

[Coaster]

£350 MILLION profit last year Merlin....

Over a THIRD OF A BILLION POUNDS, and the budget was cut on the publics experience of The Smiler because they found construction issues...

OVER A THIRD OF A BILLION POUNDS.

Saving up for some bulbs for their pinnacle events...

See my point.

There's no defense.

And that's why I hate Merlin. A company which makes that much money should be running faultless parks.

 

[Martin]

Don't they have loads of debt to pay off though? And with them being up for sale they need to look as financially attractive to investors as possible.

Unfortunately.

 

[Dave]

So had a good look at the glass floor and its a total waste of time, you cant see anything through it (as you have all said) no point at all. I went on for the 2nd time of the day (yesterday) just before closing time at 5pm and though it was amazing how quick the queue went down when it was time for the staff to go home .

The queue doesn't speed up because the staff want to get home, it's because after 5pm there are no more FT or disabled guests cutting in front of the main queue.

 

[towerslover101]

Don't they have loads of debt to pay off though? And with them being up for sale they need to look as financially attractive to investors as possible.

Unfortunately.

Merlin are up for sale?

 

[Scott]

Merlin are up for sale?

Merlin are a publicly traded company on the stock exchange. Anyone could buy them if they bought enough shares in theory.

For them to look good for potential investors they need to make lots of money.

 

[jon81uk]

I can assure you they were not.

I know of at least one special effect which isn't used at Thorpe (Unless something has changed in the past week), and has not for years, which is the fireball on Tidal Wave.

There isn't a fireball effect on Tidal Wave anymore, Stealth or The Swarm (I forget which) got built where the gas tank used to be so the effect was decommissioned years ago.

 

[Coaster]

There isn't a fireball effect on Tidal Wave anymore, Stealth or The Swarm (I forget which) got built where the gas tank used to be so the effect was decommissioned years ago.

Yep Stealth was. There's nothing stopping them bringing it back though (well, apart from Merlin's stingy budgeting etc...)

 

[jon81uk]

Yep Stealth was. There's nothing stopping them bringing it back though (well, apart from Merlin's stingy budgeting etc...)

It might be more than budgeting, sighting a gas tank too close to the coaster may not be a good thing, there might not be a good site to run the pipework through, there are lots of concerns relating to getting the gas in place.