• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

The Smiler - General Discussion

Jonathan said:
I did The Smiler twice yesterday, and both runs were so much smoother than I've known it to be before. Whatever Towers have done to the ride has worked.
Click to expand...

Did you brace for the final inversion both times and end up confused on the brake run as well lol?
 
After going to pleasure beach for the first time and riding all the roller coasters minus the big one (bloody high winds), The Smiler is a comfortable DFS sofa compared to pleasure beaches cash converter needles and nails sticking out sofa.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dar
Dar said:
Nah, you're wrong. Their rides are *intense* not rough, you're just a soft idiot that's got too used to glass smooth coasters at Towers. </PBE>
Click to expand...

I apologise, I should of worn my bruises with pride the next day, I guess I am not worthy of being seen ever again in the shrine that is pleasure beach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dar
For goodness sake, Towers are ridiculously understaffed.

Only one person in The Smiler's food/drink queue kiosk today, on a 2+ hour queue. Serving 2 sets of customers by alternating, holding the queue line up from moving along. Of course, you could argue that it makes no difference as you'll still be waiting the same amount of time for the ride, yet surely it's more pleasantly to be shuffling along every now and then than being stood permanently still while people are served teas and KitKats.
 
Tom.B said:
For goodness sake, Towers are ridiculously understaffed.

Only one person in The Smiler's food/drink queue kiosk today, on a 2+ hour queue. Serving 2 sets of customers by alternating, holding the queue line up from moving along. Of course, you could argue that it makes no difference as you'll still be waiting the same amount of time for the ride, yet surely it's more pleasantly to be shuffling along every now and then than being stood permanently still while people are served teas and KitKats.
Click to expand...

Are you finding the queue REALLY slow moving?

Keep a watch on the break run, the stacking was dire on Wednesday, made the whole thing ridiculous, and an advertised 90 minute queue was closer to 120 minutes.
 
Well I wasn't queueing at the time, this is what the people in my group were saying, whom I have no reason to doubt. An advertised 100 minutes took around 2.5 hours. I used the old throughput calculator, and used exiting the batwing as a dispatch. Came out at around 940p/h. Ridiculous, or is this normal?

I had a lot of time to kill as I was not prepared to stand in that claustrophobic labyrinth for 2+ hours so I sat on TS for a while, had a slow meander round CBL, wandered through Sharkbait Reef, went into Towers Trading, sat and watched the water screen testing, went to the loo, did Spinball twice, walked down to Buy the Smiler, sat outside there for a while, went to see how long Oblivion's SRQ was, abandoned that, stood in Buy the Smiler, and stood outside Buy the Smiler all in the time it took them to queue and get on.

Really does put it into perspective, doesn't it.
 
Tom.B said:
Well I wasn't queueing at the time, this is what the people in my group were saying, whom I have no reason to doubt. An advertised 100 minutes took around 2.5 hours. I used the old throughput calculator, and used exiting the batwing as a dispatch. Came out at around 940p/h. Ridiculous, or is this normal?

I had a lot of time to kill as I was not prepared to stand in that claustrophobic labyrinth for 2+ hours so I sat on TS for a while, had a slow meander round CBL, wandered through Sharkbait Reef, went into Towers Trading, sat and watched the water screen testing, went to the loo, did Spinball twice, walked down to Buy the Smiler, sat outside there for a while, went to see how long Oblivion's SRQ was, abandoned that, stood in Buy the Smiler, and stood outside Buy the Smiler all in the time it took them to queue and get on.

Really does put it into perspective, doesn't it.
Click to expand...

It's theoretical capacity is 1200pph, however it never reaches that. The best it can manage is somewhere between 1000 and 1100. 940 isn't incredible, but it's not much worse than the best they could do.

I do agree though, the queueline shop is incredibly annoying. Standing in Inferno's queue yesterday, and every man and his dog wanted to buy 4 hot drinks from it each. The shop is only about 10 minutes into the queue too, which makes it even more irritating. Eventually someone just walked past them and then the whole queueline did the same, and then suddenly no one wanted to stop.
 
Alastair said:
It's theoretical capacity is 1200pph, however it never reaches that. The best it can manage is somewhere between 1000 and 1100. 940 isn't incredible, but it's not much worse than the best they could do.

I do agree though, the queueline shop is incredibly annoying. Standing in Inferno's queue yesterday, and every man and his dog wanted to buy 4 hot drinks from it each. The shop is only about 10 minutes into the queue too, which makes it even more irritating. Eventually someone just walked past them and then the whole queueline did the same, and then suddenly no one wanted to stop.
Click to expand...

Steady on, you'll start the whole queue debate again!
 
I don't blame them @Alastair. Did the people buying stuff from the kiosk go forward to where they would be in the queue, or just rejoin from the shop?
 
Went yesterday in the midst of scarefest. 40 minute queue got on it 5 times. Best ride in the park. Nuff said
 
Yalnix said:
Went yesterday in the midst of scarefest. 40 minute queue got on it 5 times. Best ride in the park. Nuff said
Click to expand...

Nemesis, front row, in the dark, is probably one of the best rides on the planet never mind the park.

At first both rides ran close for me, but over time, as I suspected, Nemesis returned as my favourite. The whole package is just... better.
 
GaryH said:
Quite agree - in the dark, nothing even comes close to Nemesis
Click to expand...

The Smiler for me feels more like an endurance event. Queue, the farting crappy "subs", the queue, the queue, the queue..... the queue. Then ride. I also had a bit of a rougher car for it the only ride I had on it the other day, I have to say, I PREFERRED it to the smooth cars! I actually don't feel as rough at the end bizarrely. Then I don't like air for that reason, too "floaty".

Nemesis though at night. Doesn't feel that way. Their differences over time are becoming more defined the old girls class is shining through. Let's not forget one bored quieter day on my own last year, I did the Smiler 17 times, 14 straight after each other, so it's not like I don't like it - I do. People know by now the kind of almost juxtaposed position I have on it, in that if they removed it, I wouldn't care if the built it properly or something similar of an Alton Towers standard. I do love it though, and the idea of the theme, the logo, the creativity behind the story is probably my favourite of them all. And, at night, bathed in blue light and fog/smoke it, in the queue, it could almost be an indoor ride as you can barely see the surrounding at all - it gets extremely intimate, it's novel, it's clever, it's challenging in many ways. A bit more care, and it would have been world class and Merlin remain IDIOTS for not seeing this happen.

Had that have happened, maybe, maybe, it would have taken the old girls crown - but, form is temporary, class is permanent. Something will come along and take the Smilers crown soon enough, it's going to age horribly, the theme and music will become unbelievably annoying in a few years when it's all run down - which it will be, because even a season in, it's all creaking, and Broken Effects thread proves where it will go at present rate.

It's a shame, a real shame, but Nemesis has a class, it has true theatre, it doesn't rely on novelty and bombarding your senses into submission, the ride comes close - but not so close you can't have a conversation, you queue amongst scenery, and immersed into the ride, even now after so many years of riding this coaster I still watch the nuances of how she glides around the track, the B&M roar, the smiles on the faces, the terror on those who've never ridden, remarkable after all this time!

Alas, few coasters are built that have this kind of "magic", it sounds like Helix at front at night possibly beats it, but this is that kind of ride, one that comes along every so often.

Wardley was, and remains, a genius. I don't love Nemesis/Oblivion because of Wardley, I love Wardley because of Nemesis/Oblivion.

With the technology nowadays, how I wish he would create a swansong coaster just to see if he can beat his two arguably best creations.

So that is why, for me, after a good season or so of both together, I have a fondness for The Smiler, but it just doesn't beat the enduring experience, theatre, and class of the ubiquitous Nemesis.
 
@TheMan - dude, that brought a tear to my eye, sniff. I feel emotional now.

Lol, but I hear what your saying and I agree totally. Though I think if I did the Smiler that many times in a day I certainly wouldn't be smiling!

Theres two factors for me in this debate. The first is the re-ride factor and for me, The Smiler just doesnt have it. Partly due to the fact I couldnt be thrown upside down 14 times during a couple of rides without coming off green and also, I dont like the roughness of the ride depending what car you are on.

The second is that ok, it may have 14 inversions, but at the end of the day the ride is basically sky, floor, sky, floor, sky, floor and repeat.

I honestly dont think there is any competition between Nemmie and The Smiler whatsoever. Ask people who say the Smiler is better now in a few years what they think between the two and I bet they will say Nemesis. Its smooth, its forceful, it roars and the noise of it now still fills me with excitement. No matter how many times you ride it, like Oblivion, it still makes you feel like its the first time - the feeling as you come off the chain lift, float down, that small but incredibly fast drop, the zero G helix, the near misses on the rock face, and thats just the daytime.

At night time its like a beast possessed. The speed is faster, the rock faces close in on you, its just incredible. Smiler on the other hand, floor, stars, floor, stars, floor, stars...

Some people may like that kinda thing, but for me, the number of inversions a ride has just doesnt sell the ride to me. Its the way I feel before I get on, and when I get off that sells it for me. And Nemesis makes me feel euphoric every single time, and has done since 1994.
 
GaryH said:
@TheMan

The second is that ok, it may have 14 inversions, but at the end of the day the ride is basically sky, floor, sky, floor, sky, floor and repeat.

At night time its like a beast possessed. The speed is faster, the rock faces close in on you, its just incredible. Smiler on the other hand, floor, stars, floor, stars, floor, stars...
Click to expand...

Not enough of these :tearsofjoy: on the internet for how funny I found that.

GaryH said:


And Nemesis makes me feel euphoric every single time, and has done since 1994.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. And rarely do I ever come on it and not want to go back on again! The re-ride factor of that ride is just immense, Oblivion, not so much, but that's because it's not meant to have that. Ride STILL gets to me.

Come back John, PLEASE.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top