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The Smiler - General Discussion

micksalt said:
I do wish they had managed to fit the beyond-vertical drop though, it seems a bit backwards to have the vertical lift hill, but then no vertical (or beyond) drop.
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I think the vertical lift is a spacesaver as much as anything else.
 
RoyJess said:
I fully agree, however Oblivion is only a stone throw away, I don't think I've been on any rollercoaster that matches let alone beats oblivion hold and drop.
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That's true, even Sheikra at Busch Gardens doesn't cut it. Actually, I have a theory on that one, Sheikra is actually truly vertical by virtue of sprung underside wheels where Oblivion ensures the topside wheels remain in contact with the track by being ever-so-slightly not vertical. However, that means that Sheikra has increased friction as a result of the spring pressure against the track and doesn't quite drop with the same ferocity as its forefather.

Rick said:
I think the vertical lift is a spacesaver as much as anything else.
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Good point, it is an awful lot of track in a awfully small space.
 
Didn't really want to boost this topic again, but didn't really know where else to put this:



Just watch from 4:10 onwards till about 5 mins. As you hear from the bloke from Gerstlauer, Eurofighters cannot be adapted to have just lapbar restraints if the have OTSR currently due to the excess weight of the housing for the lapbar section which is interesting. I know he said Eurofighter, but I would imagine it would be the same for Infinity rides - so if it isn't originally built and designed with lapbar trains then there is no chance of them ever having them due to the excess weight and unknown forces/stress to the track.

I know its not really relevant now, but I know at one point it was discussed on here and I just wanted to point it out as I thought it was interesting. :)
 
Interesting that the physically smaller restraint weighs more. I suppose it has to deal with more forces when you think about it.
 
I should think that the OTSRs require less mechanism to restrain guests than a lap bar. Also, is it true that Gerstlauer's Infinity lap bars are sort of like the clam shell lap bars on B&M Hypers? If so, then these would have made Smiler a brilliant ride! The clam shell restraints on Mako at SeaWorld are the most comfortable restraints I've ever sat in! Although, in Alton's defence, the Gerstlauer OTSRs are probably one of the more comfortable sorts of OTSR I've ridden in. Not up there with B&M's OTSRs, but better than if Alton had put the Intamin OTSRs on it like the ones on Rita and Colossus. If you put those on your ride, then it won't age well. For reference, both Rita and Colossus are awfully painful, and I actually found Cheetah Hunt very, very rattly with these restraints when I rode last year.

Anyway, back on to Smiler. I definitely think the ride is less smooth now than it was in 2013. I do find the Smiler to have quite hit and miss smoothness depending on where you sit. In the front two rows, for example, I don't find the ride anything more than rough around the edges. But I did have quite a rattly back row ride once. Also, when I was looking back through this topic, I saw the original concept art. And personally, I prefer what we got to what was shown in the concept art. The concept art looked far too dark and dingy for the vibe they wanted to go for. The hexagons in the original pre-lift section looked cool, admittedly, but the rest of it looked a bit too, um... full-on mental asylum for the vibe they were trying to go for. The pre-show(?) room in the original concepts looks far too run-down for the happy but creepy vibe of the Smiler. The lower exit section in those pictures vaguely resembles a plastic bag tunnel to me, which is far, far lazier than the fun illusion-filled exit we got. I still get quite disorientated walking off the Smiler, and I've been on it many times over the last 4 years!
 
Gerstlauer lap bars are less refined than the B&M ones, the restraints on Karnan tend to tighten throughout the ride and by the end of the ride can be very uncomfortable. Given how long Smiler is it could be rather unpleasant.
 
It is my understanding that the reason The Smiler appears to have become rougher is due to the change in wheel compound, rather than metal fatigue/deterioration in the vehicles, chaises or bogeys.

Since the installation of the ride, there has, to my knowledge, been a variation of wheel compounds used on certain vehicles on certain rows. This was due to the ride stalling periodically. Hard wheels run faster, however provide a more rattling, jolty and rough experience. Likewise, soft wheels run slower however are smoother and more cushioning.

To compromise, I believe Alton changed the wheels from opening day to a 25:75 split from hard:soft, and since the accident, with the emphasis on the ride vehicles not stalling again, this has been increased probably to 50:50, if not more.

:)
 
I am waiting a reply on how RAP are going to work.

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It is a mess.

It is classic short-termism from the point of view that Smiler is a recent ride, and rather than these hap-hazard attempts to botch together a queue system, they should invest in proper, staff-free baggage storage solutions.

It's all so half baked.
 
It's almost as if there was an obvious solution to bags that didn't require extra staff, that was staring them in the face up in Blackpool....
 
Presumably there's now 3 abandoned queue lines in the indoor section as well.

It's a complete mess. I'd been clinging to the hope that they've introduced the new system in a way that would let them operate the baggage room on peak days, which would probably suffice.

I almost wish I didn't like the physical ride so much so I didn't feel obliged to suffer the misery you have to go through to actually go on the thing.

EDIT: are you proposing people take bags onto Smiler...?
 
The best way would be to have free lockers outside the rides, like Universal and SeaWorld have in Orlando, as it doesn't require staff or increase faff in the station.
 
It's all down to the fact that the park don't have enough budget to operate properly. Clearly, it's a nonsense that rides like Galactica and Smiler require(d) so many staff - but they should spend the money to put in place PROPER systems... not this!

Most self-respecting parks would not actively/consciously change systems so that throughputs got worse.

It's as simple as that.
 
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