• 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

The glass floor was a nice idea, but it's completely and utterly pointless, achieving little more than flooding the indoor ride area with light and showing how grotty it is down there. From within the shop you can't see anything through it, not least as there's quite often glare from the sunlight outside.

If you ask me they'd have been better off putting several small (1ft square) tiles, say 5 or so, around the shop at various places, with clear glass installed. That way not only would you be able to actually see what's going on, but you'd also limit the amount of light entering the pit, as well as offering different viewing angles.

The location is just stupid. Not only does sunlight pour through the shop entrance and into the area, but it also means that they have no doormats in the shop. On a wet day that shop is completely filthy with mucky footprints, where people have walked in and bought water and dirt from outside. It's unsightly, and also makes the shop floor very slippery at times! It's just asking for someone to slip over and go crashing into a mug display or something. For a park which is so retentive about health and safety it still surprises me that this goes by unnoticed really.

Please, just someone chuck a big mat in front of the doors. It'd make the shop itself far cleaner, and reduce the amount of light being let in from the glass, improving the ride experience. Two birds with one stone! It doesn't even need to completely cover the glass. Just some of it nearest the doors.
 
The glass floor would have been a good idea if the original plan was to have the indoor section brightly lit, with theming and illusions in the underground section. Since the indoor section ended up being a dark area with no lighting it has resulted in the glass floor idea being pretty pointless.

Agree with the above, they should get a mat placed over the glass. Then sort out the smoke machine please Towers.:kissingheart:
 
What I have never understood is the dots on the glass floor. What on Wardley's given Earth is the point of them?! It only makes it even more difficult to see through, given how close together they all are!
 
Tom.B said:
What I have never understood is the dots on the glass floor. What on Wardley's given Earth is the point of them?! It only makes it even more difficult to see through, given how close together they all are!
Click to expand...

Non slip I believe
 
Admittedly it makes sense to have them on there considering its location - and thus putting a doormat on there would be them admitting the idea didn't work.

Of course, I agree the bloody thing should be further in the shop, covered up or not exist at all :p
 
I wonder why they didn't use one way glass with a reinforced top?

Obviously they were limited as to where they put it given the shop is over the ride only in certain points
 
Maybe they could have built a second small pit where you can look through one-way windows at eye-height (not on the floor) to see the ride, although I can't really imagine where this would go.
 
The dots could be to polarise the light coming through. Similar to the dots on a microwave door, but in reverse.
 
What ever the dots are there for, they don't work! The glass still lets far too much light in, and from the outside it means you can't see it, plus it still gets really slippy when wet!
 
They're non slip spots, nothing fancy. I am quite sure of this. Without thus said glass would surely be slippy(er)?
 
The glass floor in the shop entrance is above the ride? or the que? I can never seen into it.

Went to Thorpe,first time ever, yesterday and while I have to says towers is miles better, the level of theming at Thorpe is MILES ahead of alton.

Lets look at the SAW station vs the smiler, the smiler's is , as we know, whitwash, we all saw the concepts and how good the station COULD have looked, but we have something that looks like its a B&Q job.

In contrast , the SAW station is absolutely FANTASTIC , the level of detail and theremin is second to none and the dark section on SAW vs Smiler, again puts Smiler WELL down.

I simply cant understand the reason for this, I could talk about SWARM vs Air and other pointer but this isnt the right place.

Would like to know, if anyone does, why Thrope pulls out all the stops and Alton doesnt , if Alton is the jewel in the crown ??
 
towerslover101 said:
The glass floor in the shop entrance is above the ride? or the que? I can never seen into it.

Went to Thorpe,first time ever, yesterday and while I have to says towers is miles better, the level of theming at Thorpe is MILES ahead of alton.

Lets look at the SAW station vs the smiler, the smiler's is , as we know, whitwash, we all saw the concepts and how good the station COULD have looked, but we have something that looks like its a B&Q job.

In contrast , the SAW station is absolutely FANTASTIC , the level of detail and theremin is second to none and the dark section on SAW vs Smiler, again puts Smiler WELL down.

I simply cant understand the reason for this, I could talk about SWARM vs Air and other pointer but this isnt the right place.

Would like to know, if anyone does, why Thrope pulls out all the stops and Alton doesnt , if Alton is the jewel in the crown ??
Click to expand...
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?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top