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The Smiler - General Discussion

Matt N said:
I seem to have noticed this more after the incident; did they change the wheels or something, as I'd also say the coaster looks to run more quickly through some elements and makes a different sort of noise while running to what it did pre-incident?
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It is my understanding that the wheel compounds have been swapped for more harder ones, which make it run faster, but at the expense of smoothness, to decrease the likelihood of a stall.
 
After riding on opening day I was sad to notice some deterioration on The Smiler.

-The lights and audio was completely broken at the bottom of the first lift hill which meant it was really uneventful
-The Giggler was on but looked a bit weak and like a leaking tap
-The projectors in the correction block looked rubbish, none of which were aligned
-Lots of the speakers at the x sector entrance and in x sector sounded really quiet and crackly
-The smoke in the station was very weak so it might as well have been turned off

I was pleased to see the oblivion mist return however
 
WickerManiac said:
I was pleased to see the oblivion mist return however
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Sorry this is totally off topic but I was told by someone who worked on the ride for a season that the mist effect is created by the pond around the exit to the tunnel and the reason it's switched off some years is due to how filthy it gets, does anyone know if this is true? Just interested to know how it works.
 
JSG093 said:
Sorry this is totally off topic but I was told by someone who worked on the ride for a season that the mist effect is created by the pond around the exit to the tunnel and the reason it's switched off some years is due to how filthy it gets, does anyone know if this is true? Just interested to know how it works.
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The water comes from the mains, the misters get blocked with limescale.
 
Both oblivion and the smiler are in a really sorry state compared to when they opened.

I really don’t understand why they can’t have the videos in oblivion’s queue back to their original glory now

On a positive note though I’m really liking the new merchandise
 
Matt N said:
Interesting to hear you say the ride was "rougher than ever"; what row did you ride in, out of interest?

As for my opinion on The Smiler's roughness; I don't think it is quite as rough as some say it is (I found Saw at Thorpe Park to be far worse!). I'd personally say that I only really feel a rattle and a couple of light kinks here and there; nothing unbearable, by any means! However; I will certainly admit that I have seen a noticeable deterioration in the coaster's smoothness since it first opened in 2013, and oddly, I seem to have noticed this more after the incident; did they change the wheels or something, as I'd also say the coaster looks to run more quickly through some elements and makes a different sort of noise while running to what it did pre-incident?

While The Smiler has yet to teeter into the "rough enough to majorly impact my enjoyment" territory for me, I will certainly agree that it is not the smoothest of coasters; there are a couple of kinks here and there, and there are a couple of portions where you can definitely feel the train shaking. Not unbearably, but you can definitely feel it. I'd also say that the coaster has not exactly aged brilliantly compared to other coasters built in the same time period. I'd certainly say that I've seen more of a noticeable change in The Smiler's smoothness in the time it's been operating than I have with Thirteen and The Swarm, for example, which I'd say still run just as well as (if not better than) when I first rode them. I'd also say that Speed at Oakwood is smoother than The Smiler, despite being 7 years older. However, The Smiler is certainly far less rough than Saw at Thorpe Park, in my opinion, as I mentioned above. And I'd imagine that a few kinks here and there was probably difficult to avoid given the nature of the ride; I wouldn't imagine it would have been easy to cram close to 4000ft of coaster track in a space little bigger than the one your average Vekoma Boomerang takes up! From an engineering and layout standpoint, I'd say that The Smiler is almost a technical masterpiece in terms of how much they managed to cram into the area!

While we're on the topic of smoothness, I'd also like to mention another personal drawback of The Smiler; I personally feel that it is somewhat inconsistent, especially in recent years. While it is always a great ride to some extent, I feel that I certainly enjoy it noticeably more on some rides than I do on others. With some of my favourite coasters; Mako, Icon, The Swarm and Nemesis, to name just a few, you know that you are going to get a top-class ride on them before you ride them. As stupid as this may sound, I personally feel that with The Smiler, you don't know quite how it's going to ride until you ride it. For some demonstration of my personal ideas about The Smiler's lack of consistency in recent times, here is a summary of all of my rides post-incident:
  • In April 2016, I rode the coaster in the front row and found that it had developed a bit of a rattle that it never had pre-incident, but I certainly wouldn't have called it unbearable by any means.
  • In July 2017, I rode the coaster 3 times in a mix of rows 2 and 4 and found that those 3 rides were probably the roughest I have had so far on The Smiler.
  • In March 2018, I rode the coaster in row 3 and thought it was absolutely brilliant; the rattle was there, but seemed less noticeable than normal, and the jolts seemed less noticeable than normal! That ride was probably the best I've had on The Smiler post-incident!
  • In September 2018, I rode the coaster on the back row and it seemed to be more towards what it was in July 2017 from a roughness perspective.
Despite this, The Smiler has never been unbearably rough in my eyes, and I still enjoy the ride. That layout just provides a real intensity rush, and when on top form, I personally feel that The Smiler is almost as good as the likes of The Swarm and Nemesis! The coaster still sits solidly at the #7 spot in my coaster rankings and I would still give it a solid 9/10 if I was asked to score it out of 10; it's just that I felt the issue of the coaster's smoothness might be an interesting one to discuss from an analytical point of view. Do you guys agree with me?
P.S. Sorry for the long post!
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back row and 2nd row, left outer seat all 3 times. i'm not saying its un-enjoyable and i cant speak for anybody else's experiences, but to me those 3 rides were the roughest it's ever been. so much rattling and jolting. it was pretty brutal riding 3 times in such quick succession.
 
mrignuf said:
back row and 2nd row, left outer seat all 3 times. i'm not saying its un-enjoyable and i cant speak for anybody else's experiences, but to me those 3 rides were the roughest it's ever been. so much rattling and jolting. it was pretty brutal riding 3 times in such quick succession.
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Ah right. Thanks for the clarification @mrignuf!
 
Thursday I used the secret single rider line and walked straight onto the train past some very confused looking faces who had been queuing for some considerable time.
I shouldn’t have been so smug because I got rewarded with back left and oh my god that’s the roughest ride ive ever had on it. However my ride on saw on Friday made the smiler feel buttery smooth to the point I didn’t actually enjoy it. What is it with these coasters
 
It's Gerstlauer generally.

There are Gerstlauer coasters abroad that are also a little unrefined.

But really, they aren't anywhere near as rough as some rides that you may find around the world.

There's only so much 'smoothness' you are going to have with a ride that goes upside down 14 times at those speeds. Mack are very smooth but the inversions are generally taken much slower resulting in a much less breathless experience/
 
AstroDan said:
There's only so much 'smoothness' you are going to have with a ride that goes upside down 14 times at those speeds. Mack are very smooth but the inversions are generally taken much slower resulting in a much less breathless experience/
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The smiler feels faster this year maybe that’s what it is. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy Gersts I don’t mind the roughness but saw was borderline unbearable, the guys on the back of the train were coming off holding their necks.
 
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