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The Smiler - General Discussion

skyscraper said:
That it's apparently so rough and painful. Don't want to to do it for my first ride and not enjoy it.b Could potentially put me off riding again. I'd feel more comfortable near the front for my first ride.
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In fairness, I'm sure other guests wouldn't feel comfortable sitting behind a whole row of people not wearing masks and projecting their potentially contaminated screams in their faces.
 
skyscraper said:
I said how many of us there were (three) and showed him my Box Ofiice-issued mask exemption card. He told us to go to row 4, so I politely explained that it was my first time and could we sit nearer the front as I would feel more comfortable.

He said if I could wear a mask for 2 minutes we could have front, otherwise we'd have to go at the back. ...

The way he spoke to us and the fact that I'd already shown my exemption card, coupled with my panic about the back row and embarrassment (there were other people behind us), made me so distressed and upset that I had to bail out, meaning that my friends also didn't get to ride. I still feel guilty about them missing out, especially as one of them also hadn't ridden it before. :(
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With the greatest of respect, you're coming across as self-entitled to me. Did you forget there was a pandemic going on?

You travelled from a tier 3 area, which the government and the park told you not to travel from. You then went on The Smiler but due to not wearing a mask means you have to sit at the back. This is to reduce the infection risk to other riders behind you, all the more important considering you came from tier 3. You were allowed to ride at the front with a mask but didn't do so, and then left without riding at all, and that's the park's fault?

Having a disability doesn't mean you are incapable of spreading a life-threatening disease to others.
 
Alsty said:
With the greatest of respect, you're coming across as self-entitled to me. Did you forget there was a pandemic going on?

You travelled from a tier 3 area, which the government and the park told you not to travel from. You then went on The Smiler but due to not wearing a mask means you have to sit at the back. This is to reduce the infection risk to other riders behind you, all the more important considering you came from tier 3. You were allowed to ride at the front with a mask but didn't do so, and then left without riding at all, and that's the park's fault?

Having a disability doesn't mean you are incapable of spreading a life-threatening disease to others.
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Exactly what I wanted to say, but much more politely than I was going to say it.

This guy's attitude is disgusting.
 
Mask wearing and subsequent seating positions for those who can’t wear them are safety rules. They’re not up for discussion or exemption by ride hosts. It’s the equivalent of asking a ride host to not check your harness, it’s simply not negotiable.

If we could return to discussion about The Smiler it’d be appreciated. Individuals who have issue with mask rules should really take things up with the resort directly.
 
skyscraper said:
That it's apparently so rough and painful. Don't want to to do it for my first ride and not enjoy it.b Could potentially put me off riding again. I'd feel more comfortable near the front for my first ride.
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Personally I can't tell the different between the front and back row with regards to roughness. The trains are short compared to most rollercosters, so there tend not to be much variation in sensation wherever you sit. For me the Smiler is probably a lot smoother compared to most woodies out there.

The only thing that I recommend is to have a pack of extra strong mints to hand for after the ride to help with motion sickness. Other than that, I personally wouldn't class The Smiler as the roughest, the most intense or the most uncomfortable ride on the park.

skyscraper said:
Unfortunately no, I got to the station but had an issue with the batching host which I have submitted a complaint about. All explained below;

I said how many of us there were (three) and showed him my Box Ofiice-issued mask exemption card. He told us to go to row 4, so I politely explained that it was my first time and could we sit nearer the front as I would feel more comfortable.

He said if I could wear a mask for 2 minutes we could have front, otherwise we'd have to go at the back. He didn't clarify if he meant just in the station or actually on the ride.

The way he spoke to us and the fact that I'd already shown my exemption card, coupled with my panic about the back row and embarrassment (there were other people behind us), made me so distressed and upset that I had to bail out, meaning that my friends also didn't get to ride. I still feel guilty about them missing out, especially as one of them also hadn't ridden it before. :(
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I think others have already said their feelings with regards to the mask wearing and I fully agree.

With regards to not being able to sit on the seats you want. Whenever I request for sitting in a particular place on a ride, I always say I preferer near the back, but I always respect the ride host if they say "no" or generally I quiet happy if I go near the rear of the train, even if it not exactly the back row. If not, I will take the seat offered and re-join the queue after riding the ride and hopefully I get lucky on my next ride.

Like I say, I always ask, but I always respect the answer without question or arguing. The staff get enough abuse from guest without having me or anyone else to add to that.

I'm always polite to the ride host, I always say thank you to them, I'm always very courteous to them. After all, they are the ride host, they are in charge for you and everyone else safety, what they say goes and I always respect that.
 
skyscraper said:
That it's apparently so rough and painful. Don't want to to do it for my first ride and not enjoy it.b Could potentially put me off riding again. I'd feel more comfortable near the front for my first ride.
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The smiler has jolts where ever you sit. Front is just less noticeable, saying this I had a back row ride in middle seat the other day and it was mostly fine apart from the 12&13th inversions.
 
I had my first ride last week since Sep 2013 with the mindset that apparently that it was going to be really rough. Had rides on the second and third row and I really didn't feel it except on the final 3 inversions, even then they weren't so bad. I don't know if maybe I'm a bit more resistant to it or what, as I don't really know what factors would contribute to a ride experience being "rough", but I really enjoyed riding The Smiler! I've seen a lot of comments over the years saying that it's a guaranteed head banger, but I simply did not find this to be the case at all.
 
Again could I ask that people stay on topic of The Smiler as requested.

In regards to mask wearing and seating positions, this has been explained that this is a safety requirement therefore there’s no need for further discussion on this.
 
On the top of The Smiler, once again it will need some major work over winter, I would say it looks in a terrible state.

As always the queue line is flooded and filthy, but really don’t know what you can do to sort that out as it’s been like that for years. However you’ve then got the inside section which seems to be turning more mouldy than anything, just look at the roof of the stairs, back of the fire door, etc all just peeling paint and mould, etc.

Half the marmaliser effects have been off all season (mist and water spray), then one of the car wash brushes has been chucked on the floor at some point this season, and now some of the spinning disks are also on the floor.
 
djtruefitt said:
then one of the car wash brushes has been chucked on the floor at some point this season, and now some of the spinning disks are also on the floor.
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I noticed that the other week, it resembles a long haired afghan hound you’d see sashaying around at Crufts.

*IF*they listen to public feedback, especially from those die hard smiler fans on Twitter then I wouldn’t be surprised to see it receive some sprucing up in the closed season.
 
Closed season discussion starts early...
The concrete pit needs jetwashing and treating with cheap fungicide, a job that could be done by one man in a couple of weeks, at a cost of a few hundred quid...but Merlin.
If the station is full of mould, then it is a genuine H&S risk to both punters and staff, and must be treated under current legislation for safety in the workplace.
But Merlin.
 
To be fair they do jet wash the queue and area most years, but due to the natural rubbish design of the whole ride, it usually looks dirty a few days after the jet wash. They even had a professional company in last year.
 
This is the definition of airtime :p

hairtimeomg.png
 
Myself I’ve never been overly impressed by the air on either hills, maybe it’s because of the restraints, as the I do come up into the restraint but feel little to no air, I’m not too fussed over airtime though so maybe it’s just me.
 
I was just watching this promo video of Smiler from 2013:

And it made me wonder; do they light it up like this at Scarefest, out of interest? If they do, I bet it’s an amazing night ride!
 
That’s a shame, as I do think it might look nice if they did it like that. Still, I’m sure they still do a really nice job regardless!
 
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