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- Start date
- Favourite Ride
- Shamballa
- Favourite Ride
- Crux
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
- Favourite Ride
- The Smiler
- Favourite Ride
- The Giant Squid
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
The Smiler - General Discussion
Mattie boy
TS Member
It was definitely more water than ever has been, never seen it like that before
Rick
TS Member
I feel like we've reached peak something or other.
Steve74
TS Member
Even worse when you sneeze.
Allegedly.
Skyscraper
TS Member
Bit random but I do find it odd that the Tickler is the only marmalizer effect that doesn't actually do anything to the riders (because of clearance of course). The other effects do wet or disorientate the riders.
Danscott22
TS Member
Trust me The Flasher and The Hypnotiser do not either, you go too fast past them to even notice them. The Inoculator usually sprays rides and The Giggler just drips on you in the queue line
AT86
TS Member
The Smiler was running on 2 trains yesterday (certainly around lunch time anyway). They attempted to add a third train and cycled them all empty, only to announce there was something wrong with it and it needed to be removed again. So more waiting for it to be taken off and the remaining two trains to be cycled empty again.
It resulted in 40min queues most of the day versus walk on for pretty much everything else.
It resulted in 40min queues most of the day versus walk on for pretty much everything else.
Think it's on 3 at the moment. Hard to tell
Edit: ye it is on 3
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AT86
TS Member
Out of interest does the Smiler still attract queues to the extent that the section running up the hill outside the ride entrance are still required?
They create a bottle neck with the guest flow coming in/out of X-Sector and look a mess. I wish they would get rid and return the area to a pathway.
They create a bottle neck with the guest flow coming in/out of X-Sector and look a mess. I wish they would get rid and return the area to a pathway.
Poisson
TS Member
Whilst it is in situ they might as well keep it and use it like they do. Costs money and time to remove for no gain in the eyes of management. Right now, trying to do anything with The Smiler queue apart from ripping it all out and starting again is polishing a turd.
djtruefitt
TS Team
i guess if it wasn’t there, in the morning before they open the main queue would could end up with a queue stretching all the way down towards spinball, which would be messy and guests wouldn’t know what the queue even is for.
I think it might have been used during those busy school trip days though. They could do the wicker man style of having temp posts which they can remove. But they are usually either there all day or not at all on wicker, depending on how busy they know they’ll be. And it would probably be the same on the smiler as they wouldn’t have any staff to remove them after the ride has opened.
I think it might have been used during those busy school trip days though. They could do the wicker man style of having temp posts which they can remove. But they are usually either there all day or not at all on wicker, depending on how busy they know they’ll be. And it would probably be the same on the smiler as they wouldn’t have any staff to remove them after the ride has opened.
John
TS Member
TBH the queue moves so slowly these days that no-one is willing to wait that long. It'd be well over 2hrs from the steps down into the pit.
When social distancing was still a thing that people tried to follow the whole queue was used and it took about an hour.
When social distancing was still a thing that people tried to follow the whole queue was used and it took about an hour.
Matt N
TS Member
Have they ever started running 4 trains again?
On my last 2 visits, it’s been running 3 and averaging a decent 700pph or so. I'd say it's mostly been no higher in throughput than Rita on my 2 most recent visits; occasionally on par or slightly higher dependent on how Rita was being operated on a given day, but quite often lower.
For some idea, I'd say that it's been averaging a 16 rider train about every 80-90s this year from my experience (3 trains, baggage hold open on all rides). Averaging ~80s on a fast set of readings (~720pph) and ~90s on a slow set of readings (~640pph). Think a similar sort of interval to the interval that Wicker Man dispatches 24 rider trains at.
The baggage hold returning does seem to have helped matters somewhat. I noticed that when the flow of trains was constant with the baggage hold open, the dispatch interval was barely over a minute, and had that constant interval been maintained over the hour, the throughput would have been a bit over 900pph. The thing that kept the throughput at 700pph or below was the fact that the staff were often having to wait a good 30 seconds or so for a train to return to the station.
From my experience, the main queue has seemed fairly long for it on my two 2022 visits; I once saw a 110 minute queue, and I quite frequently saw it exceed an hour.
I do think that returning the 4th train would help matters even further. When I timed the throughput in 2021 (4 trains, baggage hold closed), it was averaging a train roughly every 75s (~768pph). And that was with the baggage hold closed; I reckon it would comfortably exceed 50 trains per hour (800pph) with an open baggage hold and 4 trains, possibly even edging towards 60 trains per hour (960pph) on a good day!
Did Smiler ever hit 1,000pph under the way Towers operates it? Gerstlauer claims it's capable of 1,200pph, but this is with 5 trains, and I'm guessing it could also account for a separate offload area, which Smiler does not currently operate, but looks as though it could well have been originally designed to operate.
On my last 2 visits, it’s been running 3 and averaging a decent 700pph or so. I'd say it's mostly been no higher in throughput than Rita on my 2 most recent visits; occasionally on par or slightly higher dependent on how Rita was being operated on a given day, but quite often lower.
For some idea, I'd say that it's been averaging a 16 rider train about every 80-90s this year from my experience (3 trains, baggage hold open on all rides). Averaging ~80s on a fast set of readings (~720pph) and ~90s on a slow set of readings (~640pph). Think a similar sort of interval to the interval that Wicker Man dispatches 24 rider trains at.
The baggage hold returning does seem to have helped matters somewhat. I noticed that when the flow of trains was constant with the baggage hold open, the dispatch interval was barely over a minute, and had that constant interval been maintained over the hour, the throughput would have been a bit over 900pph. The thing that kept the throughput at 700pph or below was the fact that the staff were often having to wait a good 30 seconds or so for a train to return to the station.
From my experience, the main queue has seemed fairly long for it on my two 2022 visits; I once saw a 110 minute queue, and I quite frequently saw it exceed an hour.
I do think that returning the 4th train would help matters even further. When I timed the throughput in 2021 (4 trains, baggage hold closed), it was averaging a train roughly every 75s (~768pph). And that was with the baggage hold closed; I reckon it would comfortably exceed 50 trains per hour (800pph) with an open baggage hold and 4 trains, possibly even edging towards 60 trains per hour (960pph) on a good day!
Did Smiler ever hit 1,000pph under the way Towers operates it? Gerstlauer claims it's capable of 1,200pph, but this is with 5 trains, and I'm guessing it could also account for a separate offload area, which Smiler does not currently operate, but looks as though it could well have been originally designed to operate.
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djtruefitt
TS Team
I’ve only seen it on 3 trains this season, and it really does slow the throughput down. Often the staff work quite quick and send the trains out quickly, but by doing that you then end up with a massive gap before the next train arrives.
It’s odd that it seems to have not had the 4th train all season.
It’s odd that it seems to have not had the 4th train all season.
Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
On Sunday they seem to have the timing right as most times both trains were on the lift hills at the same time. Also when our train got back to the station the train in front was ready to go.