The Smiler - General Discussion

[Dave]

Shawn Sanbrooke said in a recent vlog that some of the restraints on the Smiler trains have been replaced, with the old ones lying around the ride (see link below at the 10:53 mark).

Is it hypothetically possible to replace the restraints with lap bars instead, or would this simply involve far too much modification and thus an entirely new train would be needed?


From: https://youtu.be/lyMqTIpaF7Q?t=653

Would need new trains, lap bars require penetration points in the floor plate. The current trains don’t have that.

 

[MellowPasta]

I’d prefer they spent the money removing the entire queue line re routing it behind the station somehow to enable ample breathing space , fixing the drainage permanently and creating a functional queue.

While you can argue it’s part of the theme, theming should enhance the guest experience not make them feel like they’re in an ICE camp.

 

[Secret Weapon]

I rarely use the main queue as I mainly use the single-rider queue, but - from what I remember - some of the TV screens have dead pixels, and others display the "No Signal" message.

I cannot understand the latter, because surely it would look better to guests (and also be more cost-effective for the park) to simply switch these non-functioning TV sets off altogether?

I seem to remember one of the TV sets in the Swarm queue-line being off, although - ironically - a "No Signal" message may have actually worked in The Swarm, as it may have seemed intentional due to the apocalyptic theme of the ride!

 

[James]

I had assumed that lapbars were unavailable at the time that The Smiler was built, but you are right: it seems that Gerstlauer had already begun using them around 2011.

I'm not sure why Alton Towers therefore chose OTSRs instead? Maybe it was to keep the trains smaller, but this is purely a guess on my part.

(According to Park Vault, lap bars are not possible on Gerstlauer rides that use both a launch and a lift, as the components won't fit - but I don't think this applies to The Smiler; see: https://parkvault.net/tag/gerstlauer/#:~:text=Ride Entertainment represents and installs,the shoulder restraints are required.)

According to Coaster Dad, Paulton's Park have allegedly chosen OSTRs for their new 2026 Gerstlauer ride because the public see lap bars as unsafe for inverting rides, but I totally disagree with the park's logic because people said the same about inversions in general at one point (regardless of the restraint type), but it would quickly become clear that this is not the case (the Thunder Looper had also used lap bars).

Also: there were no major safety concerns surrounding AT when the ride opened, as the 2015 incident had not happened at the time, and thus there was no real reason to worry about public perception back then (incidentally: I wonder whether the injuries in the 2015 incident would have been less severe if lap bars had been used instead, as the T-bars may have absorbed much of the impact?).

I believe The Smiler could have had lap bars, but Merlin/Towers chose to go with OTSRs. It was likely that Towers simply didn't believe it would be perceived as 'safe' by the public if they used lap bars. There's never been anything official stated regarding the type of restraints on The Smiler, so I would take this as pure conjecture based on a mixture of rumours and discussions during the development and years following The Smiler opening.

I think, given the 2015 crash, they will never replace them with lap bars. It would cost money, it would need to be justified (some form of rebrand/new marketing), and likely it would be a PR team's headache (and a media field day to drag back up the 2015 crash). I think The Smiler will remain as it is, and continue to exist until it needs removing.