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The Smiler - Ride Reviews [Spoilers]

Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

i have now ridden the ride 4 times over 2 different days.

1st ride, Friday, third car of the day, row 3. It was amusingly smooth, so smooth that i went over to Nemesis after it to compare. Nemesis felt rougher.

2nd ride, 5.30 Friday 2nd row. Not as smooth as 1st thing, I was a bit disappointing but assumed it was a dodgy car.

3rd ride, today (Sunday) at 11am 3rd row. This was really rough. I came off it with a bad neck from the jolt as you come out of the cobra roll. There was a painful juddering vibration throughout the whole ride. it also sounded like a totally different ride. It roared today. Some cars roaring louder than others. That roar sounded like a broken bearing to me. Not good.

4th ride , 4:30 today(Sunday) Front row, car number 5.1. significantly smoother than this morning, on par with yesterday afternoon.


Conclusion: the ride is extremely subjective. "I'm not sure if it is on a some cars are smoother than others" basis or due to the weight of the passengers but my rides have 3 distinctive levels of smoothness. Can we as a group work out which are the rough cars and which are the smooth ones. The car number is on the front of them on the black strip..

I will start out by saying car 5.1 for me was reasonably smooth.
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

On the note of the different cars, quality of ride and noise I did notice after dinner the sound coming from the ride did seem to get worse like a screeching noise when earlier it seemed to roar all around the track ?
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

Of my three rides on Friday, only the first (front row inside seat, second public train of the day) was smooth. My second two were both outside seats on row three. These definately had a rattle to them, with the exit of the cobra roll being the only real head bang.

After my last ride, I did have a hint of neck ache.

So in other words, while nowhere near as bad as Saw, The Smiler DOES have Gerstache. How this ride ages is going to be very interesting to watch.
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

I think the vibrations aren't really helped by the fact that the ride changes so much throughout the day. On Friday I did it once on the front row early on and it was a very pleasant ride in terms of comfort. A bit of vibrating, but nothing horrendous. My second ride was at the end of the day on the third row, and the ride was very noticeably quicker, and the vibrations were more so than earlier in the day at the front of the train. But still nothing dreadful. I did have a bit of a headache, but this was more down to me really catching the sun earlier in the day and only having one drink from waking up at 7am to riding again at 5:30pm.

I personally think that the vibrations are caused by two main things:

1) The trains are longer than any other Eurofighters, but the track is just as snappy and brisk as the rest. Obviously the longer the train gets the more susceptible it becomes to drastic changes on different rows at a given point (I.E. Front row takes this turn at 40mph, while the rear takes it at say 45mph). As well as the two extra rows though the trains are generally a more upscaled version of their standard counterparts. All this makes them much larger than existing ones, and I think as a consequence the back rows struggle to pass through the faster transitions on the track without any more noticeable vibrating.

2) Take a look at the wheel assemblies as the trains travel up the first lift hill next time you're there. You'll notice that when the train has minimal forces other than gravity acting it aside from gravity the upstops don't even make contact with the rails. Compare this to any of the B&Ms at Alton and you'll see with them that in the same situation (Nemmy or Air on their lift for example) every single wheel is camped tightly to the track, and they are all moving as one. Now no doubt The Smiler has this extra space to allow it to make the really tight track transitions (Vekoma used to do the same trick), but this space obviously gives the train space to "shuffle" on the rails, which could cause some of the vibrations and reported joltyness. It would be interesting to see if the assemblies could have these gaps closed or at least reduced without harming the ride and see if it has any affect.



With regards to it ageing it's an interesting point. Personally I don't think it will do too bad. Bar the exit of the cobra there haven't been any real reports of jolts and bumps in the track like SAW has. Because of this I don't think we will ever see any major alterations in the way it rides. The vibrating may become more noticable over time, but aside from that I think we're going to be alright :)
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

I found it to be perfectly fine, the only coasters that run perfectly smooth are B&M. On Saws opening day people came of with splitting headaches and it has remain so ever since, the fact that this doesn't give me a headache and its 3 times the length i think proves its ok.

Age might turn things but we will have to wait and see.
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

The ride is amazing, really enjoy the whole experience
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

I personally find the whole ride absolutely flawless. I don't find it rough at all. Okay it may throw you around a lot, but I'd rather have that than a boring lackluster modern day B&M (Even though a B&M would never fit in that space).

It's a very much needed thrill monster with a **** tonne of inversions, which we haven't had since 1994! It's just brilliant, I love it!


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Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

We are probably over analysing a bit too much it's a quality ride and the whole experience is superb, just one thing you know the whole marmalisation process getting corrected and all that, we'll is part of the process not being able to get the smiler music out of your head :twirly:
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

I am not sure where to start with my review, but I think getting the bad stuff out the way first might be the best bet.

Shoulder Pain - I don't know about anyone else, but I have got marked, and hurting shoulders from the ride. I know there is a couple of parts which are a bit jolty, but the top of shoulders are still painful from riding it yesterday. I almost feel there should be some of that soft padding underneath the top of the restraint, similar to what is on the sides.

Off-Ride Experience - And by this, I mean watching it go round. I was expecting it to be more exciting watching other riders going round, and it was not. It was interesting watching to see if the ride vehicles would duel or not, but I don't think I will be that bothered next time. A ride, that I enjoy watching, and that I have been on numerous times is Blue Fire, the reason I enjoy watching this coaster, is that you can see other rides raising and lowering their arms as they approach the head choppers. With The Smiler, it is difficult enough to raise your arms fully, and even then, the head choppers don't feel that close.

The Restraints - After watching the ride testing, and seeing how slowly it goes through some of the inversions, I just feel like there could be 3 or 4 inversions, where you get the same feeling on Blue Fire's last inversion if we had been given lap bars. I also think this would of given me the scared factor as well. With a new coaster, there is always that scare factor in there a little bit, but by the 2nd time of riding the Smiler that was gone, as there was no part that I felt worried about. Compare this to Blue Fire, which I have done on numerous occasions, when I am approaching that last inversion, I still get a little scared, and this is all down to the restraints. I know Merlin/Towers will say that is because other park guests don't feel safe, but these are the same park guests who don't feel safe if there is not a seat belt to keep the harness down, and we already know the Smiler does not have these. Having Lap Bars, would resolve the first issue, and certainly get a few more people with their hands up for the 2nd issue

So not to much to complain about, I think the real test for the rides comfortableness will be in 12-18 months. I don't want to speculate about the future to much, but I would hate for it to become one of those coasters that no one re-rides because of how rough it is, because this is a great ride.

I feel better now my big issues are out the way, and I will continue my review with my niggles and praises.

Outside Queue Line

I was intially very worried when I saw the photos of the Queue line, with the roof on top. Luckily, it is not to bad, as you do not feel trapped in, and you move in to un-roofed sections fairly quickly. It does appear to be random where the roof sections are, as some parts of the queue line with inversions above do not have a cage roof, and parts with no inversion above, do have a cage roof. Very strange. My only niggle with these cage roofs, is why not paint them before you install them, there are parts where the paint has dripped down, and causes it to look rushed and poorly finished.

Been down in the pit, it is very noisey, and sounds great when the trains are going around (Apart from the squeaking, which will hopefully fade as it wears in) although it can make having a conversation challenging.

The Marmiliser, I am split on, parts of it look fantastic. I love the TV Screen, the cabling all looks great, the sheer size of it is very impressive. The things that let it down for me, are the barrels attached to the side of it for the Laughing Gas, and Injectors. I know they are chemical containers, but they look like large bins. I just think a glass canister with Pink or Yellow liquid bubbling inside would of been better, but I guess with the budget, and it being another thing that could break they want with a cheaper option. While the screen is good, parts of it have stopped working, now hopefully its just a loose cable or something simple to fix, but it does ruin the effect a little, as you don't expect things to be broken.

Those issues, it is still a massive piece of themeing, unique to the park, and something to keep people busy with talking about when in the queue.

Inside Queue Line and Station

I was not sure what I was expecting when I entered the building, a pre-show was something I thought it might be, but I was not expecting the projection mapping. While not the most exciting projection mapping, it was very clever, with the walls not been flat, and the projections fitting very well in to the ride theme and having a optical illusion feel to it.

The ride baggage area is located just before the stairs to the station, but why they will not take coats or jumpers is beyond me. If your taking someones bag, I don't understand why they can not take a coat or jumper at the same time.

The paint on the stair to the station, has already been scratched a lot, and this stair case lacks any themeing that the rest of the queue line has. Hopefully some Smiley faces will appear on the wall when they re-paint it.

The station itself is very bland, with yellow barriers and surgical lights above the ride vehicle for dispatch. The Ops cabin is located above, with a nice glass window so he can look down on those riding. The lack of a front row queue is disappointing, and will cause issues in the future.

With the length of the brake run, I do not understand why the do not have a separate load and unload area. It is one of my pet hates, about rollercoasters, as the last thing I want to see is the people who have just ridden it getting off, at least it is not a Zufaria situation.

The Ride

I loved it, and really enjoyed it, but I am worried this is a result of it being a new ride, rather than it being a brilliant ride. I just can't help but think if I live in Europe, came over to ride The Smiler, that when I got home, I would have the same sense of urgency to want to re-ride it, the same why I get with Big Thunder Mountain, or Blue Fire.

I was lucky, and managed to ride it three times on Saturday, Front row right, 2nd row right, and Back row left. From these experiences, back row, and front row are the best places to be, with back row just edging it for me. I have a feeling this could change when I ride it next time.

The ride vehicles are nothing special, they are not bad, but there is nothing that makes you think that is a nice little touch.

The first half of the ride is certainly the smoothest, and as others have said, the air time hill is little. I think this sets up the 2nd half of the ride perfectly, which is rougher, with a few jolts here and there.

The top of both lift hills offer fantastic views on the front row, and while you can see the head choppers, the restraints restrict how high I can raise my arms, and I did not feel like I was going to touch them, un-like on RMT or Blue Fire, where you do worry you could touch the head choppers.

The Staffordshire knot, on the back row had some very floaty moments for me, and I think that feeling was my highlight of the ride. I will certainly be trying to get back row next time I ride, just to make sure that it was not a one off.

Unlike any other coaster I have ridden, I do not remember any point (apart from the lift hills) where you have chance to relax and catch your breath. As soon as you hit one inversion, you are on to the next. This really makes the ride special, as comparing it to Nemesis or Blue Fire, there are bits where you are just waiting for the next element. (That being said, this is not always a bad thing, as in the case of Blue Fire, when approaching that last inversion, the bit before, is when I get most Scared/Worried as I know what is coming next, and if you was leaving one inversion, and going straight in to that one, I am not sure it would have the same effect) It is also surprising how little nauseated I felt, as in I did not feel sick at all, and I would not of guessed I had just been inverted 14 times.

Ride Exit and Shop

Exiting the ride is done via brightly painted rainbow stair case, followed by bag collection, and than more optical illusions. While this is nothing special, it is a nice touch, and set up the shop perfectly.

The shop is certainly a high point, with the TV Channel selling the products, the magic mirrors with the shop stock being displayed on guests, it is a great way to upsell, without being to in your face.

The shop is also spacious, and there is a lot of merchandise to purchase.

Conlusions

So overall, a great addition to the park, that fits an awful lot in to a little area. Some parts of it look great, and others look really ugly (Supports above the toilets). It is a little rough towards the end, but it is a non stop action packed coaster that will have you screaming/smiling all the way round.

I would also like to thank John, Candy, and the rest of the team who worked on this. With what you have been given, you have done a fantastic job, and my issues should be taken as constructive criticism of what is a fantastic ride.

8.6/10 but to be reviewed in 18 months
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

They need to make the indoor section darker as in white light. The light ruins it. Maybe smoke machine down their and then more bright coloured lights or strobes.

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Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

I'll write a more in depth review tomorrow but here are a few points after going on it 3 times yesterday:

- My reaction entering the final brakes after the first ride "WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!".
- Second ride for me was very jolty, and did leave me with some back and neck pain and made the ride a lot less enjoyable, but my final ride on the front row was brilliant again.
- Very impressed with the lack of downtime.
- Love the exit and the shop.
- If you look for the head choppers, they are great!
- You can see that Towers put in a lot of thought, and you can see where the money was spent unlike Thirteen.
- It does leave you feeling totally marmalised, you don't have a clue where on the track you are at times or what the inversions are etc.

Overall I was very very impressed, Towers have done what I thought they would and pulled this off. It may have been late, but it was well worth the wait.

:)
 
Re: Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

BigDave said:
They need to make the indoor section darker as in white light. The light ruins it. Maybe smoke machine down their and then more bright coloured lights or strobes.

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Click to expand...

It was a lot darker in there on Friday with the strobes working perfectly and plenty of smoke down there. So hopefully it was just a little fault:)


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Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

Yeah they had some plain white lights on in there today and there was hardly any smoke at all.
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

Hmm it sounds like some of the indoor effects may be broken then, or just not working properly/not switched on. Yesterday they were working perfectly first thing but the house lights were on later in the day and there was no smoke. This led to views of the ugly interior.

:)
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

On Friday there was very little mist at the start of the day, and I personally thought it was too well lit on the first drop. Later in the day there was a lot more mist which helped, but I do think some form of shutters over the bottom of lift one would be more effective. It'd make that inversion totally unexpected, and I think the orange light bars would have more effect too :)
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

On my second ride on Friday, the smoke levels in the barrel roll area were on a par with Europa Park's beach party 2011. Couldn't see the back of the seat in front of me! Combined with the strobe, this was actually very disorientating (in a good way). In fact, I could have sworn we had completed the barrel roll and were the right way up, only to be shocked when we rolled another 90' further!

Sadly my other rides were not as smokey. :(
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

On my second ride on Friday, the whole bottom of the first drop was smothered in smoke with more being pumped in constantly! Together with the strobes, it made for a very effective and disorientating opening!

Personally, I loved the ride. It's tied with Nemesis for me, I don't like ranking rides, because different coasters suit different purposes, but this has definitely become a must ride for me.

The wait

Waiting to ride was torture, I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink so waiting from 8.30am until gone 11am was a test in itself! We were told that it "definitely" wouldn't be signed off and opening that morning and they were hoping to get it started around 2pm. I considered, briefly, giving up on it opening that day. Lying gits! :p

There were some sarcastic cheers from some people when the trains started being moved into the station, followed by massive cheers from most of the queue when the first lift started and the first train was send round.
Even more elation followed when the competition winners were spotted being escorted around the queue and onto the ride, our first glimpse of the ride with a full train. It looked simply smashing!

Waiting was made worse by having to watch the executives/managers have some ERT, some got multiple re-rides. Jammy sods.
Then more waiting while hosts and security were stationed around the queue.

Then, it happened, we saw guy in charge having hushed conversations with staff and security. We were told it was opening. :eek: We were told not to rush, but to walk calmly and slowly and follow the smile assistant in charge!

The queue

The queue, for me, is great. I love the marmaliser, so to be stood at the base of that massive construct was a great feeling itself.
The queue winds back and forth, it looks a bit grubby in places where the paint doesn't quite match or they missed a bit, the plastic chevrons screwed to the floor look dirty already and don't really add anything in my opinion.
However, for me, all that is overshadowed by the sheer proximity to the track, seeing a train whizz feet from your head making that fantastic roar is amazing! I spent so long just staring at track and train that I didn't really notice the queue. I like the LED boards, although as Diogo has said, they get hard to see when they have too much direct sunlight! The TV on the wall before the indoor queue is another quirk I enjoyed, mainly through wondering how someone thought up "thumb convulsions" and the like as symptoms!
The indoor queue is a bit disappointing, only two of the four projections really 'work' for me: the cubes in the corner and the bumpy rectangular wall to the left. The other two didn't seem to do much, or look very effective. You not in there for long, but long enough to notice and get distracted. Also, by the end of the day, one of the projectors crashed and another somehow managed to get mis-aligned with its wall.

Bag faff followed.

Then up the stairs to the station, it looks OK. Nothing special but at least it has one.

The ride

Me and Josh (Bear) were already near the front of the queue with DanB, Kieron, Diogo and Dan! and on course for the second public train but fortune struck! They needed a two to fill the first train! :D Me and Josh were on like a shot! First public train of The Smiler, left middle seat of the back row.
The seats are probably the most comfortable coaster seats I've experienced, fighting it out with Blue Fire, and the restraints are amazing! Not too tight, not too close, nice and snug but not restrictive! :)

Dispatch. The lights, voice over and the smoke really upped the tension! I won't forget the look of hope and anticipation on the watching managers faces. They looked confident but cagey, not letting themselves believe their own hype until actually riders had been round.

They were right to look confident.

The drop out of the station took me by surprise in the back. I didn't expect it to be so tall or so fast! I'll admit I felt let down by the indoor drop and roll on my first ride because it was so bare. The strobe was working but there was no smoke. On my second and third ride, the smoke was working and had filled the space, making the drop SO much more effective. Like Diogo said, it felt like I had already rolled before we even got to the roll. The slow roll along the brakes towards the lift is brilliant, in my opinion, row after row of orange LEDs light up towards the car with the laughing soundtrack almost deafening, it most certainly disorientates riders!

The lift hills are nice and fast. The first half of the ride left me dizzy and confused. I loved it! As I've said before, I'd have been happy if Towers had built just one half of the ride. The cuban eight is a fantastic element taken at a good speed. The airtime hill is good, kinda floaty. The batwing is good, despite the odd look of the bottom of it! :p The top of the second half of the batwing provides some nice hangtime. The corkscrew is nice.

Roll up to the vertical lift, again very loud and disorientating music, but this time coupled with screens that don't really show much.
Up the vertical lift, waving at the others that got on the second train. We almost crossed over the toilets. This inverted drop, felt more free than the first. More B&M glide than Intamin snappy transition of the first one. The sea serpent is by far by favourite inverting element on this ride, it just seems to flow really well. The second airtime hill is amazing, ejector and fun before you barrel into the cobra roll.

So far, so smooth.

The first half of the cobra roll is fine, it's where we crossed the other train (this is one of the reasons I'm glad it doesn't duel off the lifts because that limits where the trains will cross, but if one is slightly delayed they can cross on the knot, giving one of the best near misses anywhere).
The second half is bad. The one rough spot on the coaster is the exit to the cobra roll, and it is Rough. The rest of the ride is intense with quick direction changes but this is a genuine, painful jolt.

It doesn't ruin the last two rolls though which are as smooth as the rest of the ride. The last turn provides a nice opportunity to wave at those in queue and waiting to climb the vertical lift.

The exit

The exit is also a great experience. The stairs down to baggage collection are a little underwhelming but the next section makes up for it. The baggage collection area is painted with very effective vanishing point illusion that makes the exit unclear. The exit corridor is very nice, with projections and seemingly calmer music, to indicate your transformation I imagine. The shop is great, with the interactive screens and the shopping channel TVs, which I thought were great just for how silly but creepy they were. I think that's what I like the most about the theme of The Smiler; it's creepy and sinister but it doesn't get too creepy and sinister to become scary. It's like when you walk through the woods at night with some friends, it's creepy and scary but it's fun at the same time.

It was nice to be able to tell the waiting managers that it was amazing. Their faces looked so happy and relieved.

Over my three rides on Friday, I did back middle seat, row two outside seat and front outside seat. I'd say the front is the best just for the view. Row two was good as well. The back row was a little choppier in places.

So, finally, I loved it. It looks amazing, sounds amazing, and rides amazingly. It's that great ride that Towers have needed for some time. I do worry how it will age though.

Sorry, that kinda got away from me! :p I've forgot loads that I'll probably come back and add to the thread later!

TL;DR: It's amazing, it's smooth apart from one jolt, the seats are comfy. Get there and ride it.
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

Review time!

I rode it 3 times on Saturday. Second row outside right, second row outside left and front row inside left. Overall I was very impressed! Like others I will review The Smiler in different sections.

The Smiler in X-Sector:

I think Towers have done a really good job of fitting The Smiler into X-Sector. All you need to do is look at some of the other massive theme clashes in the park to see how well they have done. I don't think The Smiler takes away from Oblivion at all, the vertical drop of Oblivion looks as menacing as ever. However The Smiler gives X-Sector a new buzz, the area feels exciting again. The Smiler's themed music is blasted out around the entrance to the area and around the ride/queue, but you can't hear it at all from the Oblivion queue which is good. Overall it works well.

The outdoor queue:

I was slightly worried about the queue. At the end of the day it is a cattle pen and you have no idea where it is actually going (so it's actually quite similar to the track layout actually!!). However it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. You pass through the entrance and walk down the steps into the ride area. I love that you do walk down into the ride area, it adds an extra dimension as it were to things and allows you to appreciate the true scale of everything. One minute you are at eye level with the track and the Marmaliser screen, the next minute those things are way above your head.

The Marmaliser does look massive from the queue and it is very impressive. You don't realise how big it actually is until you do stand under it. Imposing is probably the best way to describe it. As I said the queue is cattle pen, however there is just so much going on around you. There is always constantly something to look at; whether it be a train whizzing around the track or on of the various screen in the queue. The meshing isn't as bad as I was expecting and you can see why it is needed; you would probably be able to touch some of the track without it. It is certainly one of the most enjoyable queue lines I have experienced, purely because of having so much track above your head.

The TV screen just before you enter the Correction Block is highly amusing, mainly because of the "possible side effects of The Smiler". There's some very random things listed, it's little details like this that I really like.

Finally, we all know how the ride area/pit is pretty much a concrete jungle. However I found that you don't really notice this when in the queue because there is just so much other stuff around you. With all the track, fencing, landscaping and the Marmaliser, the concrete is well hidden and what is there works. I'm so glad that they grassed over some of the areas towards the top of the site, is really helps with the aesthetics.

The indoor queue and the station:

I really like the indoor queue. The projection mapping works really well and it creates some cool illusions. There is some nice audio in here as well. It is obviously the first time that Towers or Merlin have done projection mapping, and I think they've done a good job with it. It fits in with the theme and is interesting to watch.

You then reach the merge point and baggage. This area is nicely decorated, and I like the hanging paint rollers on the ceiling that imply they haven't finished painting it all, a nice little nod to us geeks there it seems! You then walk up the stairs to the station. The stairs aren't all that decorated, but there are some nice lights on the underside of the hand rail.

The station itself is ok, pretty much what I was expecting to be honest. I would say overall it is the best and most cohesive station to be found on park. Nice and simple with a few nice bits of theming. The best thing about the station is the dispatch sequence, which I will come onto in the next section.

The ride:

You climb into your train, take your seat and pull down your restraint. There's nothing quite like doing this on a new coaster for the first time, you get a real buzz of excitement and anticipation. Now the dispatch sequence, it's nothing overly special but I love it! The surgical lights in the station light up with very bright white lights. These really make the whole station seem a lot brighter. Smoke then pours down from the top of the entrance to the indoor section. Audio tells your to "join us". You pick up a surprising amount of speed from the first drop, and the first inversion is taken very smoothly. When the effects (smoke and strobes) are working this is very disorientating, however the effects only worked on one of my three rides, with the house lights being on for the other two. You then enter the pre-lift straight where a series of yellow LED(?) lights come on, one strip after another. Here the audio is very loud with lots of "HA HA HA HA" sounds, very good!

Now for the main ride, I wish I could give a detailed review of it but I can't! John Wardley said that even though he designed the layout, he couldn't work out where he was on the track. In another interview he says that you don't know what is up, down, left or right. He is spot on, unless you focus on the layout you can become lost in it.

From what I can recall, the first half is very smooth. You get a lovely view from the top of the lift and pick up a lot of speed from the pre-drop. The inverted drop is very unique and fun, then you enter two massive inversions. I was really looking forward to the batwing as I've always loved how they look, but I can't actually recall it, damn marmalisation!

You stop just before the vertical lift. Here audio tells you that you are "half way corrected" and various things are shown on the TV screens. There was probably also some music, I can't actually remember. The second half of the ride is then even more crazy than the first. You can tell that it is somewhat faster. The airtime hill in the section is brilliant, and I'm sure it would have been even better with lapbars. There is one big jolt on the exit of the cobra roll but it's not overly bad. The final two inversions are taken at a considerable speed and ensure that the ending of the ride is just as good as the rest. In true John Wardley fashion, this does not peter out towards the end.

You then re-enter the station and see writing on the inside wall saying "You Belong to The Smiler". There is a really cool effect on this writing that makes it look like your eyes can't read it properly, it is all fuzzy.

I think the best way to describe the ride overall is as follows: Drop, inversion, lift, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, time to have a break, vertical lift, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, WOW WOW WOW!

On my final ride, I was on the front row. I decided that I would try and look out for head choppers. If you look out for them then you see them, and you do react to them. I noticed a close encounter with The Flasher, then one the second airtime hill I got hit with mist from The Innoculator and really had to react to the head choppers here as they came very close to the train.

Despite the ride having 14 inversions, I did not come off feeling sick or dizzy. I think the break in the middle really helps with this. Overall the coaster itself is brilliant. I do worry how it might age but for now it is a must ride.

The exit and the shop:

The exit was probably the biggest surprise for me. Once again I was very impressed! There are a few illusions on the wall that make the path seem like it is narrowing or going in a different direction to where it actually is. There are also some projections towards the end of the path. It's quite a long exit path but it is themed well and fun to walk along. There is also a more upbeat happy version of the music playing here and in the shop which helps you feel like you have been corrected.

Now the shop, this I love. It is nice to have a proper shop with space rather than a small cramped shipping container. The décor in the shop is perfect and it does indeed only sell Smiler merchandise (bar 3 small exceptions). There is a glass floor however you can't really see through it which is disappointing. The Smiler Shop TV is highly amusing and a really nice unexpected touch, as are the interactive mirror TV screens.



Overall Towers have pulled this one off big time. As I previously said, you can see where all of the money was spent, something that you could not say about Thirteen. You can also tell that a lot of thought has been put into all aspects of the ride, from the track layout through to some of the minor theming details.

In my opinion, from entrance to exit it is the best and most cohesively themed coaster in the UK. It is an experience as well as a ride. But for those that only want a thrilling coaster it does the job in that aspect as well. A coaster doesn't always please both enthusiasts and the general public (Rita is probably the best example of this; public love it, we're not so keen) however The Smiler does.

After the last few years Alton Towers had to get The Smiler right. I had been saying that for a while, if it wasn't successful then it could have huge negative impacts on the future of the park. Because of this I had a strong belief that they would get it right, and they did get it right. If this doesn't pull in the guests and get them to return I'm not sure what will.

:)
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

Short thoughts after my first ride today...

Wow. It's totally what Towers needed and is a damn thrilling ride. It's let down a bit by the jolty second half which does hurt your shoulders... However, some parts are truly insane. The second airtime hill is mental and the final inversion is sublime!

Love the way the whole thing has been put together, indoor queue and exit are fantastic. It's not a nemesis beater though... I rode the Queen later on in the day and I swear she was packing even more of a punch than usual.

If it doesn't get too much rougher it's gonna have a place in a coaster history for sure though...
 
Re: [The Smiler] Ride Reviews (Spoilers!)

Scott said:
I rode the Queen later on in the day and I swear she was packing even more of a punch than usual.
Click to expand...

I thought that when I rode her last week!

If I didn't know better I'd swear she had a point to prove ;)
 
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