[The Smiler] Spoiler Discussion

[Amy]

I look forward to it

The Sanctuary closed the day before I last visited. I was gutted! So excited for The Smiler. I look forward to seeing you there :twirly:

 

[davewazere]

Oh wow that audio is so creepy, I LOVE it!

You are going to adore The Sanctuary Ms D. It is a shame it shall not be open when you visit for The Smiler, but hopefully Dr K shall be there, I will introduce you if so

Gerry Cannell was on the park last Sunday but not as dr kelman, he was a ride host for ice age believe it or not.

We spoke to him about the smiler and when the adverts were going to start. It was a bit weird seeing him out of character.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scott]

It would make sense. Entertainments run Ice Age and he'll still be presumably on some form of contract in Ents.

 

[TheMan]

Oh wow that audio is so creepy, I LOVE it!

You are going to adore The Sanctuary Ms D. It is a shame it shall not be open when you visit for The Smiler, but hopefully Dr K shall be there, I will introduce you if so

Gerry Cannell was on the park last Sunday but not as dr kelman, he was a ride host for ice age believe it or not.

We spoke to him about the smiler and when the adverts were going to start. It was a bit weird seeing him out of character.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WTF?

That would suggest to me that he will be there for the Smiler until The Sanctuary opens again then?! He is fast becoming, for me at least, a bedrock of Towers culture.

A true legend in character, and an absolute gent out of it.

 

[Amy]

Oh wow that audio is so creepy, I LOVE it!

You are going to adore The Sanctuary Ms D. It is a shame it shall not be open when you visit for The Smiler, but hopefully Dr K shall be there, I will introduce you if so

Gerry Cannell was on the park last Sunday but not as dr kelman, he was a ride host for ice age believe it or not.





We spoke to him about the smiler and when the adverts were going to start. It was a bit weird seeing him out of character.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WTF?

That would suggest to me that he will be there for the Smiler until The Sanctuary opens again then?! He is fast becoming, for me at least, a bedrock of Towers culture.

A true legend in character, and an absolute gent out of it.

Are you excited that he might be there for The Smiler opening? I am and I've never met him! x

 

[Scott]

As far as I'm aware, he won't have anything to do with the ride personally... I don't think he even knew he was on the Marmaliser until an enthusiast told him. Like I said above, he's employed by Entertainments and Ents run Ice Age.

 

[TheMan]

Are you excited that he might be there for The Smiler opening? I am and I've never met him! x

I am an unashamed Sanctuary fan boy - to ridiculous levels. I mean, I would go round it over and over again. Gerry being the man character really makes the start and sets the tone, his voice overs through the maze (as you heard a bit there) are awesome, and out of character he is a real gentleman. That is quite rare really.

He really won me over, when I'd been round that many times, he altered his speech and directed it at me ha-ha. It is those little touches, whilst remaining in character, that has him standing out as a legend.

To say I will be excited if Gerry is doing the introductions is probably an understatement.

I have no idea what it is, I cannot pinpoint exactly what, there is just something about his persona that takes me further into the scene he creates, bizarrely, no matter how many times I heard his introduction.

He just sets a tone for an attraction, almost like part of the theming, and I believe he is due high praise indeed. I hope some of the marvelous actors from The Sanctuary are wandering around too, that will REALLY make it special let me tell you.

As far as I'm aware, he won't have anything to do with the ride personally... I don't think he even knew he was on the Marmaliser until an enthusiast told him. Like I said above, he's employed by Entertainments and Ents run Ice Age.

They will be utter fools if they don't get Gerry involved in the opening. Absolute idiocy.

To have that at your behest, and not use it to create more atmosphere? Towers if you read this, and you AREN'T going to use Gerry, don't be stupid!! That is most definitely the biggest no brainer of this rides opening!

They would not be that stupid surely?

 

[Scott]

Whether he's there at opening or not who knows... But I severely doubt he will be involved in anything in terms of the normal running of the ride. Equally, if the ride's story is set (as expected) as a follow on from the Sanctuary, it could be that Kelman has been seen to have moved on since then and now no longer has anything to personally do with the MOJ.

Literally anything could happen!

 

[TheMan]

Whether he's there at opening or not who knows... But I severely doubt he will be involved in anything in terms of the normal running of the ride.

Oh no I expect like the wraiths, that he will be around ad-hoc on major days, and hopefully up until scarefest when he returns to his rightful position!!

Poor bloke, they keep closing his facility down!

 

[HaydenCR]

That video is simply a few bits of audio that we've already heard - badly edited together and reuploaded to get attention. It is not the soundtrack.

The voice sounds more like the Haunted Mansion ghost host than the Lord of Darkness, but it's good anyway!

I know bad audio quality when I see hear it. Don't worry I'm sure the actual audio will be recorded in an actual studion. Yes that audio is ripped from the sanctuary, yes that audio is poorly recorded and yes it is clearly distorting on someones portable microphone iphone.

Sadly this isn't just a fan video. This is a fan video that is making money for its creators. This is a fan video that misleads its viewers. This is a fan video that gives no credit to it's original sources. That's a shame, a real shame.

 

[evilcod]

I hope they don't have Kelman as a walkabout character, it wouldnt really work since the recording of Dr Kelman on the Marmaliser video is apparently from 1982.... how would he be walking round The Smiler looking the same 31 years later?

 

[Maya]

Yesterday towerstimes posted some photos on their facebook, including a queue time/ instruction board, saying everything normal like "you must be 1.4m" etc, and then there was one that said "No eating or drinking in the correction block" which scream pre show to me! But actually, correction block seems more than that- a maze or short 4D clip?

 

[JoshC.]

Correction Block is probably just the name of the station as a whole. It's the same with Saw where, in theory, you're not meant to eat or drink in the station building.

Shame they didn't call the station 'The Corrector' though..

 

[BigAl]

The other night we had a discussion in the Shoutbox about the 'Buy the Smiler' sign (doesn't sound particularly enthralling, but whatever ) and the way it looks like they spent about 2 minutes designing it. Well I'm going to bring the signs back up again (along with other points about theme) because yesterday I stumbled across the company responsible for making some of the signs for Longleat Safari Park. There's some images both here and here.

It goes to show what a well-made, eye-catching sign does for an attraction and people underestimate the effect that real small details have on things. At a theme park I want theming. Smiler's got a few nice pieces but t be honest, it's nowhere near as effective as it could or even should be. Simply saying it doesn't matter because what's there does the job or it has 14 lo0pz!!11 as an excuse doesn't cut it with me (Colossus has 10 inversions, but if it wasn't for the rest of the experience, would anyone rate it even slightly?).



All I ever seem to read now is people making up reasons why the entrance is amazing, even though it's just a yellow box with some fake cameras stuck to the sides (I get the point about satire, but could they have been any less subtle? it's a theme park so exaggeration is commonplace, but surely they could have doe something a little more effective?); why there's apparently no point in theming a ride because you can just make it big and nothing else matters; why the Smiler's station is amazing, yet Turbine's is a hideous, bulky warehouse; why the appearance of the shop doesn't matter as they're sort of hidden and as long as they get your money, why would they need to continue your experience form beginning to end? Heck, I've even read excuses about it pretending to break down on purpose now!



Strong theming elements can really bring an attraction to life and exaggerate certain features, making them more effective. It's why I prefer Oblivion to Sheikra.

Sheikra is bigger. It has another huge drop, a colossal immelman and a magnificent splashdown, yet Oblivion packs a greater punch, for me, because of the way you dive into a misty pit in the ground with electric fences surrounding it, and sleek jet black pipes rising from the ground and walls of the drop zone and other structures. If it wasn't for the design of the drop zone with the misters and the underground tunnel, convince me that it would be just as good plonked above ground like the clones in Asia.

But that's not all that Oblivion does. Before you even get close to lowering a restraint and fastening a buckle (or two), you weave around a queue with videos serving as warnings, one or two other mysterious pieces of machinery that don't get explained to you to amplify the mystery surrounding the ride and X-Sector as a whole. You gradually climb around to the top of the station before entering yet more themed buildings and cross a caged bridge which plays on people's fears as they're now trapped with only one way of leaving X-Sector, riding Oblivion by going forward into the station.

And the whole time you've been climbing the hill, more and more of Oblivion is revealed, as well as the riders who've just been subjected to it and survived. Of course, you knew they'd survive, and so did they, but that's not the point. The point was the experience that had been crafted to make it sound like something bad could happen. The whole point of it is to turn a roller coaster into something else. The same counts for Hex, Air, Nemesis, Duel, the Runaway Mine Train. We all know they're rides, but they're created to do more than just slam you into your seat, flip or invert you.

We've all come into contact with rides that tick both the boxes for themed and big/fun/forceful, etc... so how come it doesn't matter now? Would Nemesis be even half as good if it wasn't for the outstanding landscaping, design of the queue, fences, station exterior and the other pieces of theming positioned around the ride?



I don't just complain by the way. The track of the Smiler itself is designed in such a way that it doesn't just look like your typical coaster, the soundtrack is mostly spot-on (along the lines of what I'd expected) and the marmaliser is a good effort too. The idea behind it all is fantastic and I don't doubt that it will all be a good addition to the park, but I can't help but wonder why for such a large investment... why didn't they maintain the same quality for every aspect of a ride? There's some pretty amazing elements such as the way the ride will duel, the knot, interaction with the marmaliser and the two turns which will all be wonderful to see once everything is done, but there could be so much more. I get the feeling they tried to get away with doing as little as possible with it, rather than attempting to get each and everything done to the same standard set by the ride and the single piece of external theming.



Another point I'll make about theming while I'm typing is the way Smiler has been integrated into the area. Whilst some of it works, a lot doesn't.

The fact that the Smiler is about another controlling force trying to impose a higher force's own will upon the vulnerable guests is fine, but the whole point about X-Sector is that it's on it's own, cut-off from everything else, yet the things done for Smiler separate that from everything else in the area further as if it's some other organisation trying to muscle-in on the human experiments taking place there.

The Smiler's got it's own games stall, shop and modern wacky theme going on (apparently X-Sector's theme is no longer any good and it needed an update) rather than it being designed to fit everything in X-Sector such as the shop, arcade and eatery. I get it, Smiler needed it;s own identity, but giving it its own things and fencing it off all down the side of the area doesn't give me the impression that it's part of the same area. Oblivion and Smiler are both about experimenting on humans, but it's feeling like that's where the similarities end and Smiler isn't anything to do with the rest of the area, it's in its own world.

Fortunately it works better with Oblivion than Nemesis does with Air, so it's not all bad and you can see that some progress has been made in regards to going back to an area to build on the ideas and themes originally set.



In short, if I want rides with little theming, I go to an amusement park, not Alton Towers. I can have just as much fun at either, but Alton Towers always told stories with their rides and that's what they do best.

As John Wardley said himself in one of the BBC's documentaries filmed at the park, the whole point of the fun attractions is down to the fact that they can't build hyper coasters, or towering flat rides, so they concentrate on doing things that you can't do when you're 300 ft in the air or racing to the ground at 120 mph; taking you on a journey to somewhere, or to see something, that you never thought you could, and the ride itself is nothing more than a means of letting you be in the middle of that story.

I still look forward to riding the Smiler on Thursday (assuming we don;t get another press night style episode ), but I can't help but wish I felt as excited now as I did in years gone-by for other attractions that we love and cherish.


None of that was planned, it's just that the more I thought, the more I threw into this comment, so I apologies if I've gone over something more than once or something didn't make sense! But please don't just tell me to shut up because it's Alton Towers or it goes upside down lots. I put more effort into this post so I hope I won't just be met with the usual stuff about it all being fantastic, I'm being too pretentious, go to another park, it's a different era, new magic, it's not finished (even though nothing has really changed for a few weeks now) stop having differing opinions, etc... Studying and appreciating art and design for so many years, only to be told that design and presenting things well doesn't matter is unfair, in my opinion (i.e. not presenting any of this as fact). Especially when the ride we appreciate at Alton Towers the most does more or less everything, not just be a big roller coaster in the grounds of a stately home.



Anyway, hard to believe that some signs led me to writing all of that.

 

[Dave]

The smiler is only fenced off from X-Sector where there is a steep drop down into the area (as was the case with Black Hole). Just beyond the entrance the whole area will be fairly interlinked. I agree with your points about the entrance though BigAl, I like the features inside the entrance structure (the light circles) but the overall structure looks silly (though I like the CCTV cameras).

I'm no big fan of the station building, mainly because its bland and the pipes make no sense. Oblivions building is hardly extravagant but it takes minimalism with a little style. As for the wacky angle on the theme I think that works, it certainly doesn't seem to impede on the rest of the area. I think this is primarily because The Marmaliser despite its quirky features is very in tune with the x-sector theme, especially the video.

For me the Marmaliser (though it needs a cover above the screens), the inside of the station, the ride itself and the theme are great. But the station exterior, entrance and lack of small theming touches are less impressive. That said yesterday studios where all over the site so we might see more going in over the next week.

 

[BigAl]

Oh I agree, Dave, the lights inside the entrance are a nice touch, it's just a shame that what they're in is a block. I see people want them to just stick more Smiler logos over it, as well as the station, but I think using even more would be overkill. There should be a little more creativity than to just put stickers on things that are bland. There's no variation in any of that.



And I do like the wacky nature of it, I'm just still unsure about whether it fits. To me, X-Sector was like a sci-fi fantasy take on a secret base from a Bond film. You only have to see the 1998 fireworks display to see what I mean. Smiler, on the other hand, comes across as trying to get the same effect as Oblivion but in a manner far too differently.

Yes, its about human experimentation and there's a mysterious group behind it, but it feels as if it's Lord of Darkness X-Sector or MoJ X-Sector when the two should feel together much more. It's kind of like saying Dark Forest and Gloomy Wood are the same because both have a spooky nature and both have something to do with trees/woodland.

And when you see the marketing videos, it just separates the two more in my mind. The videos show areas from outside of X-Sector and to me, it sort of disturbs the mystery and isolation of it. It's no longer separate from reality. And going back to the Smiler, the concrete style doesn't suggest a sci-fi fantasy secret base, it just looks like a bland concrete car park with the yellow pipes thrown on to make it "fit". Though the two are similar, I think more could have been done to bring Oblivion and Smiler closer together (thematically anyway). The very nature of the ride alone is enough to keep them separate, but I feel like they've gone a bit too far in trying to make sure you know its a different attraction.


Finally, as much as pre-shows can be good, I hope that whatever takes place inside the building is to-the-point and not there to explain a large story. Sometimes it's better to just let your imagination fill in the blanks, and if they feel it's necessary to spell everything out to you, it could actually be worse than if there's just been themed corridors and a few videos, etc... After all, part of X-Sector and Oblivion's appeal is that you're in the dark about what's going on, why any of it is happening and who's behind it.

I'm glad that the chain of command doesn't end at Dr Kelman though as the mysterious voice in the marketing video is exactly what works.

 

[electricBlll]

Well done on speaking your thoughts so well.

After initially being extremely enthusiastic about The Smiler, I have come to realise that there is an underlying problem. I get the feeling it has passed into the realms of self-indulgence now; with the deliberately inane music, copious unnecessary backstories, pointless stock footage being used on the Marmaliser screens, and the complete overuse of the logo, among other stuff... None of which seems like it is genuinely for people's enjoyment.

It all has a sense of showing off about it, something that doesn't suit the Alton Towers ethos in my opinion.

Now, I really appreciate that the creatives at Alton Towers have come up with a fabulously original idea. The Smiler, in concept, is up there with Nemesis, Oblivion, Hex, for me. The idea is fully formed, intriguing and very memorable. But just remember, The Smiler should not be to flaunt your exquisite imagination and fondness for the colour yellow: it is to entertain the public. At first I revelled in the offbeat humour, but the more the ride comes to completion, the more polarising it gets - to the point at which it is switching me off.

While indulging in The Smiler's unashamedly brash imagery, they have seemingly overlooked basic things that will affect the experience of every rider. The queueline is a bunch of fences. The entrance is a box. The station is a big fat nothing - with pipes. It is like they were too excited in their own idea to really consider the reality of the situation. Some more time and thought would really help the ride.

Another thing is of course the apparent ignorance towards X-Sector. In my opinion, the X-Sector's imagery and personality is much more effective than The Smiler's, but that may be because I have got to know the area very well. I'm not saying that The Smiler should have been "Oblivion 2", but the opportunity to create a coherent, atmospheric area between the two rides has been completely missed. Instead, we have the rather tired, slightly confusing remains of Oblivion totally dwarfed by The obnoxious gratuity of The Smiler. Instead of providing a great contrast, it just seems to be disjointed.

It doesn't help that they have fiddled with parts of X Sector that were perfectly alright, like adding tall fences around Oblivion's tunnel exit which were never needed before.
______

To the average guest none of this will matter.

But, if they had put some more thought and showmanship into it, the average guest would almost definitely enjoy X Sector much more.

Anyway, I look forward immensely to riding The Smiler, regardless of these shortcomings.

 

[adsyrah]

I completely disagree with both of you.

I think it's amazing bigal can say that AT have done the bare minimum with theming when there's a bloody great metal spider with LED screens, misters etc. spanning a large trunk of the ride. You may not like the theme, but at least a great deal of effort has gone into it. Saying they've done the bare minimum because the entrance and station seem less intricate seems short sighted.

As for the station, none of us know what happens inside. We've seen glimpses of rainbow stairs leading up to a themed corridor. There are also hints of some kind of preshow. So none of us can confidently criticise it yet.

And X sector... The Smiler may not be what people thought the new ride would be like, but it is what we've been wanting for a while - a true white knuckle ride. There is limited space in the park and if it means the overall atmosphere and theme for X Sector has to change to fit it, then I've no problem with that at all. And as for it overshadowing Oblivion - so what? I followed Oblivion's construction in the 90s and was amazed by it at the time. But its nearly 15 years old and it's not realistic for it to be the centre of X Sector forever.

Basically, change is good as it keeps the park fresh. I personally think focussing on the minutiae, like the entrance, completely loses focus on what Alton Towers have achieved with this ride - the first multi inversion, white knuckle ride since nemesis that's got a clear theme (regardless of whether you like it or not). Enjoy it.

 

[electricBlll]

Oh no, I think X-Sector really needed a change; but a change that would enhance it rather than divide it.

I have been amazed by the creativity that has gone into this ride. The theme actually feels inspired, rather than just there for the sake of it. The quality of The Marmaliser, for example, is quite impressive, with its smart black panels and animations.

But that's just the thing. It's designed to show off and be as impressively 'zany' and 'offbeat' as possible, to the detriment of the surrounding area and putting off people. And things like the music and entrance have been designed as garishly as possible, just to grab your attention. There's not the showmanship that I was anticipating.

As for the station, none of us know what happens inside. We've seen glimpses of rainbow stairs leading up to a themed corridor. The are hints of some kind of preshow. So none of us can confidently criticise it yet.

At a guess, not much will happen in the station beyond a preshow room (with your typical low-budget, postproduction-heavy video and the rumoured projections). There's not much room to do anything else. But this ride is full of surprises, who knows what they have planned?

 

[HaydenCR]

That video is simply a few bits of audio that we've already heard - badly edited together and reuploaded to get attention. It is not the soundtrack.

The voice sounds more like the Haunted Mansion ghost host than the Lord of Darkness, but it's good anyway!

I know bad audio quality when I see hear it. Don't worry I'm sure the actual audio will be recorded in an actual studion. Yes that audio is ripped from the sanctuary, yes that audio is poorly recorded and yes it is clearly distorting on someones portable microphone iphone.

Sadly this isn't just a fan video. This is a fan video that is making money for its creators. This is a fan video that misleads its viewers. This is a fan video that gives no credit to it's original sources. That's a shame, a real shame.

A further update on this "audio"

Theme Park Collective (The uploader said the following in a reply to a cynical comment of mine)

None of the spoken audio was from the sanctuary, It was all from the queue line on the press evening!

Take from it what you will. I personally thought that the spoken audio was from The Sanctuary and the audio ad on the Skyline. But why the 12+ rating, and why is this not on the front sign?