The Smiler - General Discussion

Thu Nov 07, 2013 6:34 am

After seeing the Watchdog segment I honestly hope Alton Towers do not re-open it for the few days remaining of the season, any breakdown over the weekend will only add fuel to the fire via social sites with the amount in attendance. Best to keep it shut now. It's been a god-awful troublesome first season for the new addition and here is hoping next year is better.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 7:19 am

Ripsaw Raver wrote: Its amazing just how damaging the BBC Can be, stating on a program about FACTS that a section of the smiler track fell off!! So a factual program is sensationalizing with lies! Screw you watchdog, I love TheSmiler and i can honestly say, you go and put people off, less queues for us! SMILE ALWAYS

As far as I'm aware - bolts, screws and guide wheels falling from the ride does constitute as sections falling off. Whilst sensationalised, it's not a lie.

It's a completely selfish attitude to have to be happy that an investment is receiving bad publicity by a major news agency. The more this continues, the less Merlin will be inclined to reinvest in the Alton Towers Resort, as they are currently showing themselves to be a shambles of an operation in the public eye.

I understand people wanting to support Towers and The Smiler, but realistically you can't. The Smiler has been a PR disaster since day one, it has on four separate incidents closed because its structure has become a worry for one reason or another and it has now injured members of the public. I worry if anyone on here can justify that as acceptable conduct by a multi-million pound, award winning Theme park operation.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:38 am

Seems to be open today looking at ridetimes

Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:43 am

Hi all, first post here so be gentle. I've been a long time watcher of the forum especially since the announcement of SW7 but until now I had nothing much to add.

I've been looking forward to riding The Smiler since it finally opened, but I've been living in Spain for the past few yrs but returned to the UK about a month ago. To cut a long story short the first thing I did when I got back was to book all the family into Splash Landings for tomorrow night so we could see the fireworks on Fri and Sat night, and to finally ride The Smiler. I can't believe how gutted I am to hear it's broken down again. The trip in all for 9 of us with fuel, hotel, tickets, food, drinks etc will be around £1,000. Not a small amount by anyone's counting.

I've emailed AT to ask what the situation is with The Smiler and to see if it would be possible to cancel, however all I received was an automated response which stated "we will reply to your enquiry within 7 days" it's a bit late then don't you think?

I think Merlin's plans for the park etc are generally good, however, they need to be more engaging with their customers. Although this forum and other members only account for a fraction of the people who visit Alton Towers, Merlin should realise that many thousands of others come and view the forums each day and they speak to people and they speak to people etc etc. Would it not be a good idea if AT themselves took an active role in forums to keep people informed with genuine info to help avoid negative speculation. This is done by companies such as Google who have a guy by the name of Matt Cutts who is basically their public face and helps connect them with developers.

Has anyone from AT been invited to take an active role and if so what was their answer?

Does anyone have a clue if The Smiler has any chance of opening this weekend?

Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:46 am

andymac746 wrote: Seems to be open today looking at ridetimes

Ye haaa, that answers my question then. Well one of them. The main one. Also just looked on AT site and the note they had this morning to say it was closed today has also gone.

So excited for tomorrow.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:06 am

On park now and I can confirm it is open. There were huge signs at the main gates this morning saying it was shut and was also given 2014 return tickets free, but walked down to X-Sector and it was open.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:22 pm

Yes they have posted on Twitter and Instagram also. I thought they would open it again, but I did hope that it would just be shut until next season. Mainly because it had been running all day and night throughout Scarefest and as its first time was under huge pressure. Now it's quiet and we're approaching the end of the season they should let it rest, see what needs to be done and work on it.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:56 pm

lewis97 wrote:
JammyBand wrote: Alton Towers describes the closure as 'Essential Maintenance' on their website.
Well that's technically what it is. The ride is unable to continue operating without the issues being rectified.

Yes, I agree. I was just telling everyone on here.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 5:40 pm

Yep, I can also confirm it was open today. There was one minor breakdown for about 15 minutes, but then again reliable old blivvy broke down too. It seems the projection mapping inside the station has kind of given up though...

Thu Nov 07, 2013 5:49 pm

Yes I must admit the projection mapping is really cool and looks very effective when it's working, however that is a big space that, if used properly, could really enhance the ride experience. They should use that room for the backstory, maybe keep one of the projectors but a lot more explaining needs to be done.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 8:43 pm

danny.g97 wrote: Yes I must admit the projection mapping is really cool and looks very effective when it's working, however that is a big space that, if used properly, could really enhance the ride experience. They should use that room for the backstory, maybe keep one of the projectors but a lot more explaining needs to be done.

I really like the projection mapping - although I do think that the story should be explained more.
Maybe they could explain the story in the outside queueline at points and on the staircase up to the station.
I wouldn't like to see the projection mapping tampered with to be honest.

Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:30 pm

Jamie wrote:
danny.g97 wrote: Yes I must admit the projection mapping is really cool and looks very effective when it's working, however that is a big space that, if used properly, could really enhance the ride experience. They should use that room for the backstory, maybe keep one of the projectors but a lot more explaining needs to be done.
I really like the projection mapping - although I do think that the story should be explained more.
Maybe they could explain the story in the outside queueline at points and on the staircase up to the station.
I wouldn't like to see the projection mapping tampered with to be honest.

Where the queue interacts with the ride and gets so close to the track it would be near impossible to get the backstory across there. Sound would be an issue and everyone would be watching the ride go by! By having it in the correction block it's quiet, dark and there's no distractions.

I think they should split the room in two. The first projection on the right as you walk in should be taken away and have Miles Cedar doing a talk explaining his new methods for the MoJ. Then there could be interference and he starts to flash on and off before you get the girl from the videos pop up on a video saying, 'don't go ahead, whatever you do do not let them get you.' She then cuts off and it goes back to Miles. He apologises for the interruption and tells you to move on and 'do not resist marmalisation, embrace it.' Then he laughs and goes, 'enter stage one.' You then move on in the queue to the second projection in the right corner. This is the stage Miles is referring to. The one for the fast track can stay also.

Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:37 am

It's not that it's not done properly, it's just that it seems broken already after half a season. First ride of the day the animations were stuttering a bit but by the second ride of the day the projection mapping was completely frozen.

Fri Nov 08, 2013 10:13 am

I have to admit I've ridden The Smiler around 10 times this season, and of those the projection mapping has been broken/not functioning to it's best 7-8 times. I'm struggling to be bothered about any of the issues the ride has had now in the hope that closed season they'll seriously re haul everything and that next year we'll see the effects as they should be. Better late than never I guess..

Fri Nov 08, 2013 5:24 pm

I hate that room - spending 30 minutes in there in July was horrific. If anywhere on the resort needs air conditioning, it is that room.

Fri Nov 08, 2013 5:37 pm

Baffles wrote: I hate that room - spending 30 minutes in there in July was horrific. If anywhere on the resort needs air conditioning, it is that room.

I agree, it's a disappointing room and when I first went on the ride I thought "meh". Nearly all the way through I kept shuffling my feet because it was so dark and I worried I was gonna accidentally trip on someone, lol.

Fri Nov 08, 2013 11:55 pm

I walked straight into a bin in that room first time I went in. Then the blue screens appeared showing error messages xD

Sun Nov 10, 2013 1:59 pm

Has The Smiler lost the vibrations since the re-open? I was there last night and it sounded remarkably quiet with none of that wheel noise anymore! I didn't go on it for fear of a headache and/or death but just noticed it sounded more healthy...?

Sun Nov 10, 2013 3:20 pm

It's sounded quite fine for a while now. Although there seems to be one 'uncomfortable' train that people suffer some bashing on.

The wheel nose I would assume is just new wheels on the track, since it's been running for months now the wheels have worn in the track and it's pretty settled.

Mon Nov 11, 2013 12:36 am

Mattfat1 wrote: Has The Smiler lost the vibrations since the re-open? I was there last night and it sounded remarkably quiet with none of that wheel noise anymore! I didn't go on it for fear of a headache and/or death but just noticed it sounded more healthy...?

Indeed, the majority of the cars have sounded fine for a while. Tonight, there was only 1 row of 1 train that had that irritating vibration, and thankfully it was row 3 and I was in row 4! The other cars appear to be fine and it was a lot better tonight than it has been previously.

On the subject of The Smiler in the dark, I love it! So much better in the dark, the 2 rides I got tonight took me back to the first time I rode it back in early June. All the new sensations over again! And everything, effects wise, seemed to be working... after my last visit, where the Innoculator among other things was off.

I've had 21 rides on The Smiler this season, and I still love it just as much as the first! Great ride, hope they can iron out the troubles for 2014. I will no doubt be back for more!