The Smiler - Construction Discussion

Smile always. New for 2013.
Locked
User avatar
Deejay
Member
Member
Posts: 814
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 10:58 am
Location: London, UK

Im sat on the edge of my seat twitching at the thought of them soft opening but for all the wrong reasons.

Having spent a substantial amount of money last week at the resort I find myself wanting to drop everything and do my best to make the 250 miles trip to be there but something in my head tells me not to bother. I had a lengthy chat to the higher powers at Towers and Merlin on the phone this afternoon, I now know it will open as soon as it's ready so as to not upset anymore guests. That means that the ones that love the buzz of the opening day will have to suffer.

For the bigger picture I can see they are right to do this but that goes no way to compensate the likes of me and others that wanted to be among the first to ride, paid good money and stored faith in the resort to deliver.

I'm off now to call watchdog and throw my thoughts into the mix.
User avatar
J_Baggie
New Member
New Member
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:18 am
Location: London

Whilst standing at bottom end of site the shutter of the shop opened to let 2 men out. Saw inside shop. It's huge!! Massive even. Fully stocked and ready to go by the looks of it. Cannot confirm glass floor but there seems to be special (carbon fibre/maybe glass with white dots)flooring just inside door
Last edited by J_Baggie on Thu May 30, 2013 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
West Brom til I die!
User avatar
jbuckton18
New Member
New Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:03 pm
Location: Manchester

DeeJayUK wrote: Im sat on the edge of my seat twitching at the thought of them soft opening but for all the wrong reasons.

Having spent a substantial amount of money last week at the resort I find myself wanting to drop everything and do my best to make the 250 miles trip to be there but something in my head tells me not to bother. I had a lengthy chat to the higher powers at Towers and Merlin on the phone this afternoon, I now know it will open as soon as it's ready so as to not upset anymore guests. That means that the ones that love the buzz of the opening day will have to suffer.

For the bigger picture I can see they are right to do this but that goes no way to compensate the likes of me and others that wanted to be among the first to ride, paid good money and stored faith in the resort to deliver.

I'm off now to call watchdog and throw my thoughts into the mix.
It will open tomorrow ! Park staff have confirmed ! Plus everything looks ready!

- Its on the queue lines screens
- Last day of May ( and half term holidays tomorrow)
- Only a select few builders on site now
- Looks like the Marmi and chain lifts were warming up today
- Permiter safety fences have started coming down
- Senior officials of gersh and AT have been at the site today inc. JW and his family.
- All construction machinery has pretty much left the site now.
- Builders are sweeping the queue line floor at 12 pm today !

Look at the facts
Last edited by jbuckton18 on Thu May 30, 2013 4:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Some say they've seen angels, Ive seen The Smiler - That's enough
User avatar
J_Baggie
New Member
New Member
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:18 am
Location: London

Lots of senior (high up not old :p) people leaving the shop doors. Seems as though they were doing a final check of the inside and outside. Tomorrow opening looking more and more likely as the day progresses

*UPDATE* spoken to one of the senior people in suit who left the shop if it'll open tomorrow. She said with a cheeky smile "ooo not sure. You'll have to check the website"

Confirmation of opening tomorrow???
Last edited by J_Baggie on Thu May 30, 2013 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
West Brom til I die!
User avatar
merm
Member
Member
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed May 05, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: Rotherham, S. Yorkshire
Contact:

I'm due to have 2 days in Blackpool this weekend sat merlin stuff and sun BPB now not sure if to go to AT on Saturday instead then drive to Blackpool after. wish they would say yes or no to the opening.
Let our dreams become your nightmares
User avatar
jbuckton18
New Member
New Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:03 pm
Location: Manchester

J_Baggie wrote: Lots of senior (high up not old :p) people leaving the shop doors. Seems as though they were doing a final check of the inside and outside. Tomorrow opening looking more and more likely as the day progresses

*UPDATE* spoken to one of the senior people in suit who left the shop if it'll open tomorrow. She said with a cheeky smile "ooo not sure. You'll have to check the website"

Confirmation of opening tomorrow???
haha yeh pretty much ! the fact she smiled was the biggest give away and the fact she was like oooo not sure in a cheeky wait and see way haha brilliant !
Some say they've seen angels, Ive seen The Smiler - That's enough
User avatar
TheSmiler1998
New Member
New Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:23 pm
Location: Tonbridge

After some nostalgic Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 playing, anyone who thinks that The Smiler is a bad name, at least the ride isn't named Rollercoatser 1!  :D
@LukeSavidge1998 I follow back so hit follow button! #getcorrect #excited
We know what we are, we know what we are! Erm.... Europa League winners we know what we are! Doesn't have the same ring to it does it?
User avatar
JayJay90
Member
Member
Posts: 299
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2012 3:21 pm
Location: Stafford/Wolverhampton

TheSmiler1998 wrote: After some nostalgic Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 playing, anyone who thinks that The Smiler is a bad name, at least the ride isn't named Rollercoatser 1!  :D
"Rollercoaster 1 looks too intence for me"

ahh good old classic RCT <3

I love all these hints for the smiler opening tomorrow, its so much better to see excitement and positivity amongst the forum and its members :)
User avatar
Boz
New Member
New Member
Posts: 0
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:29 am
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire

Boz wrote: Sorry peeps, can I just reiterate what I said earlier for those that missed it:
Boz wrote: Guys, can I ask you all to help me keep this place tidy?
We don't need 100's of posts saying things like "ooo I hope there will be a soft opening later", or "I agree, I hope so too!", nor do we need multiple requests for images, one will do. These things do not contribute to discussion, and make the topic extremely difficult to follow.
I will start indiscriminately removing these types of posts from this moment on.
Can we all make sure that what we're posting really needs to be said, before doing so. It would help a lot, thanks :)
Yet another reminder guys, can we keep posts relevant please? Repeat offenders are going to start finding themselves with posting restrictions if they're not careful ;)
User avatar
Deejay
Member
Member
Posts: 814
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 10:58 am
Location: London, UK

JayJay got it in one. I'm scarred from bad treatment and mixed messages. I spoke to Merlin this afternoon and they are saying the opposite of what you all believe. I was told that there may be things to still be done in the areas we cannot see and to wait for an official announcement from their website and social media.

I really want this to be open ASAP but greedily want to be around when it does. This does not make me 'negative' by a long shot. If it does open tomorrow then fair play and whoever is among the first to ride spare me a thought as I will be bleeding inside :(
User avatar
jbuckton18
New Member
New Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:03 pm
Location: Manchester

DeeJayUK wrote: JayJay got it in one. I'm scarred from bad treatment and mixed messages. I spoke to Merlin this afternoon and they are saying the opposite of what you all believe. I was told that there may be things to still be done in the areas we cannot see and to wait for an official announcement from their website and social media.

I really want this to be open ASAP but greedily want to be around when it does. This does not make me 'negative' by a long shot. If it does open tomorrow then fair play and whoever is among the first to ride spare me a thought as I will be bleeding inside :(
There has been a number of confirmations around the smiler site from staff and officials this will be open tomorrow. It annoys me when everyone is so negative ! look at the facts and you will then realise this will open tomorrow !
Some say they've seen angels, Ive seen The Smiler - That's enough
User avatar
Heisenberg96
Member
Member
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:12 pm

wardiespritz wrote:
Heisenberg96 wrote:
wardiespritz wrote: Anyone know if kids are on halfterm next week? I'm there Tuesday thinking if to pack my lunch for the queue line.
Also thanks to the guys taking photo's at the park. Very much appreciated
Probably should be fine, nearly all schools will be back then and most on study leave will be back into the second exam period.

I have an English Language test the day you'll be on that beast :( jammy sod!
I'll post a review for you. Lol well hopefully queue lines will be tolerable then.
Best of luck with your test.
Haha I look forward to it, if you can get a POV that would be fantastic too! Of course POV's aren't always thy easy though.
And thank you very much - I'm going to need all the luck I get! :D
User avatar
TheSmiler1998
New Member
New Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:23 pm
Location: Tonbridge

Is it your literature exam or controlled assessment?
POV should be done with a go pro or something something small and compact that is hand held
@LukeSavidge1998 I follow back so hit follow button! #getcorrect #excited
We know what we are, we know what we are! Erm.... Europa League winners we know what we are! Doesn't have the same ring to it does it?
User avatar
Boz
New Member
New Member
Posts: 0
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:29 am
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire

POVs should not be attempted without proper harnesses, and the express permission of the park, any time you take a loose camera/phone onto a ride, you are risking the safety of everyone on the ride, and all those milling around the area!
User avatar
Barty
New Member
New Member
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 05, 2013 4:42 pm
Location: Nottingham

Just spoke to my dad in my excitement for everything coming together and he said that everything is now complete with just the odd bits and bobs left to be done such as a bit of a clean :) he works for garmendale (people who designed the systems for the gates) and worked on the smiler so I doubt he's lying! I think that its time to unleash not only the world's first but also the world's best rollercoaster!! JW, AT, Gerstlauer, garmendale and all those who have been behind this project can be extremely proud of what they have built... A MONSTER! It's time to get corrected so report for marmalisation :):)
User avatar
Heisenberg96
Member
Member
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:12 pm

TheSmiler1998 wrote: Is it your literature exam or controlled assessment?
POV should be done with a go pro or something something small and compact that is hand held
No I've done literature it's a language resit :(

Anyway back on topic before Boz punishes me for my straying mind!

Are POV's not likely to come out tomorrow then? If its as difficult as Boz states I doubt Alton will be that acceptant of it considering how much else they've got to consider and worry about tomorrow!
User avatar
TheSmiler1998
New Member
New Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:23 pm
Location: Tonbridge

Oh fun  :roll:
Someone will do one, and put it on YouTube considering we are the minority not the no tt members!
@LukeSavidge1998 I follow back so hit follow button! #getcorrect #excited
We know what we are, we know what we are! Erm.... Europa League winners we know what we are! Doesn't have the same ring to it does it?
User avatar
lewis97
Admin
Admin
Posts: 4373
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:41 am
Location: Hertfordshire

Okay, so it would seem The Smiler has been prepared for opening, however, perhaps we'll see a soft opening tomorrow with an official opening Saturday. I expect with all these problems they've had, they'll want to break it in as gently as possible.
User avatar
Baggie79
New Member
New Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:11 pm
Location: Oldbury

Surely the ride would be much more exciting if things were a surprise rather than knowing everything that was going to happen. With this in mind why would anyone want to watch a full pov before riding it and spoil all the surprises?
Ben-TT

I bought a GoPro chest mount to film the Smiler. However, I tried this on Nemesis last week and the ride op made me remove the camera.
No these GoPros with the chest mounts are bulletproof. There is no chance the thing was coming off, but they wouldn't let me.
I considered hiding the camera until I left the station, but the issue then is that if the op stops the ride half way around, you will likely get chucked out and banned from the park - not a risk I wanted to take!
Locked