SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
The opening reviews will be either "it's AWFUL" or "its THE BEST THING EVER". We will have to wait for a genuine average opinion to surface. Still, would love to hear of any objective points about it to be raised.
The Smiler - your thoughts?
- Thread starter SaiyanHajime
- Start date
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
^ Genuine average response at your service
Having ridden it twice today, I can safely say it's very "meh". What I expected. Nothing mind-blowing or world-class, but nothing so terrible it's torn a hole through the already tarnished reputation of Merlin.
Pretty much. Rode first time in the back (4th public train) and it was typical Gerstlauer opening ride rough all the way around except from the end of the cobra roll onwards - nothing too nasty, not not exactly silky smooth.
The second time was at the end of the day front row. The first half of the ride was smoother and the second half (especially after the send half of the cobra roll) was unbearably torturous.
Overall? It's better than Saw, give it a few months and it'll beat you up like Saw too. Third best coaster at the park (Nemmie and Oblivion reining on top with Air just being beaten).
The queue hit about 3 hours and we saw no breakdowns while we were in the area (which was a good half to 2/3 of the day).
Spoke to a Gerslauer engineer who was on site and they've already noted where the ride needs tightening in terms of supports and the painful exit to the cobra roll has definitely been noted. His overall attitude towards the ride was positive.
We spoke to some upper staff members who told us the coaster wasn't planned to duel, but if timed correctly, it has the possibility to look like it's duelling (something we got to see a few times very well over the course of the day).
So, yeah, from somebody who isn't a fanboy I can say it matches the expectations I had and I think it's a good investment for the park. Let's just hope it doesn't do a Saw and turn very quickly into a pain machine...
^ Genuine average response at your service
Having ridden it twice today, I can safely say it's very "meh". What I expected. Nothing mind-blowing or world-class, but nothing so terrible it's torn a hole through the already tarnished reputation of Merlin.
Smithy said:From TowersNerd, is that Ciall?
furie said:
Pretty much. Rode first time in the back (4th public train) and it was typical Gerstlauer opening ride rough all the way around except from the end of the cobra roll onwards - nothing too nasty, not not exactly silky smooth.
The second time was at the end of the day front row. The first half of the ride was smoother and the second half (especially after the send half of the cobra roll) was unbearably torturous.
Overall? It's better than Saw, give it a few months and it'll beat you up like Saw too. Third best coaster at the park (Nemmie and Oblivion reining on top with Air just being beaten).
The queue hit about 3 hours and we saw no breakdowns while we were in the area (which was a good half to 2/3 of the day).
Spoke to a Gerslauer engineer who was on site and they've already noted where the ride needs tightening in terms of supports and the painful exit to the cobra roll has definitely been noted. His overall attitude towards the ride was positive.
We spoke to some upper staff members who told us the coaster wasn't planned to duel, but if timed correctly, it has the possibility to look like it's duelling (something we got to see a few times very well over the course of the day).
So, yeah, from somebody who isn't a fanboy I can say it matches the expectations I had and I think it's a good investment for the park. Let's just hope it doesn't do a Saw and turn very quickly into a pain machine...
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
Average as in mean, not the one goon trying to stay cool by giving it the "meh".
Besides, Cial, your post is dismissive of it, which is essentially "it's ****". A little more depth would be awesome. How's the area to behold? How's the queue? How were operations? How's the pacing and layout feel? How's the shop, are you forced through it to exit? Can you see the ride from the shop as rumours speculated? Effects in the indoors section? Show a little opinion and passion, too.
Average as in mean, not the one goon trying to stay cool by giving it the "meh".
Besides, Cial, your post is dismissive of it, which is essentially "it's ****". A little more depth would be awesome. How's the area to behold? How's the queue? How were operations? How's the pacing and layout feel? How's the shop, are you forced through it to exit? Can you see the ride from the shop as rumours speculated? Effects in the indoors section? Show a little opinion and passion, too.
Oh ffs. Whenever they do anything amazing, it's a fluke.
Nemesis of oblivion
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
Well I know you're forced through the shop to exit. It's Merlin :wink:
Apparently it has interactive stuff inside. Atm machines anyone? cool)
Well I know you're forced through the shop to exit. It's Merlin :wink:
Apparently it has interactive stuff inside. Atm machines anyone? cool)
Screaming Coasters
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
Flashing light bulb through indoor section = special effects.....? Some mind **** that is..
Other than that, the ride looks amazing!
Flashing light bulb through indoor section = special effects.....? Some mind **** that is..
Other than that, the ride looks amazing!
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
I was able to have a goon at it today too ^_^
Visually, the ride looks stunning. The mess of track is a sight to behold, especially with the marmaliser in full swing and ride area music blasting out. The trains look great in the layout and the whole area just feels full of life and action. Its particular impressive watching two trains dancing with each other through the Staffordshire knot and they also have a tendency to race each other along the parallel airtime hills. As Ciall said, we had a talk with the management and a Gerstlauer engineer who say that the dueling is just random and coincidental, all down to the timing of the dispatch.
Onto the ride itself, well the queue line is a little dull as expected being just a cattlepen on a giant concrete slab. The interaction with the ride makes it better as you are completely surrounded, but feels a little claustrophobic with high walls and meshing above you. Unfortunately the mesh also ruins lots of photo opportunities from the queue line. Still, it seemed to move quite quickly (probably due to the fact fastrack isn't running yet) and I don't think the queue ever really topped 2 hours.
I rode it twice, once front row and once back row and both seemed to give different rides. Predictably, all the AT fans were saying its amazing and beats Nemesis, #1 coaster in the world! More realistically, my opinion is that its a very good solid ride and will sit highly with most people, I enjoyed riding it very much and its certainly an attraction i'll be keen to ride again. However, its not really top 10 material - let down by the fact that it rides exactly how you expect a Gerstlauer to ride. Its certainly not smooth, but most of the time the roughness went un-noticed and its certainly better than Saw! Only the penultimate roll and the exit of the cobra roll are verging on the painful side. A Gerstlauer engineer was watching the ride for most of the afternoon and I heard him talking to a manager saying "we'll need to do something about that" referring to the bump in the cobra roll, so looks like they're aware of the few rough spots.
The marmaliser is pretty pointless when you're on ride. If you're lucky you might get a blast of water from the Innoculator, but otherwise you whizz past the other legs fast too quickly to take any of them in.
So yes, great ride that looks amazing and rides pretty decent, although who knows what will happen in a years time when the real roughness will start kicking in!
I was able to have a goon at it today too ^_^
Visually, the ride looks stunning. The mess of track is a sight to behold, especially with the marmaliser in full swing and ride area music blasting out. The trains look great in the layout and the whole area just feels full of life and action. Its particular impressive watching two trains dancing with each other through the Staffordshire knot and they also have a tendency to race each other along the parallel airtime hills. As Ciall said, we had a talk with the management and a Gerstlauer engineer who say that the dueling is just random and coincidental, all down to the timing of the dispatch.
Onto the ride itself, well the queue line is a little dull as expected being just a cattlepen on a giant concrete slab. The interaction with the ride makes it better as you are completely surrounded, but feels a little claustrophobic with high walls and meshing above you. Unfortunately the mesh also ruins lots of photo opportunities from the queue line. Still, it seemed to move quite quickly (probably due to the fact fastrack isn't running yet) and I don't think the queue ever really topped 2 hours.
I rode it twice, once front row and once back row and both seemed to give different rides. Predictably, all the AT fans were saying its amazing and beats Nemesis, #1 coaster in the world! More realistically, my opinion is that its a very good solid ride and will sit highly with most people, I enjoyed riding it very much and its certainly an attraction i'll be keen to ride again. However, its not really top 10 material - let down by the fact that it rides exactly how you expect a Gerstlauer to ride. Its certainly not smooth, but most of the time the roughness went un-noticed and its certainly better than Saw! Only the penultimate roll and the exit of the cobra roll are verging on the painful side. A Gerstlauer engineer was watching the ride for most of the afternoon and I heard him talking to a manager saying "we'll need to do something about that" referring to the bump in the cobra roll, so looks like they're aware of the few rough spots.
The marmaliser is pretty pointless when you're on ride. If you're lucky you might get a blast of water from the Innoculator, but otherwise you whizz past the other legs fast too quickly to take any of them in.
So yes, great ride that looks amazing and rides pretty decent, although who knows what will happen in a years time when the real roughness will start kicking in!
Nemesis of oblivion
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
Apparently it does hearing from others.
Considering I wasn't expecting much, the indoor section looks great.
Apparently it does hearing from others.
Considering I wasn't expecting much, the indoor section looks great.
Jordanovichy
Credit Whore 2016
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
That corkscrew looks **** intense. I love it!
This time tomorrow I SHOULD have ridden it...unless it spites me...
That corkscrew looks **** intense. I love it!
This time tomorrow I SHOULD have ridden it...unless it spites me...
Screaming Coasters
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
I can totally see why people say that it just looks out-and-out crap.. People have to look cool on these forums.
I can totally see why people say that it just looks out-and-out crap.. People have to look cool on these forums.
Nemesis of oblivion
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
And...apparently the queue is 190 minutes. This is going to be a fun year for The Smiler.
And...apparently the queue is 190 minutes. This is going to be a fun year for The Smiler.
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | The Smiler | Unknown Gerstlauer World's 1
That's genuinely how I feel Joey, so you can either accept my opinion as my genuine thoughts on the ride or just go and ride it yourself. The area is claustrophobic (mainly due to the endlessly long metal cattlepens and the low headroom for tall people such as myself). The music is loud and after a few hours gets into your head. The ride is fun to watch. There are some visual effects in the indoor section of the queueline and on the exit there are some painted ones. The shop is very spacious and offers a lot of pretty decent merch. There is a glass floor...which isn't see-through. That was a bit of a let down. But yeah, it really is a "meh" kind of ride. Not one I can go overly into passionate detail about as really my passion for it isn't as excessive as Alton fan-boys like Sanbrooke who have said it's the best coaster he's ever been on (according to Mushroom's videos).
Joey said:Average as in mean, not the one goon trying to stay cool by giving it the "meh".
Besides, Cial, your post is dismissive of it, which is essentially "it's ****". A little more depth would be awesome. How's the area to behold? How's the queue? How were operations? How's the pacing and layout feel? How's the shop, are you forced through it to exit? Can you see the ride from the shop as rumours speculated? Effects in the indoors section? Show a little opinion and passion, too.
Oh ffs. Whenever they do anything amazing, it's a fluke.
That's genuinely how I feel Joey, so you can either accept my opinion as my genuine thoughts on the ride or just go and ride it yourself. The area is claustrophobic (mainly due to the endlessly long metal cattlepens and the low headroom for tall people such as myself). The music is loud and after a few hours gets into your head. The ride is fun to watch. There are some visual effects in the indoor section of the queueline and on the exit there are some painted ones. The shop is very spacious and offers a lot of pretty decent merch. There is a glass floor...which isn't see-through. That was a bit of a let down. But yeah, it really is a "meh" kind of ride. Not one I can go overly into passionate detail about as really my passion for it isn't as excessive as Alton fan-boys like Sanbrooke who have said it's the best coaster he's ever been on (according to Mushroom's videos).