Dan9 Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Intamin would have had throughput issues so Gerst were pretty much the only option.Stealth, Colossus, Thirteen and (at a push) Rita average roundabout the same throughputs as The Smiler, some of them more a lot of the time. So no, not really. pognoi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 if the ride had the exact same layout it would have been limited to 3 cars per train and only having 4/5 trains its throughput would have been poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 It's quite obvious that The Smiler has a problem with stalling, that is not "operating as it should have". Â It's stalled twice if I recall since opening, most other rides (including a few B&Ms) have also had some issues with stalling... Â I wouldn't say that something stalling twice is really a massive issue either... It's not a consistent problem over 2 seasons of on/off operations... Â Â The incident was always going to be human error though, unfortunately the engineer made the wrong decision (probably as they were sick of having to constantly reset the ride)... Â Of course, it's highly entertaining reading all the GP comments... Lots of people seem to think that minimum wage teenagers would be the ones at fault... HermanTheGerman, OldFarmerDean and pognoi 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan9 Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 if the ride had the exact same layout it would have been limited to 3 cars per train and only having 4/5 trains its throughput would have been poor.So when Holiday World wanted to build a launched wing-rider, Intamin must have been their only option because Furious Baco? Intamin and other manufacturers are perfectly capable of innovating and adapting for their clients needs. pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 I wonder if it will still be called the smiler? How many trains will it have? Can it still duel? How long is it going to have to take to reset after a breakdown with all these extra safety measures in place.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Judging by the articles I've read, I think it'll still be called the Smiler. Not sure how many it'll have though, but may no longer run on 5 again. May still fuel if timings are perfectly set. It will probably take a little longer now to reset making sure where the trains are on the track when sorted. Will be interesting to see how busy towers will be in 2016 with the Smiler set to reopen but some hefty ride closures swept under the rug. Hmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshuaA Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Can't wait to ride Smiler,Hex,Flume,Nemesis Sub Terra,The Flume, CATCF, again! Roll on 2016! MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pognoi Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 YOU FORGOT RIPSAW. Â YOU'RE A DISGRACE. Kerfuffle, Matt 236 and JoshuaA 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Maybe Towers shouldn't buy the Tesco Value version of coasters in future. I take offense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 I take offense! I realised when writing that that was actually quite offensive to Tesco Value products, apologies Kerfuffle, EC!, Matt 236 and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 As a thought, given the state of recent H&S style decisions at Towers, I unfortunately think it's more than likely that they'll just end up only having one train on the track at any one time... Â Grim thinking for anyone visiting to visit the park next season... I hope Towers will prove my doubts wrong on that one though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 It's quite obvious that The Smiler has a problem with stalling, that is not "operating as it should have".  True. The stalling isn't why the accident happened though which is what the Health and Safety investigation is centred on.   (I do realise if the train hadn't stalled the incident wouldn't have happened, in the same way that if the system hadn't been over-ridden the incident would also have not happened). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planenut Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 No surprise there, and no need to lambast the ride or equipment. Safety procedures are there for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Glad to hear the ride will reopen, and although it's horrible for those involved I think it's reassuring to hear that the ride itself was not at fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Confirmation from the park's Twitter page that The Smiler will be keeping the same name. Hi, we have no date for this yet and yes it will still be The Smiler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Shame. Not because they should have changed it due to the incident, just because it's a crap name. Whiteknuckle and Project LC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiteknuckle Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 And I'll bet they will keep that hideous music!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjh123horry Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Shame. Not because they should have changed it due to the incident, just because it's a crap name. And I'll bet they will keep that hideous music!! I have no problem with either the name or the music. They both fit well with the theme of going from "miserable in life" to "being marmalised and smiling". The reason the name works so well, as well, is because its the name of the machine, its The Smiler, because it makes you smile. Yes its not the best thought up name, but it works. MattyMoo, OldFarmerDean and pognoi 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Shame. Not because they should have changed it due to the incident, just because it's a crap name.What names can you think of that are better? Not in a mean way, just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I don't really know off the top of my head, but then I probably would't have come up with Nemesis or Oblivion either. Â I just find 'The Smiler' to sound wrong; it's weak and childish. It's what a 5 year old would call a ride. It's what you'd expect to see written in colourful bulbs on a travelling Jumping Frog. Â People say I the name is 'in theme', as if The Smiller actually has a theme or narrative conveyed in any meaningful way, but it doesn't so it's not. If you walked into that queue line knowing nothing of where the 'theme' comes from (like most people do), I don't think you'd get even much of a hint of what we understand the story to be. It doesn't really have a theme, it just has a style and a (now very tainted) brand. Â I quite liked the 'marmalisation' word from The Sanctuary backstory, something around that. Maybe something either obviously or more obscurely referring to inversions, or the number of them, as those things are clearly the actual point of the ride. Or, preferably, have an actual theme that is conveyed to riders and base the name on that, whatever that theme may be. JoshuaA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 They wouldn't dare call it The Marmaliser now. Superlooper or thunderlooper would seem more 'sensible' but wouldn't really appeal to GenX where everything must be filled with drama and stupidity or it's boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Mae Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Just to put out - I absolutely adore the ride's theme and name and backstory, and here's why. This year in March was the first time I had ever been to a park that wasn't Thorpe or Chessington (well, in my decent memory) and it was Alton Towers. Yes I know a lot of you will go "yeah but it's just another Merlin Park" but I disagree, it is in several ways a great deal different to the others. I love the themed areas and all of that which is not used to effect in the other parks, and so because I was starting to become a geek at the time I did some research into the rides and things, and (from my preferences at Thorpe and Chessie) was told that the Smiler would probably be my favourite ride. It didn't disappoint. But before I went I researched the ride, theme, the whole backstory, I read every take on it and saw every video on the website. I completely and utterly fell in love with the theme, the Ministry of Joy, the whole idea of people these days being miserable and a cult being created to force everyone into being happy (I know that's not the exact story but it is in essence and I'm paraphrasing for the purpose of this rant/speech). I think it's brilliant. ANYWAY. The purpose of this. Yes, to people who have been enthusiasts for years and have more experience than I, the name may be bad/lacking/could be better, and I will agree that the backstory could be explained better or more in depth. But I don't think it should be. It would be impractical in the space that they have, and wouldn't for in with the other ride types around the park, and it's unnecessary. Enough is put across, and more can be found out if a person (like I was) is inspired by it and wants to know. Plus a majority of the GP will just go for the rides, not the story and experience, because it isn't what they expect or are looking for because they don't know what can be done. Maybe that will change this year with WC16 exposing them to a different type of ride which doesn't just do what you can see it doing from miles away. But maybe it won't. In which case themes expressed like this can still grab people, like the Smiler's did me jjh123horry, Kerfuffle and alexander 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretchy Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Can I just make a minor comment. People seem to believe that The Smiler is changing it's name. I believe that rumour started when they removed all signage from the ride and mentions of the name around the park. Removal of signage is normal for any ride that they think will be SBNO for more than a few weeks. They remove the signage and references more so that people dont ask if it will be opening, not so they can retheme or rebrand it when it re-opens. I can't see them renaming The Smiler, Coaster and Kerfuffle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Has there been any more news as to when the Smiler will be reopening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Has there been any more news as to when the Smiler will be reopening?  They're saying it will open this year, but haven't released a date yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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