MattyMoo Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Smiler going backwards for 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerfuffle Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 News just in, it's also Thirteen hinted here. It probably is the Big Six Challenge making a comeback. (Alton Towers on Facebook) CharlieN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh3103 Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 So silenthillXD was actually right in the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theme Park Joseph Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Yay the big six challenge is returning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pognoi Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 On 19/03/2017 at 10:22 AM, silenthillXD said: Not going to lie it's rather funny seeing people freak out over something that's pretty obviously just a rebrand of the Big 6 challenge. Please actually go for that job as a met investigator your skills are impeccable silenthillXD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silenthillXD Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 On 3/21/2017 at 1:41 AM, wegloo said: Please actually go for that job as a met investigator your skills are impeccable Haha who say's I'm not one already In all seriousness though, it just seemed kinda obvious? I mean there was no way it would be some form of new ride, as we would've seen planning, or heard some marketing hype by now. Likewise, smiler VR? Nah too many people would hurl. I mean we kinda knew it would be something they wouldn't be investing in as they've got all the ceebeebies stuff and towers loving care stuff going on this year. Also it was inevitable the Big Six Challenge would come back, they're not going to waste a good marketing tool just because of the unfortunate smiler incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halfwaycorrected Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 will be my first time on the smiler this weekend and was just wondering if the air time is good on the airtime hills thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 I don't really remember much airtime - my head was so dizzy from all the constant inversions I don't remember much else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han30 Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Halfwaycorrected said: will be my first time on the smiler this weekend and was just wondering if the air time is good on the airtime hills thanks There is only one that really strikes me on the Smiler and that I can really remember as its (obviously) mainly inversion after inversion - definitely worth riding - hope you enjoy! Halfwaycorrected 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halfwaycorrected Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted October 8, 2017 Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 Something that amuses me about Smiler now is that people are point blank terrified of riding the front row. Means its the easiest ride to get the best seats in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 The Single Rider Queue on Smiler (and pretty much every other ride at Towers except Spinball..) is gone. One clear reason for this is to reduce staff numbers, as now the bag room and batch host are no longer there, with these lovely boxes on the station instead: Image from TowersStreet Facebook Ringo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringo Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 17 minutes ago, BaronC. said: The Single Rider Queue on Smiler (and pretty much every other ride at Towers except Spinball..) is gone. One clear reason for this is to reduce staff numbers, as now the bag room and batch host are no longer there, with these lovely boxes on the station instead: Image from TowersStreet Facebook Does that mean the stairs are now gonna be rammed or are they still going to manage the amount of people on them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 Will also be interesting to see how this works when The Smiler is running all its trains... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 I do like how the fastrack queue just goes through the fire door. A terrible looking short term fix that I suspect will be in place until the end of time. The images towerstreet uploaded just show how tired the smiler is looking. The yellow hasn't aged well and the mistake in drainage design really hasn't helped the ride look presentable either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringo Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 19 minutes ago, Project LC said: I do like how the fastrack queue just goes through the fire door. A terrible looking short term fix that I suspect will be in place until the end of time. The images towerstreet uploaded just show how tired the smiler is looking. The yellow hasn't aged well and the mistake in drainage design really hasn't helped the ride look presentable either. Didn’t they do a “TLC” on the yellow the other year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetmagix Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 They did some work on the multicoloured exit stairs and some of the station last closed season I think. A quick once over with a pressure washer and some work on the drainage would go a long way to getting it back to a decent standard. I'm gutted pretty much all the SRQs are now gone, it seems very short sighted and I would not feel comfortable leaving my bag in the cage when all the trains are running. Ringo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Mattgwise said: Will also be interesting to see how this works when The Smiler is running all its trains... It's never gonna be running 5 ever again, we'll be lucky if it ever runs 4 on most days... Ringo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringo Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 The other side of removal of baggage drops is actual lockers at the park, those electronic ones they have at Towers & Chessington very rarely work. Anyone know if any lockers have been added / replaced around the park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetmagix Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 As far as I know the lockers by the entrance didn't work at all last season, guest services got pretty shirty when I complained. Said I could use the ones by Galactica instead.... When they work though I really like them, being able to nip back and drop off/pick up things instead of carrying them around all day was very useful. No worries about losing your key either. Ringo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringo Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 I did manage to use the ones at the entrance on 4th November last year but as you say it’s very hit and miss. I too have had the same “customer service” with regards to the lockers. It would be good if they had a few other £1 lockers dotted around though. I won’t use the Chessington electronic ones anymore after it offered us someone else’s full locker for use. Poor staff member said she dreads when someone mentions lockers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 35 minutes ago, Benin said: It's never gonna be running 5 ever again, we'll be lucky if it ever runs 4 on most days... Exactly what I meant. My point essentially being that there's actually less storage there than all of the other 2 train Merlin Coasters and this runs 3 or 4 trains most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted March 10, 2018 Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 Great to see progress in our parks. Who needs bag holds anyway, when you can just cram them on a few B&Q shelving units and cut the costs of expensive staff. Clearly much quicker and easier for everyone. Merlin really are pushing and innovating our parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 It’s not like bag holds are an amazing solution - will it really make much difference to throughputs - I’m not so sure, and the queuing after to get your bag wasn’t much fun either. Would quite like to see merlin to go down the more universal route, lockers before the queue, it will be a job convincing people to part with their bags for an entire queue though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetmagix Posted March 11, 2018 Report Share Posted March 11, 2018 The biggest issues I saw with The Smiler was not allowing enough people up the stairs to fill the trains, I've even seen platform staff get pretty angry as they had run out of people to batch! Not strictly a bag hold issue but still. As much as I dislike the Universal system it is the safest option, at least give us the option of lockers near the start of the queue. As it stands the nearest lockers are by the park entrance(?) Assuming they're working of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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