JayTricky

Holy hell. I never thought I'd see the day a spinning coaster as good as this.

I am happy the coaster is getting what seems to be, a good theme, and fire effects. I just hope this is not to distract you from the fact that the coaster itself is short, unspectacular and unmemorable. I mean, looking at the construction photos and plans so far, it doesn't seem to have any stand out features? It looks like it will be a fun ride, with enclosed parts, pre-show, effects and a giant flaming wickerman you race through 3 times - but like I mentioned I do feel this is to mask what will be a tame coaster. I will reserve my final judgement of course until riding. And as for the worlds first claim - the less said about that complete and utter lie, the better. Also as Robb has hinted to above, I have a feeling that there will be another ICONic ride with a bigger appeal this year...

This is the part that baffles me most. I keep thinking there has to be something special to this, so unless they plan on enclosing the thing at the end, I am struggling to see where the cost is. Mystic Timbers by comparison cost $15 million. The excavation/groundwork possibly? Even the huge Wicker Man structure wouldn't make much of a dent into a 15m budget surely? They've just started to implement rock work around the structure. Same people that worked on Taron. Maybe it's that, coupled with some elaborate pre-show that might explain the price.

Reading back through the last few pages does make me cringe a bit. I mean it's hard to get hyped for this when I see thread after thread of 'better' coasters being built worldwide. But, I will reserve my judgement until riding. I mean, this is my home park and I've been twice in the last 3 years. That's how un-enthusiastic I am about the place at the moment, which backs up what people were saying on previous pages. Smiler was exciting when it came out but I have no desire to go back and ride it again. The one thing I'll give to Alton is that they haven't used any 'Worlds First' marketing or ridiculous TH13TEEN completely over the top embarrassing marketing ploys. If this coaster turns out to be a good, fun, family coaster then I am completely fine with that. Just market it as one! (as that is what it 'looks' like it will be). It seems in days past, Alton have desperately tried to grab worldwide attention for rides that were unworthy of it - desperately looking to create the next Nemesis legacy.

Nemesis is the first ride I will go on when in Alton Towers. It really does set up the day perfectly, get your blood pumping, and help beat all the busy lines if you get there on opening. On quieter days you can easily get 3-4 rides in without having to wait. The only frustrating thing being that having to get the monorail to get to the park entrance, which is quite far from Nemesis - the monorail actually passes the ride. If you are staying in the Alton Towers Hotel or Splash Landings you get to enter via the back entrance which is right next to Nemesis which is great.

I just had to comment on this DisneySea Report. My jaw literally drops on every photo, from what seems like ANY angle in the park. I mean, an erupting volcano? Are you kidding me? I hear comparisons with Epcot in that it can still be a great time just walking round the park, (which is why I love Epcot). Sounds like such a nice place to be. 99% sure I'll be visiting Asia next year and this is at the top of my list to visit.

Only one place for myself, and that's the American Adventure Theme Park, which sadly closed it's doors for the last time around a decade ago. This was the park where my love for roller-coasters and amusement parks came to be. I would rewind back to around 1997 when the park was in it's prime and it was buzzing with excitement and atmosphere. To my first ever roller-coaster which was on a Boomerang coaster called 'The Missile'. (relocated now somewhere in the UK I believe?). Just looking at the park map from 1997 brings back many memories; ...and my first ever roller-coaster. The Missile; and still one of my favourite Log Flumes of all time, Nightmare Niagara; And now it lays bare and is to become land for new housing estates... This place had so much potential. Such a shame. Memories forever though!

Go to Germany and experience Europa Park. Save an Alton Towers trip for a couple of years from now. Europa has so much more to offer overall and Alton is not exactly at it's peak right now.

To all that are taking photos and taking the time to upload onto here - a big thank you, from me. I only get to Orlando once every couple of years and it's a dream of mine to get to one of these events. Looking forward to more updates.

Just watched the live interview on TV with Joe Pugh, one of the victims of the crash and his first TV interview. The interview was done very respectfully and I thought the questions asked were fair and just. They weren't out to attack Alton Towers like many media forms and journalists seem to be doing. He seemed quite upbeat and his attitude towards the whole thing was inspiring. Despite two shattered knees, a finger basically falling off, and a compound fracture in one of his hands. Determined to walk despite being put in a wheelchair for the moment. He said he didn't blame Alton Towers, and that it would be unfair to blame anyone until the happenings are released. Which I agree with. Such a tragic accident and his telling of the story from his eyes was quite chilling. I'm sure this interview will be online soon enough.

Pretty devastating news. Really hits home how hard that impact must have been. Best wishes to her.

Have been reading page by page on here since the incident. Such an event hits my core and I've had this gut wrenching feeling in my stomach every time I think of what happened. If only for the 16 people on the ride, especially those 4 on the front row - I hope each and every one of them recovers well and my thoughts are truly with them all. That downright scandalous Sky interview (which I've only been able to watch once, whilst cringing) just tipifies the ignorant and narrow minded attitute of people. I'm all for allowing opinion, but especially as a professional for one of the biggest companies in the world - that was just downright embarrassing and I salute Nick Varney for the way he dealt with her. Some of the questions (if you can call them that?) that she asked, may not have been so harsh had she had the deceny to ask them professionally and not like some spoilt little bitch out for blood. Call me dramatic, but I've had to avoid going on my Facebook feed due to the over the top attitute towards this whole thing by many on my timeline. I accept that people aren't all big Theme Park fans and have minimal knowledge of rides but it just strikes me as massively narrow minded when I read and hear my friends banging on about how they'll never go on a roller-coaster again, or they'll not go to Alton Towers again. I had to answer to one of my friends the other day, quite politely, if they'd travel abroad on an airliner - or if they travel to/from work in their car? Bearing in mind how much more likely you are to have a car accident than be involved in a ride accident. People are entitled to feel this way, but it just grinds on me I guess... I for one hope, and believe the incident WILL blow over, and people will forget. As major incidents in the past across the globe have proven. Here's to a speedy recovery for those involved.

Genuinely good interview and I hope that a lot of people with recent anxiety and safety thoughts on roller coasters were watching.

They spent 18m on the Smiler. They could have installed a LSM launch if they had really wanted to. I don't buy that theory at all. If they were that bothered about electricity why would they keep the Marmaliser screen running all day, music blaring all day and effects on all day?....

Sonic Spinball. I think this emoticon sums it up :

Didn't it get married?

OK, now that's my luck, those photos are posted right as I post mine. Absolutely stunning photos there!

After a lot of anticipation and a long time waiting, I finally arrived at the Towers today and can now add my thoughts on The Smiler! Being Fathers day, I invited my old man along to join in the fun. To make it extra special, my other half who's never been before (She's Texan and been living over here for a year!) - came along as well and we had a perfect day. Arriving at the park we went straight over to X-Sector and I got my first look at The Smiler. Wow... I could not believe how good it looked. Better than the pictures for sure. The catchy, wacky theme tune was playing and all of the effects on 'The Marmaliser' were operating. It looks brilliant! Joining the queue we were told we had a 2 hour wait, and we finally started moving through the line and into the X-Sector where the music started to get louder and the screams could be heard. The queue itself is bearable and fun. I found myself looking overhead at the cars racing round the track, and at points within metres of my head. It's intimidating and exciting at the same time. You get a great view of peoples reactions and there's some excellent photo opportunities. (Hoping to take a good camera next time!). The music is very loud, and you constantly hear people singing the laughing tune, which is quite catchy I'll admit. Upon entering the indoor part of the queue line, you are now surrounded by '3D' images and hypnotising visuals. A new sinister soundtrack was playing which was a nice change. The effects were a nice touch and very well executed. Upon entering the station you are greeted with a large 'white' room. To put it bluntly. It's very basic and warehouse like. It reminded me of being in a hospital or at the dentist. Especially with the large lights and lamps that overlooked the cars and turned on just before one was dispatched into the darkness. I asked the ride attendant politely if we could ride the front row and he smiled and gave a quick thumbs up! We took our seats and I was smiling already. You are staring at a black hole, with smoke filling it slowly. As we are dispatched, the large lamps lit up our seats, smoke sprayed down in front of us and we rolled forward into the first drop. It was excellent! You head straight into a barrel roll and get a little bit of hang time. Caught me off guard and left me quite disorientated! Everyone in the car was already laughing, added by the noisy laughing theme which was playing yet again! Heading up the first lift hill you get a great view of the Towers. The first drop comes along quickly and before you know it you're heading into an inverted drop which was magnificent. I've never experienced those forces before! It's extremely hard to put into words how it felt. It was like airtime whilst being upside down! Now this is where it gets hazy.... I can not believe how INSANE and fun this ride was. I really did not know what the hell was going on or where I was. All I can explain from the 'first half' of the ride, is that it's very smooth, and the bunny hop was great and came out of nowhere. Everyone in the car was laughing and as the ride came to a stop, we all earned a much needed breather. I found the break in the middle of the ride came at the right time. I was feeling 'Marmalised' (dizzy, disorientated and a slight case of WTF just happened!?) - so I had time to catch my breath just before we headed into the vertical lift hill. This seemed to scare the hell out of a lot of people! ... Into the second half of the ride, the drop is great, again, and you're suddenly being thrown about in all directions yet again. Looking down at a line full of staring faces. Into the 'airtime hill', I experienced a serious 'WHAT THE ...." moment. You head over it with such speed that you leave your stomach at the top of it. Sprayed with a blast of water at the crest of the hill was a little refreshing if not amusing. But I have to rate this as one of my favourite moments and part of any roller-coaster I've ever been on. Love it. Now coming out of the cobra roll, is my only fault with the ride. This inversion was just lethal. I knew to brace for it but a few people I was with said they banged their head. Not good at all. You could watch it off ride at how much it 'jolts' and catches people off guard. Hopefully they'll sort this out one day, I know the Gerstlauer engineers have already pinpointed this as a problem and for the good of The Smiler I hope something can be done as it was not an enjoyable experience! ... Loved the last two, tight, barrel rolls though! Nice bit of hang time on the last inversion. Exiting the ride you are greeted with more hypnotic and confusing effects. The exit corridor was some sort of illusion that I had to double check was real before I walked through it! Nice effect. The long corridor through to the shop was nice with strobe lights, that laughing tune playing and visuals surrounding you. I was still smiling. Overall. It's a winner from me. The comment that sticks in my head was from the old man... "That was the best roller-coaster I've ever been on!". Which made me Smile. I give it a 9/10. Only thing keeping it from being a ten is that painful inversion coming out the cobra-roll. I can't fault it otherwise. I wanted to experience a range of forces on it and that's what I got. I experienced a force on the drop I've never felt before, I hit a couple of bits of airtime including insane bunny hop goodness - and at the end I felt like my mind didn't know where it was. It was very surreal. I really can understand how it gets mixed reviews as it's not everyones cup of tea to spend half the ride upside down but I was blown away. Awesome! I thought I'd share some pics. Apologies for the lack of quality, I only had my Galaxy S3 on me today. The little cousin was smiling already! He loved it! Entering the main queue area. Quite a sight! The Marmaliser - looks quite the thing. I thought I'd share this image as it shows how 'caged in' some parts of the line are. Here you see the knot element through the mesh. Apologies for the lighting but I thought it made it look quite sinister! Some excellent photo points. Great ride! Standard Alton Towers garden pic ^^ Bonus Ripsaw pic! Still as fun as ever! Thanks for reading.

This looks terrifying. I'm not one for drop towers, and this is one hell of a drop tower. I think I'd soil myself. Just when I think that they can't push the envelope any further. This idea comes along. Kudos.

For me, the roar of a B&M is something unique and intimidating. Kumba sounds brilliant. I was never there in it's early days (first ride in 2006), and have wondered whether it sounded the same in it's first year. Can anyone on here who was there at Kumba's birth answer me this, please? Just standing on the bridge and hearing it go under and over you was an experience. Amazing ride. Similar with Nemesis. For as long as I remember, Nemesis has had a brilliant roar that you can hear from outside the park. Very intimidating.

Top post, Sir. Can't wait to ride this thing and just enjoy it. Gimmick or not. I feel lucky I live 45 mins away from Alton. Still a top park despite its flaws!

This is getting embarrassing. My fellow Brits, can you please not take it so personally when someone posts their opinion on The Smiler? It reeks of the same attitude I see on the Towers forums when someone has something bad to say about it. Besides its not even a 'criticism'. More of an informed personal view that it isn't so impressive to break a world record whilst having two lift hills. Which is totally understandable. I for one take the Smiler for what it is. A gimmicky, fun, insane looking, picture friendly multi-looper 'new gen' Eurofighter! (Takes deep breath). And I welcome it as a great addition to the Towers. Ground breaking? Not a chance. Chart topping? No way. Fun as hell and unique? Definitely!

Alton have said the self duelling is purely coincidental.

Our 2014 Europe trip is going to be Scandi, so it probably won't be until 2015 when we next get to the UK. 'SW8' will probably be be finished by this time 2015. So there could be another major addition for TPR to ride! Assuming they carry on with the norm and build a major coaster every two years or so. Quite possible SW8 will be a water based attraction though to replace The Flume. Should be interesting to see how Smiler rides in two years too. It would be a shame if it just became another rough Eurofighter. I agree entirely with the comments on the coasters at AT. I've been thinking it for a while. Since Nemesis really, it seems they've had quite a few misses. Th13teen being a huge white elephant, Air and Oblivion ageing and despite being excellent nostalgic coasters - it's hard not to compare them to better rides of their kind. With regards to the Smilers fourteen inversions, and two lift hills, I can forgive them for cheating a little with the break in the middle, as with the footprint for the ride being so limited, I doubt it would be possible to fit that many inversions in that space with just one lift hill (as AT cant build a bigger one due to height limit.). Still looking forward to actually riding Smiler in two weeks, taking a few photos and giving my two cents. Can't argue with the pics already though that its easy on the eye!

Stunning photos Neil. Thank you for sharing! Nice to see Smiler get good reviews on the whole. It's literally everything I expected it to be. Stunning to look at, rough in parts, fun, disorientating, and a solid addition to Alton Towers. It's a little bit of an over reaction at the moment on the forums as people are claiming it to be better than Nemesis already. Of course that's their own opinion but let's just give it a while to run in and see how the reviews go from more of the GP and day to day visitors. Can see it coming in the top 20 in the coaster rankings.