The Smiler (roller coaster)

The Smiler

The Smiler trains dueling
Previously known as SW7
Alton Towers
Park section X-Sector
Coordinates 52°59′14″N 1°53′43″W / 52.98722°N 1.89528°W / 52.98722; -1.89528Coordinates: 52°59′14″N 1°53′43″W / 52.98722°N 1.89528°W / 52.98722; -1.89528
Status Operating
Opening date 31 May 2013
Cost £18,000,000
Replaced The Black Hole
General statistics
Type Steel
Manufacturer Gerstlauer
Designer John Wardley (track layout)
Ben Dowson (creative lead)
Model Infinity Coaster
Track layout Infinity Coaster 1170
Lift/launch system 2 Chain lift systems
Height 72 ft (22 m)
Drop 30 m (98 ft)
Length 1,170 m (3,840 ft)
Speed 52.8 mph (85.0 km/h)
Inversions 14
Duration 2:45
Capacity 960 riders per hour
G-force 4.5
Height restriction 140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Trains 3 trains with 4 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 16 riders per train.
Fastrack available
Single rider line available
The Smiler at RCDB
Pictures of The Smiler at RCDB

The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it features 14 inversions and holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster. The Smiler has suffered a series of setbacks and ride incidents including a malfunction at a press preview event which delayed the official opening date to 31 May 2013. On 2 June 2015, two of the ride's trains collided leaving five riders seriously injured. An investigation by the HSE was initiated and the ride was closed for the remainder of the season. The ride eventually reopened on 19 March 2016 for the start of the new season.[1]

History

Plans to build The Smiler were submitted to the local authority in December 2011. Permission was granted on 15 March 2012 following a Staffordshire Moorlands Council meeting, despite some local opposition to its construction.[2] Gerstlauer, a German manufacturing company, was hired to build the roller coaster.[3] Less than a month after obtaining permission, Alton Towers launched a website announcing a new ride – codenamed Secret Weapon 7 (SW7) – for the 2013 season. Its codename followed a similar format used for other roller coasters during their teaser campaigns, such as SW4 for Oblivion and SW6 for Thirteen.[4]

In June 2012, a trademark filed by Merlin Entertainments, parent company of Alton Towers, hinted that the new ride would be named The Smiler.[5][6] On 17 October 2012, a number of facts about the coaster were revealed to the public including its maximum speed, track length, ride time, passengers per train and ride cost. Despite the release, Alton Towers did not announce or confirm the name for the ride.[7]

Construction

The site for the new ride was determined to be an area in the park being occupied by the tent that previously contained the Black Hole, a roller coaster which closed after the 2005 season.[8][9] The park began dismantling the Black Hole on 12 April 2012.[10][11] The first pieces of track arrived at the park in late October 2012.[12] Sections of track were later moved to the construction site on 6 December 2012.[13][14]

In January 2013, Alton Towers officially confirmed that the ride would be called The Smiler.[15] In February 2013, the park revealed some of the ride's elements.[16] The trains arrived in March 2013, as Alton Towers began posting images on both Twitter and their official Smiler website.[17][18][19] Vertical construction was completed approximately one month later, as the final piece of track was installed at the top of the first lift hill.[20][21][22]

Opening

Initially, The Smiler was expected to make its public debut in March 2013 for the park's opening day, but due to construction delays, the date was pushed back to 23 May 2013.[23] The date had to be pushed back further after technical issues were encountered during testing and a ride incident occurred during its preview event that stranded riders on the lift hill.[24][25] Following the incident on 17 May 2013, Alton Towers explained on their website that The Smiler would not open on the originally scheduled date due to "unforeseen teething problems."[25][26]

The ride's delayed opening initially caused controversy as many had booked advance tickets and stays at the Alton Towers Hotel in order to be among the first to ride the coaster.[27] However, Alton Towers later announced it would allow those who had made advanced bookings to change their tickets and hotel reservations free of charge.[27][28] The Smiler eventually opened on 31 May 2013.[29]

Incidents

The ride has been known for a number of significant structural and technical issues since its launch. The most serious incident occurred on 2 June 2015, when a loaded train collided with an empty test train, causing serious injuries to a number of riders.[30] Subsequently, Merlin Entertainments decided to close The Smiler, Saw – The Ride at Thorpe Park, and two other roller coasters at Chessington World of Adventures (all of which have since reopened) while safety protocols and procedures were evaluated.[31][32] The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served a Prohibition Notice upon the Smiler, preventing the ride's use until remedial action had been completed.[33] On 27 July 2015, it was stated by Merlin Entertainments chief executive Nick Varney that The Smiler would "not be opening this summer".[34] The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has initiated a criminal investigation that will focus on the actions of two employees – a ride engineer and a ride operator – who may have failed to follow basic safety protocols leading up to the accident.[35] In the incident's aftermath, Alton Towers and its owner Merlin Entertainments have seen a drop in revenue and visitor numbers, which has contributed to the decision to make up to 190 job redundancies at the theme park.[36] Six rides were closed during the 2016 season as a result of the crash.[37]

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Varney said:

This has been a terrible incident and a devastating day for everyone here. We have a very strong record of safe operation of our rides here at Alton Towers and it is our priority. I would like to express my sincerest regret and apology to everyone who suffered injury and distress today and to their families.
— Nick Varney, speaking to PRWeek after The Smiler's crash in June 2015[38]

The ride eventually reopened on 19 March 2016 for the start of the 2016 season with additional safety features.[39] Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd was prosecuted by the HSE at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 22 April 2016, in which the firm pleaded guilty,[40] [41] and was sentenced to a £5 million fine on 27 September 2016 after a two day hearing at Stafford Crown Court.[42]

Date Reopened Details Refs
17 May 2013 31 May 2013 The Smiler suffered a malfunction at its opening during a preview event for celebrities and journalists which delayed the coaster's official opening. The train became stuck on the first lift hill trapping passengers in their seats for an hour until they could be evacuated. [43][44][45]
4 June 2013 5 June 2013 One of the trains stalled on the ride's batwing element during a test run before the park opened to the public. [46]
10 June 2013 11 June 2013 A train stalled once again in the same batwing element, but unlike previous times, weighted dummies were present on the train. The cause of the incident was revealed as a computer malfunction that triggered the trim brakes. [47]
21 July 2013 25 July 2013 48 people were evacuated from the ride after a piece of debris fell from a section of track. Some eyewitness reports described the debris as a 1-foot-long metal bar (0.30 m), while others described it as a bolt. The incident caused two sections of track to partially disengage creating a small gap in the track. [48][49][50][51]
30 July 2013 4 August 2013 The ride was closed for five days after cracks were found around the base of one of the ride's supports. [44][52][53]
2 November 2013 7 November 2013 Four people were injured when they were struck by guide wheels that detached from the chain guide as the train ascended the vertical incline. [54][55]
2 June 2015 19 March 2016 A train carrying 16 riders and travelling approximately 20 mph (32 km/h) collided with an empty, stationary train. Of the eleven riders who required medical treatment, five were seriously injured. Two required partial leg amputations in the weeks following the incident. According to reports, the train carrying passengers was stopped automatically on the lift hill by a safety mechanism that prevents two trains from occupying the same section of track. It correctly detected that the empty train sent previously had stalled. A ride engineer manually overrode the mechanism allowing a ride operator to dispatch the halted train, which led to the collision. [35][56][57][58][59]

Description

A key feature of the ride is the large spider-like structure that serves as a centrepoint for the coaster track. Called ‘The Marmaliser,’ it has 5 legs, each with a distinct function to manipulate riders into "smiling". It is also equipped with a wraparound screen, which displays graphics and video relating to the theme of the ride. The roller coaster intertwines within the structure causing greater interaction with riders to enhance the experience.[60] The track is divided into 5 block sections, permitting up to 5 trains to operate on the ride at once, which would create a theoretical capacity of 1200 people per hour (pph). However, the Smiler only operates 4 trains, decreasing the capacity to around only 960 pph. [61]

The Smiler's theming feature
The ride's dive loop (batwing) element

Track elements

  1. Heartline roll
  2. Lift hill (Not an Inversion)
  3. Corkscrew
  4. Dive loop
  5. Dive loop
  6. Batwing (2 Inversions)
  7. Corkscrew
  8. Vertical lift hill (Not an Inversion)
  9. Corkscrew
  10. Sea-serpent roll (2 Inversions)
  11. Cobra roll (2 Inversions)
  12. Corkscrew
  13. Corkscrew

Ride experience

The train dispatches from the station and immediately enters into a sweeping drop 180-degrees to the left. Partway through this drop, riders encounter a heartline roll, the ride's first inversion. The train then comes to a stop on block brakes, before ascending the first lift hill. Upon reaching the top, the train drops into another 180-degree right turn before banking into the second inversion, a downward corkscrew. The train drops straight down into the next two inversions – two consecutive dive loops – before travelling over an airtime hill into a third Dive loop. Upon exiting the dive loop, the train traverses a sidewinder before entering a reverse sidewinder, which has the same track configuration as a sidewinder, however the trains travel through it in the opposite direction. The ride then travels through another corkscrew before reaching the second set of block brakes.[62]

After a brief pause, the train ascends the second lift hill known as a vertical lift hill. The train then enters another drop, 180-degrees to the left, banking into a downward corkscrew. Riders next encounter a Rollover/sea serpent roll, followed by a second airtime hill. Riders here experience a large amount of ejector airtime before the train reaches a cobra roll element. Upon exiting the cobra roll, the train hits two consecutive corkscrews before a 180-degree left turn into the final brake run.[63]

Marketing

Marketing for The Smiler started around the same time as construction when, on 11 April 2012, a minisite was launched allowing visitors to register for updates on the ride's progress.[64] A competition to be the first to ride the rollercoaster, at this time codenamed "SW7", started in July. To enter guests were invited to scan a QR Code with their smartphone, which subsequently redirected to Alton Towers Official The Smiler Minisite where guests entered their details.[65]

In September 2012, the park began the second stage of advertisement through the overnight spray painting of a stencil logo (which resemble a smiling face) all over the park.[66] This was followed in October with new boards around the park, new 'subliminal' advertising on different sections of the main Alton Towers website, and a countdown timer on the Alton Towers mini-site.[64][67] The countdown timer initially gave a scheduled opening date of 16 March 2013, but was removed however on 4 January 2013, as the ride hit delays.[68]

More overt advertising started in January 2013, when the "Smile" logo was used in various forms across the country. Including billboards in London;[69] ticket barriers at Leeds railway station;[70] projected onto various buildings including Big Ben;[71] and sprayed onto flocks of sheep in areas including Leicestershire, Devon and Perthshire.[72][73]

The name of the roller coaster, The Smiler, was revealed on 21 January 2013, the Metro newspaper, and the opening date was set as May (previously it was 16 March).[74][75][76]

In February 2013 a free game app was released containing a full 3D recreation of the actual ride, and a preview of the rides merchandise was published online.[77][78][79][80]

Track designer, John Wardley, confirmed in a radio interview, on 19 April 2013, that The Smiler would feature more inversions than any other rollercoaster in the world. Despite construction proving this fact long beforehand, this was the first official confirmation that The Smiler would hold the inversion record. In an earlier interview Wardley had said that The Smiler would have "...5 mind manipulating elements that play around with you on the ride, so it’s more than just a physical rollercoaster."[81][82]

From early April and throughout May, Alton Towers published videos online giving snippets of the ride's fictional backstory.[83][84][85][86] This was followed by footage of weather presenter Laura Tobin riding The Smiler, live on ITV's Daybreak programme and an advertising campaign on boxes of Krave cereal.[87][88]

References

  1. ↑ "Alton Towers' Smiler ride reopens nine months after horror crash". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  2. ↑ Sim, Nick (16 March 2012). "Alton Towers receives planning permission for SW7 roller coaster". Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Noise Report" (PDF). Staffordshire Moorlands Council. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "New rollercoaster ride approved". BBC News. BBC. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "SW7 Name Speculation Begins". Towers Street. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Case details for Community Trade Mark E10993517". Intellectual Property Office. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Alton Towers Resort to launch world's first rollercoaster in 2013" (Press release). Alton Towers. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Black Hole  (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Planning Permission Granted for Secret Weapon 7". Towers Times. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "New SW7 Promotional Material released". Towers Times. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Farewell to the Black Hole Tent". Towers Times. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Track and components arrive". Towers Times. 3 November 2012.
  13. ↑ "SW7 Construction Updates". Towers Street. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "SW7 Vertical Construction Begins". Towers Street. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  15. ↑ Gilani, Nadia (21 January 2012). "Ewe've been framed! Creepy sheep Twitter mystery solved". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  16. ↑ "February 20th 2013 : The Smiler: Confirmed Track Changes". Towers Times. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Smiler Trains Delivered". Towers Times. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  18. ↑ Alton Towers (28 March 2013). "Alton Towers Twitter - The Smiler Trains". Twitter. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "The Smiler Ride Cars Arrive". Alton Towers. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  20. ↑ "The Smiler Track Construction Completed". Towers Times. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  21. ↑ "The Smiler Track Construction Reaches Completion". Towers Street. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  22. ↑ Goodenough, Tom (23 April 2013). "Alton Towers workers recreate famous pose on top of rollercoaster". The Sun. London: News International. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  23. ↑ "The Smiler leaves many frowning...". The Sentinel. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  24. ↑ Fletcher, Damien (18 May 2013). "Alton Towers' The Smiler breaks down on preview night leaving thrill-seekers dangling". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  25. 1 2 Hogg, Chris (22 May 2013). "Alton Towers delays opening of The Smiler after technical issues". The Sentinel. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  26. ↑ "Due to unforeseen teething problems, The Smiler will not be open on 23rd May (Twitter)". Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  27. 1 2 Moody, Jenny (24 May 2013). "No date set for The Smiler opening at Alton Towers". Burton Mail. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  28. ↑ "New 'Smiler' ride at Alton Towers has teething problems". ITV News. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  29. ↑ "It's time to Join Us - The Smiler is NOW OPEN #TheSmiler". Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  30. ↑ Four seriously hurt in Alton Towers Smiler crash - Ride Rater. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  31. ↑ "Smiler - Alton Towers". rcdb.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  32. ↑ "Alton Towers And Other Parks Close Major Rides". BBC News. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "Alton Towers: HSE investigation serves prohibition notice on the Smiler". Ashbourne News Telegraph. 5 June 2015.
  34. ↑ Hiscott, Graham (27 July 2015). "Alton Towers crash: The Smiler remained closed all summer as families shun the park". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  35. 1 2 Craven, Nick (22 August 2015). "Two workers quizzed over 'human error ' in Alton Towers horror". The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  36. ↑ "Alton Towers to axe 190 jobs due to Smiler incident".
  37. ↑ "Six rides were closed during the 2016 season at Alton Towers, linked to the smiler crash".
  38. ↑ "Merlin CEO Nick Varney fronts response to Alton Towers crash". PRWeek. 4 June 2015.
  39. ↑ "Alton Towers' Smiler ride reopens nine months after horror crash". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  40. ↑ "Smiler crash: Alton Towers owner to be prosecuted". BBC. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  41. ↑ "Alton Towers admits Smiler ride safety breaches". BBC. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  42. ↑ "Smiler crash: Alton Towers operator Merlin fined £5m". BBC News. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  43. ↑ "Opening of The Smiler at Alton Towers delayed". This is Staffordshire. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  44. 1 2 "Alton Towers' Smiler ride closed again as new cracks found". Express and Star. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  45. ↑ "It's Fault-on Towers! New roller coaster BREAKS DOWN on opening ride". Daily Mail. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  46. ↑ "The Smiler Stalls". Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  47. ↑ "The Smiler Stalls for the third time.". Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  48. ↑ "Alton Towers Closes Smiler". Sky New. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  49. ↑ "Smiler forced to close again as flying part just misses Alton Towers ride queue". Express and Star. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  50. ↑ "The Smiler - Handling the Heat + Track Issues". TowersTimes. 21 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016.
  51. ↑ Moody, Jenny (July 31, 2013). "The Smiler is reopened after debris on track". Burton Mail. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  52. ↑ MOODY, JENNY (31 July 2013). "The Smiler Closed Again". Burton Mail. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  53. ↑ Twitter / altontowers: @morgeennminajThe Smiler
  54. ↑ "Rollercoaster shut after riders hurt". BBC News. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  55. ↑ "Alton Towers Smiler reopens after four hit by wheels". BBC News. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  56. ↑ "Alton Towers closed after Smiler rollercoaster crash". BBC News. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  57. ↑ "Alton Towers crash: Leah Washington has leg amputated". BBC News. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  58. ↑ "Alton Towers Smiler crash: Vicky Balch has leg amputated". BBC News. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  59. ↑ "Engineer and ride operator under investigation". Daily mail. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  60. ↑ "Alton Towers Resort reveals new rollercoaster, The Smiler is said to combine mental and physical fear factors to 'marmalise' riders!". Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  61. ↑ Jamie Grierson and Josh Halliday (3 June 2015). "Alton Towers rollercoaster crash". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  62. ↑ "Smiler - Alton Towers (Alton, Staffordshire, England, UK)". Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  63. ↑ "THE SMILER - Alton Towers - Front Row On Ride full POV - HD - GoPro - opening day". Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  64. 1 2 "SW7 - Coming Soon to Alton Towers Resort". Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  65. ↑ "Want to ride SW7 first?". Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  66. ↑ "SW7 Construction Update - 19th September 2012". Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  67. ↑ "SW7: World Beating Rollercoaster for 2013". Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  68. ↑ "SW7 Opening Delayed?". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  69. ↑ "Is Turnham Green in West London being #getcorrected". Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  70. ↑ "More advertising at Leeds Station". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  71. ↑ "Alton Towers promotional video - YouTube". Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  72. ↑ Rush, James (18 January 2013). "Just grin and baaaa it! Mysterious 'smiley face' symbol sparks internet debate after appearing on hundreds of sheep across the country". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  73. ↑ "Farmers baaa-ffled after hundreds of sheep are branded with smiley face". The Sun. London. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  74. ↑ "Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort baffles the nation in a baaarmy hoax". Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  75. ↑ "Smile! Details revealed for Alton Towers' latest coaster". Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  76. ↑ "'The Smiler' - 2013 roller coaster officially named!". Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  77. ↑ "Twitter / altontowers: @Jacob_Ross14 it's completely". Twitter.com. 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  78. ↑ "The Smiler - Game". Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  79. ↑ "The Smiler Game Released!". Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  80. ↑ "Exclusive look at The Smiler merchandise".
  81. ↑ "The Smiler: John Wardley on Bolton FM".
  82. ↑ "John Wardley talks The Smiler on Bolton FM".
  83. ↑ "Miles Cedars Interview". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  84. ↑ "Miles Cedars Tape #1". Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  85. ↑ "The Smiler is the world's first fourteen looping coaster". Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  86. ↑ "Smile. Always - Part 4 of 4". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  87. ↑ "The Smiler - On Ride Footage". Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  88. ↑ "The Smiler: The world's first fourteen looping coaster". Retrieved 4 May 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Smiler.
Preceded by
Colossus		 First roller coaster with 14 inversions
May 2013 – present 		Succeeded by
None
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