Following a five day park-wide closure, which allowed the Health and Safety Executive to visit the crash site and carry out on-site testing of the ride, the park re-opened with The Smiler unavailable to all guests and with all of it's obvious branding removed.
Following completion of investigations and changes made to operating procedures, The Smiler reopened on 19th March The majority of the ride's theming was restored, although some minor changes were made, including removal of the video showing comical fictitious medical effects to riders and also the removal of references to riders being 'corrected'.
The Smiler. The World's First 14 Inversion Rollercoaster will have you smiling in no time Are you looking to turn that frown upside down? Marmalisation and The Marmaliser The Smiler is designed for Marmalisation; a process intended to instill a sense of social compliance through constant smiling, previously tested in a facility known as The Sanctuary.
June 2nd Incident On June 2nd , four people sustained serious leg injuries after two trains on The Smiler collided. Attraction Stats Opened. A clean, clinical white station room surrounds you. A set of gates will open in front of you, whilst several bright lights illuminate the train and a light spray of mist is projected at riders.
After reaching the bottom of the drop, riders will be twisted head over heels through the first inversion, a heartline roll. After spinning through the roll, riders will come to a stop at the foot of the first lift hill whilst bright orange lights beam down from the roof. The train will then begin to ascend the lift hill, offering views of what is to come.
Upon arrival at the top of the first lift hill, riders are presented with a picturesque view of the Towers, the lawns, the lake and Towers Street. After reaching the floor of the concrete pit below, riders are then thrown back into the sky upside down, before twisting over to drop back down to the floor, and then mirroring this element again, forming a pretzel loop inversion.
After a brief pop of ejector air time as you pass under The Tickler and The Flasher legs of The Marmaliser, riders are thrown back down into an even deeper pit before encountering a batwing consisting of two inversions.
After exiting the batwing, a corkscrew awaits riders as you pass within inches of The Giggler leg. Riders will most likely be sprayed by a light mist at this point, before coming to a halt on a block break section. A vertical lift hill towers over riders, but not for long as you soon begin to ascend it up to the sky above.
At the peak of this lift hill, you will be presented with a similar view from atop the first lift hill. Once reaching the bottom, riders are then thrown up, around and down through a sea serpent roll. Remember to smile! This time, The Inoculator lies waiting to shock guests with a light jet spray of water.
Upon reaching the bottom of this air time hill, another on ride photo camera will capture an image of the full train, before riders are sent flying head over heels through an intense cobra roll. Riders pass over the half way point before turning degrees to the left and back into the station.
The Inoculator — A jab of happiness as you pass by stage one of the smiling advocate process. The Flasher — The giant flashing device, blinding you as you hurtle underneath the leg. The Hypnotiser — Has the power to disorientate, mesmerise and disrupt your self-awareness. In December , the first planning applications were submitted and discovered online. A rumble of excitement occurred when the plans appeared online in January as what appeared to be a brand new rollercoaster containing eight inversions would be located on the site of the Black Hole tent.
The next month, the world finally got to see the potential theming elements for SW7. The station took on the appearance of a derelict facility, a large contrast compared to the structures that were stood standing in X Sector at the time. The project was green lit by the planning authorities in March, signalling the imminent arrival of a giant new rollercoaster for Shortly after the theme park season commenced, giant fences were put around the site and the deconstruction of the disused Black Hole tent began.
A teaser website we activated by the resort, allowing guests to sign up to be the first to hear any news related to the brand new project.
By May the tent was fully deconstructed to allow groundwork preparations to begin. The paving bricks were stripped away from the ground, leaving a site of rubble and dirt behind. The familiar view of a construction site had returned to the theme park. The fences around the perimeter of the site were also pushed back out into X Sector, expanding the space within the construction site. As September rolled by, large chunks of steel works began arriving at the resort.
Diversion signs to the other three rides in X Sector had to be implemented when the fences were pushed outwards yet again to make more space. September was also an exciting month for marketing as various strange smiley face logos began cropping up around the park, spray painted onto the floor. At the time, it was unsure what resemblance this would have to the ride. Nobody was aware at the time that this would become the official logo for the rollercoaster!
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