Of course, The Smilers fundamental selling point is the fact it has the most inversions worldwide. That record still hasn’t been beaten and honestly will it ever? But I thought let’s discuss the characteristics of the ride. This blog is about my preferences and opinions. Please know I do understand not everyone will agree & I truly respect that.
The Smiler is a good rollercoaster let me begin with saying that. As I don’t “hate” the ride at all I just solely struggle to re-ride it and some days even ride it once. There are a few elements that come into account when I weigh up whether I can be bothered to re-ride or not. One of which is the probability of the row we will be put on, which you don’t know until the station. I am a sucker for the front row as I feel you get the whole desirable experience whereas the back can be sometimes a little too rough. By all means not the most uncomfortable of coasters we’ve ridden for sure.
Another thing that enters my mind is the queue. I like The Smiler but definitely wouldn’t queue over 20 minutes for it. But I feel that comes from the reality of having so many rides over the years I don’t feel it’s needed to wait all that long to experience again. As nothing would have fluctuated from the last 20 or so times we’ve done it. I have to admit another reason why sometimes I don’t tend to ride this coaster. It’s that “death hill” as I call it getting from the shop to the entrance of X Sector. I’m far too unfit to be doing that level of exercise and I genuinely dread that climb so much. (Please don’t judge lol)
Of course, the reason why you probably clicked on this blog. The 14 inversions. Is that too many? My answer is yes if we ride it more than twice in a day. I find it becomes very sickly & fast when you re-ride often enough. But since I’ve begun to struggle with my hearing I’ve found inversions tend to make me quite dizzy in comparison to how they used to make me feel. So perhaps this is more on a personal level rather than an enthusiast point of view. But I can merrily take one ride on The Smiler each visit and feel entirely fine of course row depending. It’s a fun coaster for sure and if your someone who hasn’t ridden it yet you’re bound to want to simply due to this record it holds. It’s a biggie.
Do I think this record will ever be beaten? Yes, but not in the UK for sure or anytime soon. I can see in a few years more or less an American park will top this record. Potentially by 2 or more extra inversions. But then part of me feels as if 14 is the maximum for any enjoyment and anymore simply is been sold as a gimmick. But that’s my personal opinion.
——
Are 14 inversions enough for you? Do you want to see the record broke in the coming years? Let’s have a chat!
Thank you for reading & we’ll speak again soon x
