Alton Towers Secret Weapon 7 (SW7)

[Hockeyman55]

Its seems like just yesterday they were still battling with the last piece and now already a rider. Anyone the testing requirements compared to what it is over here or is based on manufacturer?

 

[Jymmymack]

At first I thought that many inversions would be too much... but that bunny hill about half-way through the run just looks TOO good to pass up if I ever make it to AT.

 

[UK-Trigg]

First, the video at night with all the lights looks great but they should have filmed it with the trains going around the track. Second, they should keep those lights there permanently. Can you imagine how awesome that would be to right with all those lights and inversions.

I heard they had train problems on the night, cant verify this though. Agree the lights look fab but park closes at 6Pm latest (other than scarefest & fireworks) so no real point in keeping them.

Be interesting to hear about any potential head banging, and I can't figure out how they got that much testing done so quickly?

Nor me I am baffled, happy but baffled. Will let you know how it rides on the 23rd I booked 5 Smiler days off.:thumbs:

Its seems like just yesterday they were still battling with the last piece and now already a rider. Anyone the testing requirements compared to what it is over here or is based on manufacturer?

200 hours according to thr forums, I have never found proof of this though and I guess it has now been debunked. The time lapse videos may shed more light and I will do some digging on park to see what I can find out.

Another lucky rider joins the test dummies for a go on The Smiler

[video=youtube;PL-QHtLaChk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PL-QHtLaChk[/video]

 

[bobwadd]

Great videos Roodles! Thanks for posting.

 

[Dan_raven]

Hey roodles there is a vid on you tube shot on board the ride cars now. I would post it up but I'm not sure how to.

 

[Hockeyman55]

That sucks they close so early. Those coasters at night and being so close to the ground would make for some awesome night rides

 

[UK-Trigg]

we get to ride until 9pm for scarefest and Halloween approx 2 weeks of the year :down: but it is awesome when it does come round, Nemmy front row rocks in the dark and Im sure the Smiler with all its theming will too.

 

[UK-Trigg]

Another Long day on park, here are my pictures from the day.

Train

The train sat on the first lift hill all day.

Underside

From behind

Staff evacuation training

Marmaliser

The marmaliser has had a new video installed, here are some shots frrom the testing.

And finally, the Dr will see you now..............

The new marmaliser video looks amazing, I captured a 5min HD video which you can view here Still uploading will post link when done

Entrance gate and sign

And some close ups

New Trains

2 new trains were put on track today, we now have 3 on track for testing. Heres how it happened.........

Cabling the a sensor and the airtime trims

Other bits and bobs


New CCTV on top of lift hill and can you notice the grinding?

Fitting speakers inside the marmalisers leg, they all have a a speaker now.

New base for the Marmaliser.

Queue line snack hut has been themed.

Cabling the a sensor and the airtime trims

Flasher lights testing

Hope you enjoyed the latest update stay tunes for another on Monday.

 

[Hatetofly]

Another EPIC update Roodles looking forward to your review!

 

[UK-Trigg]

Another EPIC update Roodles looking forward to your review!

Not long to wait now :happy:, site is looking good with not much left to do, testing going well too :thumbs:

In the mean time here are a few press shots to whet your appetites.

http://longexposures.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/lighting-the-smiler-at-alton-towers/

Daily Mail

 

[UK-Trigg]

A few Stats

Alton Towers Resort will launch its biggest ever rollercoaster - The Smiler (www.the-smiler.com). The first of its kind in the world, The Smiler will be the biggest ever investment for a ride at the Resort. Here are a few facts:

The Smiler is twice the size of Nemesis
The track of The Smiler is 1,170m, which is equivalent to 78 double decker buses lined up within a row
The highest drop is 30m, which is comparable to 17 black cabs stacked up on top of each other
The ride time is 165 seconds which is 3x the ride time of Rita
The maximum speed is approx. 85 km/hr which is 10 km//hr faster than Air
It has 3,000 hours of manual labour, equal to flying to Australia 143 times
5,000 cubes of concrete were used within the build
It's an £18m investment, the equivalent of buying 120 of the world's most desirable sports cars
Passengers per train - 16
Minimum rider height - 1.4m
Location - X Sector, on the site of the old Black Hole ride

 

[Felipe]

Thanks for the updates, Roodles! :thumbs: And I love that long exposure shot!

 

[bobwadd]

Thanks for the specs Roodles :thumbs:

Edited for those of us on this side of the pond.

The Smiler is twice the size of Nemesis
The track of The Smiler is 1,170m, (3838.5 feet or 0.727 miles) which is equivalent to 78 double decker buses lined up within a row
The highest drop is 30m, (98.4 feet) which is comparable to 17 black cabs stacked up on top of each other
The ride time is 165 seconds (2.75 minutes) which is 3x the ride time of Rita
The maximum speed is approx. 85 km/hr (52.8 mph) which is 10 km//hr (6.2 mph) faster than Air
It has 3,000 hours (125 days) of manual labour, equal to flying to Australia 143 times
5,000 cubes (6539.7 cubic yards) of concrete were used within the build
It's an £18m (27.6m USD) investment, the equivalent of buying 120 of the world's most desirable sports cars
Passengers per train - 16
Minimum rider height - 1.4m (55 inches)
Location - X Sector, on the site of the old Black Hole ride

 

[UK-Trigg]

Thanks for the specs Roodles :thumbs:

Edited for those of us on this side of the pond.

The Smiler is twice the size of Nemesis
The track of The Smiler is 1,170m, (3838.5 feet or 0.727 miles) which is equivalent to 78 double decker buses lined up within a row
The highest drop is 30m, (98.4 feet) which is comparable to 17 black cabs stacked up on top of each other
The ride time is 165 seconds (2.75 minutes) which is 3x the ride time of Rita
The maximum speed is approx. 85 km/hr (52.8 mph) which is 10 km//hr (6.2 mph) faster than Air
It has 3,000 hours (125 days) of manual labour, equal to flying to Australia 143 times
5,000 cubes (6539.7 cubic yards) of concrete were used within the build
It's an £18m (27.6m USD) investment, the equivalent of buying 120 of the world's most desirable sports cars
Passengers per train - 16
Minimum rider height - 1.4m (55 inches)
Location - X Sector, on the site of the old Black Hole ride

:rofl: Thanks Bob :rofl:

A team will be blogging live from park for Towerstimes.com, I will be part of that team. Updates will be loaded to a new dedicated site and you will see everything from the day as it happens. Time difference might be a problem for some of you as we will be starting at 7am, 2am US time. None the less I will post the link nearer the time.

 

[Cruiseshipfan]

Any word yet on what the secret element of the ride is yet? Or do we need to wait until opening for it to be revealed.
This ride is really making me wish Merlin would set up a park here in Australia, after all they did recently purchase a bucket load of our big attractions.

 

[UK-Trigg]

Still one secret that I do not know, infact I have followed this closely for nearly 2 years and am still none the wiser. Speculation continues but AT have done a fantastic job of keeping theis under wraps.

Here is a snippet from a recent Alton Towers press realease

The Smiler, which is Alton Towers Resort's biggest ever investment at £18m, took over eight months to build and the secret world first element has been kept under wraps since construction began back in September. Not for the faint hearted, the marmalising rollercoaster features a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and jabbing needles designed to mess with your mind.

Full article can be found here

In the mean time the fourth and final installment of the viral video campaign has been released.

[video=youtube;ef45vWBBpM8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ef45vWBBpM8[/video]

All four video in the series

 

[Hatetofly]

So the secret element still hasn't been shown or announced Roodles?

 

[UK-Trigg]

So the secret element still hasn't been shown or announced Roodles?

As far as we are aware they still have a secret "that you will only know from riding". we know there is a barrel roll and an indoor section under the station so it has to be inside there, no idea what though.

Here is another video of testing, apparently running on soft wheels.

[video=youtube;NLw1Mpx-KaE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLw1Mpx-KaE&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[UK-Trigg]

Yet another Video, this one isthe POV many of you have wanted to see.

[video=youtube;mZM0-jEUUiE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mZM0-jEUUiE[/video]

SMILER POV

 

[Felipe]

Roodles, I get an error message on the video, saying: "Sorry. The creator of this video has not given you permission to embed it on this domain. This is a Vimeo Plus feature."