It appears that in The Smiler's station, one of the gates that open before the ride dispatches has been moved forwards, does anyone know why?

The worst bits for me are: coming out of inversion 2; inversion 12 and inversion 13.

I haven’t yet ridden The Smiler this season but from pictures I’ve seen it doesn’t seem to be in good shape. It’s a real shame to see an attraction that isn’t even 5 years old yet looking so run down.

I still enjoy it as a coaster but it isn’t ageing at all well.

I am sorry to tell you guys but The Smiler unfortunately still looks like it is in a horrible state, although giving a smooth back row ride! I was surprised to see it operating on 4 trains today today and whether it helped to speed the queue up or not I am not sure as I always used the single rider line, however I did see it dual more often which was pleasing!

Indeed all the TVs were back on, some had dead pixels etc, the inncoculator didn’t operate yesterday, and I did see the strobe in the projection room. These are steps in the right direction, but I was just saying that the ride is still in a very tired state.

First time riding and having ridden Saw was a little concerned that a ride that long would leave some kind of head injury.

Front row and was really amazed at how smooth it was in comparison, only the last 2-3 inversions started to get knocked around. Was happy to not hold on for I think the whole ride, unlike Saw's braced requirement.

When I went yesterday a train or two were roaring (like in 2013) and the others were quieter. Does anyone know if the trains have different wheel compounds for a particular reason?

Train 4 (I believe) is different in some respects. I'm not sure how exactly, but the restraint sensors weren't happy about someone in row one. They were going to move them to another row, but then said, ah train 4 is next they can just ride that in the same row. So at the very least it runs more accommodating harnesses and is a bit heavier than the rest.