jbuckton18 wrote:

J_Baggie wrote:

Not really relevant but...
gerst car spotted at 8:40 in a car park in uttoxeter

Now you see this is really relevant in my opinion! Never been so exited about seeing a car parked up ! :L

Ahh, that's where they get their parts from!! You can't blame them; if they manage to get 5000 clubcard points they can get at MAP (with a disclaimer stating rides are subject to availability, of course).

BOGOF fins anyone?? Every littler helps!

RollercoasterGEEK100 wrote:

I think they'll open it tomorrow with out advertisement then on that night they'll advertise it so loads of guest visit on Saturday so tomorrow is like a soft opening.

In my opinion your right, I think they will soft open tomorrow and then fully open on Friday
edit: Just saw the post about the fences very exited

ATfanatic wrote:

swfcjambo wrote:

So.... if it doesn't open tomorrow, and is delayed by another week or more, will my sun free tickets be valid for a different day? has anyone had confirmation about this yet???

sorry to be bearer of bad news but this is a no, no they won't the same question was asked by a person on twitter and the simple answer alton gave them was no

Not necessarily.

I went on May 23rd with my Sun tickets to the park and then when I got home I sent them an email saying I was disappointed that The Smiler wasn't open when I went and that a member of staff was quite rude to me (different story) and they have sent me a validation email with a reference number so I can go back AGAINn with the same free tickets for another free day in the park any time I choose, which of course I'm now waiting until the ride is open to make full use of.

So maybe if you explain the situation to Guest Services via email you might get a similar response with your own validation email allowing you to go on any day of your choosing.

I hope it's open this weekend, got Sun tickets for Thursday (6th June). Specifically put that date band to be safe that it would be open, looks to be cutting it close! Fingers crossed!

Can you post some pictures.

fencing around the ride or just the entrance? maybe soft opening today? **bags are at the ready!** might have to pop down for a hour or two..

Agreed, we need some more pics.  I know we've seen everything but I just can't get enough of them.  Gets me excited!  And a good fix before the reviews and POV's start coming in.
Would also like to see some more testing vids of the marmaliser effects.
I know this may be a stupid question, but is there any chance the smiler won't duel?  We have not seen any testing of this yet and the two trains battling along with a load of people on the queue line cages could be a bit intense.  I'm all for it    But I was just wondering why it hasnt been mentioned more.  Has Wardley even mentioned it?
I know its designed to duel, but could we be let down if there are HandS issues?
Also, any truth to that info about the trains being modified to stop people resting their legs on the front bar?

Slasherpyro wrote:

fencing around the ride or just the entrance? maybe soft opening today? **bags are at the ready!** might have to pop down for a hour or two..

Could well be a soft opening today after Lunch or towards the evening optimistic but possible

jbuckton18 wrote:

Stfcsteve wrote:

Fences have been moved from the entrance now

Yes well it's got to be tomorrow opening if the fences have been removed from the entrance !

lol, I fail to see the logic in your statement. Fences have been removed, put back, removed again during construction and I really don't see why this means the Smiler would be open tomorrow, haha!

Heisenberg96 wrote:

Slasherpyro wrote:

fencing around the ride or just the entrance? maybe soft opening today? **bags are at the ready!** might have to pop down for a hour or two..

Could well be a soft opening today after Lunch or towards the evening optimistic but possible

Optimistic, indeed, i feel like a young boy again on christmas just waiting to unwrap presents!!!!

GigaSurimi wrote:

jbuckton18 wrote:

Stfcsteve wrote:

Fences have been moved from the entrance now

Yes well it's got to be tomorrow opening if the fences have been removed from the entrance !

lol, I fail to see the logic in your statement. Fences have been removed, put back, removed again during construction and I really don't see why this means the Smiler would be open tomorrow, haha!

clearing the way so people can actually start to queue for it?

Slasherpyro wrote:

Heisenberg96 wrote:

Slasherpyro wrote:

fencing around the ride or just the entrance? maybe soft opening today? **bags are at the ready!** might have to pop down for a hour or two..

Could well be a soft opening today after Lunch or towards the evening optimistic but possible

Optimistic, indeed, i feel like a young boy again on christmas just waiting to unwrap presents!!!!

Know what you mean! I'm clinging on to the gut feeling I had that The Smiler would have soft opening today, right until the end of the day! I'm getting desperate!

GigaSurimi wrote:

jbuckton18 wrote:

Stfcsteve wrote:

Fences have been moved from the entrance now

Yes well it's got to be tomorrow opening if the fences have been removed from the entrance !

lol, I fail to see the logic in your statement. Fences have been removed, put back, removed again during construction and I really don't see why this means the Smiler would be open tomorrow, haha!

well people cant queue for the ride with a massive fence in the way can they ? Now its gone , they can ! haha

Guys, can I ask you all to help me keep this place tidy?
We don't need 100's of posts saying things like "ooo I hope there will be a soft opening later", or "I agree, I hope so too!", nor do we need multiple requests for images, one will do. These things do not contribute to discussion, and make the topic extremely difficult to follow.
I will start indiscriminately removing these types of posts from this moment on.

One thing I have noticed is that they have removed the pinch brakes from the vertical section of the vertical lift. Maybe these were causing problems?

JAMMYD777 wrote:

One thing I have noticed is that they have removed the pinch brakes from the vertical section of the vertical lift. Maybe these were causing problems?

Curious, can you find an image of that anywhere?

Just walked past the entrance. guy on the door said they're just finishing up the last little bits. Also a few builders eating lunch on the steps in the entrance

Entrance fence removed


Screens on again


Smiler logo


Marks on track

J_Baggie wrote:

Not really relevant but...
gerst car spotted at 8:40 in a car park in uttoxeter

I like to wonder what a Bolliger and Mabillard company car looks like... In my head they drive Bentleys and smooth sports cars haha. I also like to think Intamin drive around in drag racers.

Anywho back on topic!

When people say the barriers have been moved from the entrance, does that mean people can go into the queue? What's to stop us getting in for a few sneaky photos?

Boz wrote:

JAMMYD777 wrote:

One thing I have noticed is that they have removed the pinch brakes from the vertical section of the vertical lift. Maybe these were causing problems?

Curious, can you find an image of that anywhere?

Not a picture, but in this video at 1:23 you can see them lying on the floor behind the vertical lift and in a this picture from J_Baggie yesterday you can see they are absent from the lift itself. You can just see the fixings for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfGv5LpFjx8

ATfanatic wrote:

swfcjambo wrote:

So.... if it doesn't open tomorrow, and is delayed by another week or more, will my sun free tickets be valid for a different day? has anyone had confirmation about this yet???

sorry to be bearer of bad news but this is a no, no they won't the same question was asked by a person on twitter and the simple answer alton gave them was no

I was at alton towers on 21st may and complained that smiler was closed and got the tickets re validated for any other day (not special events).