The Smiler

Probably the most thrilling rollercoaster ride! Lots of twists and drops and loops. Mad speed. Might be a little too much for younger kids not used to big thrill rides. There's a mini stop at the halfway point to catch your breath! Highly recommend even with the long queues. Any kind of fast track is well worth it for these popular rides.

I can never decide between this and nemesis which is my favourite ride at Alton towers. Front row on the smiler is superb, can get a little rough towards the back but I don't mind, adds to the thrills. Compact and thrilling, incredible engineering

I am writing this review on behalf of Chef Simon from college. He has ridden this roller coaster 11 times. He waited 2 hours. I think he enjoyed himself even tho The Smiler is quite rough but it is a Gerstlauer coaster tho so no surprise that it isn’t aging very well. I hate upside down rides so watched it from off ride and enjoyed myself. Chef Simon has now been upside down 154 times on The Smiler

Great day at Alton towers. Not as busy as I was expecting and this was on a Saturday. We got there after 10:00 so the queues to get in had gone. The longest I had to wait for one of the main rides was 40 minutes, not bad for a weekend.

The smiler is an amazing ride it's one of my faves at the park cause of the theming and the lore behind the ride and the staff were really nice I would recommend it if you like coasters with lore behind them or if you a thrill seeker

I've absolutely loved this ride since it open when I was a kid! It really does make me smile, so it definitely lives up to its name! It has gotten a little rougher over the years but that's expected of a rollercoaster, I see no other faults than that. It's great when going on solo trips as it has a single rider queue! The staff when I visited last (25/05/24) were very friendly which helped make my day! Overall amazing ride, can't wait to come back and ride it again!

Alton towers has very popular rides but the Smiler and wicker man have to be the best. The theming is just incredible especially when you are in the queue. with 14 inversions the ride is just amazing and the best in the theme park. It is properly best to do the smiler and oblivion first because it is at the back of the park And then you should make your way over to thirteen And Rita hopefully this will avoid long queues.

One of my favourite rides at Alton towers most rollercoasters is really short the smiler last a good amount of time the only down I have of it is that it can be a little bit of a headbanger, especially on the last turn at the end of the ride apart from that, I love the smile my favourite ride at Alton Towers!

I'll keep it short and simple It is the best f-ing rollercoaster ever and a good theming :fun fact it has 14 cameras at the entrance for the 14 inversions(upside down moments)

Very good very fun good for a day out with friends long que times unless you're disabled long ride fun

It is a very fun and fast ride it is very scary but once you have done it a few times it is very fun anddddd I recommend going on this with your mates the will be terrified

I applaud the Merlin Group who own a tranche of amusement parks in the UK for their continued investment in the parks' infrastructure. They've recently built Swarm at Thorpe Park and this year, they've opened Smiler at Alton Towers Smiler has been trumpeted as a world record holder with 14 inversions but I didn't see any official plaque acknowledging this fact unlike the plaque you can see at Colossus at Thorpe Park for the period that it held the record for the most inversions Smiler was built in the area of X Sector, which used to house Enterprise, the indoor roller coaster. As you approach X Sector, you can see that it's a big ride and a glance at one of the many Youtube videos showing the ride in action will confirm that it's quite a long ride by British standards. As there's a bye-law limiting the rides at Alton Towers to tree level or lower, some of the ride is built in a dug out area to meet this requirement The first thing which struck me was Alton Tower's terrible recent record for naming new rides has struck again. RITA was a poor name and theme and Smiler's psychotic theme, decor and tune makes no sense. There were random bits of what appeared to be car wash parts all over the ride and the repeating tune made me want to smash the speakers to bits after listening to it for 2 hours in the queue Be careful. Virtually every inch of the ground area of the ride is literally queue space. So, even if it seems not too bad before you enter it, you'll be in for a long, long queue.I strongly recommend you make use of the single rider queue. Fastpass is also available for a fee but I suspect that the queues will shorten once people have ridden it once and the novelty wears off Riders are seated 4 abreast in cars of 16 riders. There's one roll before the train reaches the first lift hill. Yes, first hill - you'll get 7 inversions before the car gets to a second vertical lift hill, which delivers another 7 inversions. I suspect that this double lift element may mean it doesn't officially get recognition as a true 14 inversion experience Listening to the designer of the ride say on Youtube that the point of the ride was to make you feel nausesous drove my friends to take anti sickness meds before boarding as we were due to have dinner at a 2 Michelin star establishment that evening. You do get shaken up but it's not too bad It's a fun addition to Alton Towers' line up of coasters but I suspect that there won't be many people going for re-rides. And sort out that stupid tune if you're going to make guests queue for 2 hours listening to it!

The most amazing ride I've ever been on!!!! The newest ride at Alton Towers! So expect a queue! Or get here first thing! Queue times range from anything between 30 & 90 minutes but the queue is fun with the whoosing noise and the ride just above youre head makes youre adrenaline rush before you get on the ride! But the experience you will have on this ride is like no other, I've been on loads of ride in the USA but this is one is outstanding! Its sooooooo cool looking with twists and turns at every corner, once you think its over theres another twist and turn or another loop, there is a vertical lift as well which is pretty cool! There are 14 loops altogether and once the ride has finished you will be smiling! Truly awesome ride!!!!