They are a bit like Marmite, you either love roller coasters or hate them.
I love them and always have, as does my OH (except when they dive vertically down!) and my youngest will try most of them- but my eldest hates them ALL.
Our best holidays were definitely our two trips to Florida ( big thanks all round to mum without who we would not have ever afforded to go!) where literally you had all the roller coasters you ever wanted.
Years ago ( before kids) a group of us went on a weekend trip to Alton Towers which was fab and I still have great pics to prove it. We haven’t made it back though and would love to take our youngest there to try out a few. I’m sure it has changed immensely since we have visited.
Check out the video below that shows their newest ride ‘The Smiler’ the 1st 14 loop ride!!
Looks amazing doesn’t it……….like I said I think Alton Towers has changed dramatically since I visited many moons ago.
Watch our video to see Alton Tower’s new record-breaking ride, The Smiler, in action for the very first time
Family favourite, Alton Towers Resort has unveiled the world’s first 14 loop rollercoaster, The Smiler. Twice the size of Nemesis, The Smiler has been given the official Guinness World Record for the most loops in a coaster has officially been broken by the UK’s number 1 theme park, smashing the previous record of 10.
The Smiler, which is Alton Towers Resort’s biggest ever investment at £18m, has the equivalent of ten football pitches of ride-track and took over eight months to build. Not for the faint hearted, the marmalising rollercoaster also features a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and jabbing needles designed to mess with your mind.
Watch our video to catch the first glimpse of the rider’s experience in action and meet the man behind the record breaking rollercoaster. You’ll also get to see what impact the 14 loop ride will have on a rider’s body and mind through facial recognition technology.
See if your family can handle it. The Smiler will be open to the public on 23rd May.
Some more quirky facts:
• The track of ‘The Smiler’ is equivalent to 78 double decker buses lined up within a row
• Track length – 1,170m. This is 3x the length of Oblivion
• Highest drop is 30m, comparable to 17 black cabs stacked up on top of each other
• Maximum speed – approx. 85km/hr. which is 10km/hr. faster than Air
• 3,000 hours of manual labour, equal time to flying to Australia 143 times