When to queue
Go at 10am.
- Typical wait at 10am
- 39min
- At 7pm, its worst hour
- 59min
Alton Towers · Thrills
The Smiler queue times
- Typical wait
- 57min
- At its busiest
- 72min
- Shortest queue
- 8pm
- Running
- 80%
57minTypical wait
A typical day, opening to close
The Smiler at Alton Towers averages 57 minutes. It is shortest at 8pm and worst at 4pm. It has run 80% of the park's opening hours recently.
The Smiler queue times, day by day
Every reading through the day, against what The Smiler usually does at that hour. Pick another day underneath.
The Smiler over recent weeks
Typical waits from this ride's own recorded readings
The Smiler has averaged about 57 minutes of queue across its recorded readings, peaking around 72 minutes, with the longest queues near 4pm, and the shortest near 8pm. Pick a date below to see that day minute by minute.
- Typical
- 57min
- Peak
- 72min
- Running
- 80%
- Busiest at
- 4pm
Last 14 days, tap one
Which day
Pick a Thursday.
- Typical wait on a Thursday
- 52min
- On a Saturday
- 86min
Does The Smiler break down?
Now and then.
It was running 80% of the time Alton Towers was open over the last two weeks, so it was down about 12 minutes in every opening hour.
- Running, share of opening hours
- 80%
- Queue readings recorded
- 13,710
The record
140 minutes.
The longest queue The Smiler has held, on Tuesday 27 October.
Every ride at Alton Towers →When is the The Smiler queue shortest?
Usually at 10am, about 39 minutes, against 59 at 7pm. Turning up at the right hour saves 20 minutes on a single ride.
The Smiler queue times by hour
Typical wait, last 90 days · minutes
3910a
5311a
4712p
471p
502p
513p
564p
475p
466p
597p
458p
Walk on under 10 minShort 10-19 minModerate 20-34 minLong 35-59 minVery long 60 min and up
Best time to ride The Smiler
10am on a Thursday
The Smiler averages 39 minutes at 10am. The longest queue it has ever held is 140 minutes.
57maverage
Which day is quietest for The Smiler?
Thursday, at 52 minutes on average, against 86 on Saturday.
The Smiler by day of the week
14 days with a recorded queue
- Mon60m
- Tue64m
- Wed69m
- Thu52m
- Fri67m
- Sat86m
- Sun84m
Does The Smiler break down?
It ran 80% of Alton Towers's opening hours across 14 recorded days, and is improving. It ran without a recorded stop on Friday 30 Oct.
Uptime and closures
80% of opening hours · 14 days recorded
↑ improving80%
Average
Running 80% of the minutes Alton Towers was open.
Each square is one day, its share of opening hours running. Tap a day to open it above.
How long can the The Smiler queue get?
The worst queue recorded for The Smiler was 140 minutes on Tuesday 27 Oct.
Longest The Smiler queues on record
Peaks in the last 14 days · Every one a real date
- 1Tuesday 27 Oct140m
- 2Wednesday 28 Oct130m
- 3Saturday 17 Oct120m
- 4Sunday 18 Oct120m
- 5Saturday 24 Oct120m
- 6Thursday 22 Oct100m
- 7Friday 23 Oct100m
- 8Friday 16 Oct90m
Which months are busiest for The Smiler?
October runs longest at 58 minutes on average, and May is quietest at 33.
The Smiler through the year
All-time average by month · minutes
45Nov
51Mar
38Apr
33May
34Jun
53Jul
49Aug
36Sep
58Oct
About The Smiler
The Smiler at Alton Towers held the Guinness World Record for the most inversions on a roller coaster when it opened in 2013, with 14 loops, corkscrews and dive drops over its 1.16km layout. The theming centres on a fictional 'Ministry of Joy' and the trains tilt riders through repeated barrel rolls between station and finale. Top speed 53 mph, ride duration around two and a half minutes.
The Smiler is one of Alton Towers' big four headline rides, so live queue times often top 50 minutes mid-day. The throughput is decent for its complexity but never matches demand on peak days. Ride at opening or pair with a Fastrack. The first row delivers the strongest sense of speed, the back row the most aggressive whips.
The Smiler has averaged about 57 minutes of wait over recent weeks, and is typically busiest around 4pm and quietest around 8pm. Over the last two weeks it has been open around 80% of the park's operating hours. It's typically quietest on Thursdays and busiest on Saturdays.
How we measure
- Readings
- The queue time Alton Towers publishes for this ride, read every few minutes while the park is open.
- By hour
- This ride's own last 90 days, within opening hours.
- Day by day
- Its last 14 days.
- Running
- The share of the park's open minutes the ride was running.
Frequently asked
What's the current wait time for The Smiler?
The live wait time for The Smiler at Alton Towers is shown at the top of this page and refreshed directly from the park's own ride system. Check live The Smiler queue times.
Is The Smiler open right now?
The live status badge at the top of this page shows whether The Smiler is open or closed right now - it updates automatically from Alton Towers's own ride system. Over the last couple of weeks, The Smiler has been open around 80% of Alton Towers's operating hours. You can also see the live status of every ride at Alton Towers.
What's the best time of day to ride The Smiler?
Based on historical queue time data, The Smiler is typically quietest around 8pm. For most rides the queue is shortest in the first hour after the park opens and the last hour before it closes, with midday through mid-afternoon the busiest window.
What is the best day to ride The Smiler?
The Smiler is usually quietest on Thursdays, and busiest on Saturdays based on recent weeks - visit on a Thursday for shorter waits.
How long is the queue for The Smiler usually?
Over recent weeks, The Smiler has averaged about 57 minutes, with queues usually longest around 4pm. Wait times usually build through the morning, peak from midday to mid-afternoon, then ease off before close. Weekends and school holidays run noticeably longer than quiet weekdays. This page shows today's live wait time, the day's average, hourly breakdowns and the full history of peak queues for The Smiler at Alton Towers.
Is The Smiler often closed or broken down?
Over the last two weeks, The Smiler has been running about 80% of the time. We track The Smiler's uptime and downtime automatically - see the "Reliability" and "Downtime History" panels on this page for its full record over the last 30 days, including any current closures and how long they've lasted.
Where can I find The Smiler at Alton Towers?
The Smiler is at Alton Towers - see the park map and full ride list for its exact location. The Alton Towers page also shows which rides nearby have the shortest queues right now.
Can I get queue time alerts for The Smiler?
Yes - create a free alert and we'll notify you when The Smiler's wait time drops below your chosen threshold (for example, "tell me when The Smiler is under 20 minutes"). Great for timing your sprint from across the park.
More rides at Alton Towers
Other rides at Alton Towers
Crowd calendar · Best time to visit · Best rides · Ride reliability · Plan a day