The Smiler queue times
The Smiler at Alton Towers averages 48 minutes. It is shortest at 5pm and worst at 3pm. It has run 87% of the park's opening hours recently.
The Smiler queue times, day by day
The Smiler over recent weeks
Typical waits from this ride's own recorded readings
The Smiler has averaged about 48 minutes of queue across its recorded readings, peaking around 56 minutes, with the longest queues near 3pm, and the shortest near 5pm. Pick a date below to see that day minute by minute.
The Smiler queue times by hour
Average wait by hour
Across the last 28 days · minutes
The Smiler peaks at 4pm with 56 minutes, and is at its shortest at 6pm with 33. Riding it at the right hour saves 23 minutes on a single ride.
Best time to ride The Smiler
Best time to ride
The Smiler averages 33 minutes at 6pm against 56 at the 4pm peak - 23 minutes for turning up at the right hour. The longest queue it has ever held is 95 minutes.
The Smiler by day of the week
Average wait by day
14 days with a recorded queue
- Mon36m
- Tue46m
- Wed32m
- Thu28m
- Fri50m
- Sat58m
- Sun37m
Thursday is the quietest day for The Smiler, at 28 minutes against 58 on Saturday.
Does The Smiler break down?
Uptime and closures
87% of opening hours · 14 days recorded
Running 87% of the minutes Alton Towers was open, across the last 14 recorded days.
Last 14 days uptime
- 84%
- 100%
- 94%
- 100%
- 97%
- 31%
- 44%
- 100%
- 100%
- 99%
- 92%
- 99%
- 83%
- 95%
The Smiler ran 87% of Alton Towers's opening hours across 14 recorded days. It ran without a recorded stop on Sunday 13 Sept.
Longest The Smiler queues on record
Peaks in the last 14 days
Every one a real date · tap through to that day
- 1Tuesday 1 Sept95m
- 2Saturday 5 Sept90m
- 3Sunday 30 Aug70m
- 4Friday 4 Sept70m
- 5Saturday 12 Sept60m
- 6Wednesday 2 Sept55m
- 7Monday 31 Aug50m
- 8Friday 11 Sept50m
The worst queue recorded for The Smiler was 95 minutes on Tuesday 1 Sept.
The Smiler through the year
All-time average by month
From this ride's own recorded readings · minutes
Queue times are the figures Alton Towers publishes for this ride, recorded every few minutes through the park's own opening hours. The hourly pattern is this ride's own last 28 days; the day-by-day rail is its last 14 days. Uptime is the share of the park's operating minutes the ride was running.
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 48 minutes of wait over recent weeks, and is typically busiest around 3pm and quietest around 5pm. Over the last two weeks it has been open around 87% of the park's operating hours. It's typically quietest on Thursdays and busiest on Saturdays.
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 87% 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 5pm. 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 48 minutes, with queues usually longest around 3pm. 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 87% 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.