The Smiler is a steel Infinity Coaster built by Gerstlauer at Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire, England, and it opened on 31 May 2013. From its debut, the ride claimed the world record for the most inversions on any roller coaster — a total of 14 — beating every rival by a wide margin and cementing Alton Towers’ reputation as home to some of Europe’s most extreme thrill rides.
Themed around a fictional mind-control programme called the Ministry of Joy, The Smiler squeezes its record haul of inversions — corkscrews, cobra rolls, heartline rolls, and more — into a surprisingly compact footprint in the park’s X Sector. Riders reach a top speed of around 53 mph across 3,840 feet of track before the 2 minute 45 second ride deposits them back, dizzy and grinning, at the station.
Quick Answer
The Smiler at Alton Towers has 14 inversions, the Guinness World Record for the most inversions on any roller coaster since its record-setting first cycle on 7 May 2013. The ride is 98 ft (30 m) tall, hits a top speed of 53 mph (85 km/h) along 3,840 ft (1,170 m) of track, lasts 2 minutes 45 seconds, and has a 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) minimum height requirement. As of 2026, no other coaster has matched or beaten its inversion count.
Stats at a Glance
Park: Alton Towers Resort, Staffordshire, England. Manufacturer: Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH. Model: Infinity Coaster (Custom). Opened: 31 May 2013 (record-setting first cycle 7 May 2013). Height: 98 ft (30 m). Top Speed: 53 mph (85 km/h). Length: 3,840 ft (1,170 m). Inversions: 14 (world record). Duration: 2 min 45 sec. Minimum Height: 140 cm (4 ft 7 in). Cost: reportedly around £18 million to build.
The Ride Experience
Boarding one of The Smiler’s trains, riders are plunged immediately into a relentless sequence of inversions with barely a moment to catch their breath. The layout features corkscrews, a cobra roll, a sea-serpent roll, and several heartline rolls, generating G-forces of up to 4.6. The compact layout means that elements weave over and under each other, giving the impression of an impossibly tangled knot of steel track — a spectacle almost as thrilling to watch as it is to ride.
Unlike many tall-and-fast coasters that rely on height for their headline statistic, The Smiler’s trump card is pure disorientation. At just 98 feet tall it is far from the loftiest ride at Alton Towers, but the sheer density of inversions delivers an intensity that taller, faster machines rarely match. The ride also features the Marmaliser, a five-legged truss structure over the mid-course brake run that blasts riders with lights, water spray, vapour and rotating optical patterns before the second half of the circuit launches them into more inversions.
How The Smiler’s Record Compares
Before The Smiler opened, the inversion record stood at 10, held jointly by coasters including Colossus at Thorpe Park in the UK. The Smiler didn’t just edge past that mark — it added four more loops on top of it, a jump few expected any single coaster to attempt in one layout. Guinness World Records officially recognised the 14-inversion count following the ride’s first full test cycle on 7 May 2013, ahead of its public opening later that month.
More than a decade on, the record has never been seriously challenged. Most modern multi-inversion coasters, including recent record attempts elsewhere in the world, have settled for 10 to 12 inversions rather than trying to beat The Smiler outright, partly because packing more loops into a ride tends to sacrifice pacing and comfort. That makes The Smiler something of an outlier: a ride built specifically to chase a single statistic, and one that has held its title far longer than most theme park world records typically survive.
Theming: The Ministry of Joy
The Smiler’s storyline casts riders as subjects of the fictional Ministry of Joy, a sinister organisation that promises to engineer permanent happiness through “treatment.” Queue-line signage, propaganda-style posters and the Marmaliser’s manic visuals all lean into this unsettling, tongue-in-cheek concept, giving the ride a distinct identity beyond its record-breaking stats. The theming was designed in-house by Alton Towers’ creative team and remains one of the more elaborate story treatments among the resort’s coasters.
Safety History and Improvements
On 2 June 2015, a serious collision occurred when a passenger-occupied train travelling at speed struck a stationary empty train on the ride’s course. Sixteen people were injured, five of them seriously; two riders, Vicky Balch and Leah Washington, suffered leg injuries that required partial amputations. The incident was attributed to engineers manually overriding the ride’s automated safety block system while a stalled test train remained on the circuit.
The Smiler was closed for approximately nine months while Merlin Entertainments, the park’s owner, worked with regulators to overhaul its operating procedures and safety controls. Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £5 million in September 2016, down from an initial £7.5 million after mitigation. Several victims subsequently pursued and settled civil compensation claims with the company.
The ride reopened on 19 March 2016 with enhanced safety systems, revised block-section protocols, and additional staff training. Since its return it has operated as one of Alton Towers’ flagship attractions, and its world record of 14 inversions remains unbroken as of 2026.
Height Requirement and Who Can Ride
The Smiler has a minimum height requirement of 140 cm (4 ft 7 in), in line with several of Alton Towers’ other high-intensity coasters. Riders should also be in good general health, as the ride carries the resort’s standard warnings around back, neck and heart conditions, and pregnancy, due to the sustained G-forces and rapid direction changes. As with all Alton Towers coasters, exact restrictions and any accessibility accommodations are confirmed at the ride entrance and on the park’s official ride pages, since wording is occasionally updated.
Planning Your Visit
The Smiler is located in Alton Towers’ X Sector and typically operates throughout the park’s main open season, though exact opening days and ride hours vary by month and can be affected by weather or scheduled maintenance. A Fastrack (priority queue) option and a single rider line are both usually available for The Smiler, which can meaningfully cut wait times on busy days.
Alton Towers uses tiered ticket pricing that depends on the date you visit, with online advance-booking prices generally cheaper than paying on the day, plus separate options for annual passes and multi-attraction resort tickets. Because prices, calendar availability and ride operating hours change frequently, check the official Alton Towers Resort website for current opening times, ticket prices and any Fastrack details before you go.
The Smiler inversion world record FAQs
How many inversions does The Smiler have?
The Smiler has 14 inversions, which is the Guinness World Record for the most inversions on any roller coaster. The record was set during the ride’s first full test cycle on 7 May 2013 and remains unbeaten as of 2026.
Who manufactured The Smiler?
The Smiler was built by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH, a German manufacturer, as a custom Infinity Coaster model. It opened at Alton Towers on 31 May 2013 and reportedly cost around £18 million.
How fast does The Smiler go?
The Smiler reaches a top speed of approximately 53 mph (85 km/h) along its 3,840-foot (1,170 m) track, with G-forces peaking around 4.6.
What is the height requirement for The Smiler?
Riders must be at least 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) tall to ride The Smiler, the same threshold used for several of Alton Towers’ other high-intensity coasters.
What happened in the 2015 Smiler crash?
On 2 June 2015, a loaded train collided with an empty stationary train after staff manually overrode the ride’s automated safety block system. Sixteen people were injured, including two riders who required partial leg amputations. Merlin Entertainments was fined £5 million in 2016 after pleading guilty to health and safety breaches, and the ride reopened in March 2016 with upgraded safety systems.
Is The Smiler still the world’s most-inverting coaster?
Yes. As of 2026, no other roller coaster has matched or exceeded The Smiler’s 14 inversions; the previous record of 10, held by coasters such as Colossus at Thorpe Park, has never come close to being challenged again.
Does The Smiler have Fastrack or a single rider queue?
Yes, The Smiler typically offers both a Fastrack priority-queue option and a single rider line, in addition to the standard queue. Availability can vary by day, so check the official Alton Towers website for current details.
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