Spinball Whizzer vs The Smiler

Vintage is the reversed stat — the older ride wins. Every number here is the same one printed on the card; see /methodology for how Build Cost and Throughput are sourced.

The verdict

The Smiler takes it 5–1, and the 1 Spinball Whizzer does win is the whole of its case.

Spinball Whizzer is a steel Spinning Coaster (pinball theme) coaster at Alton Towers, GB, built by Maurer Rides. The Smiler is a steel Infinity Coaster coaster at Alton Towers, GB, built by Gerstlauer.

Both live at Alton Towers, so this is a comparison you can settle on foot in an afternoon — and one the park itself has to answer every time someone asks which to queue for first.

Both are steel-track, so nothing here is the usual steel-versus-wood argument in disguise.

Stat by stat

• Height goes to The Smiler at 98 ft against 56 ft — nearly double.
• Speed goes to The Smiler at 53 mph against 37 mph — a long way clear.
• The Smiler inverts 14 times against nothing at all from Spinball Whizzer — the widest kind of gap there is on this stat.
• Throughput goes to The Smiler at 1,050 rph against 950 rph — clearly ahead.
• Build Cost goes to The Smiler at 28.1 $m against 6.4 $m — in another class entirely.
• Vintage is reversed, so Spinball Whizzer's 2004 takes it from The Smiler's 2013 — 9 years in it.