The Big One 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 Big One takes it 4–2, and the 2 The Smiler does win are the whole of its case.

The Big One is a steel Hypercoaster coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, GB, built by Arrow Dynamics. The Smiler is a steel Infinity Coaster coaster at Alton Towers, GB, built by Gerstlauer.

Both are in GB, which puts them in the same conversation for anyone planning a trip there.

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

Stat by stat

• Height goes to The Big One at 213 ft against 98 ft — more than double.
• Speed goes to The Big One at 74 mph against 53 mph — a long way clear.
• The Smiler inverts 14 times against nothing at all from The Big One — the widest kind of gap there is on this stat.
• Throughput goes to The Big One at 1,650 rph against 1,050 rph — a long way clear.
• Build Cost goes to The Smiler at 28.1 $m against 18.4 $m — a long way clear.
• 19 years separate them, and because Vintage rewards age it is The Big One (1994) that banks the point, not The Smiler (2013).