Coaster

Extremely poor when the park is already a major water ride down. In terms of "hot day rides" we've gone from Loggers (which I'm sure achieved a throughput of well over 1,000pph) and Tidal on 3 boats to 1 boat Tidal Wave. Progress!

Unbelievable.

The decoration around the ride area is looking rather good now; https://www.facebook.com/TheParkUpdates/

The ICON shop looks stunning, a very high quality finish and I love the reference to the project name. https://www.facebook.com/blackpoolpleasurebeach/ I only hope the station looks as good as that come opening day.

I've just watched a new POV of Wicker Man against an older one, it's running a lot slower I hope this isn't their solution to it overshooting the brake run, the surprisingly fast pace was what made the ride.

I hope you're right, but presuming the tunnel is only just finished (due to the issues it's had), doesn't this mean they'll still need to put footers and foundations down in this area? In which case, do these not take an amount of time to set?

Quite concerned for it being ready when I visit at the end of August, I must admit - with track not being in yet it must be a good few months away from potentially opening, and that's only if everything else runs smoothly.

Maybe 0 stands for the level of excitement I have for this? (Joking aside, but I can't see this being anything like a new ride announcement - probably a new/rehashed FN maze at best).

It seems very strange to close off a ride to some guests, but keep it open for pass-holders.

I don't think Wicker Man is too scary. Predictable example from me, but Valhalla is a family ride system yet is based around viking afterlife, gods etc. I remember being terrified of it (back in 2004 when it was a hugely theatrical and impactful experience) with the loud audio, noises, effects, darkness - but it's something I'll always remember, something that captured my imagination and very quickly became my favourite ride. Wicker Man's pre-show is brilliant as it achieves the same level of class atmosphere that Valhalla's lift hill used to, it's loud and atmospheric - but I wouldn't say there is anything unsuitable for a family audience there.

Oh you are joking. The tiger rockwork looks good but not nearly as nice and detailed as the dragon feature was, and I really don't see why it was necessary to do that - like, how does that improve it in any way? At least they still have an operating log flume which is more than can be said for Thorpe or Alton though.

It's very concerning, and very bizarre. They made a huge push on Icon very early on in the process (having announced it back in September 2016 and the name reveal in April last year - possibly too early on both accounts). Now it's come to the final few weeks and we should be seeing Icon plastered everywhere, but nothing's happening. I do fear for the success of Icon for that reason alone, whilst it's a huge investment it can't market itself!

Wicker Man. I think it’s fair to say that I had very mixed feelings during the construction and build-up process for this ride. Whilst I was happy to see a new wooden coaster finally grace the UK line-up, I had reservations about how good it would be; there weren’t any huge drops in the layout, so would it pick up enough speed to be thrilling? On approaching the ride, the excitement builds from the moment you see the hugely impressive Wicker Man structure and entrance signage come into view with the music droning in the background. I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing – it’s such a compelling sight, nothing looks out of place and everything just ‘works’. Moving into the queue-line, the design is fantastic with so many vantage points for the ride – small items of theming are expertly placed creating brilliant photo opportunities. Throughout queuing there are many good places to watch the coaster from, and it’s so pleasing to see that everyone seems to be enjoying it. I really like how the smoke effect is pulled around the corner by the train after exiting the second tunnel, in particular. Being surrounded by the roar of a wooden coaster combined with the soundtrack, theming and screams of joy is really something quite special. Onto the preshow, I enjoyed this and found it delivers a lot in a short space of time. The transition is clever and the show lasts just long enough to stay interesting whilst not becoming a burden after a few rides. I found the theatrics and changes in atmosphere particularly impressive, however it was a shame on one of the rides I had that the automatic doors at the back of the room kept opening. Exiting into the station, the lighting and dispatch/unload audio keeps the theme consistent and is very impressive. With the thematic elements done to a very high standard, how well would the coaster itself hold up? After five rides on two separate occasions, I absolutely love it. Dispatching out of the station, the pre-lift section is very Nemesis Inferno-esque (with the mist-filled tunnel) and sets the scene for the ride very well. Ascending the lift hill, the views of the ride are excellent and the audio helps to build anticipation throughout. The first corner and drop help to build up the speed, and the tunnel adds a level of disorientation, as you exit already facing the ground. The section that follows is truly sublime; after going over the second hill in the tunnel, you emerge blinded from the light to be thrown (yes, THROWN) first to the right, then to the left and into a ground-hugging turn. This is my absolute favourite section of the ride; the forces are much better than I expected and the transition from right-to-left is just so much fun. Diving through the Wicker Man structure and up into the turnaround, this offers a nice view of the queue-line and theming structure before hitting the two small bumps (which are much better than they look!) and then plunging to the right through the structure into yet another fantastic and unexpected sideways-banked drop. I found that the flat corner goes a long way to making the ride feel longer, as it gives you time to process the elements you’ve been through before heading into the next section. The straight drop which follows provides a nice feeling of weightlessness, however on the back row at the end of a rainy day there was some incredible airtime there! Following this is a sharp right-hand-turn through the structure, before turning left under the lift-hill and into the brake run leaving the clank of the lift chain ringing in your ears. After some time to think it through, I can say in full confidence that Wicker Man is genuinely one of the best roller coasters I have ever ridden. Firstly, it’s the first time Alton have delivered a fully complete theme under Merlin, with no obvious corners cut and nothing looks out of place. I could nit-pick, but it's the best we've had in the UK for years - so I won't. The coaster itself is great fun and is a superb example of a wooden coaster. Combined, it’s a masterpiece. My only concerns going forward are the reliability issues the ride is currently having, and maintenance of effects. The fire, smoke and audio add a lot to the overall experience, and with the fire already broken, I only hope that Alton can manage to maintain them to a high standard. Thanks for reading, a few more photos below. Wicker Man = AMAZING.

I hope you're right, whilst I can kind-of see why they may think it'd look good in grey (as it's next to Icon), I think it'd blend in too much and lose its own character if it did stay that colour.

I have since been made aware that the Big Dipper is being repainted... in grey. This could potentially explain the midweek closures on the Dipper in particular. Not too sure whether the grey is an undercoat or the final colour scheme yet.

Positive news about Icon aside, this has just come to light on the Blackpool Pleasure Beach website; Please note: Big Dipper ride will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays. Please note: Carousel, Veteran Carousel, Alpine Rallye, Pleasure Beach Express, Grand Prix rides will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays. Please note: Bikini Bottom Bus and Dora’s World Voyage rides will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays. Words absolutely and utterly fail me. First they demolish the Wild Mouse and handle it terribly, then they close the park 1 (or on some occasions, 2) hours earlier than the advertised "earliest ride closing time", now this. It's clear that BPB have zero concept of customer service. A park which treats its customers with such contempt is never going to be a success, even with a new coaster opening. Just for reference... BPB might have good rides, but as an organisation they're absolutely terrible.

I'm not blaming the parks independently as much, as I fully appreciate that they put a lot of effort in with the budgets they're given. The underlying issue is, IMO, under-funding and a lack of care from Merlin in relation to Towers, Thorpe and Chessington. Nemesis is looking great at Alton (albeit missing its blood waterfall, the station is stunning) but it's an exception to an otherwise very poorly operated park IMO. Wicker Man is truly an outstanding coaster for the UK, but the operations elsewhere leave a lot to be desired. Regarding staggered openings, they're operated differently to BPB - whilst Pleasure Beach doesn't open the majority of rides until 10:30, there are only two (Valhalla and Grand National) which open at 11am - different to having four major coasters across different areas opening at 11am IMO, plus it's something that never used to happen at Alton apart from for the water rides. A huge budget cut. Whilst Thorpe may have improved some things, ride availability was atrocious the afternoon and evening of the pass-holder event, nearly every ride we approached was either down or going down as we got to it. Loggers and Slammer are both still sat there festering. The opening times are indeed looking great throughout the summer, a huge improvement. I can't comment on Chessington this year as the ride operations and standard of service experienced on our one visit last year means that a return visit is totally out of the question at present.

Bring it on!

I found that the bat and screaming head scenes don't work at all now, the lighting used means the supporting poles are much too visible and the entire effect is lost.

I'm already classing 2018 as a negative year in all honesty. We've gained Wicker Man (a fantastic coaster) and Icon (hopefully another fantastic coaster), but we've lost one of the most wonderful coasters ever to grace the UK lineup. No new coaster can make up for that, IMO. In addition, there's Alton operating on a shoestring budget (a park opening a major new coaster shouldn't be operating a schedule which sees four major coasters open at 11am), Blackpool cutting hours, the less said about Thorpe the better and I can't even face visiting Chessington. We've got two new coasters but the negatives still outweigh the positives, IMO.

Well, I suppose that response is better than nothing.

I'm crossing my fingers for the end of August!

Oh I completely about Valhalla, and have said enough on the sad state of affairs there in the BPB topic... a once world-class dark ride left to rot. With the exterior, propping the original facade up with old PMBO track was never going to have any longevity (yes... they actually did that!) - if they'd done it properly in the first place we'd still have the original skull, wonderfully crafted exit shop and exterior theming.

Are show services still around at Thorpe, out of interest? https://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/articles/20-07-2017/Show+Services+Q+and+A Would be good to see Tidal's audio system restored.

One positive from the Annual Pass evening was that the mist was absolutely fantastic on Nemesis Inferno, with both areas on the volcano working (first time I've seen it in years) and the tunnel completely full. Brilliant.