Robert.W

Staggered opening times are back. ? They have also changed the ERT lineup, which replaces Spinball Whizzer with Oblivion and Enterprise.

I actually do understand what you mean, especially with the screaming heads scene. You can see the one of the heads and the mechanism before it even swings into action, although on some of the heads the effect has been greatly improved. But overall, I think the TLC still makes for a fresher experience that was better than what it was like before.

I rode Duel mulitiple times on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. Overall, I'm actually very pleased with all the changes and improvements. The façade looks much better with the ivy trimmed back, and the new outdoor music really sets the spooky atmosphere well. On to the queue inside, the new portraits, while they are just a little too bright, are still a nice addition, giving the queue something new for guests to look at. The new queue and station music is nice too, even if I was a bit disappointed to see they had removed the old announcements in the station. On to the ride itself, there were certain scenes which had improved dramatically! The first scene with the moving walls and thunder looked much better than before. Another was the Screaming Heads room, the actual heads looked much fresher, and the overall effect was a much better experience than before TLC. Another of the areas which I really enjoyed was the garden scene, where the new lighting has been very effective in my opinion! I was also very impressed on how many of the effects were working too, although, on some of the later rides on Wednesday, one or two of the effects had seemingly been turned off or had broken. One of the best things to come from the TLC has to be the new soundtrack though. It's just what the ride needed, and anyone who isn't sure of it now, I'm certain you'll grow to like it. It really is much more atmospheric, and I found it worked very well, along with the old sound effects, and certainly wasn't too quiet, which I have seen some criticism of. If there was one thing I'd change about the soundtrack, it would be that I would bring the old spider soundtrack back to the giant spider scene, as I always thought that worked pretty well, and was actually surprised it had been removed in the first place. All in all, I'm very pleased, and with further tweaking as the season continues, I'm sure it'll only get better and better! (And I can't wait for them to get that Trommel Tunnel working again!)

Yep, it's was great! When the restraint issues are sorted out, there should be less waiting after the ride has finished. But it did not in any way detract from the experience as a whole.

Fantastic review! They really have gone all out for creating the right atmosphere with this attraction, such simple, but no less effective techniques, like the gradually changing audio and having an actual pre show (which I can't wait to see for the first time, as I've avoided all spoilers!), the whole experience just seems so complete! Really can't wait to ride Wicker Man when I go to Towers next week!

I can't say how pleased I am that Wicker Man has made such a positive impression on so many people here who had originally dismissed it. I'm still yet to ride it myself, but based on such positive reviews, I have no doubt that it'll be a great experience, from the moment the pre show beings till the moment the train re enters the station after the ride has finished.

Seabrook Crisps have revealed their new Wicker Man flavour, Fiery Woodsmoked BBQ! https://mobile.twitter.com/ministryofjoy/status/968161000263438336

I agree with that Baron, the overgrown look did work really quite well with Duel, its just very nice to see the actual facade again, like you said!

More pictures of the Duel Towers Loving Care, this times of the facade where the ivy is being trimmed back. https://mobile.twitter.com/ministryofjoy/status/967542996735578112

The European Coaster Club managed to get an interview with John Wardley about Wicker Man at Alton Towers. Worth a read. https://mobile.twitter.com/ministryofjoy/status/966357136115716096

I'm impressed. Just can't wait to ride the thing now!

On that I can completely agree, I've already acknowledged that the layout isn't very good and with the reasons why. I do think it's a shame considering the past genuinely ground breaking developments at the Resort. All I'm saying is that I'm confident that combined with the theming, the experience as a whole will be a positive one, which of course is my opinion, I'm not asking people to share it, but is just something to consider.

I want to be clear, I'm not trying to pick a side of the argument on wether the ride will be good or bad, I'm just trying to give credit where it is due. I do agree with what your saying to an extent. The layout of the coaster is by no means a strong layout at all. This will be because of the space they have on the Flume site as well as it being likely that the resort won't have been given their desired budget from Merlin for the ride. As a coaster on its own, it is weak, and likely a boring ride. With the theming, it is a ride with great potential, and as we have seen, they have done the theming to a very high standard. Also, can I just point out, the height from the very highest point of the coaster to the lowest point of the coaster is actually bigger than the total height of Galactica, I think it is, just to put some perspective on that. As for the tunnels, it's not like the entire ride is covered in them, they cover areas where there could be more noise... it's not like they can adopt any other method in these sections of the ride other than covering them. My argument is not terrible. I'm recognising both the positive and nagative aspects of the ride. Problem is, some people have convinced themselves that the entire thing is rubbish and will simply fail. At the end of the day, we'll be able to ride it soon enough. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it then. Just don't have such a negative opinion about it before you have even been on it.

Indeed, the quality of the theming is absolutely brilliant! The theming has been done by Universal Rocks, the same people who did Taron, which won't have been cheap, just shows that they are at least trying. Even if the coaster itself isn't anything special, at least we have got some quality theming.

These images have been posted on TowersTimes Facebook of the rides entrance area. It's looking pretty good!

Indeed, though I am sure he has said somewhere that with the coasters overall layout, for the space they had available, he was pretty happy with it. I have no problem at all with anyone sharing their concerns about the ride, but anyone who sits and blatantly slags it off because "it's not very high" or because "it's got too many tunnels" or because "the layout looks rubbish" or because "they just won't bother maintaining the effects" or because "the marketing is bad" or because "John Wardley didn't like it" etc... that sort of moaning and complaining isn't constructive. At the end of the day, it's only a few more weeks till the ride actually opens. Only time will tell what we can really expect.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand the concerns people have with Wicker Man. The layout isn't brilliant, I'll admit that, although, correct me if I'm wrong, John Wardley had previously said that he was relatively happy with the layout, but again, correct me if I'm wrong! And obviously, just because he has said something, it dosen't meant that there is truth in it. Also, this is another restriction, the space that the Flume occupied also comprised of land classed as gardens, which meant when the Flume was removed, the Resort wasn't allowed to build on the full Flume site, so the space available was more restricted than you think, especially for a wooden coaster. The special effects are also to be given to to different department than than the usual to look after and maintain, and I'm fairly certain that they will last. I completely understand why people are skeptical, after all, Merlin really don't have a good track record in this area, but I'm staying optimistic. Comparing Wicker Man and Icon, I really don't want to go there — they are both targeting very different audiences (Wicker Man targeted towards families and Icon to thrill seekers), and in response will provide very different experiences. Theme isn't important at an amusement park, and thus Icon will not have any major theming, whereas theming obviously plays an important part at a theme park... what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't really judge Wicker Man by the layout only, as that's not taking the whole experience into account.

I completely agree that Alton getting the UK's first wooden coaster in over 20 years is definitely something to brag about... I'm slightly confused as to why many people here are being so negative about it to be honest. I guess some people just like to pick faults, as illustrated perfectly by BaronC. Also, it's okay to say that it's only "a 40 foot one that's mostly tunnels" because fair enough, that's not exactly an impressive coaster on the face of it, but you'd be completely disregarding the fact that a ride much taller is not possible with the planning conditions that Alton has to abide by. As for the ride being mostly tunnels... that's not really true, but they do have a purpose, which is minimising the noise of the ride... or Alton will just get taken to court again by disgruntled locals. What I'm saying is, you're moaning about stuff that is beyond the control of the Resort. They can't change the height or noise limit. But they are trying the best they can to work around these obstacles and still provide a great experience. I think it's time we appreciate that.

We have an image of one of the trains!

In all fairness, the Wicker Man structure itself will look quite spectacular without all these extra effects that are for creating the promotional material. Another thing to consider is how effective these effects would actually be during the daylight. The smoke may be somewhat effective, but there certainly won't be as much as there is in these pictures, and that is if there is going to be any at all! The level of smoke effects in the promotional pictures looks as if it'd make capturing the on ride photos rather difficult. As for lighting, I'm pretty sure that would be completely pointless during the day as it would only create minimal, if any visual effect whatsoever. I think in real life, the thing that will create the biggest impact is likely going to be the sheer scale of the Wicker Man structure, and hopefully it won't need too many extra effects to really create an impression on guests at the park.

Hello everyone! Just thought I'd come and join in the action here and expand my online horizons a little! If you're a member of TTSP Forum, you probably already know me somewhat, and I can't wait to join in some of the discussions here, and get to know more new people.