Wicker Man

[Mattgwise]

16 minutes ago, tomathy said:

That structure does look amazing, hope it lasts but wouldn't put money on it. The article mentions a pretty low capacity for the ride as well, hardly looks like it will make for a fast moving queue.

Quote from the Stoke Sentinel.

 

 

I don't think that is correct as the test video shown had 12 rows on the one train being tested making 24 per train. 

[tomathy]

Ahh right, my bad, didn't manage to see the testing video before it was taken down. Thank goodness for that 

[Benin]

There are rumours of 3 trains, but it'll only hit around 1000pph (which is still decent enough tbh)...

 

If it runs like Wodan (at least, until Fastrack exists) and the pre-shows are insanely faffy then the queue should move pretty constantly... But then Fastrack and pre-show will mean that this is not the case...

[Ringo]

2 hours ago, CharlieN said:

Pics released by Towers; taken off Towersstreet’s twitter.

 

Now this looks beautiful... but it’s a real shame the park closes in daylight for the majority of the season. #extendthosehours

 

The third picture is just gorgeous - Edward Woodward would approve.

 

(Edit: The resolution isn’t great - use this link to view them in higher  quality https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.stokesentinel.co.uk/whats-on/alton-towers-releases-first-images-1217618.amp)

 

Apparently this is for the TV advert and allegedly won’t be like this when the park opens.

 

TowersStreet

Quote

I hate to break it to you, folks, however the thick smog you see being pumped out of a smoke machine is purely temporary whilst the ride is shooting its TV advert.

Furthermore, I am certain 2 of the bright LEDs you see, which illuminate the Wicker Man so spectacularly, are temporary, and will not form part of the ride. This is the same business that went on during The Smiler's TV advert and the spectacular lighting package it had for its pictures.

 

 

 

[Kerfuffle]

9 hours ago, Ringo said:

Quote

I hate to break it to you, folks, however the thick smog you see being pumped out of a smoke machine is purely temporary whilst the ride is shooting its TV advert.

Furthermore, I am certain 2 of the bright LEDs you see, which illuminate the Wicker Man so spectacularly, are temporary, and will not form part of the ride. This is the same business that went on during The Smiler's TV advert and the spectacular lighting package it had for its pictures.

 

[Stuntman707]

It’s now being marketed as the first wooden coaster built in the U.K. for 21 years. Woo  Also I noticed the smoke machine is not built into the structure either, it’s off to the side of the track. So that might just be for the photo shoot too.

[Marhelorpe]

Let's be honest here, the only "proper" visual effects we will get is it spurts a small fireball from the shoulders every 3 trains that passes by, some flickering red LED lighting inside the structure to give the illusion it's on fire, maybe some sound effects and a single smoke machine at the base that's as convincing and reliable as the laughing gas effect on The Giggler's arm.

 

And this is with the notion the effects are all still working after the first week of opening...

[Coaster]

The claim "first wooden coaster built in the UK for 21 years" isn't even that true, seeing as the Scenic Railway at Dreamland was re-built a couple of years ago.

 

The Wicker Man structure looks good in those photos but as people have mentioned, it's probably only for the photo shoot - much like how the interior of Derren Brown's Ghost Train looks with the fog in promo pictures despite the fact it has never had that when operating to guests.

[Mega-Lite]

I'll mirror the "it won't look that good in person, or good at all for long" and raise you a "it's a shame what's travelling through said structure will be underwhelming".

[Robert.W]

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.  

[Mark9]

6 hours ago, Stuntman707 said:

It’s now being marketed as the first wooden coaster built in the U.K. for 21 years. Woo  Also I noticed the smoke machine is not built into the structure either, it’s off to the side of the track. So that might just be for the photo shoot too.

 

It's better then 'most intense ride ever' that's normally thrown out there and that fact is actually true. Scenic Railway was a rebuild in any case.

[JoshC.]

The nitpicking in this thread is unbelievable.  Imagine of forums like this were rife in the early SWs...

 

"Europe's first inverted coaster" "but but but what about Vampire, not exactly true!!!!"

"The world's first vertical drop coaster" "but but but it's only 88.8 degrees!!!"

"The world's first next generation flying coaster" "but but but what does next generation MEAN, there's been lots of other flying coasters!!!"

 

It's the first new woodie in 20+ years.  It's something to brag about just a tiny bit, after fans and some of the public have wanted for ages.  Better than some forced tagline, or a "so much fire is used we've had to forewarm the local hospital's burns unit just in case..." line.

 

Also, literally everywhere makes their products look better for promotional images, not just theme parks.  You going to moan that the Big Mac doesn't look exactly like it does on the board at McDonald's?  You going to moan that the buttons on that new shirt you bought aren't as shiny as it was on the retailer's website?  

 

In saying that, I'm curious as to how the effects will look in the daylight.  They've said they're using effects to give the illusion of fire - I've only ever seen that done in lower level lighting at a particular angle.  So it'll be interesting to see how they're going to be setting fire to the Wickerman at all angles in all lighting levels.

[Marc]

6 hours ago, Robert.W said:

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.  

 

Agree - it’s fairly obvious from the pictures it’s been setup for just that - the perfect picture! LED lighting shining out of it to simulate fire would likely look poor in real life.

 

I do think we will see a good amount of effects (Fire) around the ride - they have a fair amount of gas tanks in the car park for it (pictured a couple of pages back I think) where as I think Swarms fireball just has the one tank? So if that’s anything to go by could be seeing a fair amount as it is!

[Glitch]

So what theming does Icon have? Why is everyone complaining ?

[Project LC]

Icon doesn't need theming as it's layout looks strong enough to make the ride great. It's also not icons intention to be themed as it's in an amusement park.

The wickerman looks like it has a poor layout and by itself would be a terrible ride. It is relying on the theme to make it a better experience. 

[Mark9]

A theme park relying on a theme to make a better experience?! Stop the f**king presses.

 

[Robert.W]

We have an image of one of the trains!  

[Stuntman707]

That’s really nice. I hope there is more wooden trim.

[Mega-Lite]

13 hours ago, BaronC. said:

It's something to brag about just a tiny bit, after fans and some of the public have wanted for ages.

Then been given a 40 foot high one, that's mostly tunnels. I'm more than willing to eat my words if this thing is great, but I really can't see it being that.

13 hours ago, BaronC. said:

"Europe's first inverted coaster" "but but but what about Vampire, not exactly true!!!!"

"The world's first vertical drop coaster" "but but but it's only 88.8 degrees!!!"

"The world's first next generation flying coaster" "but but but what does next generation MEAN, there's been lots of other flying coasters!!!"

Don't be so over the top...

 

Members pointing out that perhaps those photos were doctored and/or taken in situations you may never see in the park, isn't even slightly comparable to that rubbish.

[Robert.W]

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.  

[Marc]

Agree with the above.

 

The wickerman won’t be the most amazing ride in the world, country or even in Towers, but it will be a good fun well themed experience and a solid addition to their line up. Also have no problem with them marketing it as the first woodie for 20 years, it’s a perfectly legitimate claim.

[Marc]

 

2 hours ago, Mega-Lite said:

 

Members pointing out that perhaps those photos were doctored and/or taken in situations you may never see in the park, isn't even slightly comparable to that rubbish.

I thihk Baron was more getting at the fact that Merlins world firsts / marketing terms which they seem to attract so much slack for are no different to how the parks have been always marketed. 

[JoshuaA]

23 minutes ago, Robert.W said:

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.  

Alton have been working around their limits for years now.. Smiler, Nemesis, Air- all these coasters use their space and restrictions to their advantage.

Wicker Man honestly is one of the most boring looking layouts to date.. They had quite a bit of space with The Flume and they really could of been creative if they wanted too..

 

Smaller GCI's can be fun, though Wickerman I feel like with its layout really looks to have minimal airtime and more of focus on its theming and effects that will probably be neglected and forgotten about in 2019..

 

It is also a massive shame we're getting probably one of the worst looking GCI's built in recent history..

Maybe it'll be good on opening day who knows? Then I will eat my words.

 

Alton and Merlin could of built a incredible layout if they wanted to..

They have shown glimpses of genius in previous projects.. Like fitting Smiler into a tiny pit..

 

I guess people might of been less harsh on Wickerman if a coaster with an actual decent layout wasn't opening a hour down the road in the same year..

 

[Marhelorpe]

Surely there must be some sort of understanding why some people are pessimistic about this and want to point out potential flaws?

Whilst I have no doubt this looks to be a good and fun wooden coaster once it opens that will appeal very well with families (despite the unsettling theme), it's the way this is being presented I have the biggest problem with. Why? Because Merlin are once again it seems building false expectations with the public and finding any means necessary to put the same old hyperbolic nonsense into their marketing material.

My concern more than anything is once again we have a ride which is going to be built upon the promise of having some working special effects and this is what I'm pessimistic about. Please tell me, can you honestly sit here and say with a straight face "Merlin take excellent care of their special effects"? The record they have built over the years suggests this to be the complete opposite and this is why I'm not at all interested in the "fusing wood with fire" nonsense, because we all know deep down the effects will stop working before the end of the first month! Whilst it might sound nice on paper and through the use of fancy night photography, I'm not at all buying it. I'm only interested in the coaster layout itself, nothing more.

Let me be clear when I disagree "nit-pick" with another's opinion - I think this will be a good coaster. I understand the limits the park has with building this. I want this to be a success with families. But what I'm not going to do is build any false promises or hope as it only leads to disappointment (example - DBGT).

[Charlesberg]

46 minutes ago, JoshuaA said:

Alton and Merlin could of built a incredible layout if they wanted to..

They have shown glimpses of genius in previous projects.. Like fitting Smiler into a tiny pit..

The explanation to that: “it’s not a John Wardley ride”.

 

Just imagine what it would look like if it was a John Wardley ride.