March 8, 20187 yr comment_256423 15 hours ago, Stuntman707 said: Merlin making quality, world leading attractions. It's not like the entrance is important enough to hide that stuff right? Just want to put Wodan's entrance here for comparison: Europa Just look at them Merlin. That is how you build a proper theme park. Anyone remember when Silver Stars entrance used to be this? Perfection.
March 8, 20187 yr comment_256427 Oh look, the finished entrance, featuring no plain beams or scaffolding. Image from Towers Street, who are at a pre-opening event.
March 8, 20187 yr comment_256431 From Towers Times' Facebook... On that note, this Meet the Makers event did give the opportunity for those who went to ride. As such, there will be photos of the pre show, ride station and other indoor areas which people may wish to not see until they ride. If you do decide to post pictures of the inside of the experience, or explain in-depth what happens, please use spoiler tags to do this. If there is enough demand (which I doubt because interest in this hasn't exactly been sky high on here), we can temporarily create a spoiler thread for the attraction until it's been open for a couple of weeks, after which spoilers are normally fair game. *Removes mod hat* Thanks!
March 8, 20187 yr comment_256432 Really impressed with what I've seen so far. The station interior looks stunning. To think this is the park that brought us the whitewash concrete mess of The Smiler's station, this is a huge step up from that. The soundtrack is okay, though doesn't really have anything unique or memorable (from the snippet anyway) - I imagine it'll create a nice atmosphere around the ride anyway. Fire effects are a bit of a letdown IMO considering they were a focal marketing point for the ride; the overall effect is nice, but no fireballs! Of course, as others have said, I highly doubt this will be outstanding as a coaster, but it's still exciting to have a new wooden coaster opening and going by the pictures released, the presentation of the ride looks fantastic.
March 8, 20187 yr comment_256433 If this was at Thorpe, the queue lines would still have faux-razor wire fences.
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256435 My hat goes off to Merlin, it’s getting very positive first impressions and the theming of the whole ride and queue looks to be of a high standard. Not only that, but the trains were running a lot faster even almost empty which is very reassuring. I always had a ton of skepticism and low expectations for the Wicker Man at the start but perhaps Merlin may finally be getting things right with this ride. So glad it’s looking better than I expected.
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256438 A new ride nearly always gets very positive reviews from people who have ridden it early or around opening day. The hype vastly influences there opinion on the ride and the true success of the ride can't really be seen until a couple of months to a couple of years of operating.
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256439 To be fair, it does look great as an overall product; lessons seemingly learnt from previous projects going utterly tits up is a positive... Saying it's as good as Megaphobia is however, not particularly so... But think everyone knew that the layout in of itself was going to be bang average and a waste of potential...
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256440 7 minutes ago, Project LC said: A new ride nearly always gets very positive reviews from people who have ridden it early or around opening day. The hype vastly influences there opinion on the ride and the true success of the ride can't really be seen until a couple of months to a couple of years of operating. Thats true. Have to also take all reviews with a pinch of salt. No-one who has been invited to Alton during closed season to ride the coaster is going to be too negative. As they wont be invited back. Hoping for a good ride experience, but I prefer to wait and see for myself. Everyone has their own opinion but until you experience it for yourself, always safe to give it the benefit of the doubt. Heres hoping it doesnt go down hill during the season/next season as cuts come in Especially with anything that has any form of live actor pre/exit shows. They will always be the first things that get cut. I you look at the rides that have stood the test of time, Nemesis and Oblivion at the Towers - they are basic and dont rely on gimmicks or preshow/end shows. They work and people love them as its a consistent ride experience every time.
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256441 13 minutes ago, qzzb_uk said: Thats true. Have to also take all reviews with a pinch of salt. No-one who has been invited to Alton during closed season to ride the coaster is going to be too negative. As they wont be invited back. Hoping for a good ride experience, but I prefer to wait and see for myself. Everyone has their own opinion but until you experience it for yourself, always safe to give it the benefit of the doubt. Heres hoping it doesnt go down hill during the season/next season as cuts come in Especially with anything that has any form of live actor pre/exit shows. They will always be the first things that get cut. I you look at the rides that have stood the test of time, Nemesis and Oblivion at the Towers - they are basic and dont rely on gimmicks or preshow/end shows. They work and people love them as its a consistent ride experience every time. Luckily for this it doesn't have any live actors then.
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256447 It's always prior to opening and when they add finishing touches when a new ride looks so gorgeous! So excited to try this! ...Life is hard when you're a southerner with limited transportation though.
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256448 Cheap plug... our Alton Towers meet is next month, there will be plenty of Wicker Man riding!
March 9, 20187 yr comment_256450 Not gonna lie, but after seeing various clips and photos online, my stance on this ride has changed a fair amount! It looks really lovely with all the theming, presentation, audio and dominance it has and that turn going straight out of the first tunnel looks better than I thought it would be. Looking forward to this now! Although, I still think that bendy lift hill looks really, really silly, regardless of whether it was needed or not...
March 10, 20187 yr comment_256457 23 hours ago, Marhelorpe said: Although, I still think that bendy lift hill looks really, really silly, regardless of whether it was needed or not... I know what you mean. It just looks daft! Still, the whole project looks very well executed. Looking forward to seeing it next week! :)
March 17, 20187 yr comment_256657 Quite a few people are pissed that fan sites are already showing the pre-show ahead of it officially opening to the gp today without any spoiler alerts.
March 17, 20187 yr comment_256659 1 hour ago, Stuntman707 said: Quite a few people are pissed that fan sites are already showing the pre-show ahead of it officially opening to the gp today without any spoiler alerts. Think it’s more to do with all those riding it last night and somehow feeling snubbed because they couldn’t open it this weekend
March 17, 20187 yr comment_256661 23 minutes ago, Ringo said: Think it’s more to do with all those riding it last night and somehow feeling snubbed because they couldn’t open it this weekend I'd be pretty cheesed off if I watched a video which contained spoilers, which didn't say it had spoilers. Pretty common internet etiquette these days. I'm sure people are frustrated / annoyed about the situation this weekend, but that is different.
March 17, 20187 yr comment_256662 Towers probably should've put a media embargo on those attending last night as a precaution for the weather issues... But then the YouTubers couldn't show off how amazing they are...
March 17, 20187 yr comment_256663 I'd be pretty cheesed off if I watched a video which contained spoilers, which didn't say it had spoilers. Pretty common internet etiquette these days. I'm sure people are frustrated / annoyed about the situation this weekend, but that is different.The ones I have watched do have the title of pre show which I think is a big hint!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
March 18, 20187 yr comment_256673 13 hours ago, Benin said: Towers probably should've put a media embargo on those attending last night as a precaution for the weather issues... But then the YouTubers couldn't show off how amazing they are... Lets have a press event for the launch of our new ride, where the media can't publish anything to do with the ride. Yes, that works.
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