Alton Towers 2018 - Wicker Man: GCI Wooden [mild spoilers]

[Dirk_Ermen]

Now you can finally get a good look on the layout too. Looks short but still quite fun. I really hope this will kick off a new wooden coaster run for the UK.

[mkingy]

Layout looks fun, think it'll definitely have it's moments, fire effects should add to the ride too!

Yeah that layout looks beautiful. The first drop, second airhill, swooping turn down the slope is going to be a sweet sequence, especially in the back row. It almost creates a double-down effect. It will be a very nice little wood coaster, they planned it out well.

[Paradox]

^ Neither big nor small, IMO, but it's worth expecting for a better on-ride video! Way to go!

[Paradox]

Why is everything in Alton Towers so dark, even the family coasters have a dark theme except spinball.

[gouldy]

straightbanana wrote:

Why is everything in Alton Towers so dark, even the family coasters have a dark theme except spinball.

I would also like to know the reasoning behind this.

I just wonder if they find it easier to market this type of attraction when it has a theme like this, in the UK?

It would be a nice change to have something a little different.

You do also have Air/Galactica, I suppose, which at the very least is hot some type of "horror" theme.

[JAMMY]

Plus, if it's a dark theme, they don't have to pay to keep it looking fresh. The age and related wear and tear 'adds' to the 'theme'.

On a serious note, it would be nice to have something fresh and cheery as a theme for a change.

[mkingy]

gouldy wrote:

straightbanana wrote:

Why is everything in Alton Towers so dark, even the family coasters have a dark theme except spinball.

I just wonder if they find it easier to market this type of attraction when it has a theme like this, in the UK?

People like being scared apparently. I imagine they've undertaken market research on this kind of thing and scarefest and halloween are pretty popular in the UK I guess.

Could be worse, could've built a bright red Nemesis on top of the back car park?

[gouldy]

mkingy wrote:

Could be worse, could've built a bright red Nemesis on top of the back car park?

Or a bright white Nemesis where the old Nemesis used to b... oh wait.

I've been thinking, what do people think the queue system will be like? Could it be like the Smilers' (the main queue, and a combined Fastrack, Disabled and Single Rider queue which then splits into 3 separate queues), or different?

[JAMMY]

From looking at aerial pictures and plans, it seems like SW8 will have a main queue (right at the archway entrance), a fastrack (left at the archway entrance) and a disabled queue that enters via/by the shop. I don't think there will be a single rider for SW8 from what we've seen.

^ I really hope that disabled guests (including myself) don't have to enter via the shop; surely that would miss out the pre-show?

EDIT:
looking at the photo, it looks like there is a main queue plus two others:

The one on the left that curves around and meets the preshow building at the bottom is the Fastrack queue. The right hand one is the main queue, and the middle one that leads into the middle of the site is a vehicle access road, that may yet be public access for ride viewing.

[Paradox]

WICKER MAN ANNOUNCED AS LATEST GROUND-BREAKING ROLLERCOASTER EXPERIENCE

Wicker Man is the UK???s first new wooden rollercoaster experience in 21 years and comes with a globally unique twist ??? bringing together wood and fire for the very first time. A Wicker Man structure standing at 57.57ft (17.55m) tall ??? the height of a six-storey building ??? will dominate the very centre of Alton Towers Resort, appearing to burst into flames as the wooden track races three separate times through the structure.

The project, previously known as ???SW8???*, is the latest in a series of mould-breaking ride launches from the Staffordshire theme park that have helped define the industry. A world-class team of experts continue to work on the new attraction, led by Great Coasters International, the world???s leading creators of wooden rollercoasters. The safety of guests has been paramount in the design and build of Wicker Man, incorporating the latest in proven safety technology, rigorous testing and hundreds of training hours for ride operators.

Bradley Wynne, Creative Lead at Alton Towers Resort commented: ???We are delighted to finally be announcing Wicker Man as the latest ground-breaking thrill attraction from Alton Towers Resort for 2018. Guests will be ???chosen??? to take part in a celebratory ???rite of passage??? as they race through the flaming Wicker Man.

???We hope visitors will be blown away by Wicker Man???s breath-taking scale whilst the primal essence of the wooden coaster and astonishing effects will leave them delighted, exhilarated and eager to ride again.???

Visitors to Alton Towers Resort in 2018 will embark on a multi-sensory rite of passage, in which they???ll be drawn into the mysterious world of The Beornen, a shadowy group living in the woods surrounding the theme park.

Official Website

What a stupid gimmick lmfao

I think the whole fire thing is cool albeit a bit gimmicky and no POV?

[herman116]

Wait, didn't Terminator the ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain used to have fire at the ride?

Edit: Toverland temporary added fire to Troy for the Halloween nights. And Joris en de Draak at Efteling has also a fire effect (although I don't see it that much)

[Turbo]

yes. it worked wonderfully

[gouldy]

They actually are using the phrase in the press that it's the World's first fusion between wood and fire.

Bloody embarrassing

So a regular GCI family woodie with some fire effects? Remember when a secret weapon meant something in the industry, come on Merlin. :/

[Paradox]

herman116 wrote:

Wait, didn't Terminator the ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain used to have fire at the ride?

Edit: Toverland temporary added fire to Troy for the Halloween nights. And Joris en de Draak at Efteling has also a fire effect (although I don't see it that much)

Wodan also had fire effects at the top of the lift.

[Metazoanhaddock]

i believe the fire comes from inside the steel structure, so the ride will look like it's on fire

So are they slowly turning into Space World? Because I feel like Wicker Man is their frozen fish in an ice rink. Even their marketing and theme is insane...



"From the park that brought you Smiler, the super intense roller coaster that ended up crushing a girl's legs off in a horrific mind scarring hours long nightmare, comes a wooden roller coaster FUSED (thier actual word) with fire... Themed to a torture/murder sacrifice cult!"

Oh and no one's ever done this before



Why would GCI even agree to this? I'm sure it would be an amazing roller coaster without this, and it's gotta be costly because fire needs fuel and that's a continual cost, but I feel like out of everything the could have come up with this had to be the worst possible idea for everybody involved for a gimmick. Whoever their insurance is must really love them some Alton Towers man

LuckyK wrote:

Why would GCI even agree to this? I'm sure it would be an amazing roller coaster without this, and it's gotta be costly because fire needs fuel and that's a continual cost, but I feel like out of everything the could have come up with this had to be the worst possible idea for everybody involved for a gimmick.

Keep in mind that Alton wants to provide something new for every single new coaster they put in, and i guess this was their only option they had when working with a woodie manufacturer, especially since nothing outstanding happens with any wooden coasters except for ones by RMC. I could have seen them going for something better, but even if it's going to be what we think it's gonna be it's still going to be pretty cool.