Wicker Man - New Alton Towers Coaster

[themagician 4,060]

The Wicker Man has replaced 'The Flume' and is the first wooden coaster in the UK in 21 years is opening at Alton Towers within the next couple of months.

Rides website: https://www.altontowers.com/theme-park/wicker-man/

Stats:

Cost: 16,000,000 Pounds (Approx $28,000,000)

Height: 72 ft (22 m)

Drop: 46 ft (14 m)

Length: 2,028 ft (618 m)

Here is a teaser video of the ride:

 

[Mc coaster 152]

Wow that theming is amazing. 

 

[DJKostya 74]

That looks amazing!

[Brad2912 3,273]

Amazing!

[Wil_i_am_not 171]

Theming looks awesome, and I'm sure GCI have done a great job on the actual coaster it's self. Although Alton Towers have seemed to hype this up as a crazy, world-class, high impact experience when in reality think it'll actually be just a pretty decent family coaster with some awesome theming. 

Edited March 2, 2018 by Wil_i_am_not

[Santa07 1,022]

The stats are pretty average, but that wickerman structure and the special effects make up for it. For me it looks like a decent family coaster but I still think Icon will be the best UK coaster for 2018.

[Mc coaster 152]

I do not know how Alton Towers are for space but assuming they have some left I think it was a very good idea to replace there flume with this amazing themed rollercoaster because know they could build a better flume somewhere else with good theming which they obviously could do and than they would also have a new ride.

[pushbutton 972]

That right there is how you theme a coaster!

[ATI 2]

On ‎02‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 7:31 AM, Mc coaster said:

I do not know how Alton Towers are for space but assuming they have some left I think it was a very good idea to replace there flume with this amazing themed rollercoaster because know they could build a better flume somewhere else with good theming which they obviously could do and than they would also have a new ride.

Alton Towers is most definitely not short on space.

[XxMrYoshixX 188]

That coaster looks like it will be one hell of a night ride. Who wouldn't want to ride a coaster that goes through a giant burning statue at night time? Even if the stats on the coaster aren't anything to boast about, the coaster looks very promising.

[AllegroCrab 214]

The actual layout doesn't look that great, but towers are clearly going for a more family ride here. They've made an excellent choice on the theme though, because even as a less thrilling actual ride, the scary theming will be enough to get your regular thrillseekers in the queue. And yeah the actual quality of the scenery itself is impeccable by the looks of things.

The layout will be slightly frustrating for enthusiasts in the UK because that country is in dire need of some airtime on their coasters, I'd guess that we have more in Australia despite the lack of coasters here, especially if you are counting ejector. But for towers I think this is a pretty solid choice, and it does look like there is some airtime at least.

I'm more excited for Icon up in Blackpool, if all goes to plan I'll be riding both of the new British installations in July this year.

[Adam C 36]

I’m not sure how realistic this video is but I guess we’ll find out next week.

Is it me, or is $28m for 600m of coaster a bit much? Could that money have been spent more wisely?  Is this a very safe option after the Smiler incident?

[Luke 227]

Looks excellent!

[AlexB 4,897]

7 hours ago, Adam C said:

Is it me, or is $28m for 600m of coaster a bit much? Could that money have been spent more wisely?  Is this a very safe option after the Smiler incident?

I think that given what's been said already about it being more family friendly, as well as that it would seem they've spent a bit on theme to make it worthwhile for thrillseekers, that they've tried to find a nice balance between thrill and calm - which IMO is a good move after Smiler, considering smiler was meant to be just extreme WTF.

I don't think there is a wiser move for a new coaster. Gotta get back on the horse - can't shy away from them or they'll lose their audience.

[Santa07 1,022]

Anyone else notice the weird angle change on the lift hill?

[djrappa 2,226]

11 hours ago, Adam C said:

 Is this a very safe option after the Smiler incident?

 What sort of a stupid commend is that??

 

I for one thing it looks like a great addition and the exact sort of thing Movie World should be bringing to the Western Area at some point.

[Luke 227]

Just now, djrappa said:

I for one thing it looks like a great addition and the exact sort of thing Movie World should be bringing to the Western Area at some point.

I've been thinking the same things for years. Similar pacing, twistyness and thrill level to Wicker Man. It would be a perfect family-thrill ride that MW needs more of.

[Tim Dasco 721]

Not every ride need to be a thrilling coaster with inversions. 

[Whombex 593]

3 hours ago, djrappa said:

I for one thing it looks like a great addition and the exact sort of thing Movie World should be bringing to the Western Area at some point.

Movie World desperately needs a 2nd ride in their western area. This would work well, a nice family GCI.

As for this ride, the queue is fantastic. I like how it constantly zig zags around, giving you no massive line in front of you to draw your attention to the wait time. The zig zag also links back to the wicker theme. Seeing key theming elements of the ride from the queue works well here.

Queue shops?

Edited March 9, 2018 by Glubbo

[Adam C 36]

8 hours ago, djrappa said:

 What sort of a stupid commend is that??

 

I for one thing it looks like a great addition and the exact sort of thing Movie World should be bringing to the Western Area at some point.

Hi djrappa, if I may, I’ll explain exactly what I meant by my ‘stupid’ comment.  The Smiler incident resulted in two young ladies having limbs amputated.  I was at Alton Towers at the end of last September. The park was relatively quiet (school day) but the Smiler was a walk on.  When I got on and off, there was nobody in the queue.  After 2 years, people don’t have confidence in it.  Now my understanding is that Alton Towers attendances haven’t recovered to pre incident levels.

So when I say the the Wicker Man is safer option, a flat family roller coaster with awesome theming is probably going to bring the punters back as opposed to another WTF 14 loop eurofighter.  Personally, I like wooden coasters and if AdventureWorld in Perth installed one, I’d be on it every weekend.  Onwards & Upwards!

[AllegroCrab 214]

19 hours ago, Santa07 said:

Anyone else notice the weird angle change on the lift hill?

It's for clearance over the track below

After seeing actual footage of this thing running, it seems to be whizzing through faster than I thought it would. There'll be some great airtime on that first airtime hill, and it does that classic alton towers thing where the ride uses the terrain to keep up its pace right until the end. Very excited to ride this now, can't wait for a POV.

[themagician 4,060]

 

[AllegroCrab 214]

Our based lad Shawn has done a vlog showing the amount of effort that towers put into the event. The actors and performers doing a great job, with extra lighting and smoke effects on show. this vlog shows the pre-show (SPOILERS), which looks incredible.

As for the wicker man structure itself ('Big Bob' is what the towers staff call it), it looks beyond incredible at night, I'm actually lost for words. 

Very unlikely it'll run on full effects like this all the time, and a shame that night rides on this will only come around at a very exclusive time of the year. Merlin could perhaps do some passholder night ride sessions to make up for this.