2018
NU. That was honestly one of the most memorable rides there because of how practically non-existent the restraints are and how wacky the track is. I was even hyping it up to a friend -.-
Paradox posted on January 6th, 2018
Strange of the park to close it now without giving anyone any notice.
Right? Parks really try and merchandise rides closing to drive visits, but with a sudden closure, makes me wonder if it was closed for a reason (safety?).
Hey look, an Alton Towers announcement that no one predicted.
Edit: Just check the bottom of Paradox's post for the video. (No point having it posted twice.)
If 'the world's first rollercoaster experience fusing wood with fire' is the official tagline they use I might actually die.
Hopefully the effects will be a redeeming factor, if what they say in the press release is at all accurate.
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.
“We are delighted to finally be announcing Wicker Man as the latest ground-breaking thrill attraction from Alton Towers Resort for 2018."
Yep, AT at it again with marketing family coasters as "the next big thing". I think the ride will be just OK, fun for sure but can be criticized. But the marketing is worse than Thirteen...
Reminds me of Burning Man.
That’s pretty neat marketing you got there Merlin...
"breath-taking scale",
"eager to ride again."
Yeah, I don't think they're very serious here.
How long before the fire stops working?
EDIT: Also this is more of a gimmick than TH13TEEN... "the world's first rollercoaster experience fusing wood and fire" ffs
Loving how the Sun is describing the wickerman as a classic horror theme. On a family coaster. Why, merlin, why.
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.
I beg to disagree.
^That's just grim.
Wicker Man isn't even the first GCI to use a fire effect. Both Apocalypse and Wodan did it before.
Also Wicker Man cost about 16 million pounds. That's about 22 million USD, which is how much Lightning Rod cost.
I guess they won't be using "a fire effect". If the figure will be constantly burning with either real or fake flames (and Backstage Technologies does them very well), that can lead to something pretty sectacular.
Hmmmm..
"The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations mean you can’t mislead or harass consumers by, for example:
- including false or deceptive messages"
"Penalties
If you break the regulations, you could be reported to a local Trading Standards office. You could be fined, prosecuted or imprisoned."
https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/regulations-that-affect-advertising
Whatever the effect is, it better be impressive and reliable, otherwise they've really f*cked this up.
They could have built 6 clones of White Lightning instead!
^ I second this notion
Honestly tho it’s Merlin and a family coaster what’d you expect
Alton what are you doing stop this is so bad.
At least they didn't film a 10fps rendering with windowboxing.
Hey guys! This is my first post to the new forums. I was (1blueshe) on the old forums. I just got a cedar fair platinum pass since I'm taking a trip to cedar point around memorial day weekend. So I thought I would stop by Knott's to take some picture of HangTime's construction. The Corkscrew, cobra roll, and entrance to the first inversion are the only things left to be constructed.
I think construction will rap up around the end of this month as all the track has already been shipped to the park.
(Sorry for the blur)
The most recently fished element is the over bank at the back of the ride
I took a bunch of photos of the construction so if you want to see the rest of them they're in a google photos folder HERE
First off welcome to the forums we are glad to have you.
Those photos are pretty awesome, thanks for sharing!
New for 2018 @ Schwaben Park in Germany!
That really came outta nowhere
^^^^The airtime hill after the lift hill reminds me of B&M pre-drops