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Wicker Man - General Discussion - Part Two

Does anyone know whether the likes of Wodan or Joris had a lot of downtime when they first opened?

Or is this just another case of Towers having bad luck with their new rides?
 
MakoMania said:
Towers rides now have more sensors than at most parks apparently, don't know if that's got anything to do with it.
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No they don’t

Why would they even bother with such an adaptation, it’s not like 20 more sensors would have stopped the Smiler incident.

Where the smiler may have had an impact is other parks are maybe more free and easy with the “get it open quick” attitude where as Towers will be more “fill out 27 forms and get Crabbe to sign them” but I am just speculating.

No doubt ultimately the issue here is GCI have drop the ball.
 
I did see somewhere that the issue was caused by the fact that GCI originally programmed the ride's computer system to run 2 trains, but Towers hastily tampered with the computer system so that it could run 3. Take from that what you will, but it sounds like GCI might not be the cause here.
 
Matt N said:
I did see somewhere that the issue was caused by the fact that GCI originally programmed the ride's computer system to run 2 trains, but Towers hastily tampered with the computer system so that it could run 3. Take from that what you will, but it sounds like GCI might not be the cause here.
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Absolute rubbish. Do you really for one minute think that any park - Alton Towers of all of them - would "tamper" with a ride control system after the Smiler incident? If GCI certified the ride to run 3 trains, then there will be a key-switch on the Operators Panel that will set the number of trains in operation. Furthermore, the operator will not have a key to this switch - only Technical Services will hold the key. The operator only gets a power key for the ride so they can turn the power on/off and run the ride in Automatic/Run mode. All the bypass switches / switches that control the number of trains on the ride can only be moved by Technical Services.

Finally, it's also worth noting that the ride control system could be nothing to do with GCI. It's far from uncommon for the ride manufacturer to provide the hardware (structure, track & trains) and then use a trusted third party company to do the control system. Most B&M coasters have 3rd party control systems - mainly from Consign LLC.
 
Matt N said:
I did see somewhere that the issue was caused by the fact that GCI originally programmed the ride's computer system to run 2 trains, but Towers hastily tampered with the computer system so that it could run 3. Take from that what you will, but it sounds like GCI might not be the cause here.
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So GCI delivered a third train but didn’t code for it........


Sure
 
Could it potentially be the effects around the Wicker Man or the first 'smokehouse' that could be affecting the sensors maybe? I'm sure that was all thought about during the design process but you never know.
 
Smilertron said:
Could it potentially be the effects around the Wicker Man or the first 'smokehouse' that could be affecting the sensors maybe? I'm sure that was all thought about during the design process but you never know.
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Doubt it strongly, smoke effects can trigger a fire alarm as that is close to what the things are designed to detect but proximity sensors are more specific in their design.
 
Godscrasher said:
Is that an objective view? Rides are built to standard, there'll be no more sensors than is needed.
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There was an official blog post a few months ago that said the park were adding extra sensors to the coasters.

This is what the blog post said:

  • Increase training for our operating staff and management teams
  • Add more sensors and automatic safety stops to our rides
  • Build more stringent daily checks before any coaster is given the 'OK' to open
The word more was in bold, which does suggest that additional sensors have been added to the coasters @Dave
 
Godscrasher said:
Is that an objective view? Rides are built to standard, there'll be no more sensors than is needed.
Click to expand...

MakoMania said:
There was an official blog post a few months ago that said the park were adding extra sensors to the coasters.
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Said blog https://www.altontowers.com/useful-info/blog/a-thrilling-balancing-act/ all part of “protecting the magic” http://protectingthemagic.com

  • Increase training for our operating staff and management teams
  • Add more sensors and automatic safety stops to our rides
  • Build more stringent daily checks before any coaster is given the 'OK' to open
Click to expand...
 
MakoMania said:
There was an official blog post a few months ago that said the park were adding extra sensors to the coasters.

This is what the blog post said:

  • Increase training for our operating staff and management teams
  • Add more sensors and automatic safety stops to our rides
  • Build more stringent daily checks before any coaster is given the 'OK' to open
The word more was in bold, which does suggest that additional sensors have been added to the coasters @Dave
Click to expand...

Sounds like spin to me.
 
To be fair, any new rides can have major problems in its first few weeks. I seem to recall that Thirteen ran fantastically over its opening weekend, but had massive problems during the first full week of operation.

Chances are they are working on Wicker Man late in to the night/early in the mornings and this is causing delays in it opening. They really should take it off ERT for the time being.

:)
 
Not sure if this has been posted already, it's from inside the WM ride photo booklet...

Surely the ride isn't 3 minutes 30 right? Maybe it means the queue 3 hours 30
42c4c81b91525bcd3e404d62c594ac25.jpg


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