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Wicker Man - General Discussion - Part Two

As much as I like the pre-show, the more I ride it, the more I wish I could skip the pre-show. Same with Hex if i'm honest. If there was an option to get on the ride without watching the pre-show then I would now take it given I have seen them both so many times.
 
GaryH said:
As much as I like the pre-show, the more I ride it, the more I wish I could skip the pre-show. Same with Hex if i'm honest. If there was an option to get on the ride without watching the pre-show then I would now take it given I have seen them both so many times.
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I guess pre shows are more for those who don't visit often (almost everyone). Especially with Hex they are part of the experience but I understand it would get boring watching it over and over
 
I personally love Wicker Man's preshow and wouldn't change any part of it, but I suppose I did experience it one day after the ride officially opened!

If there are problems with queue flow, however, then could I potentially suggest installing queue fencing inside the batching area and pre-show room and having the pre-show run on a constant loop, sort of like how CATCF's used to work?
 
Wicker Man pre show is great! One of the highlights of the whole experience, it is very theatrical and works SO WELL!

The ride itself was running fantastically this morning, relatively. We joined the queue at about 10.30, the queue was almost to the entrance and yet it only took 45 minutes. No breakdowns and the throughput was fairly high, usually being the case that there would be a train on the outdoor brake run and on the lift hill simultaneously. The only let down was the beginning of the pre-show. Clearly the station staff were too fast for baggage and the like so for the start of the preshow (plunge into darkness) the entrance double doors were still open, and our train had to wait for the next batch from the next pre show.

Can’t complain, but I can’t be the only one that’s a bit worried that a brand new roller coaster is only attracting a 50-60 minute queue during the busiest week of the year? I mean, we could expect Smiler to have had 2-3 hours this time in 2013.
 
Matt N said:
I personally love Wicker Man's preshow and wouldn't change any part of it, but I suppose I did experience it one day after the ride officially opened!

If there are problems with queue flow, however, then could I potentially suggest installing queue fencing inside the batching area and pre-show room and having the pre-show run on a constant loop, sort of like how CATCF's used to work?
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Wouldn't that spoil the immersion?

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How long is the preshow vs the dispatch interval? Presumably they did the sums and you can get guests through the preshow quicker than it takes to send each train out.
 
The problem with the WM preshow room seems mainly to be that there isn't really enough space beyond it. The section of queue beyond barely fits everyone from the show, so the batcher has to ensure the queue is pretty much cleared before the next group arrives. If they're too slow people can't exit the show room, which then holds up the start of the next show and then they run out of people in the station.

At first they were counting people into the preshow (2 trains worth), but that probably takes too long with the ride running flat out, so now the group sizes are variable, which makes the lack of space beyond more of an issue than before as there may or may not be people waiting to be batched when the next group enters the station.
 
ihaveaspergers said:
Wouldn't that spoil the immersion?

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It might do, I suppose; it was only an idea. Although I don't think it would be an awful lot different to Cobra's Curse's pre-show at Busch Gardens Tampa, for example:

That seemed to work perfectly fine as far as immersion was concerned when I experienced Cobra's Curse in August 2016. It also uses the CATCF-style method, and I'd say it has quite a similar style of pre-show to Wicker Man, personally.
 
I don't think Wicker Man's pre-show is too scary, it's very dramatic and memorable but surely that's the point?

Valhalla is a family ride yet think how scary the projection used to be on lift 1, a deafening booming voice with viking chanting, turning into a skull - something I still remember clearly as it made such an impression when I first rode.
 
Coaster said:
I don't think Wicker Man's pre-show is too scary, it's very dramatic and memorable but surely that's the point?

Valhalla is a family ride yet think how scary the projection used to be on lift 1, a deafening booming voice with viking chanting, turning into a skull - something I still remember clearly as it made such an impression when I first rode.
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But you would have been younger then, would you have found it so scary if you experienced that for the first time at your current age?

I of course don't find the Wicker Man pre-show scary, but can see why some younger riders might.

:)
 
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