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Wicker Man - General Discussion - Part Two

Just had a ride on wickerman. It is definitely back to its best! Very smooth in the sections that were getting rougher last year, effects are fantastic and operations on point. Proving very very popular here today too which is great to see, despite it entering its 4th season.
 
Connor98 said:
Proving very very popular here today too which is great to see, despite it entering its 4th season.
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So it would appear that John Wardley has quite possibly been proven correct about wooden roller coasters after years of trying to get one built at Alton Towers!

Personally, I’m incredibly gratified to see Wicker Man remaining so popular and well-liked 3 years on from its opening; I absolutely love it, and even though it may not be the tallest, fastest, longest or most intense wooden roller coaster in the world, I think it was the absolute perfect ride for Alton Towers in terms of filling the gaps that existed in their pre-Wicker Man coaster lineup!

I really hope that Wicker Man’s success leads to a focus on building rides that are just really good, fun rides as opposed to focusing on gimmicks; while gimmicks aren’t a bad thing by any means, as there has to be a first of everything, and many of Alton Towers’ gimmick coasters are loved in their own right, I think that building quality rides will win out for the park in the end. To be fair, I think Alton Towers themselves previously said that Wicker Man was intended to be a change in direction for rides being built at the park, so I’m optimistic!
 
Connor98 said:
Just had a ride on wickerman. It is definitely back to its best! Very smooth in the sections that were getting rougher last year, effects are fantastic and operations on point. Proving very very popular here today too which is great to see, despite it entering its 4th season.
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Awesome! How long did you wait?
 
Connor98 said:
Just into the extended queue line, yes
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Thought it would've been longer if it was just into the extended queue. I queued from the start of the extended near the wicker man entrance sign and it was only like 70. That being said that was last summer when there was no fastrack
 
I did Wicker Man today, and I have to say, it was generally running very well; definitely still my favourite Alton Towers ride! I sat in the front row, and while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I did last summer, when I sat in row 8/9, it was still absolutely amazing, and still had the pace, airtime and comfort that really make me love it! In terms of the s-bend that was apparently problematic smoothness-wise last season; it was riding absolutely fine, with no undue roughness whatsoever! The vast majority of the rest of the ride was riding fine too, and on the whole, Wicker Man is still relatively smooth and comfortable, as wooden roller coasters go.

However, I do have one slight caveat that did detract from the ride slightly for me. I don’t know if anyone else has thought this, but I personally found that the final wicker man pass through, just before the end of the ride, is now getting a tad jolty. It’s only a tiny section, and is hardly a deal breaker, but I definitely noticed some jolting there, and it did bash me around a bit in that section. That section has never done that to me before, and I found it odd given that the other 99% of the ride was riding very smoothly, in wooden coaster terms. Maybe this final pass through could be an area for the park to address with some retracking next closed season, or whenever the ride next has maintenance done?

Has anyone else noticed this, or only me?
 
Matt N said:
I did Wicker Man today, and I have to say, it was generally running very well! I sat in the front row, and while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I did last summer, when I sat in row 8/9, it was still absolutely amazing, and still had the pace, airtime and comfort that really make me love it! In terms of the s-bend that was apparently problematic smoothness-wise last season; it was riding absolutely fine, with no undue roughness whatsoever! The vast majority of the rest of the ride was riding fine too, and on the whole, Wicker Man is still relatively smooth and comfortable, as wooden roller coasters go.

However, I do have one slight caveat that did detract from the ride slightly for me. I don’t know if anyone else has thought this, but I personally found that the final wicker man pass through, just before the end of the ride, is now getting a tad jolty. It’s only a tiny section, and is hardly a deal breaker, but I definitely noticed some jolting there, and it did bash me around a bit in that section. That section has never done that to me before, and I found it odd given that the other 99% of the ride was riding very smoothly, in wooden coaster terms. Maybe this final pass through could be an area for the park to address with some retracking next closed season, or whenever the ride next has maintenance done?

Has anyone else noticed this, or only me?
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Myself I thought it was fine throughout the whole layout, I had 3 rides on it when I was there on Wednesday, the 3rd being back row late on in the day meaning it was running with quite some speed by its usual standards, it definitely had more of a rattle but that was mostly caused by the speed increase and maybe being in the back of the train. Overall I think it’s riding just as good if not better than ever. I quite like the raucous feel of a good
Woodie so even in its condition last year I thought it wasn’t that bad :tearsofjoy:
 
deanW said:
Yeah I agree - the final part of the ride leaves me feeling a bit bashed up!

Not as bashed up as Stampida or Furius Baco, though, so that’s fine with me :tearsofjoy:
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Oh, I agree that it’s still not ridiculously rough by any means; that section is still a far cry from the likes of Grand National, Big Dipper or even back row Megafobia! It just seemed slightly uncharacteristically jolty in that tiny section compared to the rest of it, for some reason, and it did bash me around slightly in that portion.
Connor98 said:
Myself I thought it was fine throughout the whole layout, I had 3 rides on it when I was there on Wednesday, the 3rd being back row late on in the day meaning it was running with quite some speed by its usual standards, it definitely had more of a rattle but that was mostly caused by the speed increase and maybe being in the back of the train. Overall I think it’s riding just as good if not better than ever. I quite like the raucous feel of a good
Woodie so even in its condition last year I thought it wasn’t that bad :tearsofjoy:
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I’ll admit that my roughness tolerance is quite low, and I’m generally more of a steel coaster person than a wooden coaster person, so someone with a bit of a higher tolerance probably wouldn’t think anything of it.

As I said, it’s more of a minor caveat than something that completely ruined the ride for me. I still absolutely love Wicker Man, and it still held its own as my favourite Alton Towers ride even on the front!
 
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I think the retrack work that has been done on Wicker man over the winter has really improved the ride experience. Back to its former self of being fast, thrilling but fairly smooth for a woodie. Nothing wrong with a bit of aggression from a woodie as that's their character, but last season it was starting to shake side to side too much, with the ride being much slower and rougher. That s bend corner has vastly been improved which is great given that when wicker man runs well it's one of the best in the park
 
Ethan said:
I think the retrack work that has been done on Wicker man over the winter has really improved the ride experience. Back to its former self of being fast, thrilling but fairly smooth for a woodie. Nothing wrong with a bit of aggression from a woodie as that's their character, but last season it was starting to shake side to side too much, with the ride being much slower and rougher. That s bend corner has vastly been improved which is great given that when wicker man runs well it's one of the best in the park
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I’d agree, for the most part. I never rode the ride at its “worst” towards the end of last season, and frankly, I didn’t notice an awful lot of difference compared to how it’s ever been smoothness-wise when I rode in April, apart from a very small kink in the final wicker man pass through that did bash me slightly (that might just have been a one-ride anomaly, though, as I’ve never heard anyone else mention that section). 99% of it was very smooth, in woodie terms, and despite the fact I was sat in row 1, the ride still felt incredibly fast and airtime-filled!
 
Matt N said:
I’d agree, for the most part. I never rode the ride at its “worst” towards the end of last season, and frankly, I didn’t notice an awful lot of difference compared to how it’s ever been smoothness-wise when I rode in April, apart from a very small kink in the final wicker man pass through that did bash me slightly (that might just have been a one-ride anomaly, though, as I’ve never heard anyone else mention that section). 99% of it was very smooth, in woodie terms, and despite the fact I was sat in row 1, the ride still felt incredibly fast and airtime-filled!
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Yes but how it's riding in April is no different to normal really. End of last season it was at its worst and if you'd ridden it then you would've noticed the difference
 
With the the success of WickerMan I’d be amazed if the next major thrill coaster isn’t an RMC . However , we don’t need this until we get a high capacity indoor family attraction and multiple filler rides.

When the time comes, rip out Dark Forest apart from Thirteen and rebuild that area from the ground up - new layout , new flats, new outlets and a nice (quiet) RMC into the valley
 
tayspru said:
With the the success of WickerMan I’d be amazed if the next major thrill coaster isn’t an RMC . However , we don’t need this until we get a high capacity indoor family attraction and multiple filler rides.

When the time comes, rip out Dark Forest apart from Thirteen and rebuild that area from the ground up - new layout , new flats, new outlets and a nice (quiet) RMC into the valley
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I wonder if the appetite for indoor rides is still there with the pandemic around? For the last couple of years they've not been able to open as much as a coaster for example.

Would you invest in one with the way things are at the moment?
 
Not been to park since 2019. I have no interest in wearing masks on rides and having to queue longer due to social distancing.

Hoping to get a trip or two in (off peak) at some point after restrictions are lifted.

I do miss getting on Wickerman and Nemmy.
 
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