Wicker Man - General Discussion

[Secret Weapon]

If the park built Wicker Man because they wanted good publicity post-Smiler, why on Earth would they pick to build a ride type notoriously rejected for years on the grounds of it being perceived as unsafe by the broad populace in a period when the park was desperately trying to regain the public’s trust on safety?

I found it strange that AT decided to build a ride that combined fire with wood - especially in light of the then-ongoing Smiler crash lawsuit, and concerns over the safety of rides at AT in general.

P.S. This might sound like a very strange analogy, but John Wardley reminds me a bit of Hazel Savage (the police officer who investigated the serial killer Fred West); Hazel (correctly) deduced that he had murdered and buried his daughter, but her fellow officers thought that she was insane to actually excavate his house on the basis of a mere rumour / hunch – but, out of respect to her tenure, they agreed to her request (and she was proven to be right).

Likewise: John Wardley fought for years to have a wooden rollercoaster built at AT or Thorpe Park – in the face of overwhelming opposition – but, eventually, AT caved and - perhaps out of respect to his long track record - finally built one (the only part that I am unclear on is why they waited until after he retired before finally building one?).

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

P.S. This might sound like a very strange analogy, but John Wardley reminds me a bit of Hazel Savage (the police officer who investigated the serial killer Fred West); Hazel (correctly) deduced that he had murdered and buried his daughter, but her fellow officers thought that she was insane to actually excavate his house on the basis of a mere rumour / hunch – but, out of respect to her tenure, they agreed to her request (and she was proven to be right).

Likewise: John Wardley fought for years to have a wooden rollercoaster built at AT or Thorpe Park – in the face of overwhelming opposition – but, eventually, AT caved and - perhaps out of respect to his long track record - finally built one (the only part that I am unclear on is why they waited until after he retired before finally building one?).

Well that's certainly... a take.

I’m struggling to decide which is more unsettling: the mental gymnastics required to link the pioneer of the B&M Flyer to the excavation of 25 Cromwell Street, or the implication that building a GCI wooden coaster is a feat of forensic deduction on par with catching a serial killer.

Still, it’s a bold comparison. I look forward to your next post, perhaps comparing the removal of the Corkscrew to the fall of the Berlin Wall? Or even, how the closure of The Flume was basically the maritime equivalent of the sinking of the Lusitania?

 

[DiogoJ42]

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "routine excavations".