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2018: Wicker Man - General Discussion - SPOILERS! - Part One

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Or maybe they just stop running it if they see/hear a plane coming, Alton doesn't get a lot of air traffic from what I remember of camping down the road so anything heading directly for you is going to stick out like a sore thumb.
 
IanSR said:
Or maybe they just stop running it if they see/hear a plane coming, Alton doesn't get a lot of air traffic from what I remember of camping down the road so anything heading directly for you is going to stick out like a sore thumb.
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They could also have that flighradar 24 plan that lets you set custom geofences

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Reminds me of what the engineers testing the F-117 would do when they knew a Soviet satalite would be passing over Groom Lake. They'd hide the real plane in a hanger, and paint weird and impossible shapes on to the concrete outside in black paint. The Russians, looking at the infered pictures, would assume this had been left by the shadow of the plane and get confused! :p

It doesn't surprise me at all that Towers would stop testing whenever a drone is spotted overhead. Building hype through secrecy is pretty much all they have left these days.
 
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Interesting that it was Wardley behind this getting a proper first drop, and that he wanted further improvements to the layout
 
Rick said:
Nice piece from Ride Rater with some quotes from John Wardley discussing his involvement in the ride.
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Thanks for the link. It was interesting. I wonder if there really other things he would have liked to have changed but wasn’t enough time or is he saying that to dangle a carrot for use enthusiasts.

PJ


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Seems like they've played the media like a harp, the wood and fire claims have gained interest on social media, they've done the whole season pass thing and looks like they've probably built the most visually thematic ride in quite some time that's guaranteed to turn heads and have its image plastered all over the Internet. So that's most of the GP and media critics sorted.

Then they wheel JW out to effectively say "I approve of this ride" to sort fist waving enthusiasts out.

I must say, it's rather clever. Looks like the marketing team really have covered every base.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Have they STILL not taken down the lighting trusses at the bottom of Towers Street from fireworks‽
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They were also used for the Christmas Santa sleepover events. With it getting dark around 4pm extra lighting probably is a good idea. I would therefore expect them to come down in the next few weeks, I guess they might also need the extra light while they were dismantling and tidying up after Christmas.

Editing to reply as I realised others had also replied to the first comment!
DiogoJ42 said:
Ah, that makes sense. I was getting worried about the extra hire charges they must be incurring!
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Those towers fit into anchor points in the ground, there are manhole things. Therefore given the mounting holes are permanent I expect AT own the lighting towers as well, even if the lights are rented.
Much better solution than the diesel generator anyway!
 
He knows it doesn't match the woodie of his dreams that he had always envisioned, which must be pretty frustrating. I can imagine him being impressed with the Wickerman idea and the pre-show, as he's always prioritized visitor experience over 'just a physical ride'. Wardley's drop looks really good anyway, I think a number of us noticed a similarity between that and Nemesis, which the illusive picking up of speed being likely around the corner at the start.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Have they STILL not taken down the lighting trusses at the bottom of Towers Street from fireworks‽
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DiogoJ42 said:
Ah, that makes sense. I was getting worried about the extra hire charges they must be incurring!
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I don't think these are hired, pretty sure Towers own them because they seem to be a semi-permanent feature. There's actual anchor/mouting points installed in the ground with power outlets. Seems they just put em up and take em down as and when needed.
 
It's great that they still call upon John Wardley to advise of layouts etc. Hopefully the changes he wanted to make (but couldn't) won't damped the experience too much. I'm sure it will be a great ride.
 
It says in the article that John was impressed with the general ride, the theme and the choice of manufacturer (GCI). So I reckon he was impressed with the overall ride, but he wasn't as impressed with the drop. Apparently, the drop is actually nicknamed "The Wardley Drop" due to his involvement. Of course this wasn't the woodie that John always wanted to build, but I'm sure he was still pleased that he was able to be involved in a woodie at Towers. Even though he was nowhere near as involved with this as he was with previous projects.
 
matthewgcole said:
I think the thing John was most impressed about the ride was the wheelbarrow full of cash he was given to publicly give the ride his seal of approval.
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Yeah they wouldn't want him talking badly about the ride on his primetime TV show watched by the majority of the country.
 
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