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

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The Mystic Timbers 'pre-show' consists of a security building with security clips, the entrance area with Eye of the Tiger clashing with IMAscore and audio up the lift hill, If they did something similar for Wicker Man, I'm sure it'll add another layer of immersion to the ride.


To be honest I'm hoping we see a Hex or Dungeons style pre-show then have the queue continue then board the trains.
 
How much do we all think the actual coaster cost (minus all the marketing etc) ?

The Cu Chulainn coaster in Ireland had a budget of 8.5m Euros to add some frame of reference and that coaster just going off layout and sheer size is in a different league to wickerman obviously.

The 16m investment seems very iffy to me. Theres no way they've spent £7-8m on marketing, landscaping and theming etc because I can't imagine the coaster itself has cost much more than £8m.
 
Benjsh said:
How much do we all think the actual coaster cost (minus all the marketing etc) ?

The Cu Chulainn coaster in Ireland had a budget of 8.5m Euros to add some frame of reference and that coaster just going off layout and sheer size is in a different league to wickerman obviously.

The 16m investment seems very iffy to me. Theres no way they've spent £7-8m on marketing, landscaping and theming etc because I can't imagine the coaster itself has cost much more than £8m.
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I would guess the following:

Ride: £8 million
Demolition of the flume: £1 million
Landscaping: £1 million
Theming and buildings: £2 million
Marketing: £4 million.

But it’s just a guess
 
Rick said:
But will inspire page after page of discussion about how one train runs so much better.


Did you enjoy the Mystic Timbers 'pre-show', I wouldn't say it has a pre-show in the traditional sense of the phrase? And the shed... well... o_O I suspect this will be a more traditional pre-show and far more showy.
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I think for the American culture the light heated bizarre shed is adequate. I don't think it would be well received in the UK, however. :p
 
I think Holovis is a fairly high end creative studio for this sort of thing though, obviously Merlin's budget will be the biggest playing factor but sounds promising. It's good that they are giving opportunities to external studios & talents.
 
Leaked image of the wickerman pre show shed...

shed_finished.jpg
 
MakoMania said:
Well White Lightning is a similar sized (if not a little bigger) GCI to Wicker Man and cost just over £2 million. If Merlin have paid anything over £3 million they've been done :p
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They seem to get woodies really cheap in the states. Mine blower at Funspot didn't cost much either I dont think, even if that's from another company.

The marketing is obviously important here though as the park has suffered from a 20% fall in guests last few years. I don't think they will get back to the 2.6/2.7m figures any time soon sadly but they at least have to try.

I'm looking forward to Wickerman though. Doesn't look like it's going to be packed full of thrills but looks a solid coaster which looks gorgeous. I'm sure it will be a big hit.
 
The thing is Wicker Man has longer and more trains than White Lightning, And Wicker Man has the weird magnetic things on the lift to reduce noise and Wicker Man is 3ft taller than White Lightning, I'd say Wicker Man (Just the coaster hardware side of it) cost more than White Lighting. Also White Lightning has vinyl imagery for the train design whereas Wicker Man has detail.

Also Wicker Man could have a different control system and sensor company which could cost more and knowing Merlin with safety after the incident they've probably made sure there's loads of sensors.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
The thing is Wicker Man has longer and more trains than White Lightning, And Wicker Man has the weird magnetic things on the lift to reduce noise and Wicker Man is 3ft taller than White Lightning, I'd say Wicker Man (Just the coaster hardware side of it) cost more than White Lighting. Also White Lightning has vinyl imagery for the train design whereas Wicker Man has detail.

Also Wicker Man could have a different control system and sensor company which could cost more and knowing Merlin with safety after the incident they've probably made sure there's loads of sensors.
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I wouldn't expect more sensors (after all the ride detected a train hadn't finished) but I do expect a ton of CCTV cameras. not sure how they would theme them.

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The entrance looks very nice. I’m liking the incorporation of charred wood with the overall theming, it’s a nice bit of continuity when considering the overall theme.


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The whole project is looking so good so far! If the ride matches the quality of everything else, this could be Alton's most impressive coaster to date, and I was sceptical looking at the plans back in 2016 but if anything it will be a very aesthetically pleasing ride.
 
Will be interesting to see if there is anything lighting in that entrance sign. Having the logo glow like in the promo stuff we've seen so far would really finish that off.

I'm surprised at how photogenic this ride already is, especially as the planting hasn't come through yet. This photo from that post is a particular cracker.
2gsojsn.jpg
 
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Looking great! Stuff like this is the reason why I keep harping on about expecting a new level of theming from Merlin in the future! All we need now is for GCI to deliver a good family ride from a coaster point of view, and this could be Alton's biggest overall winner (note the phrase overall) in quite some time! The ride itself looks like a fun family coaster layout, and I don't even think the notorious testing video looked as slow as many were making it out to be! As I have mentioned before, this ride is very similar to Nemesis in more ways than you would think! I'm cautiously optimistic for this ride, and I look forward to seeing the reviews flow in on 17th March!
 
Moley said:
Will be interesting to see if there is anything lighting in that entrance sign. Having the logo glow like in the promo stuff we've seen so far would really finish that off.
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I was thinking the same thing - maybe light effects and smoke to make it look like a lit flame?
 
Faint praise perhaps, but for a modern UK theme park entrance that's a wonderful jump in quality. I'm getting very sick of every new ride at every park having either completely two-dimensional signage or a few plastic/metal panels stacked on top of one another.
 
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