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

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GaryH said:
It does look good but the immediate question I ask myself is "for how long". Provided all the effects are maintained and work every day then great, but sorry if I sound a little cautious! Apart from that, it looks good.
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We can only speculate, But I'm pretty sure that with the main selling point of this ride being about the SFX, I would imagine there's going to be some due care and attention put into them for the foreseeable future.

I might be wrong, but I recall there being an image of some kind of easy access into the WM for maintenance reasons?

Again, It's all speculation and with the track record of other attractions we don't have much to hold faith in.

Does Scorpion express still have the fire effect? I seem to remember visiting last year and even that was turned off?
 
They've definitely dropped the whole fusing wood with fire world's first nonsense though. Haven't seen it at all in recent advertising.
 
Tuggerz said:
Does Scorpion express still have the fire effect? I seem to remember visiting last year and even that was turned off?
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The fire was working last season, so was the fire on the Swarm, although both go off at irregular intervals.

The tunnel of Nemesis inferno however, the other Merlin attraction with fake inferno effects and smoke, faired a lot worse.
 
MakoMania said:
Fair enough that the ASA would not yet have done anything, but do you think that the news that people were contacting the ASA may have influenced Merlin's decision in some way?
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Maybe, who knows. It's such an odd complaint to make - if someone knows it's not strictly the first to match the claim, you are surely not at all impacted by it. If the complaint is to 'save' the unsuspecting public from the claim, that feels quite mean spirited if the complainer is a fan of the park.

Regardless, it likely further confirmed the park's suspicion that some enthusiasts are a bunch of babies with too much time on their hands.
 
Rick said:
that feels quite mean spirited
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Rick said:
some enthusiasts are a bunch of babies with too much time on their hands
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Bit of a contradiction?

Who cares if they can't use their fake claim anyway? They ought to sell the ride to the public by what it is, not dumb untruths. It's been absolutely no loss without the strapline, the promo so far has been very cool.

I found it funny the idea it had supposedly gone to ASA, dunno if it's even true but it's a funny story. We're all so bored of the fakery that I'm glad it's gone. "World's first fully dedicated to VR" was another stupid, plainly untrue one.

At the end of the day, it's advertising, they advertised something not true as the ride's USP and obviously got criticised for it. The rest is a storm in a teacup.
 
TakeYourMedicine said:
Bit of a contradiction?
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Not at all. My beef is with whiny enthusiasts who I am not a fan of (see almost every other topic I have posted in).

The fakery is longstanding and so what... that's what this industry is all about. 'World's first vertical drop roller coaster', 'World's first flying coaster' - it's all garbage, but it doesn't matter. So what.
 
John Wardley has been interviewed by the ECC.

I’m sure all the coaster enthusiasts understand that the way to get more, bigger and better wood coasters built at U.K. parks is to get the British public to fall in love with them and want them. Starting off with the biggest, most terrifying, intimidating woodie (which the enthusiasts would love) is not the way to do this. What Alton Towers have done is created a fabulous, fast-paced, smooth, thrilling, exhilarating ride which is beautifully and imaginatively presented to a standard far higher than probably any other woodie in the world. It will capture the public’s imagination and leave them wanting more. With just a 1.2m height limit it is accessible to most children who would want to ride it, and appeal to the family market whilst still having enough physical and psychological thrills to satisfy hardened teenagers (and coaster enthusiasts).
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Full post here.

Interesting what he said, Do you lot see the invasion of the wood coaster in the UK? And do you think this is a hint at a bigger woodie for Towers in the future?
 
No company, be it a theme park, restaurant chain, or a corner shop, should be able to get away with false advertising. Lots of people get suckered in by adverts which make them part with their money only to find that the vision they have been sold is not what they get.

If Alton Towers have been told by the ASA to calm it down, then good. They get away with their fair share of CGI adverts depicting how fantastic Alton Towers is.

Re John Wardleys comments, he is hardly going to say that its rubbish. I think we all know this is going to be a decent solid family ride. I am still unsure why this has been marketed with such a potentially dark theme. No other chain seems to install such dark themes as Merlin. Take retheming a family ride to the Walking Dead. Madness.. but hey, that's another topic for another day.

Wicker Man could actually have the opposite effect. If people expect this great thrill ride, which the marketing team are making it out to be, then riders could get off it less than impressed if it is a family ride and think all woodies are like that.
 
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RMC Hybrid surely the next big one? They'd have to get creative with it though with the Height restrictions but that could make it more unique too I suppose.
 
I have it on good authority that the "sound tunnels" on the ride are full of fog, and have strobing flashing lights. The Wicker Man statue also has an LED screen pointing outwards which gives the effect of burning embers to those spectating and in the queue line.

:)
 
WickerManiac said:
I have it on good authority that the "sound tunnels" on the ride are full of fog, and have strobing flashing lights. The Wicker Man statue also has an LED screen pointing outwards which gives the effect of burning embers to those spectating and in the queue line.

:)
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That's nice, but what I really want is timed effects when the train passes through the structure. Please Towers, do it for me.
 
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