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

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WickerManiac said:
From what I can gather...

You enter a room constructed from twigs and hay, with LED lighting from the roof down and carvings engraved on the floor. Rocks also show the outline of the runes which are associated with the ride. The doors close, and a video is projected on a cloth in front of the room. The style of this cartoon has been likened to this scene in Harry Potter with the style of cartoon (this can be found here ) and goes on to say that the great ancestors of the Beornen once spoke of a legend of a Wicker Man. The ancestors spoke for centuries that one day he would rise again. But to start this ritual, he needs to be fed. Then, the room descends into darkness, the curtain rises out of the way, and a 3-d projection map of a real life Wicker Man appears from behind the curtain screaming out "I will rise again - Feed the flames". Simultaneously, the runes on the floor and the runes on the rocks light up and the sound of drums and humming can be heard. The doors spring open and you are in the station.
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This sounds exactly how the latest teaser looked... go back and watch it, after reading the spoiler...
 
WickerManiac said:
From what I can gather...

Then, the room descends into darkness, the curtain rises out of the way, and a 3-d projection map of a real life Wicker Man appears from behind the curtain screaming out "I will rise again - Feed the flames".
Click to expand...

This likely explains the appearance of a
smaller Wicker Man body
outside MMM's Northern studios at Alton. Sounds good! Although for the sake of some of these staff, I certainly hope there are still some seasonal positions available at Tesco in Uttoxeter...
 
Plastic Person said:
This likely explains the appearance of a
smaller Wicker Man body
outside MMM's Northern studios at Alton. Sounds good! Although for the sake of some of these staff, I certainly hope there are still some seasonal positions available at Tesco in Uttoxeter...
Click to expand...

No - I was assured it was a white body - which was projected on! Like The Smiler's projection mapping which is white shapes which have a video projected on.

I have asked sources about this and said object didn't feature anywhere in the ride! It can only be assumed it will be in the gift shop.
 
From what we've seen, I'm going to make a bold 2-in-1 statement about this ride. I personally feel that as a themed experience, this is the best themed and most immersive roller coaster that Alton Towers, and probably the UK, has ever produced, both in the Tussauds era and the Merlin era. I'm not counting the John Broome era because none of the coasters built by John Broome were really themed as such. I know that many people will say to me "but how does this beat Nemesis' monster and landscaping, and Oblivion's queue line and bass soundtrack, and The Swarm's wreckage theming and fire effect?" My answer to that question is; think about it this way. Has any other roller coaster in Britain ever had this level of detail put into the finer nuances of the theming as Wicker Man has? Does any other roller coaster in Britain have effects as stunning as Wicker Man's, or a pre-show for that matter? In my personal opinion, the answer to both of those is no, but people are open to their own opinion. It doesn't matter if you think Wicker Man is the worst experience coaster ever created! It's your opinion!

The other statement I am going to make is that I feel that this is one of the best, if not the best, themed wooden roller coaster on the planet. The only competitors I can think of to Wicker Man in terms of a heavily themed wooden roller coaster are Wodan at Europa Park, Apocalypse at SFMM, and to a slightly lesser extent, Joris at Efteling. OK, I should probably count Mystic Timbers at Kings Island too, but only due to the Shed. Other than that, I can't think of any wooden roller coasters with more than a very loose theme. Now I've said that, someone will probably mention an awesome themed woodie I've forgotten about :p. Now, I will admit that I am drawing all of this from photos and what people have said. I will not be making a proper, personal judgement of my own until I step off the ride and into the gift shop. Anyway, I will admit that Wodan and Apocalypse have better-looking queues than Wicker Man, so they immediately have a slight advantage, but I think it all depends on how the pre-show turns out. Also, it partly depends whether they put something in the maintenance shed a la Mystic Timbers. But from what we have seen, Wicker Man looks like one of the best themed wooden roller coasters on Earth to me, simply due to the effects, which look stunning, and the heavy reliance on story.

Please bear in mind the phrase "roller coaster" in these sentences. Of course I'm not trying to suggest that Wicker Man is the best themed ride in the UK, as names such as Hex and Valhalla, amongst others, spring to mind as better themed rides in the UK alone.

So, that's my 2 in 1 statement. Let me know if you agree with me, or if you think I'm completely bonkers! Overall, though, I'm just pumped for the 17th March, when the first public reviews flow in!
P.S. Sorry for the long, controversial post.
 
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I've been one of the few people who has been genuinely excited for wicker man for all of the time since plans were released (I remember that night posting them as the first post for this forum in fact). For the record, I am more hyped about this coaster than Steel Vengeance. This coaster is going to be truly special and I think you have all under hyped yourself for it. The drop is going to be very unique, the theming will be excellent and most importantly the layout looks good for both on and off ride. I think we may have my number 1 coaster here (beating Shanbhala or Red Force)!
 
ThemeParkCrafter said:
I've been one of the few people who has been genuinely excited for wicker man for all of the time since plans were released (I remember that night posting them as the first post for this forum in fact). For the record, I am more hyped about this coaster than Steel Vengeance. This coaster is going to be truly special and I think you have all under hyped yourself for it. The drop is going to be very unique, the theming will be excellent and most importantly the layout looks good for both on and off ride. I think we may have my number 1 coaster here (beating Shanbhala or Red Force)!
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At least that way it's going to amaze people more.
I honestly can't wait!

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If this coaster is a success, I can very easily see a RMC coming to both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park in the future. This coaster, bearing in mind it is in the intersection of 3 contrasting themes, will fit very well into this end of the park. I think this is going to be the Tussaud's Nemesis for the Merlin era.
 
ThemeParkCrafter said:
If this coaster is a success, I can very easily see a RMC coming to both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park in the future. This coaster, bearing in mind it is in the intersection of 3 contrasting themes, will fit very well into this end of the park. I think this is going to be the Tussaud's Nemesis for the Merlin era.
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It does seem like merlin are trying to do well for once. Who knows

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
 
ThemeParkCrafter said:
I've been one of the few people who has been genuinely excited for wicker man for all of the time since plans were released (I remember that night posting them as the first post for this forum in fact). For the record, I am more hyped about this coaster than Steel Vengeance. This coaster is going to be truly special and I think you have all under hyped yourself for it. The drop is going to be very unique, the theming will be excellent and most importantly the layout looks good for both on and off ride. I think we may have my number 1 coaster here (beating Shanbhala or Red Force)!
Click to expand...
Let's not get ahead of ourselves now...

I do think this will be the best themed coaster in the UK though.
 
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Bit of an odd question but does anyone know how loud WM is?

I think it'll really add to the queue/ride experience if it roars around the track. Some woodies can be surprisingly quiet though, so I'm not expecting anything as noisy as Nemesis.
 
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