• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

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

Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
The Smiler in relative terms drew some of the biggest attendances the park had seen in recent years. Considering it was open for about 5 and a bit months it wasn't far behind TH13TEEN's year's worth of attendance.

Although it was not a fan favourite for the hardcore enthusiasts, the product was well received by the GP, and as such, by Merlin.
 
WickerManiac said:
Although it was not a fan favourite for the hardcore enthusiasts, the product was well received by the GP, and as such, by Merlin.
Click to expand...
So it should have been too - at the heart of it, it's a good ride. But just such cheap finish with so many construction flaws, which detract from the guest experience (the awful queue, the broken effects, the building, the joltiness of the coaster).

But the Smiler still overcomes those things to deliver lots of fun and something different. It's surprisingly good considering it went for the inversion record and has some real attitude.

I understand why some enthusiasts don't like it, with reason, but you can't deny its good fun, and the theme is an important part of that. Such a shame it wasn't better finished/designed.

Whereas Thirteen I think is a very lacking, bland ride which could have easily been much better. The drop and backwards tunnel (regardless of any theming) is hugely fun! But it rarely feels worth the brief coaster and long queue. Imagine something even like Runaway Minetrain the drop instead - instantly good.

No amount of better theming could have saved Thirteen's lacklusture coaster and drab setting. I still think down in the woodlands where the Gloomy Wood coaster was originally planned would have been far better (and then go to town with the spoopy theme too)

Wickerman looks like it has finally nailed the overall package to deliver something entertaining - let's see!
 
Last edited:
TakeYourMedicine said:
I understand why some enthusiasts don't like it, with reason, but you can't deny its good fun, and the theme is an important part of that. Such a shame it wasn't better finished/designed.
Click to expand...

The problem is, The Smiler for the most part has no theme. Like what even is it?

To the average guest, The Smiler is just a bunch of black track with some smile emoji's painted around it, and a big LED screen in the middle displaying some random things.
 
I think it comes through in the music and the energy, the visual imagery. A very industrial, powered up theme, which is what the ride is naturally like. It enhances the experience.

It just needed more of that, rather than an empty concrete building with what look like soil pipes clad around it.

Look at how Oblivion gets you to the top. The queue spirals around to a top point giving you cool views of the coaster, through tech-y buildings, then over bridges to platform level. It builds the anticipation really well and the queueline TVs don't attempt to create a "story". It would have been quite easy to just do a Smiler and keep the queue on one level, back and forth, then send you up some massive stairs at the end.

Let's say, more of a Sanctuary style (but darker and industrial) walkthrough in the queueline room, on your way to the station to get strapped in. Instead, we have just bare blockwork walls and some stairs, with some projection effects that sounded good on paper but are a bit naff after a while.

It certainly could have been way better themed, but some enthusiasts say the Smiler's theme needs to be explained more and the 'story' made clear. That would kill the energy and miss the point. A great themed coaster needs a concept yes, but a roller coaster can't tell a story, nor should it try.

The concept should be suggested by the look and setting of the coaster, the features built around it. Vampire used to do this extremely well (before it became an empty room with some disco lights in). Nemesis does this well in its beastly setting. Both themes are really part and parcel of the rides. Rather than, say The Swarm's queueline TVs trying to 'explain' the story, the theme adds nothing to the actual ride other than the objects it interacts with.

So far, it looks like MMM have taken a better, back to basics approach with Wickerman. The theme will hopefully be suggested by the setting and what you interact with, rather than 'explained'. The preshow/postshow opportunity has great potential, I hope it isn't wasted!
 
Last edited:
The Smiler has a theme if you want to look for it, but it doesn't detract from the experience if you don't.

I get the criticism from the connoisseurs but it's popularity is affirmed, if only by the number of people who couldn't wait to get back on it post incident.
 
I'm not a ride connoisseur, I've just always loved the difference that a good themed coaster makes, long before I knew anything about theme parkery. I just enjoyed it and realised the difference.

People looking for a deep theme/story are missing the point of a themed coaster. Like when people confuse the "Nemesis story" as something that the ride is "supposed to be", when really it was written for the designers' benefit in order to put that concept together.

Nemesis is whatever you feel it is, a beastly, thrilling ride in the raw ground. The strange atmosphere is made by the setting in the quarry with the standing stones and blood rivers, etc. It's all a bit of good fun and works really well.

Wickerman I hope has that dramatic, pagan feel about it that adds to the ride, without having some TVs 'telling' you this that and the other.
 
Again, I compare some of the observations in this thread to those of a film critic vs. those of your average cinema goer with 2.4 children. Both views matter, but one really matters to your bottom line. But let's not have that debate again :sleeping:
 
Rick said:
Again, I compare some of the observations in this thread to those of a film critic vs. those of your average cinema goer with 2.4 children
Click to expand...
I know what you're saying, but I don't really think I'm going along the same lines as a critic, have you read my posts with an open mind?

This is about fun at the end of the day. A themed coaster is more fun for the public when the theme is a part of the ride experience. But 'telling' a 'story' on a coaster literally is a pretentious thing that I agree makes zero difference overall. Other than filling fan videos online.

I'm really in the minority of enthusiasts when it comes to this. You sometimes read other fans' wishes that the (awful) Smiler promo videos or the Nemesis narration were played in the queue to make the story 'clearer', when really the public are quite right to not care about some dodgy story. That's not fun.

Instead, it's much more effective, and makes a solid difference to the public's enjoyment, if you have the theme born out of the nature of the ride & its setting (in The Smiler's case, a loud, deranged industrial coaster - give it a loud, deranged industrial theme).

Make some anticipation out of it with the music, the dark indoor walk to the station, "half way corrected", etc. The public LOVE that. They won't ask for it up front and they will come for the loops, but the whole identity and mad experience of the ride is something they remember and come back for.

You can have an unthemed coaster too that's just as fun (like Icon at Blackpool, where any theming is just to give the ride a brand identity). That works in an amusement park, but wouldn't really work in a theme park, and relies on the coaster being astounding.

You needn't go overboard either, the layout at the core is what needs to be focussed on to make a great coaster. This isn't a dark ride where the theme is the whole thing. That's my one worry with Wickerman all along – all this pomp but a naff layout? We'll see.
 
Last edited:
I think The Smiler gets across well enough, it could and should have been themed a lot better/more extensively but neither is it just a mess of track with some emojis on it.

But Wickerman looks like a massive step in the right direction. It won't be anything like as good a coaster, but as a package it's looking to be the best this country has arguably seen since Oblivion. I really wasn't expecting it to look this good.
 
Wicker Man will solidify the strong coaster line up that they already have, and I'd have never have thought it looking at the plans, but there is a possibility that it could be in the top 2/3 in the park depending on how well everything fits together and how well it rides, only time will tell!
 
I think the Wickerman will have a great atmosphere to get you ready for the ride. As said before, the story doesn’t need to be force-fed to be enjoyed. If anything it’s better to let the public have some imagination ! (Not keen on Hex’s 2 pre shows).

And referring to a few posts above, we’ve said it before and said it again. Towers have FINALLY bought a good quality attraction. Like Nemesis and Oblivion were. Happy to see no cut corners, and I think the GP will be too.
 
WickerManiac said:
The sound tunnel drops, according to sources, are filled with smoke and brown static lights. The tunnel before the light hill is purely bare and concrete, and the maintenance shed is completely bare too, which is disappointing.

It is obvious on this project where the budget has been reduced or removed, notably when Nick said in his recnent trading update that they were adjusting their CAPEX spend but are limited due to some projects already being "committed" to.

That said, reports of the station interior and pre-show room are that it is fully themed.
Click to expand...

If true then that is a pity, especially in regards to the maintenance shed. I can only imagine that Merlin cut some of the budget as initially there was meant to be something I believe.

:)
 
TakeYourMedicine said:
I know what you're saying, but I don't really think I'm going along the same lines as a critic, have you read my posts with an open mind?
Click to expand...
Yeah - I think we both understand each other's points, we just don't agree?

Rob said:
If true then that is a pity, especially in regards to the maintenance shed. I can only imagine that Merlin cut some of the budget as initially there was meant to be something I believe.
Click to expand...
It's not always about cutting the budget - in fact, it rarely is. More often, something else on the project goes over budget and to the protect the total cost, 'nice to haves' are cut so your total cost doesn't spiral.

When a company like Merlin are running numerous large scale projects all over the world, they can't have a scenario where all projects go over a budget a little, because all those littles become a lot and can cause real problems.

JL6k said:
And referring to a few posts above, we’ve said it before and said it again. Towers have FINALLY bought a good quality attraction. Like Nemesis and Oblivion were. Happy to see no cut corners, and I think the GP will be too.
Click to expand...
I think you could argue that the cost profile of Wicker Man has shifted in that they have spent less on the ride hardware and more on dressing it up. With something like Smiler, they spent more on the ride and less dressing it up. With the earlier projects, they bought expensive ride hardware and did vast civil engineering and decorative stuff around them.
 
I think some people have seen this rollercoaster as another Smiler. (Which is understandable as Merlin haven't really surprised us with a good AT attraction in forever). And now we are starting to see something promising which has thrown me off and maybe a lot of you guys. Febuary is a really weird month for the AT enthusiasts as it's very close to opening day yet so far.
But what annoys me the most about this time is that people start to pick out tiny things that are irrelevant. Like the colour of the flames! Seriously? Ive enjoyed these comments but come on...
 
Bearing in mind as well that none of us have been on the ride in person yet, so no matter how many grainy pictures shot through fences or insider information makes us feel like we know what to expect, like 80% of the experience is a complete unknown to most fans.

You could watch a 360 degree POV and still not know what the thing was like to ride.
 
Being realistic, I wouldn't really mind if the tunnels are nothing more than dark sections the ride passes through. It's not ideal but still adds an effect to the ride.

However, the thought of those 2 big sheds at the station being completely empty is so disappointing. I hope this is not the case.
 
I have three things to say regarding the Wicker Man tunnels, and they are: Get. A. Life.
 
Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Top