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

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Yeah, I've been thinking that too, nice and simple name, straight to the point like Derren Browns Ghost Train, maybe the same I.P (not an I.P but someone who will draw people to the ride).

market as a woodie, with an I.P or character, :p then "insert I.P name - woodie " e.g "Capt'n blackbeards woodie" ;)
 
Talking with someone yesterday, a complete non geek, who had just seen the plans

"So the new coaster is a wood ?"

"Yeah"

"So it's a replacement for the runaway mine train?"

"No, it's nothing like, it's going to be great!"

"Oh, wood, meh! All rattles and bumps, can't say I'm thrilled "

That last sentence I think my be the consensus of the general public. o_O
 
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TBH, most people I work with are of the "you'll never get me on one of those death traps" persuasion regarding all coasters, wood or otherwise. And that was before the Smiler crash! They tend to view me in the same way I view people who keep tarantulas as pets. :p
People like that are never going to change their minds, so why bother trying?
 
Flip said:
Totally agree with all the above, this is a massive disappointment, I'm absolutely gutted. And at 43 I've probably been waiting longer than most on this forum, it's always been a sad little dream of mine that one day Alton Towers would build an amazing woodie and this really doesn't cut it for me....at all! But then what can we expect really, the park have noise restrictions, height restrictions and a ton of red tape. Sorry to be so negative but what is the future of Alton Towers? A cross valley would really have put them back at the top, this just reinforces my belief that other parks will be the ones pushing for big projects and tall scream machines and Alton will always struggle. And sadly they may even become a second thought for those craving the latest in roller coasters, Blackpool have sealed it, maybe Paramount in the future, I feel Alton are going down, rant over.
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But that red tape has always been there, nothing has really changed. They've built the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion with this red tape. I'd understand your argument if lots of new regulations had recently been brought in. I agree with you in saying that this doesn't look like the amazing world class woodie we have all been waiting for - I think even with all the restrictions in place there was more potential for a better woodie elsewhere in the park (although this would have been far more costly). A cross valley woodie would never be possibe whether that be in the present day or 10-20 years ago.

Leah said:
I've been thinking and - though probably a ridiculous idea - do people think that there may be an IP used for sw8? I know it's sounds unlikely, but I see no reason they wouldn't. Thorpe seem to be going that way more often than not on there recent additions, and I'm sure it was speculated that the smiler would originally be an IP.

I know it's a little far fetched, especially at this stage, but I just want to see people's opinion.
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Not farfetched at all, an IP is a real possibility although I hope it is not an IP. I believe that the original SW8 planning for 2017 was set to utilise an IP and issues regarding the IP may have been part of the reason for the project being cancelled. IP's generally help attract more people so Merlin may see it necessary to use one to help promote what may otherwise be an unattractive wooden coaster. We all know how much Merlin have banged on about the public perception of woodies in the past.

:)
 
bluesonichd said:
"Oh, wood, meh! All rattles and bumps, can't say I'm thrilled "

That last sentence I think my be the consensus of the general public. o_O
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Based on the opinion of one person? lol

Okay, i'll counter that with me showing the plans to 6 work colleagues yesterday (none are enthusiasts either), all of whom said it looks like fun.

Notable quotes being...

"That looks like more my kind of ride, I don't like the big ones"
"I like the Grand National at The Pleasure Beach, is it like that?"

I wouldn't then say that these 6 opinions will be the 'consensus of the general public' :rolleyes:
 
I will be extremely disappointed if this has any kind of IP attached to it. They have a great opportunity to show us what kind of theming they can provide with a decent budget and the pirate theme is already one they've shown us they can do. If there is an IP it will seem like a huge cop out.
 
Rob said:
But that red tape has always been there, nothing has really changed. They've built the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion with this red tape. I'd understand your argument if lots of new regulations had recently been brought in. I agree with you in saying that this doesn't look like the amazing world class woodie we have all been waiting for - I think even with all the restrictions in place there was more potential for a better woodie elsewhere in the park (although this would have been far more costly). A cross valley woodie would never be possibe whether that be in the present day or 10-20 years ago.
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I think some of the planning issues have got worse, especially since the noise abatement order. I think Oblivion would be very different if built now.

Given they are adding a lot of sound insulation, including a tunnel to the first drop of the new coaster, it does feel like either there are more restrictions on noise, or AT are more concerned about noise compared to 20 years ago.
 
I'm surprised at all the negativity here!! Come on people - Alton are building a woodie. Something we have asked for over many many years. Yes ok its not going cross valley, which, lets face it, was never going to happen due to the nature of the park and its surroundings, but its a woodie all the same. My only disappointment is that its not larger, but, look at Nemesis, if we saw the plans for that now, and how compact it was, no doubt some would be moaning they wanted it bigger, but look just how thrilling a compact ride in a tight space (provided they get the themeing right) can be.

I'm quite looking forward to this!
 
With the rather disappointing response to the plans on here, it is sort of our own fault as we asking for it. We always said we wanted a wooden coaster, what we didn't say however is that we wanted a good wooden coaster! :p

Ah well...:rolleyes:
 
How do people know that it won't be good? We have drawings on a computer so far! lol :rolleyes:

I thought Shambhala was going to be another SIlver Star as it looked similar. Oh how wrong I was, Shambhala blows Silvia out of the water. :eek:
 
Spike said:
Based on the opinion of one person? lol
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To be completely honest, it was my opinion before I joined here. I didn't know modern woodies existed, that they were all like the ones at Blackpool.

I haven't shown anyone I know the plans for sw8 (not sure how I could bring that up in a conversation and still look normal ;)), but when I asked one of my friends what she thought of rollercoaster safety (after the crash) she said: "I'll go on anything, exept the smiler or the mouse at Blackpool. I get the smilers safe now, but I just couldn't do it, and when I did the mouse last I thought I'd broke a rib"

Think it just depends on the intelligence of the person, and how much time they spend around geeks :p
 
jon81uk said:
I think some of the planning issues have got worse, especially since the noise abatement order. I think Oblivion would be very different if built now.

Given they are adding a lot of sound insulation, including a tunnel to the first drop of the new coaster, it does feel like either there are more restrictions on noise, or AT are more concerned about noise compared to 20 years ago.
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I'd say noise is the biggest issue with this coaster hence the extra measures they seem to be taking. Wooden coasters are taditionally lounder than steel coasters and the SW8 site is very close to properties on Wootton Lane. The measures they are taking seem very sensible.

I would agree that noise restrictions have become more of an issue in recent times although not to the extent that they have a major impact on what Towers can or can't do. It just means they have to put more thought, and money, into their projects.

:)
 
After studying the plans more closely I'm pretty happy about this ride, OK it isn't the longest in the world (the only negative for me) but it does look to have a fun layout, lots of little airtime pops, a couple of decent, steep, drops and after the first long flat section (..which I'm convinced has more than meets the eye to it..) Looks pretty relentless I'm terms of pacing and elements. I love woodies and most of my favourites are CGI. The ride will look great and be very visually impressive from mutiny bay. Katanga is one of my favourite areas of the park and this looks like it will fit into KC / mb well with a good level of themeing - decent station building and elements. As an AT enthusiast this ticks most of the boxes for me!
 
I wonder what people's opinions of Nemesis' plans would have been had they seen them back before it opened?

nemesisplan01.jpg


'It doesn't go very high'
'Looks like it'll be slow and boring'
'It's too short'

Let's face it, the proof will be in the riding of it. Until then, speculate for sure, but don't condemn it based on some drawings and plans.
 
I posted the overhead plan of Wodan for the exact same reason. Although, Wodan does go a fair bit higher than this.

My main concern about this ride is that it will be very short.
 
I'll say now that this coaster won't be slow and boring at all, my only complaints are about its length. It is very short and fairly repetitive, which is very unlike what GCI have made before. I hope that if this were to be successful in bringing guest numbers back up, however, that it would convince AT and Merlin to return to the original plans for the woodie in FV.
 
Having just caught up on this I'm not so surprised by a lot of the negativity to this, as I posted elsewhere...

I've been screaming as loud as anyone for a modern wooden coaster in the UK, it is my favorite type and desperately overdue. The problem here is the cross valley plans, which would almost certainly have been a world beating beast of a ride, are still in mind when we look at a fairly standard appearing take on a modern wooden coaster.

This looks pretty short and uninspired really, kind of just placed on an available bit of land which could be anywhere, rather than integrated into the surroundings or other attractions. With a patch of land the size of the old flume site they could go huge, have something spectacular. Maybe a flume as well, with the coaster sweeping around it. Take it into the woods for some natural and established cover and interaction. Just something.

I'm sure it'll be a good enough ride, but 'good enough' is obviously not what we want or what I believe the park really need. It feels daft being so negative about a ride that no one has ridden, but the plans are pretty clear so I don't see how this can deliver something truly special. I'm sure personally I'll love it when I'm on it, I can't think of a time when that hasn't been the case on any woodie I've ridden, but that will forever be tainted by that 'what could have been' feeling.

It's a real shame that this is seen by the powers that be as a sufficient ride to follow in the footsteps of previous SW's, very telling of the 'good enough' era of Merlin we seem to be in at the moment. That phrase seems to course through everything they do.
 
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