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

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I just think it's strange saying "world class experience" instead of "world first rollercoaster". The use of the word experience instead of rollercoaster is what catches my eye.
 
As with anything no one will make something that will make everyone happy. But if SW8 hadn't of been built and they had left it the same for another season would we all be here saying "the parks getting stale, why isn't there a new ride yet"
 
I for one am very excited about this, the ride looks great from what can be seen so far and will be good fun. Its what the park needs and looks like it will be well themed too. Couldn't really give two hoots if they market it as the world's first attraction fully dedicated to continuous Concrete strip footers, it will be a GCI woodie, with what looks to me to be a decent compact layout and from all of the evidence a decent theme. I'm also not bothered if the theme clashes with katanga or mutiny bay, it's separate enough from both areas in my opinion and anything is better than an imperial leather theme. It could turn out to be a fantastic addition, let's wait and see!
 
Image taken from Theme Park Worldwide

Looks like some serious banking :)

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That will be a great bend after the first drop! (If I'm working this out correctly!)

However according to the plans all that will be sound tunneled :(
 
cactuselves said:
Couldn't really give two hoots if they market it as the world's first attraction fully dedicated to continuous Concrete strip footers, it will be a GCI woodie, with what looks to me to be a decent compact layout and from all of the evidence a decent theme.
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That's great you're looking forward to it, but I think theres often a misunderstanding between marketing and promotion. If it's promoted OTT, that's one thing. But 'marketing' is the process of deciding what ride to build in the first place and deciding what theme would be popular, so people probably do give two hoots about marketing without realising!

In most developments (not just theme parks) developers will come up with a concept, and then consult with marketing teams who will say what concepts will work for the intended audience and which won't. If done well, marketing is a great thing to make a ride a success.

But Merlin are a group run by ex-marketing directors at the top and they appear to insist on a much more simplified process than normal, which prioritises (at the marketing stage) how a ride will be promoted instead of what's actually designed, usually insisting on there being a 'worlds first' as the ride's whole premise.

It works to create short term impact, until everyone's been on the ride and discover what its really like. At UK Merlin parks, we've seen lots of (in my opinion) underwhelming rides and expensive flops, which were a product of that. Had any of the woodies been built that John Wardley has said he tried very hard to get approved in the past, guests could've had a second Nemesis on their hands. Had these policies been in place then, we'd most likely have "the world's first Arrow pipeline" instead of Nemesis, because Nemesis was given the time to evolve and become the best coaster it could be.

BUT it seems we've now had a change and its landed this small GCI woodie. It's a compromised woodie maybe, but I think this and The Smiler are a step towards a better coaster offering and less reliance on gimmicks. So its great for everyone, because designers can come up with better ideas for the future and im sure once the public get on it they'll realise wooden coasters are great fun too.
 
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We don't often get coaster porn in the UK but god that banked turn is pretty sweet! Especially heading towards the station like that, it's going to have one he'll of a change of direction!
 
evilcod said:
The fact that the second symbol in that image is used twice certainly pushes towards the idea of symbolising they other SW coasters, in order of that image:

?? No idea
Pipeline 1 SW1
Oblivion's vertical drop? SW4
Crossed swords... Nemesis? SW3
Or is this the Nemesis eye (Or The Smiler's washing machine element trolling)???
Inverted Galactica Logo? SW5
Pipeline 2 SW2
Woodie Track SW8

Leaving the The Smiler and Th13teen but I'll be honest I don't see a connection with these.
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You can see Smilers 'Batwing' element is one of the symbols. The other one maybe symbolising the freefall drop on Thirteen?...
 
Since the publication of the original plans, I've been a little disappointed at the apparent length of this coaster, but it looks way better on real life, and that banking makes me think this may be a little closer to thrill than family.

Nemesis proves that a coaster does not have to be long either in time or distance to be awesome .

I'm now optimistic about this project!
 
jon81uk said:
The same Be Chosen and pictorial letters are being used for a new ScareFest maze. It seems pretty certain that the theme is around some kind of ritual involving being chosen and the dead

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No WAY this is Mutiny Bay. Either on its own, or part of Gloomy Wood. I’m still going with the latter seeing as that Scarefest article specifically mentions the woods. It’s clearly going to have a horror theme.

Oh, wait, NO...voodoo pirates. :D:D
 
This ride looks like a family thrill ride, much like 13. A regular criticism of 13 from non enthusiasts is that the ride doesn't reach the hype it was made up to be and actually discouraged them from wanting to visit again. There's no doubt 13's 'horror ride' marketing got people through the door initially, so it probably makes business sense to repeat a proven technique, but I can't help feeling that it's going to leave the gp disappointed in the long run when the hype dies down.

As for the description of the new scarefest maze... my hopes of this NOT being wickerman/cult sacrafice themed seem to have been dashed. What's wrong with a simple, cheery pirate theme.:(
 
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