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2018: Wicker Man - General Discussion - SPOILERS! - Part One
Mi-Nigle
TS Member
If I'm perfectly honest, I don't want to see a "secret element" or gimmick or "worlds first wooden coaster to be build with exactly 91,964 pieces of wood" angle. I'd rather they spent their attention on a bit of cool themeing, substantial long lasting effects (if any) and minimising the amount of visible concrete to 0.
I think the layout looks fine for a family coaster and I'm neither here nor there on the wicker man theory, don't care either way.
I think the layout looks fine for a family coaster and I'm neither here nor there on the wicker man theory, don't care either way.
Spike
TS Contributor
I really cannot see there being anything special/secret about the coaster itself (track and train). There has been talk of a possible inversion on the plans but I don't see that happening.
There is going to be some form of 'pre-show' by the looks of it though and if I had to guess I would say that some sort of effects here will provide the 'secret weapon' element of the ride as it were. It can't be any worse than #WhatsInTheShed mind!
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I'm wondering have Alton/Merlin lied about a ride's budget before? £15million does seem really hefty for what's in the plans, it's £3million short of The Smilers cost and more expensive than Th13teen. Unless it's going to be themed really heavily which I can't see Alton doing really, well they've not done it with any of the other SW's.
Rita was what £5million? and not a SW. Maybe I'm just hopefully optimistic for something other than what's in the plans, least we forget that The Smiler was not the same as the plans that were released as the land already had development approval, this would surely be the same for The Flume site?
I guess only time will tell
Due to the position of SW8 keeping it a total secret is out of the question.
Alton are playing the fine line between what they want us to know and what they want to keep secret
They did manage to keep Th13teen relatively secret despite it being built in full view, they could install anything secret in closed season away from the public eye.
I'd imagine this ride will have a lot of labour costs associated with it, I presume it's built in situ from scratch and not like a regular steel coaster that comes in kit form and a pilon every x number of meters, this ride will have thousands of support pieces scattered all over the shop.
Plus you know, inflation automatically makes everything more expensive, and those flashy tv ads during Saturday Night Takeaway don't come cheap either.
Plus you know, inflation automatically makes everything more expensive, and those flashy tv ads during Saturday Night Takeaway don't come cheap either.
Skyscraper
TS Member
Yeah, hopefully it will be a lot better than Mystic Timbers' shed, which was very disapointing.I really cannot see there being anything special/secret about the coaster itself (track and train). There has been talk of a possible inversion on the plans but I don't see that happening.
There is going to be some form of 'pre-show' by the looks of it though and if I had to guess I would say that some sort of effects here will provide the 'secret weapon' element of the ride as it were. It can't be any worse than #WhatsInTheShed mind!
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Spike
TS Contributor
I'd imagine this ride will have a lot of labour costs associated with it, I presume it's built in situ from scratch and not like a regular steel coaster that comes in kit form and a pilon every x number of meters, this ride will have thousands of support pieces scattered all over the shop.
I think that balances out though, higher labour costs but lower product cost as wood is cheaper than steel. Similar size GCI woodies are costing around £9-£10million, Alton are throwing around the £15million figure. Cú Chulainn at Tayto Park in Ireland - although built by The Gravity Group - cost just over £7million. It's bigger, longer and cost less than half of Alton's advertised budget for SW8. It surely can't be just what's on the plans.
Rob
TS Team
The £15 million figure will cover everything from the coaster itself to the marketing to the costs associated with demolition of The Flume. Although I still think such a large budget for what should be a relatively cheap coaster should leave a lot of money for quality theming and effects. There are a lot of tunnels on the coaster and I would like to see these themed to an extent with indoor lighting/sound effects.

The £15 million figure will cover everything from the coaster itself to the marketing to the costs associated with demolition of The Flume. Although I still think such a large budget for what should be a relatively cheap coaster should leave a lot of money for quality theming and effects. There are a lot of tunnels on the coaster and I would like to see these themed to an extent with indoor lighting/sound effects.
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The tunnel theming will be a picture of John Wardley with a speech bubble saying "get a life"

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I still think they'll end up over budget somehow, will cut all of the theming and will build the ride out of MDF and bamboo. That's their world's first right there.
And Handy Andy will be making it out of the aforementioned MDF in 24 hours
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Rob
TS Team
I still think they'll end up over budget somehow, will cut all of the theming and will build the ride out of MDF and bamboo. That's their world's first right there.
Well if the latest plans in the lighting schedule are anything to go by they have already cut one of the theming objects!
Spike
TS Contributor
True.
Merlin do seem to have a habit recently of either massively exaggerating the cost, spending far too much on promotion or simply paying over the odds for things.
The £15 million figure will cover everything from the coaster itself to the marketing to the costs associated with demolition of The Flume. Although I still think such a large budget for what should be a relatively cheap coaster should leave a lot of money for quality theming and effects. There are a lot of tunnels on the coaster and I would like to see these themed to an extent with indoor lighting/sound effects.
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That's why I was asking earlier if people think Alton would lie about the budget that much, I mean Mandy is chucking around a £16million figure for Icon which will no doubt include everything like you said Rob but I can see that costing that amount to be honest which leads me to believe The Smiler cost the £18million. It's a tough one really, £15million is a lot to pay for what's been shown but I'll lose faith if it's just track and train with minimal theming as it means they've clearly just made up the budget.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
Fun fact:I still think they'll end up over budget somehow, will cut all of the theming and will build the ride out of MDF and bamboo. That's their world's first right there.
I remember reading in First Drop many years ago, that when [arg, I forget which company it was now] built their first woody in China, the park asked them... and they designers seriously looked in to... building it out of bamboo. This is because of cultural differences. Over there, they trust bamboo. Scaffolding is still made from it. But wood is rarely used for major construction, and people regard it with suspicion, just as we would bamboo.
Obviously, it was quickly realised this was a bad idea....
Sorry for the double post but the thought bubble would say "barstards! Wait till I retire wood you"The tunnel theming will be a picture of John Wardley with a speech bubble saying "get a life"
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