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

[Rob]

It is quite simply ludicrous at this stage to assume that Alton Towers are going to trim SW8 if it reaches certain speeds. What on earth points towards that, and how often are GCI woodies trimmed? As Dan says, Alton Towers do not slow their rides down. Yes RMT has been slowed down in recent times which is a shame and Thiteen has had trims from the off (good old Intamin) but the others? You could argue that The Smiler needs slowing down before those final two crazy inversions, it feels like the ride is ripping itself out of the ground there, yet it has not been.

It terms of speed, and to address concerns of this not having enough, it is worth noting that woodies do have a habit of picking up speed much more than you might expect!

 

[Rob]

Anyway, sorry for the double post but here is a photo update from yesterday (09/07/2017)!

We start with some site overviews from the Skyride (apologies for the reflections in photos):

Next, let's move over to the exit of the Rapids and see how the landscape around here is changing:

Now a closer look at the site, I spy the top of the lift hill:

It looks like the sound tunnel is going to start as soon as you reach the top of the lift which is slightly different to what is shown on the plans:

The next lot of bents have been assembled ready for installation early this week:

A look at the concrete building beneath the lift hill, I believe that this will house various lift hill mechanisms. Wodan has such a building in a similar place under its lift:

Bents have been installed for part of the coaster's first drop:

Section of track leading from the block in the maintenance shed into the station, again it looks like this will be covered in a sound tunnel:

A breeze block building is being constructed at the rear of the mainteance building, this is labelled as "comms/data building" on the plans:

These footers are now complete and awaiting wood to be attached:

Here we can see just how tight the clearance is as the track passes through the theming object:

What look like catwalks are being installed on the lower sections of the lift hill:

A look towards the lift hill from the bottom of the site:

Finally, this photo it taken from the other side of the lawns towards CBeebies Land, quite a change on the view across:

Feel free to share these photos elsewhere but please do provide credit/source back to TowersStreet.

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I was really impressed with how well things are coming along; I think we are going to see quite a bit more wood go up this week as well. The lift hill looks somewhat bizarre with the incline angle change part way up but it is clear to see why it has been designed like this with how the elevations change across the site.

What I found most interesting however was hearing comments from people as they walked past the site. Some did people did not realise it was a rollercoasters, others joked that Alton Towers must be cutting costs and now building out of wood. A few gave those comments that Merlin have feared all along, "it's made of wood, looks like it will fall down soon" and so on. There were also those who seemed excited that Alton Towers were building what they called a traditional rollercoaster.

I also heard a few children say, in quite a sad manner, that they wish Alton Towers were building a new log flume. Management take note! In all seriousness, marketing could do far worse than spend an hour or so on the paths that go past the site to get a feel for what the public perception of SW8 is at this time. I really hope that they do this, it will provide invaluable feedback.

 

[GaryH]

Great photos there Rob! Thanks

 

[ChristmasPud]

Wow I got to say, I never thought I'd feel so glad at seeing this project come along. It looks lovely and it's barely even finished yet. I will certainly be going to ride and enjoy it, an enthusiasm I wouldn't have if it'd been the world's first standup drop coaster or pinball coaster, or any other of the silly plans they had to throw out to get to this one. After the rushed concrete vomit of the Smiler (still a very fun coaster for what it does), this is such a breath of fresh air.

So disappointing that it has been hindered during its planning going back 20ish years, but as a straightforward, solid coaster I think it stands the chance of being a real gem in the park - one that it needs. Even if it's a fraction of the ride it could've been.

The public attitude to wood may always be negative, but let them have it, I'm sure they'll enjoy it anyway. God forbid they ever look in their attic or realise most their house is made of cheaper wood than this..

 

[Error]

Good Job Rob, cool photos

 

[Tuggerz]

The views of this coaster already look fantastic, This is easily the most exciting coaster I've seen built in a long time, Hopefully we get something really special in its ride experience.

 

[IanSR]

I like that they are being so open about construction (not that they could hide it from Skyride) unlike Thorpe Park who built a ten foot wall to stop you seeing what was going on with DBGT.

I bet this is better received than the Fail Train too!

 

[bluesonichd]

the launch hill looks impressive and very close to the path to gloomy wood, will need a tight banked turn at the top to get back down the hill, unless theres no launch and its just a slow swept turn before heading back down

 

[Rob]

the launch hill looks impressive and very close to the path to gloomy wood, will need a tight banked turn at the top to get back down the hill, unless theres no launch and its just a slow swept turn before heading back down

And there is your likely answer! The concrete building underneath the lift hill suggests that we may be seeing a chain lift hill after all, you can even see where the chain would enter.

 

[bluesonichd]

And there is your likely answer! The concrete building underneath the lift hill suggests that we may be seeing a chain lift hill after all, you can even see where the chain would enter.

ahh I see the picture now

*I must learn to pay more attention to previous posts

 

[MakoMania]

If I had to guess I would say that it will have a fairly mild launch but slow down significantly by the time it reaches the top. I doubt that they would get away with saying specifically to the planners that it will have a "silent" lift system and then go and slap a noisy chain on.

 

[John]

The chain isn't usually the source of most of the noise though. The anti rollbacks are the loud part, so maybe they've found a way of avoiding the need for them, as with Smiler.

 

[Jb85]

My word that lift hill looks amazing from the CBeebies land view

 

[Brad97]

I didn't think you'd be able to see this ride from across the lake - looks great.

 

[Amy]

@Rob I've missed your construction updates! I'm so excited about SW8. I've wanted a woodie for a long time.


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[Bert2theSpark]

Credit goes to Theme Park Worldwide on Facebook (Theme Park Worldwide on YouTube!)

I must say construction is going very quickly, And I swear SW8 construction is going quickly and SW8 has overtaken other 2018 rides in terms of construction like Icon and RMC Mean Streak(Which isn't even from the ground up).

 

[DiogoJ42]

Is it just me, or does the structure of this woody seem a bit less dense / more lightweight than most? Not saying that in a bad way, just curious.

 

[Jonathan]

It does, yeah. Wouldn't surprise me if they're wanting to get the main structure up first and add any supporting beams further down the line.

 

[Amy]

I just assumed they were putting up the kind of skeleton and then all the other bits would go in. But I've never followed the construction of a woodie before so I'm just guessing.


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[DiogoJ42]

True, there may yet be more bracing to go up. Also likely that the track itself will beef the structure up when that's put in.