Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
OMG I went on Wickerman on Sunday and I been on it 3 times before in the dark but not while it was raining and that experience was amazing with the speed it was going and how many times we were lifted out of our seats.
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Wicker Man - General Discussion - Part Two
- Thread starter Craig
- Start date
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Based on my experience in March, I’d have to concur; that rainy night ride on Wicker Man is the holy grail!
The speed and airtime were nuts, and I was only seated in row 5…
Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
We were row 6
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
I can also concur and was also seated around the middle of the train. It was flying, absolutely mental!
Bowser
TS Member
Finally got our ride on WickerMan at night this weekend after the ill-fated trip back in March at the After Dark fiasco..... and it was worth the wait!
Don't think i've encountered a ride where the change to night makes such a difference but the intensity was off the scale with all the fire and smoke. It seemed to be going even faster than usual too as at one point i was practically standing up in my seat and my sons ear defenders were on the verge of flying off
Don't think i've encountered a ride where the change to night makes such a difference but the intensity was off the scale with all the fire and smoke. It seemed to be going even faster than usual too as at one point i was practically standing up in my seat and my sons ear defenders were on the verge of flying off
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Connor98
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Hyperion
I’ve never found it to have that much airtime like some are saying. It has its moments when it’s warmed up. First drop towards the back of the train is fun and the tunnel that follows gives a pop of floater to those seated in the front, you could argue the only other moments of negative g after that is the small drop off the flat turn and rather elongated hill after. But it seems very dumbed down airtime to me, 100% aimed at the family market but adults/teens can enjoy it too. It’s my second favourite in the park but that’s not so much due to the ride being a thrilling experience, it’s more the whole package that it has with it. It’s been such a good investment, and still gets one of the biggest queues on the park too. Was nice to have a front row ride for a change yesterday. A little bit of TLC needed inside the batching/pre show rooms but the fire is still one hell of an effect.
I find it heavily depends on the day (as most wooden coasters do) with some days it feeling mental, and others it feels much more tame, I think the drop after the flat turnarround (by the queue shop) is one of the best, always get a good amount of air time on it.
James
TS Founding Member
Wicker Man is great at night. It rides entirely differently.
I wish they would find a suitable capacity limit for the preshow. On my visit the other week, they were cramming people in that room to the point where it was very uncomfortable in there, and when the doors opened into the station, it was a very chaotic mad rush of people pushing each other to get through. Given how much they crammed people into this room, there would not be enough room to get everyone into the station, causing a backlog to spill into the preshow (preventing it from being reset/filled with the next batch of guests).
I last went on Wicker Man in 2019. I would have thought by now they would have found a good number/system in place to get the preshow capacity and queue into the station running smoothly, yet five years later, it's still as chaotic as I remember. The same goes for the merge point, which is equally chaotic.
It is a very poorly designed part of the ride/station building, given that it was built from the ground up, but I feel they can mitigate this with better crowd control from the batch host/preshow host and a set capacity for the preshow to keep it running efficiently. Currently, it seems like staff do their best to cram as many people through as possible, but this comes at the expense of a very uncomfortable start to the experience.
...and no, the answer is not to get rid of the preshow. It's a part of the ride/experience.
I wish they would find a suitable capacity limit for the preshow. On my visit the other week, they were cramming people in that room to the point where it was very uncomfortable in there, and when the doors opened into the station, it was a very chaotic mad rush of people pushing each other to get through. Given how much they crammed people into this room, there would not be enough room to get everyone into the station, causing a backlog to spill into the preshow (preventing it from being reset/filled with the next batch of guests).
I last went on Wicker Man in 2019. I would have thought by now they would have found a good number/system in place to get the preshow capacity and queue into the station running smoothly, yet five years later, it's still as chaotic as I remember. The same goes for the merge point, which is equally chaotic.
It is a very poorly designed part of the ride/station building, given that it was built from the ground up, but I feel they can mitigate this with better crowd control from the batch host/preshow host and a set capacity for the preshow to keep it running efficiently. Currently, it seems like staff do their best to cram as many people through as possible, but this comes at the expense of a very uncomfortable start to the experience.
...and no, the answer is not to get rid of the preshow. It's a part of the ride/experience.
I feel like the entire Wicker Man queue "experience" is a shambles. All 3 queues merging into an absolute rabble at the bag drop, then some pushing and shoving that would put Indian railways to shame, then even more of a rabble in the preshow and extra pushing and shoving in the dark bit after the preshow where you finally get batched because everyone wants the front or back row.
My kids absolutely hate it and I don't blame them when they are surrounded by people far taller than them pushing and shoving them everywhere in the dark.
My kids absolutely hate it and I don't blame them when they are surrounded by people far taller than them pushing and shoving them everywhere in the dark.
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
I’m honestly surprised there’s no hard limit to the amount of people they can have in the Wicker pre-show, having spoken with staff in the past about it their mentality has always been “as many people as we can cram in, lol”.
Similar attractions ran by Entertainments such as indoor shows and mazes always have a certain limit to balance guest flow and safety. Towers should use off-peak days to test various guest sizes within the pre-show and find whichever ensures the smoothest operations. A target of between 48-72 should be optimal as you want 2 or 3 trains worth of people going through at any one time!
Similar attractions ran by Entertainments such as indoor shows and mazes always have a certain limit to balance guest flow and safety. Towers should use off-peak days to test various guest sizes within the pre-show and find whichever ensures the smoothest operations. A target of between 48-72 should be optimal as you want 2 or 3 trains worth of people going through at any one time!
I feel like having a bit less, so they can prevent having to wait for the queue to leave the exit would end up better than who it cuttently works, and allow for about the same through put with better guest experience (more shows, less people in each)
Bowser
TS Member
Baron at Efteling is a masterclass in how Wickerman should run as it's essentially the same format.
All queues merge at the same point (with a host giving out row tickets) prior to bag check, meaning everyone goes past that in order and calmly enters the pre-show with pre-determined capacity whilst the remainder wait in their allocated queues. They even incorporate a front row queue into things.
Of course Baron opened 4 years before Wickerman so.... oh.
It's a rare misstep from Mr Wardley though i'm willing to give him some slack as navigating the intricacies of the modern UK queuing requirements perhaps isn't his speciality, nor was he likely much involved considering his late arrival on the project.
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Actually that reminds me, on our ride on Wickerman we were first through the doors and as the previous batching were blocking the closing door, we attempted to join them and skip the pre-show as my son was growing impatient. The batching host saw us do this and was adamant we had to wait. That's fine, i understand the rationale (they did offer to walk us through after the pre-show if we wanted to wait outside but i explained it was the waiting he struggled with, not the pre-show itself which he typically enjoys).
Anyway, if the host is entering the room with the crowd then leaving to close the doors again they can't possibly be keeping track of the number of people so there's evidently no numerical capacity being enforced, just a visual "that's enough" system.
Really i think they should have the initial host batching from all 3 queues, then you could build a small cattlepen (i know i know) round the bag storage and the second host would be able to manage the pre-show to a smaller capacity.
All queues merge at the same point (with a host giving out row tickets) prior to bag check, meaning everyone goes past that in order and calmly enters the pre-show with pre-determined capacity whilst the remainder wait in their allocated queues. They even incorporate a front row queue into things.
Of course Baron opened 4 years before Wickerman so.... oh.
It's a rare misstep from Mr Wardley though i'm willing to give him some slack as navigating the intricacies of the modern UK queuing requirements perhaps isn't his speciality, nor was he likely much involved considering his late arrival on the project.
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Actually that reminds me, on our ride on Wickerman we were first through the doors and as the previous batching were blocking the closing door, we attempted to join them and skip the pre-show as my son was growing impatient. The batching host saw us do this and was adamant we had to wait. That's fine, i understand the rationale (they did offer to walk us through after the pre-show if we wanted to wait outside but i explained it was the waiting he struggled with, not the pre-show itself which he typically enjoys).
Anyway, if the host is entering the room with the crowd then leaving to close the doors again they can't possibly be keeping track of the number of people so there's evidently no numerical capacity being enforced, just a visual "that's enough" system.
Really i think they should have the initial host batching from all 3 queues, then you could build a small cattlepen (i know i know) round the bag storage and the second host would be able to manage the pre-show to a smaller capacity.
Islander
TS Member
Think we’re well beyond the point where that can be a consideration for the masses - we have to live with it, and understand there’ll be tight spaces where close contact is unavoidable in life.
We have to live with it, but the fact could be accepted that it is a health issue in there...especially with the no limit "just cram em all in."
Queueing for a crap preshow in a crowded room is completely unnecessary...and completely avoidable here.
We have to live with it, but if you work with those with special health needs, it just means more expensive daily testing for a week afterwards.
Islander
TS Member
So is riding altogether.