• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Wicker Man - General Discussion - Part Two

TheBolt said:
Wicker man is one of Alton Towers best rides, but they need to get on top of the operational issues.
It was running on 1 or 2 cars yesterday and is still regularly breaking down. The row of seats next to the back row don't look likely to be back in action any time soon, and no sign of the fire blasts either.
Click to expand...

I was there yesterday, and it was running two most of the morning and all three trains after 12. One row was out but the rest were fine with little restraint issues from what I saw. They were also sending trains fairly regularly and geting a decent throughput. Didn't really see it down except when putting third train on.

Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk
 
mobius91 said:
I was there yesterday, and it was running two most of the morning and all three trains after 12. One row was out but the rest were fine with little restraint issues from what I saw. They were also sending trains fairly regularly and geting a decent throughput. Didn't really see it down except when putting third train on.

Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I was also there yesterday and managed to ride it for the first time...my only other visit was its officially opening and i didn't manage to get on that day despite over 3 hours in the queue

Like already said it worked fine all day yesterday and the queue moved at a decent pace....i wonder if leaving that one row empty has somehow sorted the problem with the restraints?

On the subject of the ride i enjoyed it although i was on the 3rd row it seemed surprisingly fast....hopefully i can get near the back next time

My children (10 and 7) both loved it too...i did think it would too fast for my little lad but i was relieved to see him turn to my mrs on boring corner with a big smile on his face

The pre show did scare him a little but not enough to put him off the ride though...i thought the pre show was brilliant and set up the ride superbly

All in all its a good ride but its no Grand National beater i'm afraid for me....i don't get the comments about that ride being painfull at all...its rough but part of the fun for me

The Ultimate on the other hand....ouch:D
 
Has anybody been to the park when Wicker Man has opened at 9:30 as ERT states? Every time I've been this season (today included) they've opened the queue at 9:30, but the ride hasn't started until about 9:45.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
It's really amazing to see how much the site has transformed, and over a relatively short period of time! It's nice to see what we've all been watching for an entire year put together into one short video. :)
 
Wilko said:
Has anybody been to the park when Wicker Man has opened at 9:30 as ERT states? Every time I've been this season (today included) they've opened the queue at 9:30, but the ride hasn't started until about 9:45.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Possibly because it takes the main queue guests ages to reach the merge point?
 
The park has been dead today. Wicker Man was walk on for most of the day, and didn't go down once which was fantastic. The whole train was in operation apart from row 11, which was shut off for the day. Any ideas why this was?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
Wilko said:
The park has been dead today. Wicker Man was walk on for most of the day, and didn't go down once which was fantastic. The whole train was in operation apart from row 11, which was shut off for the day. Any ideas why this was?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Issues with restraints? Reserved seats for wheelchair users?

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
 
I keep saying this, but i hope they've got the issues sorted out now. It could be the most reliable ride on the park if they do.

It's a pattern, Air and the Smiler both had awful starts, but are much better now
 
The air gate was blocked off on Sunday too.
It seems unlikely that all three trains have precisely the same fault, so I assume it has been to simplify operations, by closing the row, rather than keeping track of which train is next to load.
 
TheBolt said:
The air gate was blocked off on Sunday too.
It seems unlikely that all three trains have precisely the same fault, so I assume it has been to simplify operations, by closing the row, rather than keeping track of which train is next to load.
Click to expand...
It could in theory be something with the ride control system that means that row isn't functional

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
 
ihaveaspergers said:
It could in theory be something with the ride control system that means that row isn't functional
Click to expand...
Or perhaps that row is isolated. I imagine there is a way for technical services to disable it, causing the control system to ignore that row from an interlocking perspective.

I know Galactica's control system has the ability to isolate individual seats, meaning problematic seats can be taken out of service and the ride can still be run normally (allowing the faults to be fixed later). Presumably similar features exist on WM.
 
I'm back! I'ts been around 5 years since i've been active on here, and mid smiler construction since i have visited the towers. I'ts been a long old wait but since seeing the progress of Wicker Man i knew i just had to get here!

Visited yesterday with a few work colleagues on what can only be described as miserable, damp day. However the park was absolutely dead with every ride being literally walk-on except for Th13teen which went down around 1pm and didn't appear to get up & running again.

On to Wicker Man! We walked straight through the whole queue and straight into the pre show which was very well done IMO. luckily i got batched into the front row which had me more excited than i'd like to admit! Wickerman absolutely blew me away, i knew from the flat bend leading into the lift that this was going to be an experience! I genuinely believed it would be a tame, family type coaster, boy was i wrong! the speed of it shocked me (the pouring rain probably helped, somewhat).

The smoke effects were in full flow surrounded the whole area, giving a very immersive atmosphere as you approached the entrance. Still no fire effects though :(

The only real criticism of the ride would be the shed leading back in to the station. we were sat there for a good 3 minutes in total darkness and we all expected some kind of post show (perhaps with the same sort of feel to the pre show) the anticipation & nervousness could be felt throughout the train. It only dawned on us on the second ride that there was obviously some delay with the next dispatch as there wasn't any delay in the shed that time round... However, it just feels like it lacking SOMETHING.

I would say this is more than just a solid addition to the park but more than holds its own with the rest of the thrills line up! 9/10 would ride again...and again...and again.

Also, rode smiler for the first time and wasnt all that impressed due to how rough some of the inversions were!!

Is2x4YO.jpg
 
Are the hazer and light 'fire effects' not working at the moment? They seemed to get a good reaction from the general public when I was riding.

Just not sure if you had that, and thought it was unconvincing and not sufficient of a finale, or if that was missing from your experience.

(In the dark section at the end there are jets of haze with lights behind to simulate fire)
 
Regarding row 11, wheelchair uses use row 12, also (slightly off topic) on swarm last year row 5 on both trains wasn’t being used, without asking I was assuming it was an issue with the station somewhere and not the trains (if that makes sense).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top