Alton Towers | Wicker Man | GCI Wood

[Matt N]

Sorry for double posting, but Alton Towers just messaged me back (very quickly, may I add!) and they said:
"Hi Matt, no this has not been confirmed. We are aiming for 17th March, however until the date has been released we cannot confirm this."
So they are aiming for the 17th March! The 22nd must be an additional press event, then!

 

[Pear]

I hope they cover this up it looks ugly lol

 

[Lofty]

Yeah, press events don't always take place prior to the product opening or becoming operational.

 

[davidm]

AT's website now saying opening on 17th...

https://www.altontowers.com/theme-park/wicker-man/

EDIT : plus much longer timelapse thingy;

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/971732412144250880

 

[EthC]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/971711095361679360

Pacing doesn't actually look too bad from here and we get to hear some of the music which from the very small excerpt sounds good!

Speaking of which here is the 4 min soundtrack clip!

 

[CrashCoaster]

That soundtrack is amazing... I'd say it's up there with Galactica's! Sounds slightly like Valhalla's, I love it!

 

[peep]

Oh I am loving this soundtrack. Loving the little bits of Mountain King thrown in there. Anyone know how long the full track is?

 

[Howie]

Little by little, this thing is starting to win me over. That music is f***ing epic, love how they've sneaked a snippet of Hall of the Mountain King in there (that's the Alton Towers theme by the way ).
The ride clip looks good, the effects look good and, y'know... FIRE!
Yeah man. Officially in the 'mildly excited' camp.

 

[SilverArrow]

Towerstimes said:

'We've been chosen and just experienced our first ride on Wicker Man.

It is a fantastic overall attraction with an impressive pre-show and excellent ride experience. Whilst there are still some finishing touches to be made before opening day it is set to be a solid addition to the Resort's line up."

I think some were disappointed by their choice of language but I feel like this is exactly what we've been expecting to hear.

 

[J1SH]

There was also this released by TT

https://www.facebook.com/

This time having people on it. Seems like smoke machines are in the tunnels

 

[toofpikk]

it's looking much better paced through most of it, and that's a very lightly filled train...

 

[CrashCoaster]

Here are a few pictures of Wicker Man by Theme Park Worldwide:-

So the lift hill appears to have the classic ratchet ARB system, instead of the rumoured magnetic system:-

Not 100% sure on what those yellow things are going up the lift hill, however:-

 

[Jamesss]

Still think the ride itself looks a bit weak but I have to say the theming looks better than expected. There is a picture floating around from inside the station that looks rather cool.

 

[davidm]

These were the station images I'd seen;

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/971767404517888001

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/971778259317817345

Does look nice though. :emoji_fire:

 

[Ploddish]

Is that bunting on the side of the tunnel? Nice to see they've decorated appropriately for whatever ritual this is supposed to be.

 

[Pear]

Looks a bit better paced but still kinda boring

 

[Howie]

ITV Central News have a piece about Wicker Dude, about to be shown on tv any minute now...

 

[davidm]

Useless Guardian piece from today's press event ; https://www.theguardian.com/travel/...ing-alton-towers-new-wicker-man-rollercoaster
(not worth clicking, no new pics and says barely nothing)

 

[Howie]

ITV Central News have a piece about Wicker Dude, about to be shown on tv any minute now...

If you switch over to BBC1 (Midlands), you might catch another one, airing in the next half hr. Will probably be the same as the ITV one...

 

[davidm]

If you switch over to BBC1 (Midlands), you might catch another one, airing in the next half hr. Will probably be the same as the ITV one...

Yeah that was all a bit "smiler-crash-safety-spiel" rather than "ooh-look-at-the-shiny-new-toy"