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Alton Towers | Wicker Man | GCI Wood

Thekingin64

Strata Poster
Four times?! That's lucky, I managed to get on it after a near two hour wait not long after it opened for the day.

Queued outside for it for 45mins during morning ERT for it to breakdown on me, got given a fast-track pass to use later in the day. Used fast-track pass when it re-opened about 3ish but they never checked/took the pass so was able to keep using it! Bit sneaky I know but they should have been more thorough on fast track checking.
 

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
I've been hearing rumours that the constant downtime is being caused by the train overshooting the station and parking incorrectly, not the final brake run. This would cause the ride to shut down as the control unit would think two trains are occupying the same block. That might explain why it seemed the brake run was working fine to me, it definitely looked to stop in time, so trims shouldn't be needed on the main layout. I hope these issues are resolved soon, even if it means the ride is down for a month or two for them to correct it.
 

elephant58

Hyper Poster
Queued outside for it for 45mins during morning ERT for it to breakdown on me, got given a fast-track pass to use later in the day. Used fast-track pass when it re-opened about 3ish but they never checked/took the pass so was able to keep using it! Bit sneaky I know but they should have been more thorough on fast track checking.
How long was the fast track queue? Because it still looked fairly long, although that might just be because the ride was at a standstill for an hour when I was queuing for it.
 

nadroJ

CF Legend
@nadroJ I saw the review you posted on your site, and I agree with pretty much all of it.

It truly is an immersive experience. The back is definitely the best though. I rode in row 11 and got quite a lot of airtime on some of those transitions, especially the first drop. GCI do some great, smooth transitions.
Thank you :)
 

Thekingin64

Strata Poster
How long was the fast track queue? Because it still looked fairly long, although that might just be because the ride was at a standstill for an hour when I was queuing for it.
Never really timed it, my first ride had quite a long queue since it broke down on me but other rides afterwards were smooth going. Averaging 20-30mins I'd guess.
 

bob_3_

Giga Poster
I've been hearing rumours that the constant downtime is being caused by the train overshooting the station and parking incorrectly, not the final brake run. This would cause the ride to shut down as the control unit would think two trains are occupying the same block. That might explain why it seemed the brake run was working fine to me, it definitely looked to stop in time, so trims shouldn't be needed on the main layout. I hope these issues are resolved soon, even if it means the ride is down for a month or two for them to correct it.

That's actually pretty accurate. I spoke to the ride managers on the weekend and GCI have implemented a new system for parking trains that they've never used before. The managers were moaning "why do it on THIS ride" haha. I'm not sure on the benefits of this new system but I suspect maybe it has something to do with it running 3 trains? I'm not sure. But yeah, luckily GCI are staying about to moniter it for a while before they leave, so I hope the issues are resolved soon.
 

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
So I have ridden Wodan multiple times, and...

I prefer Wicker Man, honestly. I rode Wodan on the front and in row 10. The front is definitely superior IMO. But I think having ridden Wicker Man and loved it, my expectations for Wodan were heightened, but sadly it underwhelmed me. It's definitely the better coaster on paper, but Wicker Man tops it for me.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
So I have ridden Wodan multiple times, and...

I prefer Wicker Man, honestly. I rode Wodan on the front and in row 10. The front is definitely superior IMO. But I think having ridden Wicker Man and loved it, my expectations for Wodan were heightened, but sadly it underwhelmed me. It's definitely the better coaster on paper, but Wicker Man tops it for me.
I am quite surprised by that, ATI. I always thought Wodan looked better, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion, I guess. What was it that you didn't like as much about Wodan, out of interest?
 

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
I was kind of expecting it to be really fast, whippy, and quite forceful. But I didn't think it was all that much. I think if I hadn't ridden Wicker Man before hand, I would have liked it a lot more. My personal favourite coaster in the park is actually Blue Fire, followed by Silver Star, but I'm kind of going off topic.
 

Sandman

Giga Poster
So I have ridden Wodan multiple times, and...

I prefer Wicker Man, honestly. I rode Wodan on the front and in row 10. The front is definitely superior IMO. But I think having ridden Wicker Man and loved it, my expectations for Wodan were heightened, but sadly it underwhelmed me. It's definitely the better coaster on paper, but Wicker Man tops it for me.

When did you ride?
 

Jared

Hyper Poster
See, I’m the same. I prefer Wickerman to Wodan, but I’ve been told that when I rode Wodan it was running an old wheel compound and it’s now running better, so it’s based on an old, opening year ride. But I loved the down hill slalom on Wickerman.
 

Smithy

Strata Poster
Yeah I can see that to be fair, Wodan doesn't really do much other than fast whippy transitions and the odd spot of airtime and if it's running cold you won't get the full effect of all that.
 

FistedColossus

Hyper Poster
Waited 2 hours for it on Friday due to a few breakdowns and got on just before 6pm in very heavy rain.

I'd rank it as Towers second best coaster behind Nemesis. To put it simply it's just a *really* fun ride and a perfect addition to the park.

There are a few decent pops of airtime but nothing special. Still more than 99% of other UK coasters.
 

SaiyanHajime

CF Legend
Woodies vary so much more than steel coasters and I think for most of us UK based nerds, we don’t get to ride the same woodie frequently enough to notice? I think the woodie I’ve ridden the most is probably bloody Grizzly at KD...

Boulder Dash was lame when I rode it. I’ve only ridden it that one day, so I have no idea if I have weird taste or it was running like ****. No none of the 3 others with me were impressed either, though, and there had recently been a CFlive there a few days prior and they had mostly the same experience.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Pear

Strata Poster
So I have ridden Wodan multiple times, and...

I prefer Wicker Man, honestly. I rode Wodan on the front and in row 10. The front is definitely superior IMO. But I think having ridden Wicker Man and loved it, my expectations for Wodan were heightened, but sadly it underwhelmed me. It's definitely the better coaster on paper, but Wicker Man tops it for me.

Sorry no way I believe this. If anything it's your fault for overhyping it and being disappointed.

I do agree about the front being better than the back though. I feel the same way about Troy (which is, by the way, actually better than Wodan).
 
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