A trip report from that rare elusive park...Alton Towers! Don't be too jealous guys. I know you're all dying to get out to this park for the first time.
Let's kick things off with a list of Things That Weren't Working At Alton Towers:
- Wickermans flames
- Rapids waterfalls
- Duals tunnel
- Smilers indoor lighting
- The majority of Hexes preshow effects
- Enterprise
- Thirteens electrostatic ball
- Galactica VR
- Oblivions mist
Shout out to Alton for such a stand up job on the TLC over this closed season!
Isn't it great being such an enthusiast that you, err.. enthusiastically..pick holes in everything.
Anywho. My main reason for revisiting was to finally make an informed judgement on Wickerman. As one ride in the middle seat following a 6 hour wait does not make for a particularly objective view on a coaster!
You know what...I like it. Especially in the back row. The flow of the first few elements is fun and feels quite unique with that sort-of double-down S-bend malarky.
Given that GCI stands for Great Coasters Intermittently, I'd say Wickerman leans toward the pleasant end of surprising for a GCI. It's not surprisingly awful (Wildcat / Wodan) but it's not surprisingly brilliant (Joris / Troy) It's just...quite nice. Which for Alton Towers in 2019 is a feat.
Welldone Alton, for not making something entirely lacklustre.
Even if the selling point of the flames are no longer working. Feed the Flames? More like feed the yellow / red lighting and fog machine.
So yeah. Wickerman. Not too shabby. 7/10 in the back row. 5.5/10 everywhere else.
If we're going to make the *wacky* comparison of Wickerman against a Mack double launch coaster purely because they were both built in the UK in 2018, then I'd say Icon is better. But a far more sensible comparison would be Megafobia. Is Wickerman better than the classic Oakwoodie? No. Absolutely not.
In other news, I visited on a Tuesday and the park was dead. Still didn't bother with the Dungeons as, on a 4pm close, it felt like it would eat into the day too much.
My Alton-virgin bf hated Hex and loved The Smiler so he's obviously not a keeper. It's good to discover these things early on haha.
All in all, we had a thoroughly average day. I was greatful for the lack of queues but dismayed by the lack of magic.
Let's kick things off with a list of Things That Weren't Working At Alton Towers:
- Wickermans flames
- Rapids waterfalls
- Duals tunnel
- Smilers indoor lighting
- The majority of Hexes preshow effects
- Enterprise
- Thirteens electrostatic ball
- Galactica VR
- Oblivions mist
Shout out to Alton for such a stand up job on the TLC over this closed season!
Isn't it great being such an enthusiast that you, err.. enthusiastically..pick holes in everything.
Anywho. My main reason for revisiting was to finally make an informed judgement on Wickerman. As one ride in the middle seat following a 6 hour wait does not make for a particularly objective view on a coaster!
You know what...I like it. Especially in the back row. The flow of the first few elements is fun and feels quite unique with that sort-of double-down S-bend malarky.
Given that GCI stands for Great Coasters Intermittently, I'd say Wickerman leans toward the pleasant end of surprising for a GCI. It's not surprisingly awful (Wildcat / Wodan) but it's not surprisingly brilliant (Joris / Troy) It's just...quite nice. Which for Alton Towers in 2019 is a feat.
Welldone Alton, for not making something entirely lacklustre.
Even if the selling point of the flames are no longer working. Feed the Flames? More like feed the yellow / red lighting and fog machine.
So yeah. Wickerman. Not too shabby. 7/10 in the back row. 5.5/10 everywhere else.
If we're going to make the *wacky* comparison of Wickerman against a Mack double launch coaster purely because they were both built in the UK in 2018, then I'd say Icon is better. But a far more sensible comparison would be Megafobia. Is Wickerman better than the classic Oakwoodie? No. Absolutely not.
In other news, I visited on a Tuesday and the park was dead. Still didn't bother with the Dungeons as, on a 4pm close, it felt like it would eat into the day too much.
My Alton-virgin bf hated Hex and loved The Smiler so he's obviously not a keeper. It's good to discover these things early on haha.
All in all, we had a thoroughly average day. I was greatful for the lack of queues but dismayed by the lack of magic.
