I thought I would chip in with my review of the ride.
Like others, I went in with relatively low expectations given the layout etc. Now I will have to warn, that my review is based on being in a bit of a foul mood by the time I had boarded the train, as I was unfortunate to have visited during half term (only available day) so the crowds were ridiculous. However, what didn't help the situation is that I joined the queue with a 65min wait time and eventually got onto the train approx 2hrs 45mins later. As such, my review is somewhat based on "was it worth the wait".
The answer ... not in the slightest.
Queue / theming - switch backs at the start weren't great, but was nice that they set them back into the trees a bit. The views over the coaster later on were quite nice. Although I was worried when I could see how slow the train was moving along the track. It's a bit of a piss take that the fire effects weren't working, even on a busy day! Predicted that would happen when it was announced. The main structure (although quite cool) looks far bigger in pictures. The music was nice throughout. As the queue winds around the boring corner and towards the station, I can't help but feel that this was the worst section of queue. Just nothing to look at!
Inside the bag drop off and pre-show, I thought the theming was a lot better! The pre-show effect and ambience was really cool, but as others have said, the animation of the wickerman felt a bit pixelated. Funnily enough, I knew what was going to happen in the pre-show before the ride had begun construction. Fun fact, apparently when they were coming up with the concept, Holovis made a conceptual animation of the wickerman and included a clip of Nicholas Cage screaming "not the bees!" at the end, just for fun.
Coaster - I know everyone is entitled to an opinion, but the people who said they experienced ejector air on this ride have not probably experienced ejector air. On my ride I managed to bag front row (I know there may be more air at the back). I thought the ride was alright, but has so much more potential. There was a very small pop of floater air on the first hill, the turnaround after the wickerman and when dropping through the wickerman. Other than that, there wasn't anything. The boring corner did surprisingly have some strong laterals, but it didn't hide from the fact that it was boring. The near misses through the wickerman were quite nice, even if I did get soaked from the fog machine.
The ride is far too short and the ending inside the shed is one massive missed opportunity. Everyone on our train was waiting for some awesome effect (I knew not much would happen). As we pulled back into the station, I could hear a lot of people saying "was that it?".
It's not a horrendous coaster, but when I've been lucky enough to have been on much better GCI's such as Thunderhead, Lightning Racer, it just doesn't compare. I'd even argue that I got more out of control feeling and airtime on White Lightning.
As Joey has pointed out, I feel this ride doesn't know what it wants to be and has unfortunately been mixed from two different opinions. It looks like it should be a family ride, yet is marketed and themed as this imposing, scary thrill machine. If it had a nicer theme, I feel people would have been less disappointed when they eventually rode it. The theme it currently has, needs a more imposing coaster.
On a side note, Nemesis was running amazingly and destroys all other coasters in the park!
Like others, I went in with relatively low expectations given the layout etc. Now I will have to warn, that my review is based on being in a bit of a foul mood by the time I had boarded the train, as I was unfortunate to have visited during half term (only available day) so the crowds were ridiculous. However, what didn't help the situation is that I joined the queue with a 65min wait time and eventually got onto the train approx 2hrs 45mins later. As such, my review is somewhat based on "was it worth the wait".
The answer ... not in the slightest.
Queue / theming - switch backs at the start weren't great, but was nice that they set them back into the trees a bit. The views over the coaster later on were quite nice. Although I was worried when I could see how slow the train was moving along the track. It's a bit of a piss take that the fire effects weren't working, even on a busy day! Predicted that would happen when it was announced. The main structure (although quite cool) looks far bigger in pictures. The music was nice throughout. As the queue winds around the boring corner and towards the station, I can't help but feel that this was the worst section of queue. Just nothing to look at!
Inside the bag drop off and pre-show, I thought the theming was a lot better! The pre-show effect and ambience was really cool, but as others have said, the animation of the wickerman felt a bit pixelated. Funnily enough, I knew what was going to happen in the pre-show before the ride had begun construction. Fun fact, apparently when they were coming up with the concept, Holovis made a conceptual animation of the wickerman and included a clip of Nicholas Cage screaming "not the bees!" at the end, just for fun.
Coaster - I know everyone is entitled to an opinion, but the people who said they experienced ejector air on this ride have not probably experienced ejector air. On my ride I managed to bag front row (I know there may be more air at the back). I thought the ride was alright, but has so much more potential. There was a very small pop of floater air on the first hill, the turnaround after the wickerman and when dropping through the wickerman. Other than that, there wasn't anything. The boring corner did surprisingly have some strong laterals, but it didn't hide from the fact that it was boring. The near misses through the wickerman were quite nice, even if I did get soaked from the fog machine.
The ride is far too short and the ending inside the shed is one massive missed opportunity. Everyone on our train was waiting for some awesome effect (I knew not much would happen). As we pulled back into the station, I could hear a lot of people saying "was that it?".
It's not a horrendous coaster, but when I've been lucky enough to have been on much better GCI's such as Thunderhead, Lightning Racer, it just doesn't compare. I'd even argue that I got more out of control feeling and airtime on White Lightning.
As Joey has pointed out, I feel this ride doesn't know what it wants to be and has unfortunately been mixed from two different opinions. It looks like it should be a family ride, yet is marketed and themed as this imposing, scary thrill machine. If it had a nicer theme, I feel people would have been less disappointed when they eventually rode it. The theme it currently has, needs a more imposing coaster.
On a side note, Nemesis was running amazingly and destroys all other coasters in the park!
