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Alton Towers | Wicker Man | GCI Wood

Crazycoaster

Giga Poster
It baffles me that the station is located adjacent to both Katanga Canyon and Mutiny Bay, and yet they seem to have decided on a Gloomy Woods theme? Where is the logic in that Merlin??

This could literally have been marketed as a perfect pirate themed family coaster, rather than another failed attempt at marketing a horror themed family coaster. And when it fails to interest a huge crowd of people like the Smiler did, that'll be modern wooden coasters written off for the UK!

They haven't learned that the Smiler sold well not because of the gimmick, but because of the huge mess of track it has. It LOOKS good, and therefore sold well. It wasn't any of the BS marketing they did. It sold purely on looks. It's big, has a lot of track, it's twisty, it goes upside down a lot. Thats what the GP think makes a 'good ride'. They don't give a carp about gimmicks. Unless it's something that you can make a viral video out of, the GP just don't give a ****.
 

Sandman

Giga Poster
They haven't learned that the Smiler sold well not because of the gimmick, but because of the huge mess of track it has. It LOOKS good, and therefore sold well. It wasn't any of the BS marketing they did. It sold purely on looks. It's big, has a lot of track, it's twisty, it goes upside down a lot. Thats what the GP think makes a 'good ride'. They don't give a carp about gimmicks. Unless it's something that you can make a viral video out of, the GP just don't give a :emoji_poop:.

I think the marketing team actually did well in selling The Smiler and creatively speaking, the whole Smiler brand has been a success for Merlin. I'd say it's up there with Nemesis in that sense. Obviously it looks cool but I don't think that was the primary factor as to why it did well. Creatives did work hard behind the scenes!

It's hard to really compare Nemesis & The Smiler to SW8 though. We're literally watching a wooden version of Thirteen unfold. To be fair though, this is probably a bit more significant than Thirteen because a wooden coaster is going to contrast against the rest of AT's coaster line-up. I'm still interested though, in the same way a crack addict is interested in whatever ****ty bit of crack they can get their hands on.
 

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
Some of the brackets for the supports are in place... credit goes to Theme Park Worldwide:-

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TheKoasterKing

Roller Poster
I think the marketing team actually did well in selling The Smiler and creatively speaking, the whole Smiler brand has been a success for Merlin. I'd say it's up there with Nemesis in that sense. Obviously it looks cool but I don't think that was the primary factor as to why it did well. Creatives did work hard behind the scenes!

It's hard to really compare Nemesis & The Smiler to SW8 though. We're literally watching a wooden version of Thirteen unfold. To be fair though, this is probably a bit more significant than Thirteen because a wooden coaster is going to contrast against the rest of AT's coaster line-up. I'm still interested though, in the same way a crack addict is interested in whatever :emoji_poop:ty bit of crack they can get their hands on.
I agree. The Smiler was definitely a success - it's a famous ride, it looks great from the general public's point of view and sold well. I'm interested in how Merlin are going to theme SW8 - I mean how they are actually going to physically style the ride. A wooden coaster is something which the UK lacks in terms of rides, so they'd better not mess it up. They've already caused misconception within the public about what this ride is going to be. In my opinion, it's just going to be a simple family coaster - they're making it sound so groundbreaking and something the world has never seen, but in reality it won't and can't be. Just like they did with Derren Brown - a great ride but nothing insanely special.
 

Pink Cadillac

Giga Poster
I agree we could be seeing another thirteen. I think the wicker/druid theme could be really cool though if pulled off correctly - they can't possibly chuck in a shipping container this time! I'm sure they'll invent a world's first like idk worlds first "psychoaster" or something!
 

TheKoasterKing

Roller Poster
I agree we could be seeing another thirteen. I think the wicker/druid theme could be really cool though if pulled off correctly - they can't possibly chuck in a shipping container this time! I'm sure they'll invent a world's first like idk worlds first "psychoaster" or something!
Yea, totally. Thirteen is a great coaster, but SW8 could be great if it is made well - we'll just have to wait and see. I'm sure I'm not the first to mention this, but isn't the positioning of the coaster in the park a little odd? Presumably they had no choice, because that was the only land they had available for the new coaster.
 

Jarrett

Most Obnoxious Member 2016
Am I the only one actually intrigued by this project? Everything I'm seeing reminds me of a certain ride that I'm a huge fan of right now.

My home park just got the latest and greatest from GCI and I can tell you it's absolutely incredible. Much like the reactions in this thread, most of us were just kind of expecting Mystic Timbers to be kind of meh with emphasis on a gimmick but now all of us are eating it up, me included. There's airtime littered all over the layout with nice little bits of cheeky laterals everywhere and the location is incredible. We ended up with a coaster with an astronomically strong layout and a fun little way to end the ride that keeps you coming back for more. A project that didn't interest me at all when it was announced is now my favorite coaster in my home state and also switched me over from preferring steel to preferring wood.

Adam House did go all out on Timbers trying to make it one of their most extreme projects ever so I wouldn't quite expect that caliber of experience, but I've heard Invadr provides a similar experience and like this it was intended to be a family coaster. What I think you guys are getting is a cool coaster with a fun show scene at the beginning and a family friendly layout that also has enough bite to it to satisfy a seasoned thrill seeker. You'll probably get some fun laterals in there with some occasional solid pops of airtime, something about the caliber of Wooden Warrior. The unusual lift here intrigues me a bit too, we could see some kind of new mechanical system from GCI introduced on this thing.

I also bet it looks gorgeous with that Wicker Man theming going up. I could see some kind of Celtic druid/tree worship theme going up on this ride, which would be appropriate if they want to market the fact that it's a good wooden coaster (again, like Timbers in a sense). Watching those versatile GCI trains dash around that twisted truss structure going in and out of that Wicker Man prop should be a beautiful sight to see.

Watching this like a hawk after what Adam House and GCI just gave my home park! Can't wait to see more!
 

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
This ride is supposed to have a silent magnetic lift hill, but some people think it will be a launch. I disagree and here's why, couldn't it be possible for it to be a similar lift system as The Smiler, where it has a chain lift but has toggleable brakes going up the lift hill in case of emergency? Cause that is a silent magnetic lift hill essentially.
 

Lofty

CF Legend
I can't see that happening, at all. The sheer weight of that many break fins would be incredible and I just highly doubt that happening, plus it would be absolutely pointless?
 

Hixee

Flojector
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
The content is reasonable, but he's an ugly bugger and shouts too much. ;)
 

Smithy

Strata Poster
Fair play to the lad, puts the graft in and always puts quantity if not always quality into his content.

Not for me though, all a bit too cringe.
 
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