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Alton Towers | Wicker Man | GCI Wood

The ECC posted some comments from Mr Wardley (after having ridden the ride) on their facebook group this morning.
They have now put them up on their website too so are publically available I guess ; http://www.coasterclub.org/jw
JW said:
What Alton Towers have done is created a fabulous, fast-paced, smooth, thrilling, exhilarating ride which is beautifully and imaginatively presented to a standard far higher than probably any other woodie in the world.
Click to expand...
(just a snippet - there isn't much more tbh)

EDIT: tweet with all details;
https://twitter.com/x/status/966327199254110210
 
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I think this'll be more an experience than a coaster, even if the ride itself is somewhat lacking I feel the theming and effects may make up for it... depending how long they last :p One thing's for certain, it'll be pretty unique.
 
I thought Wardley was supposedly slating this project a few months back?
Something's not quite right here - possibly the statement that it's 'presented to a standard far higher than probably any woodie in the world' - is he back on their payroll?
 
Will said:
I thought Wardley was supposedly slating this project a few months back?
Something's not quite right here - possibly the statement that it's 'presented to a standard far higher than probably any woodie in the world' - is he back on their payroll?
Click to expand...
Just what I was thinking. I guess it's possible that he's ridden it and genuinely enjoyed it, but something does seem a little off.
 
Will said:
I thought Wardley was supposedly slating this project a few months back?
Something's not quite right here - possibly the statement that it's 'presented to a standard far higher than probably any woodie in the world' - is he back on their payroll?
Click to expand...
I didn't think Wardley ever slated the whole project. I thought he only said that the original first two drops were "absolutely atrocious", and he said that the ride would be good with some stunning special effects? Or at least that's what I gathered from TTSP's Q&A with him in May 2017:
(It starts at about 4:50 in the video)
 
Apparently Wardley wanted to redesign a lot of the layout but they only let him touch the first drops as it was too late to change the rest.
 
Are people really that surprised that Wardley is being positive about the ride?

Even though he's effectively retired, it wouldn't look good for the park for him to come out and say ''Well it looks nice, but really it's a bit naff. I'd have come up with something much better". Merlin will keep him onside and use him as a marketing tool if they need to. HaHavi him make suggestions for attractions / changes to attractions would be an added bonus.

He may really love the ride, he may not. But he is basically a spokesperson for Towers now, so most of his opinions I take with the same punch of salt as I would any press release from any park these days.
 
I think anything he says relating to Towers should 100% be taken with a pinch of salt, but I don't think he'd hurt his credibility by saying it was great if he thought it was a load of crap. I reckon he'd just stay quiet or just go on about the theming, but the fact he apparently really enjoyed the ride experience is promising.
 
I really get the feeling a lot of you wouldn't spend half as much effort negating the views of somebody if they'd put out a negative opinion of the ride.

I think his comments are spot in if you read them properly; not a world beating ride, but a good solid ride, one that he's putting a positive spin on (and that will be judged over time) in that it'll change perceptions of wooden coasters.

Similar to Icon, if people ride a looper with lap-bars, they'll soon start to accept them and have less of a fear factor about it.
 
If anyone is interested, Backseat Blackout has posted a video about John Wardley's response which also contains 3 questions at the end:
If you don't wish to watch the video, John has basically said that the ride is fast, but that we should not expect a lot of airtime because the ride has a twister layout and that is its main advantage.
 
A photo of the Wickerman with the train:-
28056034_1623706261045831_6393213537787619377_n.jpg
 
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