Wicker Man - General Discussion

[Ladyofthelake]

Who else is thinking first day of the 2018 season for opening day? Construction seems to be moving at quite a rapid pace compared to the Smiler which was a considerbaly larger coaster, construction 18 also seems to be moving ahead quickly and it would be interesting to see if Blackpool and Alton open their coasters on the same weekend.

I think opening day 2018 is a reasonable target for SW8's opening day however with Construction 2018 it's worth remembering that they are not going to be installing any steel for the coaster until November, and there's a lot of track to put in, so that may open sometime around May 2018.

Provided there are no issues with construction, and going by the schedule in the documents published on the Staffordshire Moorlands planning site, SW8 should be ready by the last week in March/first week in April meaning there is a chance we could see the coaster open with the theme park at the start of the 2018 season.

However, it's also worth noting that it seems to be the norm now for major new additions to open part way through a season. Baron 1898 at Efteling opening in July 2015, and Taron and Raik at Phantasiland opened at the end of June 2016. Whilst SW8 doesn't appear to be anywhere near the scale of these two examples, it still wouldn't surprise me to see a May opening for SW8, as frustrating as that will be for the enthusiasts.

[Nickolai]

I think opening a coaster near Summer helps to bring out the best features in a ride. The Smiler looked a lot better in May than it would have in March.

[ThemeCrafter264]

I think it also comes down to what will bring in the numbers. Opening season can have nothing but will still bring people in due to the park reopening. Easter holidays can just have an event for Easter like braniac at Thorpe park in 2014 (where I have been before). As much as I hate to say it, may half term is a good time for opening as generally nothing new is happening at this time. When summer comes around, the park has the new attraction open and the longer opening hours which will be good for visitor numbers. This may just be me but it would make more sense to open new rides in may as oppose to opening day or summer season.

[MakoMania]

I'm pretty sure they will be aiming for earlier than May (whether it is delayed or not is another question!). Construction is much further along at this point than in other SW projects so I remain hopeful for a March opening. They'll also want to get ahead of the Pleasure Beach who likely won't be able to open Construction 2018 by March.

With regards to ride openings being more focused in May onwards instead of March/April, I guess it depends on the park. I know at SeaWorld they're trying to get rid of May and June openings and open more things in March and April in the future. I believe The Smiler was the latest in the season that a major new attraction has opened at Alton Towers, every other major coaster opened in March besides Rita which opened in April so I can see a March opening on the cards again. After all, Merlin cited The Smiler's May opening as a reason why Alton Towers did not deliver their expected attendance levels in 2013 as they had March, April & much of May with no new attraction.

[OhShambhala]

The Smiler would have opened in March if it wasn't for construction delays. As Mako said above, all the other SW's and Galactica (which was marketed as a new coaster) opened in late March/Early April which shows Merlins ideal time to open new attractions is the start of the season. Also I believe, DGBT didn't do aswell as most new Merlin attractions and that was opened in June, so that probably makes Merlin want to Make March a priority.

[Gravity]

I feel like SW8 will be a dark horse. The plans aren't showing us everything and if the rumours of a launch are true, this could be a world class coaster!

This might be completely stupid but I was wondering, what is the likelihood of SW8 actually being a RMC hybrid? The planning application would still be relevant since the main structure would be made of wood. We also know that RMC has been incorporating LSM into their hybrid (albeit with questionable success).

Another point: if the LSM lift isn't used for an actual launch but rather to reduce noise produced by the ride, I don't see how this would make sense on a CCI/GG. Anyone who's been next to (even a small) wooden coaster knows how noisy they are. Putting a LSM lift "might" reduce noise from the lift part but that's all, what's the point if the rest of the ride sounds like thunder anyway? RMC hybrids however are not as loud.

I guess I could easily dismiss this statement if I better understood how flexible the planning application is - how does that work in the UK? Does specifying a manufacturer (CCI) bind you to use this specific manufacturer, or do you have wiggle room there.

[Liam.W]

Well the planning application states it's a GCI.

As for the noise, that's why most of the course is in sound tunnels...

[lewis97]

I don't think the planning application binds them to a specific manufacturer as such, especially as it hasn't been explicitly stated who the manufacturer is in the planning documents (I believe the only actual mention of them is on an annotation of one of the plans). However, the noise assessment has been based on other GCI coasters so going with a different manufacturer would somewhat void that element of the application.

I'd therefore be surprised if they've chosen to mislead enthusiasts at the expense of a reasonably accurate application. The only reason they did so with The Smiler is that it would have revealed the 'secret element' and undermined their marketing if it was widely known that it would beat the inversion record over a year before it was due to open. I wouldn't say that the choice of manufacturer has quite the same significance. It's perhaps more wishful thinking than anything :P

[Tom]

It would be highly unusual for an applicant to be tied to any particular manufacturer referenced within a planning application, you would usually be tied to what the materials look like but not necessarily the manufacturer of them. Obviously with this ride being within a GDO area, it does open up a lot more flexibility.

However, I do think it's safe to say this will be GCI based on all the evidence we currently have. With the noise assessments being based on other GCI coasters it would be quite irresponsible of Merlin to be installing anything other than this, as if they did and then it was deemed to be outside of the noise tolerances they'd find themselves in a difficult situation.

Whilst at present I'm rather underwhelmed with the plans, I do look forward to the start of the season and being able to see things taking shape. As long as they market the ride appropriately, based upon the plans we've seen I think it will be a solid family/thrill addition. Of course I would of rather seen the previous SW8 plans get built, but we don't always get what we want with these things unfortunately.

[OhShambhala]

Does anyone know if SW8 will be in Mutiny Bay or Katanga Kanyon?

I feel like myths and witchcraft/curses would be a great theme for the ride especially in Katanga Kanyon, allthough I do wonder how they will fit into the area if the entrance is in Mutiny Bay. Maybe a clash, allmost like a battle between the two themes might be a good and unique idea?

[Speedy_no1]

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[Stan.H]

Is it me, or am I feeling no hype whatsoever for SW8 ??

[Speedy_no1]

All the plans I've seen don't look that impressive


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[Stan.H]

All the plans I've seen don't look that impressive


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Point prooven :lol

Fingers crossed they pull an impressively themed and immersive theme, queue and general ride area.

[MakoMania]

It could be possible that they are misleading us with the planning application, the ride could follow the same path as the plans but with a much higher level of banking and drops etc. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

[OhShambhala]

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Yes but I have heard from numerous members that Towers managment told TTSP members at an event last year (which I believe was in March or summer, I'm unsure) that the ride would be in Katanga Kanyon? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. This raises the question as to why the entrance in the plans is within Mutiny Bay?

[xylyx]

I'm still excited for SW8, I'm hoping for a nippy little devil that interacts with the lay of the land and that will scratch an itch that rarely gets dealt with. I don't even need a secret element just a solid ride with some nifty themeing.

The excitement is definitely less palpable this time around but everything feels muted at the minute. They seem to be more focused on the TLC programme so I wonder if they'll start ramping it up when the season starts.

[MakoMania]

I was thinking about how a Katanga Canyon SW8 would work last year and I had a look around the area whilst on park. The area where the fence is now could in theory be made into a permanent barrier seperating SW8 from Mutiny Bay and there could be path entrances at either side of the fence making two ways to access SW8/Katanga Canyon. I hope that made sense, it would help to seperate the areas up a bit if SW8 is in Katanga Canyon.

[OhShambhala]

Hopefully they'd theme the fence up a bit.

[MakoMania]

Hopefully they'd theme the fence up a bit.

It doesn't even necessarily have to be a fence (although Merlin seem to have taken a liking to them!), it could be rockwork, foliage, anything really!