Sw8 is apparently in gloomy. This, coupled with style of advertising and the fact I've been told it has a pretty tall themed object, could mean a wicker man theme?

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Hi, not sure how long you've been reading the topic but many have said this too - although many are also sceptical about trusting the map and the attractions Gloomy Wood location.

Do we actually know that the structure is a wickerman or is it just a giant structure of some sort i mean it does look kind of like a head on some shoulders but for all we know it may just end up being completely different

We don't know anything. I'm making a guesstimate based on what people are saying who i know. It's more a hope than anything else, i don't know of anything in reality but wouldn't it be a lovely theme.

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I arent the biggest fan of IP's so I dont really like the idea of a wickerman themed ride espicially something significant as a worlds first coaster. I know thorpe park did it with Saw: The Ride but I feel some great themeing (and yes Saw foes have fantastic themeing) will come to fruition with this ride espicially if the plans show the ride as a family coaster much like th13teen has some incredible themeing elements

If this does turn out to be 'Wicker Man' themed I don't think it will be an IP as such, more just inspired by the Pagan ritual.

I don't think an IP for a rollercoaster is necessary to generate significant interest in the attraction from Merlin's perspective.

For all we know it might just be a giant structure of some sort not even revolving around a wickerman at all. Might just be a bridge or a giant skeleton seeing as its in gloomy wood

lewis97 wrote:

If this does turn out to be 'Wicker Man' themed I don't think it will be an IP as such, more just inspired by the Pagan ritual.

I don't think an IP for a rollercoaster is necessary to generate significant interest in the attraction from Merlin's perspective.

Also, if it was an IP, it would be either a film that's famous for being bad, or a film from the 70s that's since been forgotten about.

I hope its not a wicker man theme as while it sounds interesting it too dark for something so close to the kids area, and if you were going to say "it might not be dark" to that I say...MERLIN!
I think a GW theme could work and personally I hope they do as that would make it lightly to get a refurb of duel!

Its going to be interesting seeimg the fully built SW8 on the 2018 map as the past major additions to the park are normally overexagerated for dramatic effect on the park maps mearly look at 2013's map and how large the ride actually looks. This will be interesting because of the area the rides in being the surrounding areas of mb, kc and gw.

Ive also thought about a mix of the three themed areas for the ride as a type of battleground being fought over by pirates, tribesmen and the undead. Could have lots of potential themeing incorporating the three areas together

Dan_Roe wrote:

a type of battleground being fought over by pirates, tribesmen and the undead. Could have lots of potential themeing incorporating the three areas together

Now that would be a specatcular theme!

Thank you, OhShambhala!

The backstory of the ride first is set in the Katanga Canyon itself. This is home to the tribespeople who live in the Katanga Canyon themed area. However, the pirates of Mutiny Bay are getting greedy and have decided to extend their territory into the Katanga Canyon. This starts the conflict between the tribesmen and the pirates and, due to this, awakens the undead from Gloomy Wood.

Throughout the queline, TV screens will detail the respective storyline for each are crossing between the entrance being in Gloomy Wood detailing the undeads' reason for fighting crossing into the tribesmen and the pirates. This is also incorporated into the pre-show detailing the whole story together.

The sound tunnel will be intensively themed to look like a heavily damaged pirate ship with lots of spears and perhaps some triggered explosions when the trains pass inside.

the rest of the ride show the amount of damage done to the canyon and then goes under a burning wickerman statue used by the tribesmen as a secret weapon of sorts. The other themeing element would be themed around Gloomy Wood but I haven't thought about what that could be yet (possibly a skeletal structure)

I think that this would be a fantastic attraction not just for Alton Towers, but the UK as a whole and will draw massive crowds who don't only enjoy rollercoasters but can be immersed in a detailed story and experience as well. The b iggest problem with this however is the expenses and that Merlin most likely wouldn't spend this much on themeing alone, however, this will must likely pay off if this ever came to fruition. Please leave your opinions below

The only issues I find is the time period and the general poor combination.

Duel is set in the modern day according to the videos, based on some crazy dude who re-animates the dead. Mutiny Bay is set a few centries ago when pirates exist, and Katanga Canyon is an African village which is likely to be set quite a while back. This creates a bit of a clash in terms of time period, and screws up the backstory which could detract from immersion.

I find that these three areas generally don't mix well as one theme. It feels a bit haphazard, kind of how Rita was rethemed into a dark forest ride, it doesn't really work well in terms of back story. For example, why are they fighting? Why are there pirates and African dudes fighting these monsters? In my opinion it would be too risky of a story for Merlin to use, and has many flaws with it.


Overall, with SW8, I could personally see a more light hearted area, especially when considering that the ride is almost certainly going to have a 1.2 metre height restriction. We don't want another Th13teen, a family coaster marketed as a thrill ride with a scary theme, and hopefully Merlin will realise their errors with Th13teen.

Invadr POV uploaded by BG Williamsburg https://youtu.be/9qQG7iN4AbM. This gives a small insight into the kind of ride we may be getting, e.g the tunnel and it does generate quite a speed. However I was left relatively unimpressed and thought it was quite short. Obviously SW8 won't have the chain and the supports will be wooden rather than steel, so should feel and sound a bit different.

I don't think it looks half bad, should have some good pops of airtime, maintains a reasonable speed. Someone's said this in this topic before but GCI don't really make bad coasters, so I am hopeful for SW8!

They don't make bad coasters, but from the multiple I've ridden, they don't make fantastic coasters either.

Should'a been an RMC!

I'm sure it'll be great regardless.

Baffles wrote:

but from the multiple I've ridden, they don't make fantastic coasters either.

Just out of interest, which ones have you ridden?

I should be getting on both my first GCI (Wodan) and my first GG coaster (CuChulainn) this summer (with one of the two being my first woodie in general) so it'd be interesting for me to see which style I prefer.

Baffles wrote:

They don't make bad coasters, but from the multiple I've ridden, they don't make fantastic coasters either.

Should'a been an RMC!

I'm sure it'll be great regardless.

If it wasn't for the Smiler crash then it probably would have been a launched RMC with inversions in Forbidden Valley that the original Screening option was for. But before RMC came on the scene everyone would have been extremely happy to see Alton Towers finally get a GCI woodie, so no reason why we shouldn't be happy with the one they are building.
We still don't really know too much about the layout other than a birds eye view of the path it will take. Presumably the first drop after the tunnel will be a smaller version of Mystic timbers first drop and going by the testing video of that it picks up a lot of speed and looks like a lot of fun.

dazza4783 wrote:

Baffles wrote:

They don't make bad coasters, but from the multiple I've ridden, they don't make fantastic coasters either.

Should'a been an RMC!

I'm sure it'll be great regardless.

If it wasn't for the Smiler crash then it probably would have been a launched RMC with inversions in Forbidden Valley that the original Screening option was for. But before RMC came on the scene everyone would have been extremely happy to see Alton Towers finally get a GCI woodie, so no reason why we shouldn't be happy with the one they are building.
We still don't really know too much about the layout other than a birds eye view of the path it will take. Presumably the first drop after the tunnel will be a smaller version of Mystic timbers first drop and going by the testing video of that it picks up a lot of speed and looks like a lot of fun.

I completely disagree. The smiler incident wouldn't cause them to move it to a different location?

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