abigsmurf wrote:

Assuming 24 riders and a 1100 hourly capacity, that's 80-ish seconds between trains. Allowing for wiggle room pulling into and out of the station seems like the time from the start of the lift to the end of the ride could be under a minute.

By the plans it looks like the ride will feature a separate unloading and loading station. By doing this it's likely that three trains will navigate the track. This is very similar to Wodan at Europa Park which has a capacity of 1250 riders per hour.

..I read that in the CoasterBot voice before I even read who wrote it.. Must be the bit about capacity.

Let's not forget that a ride doesn't have to be long to be good. Look at Nemesis, Swarm and Stealth. They're some of the best in the UK.

In regards to theming and storyline, I would like to see something based around a Golden Age harbour. I would also like the ride to be historically active so that it feels like you are going back in time and experiencing life in an active busy pirate harbour town. If the ride is based around an old and abandoned area,I am confident it will look beautiful, but this whole "abandoned" theme seems to be getting rather tired. A well built, detailed impression of a historic pirate port with SW8 as the centrepiece would fulfil my criteria for a good attraction.

118hazaman wrote:

By the plans it looks like the ride will feature a separate unloading and loading station. By doing this it's likely that three trains will navigate the track. This is very similar to Wodan at Europa Park which has a capacity of 1250 riders per hour.

Looking at Wodan, it gets around the lack of blocking by having the bit from the station to the peak of the lift hill taking as long as the downhill part of the ride. so you've one on the lift hill, one in the station and one whizzing around at the same time.

Probably a good indication that the ride won't have a launch if it's using that approach. Possibly also explains why the hill angle is so low, so they can make it as long as possible.

Although it looks like this, the plans show the side with the air gates as "loading/unloading" so I'd expect it will a standard loading & unloading station.

The three blue arrows show three indications of separate loading and unloading stations. Two of the three arrows point to labels, which state Loading Station and Unloading Station. The third points to a wall which separate the two stations, as a door can be seen beneath the arrow. I assume this would be used for staff wanting to cross between the two stations, as well as guests who are too scared to ride.

Ah yes, I thought you were referring to the straight track section labelled as the maintenance station. My only issue is how the train would be longer than the straight section of track, which would mean exiting the ride on a corner for some riders, which although would be odd would be possible. It should also be noted the station is at a very slight angle. It also seems that the photo viewing area will be at a higher level than the rest of the shop, meaning the shop is planned to be of a decent size.

I suppose the plans may not be accurate and so we can't tell for certain, although it certainly looks as though the attraction could be using separate stations like you say and I hope this is the case.

Benjsh85 wrote:

Will this be the first launched woodie in Europe? I assume it's going to be launched as a 10m high lift hill doesn't suggest it will be enough otherwise.

It's actually 22m (73 feet) high.

I'm not going to get to weighed down with the technical details of this as it will either be amazing or dire. It will be fascinating seeing the construction of this and how it will look when it is built, I'm more intrigued by what the themeing elements will be and whether or not the tunnels will look hideous. My guess is they will look awful

I'm confused by the suggestion of this thing having a launch - the lift hill leads straight into a >180 degree turn, surely it can't launch that fast?

I don't think it will be a speedy launch but I would be surprised if it doesn't give a little kick. I can't scoot back but in one of the mock ups the drop rises higher than the lift hill which will take a little extra to get over.

Dom wrote:

I'm not going to get to weighed down with the technical details of this as it will either be amazing or dire. It will be fascinating seeing the construction of this and how it will look when it is built, I'm more intrigued by what the themeing elements will be and whether or not the tunnels will look hideous. My guess is they will look awful

Really hoping it isn't the whole "metal frame with plastic sheeting over it" that you see for a lot of mid air tunnels on coasters. Given it's a major ride, I hope they come up something that looks good.

That said, Wooden Coasters require more frequent inspections and repair work than steel coasters don't they? Could that limit what they do with tunnels?

Dan.B wrote:

I'm confused by the suggestion of this thing having a launch - the lift hill leads straight into a >180 degree turn, surely it can't launch that fast?

I think a launch is incredibly unlikely in a coaster that only has a single hill/launch. The very tight turn at the top makes it even less so, they'd have to control and limit the speed so much that it wouldn't server much purpose other than to get you up the hill fast.

The speculation for a launch as come about because the lift hill is very long and they're not using a lift chain.

The sound tunnel that GCI produce is a wooden square tunnel that surrounds the top of the track.

Hopefully they can add theming to it.

So this was kind of right. Spooky

MakoMania wrote:

Hopefully they can add theming to it.

Hope so, that thing's ugly!

Dom wrote:

So this was kind of right. Spooky

Not really, we had The Smiler come first and then this one is coming from the USA not Switzerland

Dan.B wrote:

MakoMania wrote:

I still think something must be hidden for Merlin to even consider installing a wooden coaster. Either that or GCI have given them a really good deal cash wise.

I'd like to think that Merlin wouldn't install a cheap, standard coaster as a Secret Weapon. There'll be something hidden.

Yeah I agree that there's more than meets the eye. And in my opinion I feel it will be a launch, as the incline on the first drop isn't massive so I doubt it'd have enough momentum to make good speed around the track. I'd be interested to see how they theme it, I can't personally see it being mutiny bay themed imo, and in honesty I hope it isn't as it's quite limited. But like I said I DO think there will be a secret/worlds first element too it.

I'm really excited that AT are hopefully getting a woodie after a long time (planning permission permitting) and that if it is a GCI, I'm sure it'll be great.

Regarding a theme, I think it'll fit into Mutiny Bay and some pirate theming will be added - as the banner we've seen suggests

What about worlds first wooden rollercoaster to feature VR!?