Thoughts on Alton Tower's Wicker Man

Ahead of 2018’s other major U.K. coaster installation at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the Mack Rides multi-launch coaster Icon, we visited Alton Towers’ new attraction for this year, their latest Secret weapon – the Wicker Man.

It would be interesting to know how the decision came about to build a wooden coaster at Alton in 2018. Rumours have been circulating throughout the recent park history about such an attraction being installed, but ride removals and general park improvements have been the order of the day since 2016.

Nevertheless I think this ride is long overdue here, filling a need to build up the family ride side of things. If anything it actually seems to replace the park’s iconic flume quite well, catering to a similar type of fun/thrill audience. Perhaps the Flume is simply the victim of taking the easier option when a ride gets old, to replace rather than look at ways to maintain or preserve, as elsewhere.

GCI with their trademark twisted track configurations have designed and built a ride that should with good maintenance have a long life-span at the park.

The Millennium Flyer trains move nicely through the pacy layout well and along with an atmospheric pre-show should make this one of the best overall attractions in the park.

Queues are becoming quite the norm for the new thrill machine, as you’d expect. Queueing takes riders around the opposite side of the plot from where riders entered the flume enclosure. Though the current arrangement limits the cover overhead on hot or wet days, the views of the coaster are good and build anticipation.

In several parts of the ride you can get pretty close to the trains.

The unusual lift hill is a nice feature, giving you an early look at the ride.

It seems pretty sure that Alton Towers wanted a solid ride addition, contrasting with recent ‘cutting edge’ installations. I think that’s what they have delivered with the Wicker Man.