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Wicker Man (roller coaster)
Wicker Man is a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the £16-million ride opened to the public on 20 March 2018 following a three-day weather delay. It set several milestones among wooden coasters including the first to be built in the UK in 22 years and the first to incorporate fire. Initially codenamed "Secret Weapon 8", a traditional naming scheme for major upcoming projects at Alton Towers, its official name was revealed in January 2018.
In October 2015, The Flume was closed permanently, with an announcement made prior to the park reopening in 2016. Planning documents were submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council on 23 April 2016. They documented the basic layout of the project, named "Secret Weapon 8" (SW8), and the surrounding area. The plans included retaining The Flume's former station building as a 'Smokehouse' restaurant, but this idea was dropped and the station was demolished. The Planning Applications Committee approved the plans on 25 August 2016.
Great Coasters International (GCI) manufactured the roller coaster, and its layout was primarily designed by Skyline Design, LLC. Audio and visual effects were handled by Alton Towers in coordination with Merlin Magic Making (MMM), an in-house division of Merlin Entertainment, along with Holovis and Backstage Technologies. Retired attraction developer John Wardley was brought in at a late stage to consult on the ride. He stated that he was "very impressed with the basic layout, the choice of manufacturer, and the theming concept" but criticised the ride's profile, in particular calling the first drop "atrocious". The first two drops were subsequently redesigned based on ideas he submitted, but the project was too far into development to alter other areas he described as lacking "major thrill".
Construction on the new ride commenced on 28 November 2016 with the demolition of The Flume. In 2017, a path leading from Mutiny Bay to Katanga Canyon was closed for the season for vehicle access to the construction site. The coaster's main structure – consisting of the station, shop and queue – was started in March 2017. The first timber for the coaster arrived at Alton Towers on 4 May 2017. The lift hill's construction reached its highest point in early July, and by October 2017, sections of track were installed.
A countdown began on Alton Towers' social media accounts in early January 2018, each day displaying a photo of each of the previous "Secret Weapon" roller coasters. On the eighth day, when all of the previous roller coasters had been displayed, the park announced the ride's name to be Wicker Man.
Wicker Man opened to the general public on 20 March 2018, three days behind schedule due to inclement weather. The opening ceremony for the ride was moved from 17 March 2018 to the following weekend on 24 March 2018. During opening weekend, the ride experienced intermittent closures.
On 26 July 2024, Wicker Man was evacuated and closed when smoke was seen coming from the ride. Alton Towers reported that the smoke was due to a foreign object that was on the track and stated the ride would be closed for maintenance "until further notice". A park spokesperson later clarified on X that Wicker Man is made out of "fire resistant treated wood that prevents ignition". Wicker Man reopened the following month after essential repairs on 17 August 2024.[citation needed]
On 16 March 2016, the park's "Towers Loving Care" Twitter account shared an image of construction fences surrounding its defunct attraction, The Flume. A sign was posted that read "SW8: Ground-Breaking New Ride Development", where SW8 was the shorthand for Secret Weapon 8. As the park has traditionally done in the past, they used a codename beginning with "Secret Weapon" followed by a number to refer to major projects under construction. A video was released on the ride's website in August 2017 and on YouTube detailing the park's previous Secret Weapon rides.
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Wicker Man (roller coaster)
Wicker Man is a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the £16-million ride opened to the public on 20 March 2018 following a three-day weather delay. It set several milestones among wooden coasters including the first to be built in the UK in 22 years and the first to incorporate fire. Initially codenamed "Secret Weapon 8", a traditional naming scheme for major upcoming projects at Alton Towers, its official name was revealed in January 2018.
In October 2015, The Flume was closed permanently, with an announcement made prior to the park reopening in 2016. Planning documents were submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council on 23 April 2016. They documented the basic layout of the project, named "Secret Weapon 8" (SW8), and the surrounding area. The plans included retaining The Flume's former station building as a 'Smokehouse' restaurant, but this idea was dropped and the station was demolished. The Planning Applications Committee approved the plans on 25 August 2016.
Great Coasters International (GCI) manufactured the roller coaster, and its layout was primarily designed by Skyline Design, LLC. Audio and visual effects were handled by Alton Towers in coordination with Merlin Magic Making (MMM), an in-house division of Merlin Entertainment, along with Holovis and Backstage Technologies. Retired attraction developer John Wardley was brought in at a late stage to consult on the ride. He stated that he was "very impressed with the basic layout, the choice of manufacturer, and the theming concept" but criticised the ride's profile, in particular calling the first drop "atrocious". The first two drops were subsequently redesigned based on ideas he submitted, but the project was too far into development to alter other areas he described as lacking "major thrill".
Construction on the new ride commenced on 28 November 2016 with the demolition of The Flume. In 2017, a path leading from Mutiny Bay to Katanga Canyon was closed for the season for vehicle access to the construction site. The coaster's main structure – consisting of the station, shop and queue – was started in March 2017. The first timber for the coaster arrived at Alton Towers on 4 May 2017. The lift hill's construction reached its highest point in early July, and by October 2017, sections of track were installed.
A countdown began on Alton Towers' social media accounts in early January 2018, each day displaying a photo of each of the previous "Secret Weapon" roller coasters. On the eighth day, when all of the previous roller coasters had been displayed, the park announced the ride's name to be Wicker Man.
Wicker Man opened to the general public on 20 March 2018, three days behind schedule due to inclement weather. The opening ceremony for the ride was moved from 17 March 2018 to the following weekend on 24 March 2018. During opening weekend, the ride experienced intermittent closures.
On 26 July 2024, Wicker Man was evacuated and closed when smoke was seen coming from the ride. Alton Towers reported that the smoke was due to a foreign object that was on the track and stated the ride would be closed for maintenance "until further notice". A park spokesperson later clarified on X that Wicker Man is made out of "fire resistant treated wood that prevents ignition". Wicker Man reopened the following month after essential repairs on 17 August 2024.[citation needed]
On 16 March 2016, the park's "Towers Loving Care" Twitter account shared an image of construction fences surrounding its defunct attraction, The Flume. A sign was posted that read "SW8: Ground-Breaking New Ride Development", where SW8 was the shorthand for Secret Weapon 8. As the park has traditionally done in the past, they used a codename beginning with "Secret Weapon" followed by a number to refer to major projects under construction. A video was released on the ride's website in August 2017 and on YouTube detailing the park's previous Secret Weapon rides.