Matt N
CF Legend
Hi guys. When talking about the Alton Towers Secret Weapons, the first to come to mind for many enthusiasts are the extreme behemoths with 1.4m height restrictions, like Nemesis, Oblivion and The Smiler. But an often forgotten group of Alton Towers’ Secret Weapons are the “family thrill” Secret Weapons, with 1.2m height restrictions; these are Thirteen and Wicker Man (OK, calling Wicker Man forgotten is a stretch, but it doesn’t seem to get mentioned as often by enthusiasts as the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion). So I’d be intrigued to know; which of Alton Towers’ “family thrill” Secret Weapons do you prefer?
For me, it’s an easy vote for Wicker Man. As much as Wicker Man is the simpler, more obtuse ride experience of the two in terms of technology, I think it feels a fair bit more thrilling and vastly more fulfilling as a ride experience for me. As much as I’m not someone who necessarily thinks that a ride needs to be intense to be great fun, and I can often find that too much intensity is detrimental to a ride experience, I personally find that Wicker Man hits just the right balance for me, and its blisteringly fast pacing, smooth (well, smooth in woodie terms) curves, surprisingly strong pops of ejector airtime and general rerideability just make it float my boat a fair bit more than Thirteen does. Controversially, it’s actually my favourite coaster at Alton Towers, and one of my favourites in the UK, but that’s a story for another day!
That’s no slight against Thirteen, however, as I do actually really like Thirteen for what it is! I think it’s very smooth, has some nice twists, turns and pops of airtime, and the drop track and backwards section are always a laugh! However, I’ve felt that it feels slower on recent rides, and I generally find it to be lacking something compared to Wicker Man; I can’t quite put my finger on what, but there’s a certain je ne sais quoi that Wicker Man has that Thirteen just doesn’t have, for me, personally.
But which of Alton’s family thrill, 1.2m height restriction Secret Weapons do you prefer? As much as I voted WM, I know that Thirteen has its fans, and I equally know that there are many who aren’t too fond of WM, so I’m intrigued to see what people’s opinions are!
For me, it’s an easy vote for Wicker Man. As much as Wicker Man is the simpler, more obtuse ride experience of the two in terms of technology, I think it feels a fair bit more thrilling and vastly more fulfilling as a ride experience for me. As much as I’m not someone who necessarily thinks that a ride needs to be intense to be great fun, and I can often find that too much intensity is detrimental to a ride experience, I personally find that Wicker Man hits just the right balance for me, and its blisteringly fast pacing, smooth (well, smooth in woodie terms) curves, surprisingly strong pops of ejector airtime and general rerideability just make it float my boat a fair bit more than Thirteen does. Controversially, it’s actually my favourite coaster at Alton Towers, and one of my favourites in the UK, but that’s a story for another day!
That’s no slight against Thirteen, however, as I do actually really like Thirteen for what it is! I think it’s very smooth, has some nice twists, turns and pops of airtime, and the drop track and backwards section are always a laugh! However, I’ve felt that it feels slower on recent rides, and I generally find it to be lacking something compared to Wicker Man; I can’t quite put my finger on what, but there’s a certain je ne sais quoi that Wicker Man has that Thirteen just doesn’t have, for me, personally.
But which of Alton’s family thrill, 1.2m height restriction Secret Weapons do you prefer? As much as I voted WM, I know that Thirteen has its fans, and I equally know that there are many who aren’t too fond of WM, so I’m intrigued to see what people’s opinions are!
