Wickerman

Client
Merlin Entertainment

Location
Alton Towers Resort, Staffordshire, UK

Sector
Attractions and Theme Parks
Location-Based Entertainment

Collaborators
Merlin Magic Making

Reigniting the primal thrill of the wooden coaster

Wicker Man marks a defining moment in UK theme park history. As the first new wooden rollercoaster built in the UK in more than 20 years, the attraction set out to reconnect riders with the raw, elemental power of early coaster design, while delivering a contemporary, fully immersive experience.

Merlin Entertainments’ in-house creative and delivery team, Merlin Magic Making, invited Scruffy Dog Creative, a Journey studio, to collaborate on the project from its earliest stages. The brief was clear: create a world-class attraction that fused classic wooden coaster engineering with a bold narrative, large-scale scenography, and cutting-edge effects.

An all-encompassing journey

Scruffy Dog Creative, a Journey studio, led the creative development of the attraction’s theming, delivering concept design, concept development, schematic design, and detailed design for the overall experience. The work focused on crafting a cohesive narrative and translating it into a complete guest journey, from arrival to exit.

Rather than treating the coaster as a standalone ride, the team designed a fully integrated experience. This included the queue environment, pre-show moments, loading areas, the ride itself, and post-show retail, ensuring that story, atmosphere, and anticipation build continuously throughout the visit.

The power of iconography

At the heart of Wicker Man is a powerful piece of iconography: a six-storey-high flaming effigy that riders pass through at speed, not once but three times. Fire, timber, smoke, and sound combine to create a visceral sense of ritual and danger, grounding the experience in a mythic world that feels ancient and alive.

The narrative is not explained through exposition, but felt through space, material, and motion. The train becomes part of the story, drawing riders deeper into the Beornen’s secretive world as the environment splinters, twists, and ignites around them.

“You can talk about speed, height, length all you like, but … peering up at this 60 ft-tall imposing Wicker Man structure is truly awe-inspiring.”

— Adam House, Lead Design Engineer, Great Coasters International.

Blending heritage and innovation

Wicker Man demonstrates how contemporary experience design can elevate traditional ride technologies. By uniting classic wooden coaster construction with large-scale scenic design, special effects, and narrative worldbuilding, the attraction delivers something both familiar and entirely new.

Since opening, Wicker Man has been widely recognized as one of the most significant themed attractions in Europe, earning multiple industry awards, including:

Impact