I find it takes a picture right as you press the Start button, and uses that photo -if- it's good. If it's not, it relies on the previous picture. Try ducking right before you push Start and you'll see it'll ignore that picture.

Did you try Novus 1 first?

Interesting. I'll have to try that.

I did not because I didn’t have any. If the chemical makeup is the same I’m assuming it will work as well. Possibly a less aggressive choice, although the Novus 2 worked just fine. I really inspected it with a light. It looks great now.

So, last night I had the following happen and I don't know what triggered it. I had one ball locked in the Wonkavator. Got Slugworth multiball which is always 2 balls as far as I know. About 2 minutes or more into the Slugworth multiball, the ball in the Wonkavator released and became my third ball in multiball. I don't recall getting a kid multiball during Slugworth.
What triggers a particular multiball to release the Wonkavator balls? It drives me nuts to have a couple balls up there, get a different multiball before locking the third Wonkavator and lose those locked balls.
Is it just me?

I've only had this happen when the balls were left there from a previous game. I presume there is something in the code about the number of balls in the trough when starting a multiball, and if the count is short, it replenishes them. Whether or not that is inhibited if the Wonkavator balls were earned in the current game, I don't know.

I try to be very intentional about not starting Kid Multiball until I've qualified them all, and usually go for Wonkavator multiball first.

You might consider breaking them up. Here's why.

If you start all 5 kids at once, you need to make all 5 kid jackpot shots, the double and the super. If you don't, it will be quite a while before you get another shot at the kid golden ticket.

We try and mix 1-2 kids with Gobstopper, giving us fewer kid shots to focus on at once, and more chances at the double/super to secure the kid ticket.

Joined to club today. It's not my first pin, but it is my first JJP pin

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This happened to me. I took off glass a ran a ball through the back loop (not up into WV) and it fixed itself.

If you hit the Wonka factory tower target near right ramp it is an add a aball during MB. Thinking you hit that and the game took it from the WV. It does this when you get into Oompa Loompa Odyssey too

Wahoo enjoy! It's a great game!

Has anyone used this customer shooter rod from mod father? Do you like it?

https://modfatherpinball.com/collections/willy-wonka/products/wonka-everlasting-gobstopper-shooter

I think it looks more like a gobstopper than the other mod I’ve seen at many sites which is like a bunch of hexagons bunched together.

Is the JJP part used on the CE’s available anywhere? Anyone tried to get one from JJP?

Thx
Jack

I got mine, with the Golden Ticket Wonka Bar, from Cointaker. It might be where they sourced it, but I'm not sure. I've been very happy with it.

I ordered mine last week direct from Modfather. Will pop a photo out when it is installed. I bought a WOZ shooter rod from him and it looks great.

Aha!! This must have been what happened! Thanks for the insight!

Received my NIB LE yesterday - officially joined the club

Shipping box looked great, but I do have a chip out of the coating on top of the lockdown bar. Have reported it and will be hopeful that they might replace/swap it out for me. Otherwise, machine is in great shape.

I've also noticed the wonkavator diverter at the top of the orbit gets stuck open sometimes and causes balls that aren't meant for the lock to be kicked up. The game recognizes this and correctly releases a ball from the lock each time. Sometimes, just tapping the game right can get the diverter to reset, but other times when a ball has gotten stuck up against it, ballsearch firing the coil again seems to help.

Anyone else have this before? Looks to me like the coil fires the diverter one way, but a spring returns it. My guess right now is that it's just binding up against something very slightly when open, so the spring can't quite reset it. I think I'd try re-seating the clamp connecting it to the coil - maybe it is too tight against the playfield?

For last night, I didn't feel like breaking out any wrenches, so I just disabled the diverter in settings. Honestly, the first Wonka I met was a Standard, and I might actually like the gameplay better with a virtual lock than with more stops/starts. Anyone else ever feel that way?

I agree! Tried it last night. Fixed my blemishes.

Take note of the premium differences! It sounds cheesy, but it's true. I've had NIB Sterns and a CGC and none had such attention to details as my NIB Wonka. Even the packing was better. Of course, as my wife reminded me yesterday: "For the price of a good car, it should be"

I am considering obtaining a NIB WW LE. My only experience with having my own pin is a Stern TMNT Premium. It seems there is much less interest in WW than there should be based on it being a top twenty ranked pin. I'm curious why this might be. Is it a JJP vs Stern thing? Something else?

It's a big chunk of money (they all are these days) so I'm curious to better understand the dynamics on this game before I jump in. I figure this is the right crowd to ask. (And I might be joining y'all soon!)

It's hard to say but before this last run of NIB, Wonka was a scorching hot commodity. Prices were going up and everyone wanted one once they sold out. My Distro couldn't sell his last two Wonkas for a while. Until nobody had them. Now they're making an LE run, granted for a lot more money than the previous LE price, and interest is strangely lower. I think when all NIB are done interest will be a tad crazy again. I would still say Wonka is a desired game for many right now. The game is solid and not going anywhere as far as being a top game. A lot of people pre ordered GnR and waited a long time. People somewhat unfairly harping on JJP for playfield issues when every company has them. There's a lot of factors but mainly I think interest will be high when all NIB are gone.

Wonka is a lot like POTC.

If you listen to Pinside, you snub the game. "It doesn't have audio on the video clips!" "it sounds like a slot machine" etc etc. Typical Pinside haterade.

Then you play the game and realize it's extremely well made, has some of the most well designed code/goals, and really great longevity.

Never listen to Pinside.

Make every effort to go play it yourself. I had a buddy come play mine who owned TMNT for a year, and he was blown away. I would say that Wonka is probably my favorite game right now. The theme, video integration, shots and rules are all top notch. My only complaint was tinny audio, which I addressed. Guests love it as well.

Here is what I think about this. First off, the theme doesn't grab a certain proportion of pinheads. It's seen as childlike or whimsical. And, well, it is, of course, compared to the more common fare of rock band pins, edgy, scary, spooky, intense themes etc. But this is exactly what I like about the theme and it makes a good contrast to my other games. I have grown to love the vibe. It's a welcoming fun kind of place I want to come back and visit. Next, I did play it a few times at a show, and it seemed okay, but it didn't really grab me right away. I bought WW mainly because my kid and wife played it on location and really liked it. So I said, "well if they are on board, this is a worthy purchase, and I get a new pin to fart around with". Now, when I started playing it myself, and got to know it better, I began to realize what a great game it is. Fun and approachable on the surface, but vastly deep. There is so much to learn on this machine, it is great for home use. It has a great balance between single ball and multi-ball modes. When you stack modes and multi-balls, it gets really exciting, but then calms down again. Some other recent pins are like all multi ball all the time and that is no fun. Overall, I can compare it most easily to Simpsons Pinball Party in terms of fun factor but also depth of gameplay. I also really love that it is a Pat Lawlor design and has a lot of his hallmarks, but it's also very unlike his 90s games with the stop-n-go and the horizontal jackpot shots and all that (not that those are bad, just that I have played those so much already). It flows great and is very modern in the game design, modes, and code. Each multiball mode is like a game in itself and each one plays very different (they're not all just hit the jackpots). The machine is high quality, the code is deep very polished. The music, sound effects, and especially use of assets from the film are all very well integrated with the gameplay and the theme. It's fun and approachable, but also can be brutal and challenging once you reach a certain knowledge of the rules and skill level, but that just keeps me coming back for more. You do hit plateaus with this game where it feels like it's hard to get a satisfying game in, but then you break through and reach new realms. In summary, WW feels right up there with the all-time-great pins to me, and I happen to own many of them! I believe you are correct in recognizing there is an under-rated factor to this pin. I contribute this to the theme as a barrier for some folks and that you have to get some play time to start uncovering the depth and greatness of it. In a few years time I think its esteem will rise as people have more of a chance to experience it.

I will add that I did have a few small quality issues. Some I took care of myself (few loose screws kind of thing). There was a couple of issues that I brought to JJP support and they resolved them both promptly by sending me new parts and which arrived in 2-3 days. I was impressed with their support and that I could get it directly from JJP and not through a distributor. I take these issues in stride because I was really taken with the overall build and design quality. It's like Bob Dylan once said, "it's more important to be great than it is to be perfect" and I will forgive these issues for a great package.

Thanks so much for the rapid responses! I have just placed an order for a WW LE and will arrive next Thursday, barring a weather incident (always possible in Vermont!)

Next steps: which mods to think about adding! If there's already a good list or top flight recommendations, please send it/them my way.

The pin is fantastic. Couldn't be happier after owning a year +. As other mentioned, the theme puts some people off (which pulled me in), but the game is awesome, code is deep and keeps you coming back, the shots are great, the light show and overall appeal to non-pinheads is very high as well ... and while I don't think speculating on pinball machine prices is a good investment strategy, I think if you can snag a WW LE you will not lose money on it. Probably holds the value better than any other "toys" I can think of (boats / jet skiis / cars / motorcycles ... usually are going to drop significantly in value over say a decade, but a WW LE probably will still be worth 10K in 10 years, and would not be surprised to see double). But I say buy it because it is awesome to play and a real work of art!

Same thing I thought when I was unboxing Acy...Even taking the top off I was like, wow the legs are packed great. I was impressed with the felt around the leg bolts, all the foam on the playfield, even the painters tape on the rails. Yes, they cost more but you can definitely appreciate the attention to detail.

I have a GnR on order as well. I have 6 Stern's and this is my first JJP, very impressed so far!

Congrats on ordering the game! I'm a TMNT Premium owner as well and have been heavily considering a Willy Wonka LE. There's not many left out there, hell I think Pinballs.com (Automated) has one left as there page says $11,500 now for an LE (plus shipping). Every other distributor I've searched for is out including my local favorite and go to.

I'll say this, yes $11k is an insane amount of cash to spend on a pin but like others have said it will hold it's value fairly well compared to other hobbies. It could go up $2k or down $2k for example but that's pretty damn good compared to any other hobby. The best thing about this hobby and getting a new Wonka is it's all about fun.

My wife is saying to order a new Wonka LE as she likes the theme and game. If I'm smart I'll order a game asap lol.

Yes, Automated was the only place I found it. It sounded like they have a few left, but who knows how long that will last.

I think classic game rooms in Georgia has some LE s still in stock. Jason is a great fella to deal with.

I went cheap a snagged a used SE and love it! It got me hooked on JJP games! Sold my 2 sterns and snagged a Dialed In Le and that was alot of fun but sold it to grab a deal on a Hobbit LE and I'm loving it.

My wife and kids (and me) love wonka. Even though it's "slower" than a stern when the lights go crazy and mutiballs stack it is bonkers!

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Interesting. I looked at automated recently and it was $11,000. They're one of the worst offenders when it comes to price gouging.

Question on scores. I just got my NIB WW last week. It is a beautiful pin. Trying to get a feel for the game play. What would be a decent score? I'm not asking for a "master pinhead score", but just a regular good score. Thanks

Five million? I'm not that good but my better games are in the 7 figures. I think I got to 12 million once.

I find this a tough question to answer with WW. Raising the score is very dependent on under standing the modes and getting the right shots. You can grind out a 20 minute game and have 2 million points. Or you can get to Wonkas Office and get the right shots in a minute you can get 10 million right there. Until I learned the game well, a couple million felt good. After six weeks 10m feels like I did pretty good. 20m+ is better. Highest score is about 40m. I’ve got pure imagination on two occasions and it took several weeks of intense play for the first one.

I think I’m a mediocre player. I’ve had my Wonka for two weeks and put about 50 games on it. Before buying it I played 3 times.

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Guess I’m in the club now. Kind of an impulse buy. Lol

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You so Nashty!

Right after I said this I got 14.4 million and my first trip to Wonka's office.

If anyone is looking for a NIB LE

Screenshot_20220217-095222_Facebook (resized).jpg

They offer NIB pins that you're not going to find anywhere else. You can call it price gouging if you want, but they're giving you an option. You can either take it or leave it, but it's something you didn't have before: an option.

If you'd just made this post a week ago I would have invited you over to play mine! It's a very different game from TMNT. In fact, it's what helped me decide it's time to move on from TMNT. Very fun game, waaay deeper than Turtles, and not nearly as frustrating/brutal.

maybe I missed it but aren't JJP LEs all 11 or 11.5 now MSRP? Again, could be wrong b/c prices seem to change all the time.

It's more like their prices are so high that they're usually the last ones to have anything in stock. I did buy a game from them once and it had playfield issues. Trying to work with them was so difficult that I ended up just communicating with stern directly. I only had one experience when them, but it wasn't a good one.

This is correct. JJP lists the LE price on their website as 11k currently.

Not when it comes to new games...

A good score.. id say 10 Mill.. 3 - 5mm is not too bad.. IMO..

Yes. Seems to be the case.

11k is Msrp. Bought my WW NIB from Automated services in early January at that price. Went there to pick it up. Let me stay as long as I wanted to play all the games in the show room. Helped me load it into my van. Fine experience and easy as pie.

Yup, they have been great in my experiences. Ive bought all my machines from Michael there.

It’s an awesome game. Super deep and flowy. Enjoy!!!

Joining the club, ordered one of the last Wonka LE's from Classic Game Rooms. My go to and favorite distributor is sold out. Had a good experience ordering from Jason. I see that Flip N Out pinball is asking $11k for a Wonka LE with a 2" nick to the cabinet decals and $12k for what may be his last NIB one...

Jason is a great fella. Glad it worked out for you!