NIB LE arriving tomorrow. My first pin! I am pretty sure I will need to take the backbox off to get it upstairs with two people and a hand truck. Has anyone done this? What about taking out the playfield to reduce weight? Is this practical?

We can probably muscle it up, but making it as light as possible seems like a good idea--safest for the machine and people involved.

Checked out escaleras. $200 for 4 hrs. Might be worth it especially for the experience. Have never used one. Now to figure out if it will fit in my SUV. Might need to buy a pickup by tomorrow. What a great excuse to buy a truck.

Seriously though, thanks for the advice on the playfield. Will post pics of the job

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Getting pumped up for this. Just ordered shoulder straps for the dolly. I think I might try the playfield removal, or at least scope it out carefully. Will keep you posted

Well, game delivered. I moved it inside easily before helper arrived

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NO WAY that I can see to get this backbox off. Can't even figure out how to take off this screen. Soooo many wires from cabinet to backbox

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Magnets! Thanks

OK, feeling encouraged. Looks like a PC now as expected.

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Right bundle, the more difficult of the two, taken down and labled. A black and red wire can't be disconnected, heads unto the computer enclosure... The adventure is just beginning! So long warranty

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OK, easily disconnected in there

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Disconnected! Will post tomorrow re getting this baby running

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Decapitated! Upstairs!

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Nice playfield trick!

Faced with re-attaching two umbilicals now to get machine running. Almost took out playfield yesterday to make the move upstairs easier, but would have needed to cut subwoofer wires. Odd that everthing else had a connector. Would have been an easy repair, but it didn't feel right so we just left field in for the move.

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Success! No flaws that I have seen. Thanks JJP for a nice product.

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After about 50 games, started getting random extra trough ejections. Under device tests, the "trough error, all optos active" message comes and goes. Reseated all connection and problem persists. Doing some pinside research, have read the solution is to reflow the solder on the opto boards. This sound preferable to me over getting new boards from JJP, but would appreciate some advice

Thanks for quick reply. I suppose i should try just one board first. Coin toss?

Ok, if this fix holds, it will be one of my luckiest DIY fixes ever. Removed the outer trough opto board (transmitter,) and attempted to resolder the LEDs. I skipped the power connector because it looked solid. Couldn't really remove old solder because there is so little from the SMC technique. Also, very little metal exposed on the board. I smeared a blob of new solder on. See pic--not proud of this. So far this has worked. May have just been the reheating of the SMC solder that worked. I did completely remove one LED before resoldering. This was the one I was most worried about. Anyhow, wish me luck, and if anyone has some soldering advice, I would appreciate it. If problem recurs I will be a'soldering s'more

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I should also point out that this was almost certainly not a connector problem. I detached and reattached connectors multiple times, bent the prongs multiple ways, and jiggled every connector without a correlation with the trough opto error. I'll stop posting and get back to playing. I know this is simple stuff for most of you experienced tinkerers and technicians, but I'm giddy.

Just checked my playfield from the gobstopper to the VUK and didn't see anything like this. Not experienced enough to say whether it is worrisome. (Doubt it though.)

5 days with machine at home and the captive ball shot is more difficult than at my favorite location. Same pitch. Hardest shot in game by far. Does this shot "loosen up" somehow over time? Adjustments?

Thanks @frobozz. Foam does seem to be the issue. Really OK to remove it? I can't forsee a problem as i could always replace it. Having the shot register maybe 20% of the time is kind of a fun killer.

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Haha, I removed the foam and now hit the captive ball shot with left and right flipper easily. Even the upper right flipper shot is pretty easy. Just curious, do you think that foam was a minor mistake in production? Or maybe all machines have it and it wears down quickly, making the shot bearable. The foam seemed pretty dense and sturdy. Thanks so much for the tip Frobozz!

Game is better without that foam unless you like the shot super difficult, or maybe your foam has worn out and shot has gotten easier. Have been checking in while at work to hear if people have that foam in place. Hard to see through the plastic ramp and whatnot, easier to see through playfield with playfield up.

Easy to remove--pull the target out. Would also be easy to replace. I have been paying a lot of attention to that captive ball over the last two days, and it sure doesn't look like it could damage the target or mounting anytime soon. I recommend no foam whether it be a "tweak" or a "fix." (Again, thanks frobozz)

Great idea. I saved that piece of foam and may do this.

The edible teacup. Sweet mod.

I am not an operator, but have played at four locations and have some input that might be helpful. This game does not draw money from me at dark places. The GI is relatively poor. Put it somewhere well lit and it will probably do better

Also my first pin, and I have been really happy with the purchase. Two features that I wasn't expecting to love, but do: the shaker and the coindoor volume adjustment. Have fun!

From day one my Wonka has had a noticable hum. Oherwise functions well. Sounds like a 60hz hum coming from the power supply, not the speakers. Is this normal?

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like a "healthy" hum, just a bit louder than I would expect

As a test, I unbolted the transformer and temporarily put it on a towel. The hum completely dissapeared. Ordered some rubber washers and installed on both sides of the connectors as you described. At first there was still a little buzz from the sides of the bolts touching the connectors. Had to jiggle it a little to get the bolts to not touch metal. Now hum free. Thanks!

Out of the box, I thought Wonka ball times were on the short side. I adjusted the outlane posts, and now ball times are about the same as Deadpool. Wonka has many more risk/reward choices to make than Deadpool. My Deadpool games are all about the same length, but Wonka lengths depend more on what I choose to shoot for. Lots of fun.

I love that post soooo much. Today is Earth Day, but in my heart it is Post Day.

I have an LE. SE vs LE:

1) If you like shakers, you will be happy with the way it is implemented in this game. 2)It is a nice powdercoat treatment. 3) The physical wonkavator is cool. I would have been fine with the virtual lock, but after two months of ownership, the wonkavator still feels special. Both the lock and release are fun. Almost like two mechs in one. If/when it breaks, my opinion will change! 4) The LE looks a little better in the left upper playfield. There are some lighting kits that spruce up the SE, but I haven't seen this in person. 5) The volume switch on the coin door is a nice feature.

You can't go wrong with either choice. Great game.

Never had a problem hitting that ramp from cradle from a flipper power point of vew. Now aiming, that's a different story

Have read that the pop is harmless, but installed this, happy with the results:

https://pinballmods.co/jjp-startup-pop-eliminator-device

The music is not great. To me, it also sounds thin with my best headphones. Probably due to the music being pulled from the old movie soundtrack, and also the orchestration. Lots of violins for the airy sound. I'll try a subwoofer as described above at some point. Got used to it though, bugged me for a couple of days.

Love it. Thanks for posting pics.

Got around to printing some apron cards. My wife likes the ticket, but I'm sticking with the Wonkatania for now.

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I agree that the slings are fine from a gameplay perspective. From a mechanical point of vew, they are not very satisfying. Tried adjusting sling power in menu and it didn't seem to make a difference.

Pops down the middle is one of the main drains of the game as designed. On other games, the pops are a relaxing time to take a sip of beer. On this baby, the pops are a time to check your stance and tighten up your core in prep for a meganudge. There was a post awhile back of installing an extra post so the left flipper is always fed from the pops. It sounds like you might like that tweak.

Personal preference. I have come to enjoy the pop return. An unavoidable SDTM about 10% of the time feels OK to me. It makes me consider the risk of shooting the left orbit, and wanting superlock to be lit when shooting the right orbit. It looks like a totally reversible tweak

I'm hoping to b try my game for awhile with the playfield magnets off. Any easy way to do this? I've scoured the settings and haven't found anything. I've also gone through the manual a bit to see if there is a simple connector that could be unplugged, but couldn't find anything. I could de-solder the wires. Might do this but was hoping for a more easily reversible option. Has anyone else found the magnets a bit annoying? (Not the kid multiball lane magnet)

I don't dislike the magnets, but would like to give it a try without them for a bit. Looking at the wires currently.... hard to trace them without cutting the ties, but it looks like there might be connectors. Going to coil test now

Looks like undoing these two connectors did the trick. Hopefully didn't disable anything else

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Has anyone tried adjustments to the gobstopper target to make the hole shot easier from the right flipper? Having direct shots rejected doesn't feel right. I was thinking of bending the target to face more downward, but that is a really solid piece of metal. I loosened the spring, but it didn't make a difference.

Completing the wonkavator and gobstopper multiballs has been inconsistent for me. Disconnecting the playfield magnets has helped some. Once the hole is open during those multiballs I fire every shot at that sucker and get rejected too often. Ball goes in randomly more often than with a direct shot. I know I can get control of a ball with the left flipper and then backhand, but thats not my multiball style. Might try bending the target tonight. Or might fiddle with that rubber circle

Bending that metal was tough, and I was a little impatient. I am posting these before and after pics so you guys can maybe have a laugh. I am not proud.

Despite the poor craftmanship, this did nicely change the angle so a straight shot geometrically directs the ball straight into the hole. It helped only a little, and I know why. Topspin! That rubber circle is super grippy and grabs the topspin causing the ball to rattle out. If I had mylar i would try to put some on the circle, but I don't. Duct tape would be funny, but not slippery enough. I am going to apply Scotch tape, play a bunch of games and report back tomorrow.

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Gobstopper hole shot from right flipper now one of my favorite shots in the game. Before tweaks was 20% success, now 90%.

For anyone interested, easy reversible things to try are 1) detach one of the springs 2) put something non-stick on the rubber target to prevent topsin rattle.

Very excited! Be patient with the rules. They don't make sense at first, and the lights don't really tell you what to do. The call outs are a little cryptic too, but are very consistent. Certain quotes from the movie guide you, but it is not obvious at first what they are telling you to do. Oh, and the shots to complete Augustus make no sense: Right ramp, left loop. Oh and... i could go on and on. Great pin, have fun!

For some reason today I decided to turn off the game music and crank GnR while playing. It was a blast.

You can reflow the solder on that opto board. Worked for me durably on the trough opto board.

I am at 20, 20, 14, 16