Nosferatu

The music in the station sounds so much better now. I'm so glad the original track has finally been restored.
 
That track is a Gothic masterpiece, the other one sounds awful in comparison.

The organist and the lighting looks fantastic,, really nice job.
 
However, that music sounds horrendous. It's incredibly generic and bland organ music, and completely lacks any of the impact the original score had.
 
I don't want to be negative, but hearing these replacement tracks makes you realise just how phenomenal Graham Smart's music was. The guy was a genius 

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

We finally have footage of the Black Forest Chateau organist. He pretty much looks like a human version of the one in the Vampire's station.

I just saw the stargazing pods for the first time and I couldn't help but laugh.
 
How are they stargazing pods when the ceiling is completely solid with no glass? You're paying to stay in a utility shed with no toilet.
 
Why do they keep wasting money on this pointless accommodation instead on spending it on the park?

I just saw the stargazing pods for the first time and I couldn't help but laugh.
 
How are they stargazing pods when the ceiling is completely solid with no glass? You're paying to stay in a utility shed with no toilet.
 
Why do they keep wasting money on this pointless accommodation instead on spending it on the park?

I just saw the stargazing pods for the first time and I couldn't help but laugh.
 
How are they stargazing pods when the ceiling is completely solid with no glass? You're paying to stay in a utility shed with no toilet.
 
Why do they keep wasting money on this pointless accommodation instead on spending it on the park?

I just saw the stargazing pods for the first time and I couldn't help but laugh.
 
How are they stargazing pods when the ceiling is completely solid with no glass? You're paying to stay in a utility shed with no toilet.
 
Why do they keep wasting money on this pointless accommodation instead on spending it on the park?

I don't see the point of having a themed facade if you're just going to have the ride building behind so blatantly on show.
 
At least Phantom Manor tries to hide the ugly ride building with a hill and trees.

What is with this infestation of IPs at Merlin parks? Are original attractions a thing of the past now?

I actually enjoy Colossus, but only if I'm seated in the front end of the train.
The back end, however, is absolutely brutal and not enjoyable at all.
 
I find the vertical loop and cobra roll very uncomfortable no matter the seating though.

I've always preferred inferno to the original nemesis, mainly because of the big drop at the beginning.
 
In my eyes, all rollercoasters need a good sized drop somewhere in them.

This ride used to be such a spectacle. It's sad that the kids of today can't experience its greatness.
 
Can you imagine a beloved disneyland ride ending up in this state? No you can't, because disney would never let that happen.
 
Is it wrong to want a disney-style guest experience from UK theme parks?

Have any of you guys seen this? It really shows what the vampire station used to look like before it was massively butchered.
 
This is how I remember it from my childhood.

Apologies for the long pedantic post, but to save misunderstanding, here's the full story behind Vampire's audio over the years!

Obviously all the following is more technical info, no guests are gonna go in Vampire thinking 'hang on this is the wrong mix' – but the point is for the music to sound good and have good effect, and clearly this is not happening today. The ride currently sounds awful.

Here is where it gets pretty complicated and you need to consider how technology has changed massively over time to get your head around it.

Let's break it down to:
Production tapes (pre dubbing, pre downsampling)
1990 Ride 'dual zoned' mix
1990 stereo cassette mix
2016 Smart mix

The original music would have been produced from tapes as a high quality production master by the composer in 1990.

A standard mix for listening would have been in stereo obviously, but for use in the ride it was mixed differently. Theme park audio is usually always in mono mix, or 'multi mono' if its a score for a whole ride that changes as you move through it. This is because a stereo image requires a left and a right speaker, but in an attraction you're constantly moving around space with usually multiple speakers playing the same track, so it makes more sense to have it in mono.

Vampire actually had a 'dual' zoned effect where the same music played throughout the station, where the organ stage played the organ instrument, and the backing track played through the rest the station (guitar in both). This opened up the sound a bit more and gave the effect of the organ playing the actual organ part.

To do this effect, a mix with split organ and backing was sent to Sparks (who produced the Vampire station), with one on the L channel and other on R. This wasn't a traditional stereo mix, it was more of an installation mix, so would sound great standing in the station, but would sound bizarre played on a home stereo. Sparks also dubbed it with the familiar screams and thunder sounds. This mix was unique to any other mixes, which is why all other versions sound slightly different.

However, because of the technical limitations of the time, the ride track needed to be downsampled to play on solid state EPROM chips, which could only hold a certain amount of memory. The downsampling means it's lacking bass, but otherwise is good and wouldnt have been noticeable on the big station sound system – as anyone who went in Vampire in the 90s would remember it still sounded great! However, in mono, it wouldnt sound so good in isolation on a home stereo.

This zoned effect was lost in Vampire around 2000 when the sound system was changed. From then on it played as one zone throughout the station, but was the same 'mix'.

Then there was a souvenir cassette that was sold in the Chessington shop in the 90s, this was a very different mix to the ride version – and was in stereo (for listening). This is the one more commonly heard online. Although a more polished mix, the sound quality has always been dire, because the same warbly digital transfer has been passed around since forever (the original cassettes are hard to come by).

Somehow this was the track that Chessington replaced the original with in 2014 when the sound system was changed to mp3 playback. What! It sounds awful due to the poor quality of the transfer from cassette and is not edited to loop correctly.

Then a few years back the composer put up his own version (the Smart mix), from his own tapes, pre-downsampling... BUT it was actually yet another mix, half the 'cassette' version and half the 'original' version. This is the best quality version of the track available, but doesnt have the zoned effect or the 'rawer' guitar.

After years of trying to find the original track, I first found just the backing part on its own, which only had the guitar and organ on it faintly. This is what's on Soundcloud, edited to sound less 'mono' and with the organ part turned up a bit. More recently I finally found the organ track to go with it, so will update the Soundcloud track soon. Have sent this to Chessington.

These are the downsampled, dubbed tracks that played in the ride from 1990 to around 2000. So, not full listening quality and would sound weird played on a stereo, but would sound good restored in the dual zones in the station. Much better than the current dodgy mp3 being played.

Ideally, a brand new mix should be struck from the original master tapes (if they still exist with the composer) to recreate the dual zoning and the more 'raw' original mix – but without the downsampling, since this is no longer necessary with today's playback technology. Combine this with a repaired sound system and it would sound amazing. However, the original composer seems to be completely uncontactable.

So, there's the saga of Vampire's audio! Once sounded classic, now sounding very lame with the poor recording they're using at the moment. But, simply putting back the orginal mix on a broken, mono system probably wouldnt make much difference. What it needs is a new, overhauled sound system and a full quality zoned mix.

Have any of you guys seen this? It really shows what the vampire station used to look like before it was massively butchered.
 
This is how I remember it from my childhood.

its a cool video, so funny to see staff larking about on the ride's supposed closing down day. A couple pretty strange things in there if you watch the whole thing, haha!

Shame it doesnt show the station under the show lighting but even in work lights, shows how fallen the brilliant station is now. People said Wicker Man set an amazing standard for a themed coaster in Britain  (which it did) – but truly Chessington had it even better years ago with this incredible Vampire queue and preshow!

https://soundcloud.com/themeparkarchive/the-vampire-1990-audio-mix
 
Have any of you guys seen this yet? I apologize if this has been posted before.
 
 

The Vampire has always been a lame roller coaster, even with the old trains. Its amazing station and soundtrack is the only thing it ever had going for it. This is why some people are so mad about the severe butchering of the station. Its atmosphere was unmatched in the 90's.