Owen

Possibly, like I say I didn't hate it but I can see what you mean. I'd say it's a mixture of oversight and possibly an expectation from HTC that wasn't fulfilled (which I suppose is some kind of oversight in itself) - it was after all brand new tech at the time so one has to wonder how much better organised the ride would be if they had waited a year. That being said they have had that year now, so I suppose it's just a case of wait and see now - something will have to be done because they can't keep having it playing up to the extent it did last year!

Oh yes I'm aware of all that, I was specifically referring to the headsets having issues such as overheating etc. In regards to the headsets working seamlessly with the ride itself I can't say I had any issues, although I do have to admit merlin love taking on these hugely optimistic projects without always giving it enough time to work out the kinks. I stand by my opinion that Ghost Train was badly thought out and the ride should have had another 6 months of testing before even being thought about to open, and that choosing Figment may have been a mistake (although now it seems they're more confident and I'll reserve judgement). Hopefully they would have sorted this, as like I say they need to. I really do think and hope this years version of Ghost Train will be completely revived and actually manage to remain impressive, like I say the new boss seems to be doing a whole load of good so right now all we can do is have our fingers crossed for the next ten days.

This ride isn't a flawed concept - or else it wouldn't be causing a divide in opinion because it'd be universally hated/never built. In regards to the IP, it's always been irrelevant to the ride in my opinion, but that doesn't effect it because you just assume "ok he's the one who made this". Looking at the graphics if what they've said about filming real life footage is true then the 'graphics' will simply be an enhanced video, of course the special effects will look slightly odd but that isn't a huge deal (at least for me but maybe I'm just easy to please), and there may still be some CG - albeit re-designed. I somewhat agree that the VR wasnt initially designed to run for that long, but evidentally it's capable of it - but Thorpe (and HTC to some extent) really need to keep on top of this. One or two headsets being off is fine - half of them is not. That being said if Thorpe truly want longevity in this attraction, which by all accounts they do, they'll continue to update it - I personally love the idea of the 'sequels' as the possibilities are quite literally endless. This ride is extremely opinion based, and I think people need to begin to accept that it's always going to be a love hate ride (although that's the case with everything). Whilst Project LC may despise the ride with every inch of their body (not saying that they do or don't), someone else may adore it and make it their all time favourite ride. I like to see myself as someone who accepts it's an amazing ride and it's very good until it's technical difficulties and second half ruin it somewhat. However, based on how enthusiastic and forward thinking the new boss man is I have pretty high hopes for the attraction, so we will have to wait and see...

So long as it's better than 2006 Bubbleworks I'm happy!

Just wondering, have you been on the ride yourself? Bit confused to if you have or not. If so great, as I'm trying to get a general idea of what people who have been on it think of it to decide if I make the trip to Chessington or not. Thanks to others for their reviews so far as well! Based on the current "good" feedback I may just wait a couple weeks for Ghost Train 2, provided it actually works for once...

I don't know what you think advertising is, but the whole point of it is to make things out to be amazing and the best there is. Merlin aren't the issue, advertising as a whole is but it's not going away any time soon. I dont like most advertising however I realise that's just the way the cookie crumbles now - people are lead on. That being said I enjoyed Ghost Train and for the most part I have a feeling the marketing team weren't aware of it having multiple tech issues due to hardware, so it's comes down to opinions. The way I see it is that it's fine to have an issue with it but it's not going to change, with anything. Really I think it's best to have an opinion on it and ignore it if it's annoying, I tend to do that in order to have no expectations - however others can get excited for what they want at the end of the day. That being said I think it's fine to critique it however after doing so myself in the past it's really a pointless excercise now. In regards to showing the ride I'm at a loss to be honest. They may have only had PR shots on the website but they also had some clips of a celebrity on the ride and a short behind the scenes video, yet there was uproar over them spoiling it - so I'm not sure what to suggest they do other than not market it at all. Anyway, shall we move on - we've established Merlin marketing is in line with all marketing in its overhyping and exaggerating qualities but honestly no matter what we do or say it's not going to change - better get ready for the SW8 marketing, eh!

Exactly my point, it is the world we live in and so what I was saying is I find it troubling when people act as thought Merlin are the only company who are bad for doing it. Thanks for clearing that up! In all honesty I don't know what people were expecting, it's an attraction where if they show something people will complain about spoilers and if they don't people complain they're hyping it up. It's a very awkward attraction to market in that sense. That being said this video didn't excite me whatsoever, yet it excited others which is another hurdle the marketing team need to cross. I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes right now! The the new signage looks to be fairly easy to remove so I imagine any future Ghost Train 'sequels' or 'reversions' would see something along these lines too. I'm personally still hoping the dolls will make an appearance but Merlin/Derren do like their CGI monsters!

Indeed, so you agree it's not just a Merlin issue - which is the point I was pushing. I use Disney and universal as examples to show even the largest companies do this so it's really not just a "Merlin" issue. I would personally argue a mockumentary is worse as it showed you things that in the final product were either missed out or could have been done better. In regards to this video in particular I agree, the secrecy is irritating however I gaurentee that if footage was shown there would be even more people complaining about "spoilers". Whilst I remain skeptical about this attraction I fail to see where Merlin has done anything horrifically wrong compared to other companies minus the lack of clear communication between parks and guests (that being said SW8 is concerning me a tad). Anyway, as this is likely going to go no where due to Merlin being such an awful company, I suggest we leave this and move back to Ghost Train

Kong especially was extrenly hyped, they did a whole mockumentary on it By all accounts both of these rides disappointed (hence why universal have made major changes to Fast & Furious due to it using similar tech). The world we live in is full of overhyped advertising for production from shampoo to theme park rides and whilst I agree people should be prepared for disappointment (I go into every new attraction thinking this) it's absolutely fine for people to be excited about it...

Or, we could let people be excited for what they want as it's not our business if others are excited or not - there's nothing wrong with being excited or not and if someone is disappointed then that's that. Its not just Merlin who market things in this way, it's everywhere. It always seems to be a "Merlin" issue when 9/10 of said issues can by applied to the majority of other parks. I'm sure many Floridian people would say the same about Frozen Ever After or Reign of Kong: Skull Island - both of which were hyped up a fair bit. I also get confused with the claim that Merlin don't care about the attractions they make, but that's another debate entirely - but hey, I suppose Tussauds were so much better, so what can I say? It's not like they ever installed Rita or started the Imperial Leather sponsorships is it... right? I apologise for going off track, but in all seriousness this whole "Merlin is terrible" thought process has genuinely confused me recently, they aren't the best but they certainly aren't the worst and sometimes I think people forget what good they actually have done...

To be fair the disorder warning is likely accurate, I can't imagine it'll be healthy to use the headsets with any major issues. That being said I'm quite looking forward to this, and I think people are certainly going to enjoy the additions

Ghost Train 2 will open on March 31st... Also here's a new reaction video.

I quite like how Ghost Train is on its own. I quite like that it stays true to its story of being an abandoned warehouse and so it's kind of just there, and it definitely works. I've been asked previously if it was in similar vein as Hex in where they have utilised an old building for the ride. That being said I've always had an idea of converting the arcade into a themed dining experience in which guests would enter a Victorian styled restaurant and staff dressed in clothing from the area would serve your food etc. Then have some sort of gate signifying that Ghost Train and the dining experience are part of some kind of Victorian town (similar to angry birds).

I don't know who told you that, I've certainly not heard of this being the case! In regards to what we might see though, dependent on how well it's done, I have a very good feeling about this year!

I find it funny how as soon as someone mentions that those who have been DMed are under a form of NDA that it's to "cover their mistakes". Considering they're openly stating they have no date now should be an indicator that what has been asked to be kept quiet is a little more than them "covering their mistakes"!

Ahhhh, love the smell of pre-judgemental negativity in the evening!

This is indeed what I was referring to - in regards to getting one up on others, I don't know anything more than most and so that would be rather silly of me to try and do!

Well it's been mentioned here before, look at how the area has been marked with a cross on some plans. The reason I don't say this outright is so I don't come across as though I know something indefinitely, as I don't. There's no need to be sarcastic.

I'd never done Scarefest and so I wast throughly looking forward to this. I will get right into the maze reviews... Terror of The Towers - What Lies Within? I wasn't looking forward to this as much as I knew it was a conga-line maze. It seemed to be quite a case of 'the building is the theming' at first - however once I started with the main maze I found that this wasn't the case. The scares however, weren't very good. So far the maze was okay, however the strobe finale was terrible! It felt as though the actors had no idea where they were sending us and it just became uncomfortable. Unfortunately I have to give this 4/10. Sub-Species: The End Games The award winning maze returns for a second year! Except I don't see why it won an award? The maze started very well, with the pre-show and 'door scene' being incredibly well done. The rest of the maze was just boring. I can tell say it wasn't 'intense' as I wasvoushed up against a wall by an alien at various points - once by the neck! However this became so boring and really quite humerous for the wrong reasons. Whilst it's not the worst maze I've ever experienced, it's far from the award winning experince I was expecting. I can't give this more than 5/10, and I wouldn't pay £8 for it. Altonville Mine Tours - The Legend of The Skin Snatchers Now, this is a fantastic maze. Not only does this manage to be very hands on, it's very creepy as well. The actor was very very good here, and I did get lost on my own arc one point. A memorable point of this maze was when an actor pulled my t-shirt over my head and made me run whilst I couldn't see - very good! The ending did let this down, and would have been the vital detail to make this a 10/10. Mine Tours gets a 9/10 from me!

It still makes me laugh how no one has mentioned the glaring detail in the plans that helps show how people move out of the Victorian shell...

Well, what an interesting Fright Nights. Personally a lot of my experiences seem to contradict a lot of what's been said - so I'll start with the worst... THE BIG TOP was a huge disappointment this year, and personally I found last year far superior to this year. I believe this was because last year I had many very well timed moments, whilst this year there was a lack of actors, fog and overall interest. I can't give it more than 4/10. PLATFORM 15 is a tricky one. The first section I'd give an 8 or 9, but then whatever the Devon count half was needs drastically improving! After being chased and grabbed in the first section, the second section felt more like X's queue. I am giving this 5/10. CONTAINMENT was very good this year, With a lot of actor interaction and challenge are that we're quite hard it's a great improvement on last year! I give this 7/10. BLAIR WITCH was my favourite maze last year, and this year it certainly didn't disappoint. I was split up from my group and touched more than last year, and so I thoroughly enjoyed it! I give this 7/10 Cabin in The Woods wasn't my favourite last year, however this year it was amazing! The actors mere very good here and there were a lot of them, I also found myself being sent around in circles often and this I felt was much better than Alton Towers' Sub-Species this year! I give this an 8/10. Overall my rating of both Scarefest and Fright Nights mazes would have to be... 1 - Altonville Mine Tours 2 - Cabin in The Woods 3 - BLAIR WITCH 4 - CONTAINMENT 5 - Sub-Species: The End Games 6 - PLATFORM 15 7 - Terror of The Towers 8 - THE BIG TOP

As far as I'm aware the only thing mentioned in that article is it'll "enhance guest experience". Remember this can mean anything from adding new section to the attraction, to extending the shop so it's not as crammed on busy days. If I've missed something I apologise, however I'm not sure that getting excited about entire new sections is wise - just in case you end up being disappointed.

Various points while it was being developed, I know figment mentioned it in a news report as well.

I would expect so, the resort have already stated Ghost Train will be an on going project so I can see endings being changed and added over the next few years.

Here is said video.