Theme Park Fanatic

@JoshC. Emily Alton is the ghost/Doll who inhabits the Dolls House in the queline. Snowy’s Emily Alton’s pet Cat.

Everyone will be pleased to know John Wardley is involved with the Duel refurbishment from the start to the end. You never know Wardley may return Duel to the original Haunted House.

@Benin this is the one area of Thorpe Park I don’t want Rocky Express relocated to!!!

@Mattgwise which part of Thorpe Park will Rocky Express be relocated too?

@Matt N Snowy’s Emily Alton’s pet Cat.

@Mattgwise this was my first thought when I saw the photograph. The ride is 100% intact and in remarkable condition. While the other rides in Old Town have been removed Rocky Express hasn’t. I’m expecting a relocation to another area of Thorpe Park over the closed season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rocky Express gets the Flying Fish treatment and is refurbished and relocated. Earlier this year the manager of Thorpe said Wet Wet Wet had been removed,as they know what guests would like to return. Reading between the lines I think Rocky Express will be relocated to the area that Wet Wet Wet vacated. As well as this I think the entire beach will receive a major overhaul or be removed. My theory comes from the fact a new Play Area was installed while the rest of the beach was left untouched. If Rocky Express returns it’ll be the icing on top of the cake. I’m already thrilled about the following. Duel at Alton Towers is receiving work,Nemesis Sub Terra is reopening,a possible new Flat Ride is opening in place of Enterprise,the opening of The World Of Jumanji at Chessington,Chessington’s new Jungle Bus and the reopening of Valhalla at Blackpool Please Beach. I almost forgot to mention that Blackgang Chine on The Isle Of White is getting a new ride.

@Benin you clearly didn’t read the sign that was put in Duel’s exit corridor. It was 100% written by Emily Alton. The writing was identical to Emily’s. As you should know everyone has there own unique writing. Furthermore an equation was written on the sign. Emily Alton wrote an equation on the easel inside her Dolls House. The sign even said “this is my House”,this is another teaser that tells me Emily Alton and Snowy have “repossessed” Duel. If you add up all the little teasers an Emily Alton retheme is obvious. I am literally on cloud 9. I’ve long wanted Emily to be heavy involved with the ride. John Wardley one of the people involved with the refurbishment knows Duel means as much to Alton Towers visitors as it does. Wardley is behind all of Britain’s best rides. I know that Wardley will retain all of the original Haunted House scenes. Before a Duel refurbishment was announced Wardley was sited in and around the ride. On each sighting Wardley was accompanied by a book. The book contained used and unused concepts from the original Haunted House. Even Merlin Magic Making. I suspect Alton Towers have learned their lesson from retheming The original Haunted House without the involvement of John Wardley. To be truthful the Duel overlay ruined The Haunted House. The Zombies were annoying and tacky looking. Fortunately I’ve seen a photograph of the mad Professors Lab (final Zombie scene) in a skip. This is another big clue that points to the return of the original Haunted House or a complete Emily Alton retheme.

@MattyB what was the indoor section of Mr Rabbits Tropical Travels replaced with for the rest of 2000 and the 2001 season? Can someone post a photograph of the section of queline that remains. I wonder what happened to the pieces of Theming that survived the fire. I know the Witch that stood above Wicked Witches Haunt is stored in a staff only area. I hope the Witch is transferred to Alton Towers and used in the Duel refurbishment.

People keep complaining about Duels lack of closing event. Maybe the fact Merlin didn’t organise such events is a good sign. Normally closing events are held when radical changes are ahead. Duel may not warrant a closing event. This could be because much of the rides infrastructure and scenes are staying. I expect there will be radical changes,however I think they’ll be an equal number of elements that won’t change. There’s already a photograph of the Zombie scene in a skip. As of now it’s pretty obvious that Emily Alton and Snowy have “repossessed” Duel. Sometimes Merlin don’t need to officially announce what’s coming. An example is that everyone knew that Project Amazon at Chessington would be Jumanji Themed. Low and behold Project Amazon was revealed to be The World Of Jumanji. I’m getting deja vu with Duel and a Emily Alton retheme. If this retheme turns out to be an Emily Alton refurbishment I’ll definitely visit Alton Towers next year. Next year is going to be the most existing year in Alton Towers history. I’m pleasantly shocked that Alton are likely opening 2 Dark Rides. Obviously these are the refurbished Duel and Nemesis Sub Terra which has been SBNO for 8 years.

@Matt N if Drayton Mannor reopen/reimagine Pirate Adventure I think it'll be next season. Both Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach are opening refurbished Dark Rides. I expect Drayton Manor would like to compete with them. Reopening Pirate Adventure would also be a cheap and quick way of opening a new ride.

@Inferno it does look promising. All the teasers point to Emilly Alton and Snowy "repossessing Duel. I hope Emily and Snowy remerge with a bang. When you look through the holes on the construction fence a video plays. This video is of an attic full of spiders, at the end a creepy looking doll appears. Most importantly there's a hand holding the Doll. I believe this hand to be know other than Emily Alton's. I know the refurbished Duel will be extravagant as John Wardly is involved. All that needed to be said is that Wardley was involved, this immediately smothered me with optimism. Imo Wardley is the world's best ride designer. The reason Duel was a cheap downgrade is because Wardley wasn't involved. For Wardley to come out of retirement shows his commitment to Duel. I know Wardley's favourite creations were the original Haunted House and Professor Burp's Bubbleworks at Chessington. These rides were hideous following their so called "upgrades" because of Wardley's lack of involvement. The new Imperial Leather Bubbleworks so S**t that Wardly disowned and declined to ride it. I hope Merlin have learnt their lessons from Imperial Leather Bubbleworks and Duel hence the requitement of John Wardley. I have faith that Emilly Alton's version of Duel will include many of the beloved scenes that survived the Duel retheme. I would be overjoyed if Emilly has evicted the Zombies. The Zombies had no right to invade a world class Dark Ride in the first place. If I were Emilly, I wouldn't have even allowed the Zombies to write a tenancy agreement. Hindsight is a marvellous thing and I think that's why Emilly has retook control of her House. @Inferno I wish Emilly,Snowy and the best of luck redecorating the ride. I hope Emily chooses to still allow riders into her Drawing Room,Playroom and Dining Room. I hope the attic seen when looking through the hole in the Constuction fence is teasing the scene that'll replace The Man Professors Lap (final scene). @Inferno what elements of Duel would you like Emilly and Snowy to leave and what would you like them to redecorate?

6. The ride opened in 1984. I think it's officially older than nearly everyone on this forum. Not exactly brand new when it got burnt. @JoshC.Wicked Witches Haunt Opened in 1994. When the ride initially opened it was known as Phantom Fantasia. This ride although still horror based offered a different experience. Wicked Witches Haunt technically only operated for 5 years. I class this as brand too fairly new. I’ll check out Wicked Witches Haunt’s clone At Europa Park. It’s comforting that Wicked Witches Haunt lives on even though not in England.

Yesterday marked the most existing aspect of Duels closure. Construction walls with speakers and interactive videos have been put up. Along with this you can dial a phone number for teasers about the refurbishment. I saw a video on Facebook that showed a Doll in one of the interactive videos.

That is indeed true. In Making Thorpe Park by Chris Atkinson, it is said that John Wardley allegedly wanted to give the ride a Bubbleworks-style revamp. @Matt N how could a Haunted House be transformed into a Dark Ride in which you ride in boats. I John Wardley would have refreshed Wicked Witches Haunt into a clone of Duel. Some of the Wicked Witches Haunt scenes were the same as Duels. For instance both Dark Rides had the same spider scene. I think it’s a shame that a fairly new Dark Ride was destroyed by a careless smoker. I hope the person who threw their fag into the undergrowth of Mr Rabbits Tropical Travels got fined. This ignorant guest cost Thorpe Park thousands of pounds. More strikingly the smokers actions prompted a change of target audience. The main reason I wish Wicked Witches Haunt was still around is that Derren’s Brown’s Ghost Train wouldn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong I’m an avid fan of Derren Brown. In fact I went to see him live last year. The only good consequence of the fire is that guests are now only permitted to smoke in designated areas. Without this devastating blaze Thorpe may still allow smoking park wide.

@JoshC. what will Blackgang’s new ride be? Also where has Cliffhanger been sold too. I presume it’s been sold not scrapped as it’s only 17 years old. Finally what has happened to the Magic Carpet ride that collapsed while people were on it. Do you know where the Magic Carpet and Drop Tower came from. Now I’ve asked about Blackgang Chine can we please get back on topic.

@Benin I think there's a real possibility that Spinball Wizzer will be removed over the coming months. I was reading an article about the closure of Cliff-hanger ay Blackgang Chine. For those that are unaware Blackgang Chine is on The Isle Of White. The final paragraph said Cliff-hanger is being replaced by a bigger and better ride, that will make you feel dizzy just by looking at it. When I read this is instantly thought about Spinball Wizzer. Spinball Wizzer has been on borrowed time at Alton Towers for years. Furthermore, the ride is much bigger both in footprint and hight. Finally, Spinball Wizzer has the potential to make onlookers feel dizzy. If Spinball Wizzer is removed, I think CBeebies Land will have another expansion. I wouldn't be surprised if this expansion is the relocation and refurbishment of Cookoo Cars Driving School. Last closed season rumours of the relocation of Cookoo Cars Driving School were buzzing around the Theme Park community.

Is there an update on the building work that has been seen inside the Pirate Adventure Show Building. Earlier this season it was speculated that a modern version of Pirate Adventure could open. If true, this would be massive news. Prior to its 2015 closure this ride was very popular. The new Piraten in Batavia Europa Park has shown how popular 21st Parate Dark Rides are. It would be huge for Drayton Manor if they brought back a modern version of Pirate Adventure. For those who will declare that due to the fire Piraten in Batavia was easier to work with this is not true. As Pirate Adventure is partially SBNO Pirate Adventure would be a cheap way of opening a new ride. Pirate Adventure has many fans who are yearning for a return Drayton Manor would experience a surge in visitors. The Looping group have already returned an old favourite (The Rapids) this means a return of Pirate Adventure isn't off the cards.

If Wicked Witches Haunt hadn't burnt down, what do you think its future would've been? Personally, I think it would have remained in the same format but become a shooting Dard Ride like Tomb Blaster at Chessington and the closed Duel at Alton Towers. I believe Duel and Wicked Witches Haunt would have been almost identical. I feel the only diffrences would have been the facades, transit systems and vehicles. I'd like to hear what you think the lost future of Wicked Witches Haunt would have been.

Duel is reopening in March following its refurbishment. Additionally Nemeses Sub Terra is rumoured to be reopening after 8 years SBNO. This means Alton Towers will only have 2 less rides next season. This is assuming a new Flat Ride doesn’t replace Enterprise. Blue markings have been spotted around Enterprise’s former location. This could potentially be an indication that a Permanent new Flat Ride could replace Enterprise. It would be amazing if Alton Towers opened a new (permanent) Flat Ride next season. I cannot remember the last time a proper Flat Ride opened at Alton Towers. I believe the last time Alton Towers installed new Flat Ride hardware was 1999. This was Frog Hopper (Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp). This ride replaced the short lived Nickelodeon Outta Control in Cred Street (The World Of David Williams). It’s shocking that Britain’s largest Theme Park hasn’t installed a completely new non CBeebies Land Flat Ride in 23 years. That’s my entire life time. Technically Frog Hopper Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp is 24 years old. This is as it was installed during the Winter of 1998. I feel like since the opening of CBeebies Land in 2014 all of the Parks effort has been pumped into it. As for the rest of the Park it’s been largely neglected. The only new additions outside of CBeebies Land,since it’s opening, has been The Alton Towers Dungeons and The World Of David Williams. I don’t class the horrible looking Retro Squad as investment. They were used as a cheap way to advertise “new rides”. Being brutally honest they ruin the atmosphere of Alton Towers. It’s pathetic,I would rather the Retro Squad be given back to the Showman and replaced by permanent Flat Rides. It’s bizarre having an highly themed land with a single unthemed ride. I think Funk’ N Flys downtime is due to being used constantly in Britain’s largest Theme Park. The ride was built to cope with a condensed number of riders. The ride was set up to fail when installed at Alton Towers. It’s a traveling ride not a permanent Theme Park Ride. I’m surprised that out of the whole Retro Squad Funk’N Fly is the only ride to have been broken more than working. I am relived that Alton Towers is finally caring about the entire Park. The Duel and Nemesis refurbishments are refreshing. Hopefully there a more changes Park wide over the winter. I think Cookoo Cars Driving School should be a priority. It’s slap bang in the middle of The World Of David Williams. This ruins the constancy of the area. You have the far superior Gangsta Granny ride adjacent to a garish and shortened version of Cloud Cookoo Land. I really hope Cookoo Cars Driving School gets rethemed to The World Of David Williams. My hopes of a retheme for Cookoo Cars Driving School were hightend last winter. The ride was rumoured to be rethemed or relocated to CBeebies land. As much as I dislike Alton Towers focus on CBeebies Land at least the relocation would have made The World Of David Williams more fluid and free up space for a phase 2 expansion. The World Of David Williams is full of potentia

It isn’t just Enterprise that didn’t receive a closing event. Duel closed without a closing event. I think Nemesis has a closing event as it’s the signature Rollercoaster at Alton Towers. In addition Nemeses is the most popular ride within Alton Towers. Alton Towers wouldn’t be Alton Towers without Nemesis. The rides symbolic to Alton Towers. If you asked someone what’s the name of a ride at Alton Towers they would almost certainly say Nemesis. Nemesis is too Alton Towers what Queen Elizabeth was too London. For a comparison Queen Elizabeth had a televised Funeral so the world could pay their respects. You or I wouldn’t have a televised funeral. This is because we aren’t as iconic as Queen Elizabeth was. Think of a closing event like a funeral where people can pay their respects. Although loved by fans Duel or Enterprise were not iconic like Nemesis.

@Matt N I suspect the Mad Professors Lab/Zombie scene is being ripped out. This scene was made purely for Duel.

I wonder if Nemesis will receive new trains during its year long refurbishment?

@Mark9 your not very hopeful for the Duel refurbishment then? I hope the ride is reversed back to The Haunted House,or rethemed to Emily Alton and Snowy’s Dolls House. A eerie Dolls House would make an epic ride. I hope the queline with the armchairs and Rocking Horse and Garden Scene both remain. I would like to see Emily Alton and Snowy in animatronic form around the ride. My only concern with an Emily Alton retheme would be the redesign to the exterior of The Haunted House. The building is as I would mentally picture a Haunted House. It’s old,slightly run down in appearance and atmospheric. I would even like the original carriages to stay with slight amendments to remove the guns and score boards. I think Alton Towers bodged The Haunted House by transforming it into Duel. A couple of scenes are like your in a The Walking Dead Dark Ride. If the “repossessed” means Emily and Snowy have evicted the Zombies I congratulate them. I hope Emily packed their bags and ousted them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Zombies find a new home at Thorpe Park. They’d definitely fit the theme and design.

I’ve heard that a couple of the original Vampire trains operate in America. Can someone tell me which Theme Park they operate at? Apparently an Arrow Coaster needed trains and a few of Chessington’s still worked. Due to this Chessington exported a couple to America. I heard thease were stored behind the scenes at Chessington for a few Seasons. The rest of the original fleet were unfortunately scrapped. Even though defective I think Chessington should have retained at least one. Vampire is there flagship ride,and accounts for a lot of the Theme Parks success.

What does everyone think the current Duel refurbishment will consist of? I think Emily Alton and Snowy have “repossessed” Duel. I wouldn’t be surprised if riders get to go into the Dolls House and come face to face with Emily and Snowy. I think the original Haunted House theming will remain and incorporated into Emily and Snowy’s Dollhouse. If this doesn’t happen I think the original Haunted House will reserve. Due to the Zombies taking over the Swamp scene I’ll think a totally new scene will be constructed. It’s a great achievement that Emily Alton has evicted the Zombies. The Zombies were in the wrong for claiming Emily’s House in the first place.