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Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon


Marc

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^That was for a different competition run on Facebook.

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I can see why people ate frustrated by the revealing of the clues, especially since they are getting revealed so blatantly. But at the end of the day, this is a free to enter competition that is just there to create a buzz about a new attraction; everything to gain, nothing to lose.

Also, I think people should keep in mind how the other 'ride it first' competitions ran. Stealth was simply a sign up to enter, Saw involved you playing a game (which you couldn't actually lose; it was just a case of cutting your leg off with loads of CGI blood) and Swarm was a sign up to enter. The very fact that they've created a series of clues is a nice, fun, touch.

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Bit of a shame really, they've been doing pretty well at promoting this - the puzzles have kept us hooked and guessing, giving us a slight insight of the ride; the doll video was creepy as hell and got attention all over the globe; they've secured a pretty famous figure to work on the ride - the only other people who may be good for this are Rob Zombie, Guillermo del Toro and at a push Marilyn Manson, but they would be massively distanced from the family friendly market the park is trying to target. 

 

Remember Storm Surge's marketing? I can't think of any other ride that has promoted so badly that the only recognition it deserves is a face-palm. That ghost thing was possibly the worst PR stunt Merlin has ever pulled. 

The Swarm's marketing and promotion was pretty terrible too, amputating riders arms with the scenery? That would probably destroy the company if they dared do anything like that. This is just as unbelievable and idiotic as Storm Surge's drivel. On the other hand, I absolutely loved the song You Me At Six put out, still put it on every now and then. A bit of a guilty pleasure if I have to be brutally honest (saw them support Thirty Seconds to Mars in 2013 and was gutted when they didn't play it). 

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It's that argument between secretive marketing versus showy marketing, and I'm not sure being secretive is the best idea for a dark ride, which are already difficult to market to the UK market...

 

Mean look at Universal, they shout what their new rides are before they've even started building them sometimes... We already know more about Symbolica than this as another example...

 

The secrecy is a bit over the top from Merlin sometimes, but at least if it's a coaster you have something to watch get built... Dark rides are dull construction topics unless you get to see the insides, we haven't here...

 

The doll video might have got people talking, but what about? There was no real link to the ride because we knew nothing about it at the time... It was Merlin trying to do a viral video style but to me, missing that clear link to both the park and the ride itself...

 

As for the clues, let's be honest, it's only goons who are involved in finding them...

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Interesting that 3D mentions Storm Surge's marketing, given that that grabbed attention all over the world and was loosely based on an actual story / legend to do with the park. Despite its silliness, it did do the job rather well. Not to dissimilar to the doll campaign in my eyes.

The secrecy vs SHOUT IT OUT strategy is an interesting debate. I can see why they've kept quiet, because if they did shout it what it was and how good it should be too soon, people will hold of their visit till it opens. So it would have potentially made the 2015 season pretty poor(er?) attendance wise. The likes of Universal and Efteling struggle less with this problem, since they're attendances (and overall quality) are so good they can cope with a slight dip one year better.

That doesn't explain why they wouldn't announce all the details in closed season. But I guess without knowing the details of the attraction yet anyway, it's hard to know whether they've been right or wrong to conceal all the details.

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I'd always think that goons are the absolute WORST people parks should use as 'first riders'...

 

Look at Thirteen as a good example, the ECC guys on it were so dull, and the enthusiast response was ridiculously negative... Imagine if this is a disappointment, or the person has ridden things like Mystic Manor? The response won't fit the "OMG SO AMAZING!" response all parks want...

 

Also some enthusiasts are just awful human beings... I remember someone kicking off at Thorpe because they didn't get to ride the first train of the season on MRAWS... I doubt that's a completely unique incident either, as proven by people moaning about this competition...

 

Let's be honest, no one wants me riding this first and calling it mediocre or a waste of money now do we?

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I'd always think that goons are the absolute WORST people parks should use as 'first riders'...

Look at Thirteen as a good example, the ECC guys on it were so dull, and the enthusiast response was ridiculously negative... Imagine if this is a disappointment, or the person has ridden things like Mystic Manor? The response won't fit the "OMG SO AMAZING!" response all parks want...

Also some enthusiasts are just awful human beings... I remember someone kicking off at Thorpe because they didn't get to ride the first train of the season on MRAWS... I doubt that's a completely unique incident either, as proven by people moaning about this competition...

Let's be honest, no one wants me riding this first and calling it mediocre or a waste of money now do we?

MRAWS?

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Sorry if this has already been posted, but for some annoying reason my phone occasionally doesn't show me any recent posts...Thorpe have just posted this!46035384a8e842532e0bae37284084cc.jpg

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I spy with my little eye, another cattlepen.

Still, outside looks good. Other than that, not much.

*waits impatiently for opening day reveal*

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Says video isn't working ^^^^

I deleted the post cos the video didn't work 4 some reason.

You mean the cattlepen that was on the plans so shouldn't be a surprise how big it is?

I knew the cattlepen was going to be big but it's a lot bigger than I anticipated it to be. It covers most of the front of the building from what I can see

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Sorry if this has already been posted, but for some annoying reason my phone occasionally doesn't show me any recent posts...Thorpe have just posted this!46035384a8e842532e0bae37284084cc.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

There was also a video showing pretty much the same thing on their snapchat story this morning :) Sounded like there was still lots of construction going on!

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