went on this on Saturday was amazing love the vr really made me fill like I was in the video blow me away I agree with most of the thing you guys are saying do fill the live Acton was rush and confusing and for me the second part was good more   

Has anyone experienced another ending yet? 

I think it is Derren - the older chap! I got a younger bloke both times with a supposed cockney accent. Does the 2nd ending still entail the woeful 2nd VR sequence, or is simply a case of the last 30 seconds or so being different? 

I've had two- only the very end is different. Instead of the Sub Core truck being thrown at you it's thrown at the ground- I can't remember what happens during the tilting bit.

In my three rides I've had two characters in the beginning- an older lady and a drunk man.

Hmmm the old man may have been drunk - but it was too quiet to tell! After he disappeared/got off an older lady appeared/lunged at me!

On 7/25/2016 at 3:18 PM, MattyMoo said:

 

That was the "fog" bit with random lights I assume? That bit loops when there is a hold up as I understand it!

 

It was indeed - It did it every time I rode it, however once it was for really long. Surely they are going to have to come up with something else for hold ups as most people on my trains thought there was something wrong, unless of course over time there are less hold ups. Staff were very quick at getting everyone on though so I'm not sure how boarding could be sped up.

 

Luckily all 3 times I rode I had a different character. I was expecting more changes though, they all said the story in pretty much the same way. Anyone know how many characters there are on the first journey? I know of at least 4

21 hours ago, MattyMoo said:

I had an old guy (who looked a little bit like Derren actually!) talking to me at the start, then an older woman appeared and jumped towards me in the next bit. 

I know who you mean. Reminds me of Tim Curry tbh. Maybe it's him?

Or Peter Clifford

Experienced this today - one should be in the right mood before sampling. It is good enough to keep people out of other queues, which is handy.

Just watched TowersStreet's video... I don't recall seeing the "Breaking News" rolling footage when on the train? If I did, that would have perhaps made it all make a bit more sense

My short review of DGBT:
Overall I had mixed feelings on the attraction.
I found the attraction did rely too much on VR for scares, and the end of the attraction didn't explain much..

We where attacked by aliens and thrown into a pit at the end of the attraction, then it just seems to abruptly end..
Also the section outside the train was poorly done IMO, the section could do with some more "monsters" and some more panic and intensity.
There wasn't much explaination to the attraction IMO,  And the ending didn't seem to end the story with anything that made any sense..

Though the theming, the illusion of the train moving, the decent VR, and the scares towards the end redeem it.
It didn't mindblow me or anything, but its well themed and unique, and It also fits Thorpe really well.
7/10

I think the monster puppet should be used in the attraction at the mid point to jump out on people just before getting back on the train 

Personally, I'd have found the idea of using the monster puppet in the live action sequence very cheap, and not make much sense with the story.  

 

The live action sequence is great in theory.  You escape the train and try to get away from the gas-infected humans who are trying to get you (/warn you of more danger but we don't know that yet).  So you try to go down the underground train tracks (though we are warned not too; "stay off the tracks") to safety, and come across the fracking piece of equipment and frantic workers.  And then out of nowhere, a train comes hurtling towards you, before you're saved by one of the demons (which caused the train to crash / go further underground).  

 

It's meant to be a case of not knowing what is and what is not safe.  We've been warned of the dangers of fracking and the stuff that is deep underground, but those who are warning us actually ended putting us in more danger, before we're saved by the so-called bad things.  But now in a haze of panic and confusion, the safest place seems to going back the way we came, hence why we're ushered back on the train.  But then, from there, everything goes wrong and it turns out the demons were bad after all..

 

So using the monster puppet just would have made for a much more generic "Oh look, there's a demon here, best run" moment, rather than a moment a genuine fear, panic and confusion.  It's a shame they didn't use it for filming the second VR segment though.

 

Admittedly, this idea seems to go over a few too many people's heads (in my experience).  Maybe things are a little too fast paced for people to take it in?  Maybe it's a bit too clever for its own good?  Maybe they just haven't found the sweet spot for getting it right every time?  Who knows.  But either way, it's a shame that the live action portion isn't getting mixed reception, as that can be a real highlight of the attraction in my opinion.

I do like the live action section but as Josh

mentioned not sure they've got the acting quite right here.

 

It is amusing watching from afar guests running out the way of the train coming towards them, genuinely scared for their lives!

I've wrote my full review of DBGT... located HERE 

Ghosty has been closed all day due to problems with the headsets/headphones

Note that it doesn't normally open till at least half 11 anyway. I'm sure they'll open it today at some point.

Having been sat in the pre show room I have figured out how the hologram works. The projector behind the curtain at the top and shines onto a thin cloth going diagonally from the top at the back to the bottom under the boxes. This is how derren is always looking at you

14 minutes ago, jonny9403 said:

Having been sat in the pre show room I have figured out how the hologram works. The projector behind the curtain at the top and shines onto a thin cloth going diagonally from the top at the back to the bottom under the boxes. This is how derren is always looking at you

 

Pepper's Ghost is one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to old-fashioned Haunted Houses and Ghost Trains (see Haunted Mansion). There was a reason Derren wanted it included in his ghost train...

Have you got a link MattyMoo?

6 hours ago, jonny9403 said:

Ghosty has been closed all day due to problems with the headsets/headphones

 

And this is why VR shouldn't be on this ride! And why VR just shouldn't be in the theme park industry.

If the VR doesn't work, the whole ride can't open. However if say the theming was physical, and one feature was broken, the ride could still operate.

I can see this becoming a major problem in the future of this ride operational life..

6 minutes ago, MilesK said:

 

And this is why VR shouldn't be on this ride! And why VR just shouldn't be in the theme park industry.

If the VR doesn't work, the whole ride can't open. However if say the theming was physical, and one feature was broken, the ride could still operate.

I can see this becoming a major problem in the future of this ride operational life..

 

With only a couple of exceptions I can't think of many rides which opened flawlessly without suffering down time.

 

If we compare to Merlins major investments (Swarm, Smiler, Thirteen and Saw) the only one which didn't suffer all sorts of down time is Swarm.

 

With that sort of thinking rides would never progress

 

And this is why VR shouldn't be on this ride! And why VR just shouldn't be in the theme park industry.

If the VR doesn't work, the whole ride can't open. However if say the theming was physical, and one feature was broken, the ride could still operate.

I can see this becoming a major problem in the future of this ride operational life..

Just replace the second vr section with live action

The issue is the HTC VIVE is not designed to be used in the way it's being used. Gaming at home, not being taken on and off every 6 minutes for every day 10am-6pm March to November. They are a delicate price of kit designed for high end gaming. It doesn't matter how much you try and modify them the bottom line is its not up for the job. It's going to cost so much to replace them so often and the actors and maintaining the trains. This ride can not be cheap to run at all which makes me think this isn't going to last long at all.

^ with the greatest of respect I'm sure this was considered by both Thorpe and HTC during the planning of the ride.

 

We don't even know the issue was the VR headset it's self - if it was VR related it could also be any number of things rather than just the physical headset.