Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon

[ThemeParkCrafter]

There is some footage for that video on the pre-show and the train 

[CharlieN]

It's not about the numbers in this case. It's about the fact that a succesful theme park requires cooperation from the guests. (If you write spoilers, when they asked not to, then you clearly aren't cooperating)

 

Take WDW for example. It's renowned for being a world class park with a great atmosphere. This atmosphere is due to great cooperation from guests (most of the time).

 

Now, if you compare this to Disneyland Shanghai, a park covered in litter and people urinating, you'd realise that cooperation from guests is key for a good theme park.

 

I know revealing spoilers is a small way of not cooperating, but it still shows that Thorpe Park's enthusiasts aren't 100% with them and don't want to help them.

 

I understand you don't have a great Merlin relationship - but don't try and make them fail.

 

[Dodge2002]

The general public probably don't care how the ride hardware works hence why 10+ years down the line people are still genuinely questioning "how they went upside down" on hex, rather then just googling it. 

 

Going all gestapo on it isn't helping their cause though. It's just causing extra curiosity, which otherwise probably didn't even exist. 

[Graeme]

5 minutes ago, CharlieN said:

It's not about the numbers in this case. It's about the fact that a succesful theme park requires cooperation from the guests. (If you write spoilers, when they asked not to, then you clearly aren't cooperating)

 

Take WDW for example. It's renowned for being a world class park with a great atmosphere. This atmosphere is due to gu

 

WDW is a park that it way beyond anything that Thorpe can ever dream of being. That atmosphere is created by many elements that is lacking at Thorpe.

 

The question is why should we co operate? 

5 minutes ago, CharlieN said:

 

[Charlesberg]

Rode it twice today (it wasn't my idea to ride it again), and I'll say this:

should've spent that money on a B&M...

[Marc]

7 minutes ago, Equoaster said:

Rode it twice today (it wasn't my idea to ride it again), and I'll say this:

should've spent that money on a B&M...

 

The GP's reaction towards this compared to early reaction towards the Swarm would maybe suggest otherwise

[Celia Mae]

I'm gonna throw in another curveball and say I really didn't enjoy this ride. I don't understand where all the space went, where all the money went (other than the headsets), or how it's supposedly groundbreaking  I get that it's a combination of things that haven't come together before, but none of them are particularly special

[L7123456]

1 hour ago, ThemeParkCrafter said:

HUGE SPOILER. Child recorded some of the ride before boading ttps://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=g7YXLhkRB6w

 

Ahh yes because signs everywhere stating you can't film on the Ghost Train isn't enough...

(Just a little hypocritical as I myself film on rides, but I have respect for the secrets that Derren wants to keep).

[Nick Hutson]

1 hour ago, Celia Mae said:

I'm gonna throw in another curveball and say I really didn't enjoy this ride. I don't understand where all the space went, where all the money went (other than the headsets), or how it's supposedly groundbreaking  I get that it's a combination of things that haven't come together before, but none of them are particularly special

 

An absolute groundbreaking (albeit invisible) ride system. Simworx have really pushed the boat out here (they're the true stars of the attraction) and the genius lies in the fact you have no idea how complicated it is. 

 

This will always be an attraction that divides opinions - and it's a shame the real complex stuff is hidden. 

[ThemeParkCrafter]

Nick. Do you know any info that the rest of us don't know?

[Charlesberg]

I did enjoy the ride slightly but it did not blow me away whatsoever.

I felt that the ride was too VR based, there needed to be some more physical experiences (which is what I was expecting as it did say 5 experiences built into one, VR counts as one experiences).

 

What exactly were the 5 experiences meant to be?

[Mysterio Ka]

Nick. Do you know any info that the rest of us don't know?

 

The problem is, if he did, which he might well do, he's not gonna be allowed to disclose that information. The problem with merlin projects, especially this one due to the secrecy involved is that people may well be able to hint they they have information, but can't directly tell you what it is. It causes a lot of controversy on the forums, and to be honest there's little the 2 sides can do about it other then respect each other and stay mature. 

 

Sometimes this is too hard for some.

[Celia Mae]

40 minutes ago, Nick Hutson said:

 

An absolute groundbreaking (albeit invisible) ride system. Simworx have really pushed the boat out here (they're the true stars of the attraction) and the genius lies in the fact you have no idea how complicated it is. 

 

From what I've heard the only groundbreaking part of it was that the vehicles are so large to have multiple of them in the same building, and that Simworx are such a small company to have done it.

 

Either way, the system may be massively complicated and I don't know about it, but then neither will the average punter visiting and in my opinion there is no point prioritising a complicated ride system over guest experience

[JoshC.]

32 minutes ago, Equoaster said:

What exactly were the 5 experiences meant to be?

 

The 5 things were grand illusion, 4D special effects, next generation tech (VR), live action and physical transit.

[Coaster]

The ride system may be impressive but considering the riders are wearing headsets and the complex part isn't seen anyway the effect is somewhat lost.

 

I'm glad Thorpe invested in a high budget dark ride and I have respect for the fact that they tried something new, but it just didn't have the "wow" factor that other dark rides have for me. I had hoped that the VR would be less prominent as I'm really not a fan of it, in fact I'd much rather have a ride system with physical theming/effects rather than the headsets.

 

A few other points I'd like to bring up:

- Where was the "minds wanted" theme that featured so prominently in the marketing?

- The dolls didn't feature at all (unless they are one of the 12 VR features?)

- The VR was completely different to that seen on the original trailer

- What did the brain in a jar (in the marketing) have to do with this?

[Mark9]

3 minutes ago, Coaster Jamie said:

The ride system may be impressive but considering the riders are wearing headsets and the complex part isn't seen anyway the effect is somewhat lost.

 

I'm glad Thorpe invested in a high budget dark ride and I have respect for the fact that they tried something new, but it just didn't have the "wow" factor that other dark rides have for me. I had hoped that the VR would be less prominent as I'm really not a fan of it, in fact I'd much rather have a ride system with physical theming/effects rather than the headsets.

 

What dark rides are you talking about out of interest?

 

 

[Coaster]

11 minutes ago, Mark9 said:

 

What dark rides are you talking about out of interest?

 

 

Valhalla has the wow factor for me, whilst Hex has the atmosphere, and I'd go as far to say that I prefer rides such as Duel, Hobs Pit and traditional ghost trains (obviously not the ones on the back of a lorry but the amusement park/old style ones).

 

I'm sure plenty of people will be amazed by DBGT, I'm not saying that it's a bad attraction but whilst I found it enjoyable it's just not really my cup of tea.

[holtjammy16]

Sorry to refer to the discussion a page+ ago but why does anyone give a **** if people share what happens on the ride? Yeah thorpe park asked people not to share but really what the hell is the problem? If someone wants to find out what happens on the ride without riding it then why does it matter in any way that they can find out?   It's like the strangest thing ever that anyone gets stroppy about it, if it doesn't affect you then don't let it affect you lol

[Ryan]

Just now, holtjammy16 said:

Sorry to refer to the discussion a page+ ago but why does anyone give a **** if people share what happens on the ride? Yeah thorpe park asked people not to share but really what the hell is the problem? If someone wants to find out what happens on the ride without riding it then why does it matter in any way that they can find out?   It's like the strangest thing ever that anyone gets stroppy about it

 

Thorpe have asked us to, and as the official fansite of Thorpe Park, I think we should stick to that.

[holtjammy16]

1 minute ago, Ryan said:

 

Thorpe have asked us to, and as the official fansite of Thorpe Park, I think we should stick to that.

 

Not having it on the official thorpe fansite wouldn't mean people can't find out about it elsewhere and they aren't making anyone sign NDA's anymore right? Would make more sense to read about it in a spoiler thread on the official site than anywhere else.. Doesn't make that much sense

[JoshC.]

7 minutes ago, holtjammy16 said:

 It's like the strangest thing ever that anyone gets stroppy about it, if it doesn't affect you then don't let it affect you lol

 

I don't think anyone's getting stroppy about it?  It's more just that this is a thing where keeping the secret is part of the fun and, dare I say, the overall experience.  By laying out every minute detail online, regardless of the location, spoils that fun for no real reason in my eyes.  

 

Before anyone else goes with the 'it helps for people who are unsure on riding' thing, I don't see the point in that.  If you're of that nervous a disposition you shouldn't be riding it.  And if the vague description has got you scared - then good, that's the point!

[GladiatorFanKyle]

4 hours ago, CharlieN said:

I thought Mr Sanbrooke would have known better.  

 

For the parks sake, try and keep it a secret. It's what they asked for and as Merlin have been having a rough time recently - I'm sure they'd appreciate us making an effort to keep the secret. They've spent 3 years designing and creating this attraction without giving anything away, yet 3 days into rehearsals everything has been given away. 

Thing is Sanbrooke works for Merlin so that's why I'm even more shocked that he made that video exposing everything 

[holtjammy16]

9 minutes ago, BaronC. said:

 

I don't think anyone's getting stroppy about it?  It's more just that this is a thing where keeping the secret is part of the fun and, dare I say, the overall experience.  By laying out every minute detail online, regardless of the location, spoils that fun for no real reason in my eyes.  

 

Before anyone else goes with the 'it helps for people who are unsure on riding' thing, I don't see the point in that.  If you're of that nervous a disposition you shouldn't be riding it.  And if the vague description has got you scared - then good, that's the point!

 

But who does it spoil the fun for? Someone willingly looking to find out what happens? People know the layouts of FN mazes etc by heart but that doesn't mean it spoils the fun.. I've watched certain horror movies a billion times but they're still fun to watch.. I now know what happens in this ride but I'm pretty certain I'd still find it fun, or else I wouldn't have actively looked in the spoiler thread.

[Mitchada04]

Wow. Was expecting so much from this. The preshow is good, different to those seen before in this country. 

 

The train looked quite good even though it was clearly fake. Transition straight into an underground train makes no sense. As does the whole victorian styling but the whole ride is then set in like modern London. 

 

It's rushed getting on the carriage so you hardly have time to admire this "illusion." You have to get the VR on fast or you'll miss beginning bits. This section was decent, video quality was good and the story started to unfold a bit. 

 

The ' live action' scene is just shouty and predictable. Have seen the effect used much better with a lower budget. 

 

Back on with VR. Yay. The problems arise. The quality of the video drops, it's not very scary as the effect wears off fast. Then there's a boring loop section that plays as the ride system preps your vehicle for the next section. I know they are aware of this issue and it's technical rehearsals but how this part made it to this point is laughable. 

 

Then it ends. Urm. Very unimpressed. I knew VR would be used but not THAT much. The 5 experiences are very loosely touched. It doesn't seem to flow very well. It feels like you hardly move. There's hardly any theatrics or grand illusion. The story is an odd choice. 

 

The ride technology may be great, stunning, spectacular. Doesn't feel that when you're on it though. Which is surely more important! Not knowing how it works 100% but it's either not that stunning or Simworx severely overcomplicated things. Disney and Uni are no doubt interested in the technology, which they'll get Dynamic to make better and make a ride that uses it to it's potential. 

 

As for spoilers. EVERYTHING gets spoilt these days. Movies, rides. Everything. Even DB's shows do get spoilt fully by some writers even though he asks them not to. Derren asks us to keep it a secret to not ruin the fun. That's fine. This is a spoiler thread, you're either here to discuss the ride or look for spoilers for some reason in which case you're just ruining it for yourself. Not a lot you can do. Don't get the difference bbetween discussing it now or when it's properly open. 

 

Also, I know it's in softs and will go in again when it's properly open with an open mind. But there isn't much they can do in my eyes.

 

The public seem to love it though. Guess that's all that matters. Oh well, more VR prominent attractions. Also feel like the vive was hardly utilised to it's potential. Shame as the potential is there, as it is with a lot of this. 

 

 

[Glitch]

It's all a mystery.