July 19, 20169 yr comment_238657 Indeed, there were comments saying they really enjoyed it - but there were more posting about broken headsets/audio, the ride having downtime etc.
July 19, 20169 yr Author comment_238659 12 hours ago, pluk said: As for DBGT, does anyone have any idea how well the ride is actually being received in the properly monitored feedback the park gather? No idea on official stats but the trains are usually full of screaming guests which i guess is a good sign!
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238660 Does anyone know if Ghost Train has a transfer track on the system? So they could take a train off if they wanted/needed to?
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238662 To be fair, you see people screaming on the commute to London, so it doesn't mean it's good...
July 19, 20169 yr Author comment_238663 46 minutes ago, Benin said: To be fair, you see people screaming on the commute to London, so it doesn't mean it's good... No idea where in London you commute but it's not something I've seen - but on a ride designed to scare you I'd say screams are a good indication it's working?
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238666 Do you get the true tube experience? Sweltering in a sweat box and have staff members boasting about aircon? http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/19/tfl-annoyed-a-lot-of-people-with-this-air-con-tweet-6015333/#ixzz4ErHBvPTR
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238674 2 hours ago, KingNemesis said: Do you get the true tube experience? Sweltering in a sweat box and have staff members boasting about aircon? http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/19/tfl-annoyed-a-lot-of-people-with-this-air-con-tweet-6015333/#ixzz4ErHBvPTR To be fair to TfL, they don't advertise having air-con, and are actually adding it in the next few years on some lines (sorry for getting so off-topic!)
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238675 17 hours ago, Cornflakes said: The rides heavy use of VR is something thats really interesting to me, I get the impression that this ride may never truly be finished, it feels like it'll be worked on and updated for years to come, while it may not be easy, it's not inconceivable to think that in the near future we may have far more polished and graphically impressive VR sequences, it's also possible that we could even have an entirely new story - the fact this ride relies on VR opens up a world of possibilities, it's super interesting to me. I really hope this turns out to be the case, even if the story was perfect in it's current state, it would get boring after a few goes. If the story changes then it would keep people coming back continuously! I imagine it'd be a middling investment in order to redo the VR, change the sequence of the train movement and maybe replace the live action section every few years.
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238684 For anyones thats interested... ill be live blogging from the ghost train grand opening this Thursday! http://live.themeparkguide.biz
July 19, 20169 yr comment_238685 8 hours ago, Marc said: No idea where in London you commute but it's not something I've seen - but on a ride designed to scare you I'd say screams are a good indication it's working? Clearly SOMEONE is lucky enough not to have to endure Southern Rail!
July 20, 20169 yr comment_238690 But would it be really that worthwhile to the park? People aren't going to come back in the future for a new VR experience on the same ride... Plus if you really want to change the story, unless you retheme the walkthrough portion, it will always go underground...
July 20, 20169 yr comment_238698 Wow! That was my first reaction after getting off Derren Brown's Ghost Train. So, it suffices to say I did enjoy it and, for me, it was worth the wait. However, I think this might be a bit of a Marmite attraction, and given some of the reviews on here, that does seem to be the case. Anyway, a review of sorts... Why I enjoyed DBGT: -Fab pre show featuring Derren was fab. -A good, long, continuous story. I enjoy rides that have a story, and give you a reason for why you're there and what you're doing. Ghost Train does this well, with an interesting story which just works for me. It lent itself for some scares, some laughs and a sense of believability. -Mostly great VR quality. I'm still dubious as to how big a thing virtual reality should be in theme parks, but Ghost Train utilises VR well. It's of a high quality, fits within the story - albeit loosely - and the fact it mixes in with the surroundings so well gives a sense of realism to it. And I can only see it improving over time as technology improves. -Actually questioning what I saw. One big push for Ghost Train has been about questioning your perception, and not being able to tell what is real and what is not. After riding and talking to other people, I genuinely was left questioning what I saw. Though this was on some of the smaller details from the VR film, it was still a great touch that left me going "No, it was definitely this I saw...at least, I think it was?". A great thing to keep you thinking after the ride, and adds a real sense of re-rideability to it all! -Hanging Victorian train in the warehouse is awesome in real life. And, in general, the theming inside is fantastic; it's very easy to forget you're at a theme park and not in a train! -It works. This sounds a stupid thing to say, but here me out. My biggest concern with this was that the attraction might feel disjointed, that there was too much going on, and it just wouldn't flow and wouldn't really work. But when I went through, it all flowed and just worked for me, which is fab. Now, anyone reading this review might be thinking this is the best thing since sliced bread, or I've come down with a case of new-ride fever. So I do want to bring this review down to earth a bit, especially for anyone who is reading but has yet to ride. My review of course reflects my opinions, but as I said earlier, I feel this might be a bit of a Marmite ride and not to everyone's tastes, particularly in the enthusiast community. Here's why... -A lot of VR. It takes up about half of the experience, which is certainly more than I expected. And this could be a problem for some; in particular, those who enjoy 'real' theming and those who enjoy being able to share their experiences with others in real time. Like I say, it was more than I expected, but it wasn't too much for me, since it all felt necessary. But for others, it might be too long, or just not want they want from a theme park attraction. -Second VR film isn't as good as the first. Whilst I still enjoyed the second VR section, it is the weakest part of the attraction, and the graphics aren't quite as good as in the first section. Hopefully this is something that can be addressed over time though. -A jump in story between pre show and main show. The pre show does nothing to set up the story of the attraction; it is much more akin to the introduction of a Derren Brown show than a theme park ride. That's not to say there's nothing to explain the story before hand, but it's just very subtle. So when the story in the main show starts, some may be a little lost / confused as to why what is happening, is happening. It's something that you need to go along with, much like with Derren's shows. But given in a theme park environment people seem to lose all common sense / reasonable thought, it might be lost on some people, and leave them too confused to focus on the attraction. -The story and ride hardware. Simply put, I'm not sure everyone will like the story and / or ride system. There's nothing wrong with this, as everyone has different tastes and the like, but some people, especially enthusiasts, may just dislike the ride because of what it is and it just not being what they want. The final verdict: DBGT won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's a shame this is the case, as the first major dark ride in the UK for forever needed to be an instant classic for there to be more crop up in my opinion. Hopefully, though, enthusiasts can appreciate how good an attraction this is for Thorpe, that it filled a space in their line up, and used up dead space on park. Everyone around me seemed to scream and laugh through the attraction, and leave with a smile on their face, which is great. And most importantly for me, I enjoyed it and can't wait to try it again.
July 20, 20169 yr comment_238699 The vr caught me by surprise as I thought it was going to be the weak part of the attraction (after "air"). But the first vr section is up there with the preshow if you ask me. The only thing that lets down the train is the fire when u fall into the hole.
July 20, 20169 yr comment_238705 I'm really confused where this confusion of the story has came from. After my 3 rides I can honestly say I could easily understand the story, Sub-Core are drilling into the ground to find a new and cheaper energy source, what they aren't telling you is that the gas they are finding is harmful to humans. Not only this but their digging has released something from underground, the monsters. I personally got all this information just from the first VR section, I don't know if my 3 (different) scenarios may have explained it better, but I personally can't see where the confusion lies...
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238707 The confusion could come earlier - people will no doubt not get the link between entering a Victorian warehouse with a hanging Victorian train, to the modern day story you explain. There are subtle things to hint to what will happen, but they're perhaps too subtle for some.
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238709 It was probably cheaper to film it as a modern day adventure rather than set up the whole thing as Victorian... Which is a shame, Victorian era could produce a great immersive theme... It's just an over the top juxtaposition to confuse people at the end of the day...
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238711 Wait, people actually enjoyed that pre-show? I thought it was dreadful. Trying to be edgy and disconcerting, while really being totally laughable thanks to how utterly terrible the Pepper's Ghost was. Its a real shame the Ghost Train, overall I enjoyed it, but its very hard to call it a dark ride, for its really just an over sized, overly complex simulator, with rather weak showmanship if you ask me. It tries to be way too much at once, and is so unconvincing for multiple reasons... The VR CGI is laughable, the demons genuinely look like the peeps out of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, and the signage and general theme of "infections" is so horribly Merliny that its sort of sad. Don't forget guys- ItS PHyCoLOgical. Don't get me wrong, I actually rather enjoyed it, it was a nice little laugh in the dark. But its nowhere near what they're pretending it to be. If they think that's "pushing the boundaries" or is on the same level as Disney or Universal, then they're utterly delusional.
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238712 I personally thought it was fantastic in terms of theming, certainly better than the interior of Kong and the entirety of Frozen... In terms of CGI yes, it could be better. But I felt if you ignored the fact the texture of the demons wasn't great (as the rest was rather good) then it wasn't awful at all Personally my favourite part of the ride was watching other people's reactions, especially after you exit the train for the first time!
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238719 Have you been on Kong or Frozen? If not you can't accurately judge them based on a POV. And the theming is okay inside Ghost Train, but you never have anytime to appreciate it due to having to whack on VR or being rushed around. And the train in that live action scene is so clearly just a pole with lights on.
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238726 6 hours ago, Owen said: I personally thought it was fantastic in terms of theming, certainly better than the interior of Kong and the entirety of Frozen...
July 21, 20169 yr comment_238730 Why is it when someone has an unpopular opinion they have to be wrong? I personally prefer the effort put into Ghost Train as opposed the other two attractions that seem to rely on one element and then lack in others, with Ghost Train I don't see this in terms of theming.
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