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Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon


Marc

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No way is 'hypnosis' going to be any part of this ride.  Just no.  However, I could see subliminal messages or the like featuring within the attraction.  Perhaps in things like queue line / pre-show videos, audio, etc.  Make people 'look out' for certain things, or have an unexplained 'uneasy feeling' about something.  That would certainly be a possibility in my books.  

 

Of course, the trouble with this is it has potential to really damage the re-rideability factor of the attraction.  

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Though I admire that they have managed to keep so much under wraps, it is not the mere fact that they have done so that I admire, merely the fact that leaks have not happened.

 

I actually find it ridiculous, why not just take the approach of telling us what we are going to get, so that we can make up our mind as to whether or not we wish to actually spend money to go ride this thing.

 

I feel like they really don't have any idea how to market what they have, so they are going down the "it's a secret" approach.

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No, keeping things secret while it's a work in progress is fundamental to setting up a good show. It's about surprise - I don't mean like 'shock' surprise but just the fact you are going into something you have no pre judgement about.

Unfortunately secrecy is mostly used these days by PR teams who use it to build up hype by drip feeding rumours and clues, even if it ends up giving a wrong impression. It can get long in the tooth.

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It doesn't need saying any more than it has been that anything even approaching hypnotism is just a no. But what wouldn't surprise me would be some trick or 'showmanship' to give the illusion of an alteration of the mind or senses which could be falsely attributed to a form of hypnotism or mind control. 

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Derren Brown is a self confessed fraud, a showman, he believes in hypnosis about as much as I believe that god exists.

 

Incorrect. He has devoted his life to manipulation, hypnosis and suggestion. When he did the "medium" experiment, that was when he said he was a fraud; he doesn't believe (rightly IMO) in talking to the dead, and was showing how showmanship and suggestion (and cold reading) can make it look like you can.

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No he doesn't 'believe' in hypnosis, it is an act, but that grey area of whether hypnosis does or doesn't work is fundamental to his shows. The blurred lines between what is impossible and what appears to be real, and the way in which he does it distances himself from just being a 'magician'. All this psychological talk though is just his hype to get you believing in the show, but as he often explains outside of his shows it is all just an act. It is purely entertainment.

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I'm amazed that no-one has even mentioned that performing hypnosis is illegal without a licence to do so... because of the implications involved... So I think that can be ruled out completely...

 

The power of suggestion goes way beyond hypnosis. Look at the attraction in either US or Canada that just a dark empty room that makes you think all sorts of crazy stuff is going on in the dark then when the light unexpectedly comes on it scares the mush out of you.. That's all power of suggestion!

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He's probably confusing licensing with any particular license the venue holds, some local authorities will write into their licensing that hypnotism is excluded, say a pub or somewhere, or perhaps there is an industry body that 'licenses' professionals, I.e. accreditation, there's very little in the way of regulation the 'industry' is self policing and operates a code of conduct all performers agree to abide by, about the only thing that is set in law is that you must not do hypnosis on anybody under 18.

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In my local council all you need to do is fill out a form and pay a fee in order to be a licensed Tattoo Artist.

 

This is a lot more risky than hypnosis.

 

But yes it won't happen on this ride, and no Derren himself does not believe it works at all, he knows it's all bulls*#t.

 

All hypnotists know it is, this is why subjects for his "Experiments" are carefully selected, you can only be "hypnotized" if you believe in it yourself, it is all in the power suggestion, in the way that he predicted say, what toy was going to be selected in Hamleys, he started them on the upper floor, and had things like giant giraffe patterns placed on the wall, and the word in places, he will also speak in such a way and at such a speed that he would have likely slipped in the words, go and get a stuffed giraffe.

 

but once again, no this ride will not employ hypnosis. At all.

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End of the day, Derren is a superb showman. His live shows are brilliant. He doesn't pretend to be something he isn't, the fact he says that it's all about persuasion, techniques like that shows this. We're getting a dark ride experience, for that you need a good story or something engaging. He is an excellent showman that can probably make a hugely entertaining, clever experience. He won't try and "hypnotise" you because that's not what he does. He'll just play with our mind, make us think about things differently. I can see it being a great show type of ride with him and other people who work on his shows being involved. No idea what the ride itself will be like, but the showy story element will no doubt be good.

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I whole heartedly agree the man knows how to put on a T.V Show and a live Stage show incredibally well.

 

Ask yourselves this though, does that guarantee us to be getting a good ride here?

 

There is a huge difference in the two and designing a ride is, in my opinion, so much more complicated than a T.V Show.

 

This Experience is 13 minutes long, which amazes me in the first place, but that must include pre show and possibly boarding as well.

 

13 Minutes is a short period of time in which to blow us away, I know it sounds like a lot, but Derren loves to build up to a large pay off, create the atmosphere, set the scene, This has to be a ride we want to experience again and again.

 

I really am going into this thing expecting the worst, but actively hoping for the best, so that I am not let down.

 

I am not doing this because I have no faith in Derren, I have moderate faith in him because he is, as others have also pointed out, an excellent showman.

 

I have no faith in Merlin, and the fact that they seem to like to cut corners massively in theming their U.K parks, it is sad but true.

 

Every corner they can cut, they will, it almost feels like that they know they own the Theme Park Industry here, and we can get what we are given and lump it.

 

The only way Merlin will up their game here in the U.K is if a large competitor enters the game, which is why I have my fingers crossed that the So called "Paramount Park" will actually materialise and is not just a large land scam.

 

Sorry to be a naysayer, but you have to be realistic, if we want to go to a Theme Park here in the U.K , especially here in the south, it is likely going to be Thorpe, Chessington or LEGOLAND, because that is all we really have here.

 

If it had been Doctor who I would have been just as worried, because no matter how good the concept looks, no matter what the person in charge of design does, they have to trust Merlin to build it, and build it right, and right now they simply don't have to, they have no competition except with themselves.

 

in the north there is a little more competition but they don't have the financial clout that Merlin do, so advertising is not as prominent.

 

This ride will get HEAVY promotion all over the Country.

 

It doesn't have to be good, because they have the clout of Derren Brown to promote this thing, which already taps into a large fanbase and then we have the Enthusiast community, and we are all pretty stoked at the notion of a dark ride finally being built.

 

This Ride has already guaranteed itself to be a success, which is great, but I hope the ride is great.

 

If people at Merlin actually read these boards I would say this to them, Thank you for finally giving us something that is not a mediocre coaster, but please do the ride, the story and the man who has designed it justice, and treat it and us with the utmost respect, we spend a lot of money to visit your parks, and the experiences should reflect that.

 

I am so sorry to have gone off into a rant, but to me, a dark ride is something so much more special and entertaining than a coaster will ever be, a great ride is well themed, exciting, thrilling, well paced with a great story.

 

I am looking forward to hopefully experiencing something amazing in this new ride, a completely original concept which will challenge the senses.

 

oh and Happy Christmas everyone.

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Everything you said.

 

I get the scepticism, I really do. I don't understand why you have consistently told us how bad you think this things going to be. In my view, Merlin have completely destroyed the UK theme park industry but it's not something I go on and on about.

 

We live in a world of increasingly cheaper travel, where DLP, Europa Park, PortAventura are less then five hours away at the most. If Derren Brown's ride is rubbish, well I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. And neither should you. Ultimately, the general public will decide whether Thorpe deserves success, not rollercoaster enthusiasts and if they enjoy it, then that's the most important thing.

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Remember that theatre and theme park dark rides are pretty much the same thing.  It's where John Wardley came from and it's where Derren Brown comes from.  Merlin have given us great theatrical experiences with Shrek, The Dungeons, SubSpecies and other such things.  Yes - they're all pretty much based in dark worlds - but so is this new attraction.  

 

It's good they're not building a coaster (or a moved water ride from Florida... or a 4d Cinema based on an iPhone game) so let's be excited... ride it and then review it.  

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I really couldn't care less what the ride is (excluding a laser shooter or a Charlie boat ride type thing) I just want it to be entertaining, thrilling and for whatever the theme maybe make it interesting and with a good backstory to it.

I'm excited for this ride and I can't wait until the opening day. I have no idea what to expect so I'm going into the unknown when I first ride this.

Let's just hope Merlin do this right

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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If there is an element of "hypnotism" for a story telling point of view, I'm willing to bet we'll see something like the marmaliser scene from The Sanctuary. It was a very poignant scene and conveyed what they were trying to get at very well, and could be expanded upon quite a bit to make a great pre show. They could do a lot more with a permanent installation too!

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Looks like the dolls on the underground has done wonders in promoting this ride. Thorpe's advertising team are very clever. George Takei from star trek(is that the right one ?...) just posted this link on his facebook page and it's got a thousand likes! http://distractify.com/trending/2015/12/13/beth-creepy-victorian-dolls?ts_pid=410&utm_content=inf_10_53_2&tse_id=INF_957945a7bdfc446a99b5a6a18cbf4bca

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