Ghost Train - NEW for 2023

[tactic]

It doesn’t feel like that much has really been done though. The ride system is the same, the pre show uses the same technology and the end scene is pretty much identical. The only thing that would be expensive is maybe the 1st station where they had to get rid of the mirrors and change that. Now I’ve been able to think more about my ride on it, to me it feels like a cheaper version of DBGT as there is no VR to make the ride feel more novel.

[Matt N]

According to Theme Park Insanity, Thorpe Park have stated in their pass holder group that they are taking on board feedback regarding Ghost Train:

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02A84hB12ci1nW1vtTL1h24okGHmwk1Xe9fNn2iV1LTKmjgyiHmgwSBZb8KxUNpjN8l&id=100063806040092

Some of the key things they have said include:

• They are currently working to optimise the experience, and they are still fine tuning the effects and such.
• They are aware that Ghost Train is no longer primarily a ride and will try to stop referring to it as such.
• The implementation of timed tickets on Ghost Train is being considered to improve guest experience and throughput efficiency.

[Ryan]

New Ghost Train is much better. It’s a good fun attraction.

[tactic]

I'm in the opinnion that it's not loads better than DBGT. Maybe I didn't have the best ride on it, but I just found the whole experience so predictable and not very scary as everything coming could be seen from a mile off.

 

I do agree that it's fun, but I was expecting a new scary attraction, rather than a tame story experience. Maybe my hopes were just too high considering they had to keep the existing ride system.

[coasterverse]

Just now, tactic said:

I'm in the opinnion that it's not loads better than DBGT. Maybe I didn't have the best ride on it, but I just found the whole experience so predictable and not very scary as everything coming could be seen from a mile off.

 

I do agree that it's fun, but I was expecting a new scary attraction, rather than a tame story experience. Maybe my hopes were just too high considering they had to keep the existing ride system.

 

I agree that it is massively predictable, but I don’t think there’s any denying that it’s significantly better than DBGT. There were very few situations in DBGT where I genuinely got jumpscared - the same for Ghost Train - but the experience as a whole on a surface level is 1000x better.

 

The main thing is that Ghost Train has a coherent story - something that, no matter how hard they tried, ever occurred on Derren. That alone makes it massively better than DBGT imo!

[tactic]

I couldn't follow the story that well on Ghost Train to be honest.

 

Spoiler

I think what happened is the train conductor at the start introduced you to the idea of the believers at chapel station. The train then randomly stops at chapel station, you get out, the guy tells you about the belivers. Then he turns into a believer, you get back onto the train, then a ghost randomly comes on the train; uv paint, funny joke as if nothing happened, then the ride is practially over. I don't count the fake shop scene as it is so predictable there's no point it being there in my opinnion.

 

I might not have fully understood the story as there was a group on the same train as me who wouldn't stop shouting and making jokes so the actors kept laughing and not finishing their lines. 

 

I didn't really understand the story of DBGT either, so I guess the storytelling on Ghost Train was a bit better as I at least understood something that was going on.

 

I could just be being too critical since I've had a couple of good runs throught the London dungeons in the past year and was expecting something very similar here.

[ML27]

I’ve seen a few reviews now, it basically pitty. The actors are doing a good job at what they’ve got (which they are) but the experience isn’t there. That’s the general consensus.

 

I’d take Sub Terra over it, having the ride portion makes you feel thrilled. Ghost train gets you scared at most, that’s all. The ride system in ghost train conveys as much story as the “lifts” in subterra.

 

They just need a good dark ride at Thorpe, not like people will be kinder on Ghost train by having a good dark ride. People don’t really want a dungeons styled attraction in the park (see Alton)

[coasterverse]

Agreed - I’d love for the next variation of Ghost Train (whenever that is) to be a trackless Wicked Witches Haunt style attraction. If Towers managed to turn Duel into the best dark ride in the country with a decades old ride system, imagine what Thorpe could do with that space if they ripped out the motion platform and installed a trackless dark ride in there.

 

The space is huge - it could be one of the longest and most unique dark ride experiences in Europe if done properly.

 

I must finalise though by saying that I really do like this iteration of Ghost Train. Sure, it’s still not the best attraction by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it’s got potential. Hopefully they take lots of advice into consideration over closed season and get it right. The fundamentals are mostly in place, they just need tidying up in places. Screens inside of the train would be the best place to start imo as the black windows just don’t make sense. The train may as well just remain stationary or they may as well get rid of the whole ‘train’ thing because at the moment it just doesn’t add anything to the experience - it’s just a vehicle to transfer you from scene to scene.

[ML27]

Redid the attraction today, a few more thoughts.

 

The windows could light up using a LED strip at the bottom of the window frame to simulate the movement of the train and going past the lights in a tunnel, Similar to Sub Terras lifts. 
 

The Crypt is pretty empty, it’s the size of a dungeons set. However uses about 25% of it!

[coasterverse]

1 minute ago, ML27 said:

Redid the attraction today, a few more thoughts.

 

The windows could light up using a LED strip at the bottom of the window frame to simulate the movement of the train and going past the lights in a tunnel, Similar to Sub Terras lifts. 
 

The Crypt is pretty empty, it’s the size of a dungeons set. However uses about 25% of it!

 

Definitely, the LEDs is a good idea and, let’s face it, certainly couldn’t be any worse than what’s in place at the minute… nothing 😂

 

Defo agree about the crypt too, it needs something more. Not sure what, mind you, but it is a huge room that you spend most of the time staring into the corner of!

[Matt N]

Apparently Ghost Train is closing for improvements from Tuesday to Friday next week, according to Thorpe Park on their Facebook group.

[coasterverse]

3 minutes ago, Matt N said:

Apparently Ghost Train is closing for improvements from Tuesday to Friday next week, according to Thorpe Park on their Facebook group.

 

Doesn't sound like massive improvements then if it's less than a week, but very good to know they're actively working on making the experience better. What's everybody's guesses on what 'improvements' these are going to be?

[ML27]

I’d say it’s about effect reliability and fine tuning the experience such as acting techniques.

Such as the way actors get people to come in the crypt scene. I thought it was weird the actor was angry before we got off. However when In the crypt he was nice and calm telling people to come in

 

Also that shop sequence better be changed with the actor in some sort of costume. 
 

I’d love to see the screens used again in the carriage and my suggestion about the light effect around the windows used or something similar. 
 

if planned correctly, a lot can be done in 4 days 

[ML27]

 

Sorry to double post, just seen this 

[tactic]

That's a shame, screens would have made the experience a lot better. Hopefully these improvements bring good changes.

[coasterverse]

31 minutes ago, ML27 said:

 

Sorry to double post, just seen this 

 

Surely they could just install new frames inside the train, no? 

 

 

Like, couldn't they just put screens in where they are slightly embedded and just build it out from there so they fit flush?

 

It really is disappointing (and frustrating that, yet again, it's another limitation of the god awful ride system) that screens aren't an option - this really is the biggest buzzkill for me. There really needs to be some alternative sensation of movement because just having black windows doesn't work. The thing that makes this ride system work so well is having the combination of visuals AND the motion platform perfectly synchronised which gives the illusion of movement - this is something that Derren Brown's Ghost Train actually did very well.

 

Now I find it's very obvious when the train is actually moving vs being on the motion platform, because there's nothing anywhere in the train to indicate that you're actually supposed to be moving.

 

Given that screens are clearly totally ruled out, the only alternative I can think of would be @ML27's suggestion of the LED's - which is unfortunately something that I can't imagine the park have considered. I can see them totally ignoring this altogether to be honest and just trying to make up for it in different places in the attraction so the general consensus after coming off isn't "hmmm it was alright, I wish there was more to the train section though" and is more like "WOW! The scene in the crypt was insane!", so one thing kind of drowns out the other in the grand scheme of things. 

[coasterverse]

Sorry for the double post, but just had another thought... even having curtains over the windows and perhaps having flashing LED's behind them to shine out of the curtains might give more of an illusion of movement. At least the curtains would also sway with the movement of the motion platform and therefore give more of an illusion of actual movement combined with the LEDs.

[Cornflakes]

So I’ve just done Ghost Train (Sitting in Last Call as I write this) and have some thoughts.

 

I liked it! As a story led attraction this works far better than DBGT ever did, the experience here is relatively cohesive.

 

Actor led attractions can be difficult, as you really have to hope that the actors are giving it their all at any given time, which can’t always be guaranteed for a number of reasons. My actors today were great, but is the experience going to be consistent for everyone that rides it? Parts of the experience can be a little bit goofy, and if you’re not on board with that I can see why you might come out of this thinking it was a poor experience.

 

Some scenes have relatively scant audio, so parts that are meant to be creepy or scary may not land for some people, I think more carefully directed audio would really improve certain sequences, as without it you can sometimes just have actors awkwardly writhing with nothing giving it any impact. 
 

Nun on the train - good scare in theory and certainly got a few people, but the costume looked a little.. cheap? Some more work could be done on this, I think a better costume would go a long way, at the moment it’s like a man running at you in his Halloween costume.

 

See it, say it, sorted got the biggest reaction from my group. It’s a great joke.

 

Exit shop is another scene that doesn’t have the impact it could, I think some work on the audio could really lift this.

 

I think this is a good attraction with great potential and a little work could go a long. I thought the same things about DBGT, but that would’ve taken a significant investment in order to release that potential, this is so close.

[ML27]

Curtains with lights would be perfect.

Anything which swings….

 

I’ve suggested the lights around the windows on the Facebook post. I know they won’t listen to a random person. However you never know.

 

I’m not sure how possible it would be as it’s not like adding a light strip to your room, it’s setting it up with a ride system too and getting it to work. 
 

On the topic of lighting, I think the lighting when you board is perfect as it sets the mood and the colour of them really sets it as a creepy train carriage. It also hides the lack of detail.

[coasterverse]

48 minutes ago, Cornflakes said:

Nun on the train - good scare in theory and certainly got a few people, but the costume looked a little.. cheap? Some more work could be done on this, I think a better costume would go a long way, at the moment it’s like a man running at you in his Halloween costume.

 

100000% agree on this one - I get that those costumes were probably sourced very last minute right at the end of the project and therefore I very much doubt the park had much budget leftover. From what I've seen online, this is also something that a lot of people are saying - so hopefully is on the list of improvements for next week.

 

32 minutes ago, ML27 said:

On the topic of lighting, I think the lighting when you board is perfect as it sets the mood and the colour of them really sets it as a creepy train carriage. It also hides the lack of detail.

 

Agree massively on this too - the dark lighting combined with the black windows make it seem as though you're boarding a train at night as well, which I think really works. I just really dislike the pure black windows 100% of the time because as I mentioned above, it is so obvious when you're actually moving vs when you're on the motion platform. Something... ANYTHING... needs to be added to the train to give a more realistic sensation of movement.

[ML27]

Had my first experience of an evac on Ghost Train yesterday. It was interesting!

 

The actors were doing their sequence, and then suddenly the onboard audio started to play a news report. At this point I knew something was up.

 

(I’m not a big fan of the use of believer by imagine dragons, I’ll come back to this later)

 

The actors stood by the doors basically motionless while these tracks were playing. There was a bit in the breakdown audio were it sounded like they were being possessed. This is when they’d act like they were.

 

The track played two more times, people were starting to chat because they thought they heard it already. In which they did, people were panicking because of claustrophobia. In which an person fainted. There was no announcement that we had broken down, other than the actors not saying anything and the music going off. We were in there so long it was obvious but the lack of communication was poor. 
 

The train broke down in the middle of the two stations. They eventually opened the doors and allowed us off. It was quite cool seeing the OP booth for the ride. We got fast tracks for one of the coasters, not ghost train. Which was really disappointing for my group which hadn’t ridden it before. We had 25% of the experience, got stuck and then if we wanted to do it again. We had to join that painful queue.

 

I’d always thought that it could be quite awkward for the actors to cope if the train broke down and I understand that the performance had to end. 
 

Improvements I would make:

- Actors need to communicate quickly with the ride hosts. Tell us immediately when it’s known that the ride has paused that there’s a stop in the track and let us chat. 

- Operations need to get people off sooner, evac times should not be as long as we experienced

 

- Take some pressure off the actors by using the overhead screens. I’m sure if it was a temporary delay and there was the fake TV channel on the screen. It would prevent people from getting distressed. If you use it throughout the whole experience then people won’t know that the ride has stopped. 
 

I was saying earlier how I hated the use of believer by imagine dragons. I hate it because it ruins the atmosphere, you have this scary experience then they play that song. It’s the same with the hold area before you board, the TV channel is just too happy and makes you feel at ease.

 

DBGT made you nervous throughout the whole experience. This attraction feels quite light hearted in comparison. When people say it’s not scary, I can see why.

[coasterverse]

I can see what you mean about the upbeat bits, but I personally love that element of the new attraction. For me, it's evidently been used to lull you into a false sense of security which I feel works really well. Granted, the weather channel bits are rather odd as I can't imagine them ever being used in a 70s/80s train station and doesn't actually add anything to the narrative I don't think (but then again, in my runthrough we were ushered straight onto the train so I didn't really have a chance to watch it - plus the version in the Ghost Train shop didn't have any audio so couldn't even watch it there).

 

I really like the upbeat music though, and I really think it works. It definitely breaks up the ride experience - you have the eerie preshow which sets the mood, then you immediately get taken out of that mood when in the batching second pre-show area, just to be thrown straight back into the eerie atmosphere again as soon as you board the train.

 

This then happens again at the very end of the ride with the upbeat music just as you get off the train for the last time, which yet again lulls you into a false sense of security for the shop finale. I think it's deliberately been done for that very effect and, granted, it definitely won't be to everybody's taste and I can totally understand why - I just love it.

[JoshC.]

I like the use of Imagine Dragon's Believer, in that it adds that little bit of humour. That smirk across your face when you hear it and put 2 and 2 together. However, you usually walk straight through this room; maybe held for a few moments at most. But it's not something you'd be hearing a lot of in any case. Being held in that room and hearing it a lot probably does detract from the vibe a bit.

 

Ghost Train does well at blending the scary bits and the humour, a bit like with the Dungeons, but it has to be careful that to hit the mark each time. It's easy to go too far on the humour, or for it to just not work if the timings are off.

[ML27]

It was playing a lot on the carriage too during the breakdown. Might have slightly altered my opinion on it.

 

On a normal run-through I just felt like most people and myself came off the train relaxed and even the shop ending. Slightly amused by the experience which isn’t what a ghost train is in all honesty 

[tactic]

I’m going to be honest, I have absolutely no recollection of them playing believer by imagine dragons at all when I went on it…

 

When in the ride experience was it played?