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Ghost Train - NEW for 2023


coasterverse

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Trying with every fibre of my being to be positive here but even if that's undercoat etc., I really can't see how it's going to look decent when finished.

 

Are they going for 1990s BR/Network South East style station colour scheme on the outside or something, and then "time travelling" somehow to the Victorian Train, then again to the tube train? That's the only thing I can think of for this look on the outside.

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VWIeuhS.png

 

The victorian theme is totally gone... an odd decision when the facade to the showbuilding is literally just that.

They can paint the queueline section whatever colours they like, but still doesn't change the fact that the actual building itself is quite clearly giving 'abandoned victorian train station' vibes.

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42 minutes ago, MattyMoo said:

Makes me fear that they've done something to the hanging carriage now.

 

I would be willing to bet everything I own that this will be the case, unfortunately. Literally the best thing it had going for it.

 

  

38 minutes ago, Mark9 said:

I can't believe the ride that everyone hates is being adjusted and everyone hates its even more.

 

Just when you thought the bar for the attraction couldn't be set any lower, right?!

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When I saw the photos on thorpe park manias facebook page, I thought it looked like something off of a run down pier! Baffling.

 

Agreed the outside I thought looked great... it seems such a shame to cover that up like this. Whoever makes decisions at thorpe needs to give their heads a wobble! I'll try to remain positive but I think its going to be dire.

 

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I must admit, I’m not too sure on that exterior at the moment… if they’re changing the theme/time period, then fair enough, but I do think that the old Victorian aesthetic was a bit more aesthetically appealing myself. I think the white and blue looks a bit strange on that wooden wall.

 

If it is an undercoat, though, it may look better when finished.

 

I’m intrigued to see what this is like. Due to a personal dislike of this style of attraction (I have a bit of a phobia of scare actors), I won’t ride it myself, but I’ll be intrigued to see what they do with that ride and what the general reception is, particularly seeing as the VR headsets are not returning…

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The park have stressed that it is a work in progress and what they have at the moment is an undercoat. Not being an experienced scenic painter, I'm not sure what a blue undercoating would be good for...but we shall wait and see.

 

On a broader note, it's nice that the park are openly sharing these things and have a medium to do so. But it's odd to do so when there's little context of what it's becoming. Like at the moment, the photos shared have shown us they are repainting the exterior. An unexpected development frankly, but with no clue of what the exterior will look like, we have no understanding of how much progress this 'work in progress' is showing, and no indication as to what it will become. It's something which would have been better shared either after it's been completed, or with accompanying concept art to show what it will become.

 

The painting of the exterior is odd. The exterior was designed off and inspired by a train warehouse near Willesden Junction, which was built in the Victorian era. So regardless of what era they theme the ride to, the building works for the train motif. And the exterior, whilst not the most exciting thing in existence, is still striking and good. 

But heyho, we'll see what the final product looks like and go from there.

 

The changes in era was something which was always brought up as an issue for DBGT, going from Victorian to tube carriage. I wonder if they're explicitly addressing that now? It would certainly be a bold decision to retheme the hanging carriage!

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2 hours ago, coasterverse said:

 

I would be willing to bet everything I own that this will be the case, unfortunately. Literally the best thing it had going for it.

 

This. What an absolute waste if that is the case. I can't see how they will fit it in to the story otherwise, other than like I say, some sort of pre show with an actor along the lines of "We've had some strange reports in the station, people have been saying that an old floating Victorian train has been pulling up - I for one don't believe 'em me old cockney sparra knees up mother brown, oi oi, be lucky - and keep the secrets bruv!"

 

One would assume they will paint the whole building and over the "Rail depot" sign.

 

The building itself along with the train carriage, as previously said, has always been the most positive thing about the experience so if they manage to mess that up, that will be quite some achievement.

 

Anyway, we're getting a cafe so shut up and be grateful xoxo

 

EDIT: As an afterthought - would it be possible to just remove the hanging carriage in entirety as it's just a shell, so you step onto a tube train from the off? I guess it would? Again though - what a waste 😰

 

 

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1 minute ago, Benin said:

Did they ever do the carriage effect justice though?

 

Not really, no. The common theme with DBGT was that they had lots of fantastic ideas, but fell short on all of them.

 

They should've done something like: "There are rumours that when you enter this room, you will see a victorian train, and legend has it that it has powers to transport you to another dimension... but here's the twist! How is this possible... WHEN IT IS SUSPENDED BY CHAINS!?"

 

*dun dun duuuuuuuuun, thunder clap, lights go out* or some other cliché like that.

 

But no, they just gave you some crap backstory about SubCore, told you to memorise a code, the door opens to the carriage room and you're quickly ushered into the train. They never gave you enough time to stand there and take it all in - they sure as hell never made any effort to mention it to you. So, unless there was a holdup of some sort, most people wouldn't even notice.

 

The same thing with the whole tube train interior - nobody ever mentioned why this was a thing. It's cool, don't get me wrong, but what was the point? I think it would've been better if it was literally just a victorian steamtrain, interior and all.

 

But, alas, it does go to show just how... interesting... the attraction was when you reflect back on it and the main highlight was an effect that none of the actors so much as even mentioned once. Oh, and the demon finale was good too even with the generic coughing man in white t-shirt' getup - although it was much better with the demon costume. (I'm sorry to keep bringing the damn demon costume up, I'm still mad about it)

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It’s an undercoat but with those colours, they can’t really be much different from the basic blue colour at least. 
They can do whatever they want with the white paint.

 

Whole issue with this is, is that the announcement video is showing the old exterior with graffiti on, why no have concept art for the exterior or something to release as part of the video.

 

Feels like the park don’t even know what they are doing. They’ve started painting the exterior with a month to go until the main season and given us nothing or any reasoning why this building is changing.

 

I don’t like how they’ve just painted over some of the small details on supports which connect to the roof structure. I can see all the paint washing away from the side of the building and one day we will have it’s original form back. 
 

Also if your painting the outside, the walls inside the pre show and as you board will have changed.

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27 minutes ago, ML27 said:

I can see all the paint washing away from the side of the building and one day we will have it’s original form back.

 

I really hope so. I also understand wanting some level of secrecy with the plans for the ride, but we have literally zero knowledge of what the new storyline is going to be inside that building, other than that it is set in a modern-ish train station between 1970 and 1990. We've had press releases and information about what there is to expect for The Curse at Alton Manor... but absolutely nothing for Ghost Train. This alone worries me massively.

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Part of me wants to jump in here and try to get everyone to hold judgement until opening day - it is work in progress after all, and so far Merlin’s ‘new stuff’ since being taken off the stock market seems quite good.

 

It is also literally physically impossible to make the attraction any worse…. No matter what they do to the exterior or floating carriage.

 

However… Thorpe’s track record has been dreadful for an actual decade now - so I guess really it’s now all up to them to prove.

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I normally do hold judgement.

 

Only comparable project would be the Curse at Alton Manor. In terms of a retheme using the same equipment. However, this isn’t a project which meant that DBGT had to close early unlike duel.

 

Theres been no teasers until the night before they announced it. It closed with literally nothing saying it was closing (duel had that sign at the end) only started painting the outside with a month to go and also the inside of the carriage is pretty hard to change because it’s a set ride vehicle and the track is only so many meters long.

 

I can see it open with little fan fare (high striker level) and it be a thing which just simply *exists*

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I've also noticed something that frightens me a little (not in the good sense, either...)

 

The popup dolls house for The Curse At Alton Manor had lots of glow in the dark/UV paint on the inside - and judging from the promotional video, those runes on the outside of the building have a very similar vibe. I get that it's just a promotional video and may not actually have any influence of what's going on inside of the building, but it would be VERY typical Merlin for them to utilise the same sort of style in both dark attractions opening this year.

 

I absolutely despise UV paint in scare attractions - I think it looks tacky and horrific. I really hope they're not going down this route for Ghost Train where they're utilising either glow in the dark or UV paint to reveal some crap storyline in the old train crash room or something, but it's really something I can see them doing. Just imagine it. You're all stood around in the room, thinking you're safe - all of a sudden, the lights go out and UV/glow in the dark paint is revealed on the walls revealing that you have actually fallen into the ghost's trap... a monster of some sort appears as a scare, you're all ushered quickly back onto the train. Sounds exactly like something Merlin would do, but bloody hell that would be so cliché.

 

I really hope it remains as an awful scenario I made up in my head and not turned into reality.

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