Ghost Train - NEW for 2023

[ML27]

After experiencing Merlin’s new additions both at Alton Towers and Chessington.
 

It’s making me really excited in what we might receive with ghost train. Combine it with what we are seeing on the ground with awesome signage and the ability to set the scene. The building looks more like a depot/train station than it ever has been. 
 

It’s receiving these smallish theming pieces which wouldn’t be needed or missed but they really do go an extra mile (compared to Merlin’s previous standards) like the large sign post, I don’t think anyone would have complained if it wasn’t there. 
 

For what the retheme is, which is lower than Curse and way lower than Jumanji. It’s showing the 2023 Merlin signs of a new ride. Exodus is another story but I don’t think that we should be worried about theming or ride experience.

 

Saying all this, if Merlin really don’t care about Thorpe then we might see a poor retheme.

[Vinlarr89]

https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/Thorpe-Junction-Ghost-Train-One-Last-Look
 

I’ve got to be honest, and obviously reserving judgement until it’s complete. But there’s some good attention to detail going into this ride by the looks of this so far. 
 

Do Merlin finally get it? 😂

[MattyMoo]

The latin on the sign translates to "Death Is Not The End".

Spooky!

 

Shout out to Ministry of Joy easter egg with Join Us reference 😁😵

 

Also, I LOVE this:

 

Credit to Theme Park Guide obvs.

[coasterverse]

I'm really afraid to get too optimistic about this project, but it is really difficult not to. The recent Merlin investments have been absolutely top notch, and if The Curse at Alton Manor is anything to go by this project could be incredible. I still have my reservations about if it's even possible to overhaul this attraction in such a way that it turns an abysmal attraction like Derren Brown (I still really enjoyed the concept though, but just horrendous execution unforunately) into something incredible.

 

The transit system will obviously be exactly the same, so it's all down to how they execute the story on the train itself and designing a good plot and visually appealing sets when you're not on the train.

 

All the signs right now are absolutely pointing in the right direction - but who knows what to expect inside of the building itself. The exterior has always been very visually impressive, but was just let down by the poor storyline and execution inside the attraction. Let's hope this isn't the case this time around too!

[tactic]

New promo art for Ghost Train, looks like they are going for a more run down theme.

 

What do we think about the 1.3m minimum height instead of 1.4? I don’t think it means less scary as they are still recommending 13+ but does it imply changes to the intensity? (I know it’s a dark ride so it’s not like intense in terms of forces but I hope u get what I mean)

[coasterverse]

22 minutes ago, tactic said:

New promo art for Ghost Train, looks like they are going for a more run down theme.

 

What do we think about the 1.3m minimum height instead of 1.4? I don’t think it means less scary as they are still recommending 13+ but does it imply changes to the intensity? (I know it’s a dark ride so it’s not like intense in terms of forces but I hope u get what I mean)

 

Unlike the other piece of promotional art I really don't think we have much to go by here, so I wouldn't read too much into it. I am super hyped for this attraction though, so much so that I've booked tickets for a solo trip for opening day. I really hope it doesn't disappoint.

[tactic]

Awesome! I do hope thorpe have pulled something out of the hat here. I’ve got a trip booked a couple days after it opens cause I have an exam on the 26th :,(

 

The only issue I have with it still is it seems very run by Jack Silkstone, with him having a major role in the project. There’s nothing wrong with him, I think he’s brilliant, it’s just in the end it comes down to him being an enthusiast rather than someone who has worked in this industry for years.

 

But then we were also told MMM has been involved (I think so at least) so that’s always a good sign as we saw what they did with curse.

[ML27]

People from Merlin Magic Making have worked on this, I guess JS has worked only on any artwork such as the posters or concept art as that is his background. I’m not sure why he’s needed to go inside but I suppose he does what he wants.

 

Regarding the artwork, clearly shows the underground station has remained the same and the train has been painted. I’d love the silhouette to mean that the windows will be clear or have an effect. 
 

Writing this has made me think, the experience could be so different, you could be held at the underground station as you come off and even that would change your experience as you’ll get to take in that room instead of being rushed off the train.

[tactic]

Cool, good to know that the ride has been in safe hands!

 

I do hope that there is a big overhaul to the experience, the park needs a stand out dark ride. If this is a success and when exodus get built, thorpe's lineup could be looking quite exciting.

[ML27]

I know it isn’t new information however I am concerned as tonight park are reaffirming that it is similar to the dungeons being a heavily actor led experience.

 

They normally don’t have a long life span and if Merlin can do anything to reduce the dependency on them past the first year they normally do.

 

 

 

 

[JoshC.]

To be fair the height restriction has always been there to help with the age recommendation. There's no reason for any sort of height restriction for what is effectively a train ride.

 

Interesting to reduce it but keep 13+ as the age recommendation. Not quite sure what to make of that.

 

For some rough numbers, kids hit 1.3m at 8 years old on average, and 1.4m at 10. So there's a big jump there.

[ct.dav]

Sensory information found on Thorpe Park app

[tactic]

Seat Vibrations, is that new or did that happen on DBGT. I don't seem to remember it happening but I don't know what thorpe class as seat vibrations. By the looks of it though we might be getting a scare maze section with the strobe lighting or something when an actor moves closer in the dark and appears when the lights flash on.

[JoshC.]

Nice to see this sort of information included.

 

4 hours ago, tactic said:

Seat Vibrations, is that new or did that happen on DBGT

There weren't any seat vibrations. Presumably with the removal of the computing hardware for the VR headsets there's now space for this sort of stuff. 

[ML27]

Seat vibrations maybe the movement of the train…

[coasterverse]

Yeah I would imagine that by seat vibrations they're talking about just generic motion on the motion platform. Like the jumpscare in DBGT when the train honks and speeds past when the homeless guy asks you about his eye, that was a slight vibration and rocking backwards and forwards if I recall correctly. I guess it's hard to sum up a generic 'motion platform' trigger warning 😂

[JoshC.]

The slight vibration and rocking was a "butt kicker" effect; the whole train would judder slightly I believe. The vibration was more a by-product of that movement rather than the point of the effect. I could certainly see a proper seat vibration effect being installed, or even leg ticklers, for example.

 

I'm also fairly certain that the butt kicker effect wasn't in operation last season...at the very least, I never experienced it on any of my 3 goes..

[tactic]

Since they are removing all the pc’s that did the vr under the seats I assume they would have the space to put leg ticklers or something similar in the seats.

 

I have no idea how any of this stuff works tho, so they could take up too much space. Hopefully there is something done to the train to make the experience immersive now the vr is gone. I’ve got high hopes for this ride now and I don’t want them to be ruined.

[coasterverse]

I'm pretty sure leg ticklers and the like were planned to be installed for the original Ghost Train (unless that was just a rumour, but I'm pretty sure from construction photos there were definitely leg ticklers installed, but obviously never utilised) so would be nice to have them return now that they're obviously not going to be able to run up and down stroking people's legs 😂

 

Would really be nice having extra effects installed - I'd really love for some sort of smoke/co2 cannons inside the trains but I'd imagine something like that would have to be on the sensory guidance sheet, so who knows!

[coasterverse]

Double post - apologies!

 

I had to do some digging, but I wans't imagining things! Here's a pic from the SimWorx website, which definitely seems to show leg ticklers installed:

 

Maybe they removed them because of reliability or maybe it turned out to be a bit of a trip hazard in such an enclosed space considering the staff used to have to run up and down, who knows! Would love to see them return though.

[tactic]

Yh that is a bit odd. Why would they remove them if they were already installed. Sounds like a classic thorpe move to me lol!

[coasterverse]

As Friday approaches, I'm still super excited at the potential of this attraction. I've booked a solo trip down on Friday just to experience it - what are we all anticipating? Predictions please!

[ML27]

My predictions are:

 

- Heavily similar to dungeons, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same team.

 

- Layout the same, lack of a screen based preshow in favour of actors. Floating carriage gone and just the same shell throughout.

- I still don’t know how they are going to do that room with the massive space underneath

- Onboard there won’t be any smoke due to extraction of the smoke, it will become hotboxed quite quickly. So effects fairly limited, lighting sequence, 3D sound effects, maybe leg ticklers….

- I would have hoped for screens as windows however we are going to get some blacklight and some UV paint. 

 

- Basically the train will be like The Curse At Alton Manor Preshow. 
 

- The experience will be less rushed, so the tube station scene may have some graffiti but there are going for more an erie experience.

 

- Scare maze portion could be massive, you’d think related to the grave yard.

 

- I have no idea why you would get back on the train again but as we know you do.

 

- Train scene has similar effects as to what I mentioned above.

 

- Fake shop will still act as a big finale with a scare of sorts.

 

Definitely a one time experience ride, no matter how good it is. I think people will come off saying yeah it’s good but I’ve done it now. Improvement over DBGT, but with what the setup is, you can only improve so much. As if the VR had worked 100% time, I believe DBGT would have been received the same.

 

The detail outside makes me hopeful for this ride, it being fully dependent on actors doesn’t and I don’t think it’s going to become a key part of my day at the park.

[Glitch]

On 5/20/2023 at 5:44 PM, JoshC. said:

Nice to see this sort of information included.

 

There weren't any seat vibrations. Presumably with the removal of the computing hardware for the VR headsets there's now space for this sort of stuff. 

Actors touching your knees, oh wait there's no VR so that effect wouldn't work. 

[coasterverse]

Here are my predictions:

• I think the pepper's ghost effect will remain in some capacity - perhaps the preshow is primarily actor led, some kind of ghost or demon appears via peppers ghost and things go tits up and you're ushered out of the preshow room. Probably the use of UV paint revealing runes and scary messages on the walls too. I imagine they'll bypass where the second pre-show podium was - instead you'll have a flustered train conductor hurrying you all through into the next room.
• Much like you, @ML27, I've got absolutely no clue what they're going to do with the massive space that once contained the hanging carriage. The only thing I can imagine it being is an old train station - maybe themed as if it's outside? Could have some air conditioning or something in there to seriously cool the entire place down to give the illusion that it's actually outside (I very much doubt this will be the case unless the air conditioning has always been in place). This will be the Thorpe Junction platform - would be really cool if they were able to make it so you have to wait on the platform for the train to pull up, but probably won't be able to do that for health and safety reasons.
• You board the train (that I really do think they have installed screens in the windows, I stand by my comments that I really don't think it will be immersive enough without them). In an ideal world I'd love there to be CO2 cannons installed on the train, gives a smoke effect with quick dispersal which could be cool - but I think we're probably more likely to see more UV style paint, perhaps flickering lights, maybe even compressed air getting blasted on your neck or something? Either way, the train inevitably ends up pulling up (probably 'breaking down') at Chapel Station - it's again an outside train station, totally abandoned as it's been closed for years.
• This is where I'm confused. Maybe we're led out to explore the station, or that we have to get out whilst somebody tries to fix the broken down train? A ghost figure - maybe the grim reaper style ghost we saw on the first promotional poster - appears on the station, maybe taking a member of staff away - and we're all led through a fairly large scare maze section. Led into a room kind of like the train scare room in DBGT where we're told we're safe, for everything to go dark - massive loud jumpscare happens, ghost demon thing appears - UV text and runes appear on the walls.
• Person fixing the train bursts through the doors saying that the train's finally been fixed, and everybody is quickly ushered back onto the train.
• Train leaves the platform, but the ghost demon thing is still attacking through the windows etc. Probably an ampted up version of the first train scene, with some sort of resolution that leaves the ghost 'defeated'.
• Exit the train back at Thorpe Junction, taken through to what used to be the old fake shop, but is now themed to the 'box office' of the train station (is that what it's called? the place where you collect your train tickets). It's totally abandoned and derelict. Something happens again causing you to stay stood in the room - maybe they'll do the whole "There's been a spillage just infront, give us a sec whilst we clean it up" spiel like from DBGT for the ghost to re-appear in one final scare, much like the demon scare in the previous iteration.
• You then run through the doors and into the Ghost Train shop, end of the experience.

A total gamble - there's literally nothing for us to rely on here, and I'm super excited about that. I like that we're all going into this completely in the dark with no idea what to expect. That show building is absolutely bloody massive, so the potential for a total retheme is huge. I think they're going to stick with a fairly familiar linear storyline as they were trying to portray with DBGT, but rely more on physical scares rather than virtual ones.

 

I'll be there on opening day on Friday, so can't wait to report back with how I found it.