The Curse at Alton Manor - NEW for 2023

[Trooper Looper]

Hey everyone, decided to make an account here to off the same name of my other account on Tower Times forum. I'm sure @Matt Nknows me.

 

 

On about Duel, I've already said this on Tower Times forum, but I'd like to see them Revert it back to the Haunted House, but gut the zombie scenes like after the trommel, and the Lab Finale. I'd love to see them recreate the Ghost Corridor scare but with more reliable technology. For the remaining HH scenes, fingers crossed the restore them to their former glory with some proper UV lighting.

 

Hopefully it'll be screenless as well

 

From what I've heard outside of John Wardley being involved with the project, the team working on it are REALLY Passionate about the ride.

[Matt N]

37 minutes ago, Trooper Looper said:

Hey everyone, decided to make an account here to off the same name of my other account on Tower Times forum. I'm sure @Matt Nknows me.

 

 

On about Duel, I've already said this on Tower Times forum, but I'd like to see them Revert it back to the Haunted House, but gut the zombie scenes like after the trommel, and the Lab Finale. I'd love to see them recreate the Ghost Corridor scare but with more reliable technology. For the remaining HH scenes, fingers crossed the restore them to their former glory with some proper UV lighting.

 

Hopefully it'll be screenless as well

 

From what I've heard outside of John Wardley being involved with the project, the team working on it are REALLY Passionate about the ride.

Hello again @Trooper Looper; welcome over here to TPM!

[Trooper Looper]

On TowerTimes forum, there's been a report that the rides internal walls are being stripped out of the warehouse. What are your guys thought on this?

[Matt N]

10 minutes ago, Trooper Looper said:

On TowerTimes forum, there's been a report that the rides internal walls are being stripped out of the warehouse. What are your guys thought on this?

My thought is that they could be significantly altering one of the scenes. Which scene is anyone's guess, but I definitely think they're building at least one brand new scene in there somewhere.

[Theme Park Fanatic]

6 hours ago, Matt N said:

My thought is that they could be significantly altering one of the scenes. Which scene is anyone's guess, but I definitely think they're building at least one brand new scene in there somewhere.

@Matt N I suspect the Mad Professors Lab/Zombie scene is being ripped out. This scene was made purely for Duel. 

[Benin]

My thought is that a lot of the scenery will be old and with low upkeep so lots will be heading to the local tip.

 

They'll likely need a bigger skip.

[MattyMoo]

31 minutes ago, Benin said:

My thought is that a lot of the scenery will be old and with low upkeep so lots will be heading to the local tip.

 

Not the tip - it'll end up in the TPWW woRlD oF TheMEpArkS (version 2)

[Trooper Looper]

Definitely see The Zombie scenes being ripped out, but I can't really see many of the Hautned Houses scrnes being ripped out. It's quite easy to tell they're bringing the Haunted House back in some manner with the teasers, and a tweet from John Burton Definitely relating to the Original Haunted House. The only HH scenes I can see being removed is the Remaons of the Giants Lair, The Skeleton Corridor, and that's it. It wouldn't be the Haunted House without the Haunted House sets or scenes.

 

I just hope they keep the Grand Hall. My favourite set in the ride as you could probably tell from my Profile XD

[Trooper Looper]

Double post sorry, but:

 

[Theme Park Fanatic]

Yesterday marked the most existing aspect of Duels closure. Construction walls with speakers and interactive videos have been put up. Along with this you can dial a phone number for teasers about the refurbishment. I saw a video on Facebook that showed a Doll in one of the interactive videos.

[Inferno]

That phone number is absolutely brilliant. 👏

 

The amount of effort that’s gone in to this closed facade, along with the new lighting for scarefest probably amounts to more care than has been afforded to the ride for years, let alone what’s happening behind those closed doors.

 

It looks promising doesn’t it!

[Theme Park Fanatic]

7 hours ago, Inferno said:

That phone number is absolutely brilliant. 👏

 

The amount of effort that’s gone in to this closed facade, along with the new lighting for scarefest probably amounts to more care than has been afforded to the ride for years, let alone what’s happening behind those closed doors.

 

It looks promising doesn’t it!

@Inferno it does look promising. All the teasers point to Emilly Alton and Snowy "repossessing Duel. I hope Emily and Snowy remerge with a bang. When you look through the holes on the construction fence a video plays. This video is of an attic full of spiders, at the end a creepy looking doll appears. Most importantly there's a hand holding the Doll. I believe this hand to be know other than Emily Alton's. I know the refurbished Duel will be extravagant as John Wardly is involved. All that needed to be said is that Wardley was involved, this immediately smothered me with optimism. Imo Wardley is the world's best ride designer. The reason Duel was a cheap downgrade is because Wardley wasn't involved. For Wardley to come out of retirement shows his commitment to Duel. I know Wardley's favourite creations were the original Haunted House and Professor Burp's Bubbleworks at Chessington. These rides were hideous following their so called "upgrades" because of Wardley's lack of involvement. The new Imperial Leather Bubbleworks so S**t that Wardly disowned and declined to ride it. I hope Merlin have learnt their lessons from Imperial Leather Bubbleworks and Duel hence the requitement of John Wardley. I have faith that Emilly Alton's version of Duel will include many of the beloved scenes that survived the Duel retheme. I would be overjoyed if Emilly has evicted the Zombies. The Zombies had no right to invade a world class Dark Ride in the first place. If I were Emilly, I wouldn't have even allowed the Zombies to write a tenancy agreement. Hindsight is a marvellous thing and I think that's why Emilly has retook control of her House. @Inferno I wish Emilly,Snowy  and the best of luck redecorating the ride. I hope Emily chooses to still allow riders into her Drawing Room,Playroom and Dining Room. I hope the attic seen when looking through the hole in the Constuction fence is teasing the scene that'll replace The Man Professors Lap (final scene). @Inferno what elements of Duel would you like Emilly and Snowy to leave and what would you like them to redecorate?

[Theme Park Fanatic]

People keep complaining about Duels lack of closing event. Maybe the fact Merlin didn’t organise such events is a good sign. Normally closing events are held when radical changes are ahead. Duel may not warrant a closing event. This could be because much of the rides infrastructure and scenes are staying. I expect there will be radical changes,however I think they’ll be an equal number of elements that won’t change. There’s already a photograph of the Zombie scene in a skip. As of now it’s pretty obvious that Emily Alton and Snowy have “repossessed” Duel. Sometimes Merlin don’t need to officially announce what’s coming. An example is that everyone knew that Project Amazon at Chessington would be Jumanji Themed. Low and behold Project Amazon was revealed to be The World Of Jumanji. I’m getting deja vu with Duel and a Emily Alton retheme. If this retheme turns out to be an Emily Alton refurbishment I’ll definitely visit Alton Towers next year. Next year is going to be the most existing year in Alton Towers history. I’m pleasantly shocked that Alton are likely opening 2 Dark Rides. Obviously these are the refurbished Duel and Nemesis Sub Terra which has been SBNO for 8 years.

[Benin]

John Wardley was (eventually) involved in Wickerman. Granted too late to make it good but still.

 

Think even he'd admit it wasn't just a solo effort on his part. Some of the classics were a joint effort and almost lightning in a bottle esque that everyone pulled in the same direction. 

 

I don't understand why this Emily Alton thing has gained so much traction when it was a literal gag character who majority of park guests didn't even see. Fan theories have gotten worse, especially when clearly the obvious character to focus on is Electric Bill.

 

Think the Jumanji theme was an estimated guess by someone with good links to Merlin. Helped by Gardaland getting a themed attraction. So far no one of any substance has made a case for the random claims and likely the park is taken full advantage of this in their (stock footage) marketing.

[Theme Park Fanatic]

4 hours ago, Benin said:

John Wardley was (eventually) involved in Wickerman. Granted too late to make it good but still.

 

Think even he'd admit it wasn't just a solo effort on his part. Some of the classics were a joint effort and almost lightning in a bottle esque that everyone pulled in the same direction. 

 

I don't understand why this Emily Alton thing has gained so much traction when it was a literal gag character who majority of park guests didn't even see. Fan theories have gotten worse, especially when clearly the obvious character to focus on is Electric Bill.

 

Think the Jumanji theme was an estimated guess by someone with good links to Merlin. Helped by Gardaland getting a themed attraction. So far no one of any substance has made a case for the random claims and likely the park is taken full advantage of this in their (stock footage) marketing.

@Benin you clearly didn’t read the sign that was put in Duel’s exit corridor. It was 100% written by Emily Alton. The writing was identical to Emily’s. As you should know everyone has there own unique writing. Furthermore an equation was written on the sign. Emily Alton wrote an equation on the easel inside her Dolls House. The sign even said “this is my House”,this is another teaser that tells me Emily Alton and Snowy have “repossessed” Duel. If you add up all the little teasers an Emily Alton retheme is obvious. I am literally on cloud 9. I’ve long wanted Emily to be heavy involved with the ride. John Wardley one of the people involved with the refurbishment knows Duel means as much to Alton Towers visitors as it does. Wardley is behind all of Britain’s best rides. I know that Wardley will retain all of the original Haunted House scenes. Before a Duel refurbishment was announced Wardley was sited in and around the ride. On each sighting Wardley was accompanied by a book. The book contained used and unused concepts from the original Haunted House. Even Merlin Magic Making. I suspect Alton Towers have learned their lesson from retheming The original Haunted House without the involvement of John Wardley. To be truthful the Duel overlay ruined The Haunted House. The Zombies were annoying and tacky looking. Fortunately I’ve seen a photograph of the mad Professors Lab (final Zombie scene) in a skip. This is another big clue that points to the return of the original Haunted House or a complete Emily Alton retheme.

[Matt N]

Out of interest, how do you know what Emily Alton’s handwriting looks like?

 

For my money, it could have been anyone who wrote that message on the blackboard. It could simply be the house passing into new ownership (ditto with the “repossessed” quote), with the new owner writing that message.

 

Personally, I’m skeptical that this overhaul will revolve heavily around Emily Alton. Given that she was simply in a minor gag in the queue line rather than a central character of the previous iterations, I do wonder if making the whole ride centre around her would be too much of a niche reference to appeal to most. Admittedly, you could sell her as a new character by giving her more of a backstory in the new version of the ride, but if too much were to be assumed about people’s knowledge of the character from the previous iterations, then I do wonder whether it would go over the heads of most guests, because as I said, Emily Alton was a very minor detail within the previous iterations rather than a central character.

 

Also; I apologise for my ignorance, but who is “Snowy”, out of interest? I’ve seen you make quite a few references to “Snowy”, but I don’t actually know who that is.

[Theme Park Fanatic]

1 hour ago, Matt N said:

Out of interest, how do you know what Emily Alton’s handwriting looks like?

 

For my money, it could have been anyone who wrote that message on the blackboard. It could simply be the house passing into new ownership (ditto with the “repossessed” quote), with the new owner writing that message.

 

Personally, I’m skeptical that this overhaul will revolve heavily around Emily Alton. Given that she was simply in a minor gag in the queue line rather than a central character of the previous iterations, I do wonder if making the whole ride centre around her would be too much of a niche reference to appeal to most. Admittedly, you could sell her as a new character by giving her more of a backstory in the new version of the ride, but if too much were to be assumed about people’s knowledge of the character from the previous iterations, then I do wonder whether it would go over the heads of most guests, because as I said, Emily Alton was a very minor detail within the previous iterations rather than a central character.

 

Also; I apologise for my ignorance, but who is “Snowy”, out of interest? I’ve seen you make quite a few references to “Snowy”, but I don’t actually know who that is.

@Matt N Snowy’s Emily Alton’s pet Cat.

[Inferno]

14 hours ago, Benin said:

John Wardley was (eventually) involved in Wickerman. Granted too late to make it good but still

You don’t think Wicker Man is good?

 

I agree about the Emily Alton thing.  There must be only a few hundred (if that) people in the country who have heard of the name.  There isn’t really even a reference to her in the queue line.

[Benin]

1 hour ago, Inferno said:

You don’t think Wicker Man is good?

 

It's good. But when you have an unbanked boring corner about 3/4 of the way through the layout someone messed up.

 

Almost just invited Wardley when they'd already approved the final layout sums up Towers' view. Get John in to please the enthusiasts and they'll accept any old mediocrity now. Purely because of the Wardley name.

[Theme Park Fanatic]

Everyone will be pleased to know John Wardley is involved with the Duel refurbishment from the start to the end. You never know Wardley may return Duel to the original Haunted House.

[JoshC.]

I'm clearly not the Duel stan I thought I was, because I don't know who Emily Alton is....

[Theme Park Fanatic]

2 hours ago, JoshC. said:

I'm clearly not the Duel stan I thought I was, because I don't know who Emily Alton is....

@JoshC. Emily Alton is the ghost/Doll who inhabits the Dolls House in the queline. Snowy’s Emily Alton’s pet Cat.

[coasterverse]

 

Announcement soon..? 👀

[Cornflakes]

God I can’t wait to see how this turns out 

[Benin]

17 hours ago, JoshC. said:

I'm clearly not the Duel stan I thought I was, because I don't know who Emily Alton is....

 

#basic

 

 

Apparently each social media post is different as well? One of which will get the Emily stans really excited.