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The Curse at Alton Manor - NEW for 2023


treeis

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Time for my sporadic login. Been keeping an eye on this though haven't been to towers in a decade.

 

Didn't they touch up Duel a couple years back during the Towers Loving Care (TLC) initiative? That didn't seem to prolong the lifespan by much.

 

I'm a bit of a pessimist about this tbh. I do wish they make this great ghost train one of the best in the world once again but thinking about previous Merlin projects. Lets just say I'm very cautious.

 

Also, I wouldn't even contemplate making a trip to Towers if Nemesis isn't available until 2024. 

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3 hours ago, Marley said:

Didn't they touch up Duel a couple years back during the Towers Loving Care (TLC) initiative? That didn't seem to prolong the lifespan by much.

 

I'm a bit of a pessimist about this tbh. I do wish they make this great ghost train one of the best in the world once again but thinking about previous Merlin projects. Lets just say I'm very cautious.

Indeed they did, but that contended with both a shorter timescale (Duel closed in September, while the TLC revamp happened only over the closed season) and likely a vastly lower budget (likely in the low six-figure territory, if not lower).

 

For what it's worth, people "in the know" over on TowersStreet have pegged the budget for this at £3-5m. As a point of comparison, the Duel revamp allegedly cost no more than £1m in 2003 money (likely less), which equates to ~£1.6m in today's money (I checked on the BoE inflation calculator), so this project is likely to cost at least twice what the Duel revamp did back in 2003 even when adjusting for inflation, and that's even assuming that Duel hit the full £1m in the first place (which from what I've heard, it likely didn't). For some idea, that small budget went a surprisingly long way in the 2003 Duel revamp; they demolished a not insignificant portion of the Haunted House and replaced it with an entirely new scene, they revamped the existing Haunted House scenes, they changed the lighting, and they added a brand new interactive laser gun system as well. Given what some are suggesting Merlin will do with the alleged budget of this project, the much smaller budget of Duel went a pretty long way, and that makes me very optimistic for this project!

 

I am really excited to see what they do with it! 6 months and an alleged £3-5m budget could go a long way, particularly given that this is unlikely to have the IP costs of a typical Merlin retheme to contend with!

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I actually wasn't aware of the budget allocated to the project. I never even thought of a potential of an IP ruining the attraction. I'm sure we would of heard about a deal if one had been agreed on. Seeing how lots of revamped rides at Merlin parks get IP slapped on, I'd be very happy if this one remains it's own unique attraction.

 

In terms of what I'd like to see brought in. Pepper's Ghost effects. I'd like to see Pepper's Ghost effect utilised loads. You could even use screens to create the effect, although you cannot beat using physical props. 

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Just now, Marley said:

In terms of what I'd like to see brought in. Pepper's Ghost effects. I'd like to see Pepper's Ghost effect utilised loads. You could even use screens to create the effect, although you cannot beat using physical props. 

Ooh, I'd love a good bit of Pepper's Ghost; I think that it's a terrific effect, and it would work so well on a haunted house ride, in my view!

 

I'd also really like to see some projection mapping in there too; I think this can really enhance a ride when it's well used!

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12 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

Am I the only person who is more excited about the Duel refurbishment,than any other project Alton Towers has undertaken? I cannot wait to see what elements of Duel remain,once the likely Emily Alton retheme is complete.

Nope, you're not the only one mate ;)

 

On what it'd like to see Happen to Duel, I'd love to see it revert back to the Haunted House. Keep the 1992 scenes, and enhance or replace the other sets that were introduced during its later years and when it became duel.

 

I even made a quick layout to show you all what I mean.

 

Green = Keep and TLC

 

Yellow = enhance

 

Red = replace with new scene

 

 

Haunted House preference alterations.jpg

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2 hours ago, Trooper Looper said:

Nope, you're not the only one mate ;)

 

On what it'd like to see Happen to Duel, I'd love to see it revert back to the Haunted House. Keep the 1992 scenes, and enhance or replace the other sets that were introduced during its laster years and when it became duel.

 

I even made a quick layout to show you all what I mean.

 

Green = Keep and TLC

 

Yellow = enhance

 

Red = replace with new scene

 

 

Haunted House preference alterations.jpg

@Trooper Looper your thoughts are exactly mine. I would like the scenes you have marked red,too be based around Emily Alton and Snowy.

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I really hope it isn't based on Emily alton though. The industry has enough rides with sole main narrative characters and deep narratives. I just want them to revert it back to what It used to be. A theatrical laff in the dark, non narrative ride, but have some new scenes in there that's that's same style as the 1992 sets.

 

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Anything could happen, obviously, but am I the only one who’s a bit sceptical about this whole Emily Alton theory?
 

Personally, I wonder if Emily Alton would be an overly niche reference for most guests. Remember, she isn’t a major part of the ride and never has been; she is literally just a fleeting gag in the indoor queue line that some guests might catch a glimpse of for a second or two.

 

For that reason, I’m not sure about the prospect of a ride centred around Emily Alton. Most non-enthusiasts (and probably a fair percentage of enthusiasts) probably won’t know who Emily Alton is, and given how small her appearance within the HH/Duel was, it seems like an overly niche thing to focus on to me.

 

It absolutely could happen, but I’m not sure that I see it as the most likely option. Some storyline or narrative applied to the ride would be nice, but I’ll admit that I think an Emily Alton-centred ride would go over most guests’ heads given her fairly limited role in the previous iterations of the ride.

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On 10/18/2022 at 12:09 PM, JoshC. said:

 

This isn't just a ghost train. This is MY ghost train. This is...

 

Noel Edmonds' Ghost Train: Rise of the Deal or no Deal.

 

 

 

Sorry folks, the Blobby costume in the fake Noel Edmunds' House Party set has been decomissioned so they've replaced it with a bloke in a white tshirt instead. Good enough, right?

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44 minutes ago, coasterverse said:

 

Saw the post. Damm, I was actually excited to see what they were gonna do to The HH before these photos were uploaded. What makes it worse that JW is involved with this project, so he probably chose for them to gut the scene, even when the Garden was a fan favourite. Get rid of the Duel scenes, that's fine, but not the original 1992 sets Merlin. Why can't you do anything right?

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18 minutes ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

@Trooper Looper I have a felling The Invitation could be a precursor to the refurbished Duel? My vibes are the same as the scare maze that hinted at Wickerman. Do you think The Invitation is linked to the Duel refurbishment?

Tbh I hope not! All I ask from Meelin is for Duel to return to the HH with the original scenes remaining. Is that too much to ask Merlin? They already destroyed Bubbleworks, now there doing the sams another Wardley Classic. And the worse this is that John himself is involved. :(

 

I think the invitation would be better as an individual attraction rather than linked to anything HH related.

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3 minutes ago, Trooper Looper said:

Saw the post. Damm, I was actually excited to see what they were gonna do to The HH before these photos were uploaded. What makes it worse that JW is involved with this project, so he probably chose for them to gut the scene, even when the Garden was a fan favourite. Get rid of the Duel scenes, that's fine, but not the original 1992 sets Merlin. Why can't you do anything right?

 

Really hoping he's not going to go down the Jumanji route and fill the place with screens instead of physical theming

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