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The Alton Towers Dungeon

According to a user of another forum who has spoken with management about this, it is supposed to be going in the former CATCF building (keeping the elevators, the water ride, and adding some extra walkthrough scenes)... so where does that leave the rest of CCL for that supposed retheme? Could they split CCL in half so that the Burger Kitchen and The Alton Towers Dungeon are part of The Towers and the area past the Twirling Toadstool be part of a new themed area (possibly themed to David Walliams books)?

Charlie is a great opportunity to great a good family dark ride. It is a large building and Tower are unlikely to be able to build any further large warehouse like buildings anywhere due to space and planning issues. So using that building for a Dungeons theme would be such a waste.

If they want to create a new dark ride using some existing hardware, I see why this would work.

I don't think they are going to recreate the London Dungeon at Alton, that wouldn't make any sense. But... to create something bespoke utilising an internal IP and Alton's fascinating history, I'm on board with that. You wouldn't need a huge number of staff to achieve that.

Sorry I am not more mad/outraged at the prospect.

But is what really what the park is cying out for at the moment? And would you be happy to pay extra for such an attraction on each visit? There may not be an upcharge, I suppose it depends on the exact nature of the attraction, but it is a definite possibility.

I do agree that an Alton Towers Dungeon could lead to some interesting ideas/stories etc. I just think this is totally the wrong time for such an attraction.

:)
 
Charlie is a great opportunity to great a good family dark ride. It is a large building and Tower are unlikely to be able to build any further large warehouse like buildings anywhere due to space and planning issues. So using that building for a Dungeons theme would be such a waste.
I'm not ready to make that call because I don't know what this attraction is going to look like, when it would open, if it's an upcharge attraction etc.

The Dungeons exist as family attractions (by far the favourite of our family in the midway brands). I was being supportive of the concept - it all comes down to execution.

A mid-sized GCI might have sucked, but it turned out to be one of the most exciting and 'complete' additions since Oblivion.

But is what really what the park is cying out for at the moment? And would you be happy to pay extra for such an attraction on each visit? There may not be an upcharge, I suppose it depends on the exact nature of the attraction, but it is a definite possibility.
I certainly see the merit of building an attraction that a family with kids too old for Cbeebies can enjoy together, parents with children. The Dungeons is a proven concept.

Upcharge - depends what the ride is. Enthusiasts baulk at the idea of upcharge rides because they go to the parks so frequently and want to do everything. It feels unlikely that it would be an upcharge given its apparent location and likely recycling of existing ride hardware - but who knows! I can't get upset over someone's assumption.

I do agree that an Alton Towers Dungeon could lead to some interesting ideas/stories etc. I just think this is totally the wrong time for such an attraction.
I think anything that isn't a coaster, that provides a high capacity indoor experience for families with tweens is a good thing. Again, I don't know the specifics of it so I don't know whether now is the right time or not.

I'm on board with the concept. Come back to me with some specifics or anything more than rumour and we might agree it's gonna suck - but I'm not signing up for that based on whispers and the filing of a trademark they might never use.
 
If they use the Charlie building and plan to keep the existing boat and lift infrastructure I would suspect this wouldn’t be an upcharge attraction after all.

Whilst the upcharge is of course to generate extra cash it is also used to control numbers on what are usually a low capacity attraction (such as the mazes at Scarefest). Charlie has a relatively good capacity if I remember correctly (as long as they actually fix that second lift which was broken for most of 2015 meaning it ran on half capacity).

I don’t particularly like this idea as it is another wasted opportunity to create a genuine family attraction that could be enjoyed by all and it would introduce yet another dark theme to the park on top of Wickerman, FV, X-Sector, DF and GW - it’s getting a bit silly now.

Having said that if this is one part of a greater refresh of CCL to include rides for the all the family and perhaps a lighter theme for the rest of the area and if the Dungeons attractions uses new and unique stories specific to Alton Towers history I suppose it wouldn’t be too bad.
 
Given the activity at the NST site a few weeks ago, I wonder if they have been looking at moving the drop towers and putting them in the CaTCF building instead. If they do this then I would imagine the NST building being stripped and either used as storage or at Scarefest for a scare maze.

As for upsell.... Not sure, Sea Life isn't an extra charge once in the park however, unless people.are given timed tickets, I can't see how a dungeon style attraction would work well at peak times in the theme park unless the concept is different to that seen in other dungeons (i.e. less time spent in each room while the story is told)
 
I can’t see midway letting them use the brand for a free dungeons attraction as that will devalue the product in the paid midway sector of the business, though you could argue sealife is free.

I’m all for them adding midways to the resort so that there is much more to do outside of the park, just not so keen on adding them to the park. Plus there are precious few positive themes on Park it would be a shame to add more drabness.
 
A lot of the suggestions on this forum for what could be done with CCL involved an olde worlde take, given the proximity of the area with the Towers themselves. An elaborate gothic, mystical, grand themed area would be the perfect location given the history of the park. Had this news been during another time, I may have assumed that it was a larger scale version of Doom and Sons or Hex, with a more interactive spin on it, or maybe the beginning of a revitalization of an old area that badly needs revamping.
But Merlin are so formulaic and limit the creativity of their Imagineers (that's the right term isn't it?) so much that I'm 99% certain it will end up like a pile of rubbish.
 
A lot of the suggestions on this forum for what could be done with CCL involved an olde worlde take, given the proximity of the area with the Towers themselves. An elaborate gothic, mystical, grand themed area would be the perfect location given the history of the park. Had this news been during another time, I may have assumed that it was a larger scale version of Doom and Sons or Hex, with a more interactive spin on it, or maybe the beginning of a revitalization of an old area that badly needs revamping.
But Merlin are so formulaic and limit the creativity of their Imagineers (that's the right term isn't it?) so much that I'm 99% certain it will end up like a pile of rubbish.
I actually think that this would be the best outcome for this whole situation. Some elaborate theming and actual history could make for a very nice area, maybe with a museum to show off some relics of Alton’s past too.


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I wish Merlin would stop doing depressing horror dark themes. I bet it will certainly be an upchrage attraction. There’s so much Towers needs more than a dungeon. :( Colourful flat rides, fountain shows, a mascot, parades, entertainment shows, etc.
 
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I'm sure English Heritage would have no problem with boring tunnels under an historic listed building. It's already in ruins, after all.
 
I'm sure English Heritage would have no problem with boring tunnels under an historic listed building. It's already in ruins, after all.
Said people did allow them to install Shrek's bus at County Hall and that caused issues for the building with cracks appearing and forced the bus to have limited motion.

Merlin said limited movement was to enable younger guests to ride :rolleyes:
 
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