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Duel 30th Anniversary Celebration?

What would you Choose

  • Duel Refurbished

    Votes: 5 23.8%

  • Bring Back The Haunted House

    Votes: 9 42.9%

  • No Change Whatsoever

    Votes: 7 33.3%
  • Total voters
    21
Trooper Looper said:
We've got a whole new generation that want to experience these old attractions for the first time, but the previous generation that already did it dont want to because, like I said, they've already done them attractions, so it's a 50/50 argument really. One side wants old, the other wants new.
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I'm afraid that I think you're probably overestimating the amount of teenagers scrambling for a chance to experience the original version of The Haunted House. I'd love to ride it again, but I'm willing to recognise that Alton Towers is a corporate entity not founded on nostalgia, and so I would rather they move forward with something appropriate for the park's future. Admittedly, it would be delightful if that were similarly imaginative and, at least initially, of such a high standard.
 
Plastic Person said:
I'm afraid that I think you're probably overestimating the amount of teenagers scrambling for a chance to experience the original version of The Haunted House. I'd love to ride it again, but I'm willing to recognise that Alton Towers is a corporate entity not founded on nostalgia, and so I would rather they move forward with something appropriate for the park's future. Admittedly, it would be delightful if that were similarly imaginative and, at least initially, of such a high standard.
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Oh well. I guess Teens like me are a 1 in a 1000000 then. I'd love to ride the HH, but you're probably right. There aren't many people that would even bother looking into it my age or above. I'm only into it because my parents told me about their trips from the 80s and 90s. Wheni searched up old Alton Towers, a POV of the HH was the first thing that came up and the rest is history.
 
Trooper Looper said:
It's not that we prefer old stuff over new stuff for nostalgic reasons, it's that, to put it bluntly, most modern day attractions have no emotion or charm to them, unlike the 80s and 90s which had, with the only one probably still pulling it off well is Nemesis and The Runaway Mine Train.
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Sorry to drag us off-topic a touch, but I'd be really intrigued to know what you mean by this?
 
Matt N said:
Sorry to drag us off-topic a touch, but I'd be really intrigued to know what you mean by this?
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I mean how a lot of modern attractions don't have any character to them. That doesn't mean I hate every new ride, I love Wallace and Gromits Thrill O magic, with no projections, great lightning, amazing practical props, and very funny scenes. I don't feel any emotion while riding Gansta Granny the Ride on the other hand, it just feels empty and lacks character, excluding the Queue which I actually really like with its interactive elements and your average yet effective fart jokes played every 10 minutes.
 
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Trooper Looper said:
I mean how a lot of modern attractions don't have any character to them. That doesn't mean I hate every new ride, I love Wallace and Gromits Thrill O magic, with no projections, great lightning, amazing practical props, and very funny scenes. I don't feel any emotion while riding Gansta Granny the Ride on the other hand, it just feels empty and lacks character, excluding the Queue which I actually really like with its interactive elements and your average yet effective fart jokes played every 10 minutes.
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Whereas I find W&G Thrill-o-matic very lacking. It is just passing throuh scenes from the films, not chronologically or any other sensible order, just random scenes. If you haven't seen the films it doesn't make any sense. A brand new plot for the ride would have been far better in my opinion. The old gold mine was the better ride.
 
rob666 said:
I guarantee you that Haunted House was a far better ride than Toyland Tours.
Can't imagine why you would think that Toyland Tours was superior.
Funny things opinions aren't they!
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I respect your opinion as somebody who has been on both, but I can't help but feel the younger ones would be disappointed if they got in their time machines and had a go on HH; I suspect they'd realise it's more or less just a less broken (but still quite broken) Duel, without the LEDs.
 
WillPS said:
I respect your opinion as somebody who has been on both, but I can't help but feel the younger ones would be disappointed if they got in their time machines and had a go on HH; I suspect they'd realise it's more or less just a less broken (but still quite broken) Duel, without the LEDs.
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By watching The HH POV on its opening year alone, It looks amazing. A billion times better than Duel. Maybe the best dark ride in Europe.
 
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Trooper Looper said:
By watching The HH POV on its opening year alone, It looks amazing. A billion times better than Duel. Maybe the best dark ride in Europe.
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I've seen that video too - but a video can only go so far in giving you an idea of what a dark ride felt like riding. Especially a 90s VHS-C/Video8 camcorder video which makes absolutely everything look a scale darker.

I've just watched it again and yepp, it pretty much confirms my memories of it being much better lit than Duel is today but ultimately more or less the same give or take a load of off the shelf zombies and some LEDs.

EDIT: and the music is better too (although I quite liked the original Duel music if I'm totally honest)
 
@WillPS Are you referring to the 1992 Haunted House, or the Haunted House by the time it closed?

I only ask because if it’s so similar to Duel as it is today, then why was it critically acclaimed while Duel is critically panned? Does the lighting and the interactivity really make that much difference, or have expectations just shifted since the HH first opened?
 
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