[2023] The Curse at Alton Manor

[Craig]

Aaaaanyway, before my sanity is further challenged with this topic, I think we can move on from throughput discussion before we end up with 3 pages of the stuff .

 

[DistortAMG]

Sorry Craig

Back to the facade for a moment. While it appears the entrance is quite rightly staying the same. Does anyone think we could see stuff in the windows of the house. Similar to what the concept art shows but obviously adjusted to be usable in day time. Or do we think the concept art was just that?

I think it would be a nice touch to have some apparition in the upper windows that is visible in daylight. Maybe something that only appears now and again, so that you have to keep your eye on it to see it. Like you would with anything parnormal in the real world I guess. That would be quite cool. A subtle hint to the curses that lie within.

 

[Zeock]

Sorry Craig

Back to the facade for a moment. While it appears the entrance is quite rightly staying the same. Does anyone think we could see stuff in the windows of the house. Similar to what the concept art shows but obviously adjusted to be usable in day time. Or do we think the concept art was just that?

I think it would be a nice touch to have some apparition in the upper windows that is visible in daylight.

I agree that it would be nice to see apparitions in the upper windows but I think that the concept art was just that; it seems quite unlikely to me.

 

[Dobba]

Hope the net curtains get binned. Least believable part of Duel was that even zombies would put up with those.

 

[James Watkins]

My only concern is I hope they have spent some money on the ride system. It felt like it was absolutely knackered in its last days as Duel and even got an evac off it as it had completely packed up.

Don’t want us to have a great themed ride which closes in a couple of years as the hardware isn’t fit for purpose.

Well, according to this article in a trade magazine, the ride will be receiving a 'new steering system' from Mack Rides

 

[Tim]

Some painful abuse of Theme Park terminology on the last few pages

Firstly,
Pre-Shows vs. Backstory
A Pre-Show is a critical part of a rides story that is necessary for the main show to be understood.
Backstory are details that are nice to know but can be missed.
A queue line TV is not a pre-show, it's an exposition dump (aka. backstory). It can help set the mood but it's not a key part of the show.
A Pre-Show like the Projector Room and Octagon on Hex contain information you need to know for the experience to make sense. Therfore it needs your full attention and will bring you to a halt.
The only exceptions to this are usually cases of poor design. For example:
A coaster that doesn't need a narrative having a pre-show forced on it. Or if Hex's projector room was just another part of the queue (meaning you could walk past the telling of the legend without registering it).
Point to Rick on this one.

Second,
Concept art is not the same as Promotional art (also known as marketing material).
Concept art is used to show design intent at a creative level. What is pictured is a rough estimate of how the designer wants the ride to look.
Promotional art is used to advertise the product to the consumer. Details reflect the final product but often exaggerate to greater effect.

For example:
Concept art looks like this:

Promotional art looks like this;

The picture that's been released is promotional art. Don't take the details too literally.

 

[ChristmasPud]

Pre-Shows vs. Backstory
A Pre-Show is a critical part of a rides story that is necessary for the main show to be understood.
Backstory are details that are nice to know but can be missed.
A queue line TV is not a pre-show, it's an exposition dump (aka. backstory). It can help set the mood but it's not a key part of the show.
A Pre-Show like the Projector Room and Octagon on Hex contain information you need to know for the experience to make sense. Therfore it needs your full attention and will bring you to a halt.
The only exceptions to this are usually cases of poor design. For example:
A coaster that doesn't need a narrative having a pre-show forced on it. Or if Hex's projector room was just another part of the queue (meaning you could walk past the telling of the legend without registering it).
Point to Rick on this one.

I don't see how this relates to what we were talking about preshows, there is no terminology 'rule' about preshows. The preshow rooms in Duel were always intended as the preshow. I mean it can be created whatever way a ride needs to be entertaining. It's only really Merlin that fixate on preshows being a batched room where you stop and watch a video on every kind of ride.

Is watching a video the only way to convey a theme and build anticipation? It's the most obvious way, not really the most creative and doesn't suit every attraction.

 

[DistortAMG]

I mean a pre show is just that, a smaller show before the main show. A pre show doesn't have to contain a story, it can just be a smaller show that comes first. A lot of rides do use a pre show to tell a story but they don't have to.

With that in mind, it could be argued that the drawing room was a smaller show with the fireplace, rocking horse, dolls house and the room in general setting the tone before the main show on the actual ride itself, beings.

 

[Tim]

I guess my point is that before this thread I've never heard Duel's queue / Drawing Room refered to as a pre-show. The definition has been stretches to fit it.

I'd argue it's a scene rather than a show. (Maybe pre-show and pre-scene would have been better terms to use for the above). Again if we look at Hex there's a fundamental difference between the videos in the queue line and the projector room. One passively tells the story and the other actively tells the story. Therfore we need to use different terms to describe them.

Duel's queue is equivalent to Hex's queue only with some SFX included as well. You can skip it and your not missing out on the core ride experience.
Wodan is a great example of this. That queueline is full of amazing scenes, but if you chose to ride single rider or virtual line you bypass all of them. If we are defining the whole ride experience as 'the show' then these scenes can't be considered pre-shows because for some riders they aren't part of the ride experience.

Back on topic the reason I make this distinction is because I don't see the new ride having a pre-show. Because currently it doesn't have a pre-show, but what it does have worked well (at least it did when I last went which was many years ago now).

 

[Jb85]

Duel and HH had queue theming, not a pre show. Simples.

Moving on.

 

[Alsty]

The distinction feels somewhat pedantic to me.

People just wanted to discuss if there would be dedicated preshow or a story told in the queue line, and the thread went along with the latter because it suits a continually loading station better.

 

[pluk]

As highlighted by the amount of nonsensical stabbing in the dark drivle on this topic, it's quite impressive how little we know about this redevelopment at this stage. With the number of people working on it, including some outside contracting, and idiots flying drones over the place to see what's going on, that nothing of any substance at all has leaked seems miraculous. After all this it would be hilarious if the day it opened the building was empty and every seat had a pair of VR goggles sitting on it!!

Oh, and in no way ever is a bit of themed queue you shuffle by a preshow. Don't be silly.

 

[jon81uk]

I guess my point is that before this thread I've never heard Duel's queue / Drawing Room refered to as a pre-show. The definition has been stretches to fit it.

Duel 1 had a queue line video as an informal pre-show (which was removed in the recent Duel refurb) I would say that video is still a pre-show exposition dump, even if you are not forced to watch it. It did make the zombie finale make more sense. The Haunted House had no form of pre-show, I agree that a themed queue is not a pre-show.

 

[Craig]

Look. Unless there’s a top hat and tails clad John Wardley shimmying down a grand staircase decked out in lights, surrounded by a troupe of backing dancers with feather boas and accompanied by an IMAscore reworked 1930s swing musical number - it’s just not a pre show.

And we were doing so well

 

[RicketyCricket]

So Oblivion has a pre show too?

 

[ChristmasPud]

I guess my point is that before this thread I've never heard Duel's queue / Drawing Room refered to as a pre-show.

I know staff call it the preshow and always designed that the ride had a preshow before you get on the ride. It doesn't really matter what it's called though it's very much a preshow experience, just not a batched thing.

It used to do a lot more than just be a themed room too, but most the effects removed, maybe that's the confusion.

 

[Rick]

I know staff call it the preshow, it's named the Preshow on the plans and always designed that the ride had a preshow before you get on the ride. It doesn't really matter what it's called though it's very much a preshow experience, just not a batched thing.

It used to do a lot more than just be a themed room too, but most the effects removed, maybe that's the confusion.

You should write a book about this.

 

[Skyscraper]

You should write a book about this.

Already explained in the book Smoke and Mirrors.

 

[ChristmasPud]

You should write a book about this.

Don't try make this the latest thing, we got enough talk of should it be "Of" or "At" in the title

I accept that by Definition agreed by the Theme Park Enthusiasts Committee I am catagorically wrong, the Haunted house had no preshow. Someone should tell John Wardley of the clueless rookie that he is

 

[Tim]

Look. Unless there’s a top hat and tails clad John Wardley shimmying down a grand staircase decked out in lights, surrounded by a troupe of backing dancers with feather boas and accompanied by an IMAscore reworked 1930s swing musical number - it’s just not a pre show.

And we were doing so well

Now that I want to see! Let's start planning, how can we make this happen?