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2023: The Curse at Alton Manor

Ethan said:
Towers need new flats not dark rides. I like the retheme of Duel but to me flats should've been top priority. Thorpe have decent flats, have ghost train retheme on the way so they do need that new coaster now. Been a long time since Swarm and people won't keep visiting if its just the same
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Been a while since Thorpe last installed a proper flat ride mind, Rush is nearly 20 years old!
 
siralgenon said:
Sorry this is jumping back a few pages when people were talking about what physical effects the ride has such as air blasts etc.

Am I right in thinking that the old ghost corridor (after electric bill) used to have a wind machine at the end? I always seem to remember there used to be quite a gust going down that section?
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Yes it did
 
Family rides can be scary and/or sinister. The likes of Tower of Terror and Revenge of the Mummy are whole-family rides with a rather scary undertone that have been going strong for years.

Heck, I gather that even the original Haunted House was pretty scary based on the numerous anecdotes I've been told about people hiding their eyes on it or refusing to go inside. I first went on Duel when I was 11, and I found that pretty scary at the time to the extent where I didn't go back in until I was 17.

With that in mind, I don't think there's necessarily a problem with The Curse at Alton Manor going for a slightly darker tone. It's not a ride aimed at young children, it's aimed at a pretty universal demographic. Some young children will always find a ride like that scary (indeed, I gather that many found The Haunted House scary), but that doesn't necessarily mean that the ride isn't fulfilling its purpose of appealing to a universal whole-family demographic.
 
I rode again today and noticed something I hadnt before.
The end mirror on the right (where Emily is in the car) that appears cracked there was a reflection of a floating/hanging Emily and when looking to the left a suspended figure. Was this always there and I missed it on Saturday or is this a new addition?
 
JodieSW93 said:
I rode again today and noticed something I hadnt before.
The end mirror on the right (where Emily is in the car) that appears cracked there was a reflection of a floating/hanging Emily and when looking to the left a suspended figure. Was this always there and I missed it on Saturday or is this a new addition?
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The figure on the left is a Doll with Glass scattered in them
 
I’ve heard on social medial a lot of effects haven’t been working do we know which scenes? I know the que line smoke is definitely off. With so many great effects in the ride, it does worry me When I take my family to experience the ride in a few months time, half of these won’t be working. Is there an adequate Maintence team that Check these effects every morning?

Also do you think they will be able to fix the mist effect in the fire place? I would love to witness that with the red lights that come on (they should of used heat lamps)

Also in the dark scenes it woken be great if they sued some air blasters and I wasn’t sure if water sprays could be used in this ride, does it affect certain ride systems?


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@Matt N same, ha! I was terrified of Duel but finally had the guts to try it for the first time in 2021 after watching so many POVs. Lol if I was scared of a few zombies on sticks, I can't imagine how many kids will react to this ride 🤣.

I guess what motivated me to try Duel was it's goofy style it had and it's good scares, which makes me wonder if this ride will grab many kids interest since it instead has a serious tone. Time will tell I guess.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I guess what motivated me to try Duel was it's goofy style it had and it's good scares, which makes me wonder if this ride will grab many kids interest since it instead has a serious tone. Time will tell I guess.
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As I said, though, I don’t think children are expressly the target audience of The Curse at Alton Manor. While they can and will ride, I gather that the ride is perhaps pitched towards a slightly older audience than the prior iterations (the park even says on the safety sign that “some aspects of this attraction may be unsuitable for young children”), with its appeal being more universal rather than being solely aimed at families and children.

Not that I think The Haunted House/Duel was solely aimed at families and children, mind you, but I think that The Curse at Alton Manor, without having ridden, looks to be targeted more at the older end of the “universal” demographic, while Duel was targeted more at the younger end of the “universal” demographic.
 
I've got a feeling the queue line smoke and blue uplights were only there for the press night / opening weekend but I could be wrong
 
Trooper Looper said:
@Matt N same, ha! I was terrified of Duel but finally had the guts to try it for the first time in 2021 after watching so many POVs. Lol if I was scared of a few zombies on sticks, I can't imagine how many kids will react to this ride 🤣.

I guess what motivated me to try Duel was it's goofy style it had and it's good scares, which makes me wonder if this ride will grab many kids interest since it instead has a serious tone. Time will tell I guess.
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Hold up! You've been telling us over many topics how amazing the original ride was, yet you only rode it in Duels dying days when half the effects didn't work. You're comparing the new ride to one that you've only really experienced in your head, no wonder it can't compete.

I think that really does go to show that making the ride scarier isn't actually a problem. You were scared to ride Duel but by 'conquering' that fear you fell in love with the ride, no matter its faults. I can relate to that. Didn't ride Nemesis on my first trip but by over coming my fears many years later it made the experience even better.
Sometimes parents don't like their kids getting scared because it means either having an on edge child all day, or missing a ride they'd personally like to do. But I'd argue that long term it just makes the experience more memorable for them, and in most cases they'll eventually want to face that fear.
Think of all the people traumatised by ExtraTERRORestrial that as adults now really wish they could experience it again.
 
Off topic, but I have been trying to get my mate with very complex needs to get on the Big One at Blackpool for the best part of thirty years.
We got him in the station once, but he bottled, which was fine.
He might still get round to giving it a go, but he will be riding Icon this summer.
Fun scary is a strange thing to manage and understand.
 
Tim said:
Hold up! You've been telling us over many topics how amazing the original ride was, yet you only rode it in Duels dying days when half the effects didn't work. You're comparing the new ride to one that you've only really experienced in your head, no wonder it can't compete.

I think that really does go to show that making the ride scarier isn't actually a problem. You were scared to ride Duel but by 'conquering' that fear you fell in love with the ride, no matter its faults. I can relate to that. Didn't ride Nemesis on my first trip but by over coming my fears many years later it made the experience even better.
Sometimes parents don't like their kids getting scared because it means either having an on edge child all day, or missing a ride they'd personally like to do. But I'd argue that long term it just makes the experience more memorable for them, and in most cases they'll eventually want to face that fear.
Think of all the people traumatised by ExtraTERRORestrial that as adults now really wish they could experience it again.
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With my first experience in Duel, I was really lucky that all the effects worked aside from the obvious one (which is now working), and the not that great lighting, but it didn't really bother me. For some reason, I didn't even use the blasters, I just sat down and took all the ser pieces and props in, and I was thoroughly impressed by them.

Therea nothing wrong with a scary ride that people can love as most as anyone can enjoy it, but I'm just a bit concerned that it might become a type of ride that where kids would enter and would dare not do it again after, that's all. If kids come off the ride wanting they want to do it over and over again, that's great!!!

As much as ExtraTORRORestrial sounded and looked amazing (wish I could've ridden it) I just didn't suit the Disney brand, especially in Magic Kingdom of all places. It would've been great in The studio parks and would've probably lasted much longer.
 
Trooper Looper said:
but I'm just a bit concerned that it might become a type of ride that where kids would enter and would dare not do it again after, that's all.
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Are you actually concerned on behalf of kids or just still unwilling to let go of the Haunted House? You could say exactly the same about the original Haunted House that it was too scary for some kids to go on it. You can still appreciate the Haunted House separate to this new attraction.

The Curse is dark and fun, really not that terrifying, kids like to be scared, I think they have got it right.
 
Some people go on a rollercoaster, come off terrified having not liked it at all, and vow to never ride one again. Are we concerned about this? No, not at all.

Some kids will be so scared of something like Alton Manor they don't want to go on, some will go on and hate it, and other will go on and love it. It's just the way things go!
 
ChristmasPud said:
Are you actually concerned on behalf of kids or just still unwilling to let go of the Haunted House? You could say exactly the same about the original Haunted House that it was too sinister and some kids were too scared to try it. You can still appreciate the Haunted House separate to this new attraction.
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I'm sorry if it's coming off like that to you. The Curse At Alton Manor is it's own thing, not the original ride, and that's true, I am just a bit legit concerned wbout the whole kids situation, but putting that aside, the attraction has some really good lighting and well done effects on there, and will mostly likely improve on this over the upcoming months. It's just not my type of ride personally, that's literally it. I couldn't really care less if everyone else enjoys it, and in terms of enthusiats liking it, it seems to be doing great!
 
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