Thorpe Park 2017: DBGT: Rise of The Demon

dazza4783 said:

I would say we're missing quite a lot, we still don't really have any idea of what the ride will actually be. All we really know is that Derren Brown has been involved in designing the experience. There is still a lot we don't know.

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We don't know much about the ride itself but as far as the theme goes, we know that it isn't the supposed Jack the Ripper theme (unless that's somehow integrated with Derren Brown) so the "controversy" is still pretty shrouded if it exists. I look forwards to hearing more details about this!

All the disjointed imagery, and talk of mind manipulation makes me think of the intro to The Twilight Zone, one of my all time favourite programmes. Now that could make a great dark ride. You are entering another dimension... a dimension not only of space and time but of mind... Your next stop... The Twilight Zone.

Though I would have preferred a TZ IP, I think that Derren will blur the lines between reality and fiction in a sinister way to the aforementioned programme.

/me derps

Altonadvocate1 said:

All the disjointed imagery, and talk of mind manipulation makes me think of the intro to The Twilight Zone, one of my all time favourite programmes. Now that could make a great dark ride. You are entering another dimension... a dimension not only of space and time but of mind... Your next stop... The Twilight Zone.

Though I would have preferred a TZ IP, I think that Derren will blur the lines between reality and fiction in a sinister way to the aforementioned programme.

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Not sure if you're being Sarcastic or you genuinely don't know that ride already exists?

If the latter Google "Disney's Towers of Terror" right now and prepare to have your mind blown!

Love the idea of Derren Brown being involved, his tricks and traps can be subtle, captivating and intriguing so I'll be keeping a keen eye on what he does with this and how the ride evolves

I really don't understand all the negativity that's appeared surrounding Derren Brown. Considering Merlin's latest efforts at dark rides have all lacked details, cohesion and theatricality (three things Brown always nails in his work) we should see this as an opportunity to get excited. After all, the last time dark rides were partly designed by those from a theatrical, magical or performative background we got Bubble Works, The Haunted House and Fifth Dimension!

I know that Merlin have recently messed up most things that have had any glimmer of potential, and maybe I'm just being optimistic (because we don't fully know the extent of Brown's involvement) but, so far, the only thing I have issue with is the fact that Merlin have deemed quality design and detailed planning as added extras worth advertising oppose to industry standards which should always be a given.

Well the worst kept secret in the UK theme park industry is finally out! I'm unsure what to think and like most things the success for failure of this project will come down to the budget. Chances are there will be a great cocnept but that can only be fulfilled with a budget to match. In the past I've heard positive things regarding the budget for this (£30 million) but who knows if that was true.

Plastic Person said:

I trust Derren Brown, he has a pretty good track record and attention to detail is key for him. This should translate to a good experience. I imagine we're getting some sort of high concept ghost train.

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A new type of ghost train is certainly a possibility and has been mention before I think. That could be a very interesting idea if pulled off. However looking at the building I'm not convinced that it will be; it's quite a long and narrow building.

I'm personally expecting an expereince with a number of pre-show rooms eventually leading to some form of Simworx Immersive Tunnel. A total guess on my part mind.

Optimistic as I remain in regards to this development, I seriously doubt this three years planning thing, though. I know for a fact that the park were looking at Call Of Duty as an IP no more than a year ago. Of course, that could work out to be for a different project, but I doubt it.

So Derren Brown.. I still don't really 'get it', but I'm sure all will become apparent.

My concerns so far:
+ How many years of planning...? Opening in March? And the building is no where near completed :/
+ The only companies to ever pull off really immersive and successful dark rides are Disney and Universal. Will this compare?
+ The IP could be a little out-of-fashion? I have never seen any of Derren Brown's work and don't really know how popular he is!

My pro points:
+ An IP means being held accountable. CBeebies Land at Towers is REALLY high quality, because the park worked with and were held accountable to the Beeb. This could be a bonus - no cutting corners!
+ Hopefully this could really help to pull back the families with older kids (depending on the theme/ride system)
+ SOMETHING ELSE TO SOAK UP CROWDS!!! Anything. ANYTHING WILL DO. So sick of the park being unable to handle any sort of medium/high attendance

Sazzle said:

My pro points:
+ An IP means being held accountable. CBeebies Land at Towers is REALLY high quality, because the park worked with and were held accountable to the Beeb. This could be a bonus - no cutting corners!

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Yeah! Just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

evilcod said:

Yeah! Just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

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Agreed! But you'd like to think 10 years of experience would teach them that shoving a few plastic squirrels into a few mirrors won't quite cut it when you've got the likes of Harry Potter knocking around...

Derren Brown has done a lot of quality things for TV before and those I know who have seen his live shows before have said that they're really clever too.

He certainly has an attention to detail and I would hope that he would not put his name to this unless it was going to be a quality product.

I actually think Derren Brown narrows down the target market somewhat. Given the family image they're trying to push (unless Thorpe have given up on that?) I don't think Derren Brown is the right 'IP' for that.

Again it seems limited to teens/adults. I'm not sure if Brown is that popular to bring in the crowds either? He's well known for sure, although do many people follow him with such interest?

I'm not sure, this seems risky, but let's see what happens in March.

James said:

I actually think Derren Brown narrows down the target market somewhat. Given the family image they're trying to push (unless Thorpe have given up on that?) I don't think Derren Brown is the right 'IP' for that.

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Depends whether or not he's going to be on TV anytime soon again really. I remember when I was 12-15, Derren Brown was massive whenever one of his "events" was on TV - it was all the school would talk about for a week at a time. But, granted, with less media exposure in recent years I doubt kids in that age range will even have heard of him now... if he were to come back on TV with something new, however...

As for the project as a whole; lets be honest, we still know way too little to be able to judge.

I was never really sold on Derren Brown until I saw his live show.

My original impression of him was from absurd hyped up live stunts, like the russian roulette with him firing a live gun at his own head, and the time he tried to rip off a casino live on TV and failed. I found these to be sensationalist, and just PR stunts to boost his profile, they were very successful though.

I was roped into seeing his live show for a friends birthday who it turns out was a big fan. It was clever, funny, and had me completely baffled and misdirected, despite going in as a complete skeptic who thought the man was a hack.

So I'm mixed on how to feel about this. I have a feeling it might be really quite good if it uses any of the showmanship of his live show. A drawback could be very bad rerideability. If it is an "experience" of sorts, it might only be fun until you know the secret of however it works.

All remains to be seen, but I'm feeling fairly positive.

I'm still not sure what to make of this and it really could go either way; it's either going to be a massive flop or a big success. And it will come down to budget more than likely.

When you think about it though Derren Brown is perfect for Merlin. I've only ever seen Derren Brown stuff on TV, largely those event things he did a few years ago, and although interesting they were ultimately just massive gimmicks. And Merlin love a gimmick! Brown's stuff has never had an effect on me, he didn't make me stick to my chair but then again others did. And this is my big concern, can Derren Brown be a success for such a wide audience in a theme park? There will be people who ride it who don't know who he is and people who ride it that love him.

As Saz points out though, if this is meant to open in March there is still a lot to do! Dark rides are so advanced now and Merlin hardly have a good track record with them. This is never going to meet Disney/Universal levels but it has to be pushing up that way making the most of whatever the budget is. But then look at Universal's newest dark ride, Kong. It opens later than Derren Brown (summer 2016) yet has been under construction for 12 months longer; the building is totally finished and almost fully themed. A vast difference already.

Sazzle said:

So Derren Brown.. I still don't really 'get it', but I'm sure all will become apparent.

My concerns so far:
+ How many years of planning...? Opening in March? And the building is no where near completed :/
+ The only companies to ever pull off really immersive and successful dark rides are Disney and Universal. Will this compare?
+ The IP could be a little out-of-fashion? I have never seen any of Derren Brown's work and don't really know how popular he is!

My pro points:
+ An IP means being held accountable. CBeebies Land at Towers is REALLY high quality, because the park worked with and were held accountable to the Beeb. This could be a bonus - no cutting corners!
+ Hopefully this could really help to pull back the families with older kids (depending on the theme/ride system)
+ SOMETHING ELSE TO SOAK UP CROWDS!!! Anything. ANYTHING WILL DO. So sick of the park being unable to handle any sort of medium/high attendance

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3 years planning. A lot of the theming and media is created off site, remember.
Disney, Universal, Efteling, Europea Park, Phantasialand... there is more to dark rides than just Orlando.
DB is one of the country's most popular entertainers ... you can't really make that comment if you know nothing about him or not seen his work It's really entertaining - you should watch it!

Rob said:

But then look at Universal's newest dark ride, Kong. It opens later than Derren Brown (summer 2016) yet has been under construction for 12 months longer; the building is totally finished and almost fully themed. A vast difference already.

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It's almost as if one of these rides has a budget of $140m and the other one has one that is slightly less. It's almost as if one of these rides is being built by a park with four times the attendance of the other. One is a seasonal UK park (undergoing transition to something slightly different, I grant) - the other is a world wide destination, next to another world wide destination a few miles away from WDW.

Let us put some context in all of this.

I don't know a great deal about Mr. Brown, what I have seen has been cool. I'm looking forward to giving the ride a go, that's for sure.

Sazzle said:

So Derren Brown.. I still don't really 'get it', but I'm sure all will become apparent.

My concerns so far:
+ How many years of planning...? Opening in March? And the building is no where near completed :/
+ The only companies to ever pull off really immersive and successful dark rides are Disney and Universal. Will this compare?
+ The IP could be a little out-of-fashion? I have never seen any of Derren Brown's work and don't really know how popular he is!

My pro points:
+ An IP means being held accountable. CBeebies Land at Towers is REALLY high quality, because the park worked with and were held accountable to the Beeb. This could be a bonus - no cutting corners!
+ Hopefully this could really help to pull back the families with older kids (depending on the theme/ride system)
+ SOMETHING ELSE TO SOAK UP CROWDS!!! Anything. ANYTHING WILL DO. So sick of the park being unable to handle any sort of medium/high attendance

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Derren still sells out a lot of venues on his tour, his stage shows are still very popular.

It doesn't matter that the building doesn't look finished, most of the interior will be constructed off-site and moved in during the closed season. Also they can't fully enclose as that is how they are getting things in.

Merlin have made some OK dark rides at Legoland parks so hopefully they can do something here. They key will be keeping things not just black space inbetween the screens.

Rick said:

It's almost as if one of these rides has a budget of $140m and the other one has one that is slightly less. It's almost as if one of these rides is being built by a park with four times the attendance of the other. One is a seasonal UK park (undergoing transition to something slightly different, I grant) - the other is a world wide destination, next to another world wide destination a few miles away from WDW.

Let us put some context in all of this.

I don't know a great deal about Mr. Brown, what I have seen has been cool. I'm looking forward to giving the ride a go, that's for sure.

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Hey, it's not me that always claim Merlin are second only to Disney - they only have themselves to blame on that front.

I admit that the Disney/Universal comparision is not fair in terms of the final ride quality. But even Arthur at EP was much further down the line in contruction at this stage compared to this and Arthur ended up being delayed. Or just look at Taron right now (a totally different project mind).

This ride building isn't even close to being sealed yet, never mind any interior or theming work taking place! There is a lot to do and Merlin have a track record of not compleiting things until the morning of opening.