Trooper Looper
TS Member
LOL I just noticed the votes. It says 'What would you Choose', as in What would you choose what to do with Duel, and most people seem to like Duel as it is...
That was unexpected.
That was unexpected.
To get some balance from someone who probably had more rides on HH than Duel, it certainly wasn't as good as people make it out to be. Was it great? Hell yeah! It was a fantastic ride! But it was never perfect (what is).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.
Perfect? Absolutely not! Great? Hell yes!!To get some balance from someone who probably had more rides on HH than Duel, it certainly wasn't as good as people make it out to be. Was it great? Hell yeah! It was a fantastic ride! But it was never perfect (what is).
For me, this isn't about how great HH was, more about how crap Duel is. There was loads of broken stuff in HH come the end. Duel fixed loads of stuff but put cheap tat in there (crap zombies on sticks and LED's). It was a bit like repaint of Towers Street a few years ago. Was the bright primary colours better than looking at it as it was the previous season? Yes. Was it a downgrade however on the original? Yes very much so!
And yes @Matt.N the lighting is a BIG part of it. Some of those effects and props have been in there since 92 and were great as built. Now they're either embarrassing or completely ineffective. So imagine HH tarted up but downgraded with cheap tat and the implementation of the fad at the time which was lasers. Then imagine that downgrade lasts for 2 decades, almost double the amount of time HH lasted and it just gets more broken and the lighting is changed to make it even worse. Then they go and ruin the excellent indoor queue shortly afterwards. That's where we are right now, the worst state it's ever been in. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Tomb Blaster at Chessington by the back door.
So in summary, HH (although awesome) was not all its cracked up to be, but the whole ride is far worse now than it's ever been.
Was there? The only “accessible” entrance was via the shop, making it not very accessible because of the constant stream of people leaving.there was already a Disabled enterence that was there in 1992, just boarded up.
I'm sure that it was the Photo Booth door that was originally the Disabled entranceWas there? The only “accessible” entrance was via the shop, making it not very accessible because of the constant stream of people leaving.
Also was the ramp to the shop there in 1992 or added later?
There is a door just past the photo collection point, which therefore involved going through the shop, past the photo collection desk, opening a door to get to the ride platform. That was the case up to pre-pandemic season. But as it involved going through the shop it was never a great accessible entrance solution.I'm sure that it was the Photo Booth door that was originally the Disabled entrance
also the entrance wasn’t “disabled” it’s an accessible entrance.
Excellent post. Sums the whole thing up perfectly.To get some balance from someone who probably had more rides on HH than Duel, it certainly wasn't as good as people make it out to be. Was it great? Hell yeah! It was a fantastic ride! But it was never perfect (what is).
For me, this isn't about how great HH was, more about how crap Duel is. There was loads of broken stuff in HH come the end. Duel fixed loads of stuff but put cheap tat in there (crap zombies on sticks and LED's). It was a bit like repaint of Towers Street a few years ago. Was the bright primary colours better than looking at it as it was the previous season? Yes. Was it a downgrade however on the original? Yes very much so!
And yes @Matt.N the lighting is a BIG part of it. Some of those effects and props have been in there since 92 and were great as built. Now they're either embarrassing or completely ineffective. So imagine HH tarted up but downgraded with cheap tat and the implementation of the fad at the time which was lasers. Then imagine that downgrade lasts for 2 decades, almost double the amount of time HH lasted and it just gets more broken and the lighting is changed to make it even worse. Then they go and ruin the excellent indoor queue shortly afterwards. That's where we are right now, the worst state it's ever been in. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Tomb Blaster at Chessington by the back door.
So in summary, HH (although awesome) was not all its cracked up to be, but the whole ride is far worse now than it's ever been.
I dunno - there was criticism creeping in about the state of lighting way earlier than that. The most obvious illusion-breaking one I can think of being the illuminated fire escape at the end of the trommel, that was only a short while in to Duel's life. (The fire escape had always been there, but was previously hidden behind a blackout curtain IIRC).When they removed the proper UV lights and replaced with purple LEDs.
Noticed this from Wiki -
"Alton Towers decided that too many people had been through The Haunted House and it needed an upgrade, that coincided with when I retired from the company, and [it was converted into] an interactive dark ride... But the trouble with these interactive dark rides is you’re so busy pointing your gun at the little targets that […] nobody takes a blind bit of notice at the effects, there’s no emotion, there’s no real sense of drama or theatre in there."
– John Wardley reflecting in 2009 on the ride's redesign as Duel.[6]
I have to agree -- the theming is just wack. Bring HH back and have another dark ride that does the laser pointy thing.