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Haunted House or Toyland Tours; which of the 1990s classic Wardley dark rides did you prefer?

Haunted House or Toyland Tours?


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    38
Well, if The Conga River Rapids is having a little work done to it, I don't see why Duel shouldn't, as they both areas are coincidentally turning 30 this year with evidence of work being done.
 
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Well, if The Conga River Rapifs is having a little work done to it, I don't see why Duel shouldn't, as they both areas are coincidentally turning 30 this year with evidence of work being done.
I doubt it's anything to do with the age it's just general standard maintenance which for most other companies wouldn't be necessary as it would've been kept on top of in the first place.
 
The HH because it was a greater work of art and was far more innovative than Toyland Tours, especially relating to the ride vehicle.
 
Haunted house. I was past the age bracket for Toyland Tours (Coming from a year 7 on a school trip many moons ago) . Of course both attractions were PG but HH was the lesser bait material. If you hadn’t queued for hours for Nemesis or Oblivion when you got back on the coach you were soft.
 
Funny how people who praise the Haunted House are most times the same who also want to see the original scenes and props ripped out, just saying.
 
Funny how people who praise the Haunted House are most times the same who also want to see the original scenes and props ripped out, just saying.

Who exactly is saying that? I kind of agree with whoever it is. . I personally think that HH effects and props in the late 90’s were already on their way out, no matter how much you try to polish a turd and rebrand it to a shoot off in 03. I have no doubts the creatives working on the project have the passion present a brilliant ride experience, but this isn’t 1992 anymore. I just hope they keep the essence but in a modernised way.
 
Haunted House for me. I was 12 years old in 1994. Obviously way too cool at that age to ride something called 'Toyland Tours'. I don't remember ever riding it, in fact. Plenty of re-rides to do on the likes of Corkscrew, Black Hole, Thunder Looper, Nemesis and The Beast for a super cool dude like me, at that age 😎
 
Nope, not true at all.
Who are these "people"?
Where are their posts?
HH was the best of the two by a very long way.
Apologies. Its just on SM as a whole sorry, not the forum, and I don't wanna name individuals. I can't blame you for not believing me. All I can say is, SM is a weird place full of weird people XD with opinions that don't make sense sometimes.
 
Funny how people who praise the Haunted House are most times the same who also want to see the original scenes and props ripped out, just saying.
If I may defend these folks for a second, what I’d say is that you can both appreciate the HH for what it was at the time and hope for a mostly new ride in 2023. Hoping for a mostly new ride in 2023 does not have to mean that you didn’t like the original HH or that you didn’t appreciate it; liking the original HH and hoping for a mostly new ride in 2023 are not mutually exclusive.

Whatever your thoughts are on the ride within the modern market, I think few would deny that the HH worked wonders in 1992. It was hugely successful, resonated with the market massively, and was truly unique and ground-breaking for the time. With that in mind, most who experienced the HH at the time are bound to have fond memories of it.

However, the world has moved on. Just because the ride worked very well between 1992 and 2002, that is not a sure-fire sign that it would resonate with a 2020s audience. The original HH was built 30 years ago. More than a quarter of a century has passed since the ride originally opened. Heck, a fifth of a century has now passed since the ride closed. 30 years is a long time in the theme park industry, and dark rides are built very differently now to how they were when the HH first opened.

Even if someone raved about the HH in 1992, that does not mean that they would rave about the same ride in 2023. The goalposts of what constitutes a revered dark ride have shifted considerably since then, and I’d (perhaps controversially) wager that at least some of the Haunted House’s present high praise is based on nostalgia and an appreciation of how brilliant it was for the time rather than a belief that the 1992 ride exactly as it was would work wonders and stack up in 2023.

Before I ramble on too much, my point is; just because someone wants mostly new scenes in 2023, it does not mean that they can’t praise the Haunted House for what it was in 1992 or that they didn’t like the 1992 Haunted House.

They might simply believe that while the ride undeniably worked well in 1992, 30 years have passed since then, the goalposts have shifted, and it’s time for something new rather than a “revival” of the old.
 
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If I may defend these folks for a second, what I’d say is that you can both appreciate the HH for what it was at the time and hope for a mostly new ride in 2023. Hoping for a mostly new ride in 2023 does not have to mean that you didn’t like the original HH or that you didn’t appreciate it; liking the original HH and hoping for a mostly new ride in 2023 are not mutually exclusive.

Whatever your thoughts are on the ride within the modern market, I think few would deny that the HH worked wonders in 1992. It was hugely successful, resonated with the market massively, and was truly unique and ground-breaking for the time. With that in mind, most who experienced the HH at the time are bound to have fond memories of it.

However, the world has moved on. Just because the ride worked very well between 1992 and 2002, that is not a sure-fire sign that it would resonate with a 2020s audience. The original HH was built 30 years ago. More than a quarter of a century has passed since the ride originally opened. Heck, a fifth of a century has now passed since the ride closed. 30 years is a long time in the theme park industry, and dark rides are built very differently now to how they were when the HH first opened.

Even if someone raved about the HH in 1992, that does not mean that they would rave about the same ride in 2023. The goalposts of what constitutes a revered dark ride have shifted considerably since then, and I’d (perhaps controversially) wager that at least some of the Haunted House’s present high praise is based on nostalgia and an appreciation of how brilliant it was for the time rather than a belief that the 1992 ride exactly as it was would work wonders and stack up in 2023.

Before I ramble on too much, my point is; just because someone wants mostly new scenes in 2023, it does not mean that they can’t praise the Haunted House for what it was in 1992 or that they didn’t like the 1992 Haunted House.

They might simply believe that while the ride undeniably worked well in 1992, 30 years have passed since then, the goalposts have shifted, and it’s time for something new rather than a “revival” of the old.
Lovely description and explanation there Matt! Even if I highly disagree.

Just to make it quick since this is a forum about TT and the HH, I just still find it odd that people say that the HH is a product of its time and wouldn't work in today's world, well, then why does the Haunted Mansion at DisneyLand still exist? Its over 60 years old, surely by those sayings it should be replaced ASAP with a new ghost train, but people still enjoy it as much as when it opened back in 1969, with only a few refurbs over the decades, such as new scenes, audio, but it still has most of its original elements, sfx, props, and music. I just think that's how they should treat Duel/HH. Give it new spooks and ideas, but keep old elements at the same time and still being the same ride in its core all those years ago but freshened up to prolong its lifespan.

I think the problem with The HH is that ever since its conversion to Duel, many guests have just forgotten about The HH. Not because it was boring or absurdly outdated, I personally don't see that, but because Duel has been around for so long that most fans of the ride don't even know it used to be a lot better without Blasters.
 
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Lovely description and explanation there Matt! Even if I highly disagree.

Just to make it quick since this is a forum about TT and the HH, I just still find it odd that people say that the HH is a product of its time and wouldn't work in today's world, well, then why does the Haunted Mansion at DisneyLand still exist? Its over 60 years old, surely by those sayings it should be replaced ASAP with a new ghost train, but people still enjoy it as much as when it opened back in 1969, with only a few refurbs over the decades, it still has most of its original elements, sfx, props, and music.
I do get your argument about the Haunted Mansion. “That too is an old ride, so shouldn’t that also be replaced and updated?” is certainly a valid question to ask given my previous post.

What I would say in response, however, is that there is one key difference. The Haunted Mansion was never removed, while the Haunted House was.

The Haunted Mansion has been subtly updated over the years to fit with the times while still maintaining its original ethos, so it’s managed to gain the status of “irreplaceable classic” while still resonating with a new audience due to the changes in technology making it provide a more effective experience for the modern market. They’ve updated the animatronics and scenes to provide a more convincing effect for the modern guest and match the demands of the modern market more closely. Had the same thing happened with the Haunted House, I digress that there’s a very good chance that the ride would have stood the test of time and we wouldn’t be sat here having this conversation in the first place.

The problem is, however, that the Haunted House was not treated in this manner. Tussauds tinkered with it a lot throughout the 1990s, and then ultimately closed it in its original form only 10 years into its life due to the ride losing its touch. Why the ride lost its touch is up for debate, but by 2002, the ride was relatively unpopular, felt dated, and had lost its originally intended effect, from what I gather. As such, they removed it and did the Duel refurbishment.

“Why is this a problem?” I hear you ask. Well, the issue is that because of the fact that the Haunted House was removed, whatever replaces Duel has to be sold as a new attraction for 2023. And I feel that a complete rehash of the HH as was would be a struggle to sell to the modern market as a “new attraction”. In 1992, the ride was a truly ground-breaking dark ride with props and scenes on a scale never seen before. But in 2023, those props would be 30 year old props that have been considerably bettered elsewhere, and the ride would not encapsulate elements commonly expected of a modern dark ride, such as heavier narrative.

If the ride had never been removed or tinkered with, and instead subtly updated over time Haunted Mansion-style, I think it would have gained a degree of “classic” status and the “early 1990s-ness” of the inherent design would have been easy to overlook. This is because the technology and scenes would have been subtly updated to resonate more effectively with the modern audience and the ride would have gained an “irreplaceable” status of sorts. People would view it as a “classic” that has spanned multiple generations and would take it for what it was on the virtue that it had multi-generational appeal. The subtle updates with time would also have helped to sell the ride to first-timers without it seeming overly dated.

If you are selling a ride as “new for 2023”, though… I think that most people would expect something encapsulating more contemporary dark ride design elements. I’d wager that people would expect a “new for 2023” experience to be modern, cutting-edge, and bespokely tailored to the modern park visiting demographic and its demands. Would a rehash of a ride designed for the early 1990s crowd tick those boxes? Given how the goalposts have moved since then, I’m not so sure.
 
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Just to make it quick since this is a forum about TT and the HH, I just still find it odd that people say that the HH is a product of its time and wouldn't work in today's world, well, then why does the Haunted Mansion at DisneyLand still exist? Its over 60 years old, surely by those sayings it should be replaced ASAP with a new ghost train, but people still enjoy it as much as when it opened back in 1969, with only a few refurbs over the decades, such as new scenes, audio, but it still has most of its original elements, sfx, props, and music. I just think that's how they should treat Duel/HH. Give it new spooks and ideas, but keep old elements at the same time and still being the same ride in its core all those years ago but freshened up to prolong its lifespan.

the Haunted Mansion has had significant refurbishments and new modern effects added, its now as much a product of 2021 as it is 1969.
 
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