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2023: General Discussion

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Trooper Looper said:
Wasn't Hex not well received in it's first year because the preshow was different than the one we know now? Didn't they resolve that the following year and it was much better well received afterwards?
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I don’t think the OG version of Hex even lasted the full season, I think it was changed during the 2000 season.
 
Blackhole_Sun said:
That’s nonsense in my opinion.

You could say similarly that judgments are clouded also because everyone on here is a fan of Alton Towers and the brand.

I’ve seen extreme negativity towards The Curse and extremely positive. Doesn’t really prove either way, but the content of criticism is always the same. It would be better if the criticism was along the lines of “the ride is too short” or “the queues are too long” that’s not been the case with this ride.

Perhaps everyone’s expectations of Merlin have lowered to make this a good ride in people’s minds. Purely because they tried something different and didn’t do the IP route.
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I never said judgements are clouded, the enjoyment of a ride is subjective. What I am saying is firstly people who dislike something resonate with others who dislike something so it creates a bubble (goes the other way too), but also that those who dislike something tend to be more vocal. If you look at the post count of those members who disliked the ride in the salty Man’s topic it’s higher than those who liked it.

Same on social media, those who dislike something tend to post more. And I am not saying I am some saint who does anything different. I suspect I posted more on the Icon topic when it opened as I hated the ride than many of those who where quite happy.

Trooper Looper said:
Wasn't Hex not well received in it's first year because the preshow was different than the one we know now? Didn't they resolve that the following year and it was much better well received afterwards?
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It was better received by enthusiasts after the changes but when I did customer council the person leading it said Hex’s satisfaction score wasn’t great in year one but consistently got better as each season passed and it wasn’t the headline attraction.
 
Dark rides will always divide opinion. Only Alton Towers/Merlin will know whether it's achieved what they wanted it to do.

I remember Duel being hated when it first debuted in 2003. I remember hating it as a child, thinking they ruined the old haunted house. It's the same thing here: nostalgia. Give it 20 years when it gets rethemed/replaced. Very few people will remember Duel, and everyone will say they ruined Alty Mans. Swings and roundabouts....

I'm sure we'll see MMM respond to feedback and work on Alty Mans over the closed season to improve it. It will never be everyone's cup of tea, but that's the joy of dark rides.
 
Would be interesting to note that if Hex is back working again and that the park does up their dark ride offering over the next few years following Project Horizon such as the Dungeons building or maybe even gut out some of the buildings in TWODW which all give a different sort of dark ride either interactive, 4D effects, boat ride etc then at the very least the park could have a dark ride offering that would have something for everyone as mentioned above, dark rides are all subject to taste in which Alton Manor had a marmite approach to all yet in theory if you didn't like that ride or missed the blasters then you could have another dark ride of your choice on the other side of the park.

Ofc, this is just me throwing a dark ride strategy out there though I'm aware flat rides will be up there though TBH by this point I'm more hopefully of newer dark rides rather than flats by this point. We might not know how popular Alton Manor truly is as social media is a terrible place to gauge a reaction as God forbid we had social media back when the original HH opened as I'm damn sure there would be someone who would have a grievance about it which sounds shocking but that's social media for you.
 
My kids love TCAAM but they are 8 and 7 which I think is more towards the target demographic of haunted houses rather than adult enthusiasts who like to pick faults in everything. I guess the next step up to “scariness” is along the lines of the dungeons but if they tried to make a ride like that it would just alienate half the park’s attendees.

They could hardly make it a ride taking you through the bathroom from Saw could they..
 
Dave said:
I think your opinion is clouded by the opinion bubble you subscribe to.

People who want to moan about something expand far more social media energy than those who are satisfied with something. I don’t think a ride has opened at Towers where the social media comments are not excessively negative.

Look at you, you have expended far more energy in the Alton Manor topic than almost anyone else, it’s living rent free in your head, that’s what happens when people don’t like something, it niggles them. People who where happy just move on to the next thing.

I guarantee when Nemesis 2: The revenge opens tons of people on socials will moan about it. When Horizon opens tons of people will moan about that too. It’s just human nature.
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A kids ride at a theme park is not "living rent free in my head" I just don't think people should pretend they think something is good when they don't believe it is. My main issue with the ride was the budget it received and the finished product was reflective of that. The concept was a decent one. It's one thing to moan about a ride, and another to want the old ride back. If you want to ignore the fact that people have said "duel was better" Or "bring back Duel" then that's up to you. A simple look at the google reviews of this ride shows how it's been received by the public.
 
Poisson said:
That Daz Black maze thingy is a possibility? What grade were the Duel lasers? I work with Class 2 (safe) and Class 3R (probably not wise) but they could nerf them even more and use them as part of the experience?
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how do laser classifications work?
 
I recall seeing a sign saying Class 2 laser product.
The laser class system goes from Class 1 (won't do any damage unless seriously misused) to Class 4 (Will burn through most materials).
Class 2 means damage to eyes should largely be averted by blinking but excessive shining in the eyes should be avoided. There are a few letter attachments for specific types of laser although I'm not sure what 3R means.
 
RIPCorky said:
A kids ride at a theme park is not "living rent free in my head" I just don't think people should pretend they think something is good when they don't believe it is. My main issue with the ride was the budget it received and the finished product was reflective of that. The concept was a decent one. It's one thing to moan about a ride, and another to want the old ride back. If you want to ignore the fact that people have said "duel was better" Or "bring back Duel" then that's up to you. A simple look at the google reviews of this ride shows how it's been received by the public.
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Think this ignores the fact that a lot of people post complete nonsense online. This goes for all sorts of industries, some moreso than others (football, politics, etc.). There are some out there who think Furius Baco is the best roller coaster in the world for example.

Merlin probably should've given a higher budget, but can say similar to most of their additions over the years. Sometimes you gotta work with what you've got (especially as they seemingly couldn't rejig the ride system, which would've helped immensely with any changes), and give them credit for something more imaginative than the "stick blasters on it and call it a day" approach Duel and Tomb Blaster had.

As we are not privy to Towers' own KPIs we cannot say for certain what the true opinion of it is. As mentioned before, negative people always shout loudly online compared to one's who are non-plussed or enjoyed it.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
I recall seeing a sign saying Class 2 laser product.
The laser class system goes from Class 1 (won't do any damage unless seriously misused) to Class 4 (Will burn through most materials).
Class 2 means damage to eyes should largely be averted by blinking but excessive shining in the eyes should be avoided. There are a few letter attachments for specific types of laser although I'm not sure what 3R means.
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3R is avoid direct exposure but you would be most likely alright with small amounts of as you'd naturally look away, but there is a chance of harm. I'm sure Towers could retrofit Class 1 and use them in the maze if they so desired, or have actors use them with a red light in instead of any laser at all.
 
It's just like the statistics for customer service:
A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell about 4-6 people about their experience. – White House Office of Consumer Affair.
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So statistically, we are more likely to hear bad things about the ride than good things; it's just human nature and certainly doesn't make the ride bad or unpopular!
 
RIPCorky said:
A kids ride at a theme park is not "living rent free in my head" I just don't think people should pretend they think something is good when they don't believe it is. My main issue with the ride was the budget it received and the finished product was reflective of that. The concept was a decent one. It's one thing to moan about a ride, and another to want the old ride back. If you want to ignore the fact that people have said "duel was better" Or "bring back Duel" then that's up to you. A simple look at the google reviews of this ride shows how it's been received by the public.
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Absolutely no need to continue to discuss TCAM here when we have a dedicated thread please! Thanks.
 
Anyone have a spare £250 quid I can borrow?
shop.altontowers.com

Duel Blaster

This is your opportunity to own a piece of Alton Towers Resort history. Duel was a much loved ride operating at Alton Towers Resort for almost 20 years, entertaining millions of guests, duelling the creatures within The Haunted House. Now a very small number of blasters taken from the actual...
shop.altontowers.com shop.altontowers.com
They've taken the blooming wiring out so you can't use it as a blaster any more.
 
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