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[2023] The Curse at Alton Manor

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rob666 said:
Because nemesis was an internationally well known rollercoaster, and duel was a second rate dark ride?
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True, but you'd be surprised how many of the GP are a big fan of Duel. My family loved it, and I always see on Vlogs at the park from smaller YouTubers, they always have a go on Duel and they always say how much they love it. We enthusiasts don't love it, but boy do the GP do...
 
It certainly seems as though this overhaul could be the most comprehensive the ride has ever had.

And to be honest, I am quite glad about that. A more major overhaul should secure its longevity for many years to come and enhance it to become a strong dark ride fit for the 2020s.
 
Trooper Looper said:
True, but you'd be surprised how many of the GP are a big fan of Duel. My family loved it, and I always see on Vlogs at the park from smaller YouTubers, they always have a go on Duel and they always say how much they love it. We enthusiasts don't love it, but boy do the GP do...
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I disagree.
It was a poor shadow of the original ride.
The GP didn't give a damn either, most people jog around the coasters, and the water rides in summer.
It rarely ever gets a queue.
It is used for shelter in the rain, and a nice rest.
Nothing more.
Very much looking forward to the makeover.
 
AT86 said:
Why does that picture mean it is only possibly one of those two options?
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Perhaps just the trend with many dark rides using screens from almost every park you'll find, look no further than GG. I'd love to see a nice blend of physical scenery and characters with perhaps the screens if they had any to be used for just background effects to add more of an atmosphere as just fully be screenbased which honestly would make Duel look good.

If Duel/HH is going to be built as the park's flagship dark ride (Hex you could argue deserves this title more) then they'll have to have it look even better than it ever did back in 1992.
 
rob666 said:
I disagree.
It was a poor shadow of the original ride.
The GP didn't give a damn either, most people jog around the coasters, and the water rides in summer.
It rarely ever gets a queue.
It is used for shelter in the rain, and a nice rest.
Nothing more.
Very much looking forward to the makeover.
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Not for me. Whoever I visit, the queue is at the very least just outside of the facade, sometimes into the forest actually.

Yes, if doesn't hold a candle to it's original self, but the GP still do really like it, weird right.
 
Trooper Looper said:
And the park didn't even give out an official announcement to Guests of its last operating day. There doing it with nemesis, but not Duel!? WTH?
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Nemesis is known far more to the general public than I think many of us realise. Partly down to the sheer volume of coverage it had when it opened, the fact it was the first of its kind in the country and for those that have ridden it, it's just fantastic. Many of the general public know that Nemesis = Alton Towers. It's weird, it's just sort of ingrained into everybody's mind I think!

You only have to watch TV to see this - I've seen a question on The Chase asking which park has Nemesis, Richard Osman's House of Games asking the same thing, and the 1st episode of the brilliant series of Cunk on Britain - the spoof documentary series starring Diane Morgan - comparing Stonehenge to Nemesis (watch it on iPlayer to get the context!)

That's why Nemesis gets a closing notice and Duel doesn't!
 
Steve74 said:
Nemesis is known far more to the general public than I think many of us realise. Partly down to the sheer volume of coverage it had when it opened, the fact it was the first of its kind in the country and for those that have ridden it, it's just fantastic. Many of the general public know that Nemesis = Alton Towers. It's weird, it's just sort of ingrained into everybody's mind I think!

You only have to watch TV to see this - I've seen a question on The Chase asking which park has Nemesis, Richard Osman's House of Games asking the same thing, and the 1st episode of the brilliant series of Cunk on Britain - the spoof documentary series starring Diane Morgan - comparing Stonehenge to Nemesis (watch it on iPlayer to get the context!)

That's why Nemesis gets a closing notice and Duel doesn't!
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That is true, I even saw Nemesis on ITV news' intro once...

But I still find it this weird if Duels change is a big as some are suggesting, even a single post by the Parks social media of it's final days would've been nice. It wouldn't have harmed them to do that, would it?
 
Trooper Looper said:
That is true, I even saw Nemesis on ITV news' intro once...

But I still find it this weird if Duels change is a big as some are suggesting, even a single post by the Parks social media of it's final days would've been nice. It wouldn't have harmed them to do that, would it?
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At the time Duel closed Hex and Enterpise were also down, advertising more ride closures mid-season is not the same as saying ‘at the end of the season Nemesis will close’.

One has the potential to create a backlash against cost vs ride availability.
 
Trooper Looper said:
That is true, I even saw Nemesis on ITV news' intro once...

But I still find it this weird if Duels change is a big as some are suggesting, even a single post by the Parks social media of it's final days would've been nice. It wouldn't have harmed them to do that, would it?
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I suspect the risk vs benefit tipped to the former; they'd just be highlighting something wasn't available for their key trading periods in October.
 
WillPS said:
I suspect the risk vs benefit tipped to the former; they'd just be highlighting something wasn't available for their key trading periods in October.
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But can't that apply to Nemesis closing as well. The Park could be considerably less crowded next year, even with the new Dark Ride in Duels place, it wouldn't make much difference in term of attendance based from how people talk about Duel here and how it'll potentially look next year, same facade, but nee interior scenes, will the average Joe even know there will be a difference before entering the ride If? Would they even bother riding it if it looks the same as last year outside? they wanted to still earn a profit, they should've just announced That Nemesis wouldn't be operating for the 2023 season just before the Park opened for next year. By that, they would've still had booked tickets before the announcement, so therefore still earning a profit.
 
Trooper Looper said:
But can't that apply to Nemesis closing as well. The Park could be considerably less crowded next year, even with the new Dark Ride in Duels place, it wouldn't make much difference in term of attendance based from how people talk about Duel here and how it'll potentially look next year, same facade, but nee interior scenes, will the average Joe even know there will be a difference before entering the ride If? Would they even bother riding it if it looks the same as last year outside? they wanted to still earn a profit, they should've just announced That Nemesis wouldn't be operating for the 2023 season just before the Park opened for next year. By that, they would've still had booked tickets before the announcement, so therefore still earning a profit.
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Yes but announcing Nemesis is closing "by order of the Phalanx" is clearly the start of a marketing campaign that'll run until it reopens. And any extra revenue that'll generate for 2024 season will far outweigh any losses they incur as a result of it closing for a whole season
 
Trooper Looper said:
True, but you'd be surprised how many of the GP are a big fan of Duel. My family loved it, and I always see on Vlogs at the park from smaller YouTubers, they always have a go on Duel and they always say how much they love it. We enthusiasts don't love it, but boy do the GP do...
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Trooper Looper said:
That is true, I even saw Nemesis on ITV news' intro once...

But I still find it this weird if Duels change is a big as some are suggesting, even a single post by the Parks social media of it's final days would've been nice. It wouldn't have harmed them to do that, would it?
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Anyone that cares that much to say they love the park probably follows one of the fan sites such as TowersStreet, TowersTimes or Theme Park Worldwide on social media.
I just counted at least eight posts just from TowersStreet Facebook about Duel closing or the history of the Haunted House.
The first post with the "This is my house" sign got 181 reactions and 99 comments.

I expect most regular visitors would have found out about the closure from one of the fan sites.
 
jon81uk said:
Anyone that cares that much to say they love the park probably follows one of the fan sites such as TowersStreet, TowersTimes or Theme Park Worldwide on social media.
I just counted at least eight posts just from TowersStreet Facebook about Duel closing or the history of the Haunted House.
The first post with the "This is my house" sign got 181 reactions and 99 comments.

I expect most regular visitors would have found out about the closure from one of the fan sites.
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Sure, a few of the General Public would probably visit these places, but do you really think the majority would?

It's just me, but Towers could've pulled off Duels closure a lot better if it was more public like Nemesis, but not as much.
 
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Trooper Looper said:
Sure, a few of the General Public would probably visit these places, but do you really think the majority would?

It's just me, but Towers could've pulled off Duels closure a lot better if it was more public like Nemesis, but not as much.
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Anyone who would care enough to turn up with only a few weeks notice for a final ride probably already follows one of the fan sites.
 
I think they could have done better marketing when closing it, maybe have tied it in with Scarefest or done a good Social Marketing campaign on it (I find towers social media a bit lacking in that front)

but I guess they believed the costs around it weren't worth it. Here's hoping they put some better content into the reopening
 
Tibble said:
I think they could have done better marketing when closing it, maybe have tied it in with Scarefest or done a good Social Marketing campaign on it (I find towers social media a bit lacking in that front)

but I guess they believed the costs around it weren't worth it. Here's hoping they put some better content into the reopening
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I believe if it had a Bubbleworks like closure, it'd been great and very informative to Guests of all levels of enthusiasm. But Duel unfortunately got nothing official outside of a little chalk board.

I'm very sure the ride will be massively advertised for 2023 as Merlin do that with all of their new attractions to huge degrees. So expect at least a 35 minute queue on its opening day!
 
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