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[2023] The Curse at Alton Manor

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It appears that there has not yet been any construction on the exterior of the attraction:

Could any work done to the facade and exterior be occurring after Christmas, perhaps?
 
Matt N said:
It appears that there has not yet been any construction on the exterior of the attraction:

Could any work done to the facade and exterior be occurring after Christmas, perhaps?
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From what I've heard when I was in duels gift shop, the staff at the cash register said that she thought they weren't working on the ride the day I went, but they were, so they're only doing probably around 3-4 days of work a week, so the facade will probably be done last as they've already started on the inside.
 
Trooper Looper said:
From what I've heard when I was in duels gift shop, the staff at the cash register said that she thought they weren't working on the ride the day I went, but they were, so they're only doing probably around 3-4 days of work a week, so the facade will probably be done last as they've already started on the inside.
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I’d imagine they might want to do the facade and exterior when the park is completely empty.

I wouldn’t necessarily assume that they’re only working 3-4 days a week based purely on that one staff member’s comment, though. I’m not saying that they’re wrong by any means, but front line customer-facing staff may not necessarily have the most reliable knowledge of the project timetable for something like this.
 
Spotted walking past, looks like we’ll be saying goodbye to the skull when entering the trommel and perhaps the trommell itself… (the teeth are on the floor) sorry about the chaos this is now likely to cause in here!
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jmc said:
Spotted walking past, looks like the end of at least the skull when entering the trommel… (the teeth are in the floor)
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Could the Trommel perhaps be going, then? Or do we suspect that this is simply a replacement of the entry to the Trommel?
 
Bert2theSpark said:
Theoretically speaking, if the trommel was being replaced would they might need to the remove the surrounding theming to have access it?
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Yes, they probably would have to remove the theming regardless of what it was being replaced with.
 
jmc said:
Spotted walking past, looks like the end of at least the skull when entering the trommel… (the teeth are in the floor) sorry about the chaos this is now likely to cause in here!
66dc8cab11b0106992505d275915da1d.dng



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I'm honestly curious to see how different it'll look now...one thing we can be absolutely sure is that this isn't just an overhaul, this is a total rebuild.
 
QTXAdsy said:
I'm honestly curious to see how different it'll look now...one thing we can be absolutely sure is that this isn't just an overhaul, this is a total rebuild.
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I think this project will be a very comprehensive change, certainly more comprehensive than some are letting on. I’ve thought it since day 1, and the things that have happened since reinforce that view further.

At a minimum, we have now seen indications that the following scenes are being either removed or majorly overhauled:
  • The 2003 finale (walls have been seen thrown into a skip behind Duel)
  • The Sinister Garden (props from this scene have been used in the queue for The Invitation… that implies that they are unlikely to be going back inside, in my view)
  • The Tunnel of Doom (theming has been disposed of behind Duel)
There is a very strong chance that other scenes could also have been removed, particularly seeing as coverage has grown far more limited as of late due to the park closing for the season.

That to me implies that this could be a pretty big overhaul. And to be honest, I’m very happy about that. A comprehensive overhaul should mean that the ride that opens next year will be a modern dark ride fit for the 21st century, and it should have a good, long lifespan ahead of it before it receives any other major changes!
 
Matt N said:
I think this project will be a very comprehensive change, certainly more comprehensive than some are letting on. I’ve thought it since day 1, and the things that have happened since reinforce that view further.

At a minimum, we have now seen indications that the following scenes are being either removed or majorly overhauled:
  • The 2003 finale (walls have been seen thrown into a skip behind Duel)
  • The Sinister Garden (props from this scene have been used in the queue for The Invitation… that implies that they are unlikely to be going back inside, in my view)
  • The Tunnel of Doom (theming has been disposed of behind Duel)
There is a very strong chance that other scenes could also have been removed, particularly seeing as coverage has grown far more limited as of late due to the park closing for the season.

That to me implies that this could be a pretty big overhaul. And to be honest, I’m very happy about that. A comprehensive overhaul should mean that the ride that opens next year will be a modern dark ride fit for the 21st century, and it should have a good, long lifespan ahead of it before it receives any other major changes!
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If they didn't cock up Toyland Tours and destroy Bubbleworks I would have the same optimism
 
RIPCorky said:
If they didn't cock up Toyland Tours and destroy Bubbleworks I would have the same optimism
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What I would say to that is that one key difference is thought to exist between this project and those two. That difference is that it is looking likely that this project will not entail an IP.

That matters because IP licensing costs are surprisingly high, and they can take a surprising amount out of the budget for a ride overhaul. With this seemingly having no IP costs to contend with, it should leave more money for the ride itself.

Those in the know have suggested that the budget being allocated is enough to pull off something really decent. I have every faith in Merlin to execute this project well.
 
RIPCorky said:
If they didn't cock up Toyland Tours and destroy Bubbleworks I would have the same optimism
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TBF, Charlie's retheme was screwed over by budget cuts, not helped by paying for the licence. Honestly might've been cheaper and better of to just overhaul TT to appeal to a moderm audience. Interesting to imagine what might have been had Charlie been built to the best possible state without budget cuts.

Bubbleworks retheme though was just an utter calamity in which nothing went right and those who were put in charge of building it should hang their heads in shame.
 
Well, with the Trommel skull being removed the only positive thought I can think of is that they're removing the skull to get access to the Trommel motors, hoping to fix it.
 
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