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[2023] The Curse at Alton Manor

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One thing I would say is that seeing as John is thought to be working on the project to some extent, Merlin may well have given him a line to say to enthusiasts when those kinds of questions cropped up. This may have been a PR line that Merlin have told him to toe; it is certainly open-ended and vague enough to sound like one.

I know that John has been fairly candid in the past, but this has either been about projects where he was playing a very minor role (Wicker Man), projects he wasn't involved with (Chessington's coaster), or projects he was not actively working on. With him being actively involved in this project to some extent, he presumably has some responsibility to stay squeaky-clean from a PR standpoint, so has probably been briefed on how to respond to these types of emails.
 
Matt N said:
One thing I would say is that seeing as John is thought to be working on the project to some extent, Merlin may well have given him a line to say to enthusiasts when those kinds of questions cropped up. This may have been a PR line that Merlin have told him to toe; it is certainly open-ended and vague enough to sound like one.
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Well, to be Frank, he's kind of always been like that in interviews since forever. Vague, yet always really passionate about the discussion. Maybe he just wants to keep it vague from spoiling too much, give the fan some info, but not spoil it and make the fan excited for what's to come!
 
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Trooper Looper said:
Well, to be Frank, he's kind of always been like that in interviews since forever. Vague, yet always really passionate about the discussion. Maybe he just wants to keep it vague from spoiling too much, give the fan some info, but not spoil it and make the fan excited for what's to come!
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I agree, seems like he's excited to reveal what he's helping to create, but keeping it secret for now.
 
Excellent news!

If there is nothing to read between the lines.....An iconic ride remains iconic and it also annoys everyone that thinks anything old is crap and wanted it gutted for a load of screens and projectors.
 
While I do appreciate that John Wardley is a trusted source, I would not necessarily take his words to mean that everything is staying or that the ride will be staying mostly faithful to the 1992 original.

As I said above, he could well have been briefed on what to say by Merlin seeing as he is thought to be actively working on the project. Also, it's hardly like he's going to say "We're ripping out everything and plonking in loads of screens!" to someone who is hopeful for most of the 1992 stuff to stay; I'd wager he may well have crafted that message to make that particular sender excited about the upcoming ride, as they express a lot of hope for the 1992 original to stay.

Also, I'd argue that that message does not say anything we didn't already know or at very least strongly assume. Realistically, I think that few expected this to be a drastic departure from the original in terms of basic concept, and John's message simply seems to reinforce that the basic concept and ethos of the 1992 Haunted House will be retained. Make of it what you will, of course, but personally, I would not take it as confirmation that the 1992 scenery is mostly staying put, I would not take it as confirmation that screens/projections won't be used at all, and I would not take it as confirmation that the ride will not be materially different from either of the previous iterations.

I think that John's message is pretty vague and open to interpretation; in my view, his message could still work if the ride was undergoing a significant overhaul to make it fit the 2020s. My feeling is that he is referring to the well-liked attributes of the original ride rather than specific elements, and a more modern take on the concept with mostly new scenes and theming could still deliver those attributes.

Based on the theming removal that we've already seen, my personal hunch remains that this will be a pretty hefty change and that we will be boarding a materially different ride to either of the previous iterations in 2023, even if it maintains the same basic concept.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, for clarity. I simply don't want folk expecting the ride to mostly contain 1992 theming to be disappointed if it turns out to be less like the original than they'd expected. I'm simply trying to reinforce that nothing is confirmed or denied at this stage; anything could be happening inside that building.
 
I hope that some of Wardley's proposed scenes for the HH which were not used are used in this, but he might have better ideas by now because of better technology now compared to 1992,which might allow him to implement scenes which would have been basically impossible on a typical Towers budget when the HH was operating.
 
Well, since it doesn't really reveal anything specific or vivid I thought it would be appropriate to post it. If it was a sketch of some plans, behind the scenes photos or concept art, that'd be a different story.
 
Matt N said:
While I do appreciate that John Wardley is a trusted source, I would not necessarily take his words to mean that everything is staying or that the ride will be staying mostly faithful to the 1992 original.

As I said above, he could well have been briefed on what to say by Merlin seeing as he is thought to be actively working on the project. Also, it's hardly like he's going to say "We're ripping out everything and plonking in loads of screens!" to someone who is hopeful for most of the 1992 stuff to stay; I'd wager he may well have crafted that message to make that particular sender excited about the upcoming ride, as they express a lot of hope for the 1992 original to stay.

Also, I'd argue that that message does not say anything we didn't already know or at very least strongly assume. Realistically, I think that few expected this to be a drastic departure from the original in terms of basic concept, and John's message simply seems to reinforce that the basic concept and ethos of the 1992 Haunted House will be retained. Make of it what you will, of course, but personally, I would not take it as confirmation that the 1992 scenery is mostly staying put, I would not take it as confirmation that screens/projections won't be used at all, and I would not take it as confirmation that the ride will not be materially different from either of the previous iterations.

I think that John's message is pretty vague and open to interpretation; in my view, his message could still work if the ride was undergoing a significant overhaul to make it fit the 2020s. My feeling is that he is referring to the well-liked attributes of the original ride rather than specific elements, and a more modern take on the concept with mostly new scenes and theming could still deliver those attributes.

Based on the theming removal that we've already seen, my personal hunch remains that this will be a pretty hefty change and that we will be boarding a materially different ride to either of the previous iterations in 2023, even if it maintains the same basic concept.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, for clarity. I simply don't want folk expecting the ride to mostly contain 1992 theming to be disappointed if it turns out to be less like the original than they'd expected. I'm simply trying to reinforce that nothing is confirmed or denied at this stage; anything could be happening inside that building.
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Out of curiosity, did you copy and paste this from Thorpe Park Mania? Or vice versa?? :tongueclosed:

I do agree will all of that, there is nothing special what so ever in that message, John is not exactly going to reveal anything ahead of the parks official unveiling. He has been doing this year in year out for 30 years now pretty much, he knows exactly what he is doing.
 
Matt N said:
Vice versa... I wrote this one first and then posted on TPM.

I'm ashamed to admit that I do sometimes reuse posts if I'm trying to say something similar on more than one site...
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Nothing wrong with doing that, I would assume most people do not go across both. You made some very valid points, so nothing wrong with copy and pasting.
 
DistortAMG said:
Nothing wrong with doing that, I would assume most people do not go across both. You made some very valid points, so nothing wrong with copy and pasting.
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Otherwise it would be like a college assignment where you're just copying text from somewhere and changing a few words and phrases here and there so nobody notices with the exception you wrote it in the first place.
 
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