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[2023] The Curse at Alton Manor

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Trooper Looper said:
Could this possibly mean that they'll start work on the area, and most of the work inside is done already?
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They can do both things at once, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. I’d wager that the only reason they’ve left it to this point is because of Lightopia and the disruption to external work that’s caused.

They could well be working on the interior and exterior concurrently from next week. Just because exterior work is beginning, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the interior is finished.
 
I wonder if the ramp will be there next year, as we could potentially see the indoor queue reverted back go it's old route, and the amount of negative reception from how the change was given of the route. I can see them creating a new RAP queue by taking some of the Gift Shops space up and use it as a hallway while using the exit side of the station to seat The RAP Guests there.

I'm not against RAP, but the way they handled it with Duel was abysmal and ruined the Drawing Room as a whole. Yeah, RAP Guests could experience the scene, but there was nothing to experience when the uneven feel and the visual illusion of the room was taken.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I wonder if the ramp will be there next year, as we could potentially see the indoor queue reverted back go it's old route, and the amount of negative reception from how the change was given of the route. I can see them creating a new RAP queue by taking some of the Gift Shops space up and use it as a hallway while using the exit side of the station to seat The RAP Guests there.

I'm not against RAP, but the way they handled it with Duel was abysmal and ruined the Drawing Room as a whole. Yeah, RAP Guests could experience the scene, but there was nothing to experience when the uneven feel and the visual illusion of the room was taken.
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The issue with having RAP load from the exit side is that it can often reduce throughput, which I’m sure the park would want to avoid on their “new for 2023” attraction. A throughput reduction resulting from RAP guests being batched in from the opposite side would be particularly problematic with a ride system like Duel’s that relies on quick dispatches.

You also have the issue that walking a wheelchair up that exit likely isn’t very pleasant, and could cause some crowd flow issues.

Yes, the changes made in 2021 were very poorly received on the whole, but at the same time, accessibility and equal provision are very important cornerstones of the modern day theme park, and the original Drawing Room was not equipped to handle disabled access.

Simply bunging disabled guests up the exit arguably provides them with an inferior experience and could be construed as not providing “equal access” to the whole experience of the ride. Therefore, I think the changes needed to happen at some point to allow for that accessibility.

With this in mind, I predict that the room will be turned into something entirely different that both fits the new ride experience and allows disabled guests to access it too. I would not mind betting that the changes in 2021 were made in a slightly slap-dash manner because they knew that the ride was getting a larger refurbishment in 2023. It is worth remembering that that change was forced upon them rather abruptly due to COVID rules preventing them from sending disabled guests up the exit, as well as the ensuing backlash that resulted from Duel not providing disabled access at all in 2020.

Also, this ride will not be the Haunted House or Duel. It will be its own attraction with its own unique qualities. With that in mind, I think it might be nice for that room to be changed to fit the attraction’s new identity.

I do hope they put a staff member on the ramp to merge RAP guests into the queue in an orderly fashion, however…
 
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Matt N said:
The issue with having RAP load from the exit side is that it can often reduce throughput, which I’m sure the park would want to avoid on their “new for 2023” attraction. A throughput reduction resulting from RAP guests being batched in from the opposite side would be particularly problematic with a ride system like Duel’s that relies on quick dispatches.

You also have the issue that walking a wheelchair up that exit likely isn’t very pleasant, and could cause some crowd flow issues.

Yes, the changes made in 2021 were very poorly received on the whole, but at the same time, accessibility and equal provision are very important cornerstones of the modern day theme park, and the original Drawing Room was not equipped to handle disabled access.

Simply bunging disabled guests up the exit arguably provides them with an inferior experience and could be construed as not providing “equal access” to the whole experience of the ride. Therefore, I think the changes needed to happen at some point to allow for that accessibility.

With this in mind, I predict that the room will be turned into something entirely different that both fits the new ride experience and allows disabled guests to access it too. I would not mind betting that the changes in 2021 were made in a slightly slap-dash manner because they knew that the ride was getting a larger refurbishment in 2023. It is worth remembering that that change was forced upon them rather abruptly due to COVID rules preventing them from sending disabled guests up the exit, as well as the ensuing backlash that resulted from Duel not providing disabled access at all in 2020.

Also, this ride will not be the Haunted House or Duel. It will be its own attraction with its own unique qualities. With that in mind, I think it might be nice for that room to be changed to fit the attraction’s new identity.

I do hope they put a staff member on the ramp to merge RAP guests into the queue in an orderly fashion, however…
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The 2021 change actually reduced the rides capacity in some case as then the ride system would just stop occasionally. Whenever I went on it, it'd at least stop once, and I think I know why.

With RAP now being able to board at the onload point, there's a lot less time to get in as I believe the onload platform is much shorter than the offload side of the station. So, with less time for them to get ready, the operator might have to Zero the attraction to a complete halt to allow the RAP Group to get into a car. This NEVER happened before the horrific 2021 change.

I'm not suggesting that they just use the currently existing exit ramp, but I'm saying is that they cold use the existing space where the Duel photo booth is and create that as a RAP walkway to the exit part of the station, while still being beneficial to all guests because:

1) The Drawing Room can be given its illusion and feel back, making it feel complete and whole again.

2) It'll be easier for ride operations, so they won't have to zero it when a RAP guests needs to get seated.

3) RAP Guests still get to ride the attraction without being a hindrance to Guests exiting the ride.

4) It'll be easier for RAP Guests with a RAP corridor ONLY for them. Linked from the Gift shop, to the Station while being easy to maneuver in.
 
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QTXAdsy said:
Uhhh...what's different since the walls went down? At least with Valhalla there were some changes on the outside but I'm trying to see if there is anything different to the outside here.
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I don’t think they were ever there to actually hide any construction, it was just as a teaser to the work which was due to follow over the closed season. The fact they’ve been removed probably suggests they’re readying it for whatever work is going to happen.
 
Trooper Looper said:
The 2021 change actually reduced the rides capacity in some case as then the ride system would just stop occasionally. Whenever I went on it, it'd at least stop once, and I think I know why.

With RAP now being able to board at the onload point, there's a lot less time to get in as I believe the onload platform is much shorter than the offload side of the station. So, with less time for them to get ready, the operator might have to Zero the attraction to a complete halt to allow the RAP Group to get into a car. This NEVER happened before the horrific 2021 change.

I'm not suggesting that they just use the currently existing exit ramp, but I'm saying is that they cold use the existing space where the Duel photo booth is and create that as a RAP walkway to the exit part of the station, while still being beneficial to all guests because:

1) The Drawing Room can be given its illusion and feel back, making it feel complete and whole again.

2) It'll be easier for ride operations, so they won't have to zero it when a RAP guests needs to get seated.

3) RAP Guests still get to ride the attraction without being a hindrance to Guests exiting the ride.

4) It'll be easier for RAP Guests with a RAP corridor ONLY for them. Linked from the Gift shop, to the Station while being easy to maneuver in.
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Ahem, RAP guests have ALWAYS boarded from the onload platform. There is a door part way up the exit ramp that leads to the loading station. I wish people would stop going on about reverting RAP access back to the exit as it was a right pain due to the narrow corridor, as @Matt N said. I'm pretty sure the external ramp is here to stay as it is permanent, made out of concrete. If it was intended to be temporary it would look just that.
 
I wouldn’t mind betting that the increased frequency of stoppages is simply due to the considerably higher volume of RAP users in recent years. A ride system like Duel’s is not inherently designed for disabled access, so if more disabled guests are riding (which they almost definitely have been in recent years) the ride will naturally have to stop more. Thus, the 2021 changes would have made little difference.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the ailing state of the ride system in Duel’s last few years could have caused those stoppages…
 
  • No worries, fan community, we forgot to add a label, so it defaulted to the first attraction type on the list (3D/4D theatre). We know as little as you do, but will keep tracking the news that appears with regard to Duel 2.0.

Latest news about The Curse At Alton Manor, a new Refurbishment in Alton Towers (2023)

The Curse At Alton Manor (Alton Towers, 2023): the latest news, opening date, construction updates, rumors and more... all in one place on CoasterCloud.com!
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Just an error.
 
zeock said:
Is there any chance that the original idea of having the giant spider 'drop' could be implemented reliably and to great effect with current technology and within Merlin's budget for the refurb?
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Actually, in the rides early days, the giant spider would actually drop down, but it was short lived and since then, it's only been able to move its head up and down. The entire body would've moved up and down then. Here a quick snippet of it. Around 1:26


From: https://youtu.be/trrXmEHZT-M
 
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zeock said:
Is there any chance that the original idea of having the giant spider 'drop' could be implemented reliably and to great effect with current technology and within Merlin's budget for the refurb?
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Fairly sure myself and any other arachnophobes would rather it not.

Though at least it's fairly comical in its design. I literally dread going on Forbidden Journey due to Aragog and Co being on it.
 
Trooper Looper said:
Actually, in the rides early days, the giant spider would actually drop down, but it was short lived and since then, it's only been able to move its head up and down. The entire body would've moved up and down then. Here a quick snippet of those movement. Around 1:26


From: https://youtu.be/trrXmEHZT-M
Click to expand...


That video just shows the head moving up and down?
 
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