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2023: The Curse at Alton Manor

Benzin said:
Main benefit is the spinning so people could actually see certain effects instead of completely missing them. Don't think the system would work for a Haunted House style attraction though.
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And tracked can do that too... look at Gangsta Granny.

I think The Curse is fine as it is. The fixed position cars work because they take the riders in the direction they have to go but it's up to them where they look - therefore they're guaranteed to miss something and likely be on edge for the scares and this adds to the re-rideability because many will want to ride again to see bits they missed before. Make the cars spin spin and it becomes like a guided tour - "turning left we have a giant spider you must look at, now turning right to guarantee you'll see that jump scare etc." Having said that, the one area spinning cars could work in the Curse is inside the trommel to help disorientate the rider even more.

Also with fixed trains, you still have that feel of a traditional fun fair ghost train, adding to the atmosphere and experience.
 
Steve74 said:
And tracked can do that too... look at Gangsta Granny.

I think The Curse is fine as it is. The fixed position cars work because they take the riders in the direction they have to go but it's up to them where they look - therefore they're guaranteed to miss something and likely be on edge for the scares and this adds to the re-rideability because many will want to ride again to see bits they missed before. Make the cars spin spin and it becomes like a guided tour - "turning left we have a giant spider you must look at, now turning right to guarantee you'll see that jump scare etc." Having said that, the one area spinning cars could work in the Curse is inside the trommel to help disorientate the rider even more.

Also with fixed trains, you still have that feel of a traditional fun fair ghost train, adding to the atmosphere and experience.
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Fixed spin would also work better on some of the effects that’s are too slow to trigger. The Hall of mirrors scene to see Emily and the peppers ghost affect of Emily disappearing in front of you. But it doesn’t need to be trackless to achieve this effect!


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Fair comments about the trackless. Maybe a topic for another time. That Ratatouille ride is awesome and yes the area is lots bigger. But it's definitely something I feel could be used for a haunted house.
 
Trackless dark rides can be absolutely great, as ever it comes down to the implementation.

I’d love to see Alton Towers invest in a real quality, modern dark ride at some point but there’s absolutely no need for it to involve a change of hardware for Curse which is brilliant as it is.

I’ve said it before but I honestly think they’ve hit the nail as close to on the head as it’s reasonable to expect for that. Just a great ride, great story, the effects are good and it’s just the right side of scary.

It gives me a bit of optimism that if they do invest in a more modern dark ride system at some point in the future that we won’t end up with something a bit underwhelming as we did with Sub Terra or something just totally crap as we did with Ghost Train.
 
Personally I think you should only use trackless cars if what you're using them for couldn't be achieved otherwise, such as the multiple routes around Symbolica or the final ballroom scene. Otherwise it's an utter waste.

The ride system for Haunted House/Duel/Curse was designed to ensure that each car received the right jump scares at the right time and no guests could see any other cars on the circuit which might spoil the surprise. This (usually) works really well, so it's the right system for the ride.
 
The point a trackless system should have been used should have coincided with the entire ride being gutted out. That moment has passed.

The trackless system works when the movement of the ride is important to the story or theme. It works at some of the Disney rides to simulate dancing etc quite well. Don’t think it would work in a haunted house.

Looking forward to Duel - The curse at Alton manor strikes back within the next decade.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Personally I think you should only use trackless cars if what you're using them for couldn't be achieved otherwise, such as the multiple routes around Symbolica or the final ballroom scene. Otherwise it's an utter waste.

The ride system for Haunted House/Duel/Curse was designed to ensure that each car received the right jump scares at the right time and no guests could see any other cars on the circuit which might spoil the surprise. This (usually) works really well, so it's the right system for the ride.
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I love when you can't see the other cars at all on a dark ride
 
Alton Manor is a real strong indoor attraction, the parks best by some considerable distance imo.

Rather than thinking about making it trackless, build a brand new trackless dark ride elsewhere in the park! The park needs more, and it needs better in addition to what they have, not instead of.
 
Mick said:
Alton Manor is a real strong indoor attraction, the parks best by some considerable distance imo.

Rather than thinking about making it trackless, build a brand new trackless dark ride elsewhere in the park! The park needs more, and it needs better in addition to what they have, not instead of.
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I would love to see an additional dark ride to complement Alton Manor, and the park has many options for this

For my choice, I’d relocate the driving school, and open up all of the space there to be covered in. You could retain TwoDW to a point, however a trackless system would be perfect as you could direct the ride to use all of the empty facades in TwoDW

I would then have the attraction entrance / exit via the fountain square arch. It could be themed to Algenon or exploring the magical towers, as a complementary attraction to Hex. You’d still feel as though you’re entering the Towers but thw entire ride system would be outside of it.

This would leave the park with an incredible dark ride lineup

IMG_2608.jpeg

I’m not sure if the buildings in blue could also be removed to create even more space. I believe it’s MMM and storage which could all be relocated if needed. The park has plenty of space if they chose to use it
 
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tayspru said:
I’m not sure if the buildings in blue could also be removed to create even more space. I believe it’s MMM and storage which could all be relocated if needed. The park has plenty of space if they chose to use it
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The big rectangular building in the blue area with cars next to it is Hex's vault which obviously can't be moved.
 
tayspru said:
I would love to see an additional dark ride to complement Alton Manor, and the park has many options for this

For my choice, I’d relocate the driving school, and open up all of the space there to be covered in. You could retain TwoDW to a point, however a trackless system would be perfect as you could direct the ride to use all of the empty facades in TwoDW

I would then have the attraction entrance / exit via the fountain square arch. It could be themed to Algenon or exploring the magical towers, as a complementary attraction to Hex. You’d still feel as though you’re entering the Towers but thw entire ride system would be outside of it.

This would leave the park with an incredible dark ride lineup

IMG_2608.jpeg

I’m not sure if the buildings in blue could also be removed to create even more space. I believe it’s MMM and storage which could all be relocated if needed. The park has plenty of space if they chose to use it
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If you wanted to do that you'd just be better tearing down the whole of Talbot Street and starting again, the area has been a constant failure since the entrance moved years ago pretty much.

There's only so many times you can keep botching an area up and hoping something will change. That area of the park is such a waste of space and if you ask me it should be castle themed considering it's literally attached to the towers and would compliment it.
 
Rode TCAAM again yesterday, and the trommel was off which is a shame. Has it been off for a while or only recently? Pretty sure it was working when I rode last Scarefest.
 
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