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2023: The Curse at Alton Manor

Looking forward to riding this I must say, I've cheated and looked at the POV and I must say I am impressed.

One thing I will mention though as I've seen a lot of people asking what is the point of the mirrors in the grand hall if there is no demon?

The mirrors were not there first and foremost to hide the demon, that could have been achieved with a simple non reflecting wall. They chose the mirrors because they not only acted like a wall by hiding the demon, but they also reflected the room you are in, making it look much larger than it is. This effect will still work well after the refurb, as the mirrors are quite rightly still there.

On a side note, euro theme park archive released their hour long documentary on the Haunted House last night. Including loads of excellent behind the scenes, modern and old footage from within the ride. Well worth a watch on their Youtube. I've put the link in here.
 
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So managed to ride this today and I am not going to do any spoilers but have to say I was very impressed.

There are clearly some gaps and a few things need tweaking but I suspected that would be the case. Although it’s not exactly a high bar to reach, this is now definitely the best dark ride in the UK.
 
When I first heard about this project I had genuine concerns about it as I felt they'd need to spend so much money just to get the ride system working properly that there wouldn't be enough left over to actually make the ride experience half decent. Turns out my fears were almost entirely unfounded.

Whilst it's by no means perfect (or finished), it's leagues ahead of the disjoined mess Duel had become.
 
The joy about going into new or refurbished Merlin attractions with low expectations is that if said attraction meets your low expectations, you won't be disappointed. If the attraction exceeds your expectations, then you'll be greatly surprised and pleased. Thankfully Alty Mans is the latter.

My main concern before riding and from recent images is that they'd focus more on the easter eggs than the actual story or cohesive theming. With the exception of the duck and the images distributed in the press release, I'm quite glad I didn't spot many on the immediate first ride. Its certainly been enhanced over Duel with the added effects, mainly the air blasts, scent usage and also the more innovative use of lighting.

My biggest gripe with the ride is one of the largest special effects that has been added. On the first run-through, the ride car with Emily passing opposite didn't work at all, yet was lit up so it was easy to see something should have happened, but didn't. On the second run-through, it did work, but highlighted the biggest issue of this element for me. I think it needs to be reversed so that the mirrors are at the start of the scene reflecting your ride vehicle, and then seeing the one with Emily in come through after rather than the vice versa current state the scene is in. A clever idea, but not the best execution I feel.

I'm quite pleased with the mix of physical props and media effects - it didn't feel as though one outshone the other. I didn't quite get the feeling that Emily was talking directly to us as promised, more so it was just general audio clips being played. However, the audio generally seemed to be on point and lined up quite well with the location of the vehicle.

The queue line is delightfully atmospheric at night, and I was glad we got the chance to wander through it - this is going to be incredible at Scarefest.

As someone who has previously worked in property, I thought the little nods to the process of selling a home as part of the theme were done quite well. The roaming actor estate agent probably didn't appreciate the barrage of jokey questions, but it was a nice touch as well. I was also repeatedly harassed by the doll in the pram outside the ride, another great element.

Overall it's a good refresh. The backstory is obviously there but you aren't forced to consume it - nor do you need to fully understand it to still get the gist of the ride and for it to be effective; a key factor in any good dark ride. It's clear there's still some polishing around the edges that could make the ride more complete, particularly the slightly too-long part of the ride in darkness with nothing happening. A pause in action is nice to segment the ride, but this section feels like it outstays its welcome slightly too long. There's been a clear amount of detail and thought that has gone into this, and I hope this continues through to future developments.

My only concerns now are:

- The roaming entertainment. How long will it last?
- The maintenance of effects. The ride stands relies on its effect usage much more than Duel did. If there is a complete breakdown in the maintenance of effects, the ride is going to fall into a pretty sorry state fairly quickly. Given previous experience within the park, this concerns me.
[/spoilers
 
Anyone got any info on the audio? I heard a bit about Emily falling you through the ride but I’ve not heard much since opening?
 
Danny said:
The joy about going into new or refurbished Merlin attractions with low expectations is that if said attraction meets your low expectations, you won't be disappointed. If the attraction exceeds your expectations, then you'll be greatly surprised and pleased. Thankfully Alty Mans is the latter.

My main concern before riding and from recent images is that they'd focus more on the easter eggs than the actual story or cohesive theming. With the exception of the duck and the images distributed in the press release, I'm quite glad I didn't spot many on the immediate first ride. Its certainly been enhanced over Duel with the added effects, mainly the air blasts, scent usage and also the more innovative use of lighting.

My biggest gripe with the ride is one of the largest special effects that has been added. On the first run-through, the ride car with Emily passing opposite didn't work at all, yet was lit up so it was easy to see something should have happened, but didn't. On the second run-through, it did work, but highlighted the biggest issue of this element for me. I think it needs to be reversed so that the mirrors are at the start of the scene reflecting your ride vehicle, and then seeing the one with Emily in come through after rather than the vice versa current state the scene is in. A clever idea, but not the best execution I feel.

I'm quite pleased with the mix of physical props and media effects - it didn't feel as though one outshone the other. I didn't quite get the feeling that Emily was talking directly to us as promised, more so it was just general audio clips being played. However, the audio generally seemed to be on point and lined up quite well with the location of the vehicle.

The queue line is delightfully atmospheric at night, and I was glad we got the chance to wander through it - this is going to be incredible at Scarefest.

As someone who has previously worked in property, I thought the little nods to the process of selling a home as part of the theme were done quite well. The roaming actor estate agent probably didn't appreciate the barrage of jokey questions, but it was a nice touch as well. I was also repeatedly harassed by the doll in the pram outside the ride, another great element.

Overall it's a good refresh. The backstory is obviously there but you aren't forced to consume it - nor do you need to fully understand it to still get the gist of the ride and for it to be effective; a key factor in any good dark ride. It's clear there's still some polishing around the edges that could make the ride more complete, particularly the slightly too-long part of the ride in darkness with nothing happening. A pause in action is nice to segment the ride, but this section feels like it outstays its welcome slightly too long. There's been a clear amount of detail and thought that has gone into this, and I hope this continues through to future developments.

My only concerns now are:

- The roaming entertainment. How long will it last?
- The maintenance of effects. The ride stands relies on its effect usage much more than Duel did. If there is a complete breakdown in the maintenance of effects, the ride is going to fall into a pretty sorry state fairly quickly. Given previous experience within the park, this concerns me.
[/spoilers
Click to expand...
Don't sweat it, I’m sure Alton towers know what they’re doing. I think over time they’ll add things in, including stuff for that dead space. I think GRAND OPENING is a bit misleading, I think we should see it as a “technical rehearsal” with no capital letters. and by that, considering they must of learnt something off of the haunted house, that mirror scene will be reliable in a few months.
I mean that guy in the ITV interview was apparently the first member of the “public” to ride it, and judging by the smashed window, wasn’t too long ago. Long and short I’m getting the strangest sense of deja vu from a particular day in 1992.


Wow I wrote far too much
 
I am not going to post some huge, extended summary of my thoughts about this ride. But, it is safe to say that even though I am aware that further tweaks and enhancements are to come in the weeks and months ahead - this is a thorough improvement to Duel and an action-packed ride from start to finish.

What they have done in 6 months is hugely impressive.

I can't wait to see it develop further.
 
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