REVIEW:
Entering Gloomy Wood, you feel a sense of immersion that you don't usually find at a UK park. The actors really seem to add to the atmosphere.
The queue line is very good, and I love the music in that area. The gravestones are mostly humorous, however the downside is that you can see the warehouse through the trees.
The indoor queue is very good, and the smell pods add to the experience. If I am correct, these are the same scents used in Creepy Caves: Elimination at Chessington. The pre-show was solid, but didn't have the 'wow factor' I was expecting.
Scene 1 of the attraction was fairly similar to Duel's, and did its job setting up the attraction.
The Grand Hall was wonderfully themed. The Emily Alton screen at the back of the scene was done better than I thought, and I have to say that the monster that reuses the old 'cup and saucer demon' mechanism seemed to be the best executed jump scare, although it was only very slightly startling.
It's brilliant to see the trommel working again, and in my opinion, it was the best part of the ride. My parents and my 5 year old brother agreed on this too.
The 'hide and seek' room was executed better than expected with the audio, and gave some anticipation. The giant's hand above was a decent attempt at a jump scare.
I liked the attic, although the 3 mini spiders and all the dolls in this area had their mechanisms visible. The giant spider seemed a little too close to the two dolls on either side to make it effective.
On my 6 rides, I got two variants of the corridor. The first one was an Emily jump scare to the right, and then nothing else involving the mirror, with a doll jump scare on the left. The second one was Emily looking malicious, but not providing a jump scare, the same doll on the left, and after that doll, the mirror on the right shattered.
The screaming heads were good, especially as you couldn't see their mechanisms. The wind effect as they passed were great. I loved the appearance of them as well. The third one breathed out smoke.
The sinister garden seemed more lit up than in Duel, and the Pepper's Ghost Emily hearse scare was good. I loved the effect with the swing, involving mirrors, and was a highlight of the ride.
The finale was good, and it was great to view all the Easter Eggs and see the Flume Duck. A couple of jump scares seemed to incorporate old Duel zombie mechanisms. The screens and projection mapping were decent. The final Emily climax was a tiny bit underwhelming, but far better than what was there when Duel was around. I have to ask, aren't you meant to stay in the doll's house forever? If so, why does Emily give you the key to leave?
The shop was really well-done, and showed that great effort had gone into the experience.
Overall, I absolutely loved it. By far the best dark ride in the UK (however haven't been on Hex since I started loving dark rides) in my opinion. I can say that no old HH props were missed, despite my worries to the contrary! This ride is a creative triumph for Alton Towers, although, judging from POV's alone, it doesn't hit the lofty heights of the original HH.
