WickerwomanH
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- Favourite Ride
- Wicker Man
Thank you!
Controversial Alton Towers Opinions
- Thread starter WickerwomanH
- Start date
Nerdsticks
TS Member
WickerwomanH
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- Wicker Man
Does anyone know when this and the mushroom tours van were removed? I feel like I have some memory of them after seeing the pics but not sure (I feel like I remember noting paraffin was spelt wrong as a kid lol). Also, why would they remove them?? They look brilliant! Sometimes I forget how big of an impact Nemesis really had on the park
Matt878787
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- Nemesis
The Mushroom Tours bus is still there by the last inversion all these years later
There used to be a double decker bus called Nemesis Nosh, where the cafe is now which sold kebabs etc, But I think that came afew years after 94, I remember it around 2000.
jon81uk
TS Member
WickerwomanH
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- Wicker Man
Yeah sorry I think I just got confused when I saw it where it used to be placed on the british theme park archive pictures because it's not there anymore and I don't remember the graphic on the side
jon81uk
TS Member
The bus was opposite the entrance area, where the Blade entrance was moved to. What is now the coffee lounge was originally the Nemesis shop, then it became a takeaway food place (still serving kebabs), then rebuilt as Fish and Chips, then after the fire it became the coffee lounge.
I think the old double decker used to be here https://goo.gl/maps/k5FeQojQ1q3qgDHz5
Alsty
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- Shambhala
Was the kitchen removed? I haven't looked for ages but it might still be there. Can't get the Google street view to get any closer but it's down by the merge point.
Matt878787
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- Nemesis
It’s still there, probably 70 percent less crap there than there used to be. I wonder where that frying pan ended up...
Rick
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- Favourite Ride
- Crux
I like that idea around the whole Air oasis thing but I can’t agree with you about Nemesis being “meh”. It’s a piece of Wardley genius.
My unpopular opinion is that Duel should be ripped up and that it’s site should be used for the new secret weapon. Think about it - it’s a brownfield site so won’t involve disturbing the natural environment, it’s a nice level site and it’s far enough away from Alton village and local houses to create something spectacular. They could also utilise the old Duel queue line and post ride area to keep costs down, and with AT investing in the dungeons, there’s now a more modern horror theme ride to take its place. Plus the recent investment in TWoDW adds another indoor attraction.
I know that the Haunted House is a Wardley classic, but Duel is now a shadow of its former self and I think the site has huge potential for a more brighter and happier theme , perhaps a multi-launch water based coaster with indoor sections. Gloomy Wood is now outdated and there’s plenty of other dark themed areas in the park so I think it’s time for a different themed area to take its place.
jon81uk
TS Member
The Dungeons isn't a modern horror ride, its an old boat ride with a horror theme slapped on followed by a walk through guided attraction. Alton Towers needs dark rides, getting rid of the Haunted House building would be an awful idea. I could support gutting the building and installing a more modern dark ride, but I'm not convinced it would be significantly better than Duel anyway.
Also as Nemesis proved a flat site for a coaster doesn't make for a great ride, a more interesting site encourages a ore interesting layout, thats why so many US parks have great coasters than feel a bit boring, the land is too flat.
WickerwomanH
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- Wicker Man
It would seem that most of us agree that something needs to be done to Duel, but on that note I would also say that the Haunted Hollow needs a revamp too. It has lots of potential and I think it could be brought up to date and have more features added to it.
Matt N
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- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
I’ll admit that I actually really quite like Haunted Hollow for what it is; I think it’s quite a charming little walkway, and it’s certainly a fun way to jazz up the journey between Mutiny Bay and Gloomy Wood! Well, it’s certainly more interesting than a regular, unthemed path, anyway!
Conveniently, it also shortens the journey between Mutiny Bay and Gloomy Wood, meaning that you can reach the areas on the far western side of the park (GW and FV) more quickly! We often use Haunted Hollow as a shortcut on our visits if we don’t fancy riding anything in Katanga Canyon!
Conveniently, it also shortens the journey between Mutiny Bay and Gloomy Wood, meaning that you can reach the areas on the far western side of the park (GW and FV) more quickly! We often use Haunted Hollow as a shortcut on our visits if we don’t fancy riding anything in Katanga Canyon!
I agree - plonking an off the shelf coaster on a flat concreted area would be awful for AT - I should’ve explained myself better in that whilst I agree Duel should probably go, it should be replaced by a decent dark coaster with a water element. I’m not sure what theme would be suitable though, perhaps some sort of freak weather area consisting of a ride based on a monsoon. Perhaps my imagination is running amok. If you google map the area, there’s a large area of what still looks like wasteland to the north west of the Duel building which I always remember walking through as an alternative to getting the monorail. Surely something could be done with that land?
Danscott22
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- Favourite Ride
- The Smiler
I feel like I'd rate Duel higher if you couldn't see the mechanisms especially on the zombies and the screaming heads.
WickerwomanH
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- Wicker Man
I haven't ridden Duel for a while so I can't say for 100%, but I think that overall it just appears outdated and the most concerning feature is the optical illusion tunnel (apologies I don't remember the proper name) that hasn't worked in years. I like the shooter element, but do think its in dire need of an update