• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Duel: The Haunted House Actually Strikes Back - Refurb Incoming

Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
s_g_k said:
Just seen TPWW’s latest Facebook update. Looks like Duel’s indoor queue has had a retheme!
Click to expand...
It has!

image0.png

It's been completely adapted to make it wheelchair accessible, although unfortunately that does almost certainly mean that the slanted floor on the ramp will be gone.
 
It's very sad to see the tradition continuing that every year Duel gets a bit worse.

Levelling the preshow floor defeats the point of the room illusion. The hastily rearranged props now look like a leftover objects in a box.

What is the point of making it wheelchair accessible if there is nothing worth seeing. Of course people walk through it in 1 second anyway.

Had it been completely redesigned properly with some time and budget, it might have been a good idea.
 
Seems odd that they'd go to the expense of making it worse when there was already an accessible entrance. The uneven floor was a key part of the experience of that room, now it just looks a cluttered mess. If they'd restored the lightning effect in the window they could at least have salvaged something.

I'm guessing the ride now needs an extra staff member too as RAP (& FT?) merge is no longer at the boarding point. It all seems very silly. Were the changes forced on them from outside?
 
The ramp outside was a good idea for all guests to see this area but correct me if I'm wrong but the old route through the room was essentially a ramp anyway wasnt it, just slightly tilted?
 
John said:
Seems odd that they'd go to the expense of making it worse when there was already an accessible entrance.
Click to expand...
As you met the exiting guests face on the previous accesible entrance via the exit wasn't covid safe as you were too easily stood face to face. As far as I know there was no accesible access to Duel last season.
In terms of access I think this is an improvement, you just joint he queue instead of fighting through a shop and exit.
But in terms of show it looks a bit half-assed. Keeping the dolls house effect is good, but it is in the wrong location.
 
JSG093 said:
The ramp outside was a good idea for all guests to see this area but correct me if I'm wrong but the old route through the room was essentially a ramp anyway wasnt it, just slightly tilted?
Click to expand...
It was a "wonky" floor like a fun house with the tilt going one way and then the other. It wasn't wheelchair accessible.
 
Its a shame if it needed to be done they didn't just level off the original route, I'm guessing following the perimeter wall possibly made it an easier installation?
 
Then the shop should have been redesigned to allow for covid safe access through the original route, instead of coming at a cost to the preshow experience for everyone.

Flat ramp defeats the illusion. It’s like Hex but if the seats never moved with the room, so you’d just see that the room is tilted around you and there’s no illusion. Also it looks ridiculous having the ramp so high up the edge of the wall now
 
OilyWater said:
Flat ramp defeats the illusion. It’s like Hex but if the seats never moved with the room, so you’d just see that the room is tilted around you and there’s no illusion.
Click to expand...

There wasn't really much of an "illusion", just a room with a floor that tilted the wrong way.
Removing part of the shop, the ride photo desk and widening the corridor beyond was probably not really possible.

At least wheelchair users get to enjoy part of the pre-show now and see the room rather than bypassing.
 
jon81uk said:
There wasn't really much of an "illusion", just a room with a floor that tilted the wrong way.
Removing part of the shop, the ride photo desk and widening the corridor beyond was probably not really possible.

At least wheelchair users get to enjoy part of the pre-show now and see the room rather than bypassing.
Click to expand...
Eh? The point of the tilted floor was an illusion. You felt the tilt but didnt see it (other than before you walk in), so it feels slightly supernatural. That was literally the point of that scene being tilted.

Shop layouts are designed to be moveable. Or at least a lot less fuss than reworking a room with a wonky floor at the cost of the guest experience.
 
Last edited:
Plus Duel hardly ever gets a queue these days as it's throughput is so high, so wheelchair users shouldn't have to stop on the ramp.
 
To be honest, I don’t really notice much of a difference, besides the fact the queue and fireplace have now switched sides of the room…
 
Ethan said:
Some people just like to be dramatic about every decision the park makes haha. It is what it is
Click to expand...
I guess some people perhaps have more of an eye for details than others, which is fine by me!

I usually do, but to be honest, I just thought that the queue path was tilted weirdly; I never knew that that section was supposed to be an illusion at all!
 
The forced perspective of the whole room was never intended to be viewed from the far side of the room where the new queue runs. The lighting is the main problem as it hasn’t been relit to accommodate the movement of set pieces so your attention is drawn to now empty areas
 
It’s a bit of a joke. It’s not “being dramatic”, cmon this is basic theme parkery. This has been done so badly and Id argue wasn’t necessary at all.

you only have to see how bizarre it looks having half the room at an angle while you walk up towards the ceiling. Or maybe it’s been bad for so many years that people genuinly dont know/care how good the room was once
 
Last edited:
So, one of only 2 things left that was actually any good about Duel and that's now been vandalised as well. That indoor queue line was incredible and brings back great memories. So long to another part of the park's dignity. Whatever next? Turning the waterfalls off on the Rapids? Slapping coloured paint over the façades in CCL and calling it a retheme - oh wait.....

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk
 
Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Top