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Duel: The Haunted House Actually Strikes Back - Refurb Incoming

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If it weren't for the fact that TLC for Duel has been strongly rumoured for some time, I'd say that the current state of the ride is a fine example of the "it'll do" attitude that's endemic at Merlin.

Everything between the skeleton corridor and the garden scene is in an absolutely appalling state and has been for the past couple of seasons but all they need to do to improve it radically is sort the excessive lighting that illuminates every single mechanism throughout that entire section.
 
Ok I'm gonna say something controversial.... I do not trust TLC with Duel!

Hex, while I appreciate the efforts to maintain a classic ride, is now overdone and especially overly lit. Nemesis had a bad paint job which didn't honour the original design.

Dark rides are theatre, and anyone in theatre will tell you less is usually more. Spooky attractions need suspense, atmosphere, tension, and suprise. It's all the things that you don't notice consiously.

They will need to bring someone in like an artistic director, or stage director. Someone who doesn't see dark rides as rides, but a 'show' which must be performed perfectly for each passing guest. That's the only way it'll work.

Bob "the maintenance guy" who can change a fresnel lamp isn't the right person to be making dramatic lighting changes to the sets inside Duel.
 
PeteB said:
Hex, while I appreciate the efforts to maintain a classic ride, is now overdone and especially overly lit. Nemesis had a bad paint job which didn't honour the original design.
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The track I'll give you (looks too modern and clean, but that was probably their intention for more safety theatre after the Smiler), the station repaint was done professionally though and I think the quality difference really shows, it is great.

The problems with any theme park doing things in house are - it tends to be influenced by various peoples' egos or opinions, tends to be underfunded (not the park's fault), the people lacks experience even if with the best of intentions, and is very often guided by personal agenda, which I have witnessed a lot first hand.

Hex was done with attention to detail which was great, however not without its obvious flaws. The new sound system was needless (replacing an already high grade system for what it had to do), audio too loud with distorting speakers and lighting off-timed/too bright. The problems still persist, despite many guests bringing it up, so it seems Alton Towers think is fine as is.

Duel needs a well-funded, well-informed (many things fall into place when you consult the ride's opening day design, not just fiddling around with what's available) and 'professional' relighting & repaired/replaced sound system.

Will it get that? No. But however its done, the ride needs a breath of fresh air. A "best effort" will be better than it is currently, and it won't be "Bob the Maintenance Guy" as far as I know!
 
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Bob could have a degree in drama but has fallen on hard times!

I agree in the sense that It should be seen as a show and not a ride. I would rather see it closed all next year whilst some heart was put into it and it was revamped than a lick of paint and being told its good to go for another 10 years.

I think I know the answer but what are the chances of the guns going and it returning to just a haunted house rather than a game?

EDIT: Also could it be time to use screens etc in the ride to make it more 'live' so they chase after the cart etc
 
If The Haunted House were done today by the same design team and same circumstance, it would be just as big and theatrical, if not more, and would use projection mapping to enhance the lighting in scenes, the way things appear and disappear, etc. And likely be able to achieve many of the big effects they weren't able to with the technology of the time.

It would almost certainly have a more dynamic transit system today as well, to accelerate more dramatically, as was also intended in 1992 (but very difficult with the tech of the time).

Personally I think that would still entertain and be really fun today, if designed fresh and have the energy to hit the mark.
 
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I think your excellent YouTube videos @BritishThemeParkArchive really highlight why the dark rides of that era were so good and different. One of the main reasons being the energy, creative talant and enthusiasm of people like Keith Sparks and his team.

Farmer Studios obviously went above and beyond when they worked on the original Terror Tomb and this was clear to see with what they produced. I can't imagine Merlin Studios going to the lengths they did to make sure every detail was perfected.
 
I have to be honest but I personally think that the ride will get the Ghostbusters IP which merlin already own. In the new film the Ghostbusters attend a house that there is a tour around by guides. There are various ghosts at this house. Would this not be the purfect use of IP.
It would be great if there where some high end effects such as projection mapping.
The ride needs to attract big crowds it takes people of the paths and sticks them on an attraction. The ride has high throughputs which makes it the purfect kids ride as kids hate qeueus.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
As a ghosthead for 30+ years, this idea makes me want to kill myself.
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I would much rather an in house ride personally but that won't draw crowds. As we have seen from CBeebies land IP's also make sure Merlin keep it looking nice and maintain it.
Merlin also already have the Ghostbusters IP and I'd imagine it would make sense to use it multiple times.
The other thing to consider is at the mo SW8 is in Gloomy wood which means Duel will have to fit in with the theme of the woodie.
Looks like towers are planning a big year next year with SW8 and refurbished Duel.
 
I don't think Duel should be removed, I'm happy for it to be 'tlc'd' here and there but for me the priority for Alton is to re-open SBNO rides and install new rides to replace the dwindling line-up. The last thing Alton need is another dark ride closing or SBNO.
 
Duel is not going to be refurbished and the TLC is likely just an in-house touch up, unrelated to SW8. IPs don't mean Merlin budget to maintain rides necessarily, though it will be contractual that the area stays looking as it opened. The Smiler was an original Alton Towers concept and it drew crowds very well, because it was a great concept with energy. If we saw a really good reinvigorated haunted concept for families, I believe it would really work and fill a gap in the line up for a really big, solid family ride. :)
 
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The theme park geek said:
I would much rather an in house ride personally but that won't draw crowds. As we have seen from CBeebies land IP's also make sure Merlin keep it looking nice and maintain it.
Merlin also already have the Ghostbusters IP and I'd imagine it would make sense to use it multiple times.
The other thing to consider is at the mo SW8 is in Gloomy wood which means Duel will have to fit in with the theme of the woodie.
Looks like towers are planning a big year next year with SW8 and refurbished Duel.
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Removing everything and turning the lights on so that you basically just go round an empty warehouse would be preferable to a Ghostbusters IP in my opinion.

2 problems with your theory though. Ghostbusters would not fit that ride at all, from the facade to the trains. The conversion would need to be so extensive, they may as well just put Ghostbusters in Charlie. Also, it does not have to have anything to do with SW8 at all as SW8 will NOT be in Gloomy Wood.
 
electricBill said:
Duel is not going to be refurbished and the TLC is likely just an in-house touch up, unrelated to SW8. IPs don't mean Merlin budget to maintain rides necessarily, though it will be contractual that the area stays looking as it opened. The Smiler was an original Alton Towers concept and it drew crowds very well, because it was a great concept with energy. If we saw a really good reinvigorated haunted concept for families, I believe it would really work and fill a gap in the line up for a really big, solid family ride. :)
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Yeah the smiler is a great example of an in house ride done well. The thing is that for this to work an extensive marketing plan has to be made to establish a brand. On a smaller attraction such as a dark ride Merlin would probably rather use an already established brand.
 
matthewgcole said:
Removing everything and turning the lights on so that you basically just go round an empty warehouse would be preferable to a Ghostbusters IP in my opinion.

2 problems with your theory though. Ghostbusters would not fit that ride at all, from the facade to the trains. The conversion would need to be so extensive, they may as well just put Ghostbusters in Charlie. Also, it does not have to have anything to do with SW8 at all as SW8 will NOT be in Gloomy Wood.
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I think the new Ghostbusters movie might fit the ride. The scene where they are in the house could work. The transit system could be modified or re-themed.
Although I would love to see the return of a in house ride maybe Duel 2.0 is what we are going to see a few enhancements to the ride but nothing major.
 
what we want: A new experience of the ride - removal of guns (for some) Fixing of guns (for others), the lights turned lower, general improvements and maybe a redesign

What we will get: the signs will be repainted and the shooting lights will be fixed
 
I think the problem here is the difference between enthusiasts and the GP. After riding Duel with a few others who are not massive theme park geeks they all seemed to love it because of the guns and would rather the interactivity of the ride over the experience.

Personally with that in mind I love to see the lighting redone. I think that alone will really improve it. Make sure that the elements can't actually be seen which really annoys me every time we go on it. I'd also expect a soundtrack from IMAscore which I have no objections to.
 
But the thing is, Duel is a poor shooter and a poor dark ride. Guests would enjoy a great interactive ride by all means, so Alton Towers should be a dedicated one if they want this. You could do 10x more for interactivity than shoot little dots stuck to a broken down pre-existing ride these days. Guests would also enjoy a great theatrical dark ride, which there are now sorely few of in the UK yet they're very popular in other similarly sized parks with a wide family audience.

"Enthusiasts" seem to want one thing, but the point most people seem to agree with is that the ride is clearly half of what it could be for everyone, not just enthusiasts. Also, for most the time I have ever known Duel since it was new, have been surrounded by guests coming off with listless faces. I'm sure that doesn't represent everyone but the ride is ripe for a great new take on the haunted house (not just a low-budget attempt to recreate the original, which is what most enthusiasts probably want).

Currently the ride is a broken down "filler" attraction for a bit of shooting fun, when really (if it hadn't been botched so much, and had a proper non-IP redesign) it should be a headline family attraction again. If there's one thing such a huge dark ride shouldn't be, it's mediocre.
 
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