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Duel: The Haunted House Actually Strikes Back - Refurb Incoming

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Matt N said:
the difference with the Haunted Mansion is that it has had a fair amount of changes over the years to make it “move with the times” so to speak, whereas Duel has literally had the exact same props working exactly the same way since 1992.
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No it hasn't, and also Haunted Mansion is the prime example of a dark ride where 90% of it is original and still entertaining, it has just been well maintained.

The Haunted House (not being Haunted Mansion) would have needed new life anyway by now, but most of its current problems are because of many years of revamps all in competing directions and of varying quality. After 30 years its prime time for a big revamp that could really sort out its problems. I believe the original style and theme, with new life in it and if done well, would still be a fantastic fit for the park .

It's worth mentioning no fans of the ride know any more than anyone else does, other than it's likely closure (which seemed to leak out a long time ago).
 
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BritishThemeParkArchive said:
No it hasn't.
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Which part are you referring to? That Disneys HM has moved along with time, or that The Haunted Hluses props are working exactly the same since 92.

I'm sure the Grand Hall Demon was slowed down for Duel, and the face that opens after the trommel was the same one that was in the Swamp Finale that was filled with souls.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I'm guessing it'll have a budget of £2,000,000. Most of that is replacing the Lab Finale and refurbishing the ride System by Mack. Drawing room is probably going to have quire a bit of work, such as a new wallpaper, fixing effects, and fixing the broken window that's now covered. Hopefully they'll reroute the Wheelchair access to the Giftshop again, but make enough room for them. Would like to see the Drawig room give off the slanted effect again.


And I'm guessing the remaining money will be slent on doing up the facade, such as replacing the Crypt outside with a different crypt of some kind, new signage, cleaning the Exterior queue properly, not just a quick broom. The main house facade needs some TLC, it's covered in ivy or dead remnants of ivy. It's colour is fading, etc.

The rides scenes will be spruced up, repainted props, relit scenes, and repaired animatronics and audio.
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No decent theme park should be aiming for any attraction to need an "enter via the exit" policy, I don't see that coming back as it just isn't a nice experiance to be pushing forwards against a crowd of people coming towards you. Yes the drawing room scene probably needed to be done much better, but allowing everyone to enter from the same direction is a signifcant improvement for those who need level access.
 
jon81uk said:
No decent theme park should be aiming for any attraction to need an "enter via the exit" policy, I don't see that coming back as it just isn't a nice experiance to be pushing forwards against a crowd of people coming towards you. Yes the drawing room scene probably needed to be done much better, but allowing everyone to enter from the same direction is a signifcant improvement for those who need level access.
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Agreed, I hope (and expect) that the current entry system will be kept as it works so much better.
Plus they spent money on the external RAP ramp so I doubt they would want to remove it.
Only improvement they need to add is a merge host on the porch during busy periods.
 
Skyscraper said:
Agreed, I hope (and expect) that the current entry system will be kept as it works so much better.
Plus they spent money on the external RAP ramp so I doubt they would want to remove it.
Only improvement they need to add is a merge host on the porch during busy periods.
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Do you think they'll be able to bring back that slanted feel illusion but still givd it access to Wheelchairs?
 
I don't think there's any issue with capacity. 5 or 6, whatever.

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AstroDan said:
I don't think there's any issue with capacity. 5 or 6, whatever.

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In terms of the ride itself, no, it doesn't make a big difference, but like I said previously, with Nemesis shut for its retrack, we'll need every ride at the park on its highest possible capacity rate, especially in the surrounding area of Nemesis.
 
AstroDan said:
I don't think there's any issue with capacity. 5 or 6, whatever.

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Yes I doubt the 1 extra seat will make that much difference although of course every little helps. Duel is already a capacity machine, possibly the highest capacity ride on park. It needs to be open when nemesis is shut either way.
 
BritishThemeParkArchive said:
No it hasn't, and also Haunted Mansion is the prime example of a dark ride where 90% of it is original and still entertaining, it has just been well maintained.
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They've done a lot more than just maintain it. There is an entirely new floating head crystal ball effect, a new hitchhiking ghost effect, (at DLR) a new hatbox ghost effect and many more new and improved methods.
I agree the story is over 90% the same, but the attraction has been plussed several times in the last 20 years particularly.
 
Also consider the obvious... budgets. Disney parks operate year-round - sure the rides have a couple of weeks downtime for maintenance each year in the quieter part of the season. But look at what Disney charge for admission, or to park your car at their US parks.

Merlin are certainly "second only to Disney" when it comes to available budgets for new rides / maintenance / upgrades.
 
Kraken27 said:
Merlin are certainly "second only to Disney" when it comes to available budgets for new rides / maintenance / upgrades.
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Merlin are second to Disney for the number of guests when you add together all the attractions.

For budgets and maintenance, Oriental land company (Tokyo Disney) is probably top, then Disney themselves, then Universal. Merlin are probably way down the list and the resort theme parks probably further down than the Legoland parks.
 
Back to Duel please guys!

I believe they should keep what scenes and props are left of the Haunted House years, and renovate them as they originally were, then improvise in the rest of the attraction.
 
Trooper Looper said:
Back to Duel please guys!

I believe they should keep what scenes and props are left of the Haunted House years, and renovate them as they originally were, then improvise in the rest of the attraction.
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Let's turn that question around. Given that not all of the the Haunted House props are going to survive the refurb, which ones do you think have reached the end of their life? (And we're talking specifically HH props here, I think we can pretty much expect all the Duel additions to be stripped out)

I could well imagine that Electric Bill and the rest of the residents of his corridor will disappear in this refurb. And I wouldn't be surprised if the lunatic (or whatever that character is supposed to be) is replaced in the garden scene.
 
I mentioned to my dad earlier about Duel closing and he was disappointed, and said that it would be boring without the blasters.

Obviously some people will be disappointed if the blasters do go, but hopefully it will be done in a way that holds guests attention without a physical interactive element.
 
Squiggs said:
Let's turn that question around. Given that not all of the the Haunted House props are going to survive the refurb, which ones do you think have reached the end of their life? (And we're talking specifically HH props here, I think we can pretty much expect all the Duel additions to be stripped out)

I could well imagine that Electric Bill and the rest of the residents of his corridor will disappear in this refurb. And I wouldn't be surprised if the lunatic (or whatever that character is supposed to be) is replaced in the garden scene.
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Absolutely agree with you on them choices. I can imagine that John would want this Version of The Haunted House to have his vision, so he'd probably want the Ghost Corridor brought back but with reliable technology while still being practical.

I can kinda see the giant spider being redone from top to bottom with née paint, fixed mechanics, etc. Only the figures shape would be reminiscent of its prev version.

As for the Lunatic in the cave, Absolutely agree. I can either see a new prop on the stick, a new prop and mechanic all together, or a new mechanic for the figure.

Outside of them, I can see the rest of it Surviving though.
 
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