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Duel: The Haunted House Actually Strikes Back - Refurb Incoming

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I think these are fair comments above! With Myself included feel some of us have got a little carried away with expectations for this refurb. Your right expect a moderate standard and anything else is a bonus, because at the end of the day there isn’t many other ghost trains/dark rides on this scale in the uk or even Europe as a whole. Any upgrades will be a bonus and it be interesting to see what they do with it regardless.

One thing I wish for if we had teaser updates for this project during its closed period, like TLC used to back in the day. Unlike Valhalla which still remains a mystery if it’s even been touched. However one thing I trust is Merlin’s marketing!
 
JAperson said:
There is no case for a new ride system anyway, it's a good ride system, a bit of refurbishment is probably needed though.
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It won’t be a new system but the actual PLC/control hardware behind it will no longer be supported/spares etc

The same with Nemesis I imagine

DistortAMG said:
Sorry I should have been specific. I meant an upgrade of the transit system as a whole. Control system and vehicles. Garmendale should stay away from this, their rides and ride systems are rubbish. I can see Mack doing the work, seeing as Merlin and specifically Alton Towers have been working with them again in the last few months. It signals there is dialogue between the two at the very least.

While the excitement in here from some people could be compared to the same excitement a dog with two thingybobs would have. I feel expectations do need to be managed. I am very much looking forward to seeing what they do. But they also have to prove themselves, Merlins track record is quite frankly shocking in delivering decent dark rides. So I am expecting minimal and hoping for good stuff.

Things seem to be in the right direction though, so who knows? Maybe we will see this project as a turning point.
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Re-read what I wrote. If it’s the control system itself (I.e like for like PLC swap out alone) there’s no reason Garmendale/Fairfield Controls wouldn’t do the work. Or another decent system integrator.

If it’s anything bigger (cars/track) or new system
Entirely the only people in the UK with this kind of specialism would be Garmendale, unless they went further afield.

Skyscraper said:
As others have said though, the ride system and PNC may need updating as it's 30 years old and outdated now. If it is updated hopefully they will be able to keep the current setup (cars move slowly through the station together for continuous loading then speed up and go round the circuit individually) as it works so well.
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It will more than likely just been a direct PLC swap. Same software. New hardware. Not a massive job by any means. It will need replacing now as mentioned in other posts. But they should still fix sensors etc
 
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Ash said:
It won’t be a new system but the actual PLC/control hardware behind it will no longer be supported/spares etc

The same with Nemesis I imagine
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Mack will still support that ride system, there's no reason for them not too. Merlin will just give them some money to fix it up, Same with B&M, this idea that B&M don't support certain rides or trains or whatever is a load of rubbish, they'll support whatever gives them money.
 
WHAT I WANT

Lots of imagination.

Both frights and fun.

A sense of immersion.

A feeling of wonder.

Sights, sounds, smells.

Mixture of atmospheric light and dark.

Something unexpected.

A nod to its history.

WHAT WOULD BE NICE WITH A HUGE BUDGET (NO CHANCE).

New ride system on 2 floors featuring drops like an indoor coaster.

Ride system like Arthur.

Technology like that used at the ABBA Voyage concert (It's amazing - Yes, I've seen it - My jaw hit the floor). It's probably too expensive even for Disney and Universal, but has huge potential for theme parks when the price comes down. I'm sure the Theme Park Industry is Watching.

I can thoroughly recommend it even to those who don'tike ABBA (As though anyone could not like ABBA!).

Fire effects.

A splashdown

None of the above will happen and that's fine, there is no way they could justify the budget for these. I can dream, though lol.

WHAT I DON'T WANT.

Loads of TV screens.

Cardboard cutouts (TWODW)

An IP taking up a huge part of the budget that could be better spent ( apart from Les Dennis, obviously... I hear he works for a tenner these days).

VR (Derren Browns Snoozefest).

Call me mad, but I'm optimistic for a quality outcome. They have a good team, and I think they will learn from past mistakes.
 
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Whilst splashdowns, motion captured holograms and Arthur level ride systems would be nice, they have absolutely zero chance of even remotely happening.

This is already a busy topic, so if we can try and keep discussion to realistic scenarios only it'd be appreciated :)
 
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@Craig Will we migrate to a separate topic when more is announced, or will this stay as the dedicated topic right through until when the rethemed ride opens?
 
Craig said:
Whilst splashdowns, motion captured holograms and Arthur level ride systems would be nice, they have absolutely zero chance of even remotely happening.

This is already a busy topic, so if we can try and keep discussion to realistic scenarios only it'd be appreciated :)
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To be fair, I did state that it was wishful thinking, sandwiched between rather more realistic hopes, but touche.

Promise I'm back on realism mode.
 
Just to maybe bring the crazy to halt, to summarise the posts of those who have knowledge of the project:

1) No new ride system, probable refurb of the control system and removal of the guns.

2) No IP, restoration of existing scenes with probably scope for some new features.

3) Primarily a return to the haunted house, but not likely a slavish carbon copy of 1992 HH.

4) Budget is bigger than past refurbs, not however huge.

5) Specifically no one has a bloody clue if Towers will keep/ auction/ pawn/ sacrifice to heathen gods existing props so please stop asking!!!!

Think that condenses 20 pages into one simple post!
 
Altonadvocate1 said:
Technology like that used at the ABBA Voyage concert (It's amazing - Yes, I've seen it - My jaw hit the floor). It's probably too expensive even for Disney and Universal, but has huge potential for theme parks when the price comes down. I'm sure the Theme Park Industry is Watching.
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Well, the tech is not actually that expensive. Crypton Future Media have been using the technology for the Hatsune Miku concerts for years, (Look up Magical Mirai or Miku Expo for an idea) and even then they took inspiration from other hologram concerts before them. the main cost in ABBA's case was due to the decision to use full body tracking of real people, which can get very expensive, and the plethora of effects used in the actual concert. In fact, Merlin have already used the technology for the underwater scene in Gangster Granny, albeit with a cloth rather than a clear plastic screen. They are more than capable of integrating it, although, I'm not sure where they would do so.
 
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