Duel: The Haunted House Actually Strikes Back - Refurb Incoming

[Matt N]

The problem is, I’m not really sure you’d be able to replicate the technology that was around in the 1990s and have the same effect as it did back then. As @Craig said, different lighting technology will have different effects on a scene, so even if you kept the scenes from the 1990s, they would probably look different and not have the same effect under modern lighting. That’s likely in part why we have the current situation with lighting on the ride that everyone is so dismayed with.

All of this stuff is partially why I am skeptical of the success prospects of a piece by piece “revival” of HH where they simply remove the blasters, do some light touching up and hope for the best. Lighting is one of the ways in which the ride would inevitably differ from the 1992 original, and I feel like this wouldn’t please the die-hard fans that such a “revival” would be aimed at.

I agree with @WillPS. I’d support a near complete gutting of the actual dark ride theming itself so they can start again. Sure, keep the queue, keep the facade and keep all the exterior stuff mostly the same, but internally, I think the ride in its current form has issues that aren’t solvable by a simple relight.

 

[Matt.GC]

I'm glad this brand damaging attraction is finally being confirmed as being put out of everyone's misery.

My favourite choice still remains some form of Haunted House style attraction (not a recreation of THE Haunted House as that would be stupid) based on the originals way of thinking but with new scenes, a full upgrade, modern take etc and a new name.

I still have this lingering worry though that the TV screens and IP signage will arrive over the winter. We've been burnt countless times before. I'm certainly hoping this won't be the case as I'd probably prefer it to just limpon as Duel than be some tacky Ghostbusters ride or something.

 

[WickerWonder18]

Just a waiting game now folks. Hopefully we get an announcement on the 6th of September.

 

[Matt N]

I do wonder whether Alton might hold an event for the ride's closure where more is revealed. I know Chessington held an event for Bubbleworks, so I wouldn't be surprised if Alton did one for Duel.

 

[Trooper Looper]

I do wonder whether Alton might hold an event for the ride's closure where more is revealed. I know Chessington held an event for Bubbleworks, so I wouldn't be surprised if Alton did one for Duel.

I believe they will if the change will be radical like Bubbleworks. If most of what already there staying but being done up, I doubt they'll be anything but a poster hanged outside on Duels Queue Fencing.

 

[tech]

I do wonder whether Alton might hold an event for the ride's closure where more is revealed. I know Chessington held an event for Bubbleworks, so I wouldn't be surprised if Alton did one for Duel.

If major work is about to take place then they’d be silly to miss out on the chance to sell tickets for the last ride or a last ‘lights on’ tour.

Epcot did just that for the old Universe of Energy ride, which by that point was in a much, much worse state of repair than Duel. The famous ‘last ride’ had to be evacuated less than 10 minutes in as the ride system failed (as it was so fond of doing) so everybody instead got an unplanned backstage tour

 

[dazza4783]

Is it a coincidence that 6 + 9 is 15 = 15 year anniversary of Scarefest?

I am 90% confident the ride is due to close on 6th September for a refurb, but the 15 thing is slightly playing on my mind.

That crossed my mind too about it being 15th year of Scarefest. But I think 6 and 9 refer to the date. It was just written cryptically on there as there was previously a maths equation on there also.

The result of the equation matching the Anniversary of Scarefest is either a very clever way of adding speculation that keeps people talking about it, or just a coincidence.

 

[LLCorkscrew]

Ah.

This has taken me aback, although we all expected something.

As I may have said before, I was the first person on Duel when it opened on Saturday 5th April 2003. Not that that counts for anything - but it's always been a special ride - The Haunted House and its successor, as it has to many on here. Fascinating how we build emotive connections with the rides.

It has slowly deteriorated over the years and when I last visited a few months ago, was perhaps at its worst.

Will book off the 6th as I guess it is now time to say goodbye.

On a more positive note, I am excited to see what's next...

(Also, I have the current Duel soundtrack on every morning - I use it as a shower timer so I'm not late leaving for work - I usually have the window open and the bloke next door takes his dog at that sort of time, he must wonder who is that guy with the spooky music blaring every morning at 7am. If the music is to be replaced, it better be as good as Graham Smart's, David Buckley's, and the latest - perhaps a wee mix - for my neighbour's sake!)

 

[emmerse2891]

Having ridden 2 of the best ghost trains in Europe this year, i.e. Hotel Psycho at Prater and Bla Taget at Grona lund - some notes I have for refurb:-

If they can get the cars to rotate and move backwards through sections like Hotel psycho.

upgrade the cars to have jolting floors (something underneath bashing upwards), seat slitherers, back pokers and in car air cannons like Bla Taget!

Also utilise fog screens like the brilliant effect in Bla Taget

basically the key is more sensory effect - also improved surround sound.

in terms of the 'old ride':-

I'd like a 50/50 approach as in leave in popular props - maybe move them to different parts and install 50% new stuff - just think of all the advances in shock effects in the last 30 years such as portrait drops etc

lets allow them new innovation instead of leaning on nostalgia - or at least mix it up, I'd personally like to see some new rooms that you'd find in a haunted house... a kitchen, bedrooms, conservatory - I always thought HH ambled through generic stone corridors a bit too much - Id like the ride to be tonally more like the queue area!

I also think there are ways to increase re-rideablity without interactivity - and thats if you have a variety of effects, and not all will be the same for each ride - that was the problem with the old HH - for example the demon in the ballroom - ride it once or twice and you know whats going to happen - maybe every other car will rotate backwards and experience a different effect? or you have 2 or 3 ghouls that could potentially jump out at you at different stages (left, right or above), and if you then do that multiple times - you have a ride that is different every time!

In the last 20 years especially the renewed interest in supernatural horror (conjuring & insidious franchises, women in black etc) and paranormal television - as well as the rise in scare attractions, halloween as a season on Britain etc - Basically we love ghosts as a nation and they're as popular as ever, historic buildings and museums now even cash in on their 'haunted heritage'

Therefore I think a good classic haunted house attraction would be really timely for the UK!

 

[ChristmasPud]

We know they're on walls and sticks, but who cares? They're fun and filled charm.

Only because the lighting has been incorrect for many years. You wouldn't see they were "on walls and sticks" originally. Bad quality was never supposed to be part of the charm with this ride.

See any dark ride at Efteling or Disney on how to maintain a 40 year old attraction good as new and it still be entertaining because of it.

 

[jarow]

I might have missed something but why is it instantly assumed that this will be a refurb? What if it's the case that the ride is making way for completely new developments? Although I agree that a refurb may be more likely although I never thought I'd see the day where Merlin would invest heavily into a dark ride (especially since DBGT), I don't think a removal should be ruled out completely.

 

[Trooper Looper]

Only because the lighting has been incorrect for many years. You wouldn't see they were "on walls and sticks" originally. Bad quality was never supposed to be part of the charm with this ride.

That's what I mean. When I first went on Duel last year, I didn't think of "oh, wow this is shoddy", Instead I thought of "Oh wow, that's cool and quite characteristic"

Even when it's not in its best state, those effects are still really great from a few standpoints, such as their sound effect, props, and execution (kinda). That's why I'd love to see them how they were back in their prime in the early 90s.

I'm not sure why, but The Haunted House sections of the ride always felt so comforting but a little spooky when going through them, a perfect combo I think, which is why I wish them to keep those scenes mostly intact.

At the very least I'd love them to fully refurb these scenes to their original state, or as close as they can, out of the following:

The Grand Hall

The Trommel

The Screaming Heads

The Sinister Garden.

See any dark ride at Efteling or Disney on how to maintain a 40 year old attraction good as new and it still be entertaining because of it.

That's what I want Tower's do to Duel, not rip most of the props and effects out and call it a day.

Disneylands original Haunted Mansion still have most of their effects which are now over 50 years old in terms of execution as well, and people still love them.

Spookslot (R.I.P) at Efteling is a wonderful Indoor attraction. They kept what was there originally and only added it over time. Yes, they were small, but it kept what people originally loved there, but also something fresh but coherent to go alongside with the originally effects, which helped it last so long, nearly 45 years.

I don't want Duel to become "Emily's Haunted House" and have an entirely different feels and character the original one had, with only the brand of 'The Haunted House' left. I want them to turn it back to what it rightfully used to be, while giving it SOME new life. Keep 75-80% of the original effects and restore them, and use that 25-20% for slight more modern concepts in their own scenes. I see the Giants Lair as a perfect opportunity for this and the Swamp Finale if they're not bringing that back in a remastered form.

 

[Craig]

I might have missed something but why is it instantly assumed that this will be a refurb? What if it's the case that the ride is making way for completely new developments?

Reading back over the last few months of discussion will show how things have progressed, but short answer is this all started from people having reliable sources of information saying that refurbishment was a possibility. That has then only been reinforced by the post on Alton Towers Haunted House mentioning "The Duel is Over", the numbers as a reference to Emily Alton and finally the "This is my house" pretty much referring to the ride itself not going anywhere. Then of course John Burton from Merlin Magic Making tweeting:

That's what I mean. When I first went on Duel last year, I didn't think of "oh, wow this is shoddy", Instead I thought of "Oh wow, that's cool and quite characteristic"

The problem is, whilst you may find it "quite characteristic" yourself, the creation of this topic and the 72 pages of discussion that follows clearly demonstrates that a large amount of people do actually find it quite shoddy and cheap, especially for somewhere that is considered to be the best theme park in the country. You're not talking about a 3 quid ghost train that people go on for a laugh, guests are paying upwards of £40 for a day at the park and they expect quality.

That's what I want Tower's do to Duel, not rip most of the props and effects out and call it a day.

Disneylands original Haunted Mansion still have most of their effects which are now over 50 years old in terms of execution as well, and people still love them.

Again, they've already ripped out/damaged beyond repair a lot of the props and effects when it was rethemed to Duel. That's only been further reduced as the ride has not undergone any sort of major refurbishment over the years and even more things have stopped working completely and likely need a full replacement (i.e the trommel) - you can only restore things if there is something left to restore in the first place.

As for Disney, of course they have effects that are over 50 years old. But at the same time, a lot of the ride has been tweaked and amended over the years during their extensive rehabs that they schedule in. So whilst they may "look" the same, they've been gradually plussed and upgraded to take into account things like new style lighting etc that they've put in over the years. In short, it's been very well looked after - Duel blatantly has not.

I've already mentioned that restoring things exactly back to how they were is impossible due to lighting, but the other factor is that the public's perception of what people want from a ride has changed too. Should a refurb back to Haunted House be on the cards, you have to remember a huge chunk of people haven't even ridden Haunted House - me being one of them! It's fine to have some nostalgia for the guests who rode it back in the 90s. But, the aim of this would be to secure the ride's future for years to come, so it needs to impress everyone - from former riders of Haunted House, or just of Duel right through to completely new visitors who've never been on either of them before.

The refurb to Duel never achieved that aim. It was done lazily on the cheap to quickly gamify the ride and take advantage of the video game/console craze at the time - serving to attract only that section of guests. It failed to give consideration to the ride's history, existing physical theming, or to those guests who perhaps didn't want to go around Haunted House shooting crap LED targets.

I'm hoping if we are seeing a return of the Haunted House, it ends up being a refurb that does manage to impress everyone. An evolution of the previous ride, with elements harking back to the original, but also taking the opportunity to use new features and take advantage of new technology (and no, that doesn't mean screens - I'm in full agreement we need physical theming!). I don't see a need for them to have to restore the majority of old scenes/elements just for nostalgia's sake. I would much rather they had the freedom to design the ride to ensure that the experience flows and properly fits with today's lighting and other technology, rather than doing things the other way round and trying to shoehorn the lighting in to fit current/restored scenes - that's precisely one of the reasons it's in the state it's in right now.

 

[jon81uk]

As for Disney, of course they have effects that are over 50 years old. But at the same time, a lot of the ride has been tweaked and amended over the years during their extensive rehabs that they schedule in. So whilst they may "look" the same, they've been gradually plussed and upgraded to take into account things like new style lighting etc that they've put in over the years.

Yep, I would say that although many Haunted Mansion scenes are the same as they were 50 years ago the way they are presented and the mechanics have been upgraded in a significant number of the scenes. It tells the same story but using lots of new methods.

 

[Matt N]

As others have 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.

Also, I’d make the argument that the Haunted House, while clearly effective in 1992, very much comes across like a product of its time rather than something that would fly as a brand new attraction in the 2020s.

I do not think Duel is as terrible as is often made out on here, but I certainly think there’s greater potential in ripping out much of the existing scenery and devising something entirely new. I think the scenery and style of Duel/the HH fundamentally looks quite old fashioned now, and I mean that in a “look how far we’ve come” type way rather than a “they don’t build ‘em like they used to” type way. I’m not sure that the ride’s art style and current theming would really fly on a new attraction in 2023, which this revamp fundamentally will be.

 

[Benzin]

It'd probably be fine to keep the old Haunted House vibe if it hadn't been Duel for 19 years.

Zero point returning back to the original. In the same way there's no point going back to Terror/Forbidden Tomb at Chessie. 90s cheese will just not have the same effect to a modern audience.

I'd dread to think the state of the screaming faces. However I would guess that the noise (and hopefully the guitar screech) will be placed or hidden within whatever comes next.

Bla Taget is a fantastic shout for a more modernised Ghost Train inspiration. Very weird and off the wall. But I don't think it'd work too much on the grander scale that's at Towers.

Given the area to work with, gut the building and start afresh seems an ideal time to really kick the ride back into being more than a passing fancy.

 

[tayspru]

If they gut the building we simply won’t get the same quality of set pieces again. I’d be all for removing and replacing most / all of the monsters and other residents of the house, but as for the architecture, that should remain intact as much as possible. There’s some clear opportunities here too, you could easily bring in a new crumbling effect to call back to the crashing column from the original. With modern technology, the house collapsing around you as a new finale would be completely achievable, for example. Curved video screens could replace the Trommel, removing the mechanical element entirely.

We will have to see what comes of this all but I wouldn’t completely gut the building

 

[Trooper Looper]

As others have 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.

Also, I’d make the argument that the Haunted House, while clearly effective in 1992, very much comes across like a product of its time rather than something that would fly as a brand new attraction in the 2020s.

I do not think Duel is as terrible as is often made out on here, but I certainly think there’s greater potential in ripping out much of the existing scenery and devising something entirely new. I think the scenery and style of Duel/the HH fundamentally looks quite old fashioned now, and I mean that in a “look how far we’ve come” type way rather than a “they don’t build ‘em like they used to” type way. I’m not sure that the ride’s art style and current theming would really fly on a new attraction in 2023, which this revamp fundamentally will be.

While you see Duel as a product as its time, I (controversially) see The Haunted Mansion as a product of its time, but, still thinks both are great attractions. Duels has been so underutilised that its put people off for having the HH back because of that Duel feeling and they've gotten used to.


And ever since the announcement of Duels most likely closing date, have you seen the amount of Haunted House fans on social media? Even I'm a little bewildered and would've though there'd be more Duel fans out there, but The ratio of Dueks fans to Haunted House fans is like 1:5. Im not lying! Of course, a good chunk of them are adults, but there are still a fair amound of teens on the comment sections, but still, the amount of Haunted House fans, young or old, that are still out there really surprised me, thinking there'd be only be 10 left XD


There aren't many here, but on others Social Media, it clearly says quite a different story. On wanting a new Haunted Attraction of the HH back, that's clearly subjective here, but it's an opinion nevertheless, and Alton probably listen to a lot of opinions from Guests, and I mean A LOT.

Every morning when I get to DM for work, they go through a list of what guests liked and what guests didn't like, and how they could improve it, so I wouldn't be surprised if AT used this routine as well.

 

[rob666]

As others have 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.

Also, I’d make the argument that the Haunted House, while clearly effective in 1992, very much comes across like a product of its time rather than something that would fly as a brand new attraction in the 2020s.

I do not think Duel is as terrible as is often made out on here, but I certainly think there’s greater potential in ripping out much of the existing scenery and devising something entirely new. I think the scenery and style of Duel/the HH fundamentally looks quite old fashioned now, and I mean that in a “look how far we’ve come” type way rather than a “they don’t build ‘em like they used to” type way. I’m not sure that the ride’s art style and current theming would really fly on a new attraction in 2023, which this revamp fundamentally will be.

The Haunted House was stunning when it all worked properly, it would be just as stunning now.
The jumping jellyfish ghosts and flying ghost effects were amazing, it was great fun all the way through.
Then it all slowly screwed up.
Guns and zombies made it worse.
Then that was screwed up.
It would fly as a brand new headline attraction in 2023.
With new additions and further modern effects I'm sure it will be even better.

 

[Trooper Looper]

The Haunted House was stunning when it all worked properly, it would be just as stunning now.
The jumping jellyfish ghosts and flying ghost effects were amazing, it was great fun all the way through.
Then it all slowly screwed up.
Guns and zombies made it worse.
Then that was screwed up.
It would fly as a brand new headline attraction in 2023.
With new additions and further modern effects I'm sure it will be even better.

That's exactly what I want. I don't want modern tech fully excluded from it, but a mix of old and new, keep the old intact Haunted House scenes there, do them up to how they used to be, and for the rest of the scenes (Lab Finale, Giants Lair) do something new with them, like a new monster, or a radically different concept!!!