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Hex [2024 Refurb]: General Discussion

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DaveW

TS Contributor
I brought this up a couple of years ago back in 'that other place' but though I would bring it up again given the new forum.

In the "Alton Towers: Past and Present book there is a very brief mention that during its initial planning Hex was expected to only last until around 2014. At the time most people on TTF thought it was just a random number plucked out of thin air.

However, Given that 2014 is just around the corner, and Hex is rapidly starting to show its age now, do you think we are going to seem some form of investment in Hex in the next couple of years to extend its life span, or are we looking at a slow decline into disrepair and eventual removal within the next few seasons?

Personaly as much as I adore Hex I would love to someday see the armoury picture gallery and octagon opened up to view like the rest of the towers, more so now the conservetory has been restored I think it would look stunning to have that whole axis of the house opened up as it was originally intended

Has anyone else got any thoughs on what they would like to happen to the area occupied by Hex once it is eventually removed?
 
Hex should never, ever be removed as far as I'm concerned. It's a timeless and unique attraction that has so much more to it than being "just a theme park ride". It's well worth the cost of upkeeping it; I just hope that the park can see this. Granted, seeing that segment of the house in it's full glory would be splendid, but not at the expense of one of the theme park's best experiences.
 
With regards to Hex itself, the Madhouse needs serious maintenance if the park intend to keep it open but considering how there is rarely ever a glimmer of hope towards refurbishing that section of the attraction through Vekoma themselves, the days must be (and I dread to think this) severely numbered. You can still hear the creaking in places which utterly ruins the ride's effect and the parking is still off by at least 10 seconds for example. Everything else in terms of cues is fine outside the Madhouse but if they were to remove that key piece then they would have to do a massive reworking of the attraction to compensate for that main draw.

As for the site's future, I believe the Armoury, Picture Gallery and Octagon would make a fantastic museum space with the gorgeous hound statues at the front as an entrance. Although it's unlikely management are willing to bring out items of significant importance into the public eye, the interior of the Towers itself would add perfectly to the collection describing the colourful history.

Still as much as I hope Hex will survive the years and turmoil of cruel budgets, it's an upsetting image thinking about the removal of one of the best dark attractions in the UK.
 
I fear that the vibration from the bass levels from the speakers in the octagon could cause the towers ruins to collapse at any moment...

AAAAA VVVAAAAUUULLT SSSSEEEEAAAAALLLLEEEEDDD...
 
Really does just need improvements to bring it back up to its original standard such as the projector and stern need to be replaced due to very faint lines on the screens during the video also I think the figure (thinks its meant to be the old women) in the octagon room to be replace with something more life like. And finally the vault could do with some really maintance
 
I can't see Towers removing Hex to replace it with a museum, although this is their main goal this year, it would be a step backwards. I can see Hex following the usual tradition of slowly dieing until it cannot function anymore.
 
The way I see it is you can only fix something so many times before it becomes to unreliable to run efficiently and it needs to be removed or replaced. Your maintainance could be the best in the world but this would still be an issue (It would just slow this down). Unfortunaly Hex is no exception and it will come to the end of its operational life eventualy. Saying that I can't see Hex going anywhere in the near future. Villa Volta opened at Efteling in 1996 and has been operating for 16 years and is still open. (Although i'm not sure of its operational condition as I haven't been)
 
I went to towers with my parents yesterday, and they rode Hex for the first time. They were fascinated with it, loved it and wanted to ride it again, even in it's current (but not as bad as the start of the season) state. I think it is easy for frequent riders to forget how damn good it is as a whole and what a good trick a madhouse achieves.

I don't want it to go anywhere.
 
I would never want Hex to go, it just needs a bit of work to get it back to normal, at least the audio got fixed this year.

If towers were to invest I would rather they did more of the towers up, or thought about opening some of the west wing to the public.

I wish they would advertise the towers more, its barely mentioned on the park map now. They need better signage in and around the towers, with some nice history information boards in each room or something. There are signs in the towers which still mention Ug Land!
 
Sorry to bump an old thread, I wasn't sure if there was a newer one.

Having rode Hex for the first time in a few years, I thought the overall experience still holds up.

However, the video explaining the main story hasn't stood the test of time, you can barely see whats happening in the video...
 
The current issues mainly stem from the fire exit doors being open, resulting in a total lack if atmosphere throughout the entire attraction.

The audio throughout, most notably in the vault, is also in a terrible state.

Combine that with the painfully slow moving queue at present due to covid restrictions and it is a real misery to ride these days.
 
When all restrictions are eased, the queue will allowed to be indoors again and the fire exit doors can be closed, I'd imagine?
 
Danscott22 said:
When all restrictions are eased, the queue will allowed to be indoors again and the fire exit doors can be closed, I'd imagine?
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I would expect so, yes.

I rode Hex yesterday, and had a funny experience. When we were in the first preshow room, the video cut out part way though, and the lights came on a minute or so later. Then the lights kept going on and off every so often for around 20 minutes. :tearsofjoy:
A staff member came and told us to stay where we were and that Hex was experiencing a delay, and an announcement was broadcast as well. Eventually the lights went off completely and the video played from the start, and we had no further issues. Although we did notice that the gondola and vault were struggling to park again.

Also, the host who checked our safety bar was so funny, dancing in front of us. Had us all in fits of laughter! :tearsofjoy:
 
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Skyscraper said:
Also, the host who checked our safety bar was so funny, dancing in front of us. Had us all in fits of laughter! :tearsofjoy:
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Couple of years ago I was there with my daughter and it was her 21st. She had a big 21 badge on and the ride host in the vault spotted this as we sat down, he asked her name then announced to everyone it was her birthday. Then he got us all to sing Happy Birthday to her, finishing off with a round of applause. Was fantastic - but not for her!!
 
D4n said:
The current issues mainly stem from the fire exit doors being open, resulting in a total lack if atmosphere throughout the entire attraction.

The audio throughout, most notably in the vault, is also in a terrible state.

Combine that with the painfully slow moving queue at present due to covid restrictions and it is a real misery to ride these days.
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Surprised I haven't seen this mentioned more often, it is a miserable experience to ride with COVID-19 regulations. The light leaking in through the blinds just completely vacuums the mood (even worse in Scarefest when you can see the group batched prior to you exiting the ride past one of the fire exits), coupled with the stewards who bark instructions at you to sit down and raise your arms in the Madhouse, it is not worth the wait whatsoever.
 
Nerdsticks said:
Surprised I haven't seen this mentioned more often, it is a miserable experience to ride with COVID-19 regulations. The light leaking in through the blinds just completely vacuums the mood (even worse in Scarefest when you can see the group batched prior to you exiting the ride past one of the fire exits), coupled with the stewards who bark instructions at you to sit down and raise your arms in the Madhouse, it is not worth the wait whatsoever.
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I'm with you on the doors open and fan noise but "stewards who bark instructions at you to sit down and raise your arms in the Madhouse"? I've never known them shout. Talk loudly yes - unless you're unfortunate enough to be in the vault with rowdy kids or young adults, and then I'd understand them shouting
 
The last couple of times we've been on Hex, the audio in the vault during the ride has been quite quiet, with the music seeming to only come out of one speaker at the exit end of the ride?!
It really robs the ride of the atmosphere as the Hex music is fantastic. But its just to quiet now, you can hear the ride creaking and people talking over it :-(
 
rob666 said:
Could be a covid change, no loud music so people don't have to shout over it, it was in the original guidance a year ago.
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Ahhhh hadn't thought of that....
Although no other ride has quiet music that I noticed, so not sure. And the sound DEFINITELY only comes from one end of the room now...
 
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