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Hex [2024 Refurb]: General Discussion

TheTalbotHound said:
Even if they do try to replace it i doubt current day Merlin would be willing to build something just as good to replace it. Hex closing can only be a bad thing, and something i hope Merlin does not do.
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Hex VR? Everything is the same but when you go in the vault you put an old Galactica VR headset on where it plays a YouTube video of what Hex used to do.
 
Squiggs said:
The main difference between enthusiasts and the general public is the desire to discuss the park at length, online.
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Wait. What? I'm not sure I follow... what is this online discussion you speak of? ;)

I am a huge fan of the observation that Hex fills a hole in the park lineup for 8 - 12 year olds; too old for CBeebies Land, but too young to tackle the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion. It's a glaring gap in the offer that other parks are doing really well at covering! I really do worry the park will lose some of its family audience because of this.

@Craig is it worthwhile locking this never-ending thread until 2023 when we might have actual updates? :p :tearsofjoy:
 
kydog1299 said:
It’s not just the fact it’s one of very few indoor attractions, it’s also that it’s one of a very few attractions for the ‘middle ground’ family age groups (e.g. 8-12’s mainly). The park in recent years has served teens and adults, and young families fairly well, but has always forgotten about that middle age bracket. This is where I see the likes of Drayton currently positioning themselves as it’s the easiest way to attack the market/AT.

We’ve lost a fairly large number of those ‘laughs and frights’ labelled attractions which targeted that middle age bracket since around 2013. If Hex (and Enterprise to some extent) were both to get the same fate, it’d be further chipping away at their ability to offer a good experience to those age groups/middle family groups again.

I think it’s within their interests to get Hex back up and running again.
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You are definitely right in that the park have lost two rides that were great for that 8-12 age bracket, I find it a little disappointing that CATCF and X at Thorpe were also lost in that they were turned in to the more adult themed Dungeons and TWD. For me Paulton’s, Drayton Manor, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach really shine in terms of offering guests in that age bracket (and say 1.1m to 1.3m height range) a good range of family thrill rides to go on.
 
Steve74 said:
Just found this on YouTube, brilliant model by an Engineering student, Adam Fowler - if you're a member on this forum Adam, fair play you've done an awesome job! Don't watch it if you don't want to know how Hex works! ;)🤣


This is his website detailing the build. Looks like he's a budding engineer who wants to design coasters!
sites.google.com

AMFOWLER - HEX: The Legend Of The Towers

What is hex?
sites.google.com sites.google.com
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Thanks Steve! As it happens, I've been accepted to be a Multi-Skilled Engineering Apprentice at Towers thanks to this project i've been working on!
 
AdamF said:
Thanks Steve! As it happens, I've been accepted to be a Multi-Skilled Engineering Apprentice at Towers thanks to this project i've been working on!
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You're very welcome mate! Just wish there were more budding enthusiastic engineers like you out there; I know companies near me that are struggling to recruit young engineers to fill the gap when the older generation are retiring.

I'm sure you'll love every minute of it at Towers, not jealous at all! But I wonder if your first task is to work out why Hex keeps breaking down?! 🤣 ;)
 
I was having my annual read of Michael Fisher's book 'Alton Towers Past & Present' earlier this week and once again came across the depressing last chapter when he's talking about the final decline of the house and the transition into a theme park. In that chapter he mentions that Hex is/was only expected to operate until around 2014. I'm assuming that this was something that was mentioned to him by Towers management about the expected longevity of the ride. Going by that logic, we've already had about 8 years longer than expected and it's no surprise that the ride is running into serious issues.

By the way, I'd just like to take the opportunity to say how much I appreciated Michael Fisher's work on the Towers, specifically his book 'A Gothic Wonderland' and then the updated version 'Past & Present'. His work really inspired me in a way that no other book has in my living memory to study history and I thank him for this. It's with regret that I read that he'd passed away last year so I just wanted to put it out there that I was grateful for his amazing study of the Towers.
 
I'd never been to any theme parks until my mid 40's and I had my first big coaster experience's the year of the smiler incident when we went to Florida. I needed more when we returned home and immediately booked our first trip to Alton Towers.

Hex was the ride that really stood out for me. The story, the music, the theming and of course the ride itself.

I really hope it doesn't go.
 
venny said:
Good point. Unlike other rides, I expect there’s a very limited scope to replace it with something else too.

In fact, it actually feels like a very positive piece of the heritage of the Towers and perhaps the most successful way of engaging visitors with that heritage.
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If Hex (god forbid) ever gets removed, the building the swing is in will have to go as well. It was a planning condition I think.
Hopefully that won't happen for a while though, but it's looking more and more unlikely that it's going to reopen. 😔
 
The exact quote (from p.171 of Past & Present) is: "Though now filled with all kinds of stage-set items and special effects - many of them created in the Towers workshop - designed to evoke a 'haunted house' atmosphere as visitors queue for the ride, the armoury, picture gallery and octagon are now structurally sound, and will remain so long after 'Hex' (which it was envisioned would remain in place until about 2014) has been replaced by something different".

Obviously Fisher was not a ride engineer so this most likely would have been something he was led to believe by someone else.
 
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