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Hex: The Future

Logically, I know rides don't last forever. And sometimes the removal of a ride is for the best. However, I can't help but be incredibly sad and concerned about the future of Hex. It's one of my absolute favourites at the park and has my favourite ride soundtrack of all time.

I adore Hex and would hate to see it go.

Though I'm not against going the Curse route with Hex, it will still be sad to see the original unceremoniously shut down without the sendoff it deserves.

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DeLaTerreALaLune said:
To be fair I heard (sorry for the vagueness) that a vehicle was accidentally driven into it and the drum was bent out shape beyond repair. So not so much a lack of maintenance. If this is true that is.
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But if the ride has operated in 2023 and sporadically in 2022, surely it wasn’t so bent out of shape after this hit that the ride couldn’t run at all?

I don’t know exactly how the ins and outs of this sort of thing would work, but my guess is that either lots of different things have gone wrong in unison or that the same thing has gone wrong multiple times and they’re struggling to find a long-term way fix it. The nature of the ride’s operation from 2022 onwards (it’s been up and down in that time period rather than completely SBNO) would suggest to me that there have been multiple failures and fixes rather than one big failure that they have been completely unable to fix since 2022.

For what it’s worth, Theme Park Worldwide, who may well have connections at Alton Towers given Shawn’s proximity to and previous professional relationship with the park, have suggested that the reason for Hex’s unreliability from 2022 onwards is that Alton Towers “are repeatedly opting for cheap short-term fixes to the ride rather than spending the extra money for a proper long-term fix”. Take that with as much salt as you like.
 
DeLaTerreALaLune said:
To be fair I heard (sorry for the vagueness) that a vehicle was accidentally driven into it and the drum was bent out shape beyond repair. So not so much a lack of maintenance. If this is true that is.
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To the ride building I understand, but to the ride system itself? This vehicle must have gone through the tin wall if true and surely someone would have noticed a large gash on the show building by now so this just seems not to be true.

Then again if true, in a black comedy sense would be perhaps one of the funniest ways for a ride to end its working life all because someone's bad driving! :p
 
Who's going to be driving at any speed likely to puncture an outer building and then seriously damage the internal ride in that area anyway? I have slight doubts about this rumour.
 
Ash said:
They’re going to butcher it and fill it with lots of terrible lighting, in the ongoing health and safety farce that is Alton towers…

See monorail batching
Absurdly high fences
Over usage of signage
New lighting with Alton Manor
Sealed off towers

For more evidence…

Just a hunch
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What H&S do you think they need for a walk through attraction that doesn’t invert?

Maybe some extra lighting between scenes I suppose but so long as the show scenes are lit properly it doesn’t make a huge difference (plus the lighting on Alton Manor is far better than Duel)

DeLaTerreALaLune said:
To be fair I heard (sorry for the vagueness) that a vehicle was accidentally driven into it and the drum was bent out shape beyond repair. So not so much a lack of maintenance. If this is true that is.
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For a vehicle to hit the drum from memory having been in that building it would have to smash through the ride building made of metal, carry on for a couple of meters, drop into a pit and then through a fence….
Doesn’t seem all the likely to me
 
It would not surprise me if the vault has one of the highest tallys of ride cycles out of all the Vekoma Madhouses. Not only is it one of the oldest. It has ran pretty hard for most of its working life. Not an issue in itself, but the root cause of the recent issues, probably lie within that somewhere. TLDR, parts of the swing are worn out.

I hope they spend the money needed, the ride is a true gem for the park.

I am pretty certain this is a supply issue though, Merlin do have current, active Vekoma Madhouse projects in the works, which have been postponed / delayed. That should tell you all you need to know and indicate where the issue lies. Vekoma.

Now if you do not mind, I'm going to reverse my van out from the Skyride station.....I was steaming like a kettle last night and thought I was parking in Asda.
 
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what about that new interview press release thingy? Could just be company talk for “oh crumbs we don’t know what’s going on so we are going to close it”, but, I think they might just actually fix it this time.
 
So I have a friend from another website / forum who was at an event recently. The indication is Hex and the Sky Ride are to be fixed / refurbished after Nemesis. So I wouldn't count on either being open next year.
 
Jb85 said:
So I have a friend from another website / forum who was at an event recently. The indication is Hex and the Sky Ride are to be fixed / refurbished after Nemesis. So I wouldn't count on either being open next year.
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I believe the park have purchased a whole new Madhouse for Hex. Goodness knows how they'll swap them, mind.
 
A reminder not to go down the "Source: Trust me bro" side of things again please. As a reminder for rumours:
  • This forum is not to just repeat every rumour you've heard from somewhere. Ideally they should have some way of being stood up with some actual proof (planning application, something seen on park etc) not just "I heard. . .". If you are going to post a rumour then...
  • Consider how credible the rumour is. Has said source been reliable before?
  • If it's a friend of a friend who's never been right before, then consider not bothering to post.
And don't forget:
Screenshot at Sep 20 22-03-13.png
 
Even if they have purchased a whole new drum, surely that would mean redoing the theming inside from scratch?

As much as it'd be an opportunity to freshen up the ride after nearly 25 years, with some updated theming. I don't know if I could trust them to do it to the same standard as before. Maybe I'm just cynical after living through the years of Merlin PLC, but I just can't see it being a financially viable option for them.
 
Burner said:
Even if they have purchased a whole new drum, surely that would mean redoing the theming inside from scratch?

As much as it'd be an opportunity to freshen up the ride after nearly 25 years, with some updated theming. I don't know if I could trust them to do it to the same standard as before. Maybe I'm just cynical after living through the years of Merlin PLC, but I just can't see it being a financially viable option for them.
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I think the majority if not all of the theming and panelling would be able to be removed from the drum and placed onto the new one after a refurbishment or whatever. There is no reason they would not keep it I would not have thought, it is in great condition by the looks of it.

If, they have brought a new drum (it would make total sense.) Parts of the building would need dismantling to accommodate the works. Not a major issue though as it is all sheet panelling which is easy to remove and re add.

A new model would mean it would almost certainly be a Mad House 2.0 model, of which did post some details on this model back in my post here way back earlier this year. They basically have over two decades of mechanical refinement to make them much more robust and reliable than these early models and they do not suffer from many of the mechanical issues that plagued these early models, of which one is parking.
 
Hex is the gold standard of what AT should be in my opinion. The pre-shows, the theming and the very fact that they had worked the ride into the concept of the towers. This ride signifies everything Towers should be. The fact that it isn't operating is the biggest frustration for me. Equally, it does point to other failings with Merlin - you do wonder how a they have let a Madhouse get to the point it doesn't work.
In terms of repairs/ fixes. Replacing the entire drum seems a bit bizarre to me. I would get replacing the ride system, or even the rails around the drum - but the whole drum?
It would be interesting to know what the actual problem is. A couple of years ago we were evacuated from the pre-show being told that the vault doors hadn't aligned properly - it then closed for the day. I had always assumed that this was the issue - more ride system than hardware. But who knows?
 
I do have to question have truthful the source might be regarding that both Hex and Skyride need major work that could see them out for the 2024 season, then again given the rotten maintenance the park has done over the years, it honestly wouldn't suprise me given how they have gotten it to this point in which all those quick fixes have come back to bite them in the rear.

Actually, I think this has been mentioned before but Towers' maintenance situation needs a major overhaul itself to not only make the park more efficient and sort out the dreaded TLC that many rides need but also prevent further issues like what is happening with Hex and Skyride from happening again.
 
QTXAdsy said:
Actually, I think this has been mentioned before but Towers' maintenance situation needs a major overhaul itself to not only make the park more efficient and sort out the dreaded TLC that many rides need but also prevent further issues like what is happening with Hex and Skyride from happening again.
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Agreed, it is basically the equivalent of not bothering to get your car serviced for five years and then being surprised when it breaks down and you have a repair bill as long as your arm that you cannot afford to pay. I hope they learn from this!
 
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