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The Alton Towers Dungeon

It’s also how the sell it to people, as a
MakoMania said:
If they were worried about MAP holders clogging the Dungeons up every day, they could've just given them one free go per season rather than one free go per day. Seems like a more reasonable compromise.
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Totally agree once per season would be totally acceptable for both parties I would have thought, who can do the dungeons more often anyway?! But they couldn’t try and screw every single last penny out of you that way
 
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I don't think this will work or pay.

It's ideally suited to Warwick Castle, Which despite being a great day out for what it is, doesn't actually have a lot to do.

AT is a massive theme park with absolutely loads to do, included in the admission.

I suspect that many day guests, will pay the upcharge, when there are so many great attractions within a ten minute walk.

Hmm. Should I ride the amazing, exciting, world-class, Nemesis, or should I pay extra to watch half a dozen drama students on minimum wage recite a script which is likely to be generic to other dungeons attractions.

Not a tough call to me

I do wonder, if Merlin's longer term plan may be to introduce pay per pride, in addition to the admission charge. A couple of quid per ride at the start to subsidise all those free Sun reader tickets. If the dungeons are successful as an upsell attraction, I believe this could be Varney,'s next step.

Would you put it past them?
 
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Themeparksandy1981 said:
I do wonder how it would work on a boat ride with actors.
Have the lifts been removed from the building?
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If it’s anything like the London boat ride then actors won’t feature on the boat section.

It hasn’t been confirmed regarding the lifts, but based on what has been revealed about the scenes I wouldn’t be surprised if they have gone. The rooms will be used for the new scenes instead.
 
It is worth noting that they are including local history in these Dungeons; one of the scenes will apparently be about the Witch of Burslem's haunted cottage and another will be based on being sentenced by the Bishop of Stafford. The park have also described the boat ride as "hideously scary" and the attraction as a whole as "hilariously hideous"; interpret that how you will. Here's the TowersTimes article where I found this out: https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/blog/2019/01/23/further-details-emerge-for-the-alton-towers-dungeon/

I still reckon that despite this not being my sort of thing at all, it could be really good for those who enjoy scare attractions!
 
Matt N said:
It is worth noting that they are including local history in these Dungeons; one of the scenes will apparently be about the Witch of Burslem's haunted cottage and another will be based on being sentenced by the Bishop of Stafford. The park have also described the boat ride as "hideously scary" and the attraction as a whole as "hilariously hideous"; interpret that how you will. Here's the TowersTimes article where I found this out: https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/blog/2019/01/23/further-details-emerge-for-the-alton-towers-dungeon/

I still reckon that despite this not being my sort of thing at all, it could be really good for those who enjoy scare attractions!
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Yeah, if you look back in this thread to Wednesday, you'll see that AT86 shared the original article that TTF's article got the info from.
 
Matt N said:
It is worth noting that they are including local history in these Dungeons; one of the scenes will apparently be about the Witch of Burslem's haunted cottage and another will be based on being sentenced by the Bishop of Stafford. The park have also described the boat ride as "hideously scary" and the attraction as a whole as "hilariously hideous"; interpret that how you will. Here's the TowersTimes article where I found this out: https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/blog/2019/01/23/further-details-emerge-for-the-alton-towers-dungeon/

I still reckon that despite this not being my sort of thing at all, it could be really good for those who enjoy scare attractions!
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This talk of ‘hideously scary’ is just marketing rubbish. It is recommended for ages 10+ so it isn’t going to be anywhere near the level of say a scare maze which are recommended 15+.
 
The Bishop scene will be the same as the Judge one, so won't particularly be that unique to Towers...

The Dungeons have moved a lot more towards Horrible Histories level of ''scare", though the likes of Jack the Ripper and the various versions of Sweeney Todd are probably the most "scariest" parts of them...
 
Thing is, even reading about the “locals scenes” they still jump out as generic dungeons scenes.

You know the judge scene will be the same as all other dungeons, except maybe they’ll mention stoke, like the Blackpool one always mentions Yorkshire.

The witches cottage, will probably be the same as the witches of Warwick. The plague will be the same as every other plague scene in every other dungeon, etc.

So even if it’s tailored a bit to the local area, all the dungeons run the same format.


My guess is they’ll keep the lifts, but that will be the start where you “go down” to the dungeons, then there will be a room or two of scenes, then you’ll do the boat ride, Get off and then a couple more rooms, ending on a witches of Warwick style ending, as I can’t see there being a ride, exiting through a dungeons shop.


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Couldn't they stop the boat for a couple of staged scenes, and do most of it seated.
That would be good for my old man's knees, but I still wouldn't let it get in the way of a days coasters.
 
The Alton Towers Dungeon is a missed opportunity really :(

Whilst I agree with a few of the key points raised, I had to laugh at this.
Ride Rater said:
Merlin have proven competent in growing their revenue streams and building their brands in the eight-plus years of the company’s public ownership.
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If being competent in growing revenue streams is making cuts left right and center, fair enough. But it’s not sustainable. That’s very incompetent if you ask me.
 
I still maintain that I think the Dungeons will be a great addition to the park that will really surprise people when it opens! I reckon the thematic quality could be outstanding, as Merlin's 2018 additions like Wicker Man have outstanding theming, and the existing Dungeons attractions apparently have outstanding theming, so I'm sure the Alton Towers Dungeons will continue that trend!

Also, I think the point about Cloud Cuckoo Land being ripe for development raised in the above article is a good one, as the Dungeons could lend itself to quite an interesting area theme, if you ask me! Maybe a nice medieval themed area?
 
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Matt N said:
I still maintain that I think the Dungeons will be a great addition to the park that will really surprise people when it opens! I reckon the thematic quality could be outstanding, as Merlin's 2018 additions like Wicker Man have outstanding theming, and the existing Dungeons attractions apparently have outstanding theming, so I'm sure the Alton Towers Dungeons will continue that trend!

Also, I think the point about Cloud Cuckoo Land being ripe for development raised in the above article is a good one, as the Dungeons could lend itself to quite an interesting area theme, if you ask me! Maybe a nice medieval themed area?
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I'm sure it will be fun, but it's frustrating to see a unique, free attraction pulled out and replaced with an upcharge one that can be found across the country. A medeival themed area would be fantastic though. Come to think of it, the Wicker Man area could fit that quite well too:D
 
What a ridiculous article.
But Merlin is in the business of growing its own brands, and it is not unfeasible that we could see a Madame Tussauds being added to Thorpe Park or elsewhere in the future.
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Are guests required to sympathise with Merlin's brand mission in order to enjoy their attractions? The writer doesn't seem to understand how demand works – the parks are supposed to entertain guests, not guests entertain Merlin's business arrangements!

We should not forget that making the Alton Towers Dungeon a success is in Merlin’s interests.
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Make sure this is displayed on a large billboard in the queueline so that guests are obliged to enjoy the corporate indulgence that awaits them inside.
 
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