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The Alton Towers Dungeon

Had my first trip of the season to Alton Towers on Thursday.

Had a fantastic day, rides mainly walk on.

A massive thumbs up to the guys running WICKERMAN and NEMESIS. I have never seen such efficient batching. They were brilliant. Also, the staff on the mine train we're great and had a great rapport with guests, so well done.

I was really sceptical about the dungeon and expected it to be poor, but I was wrong.

Yes there were two prolonged pitch black spots on the boat ride, but they added to the atmosphere. For the first time at AT, the sets we're not done on the cheap. All the sets looked great, they actually had proper animatronics and they looked really good. The scenes in shadow created with projectors were also well done, the lighting was just the right level and the screams of agony came from all around using what I can only assume was a pretty expensive surround sound system.

The actors really got into the roles, never broke character and were very entertaining, so a big thumbs up from me.

I think it would have been a bit too much for younger children, and even one of the adults was really scared.

I hate political correctness, and think it has ruined modern comedy, but it is true that they would never have made fun of, say the shape of a lady, so a lot of hypocrisy around the whole PC thing.

On the hole, a great attraction full of frights and laughs.

Still think a much higher capacity free attraction would have been better for the park though.

My review of the Stargazing pods site, which I looked around, but didn't use, will be a little more critical.
 
ScottishChris said:
I was talking to one of the members of staff in the park, and they are pretty sure it will be charged this year, then reworked to be included next year. They were speaking really confidently, so take it as you will.
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Ahh, well I guess it is true that car park attendants generally play a fairly vital role in high-level operational and budgetary decisions.


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The trouble that I found when I was doing the Aflton Dungeon attraction, is that once I was inside, apart from the boat ride, I was itching to get out again to ride the rides
 
The point brought up in that (surprisingly well written) Trip Advisor review was clearly NOT that they took offence because it was an unPC joke, but they were pointing out the confusing tone and appeal of the ride. That it was dirty humour and gore mixed with panto and not much in between to keep it together.

This is debatable but I agree to some extent, I used to find some of the other Dungeons funny but it relies too much on that kind of humour without really being original anymore. The added gore just seems tacky rather than genuinely macabre.

The screechy annoying actors constantly banging their feet and shouting to make you jump, whilst very enthusiastically performed and not the actors' faults, is just annoying and done to death.

Is it really exactly the same in this Dungeon too? Havnt done it, but I had hoped this one would be at least slightly different.
 
Islander said:
Ahh, well I guess it is true that car park attendants generally play a fairly vital role in high-level operational and budgetary decisions.


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You may well find that the car park attendants are actually members of staff who do work in other areas of the park including rides and may be privy to inside information (whether they should be disclosing it is for another discussion!). I know someone who's a ride op and he's said he has worked in the car park before. So although almost all staff don't play a "vital role in high-level operational and budgetary decisions" don't assume that just because they are car park attendants that they no nothing! :)
 
Steve74 said:
You may well find that the car park attendants are actually members of staff who do work in other areas of the park including rides and may be privy to inside information (whether they should be disclosing it is for another discussion!). I know someone who's a ride op and he's said he has worked in the car park before. So although almost all staff don't play a "vital role in high-level operational and budgetary decisions" don't assume that just because they are car park attendants that they no nothing! :)
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You are right, to an extent. But the other thing to bear in mind is that people privy to such information know fully well that it isn't info to be shared with the general public. Thus if you have a member of staff spouting such info, most likely it's a load of rubbish :)
 
I know filming and photography is forbidden but has anyone actually taken any pictures from the boat portion of the ride. I am keen to see how it looks and how it has changed without having to waste my cash on it.
 
DistortAMG said:
I know filming and photography is forbidden but has anyone actually taken any pictures from the boat portion of the ride. I am keen to see how it looks and how it has changed without having to waste my cash on it.
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Surely if you're keen to see what it looks like then spending £5/£7.50 isn't really a waste of money? Having done the Dungeon, I don't think it is a waste of money. Yes, it is a bit samey compared to others but that is to be expected I guess - it's part of the Dungeon brand after all. You wouldn't expect to see huge differences between Premier Inns around the country except for little local, unique changes and to me, the Dungeons are no different.

The theming is great and the visual effects on the boat ride and throughout the whole attraction are really good. As others have said, the acting quality is superb. Sticking to a script, interacting with people, ad-libbing, improvising (to an extent) and doing it in a set amount of time and repeating it all over and over to the same level of quality all takes a lot of skill.
 
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Having unique acted scenes would not in any way diminish the brand, it would elevate it.

I don't stay at premier inns for fun, they are fairly utilitarian. Not what I'd want for a visitor attraction.
 
Lurker said:
Having unique acted scenes would not in any way diminish the brand, it would elevate it.

I don't stay at premier inns for fun, they are fairly utilitarian. Not what I'd want for a visitor attraction.
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Some of the scenes are fairly unique - granted not as much as they could be. The boat ride being the obvious one at Towers. My point about the Premier Inns was to try to explain that you have to expect similarities across all Dungeons because it is a nationwide brand and to an extent people will expect that. Of course that will work for and against the Dungeons as some people will think "Did London Dungeon, loved it, lets do the Towers one" and others will think "Did London, no point doing the others, they'll all be the same."

I guess its about striking a happy medium between having similarities and being unique across all the Dungeons.
 
The only reason there are similarities is to save design cost and save 'creative risk' deviating from 'tried and tested formula'. It's just homogenisation and repeating a concept until its exhausted. And now the public come to expect formula because its so rampant in everything now.
 
Steve74 said:
Surely if you're keen to see what it looks like then spending £5/£7.50 isn't really a waste of money? Having done the Dungeon, I don't think it is a waste of money. Yes, it is a bit samey compared to others but that is to be expected I guess - it's part of the Dungeon brand after all. You wouldn't expect to see huge differences between Premier Inns around the country except for little local, unique changes and to me, the Dungeons are no different.

The theming is great and the visual effects on the boat ride and throughout the whole attraction are really good. As others have said, the acting quality is superb. Sticking to a script, interacting with people, ad-libbing, improvising (to an extent) and doing it in a set amount of time and repeating it all over and over to the same level of quality all takes a lot of skill.
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No no, to me, it is a complete waste of money. Not only have I done other dungeons, when I am paying to get into Alton Towers I am not paying to take an hour out of my day on an already short opening time. If I go to Alton it is for the rides, not for something that can be experienced pretty much similarly else where.

I would rather not see what the boat ride is like, than have to pay to see it to be perfectly honest.
 
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