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The Alton Towers Dungeon

Matt.GC said:
It had a Sonic room in it that prominently featured not only the Hedgehog himself but a Mega Drive console and controller. There was game footage in there which featured Sonic 3 which was released in May 1994. The second half of Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles was released in October 1994.

The Mega Drives successor, the Sega Saturn, was released in Japan in November 1994 and in the UK in 1995 with the Mega Drive being discontinued shortly after. The Saturn's successor itself, the Dreamcast, was released in 1999 (with Sonic Adventure being a release title for it and Sonic Adventure 2 coming along in 2001) and Sega left the console market entirely in 2001.

So between the room being built and the rides closure, Sega had released and discontinued 2 successor consoles, left the console market entirely and released 5.5 (3.5 mainline not including Sonic Jam) Sonic titles from that featured in the room. The Sonic room was out of date by the beginning of the 1995 seasons let alone the 2005 season!
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Wow; given that it was rendered essentially obsolete within a year or two, I’m surprised that room was never changed!
 
Matt N said:
Wow; given that it was rendered essentially obsolete within a year or two, I’m surprised that room was never changed!
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I stand corrected! I've just looked it up and the controller that featured in the room was that of the Sega Master System! The Master System (released in 1986!) was the predecessor to the Mega Drive (released in 1988 in Japan, 1990 in Europe) and had been discontinued in 1994 I think. The Mega Drive itself was in its twilight years by the end of 1994.

In the first few weeks of Toylands operation, the footage that played in the room was actually video of Sonic CD (released for the Mega CD in 1993 and is an excellent game) before it was changed to Sonic 3 to coincide with it's release, which it remained as until closure (or until it broke, I can't remember if it was still showing in Toylands last year). So at least Toyland did get a small update of sorts shortly after opening?

According to a Sonic fan site, the look of the room seems to have been inspired by the Bad Future versions of some of the levels from Sonic CD (sounds upbeat doesn't it?). Sonic himself was redesigned in 1998 for Sonic Adventure and it's the old (so called "classic Sonic") design of him that features in the room. The Spinball Whizzer Sonic statue was his new (so called "Modern Sonic") design.
 
I really loved Toyland as a kid. I feel it left at the right time. It felt old, outdated and the ride was falling apart.

CATCF felt exciting and right at the time, it appeared popular with non-enthusiasts. It’s a shame all the money went into acquiring the IP leading to a stretched budget. The concept was great, unfortunately the money wasn’t there and a lot of the blank walls/spaces made it all too obvious. Still, CATCF I really enjoyed as a package.

Dungeons is even worse and the whole ride/building is currently a wasted opportunity. I can’t wait for the day Dungeons goes and we see the entire building used again for a proper dark ride.
 
Niet Roken said:
Inside it looked real lively and big, but I deliberately dodged it when I was a kid because the outside put me off looking a bit 'abandoned kids creche'.

Later on, pictures inside showed me it was totally different to the impression I got outside and I wish I'd done it.

I guess after the Talbot shops and attractions down that end closed, the building has always had a problem being too far back from the path in a dead area of the park. It didn't look too appealing to me at that time

I heard from my family that a lot wasn't working though, same old thing of a dark ride getting worn out from low maintenance, and a hasty decision made to replace it with something worse.
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I think the first impressions of it being a big pink building which weirdly enough didn't really help it which honestly I'm not suprised if this put people off from riding it.

Maybe if they had updated it they could have added more features like giant cogs on the outside (Wallace and Gromit at BPB) or some other factory features like giant chimneys with SFX smoke coming out would have helped and ironically they did something like this for Charlie albiet more cheaper looking but you could almost imagine it somewhat happening.

A more vibrant outside looking building to match the vibrant on the inside would have all helped gain the attraction the attention it deserved. Something not bright pink would have been good as even though I do love the ride like everyone else, you have admit the colour choice for it wasn't the best, not help as photos of the ride in it's last years looking run down made it worse.

Knowing what Tussauds was like during that time however even if TT was to stay, I have a hunch they would have filled the ride up with IP's galore far more so than just Sonic with it instead being all being toys of the day that within a few years would have dated and much of the ride's character would have been lost in which we'd have another Duel situation though perhaps far worse so either that or a badly done Charlie...the ride was kinda doomed no matter where you look sadly.
 
Considering there’s still Sonic games made to this day on all major consoles, I don’t think it was as dated as many think.

They easily could’ve updated the rooms, but, as is the way, it’s easier to get a budget passed for a new IP.
 
LordOfDarkness said:
Considering there’s still Sonic games made to this day on all major consoles, I don’t think it was as dated as many think.

They easily could’ve updated the rooms, but, as is the way, it’s easier to get a budget passed for a new IP.
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I was meaning other IP's such as the Snailexcteic (someone correct me with the the spelling) scene that was needing a slight tweak and other things that might have been replaced for the sake of being replaced. Knowing how cheap Tussauds were during that time I dread to know what they would've done, might have lost its character such as the replacement of that wonderful musical score, ugh.
 
QTXAdsy said:
I was meaning other IP's such as the Snailexcteic (someone correct me with the the spelling) scene that was needing a slight tweak and other things that might have been replaced for the sake of being replaced. Knowing how cheap Tussauds were during that time I dread to know what they would've done, might have lost its character such as the replacement of that wonderful musical score, ugh.
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Scalelectrix is still quite popular nowadays! I see them in shops a lot more often than you'd expect.
 
Trooper Looper said:
Scalelectrix is still quite popular nowadays! I see them in shops a lot more often than you'd expect.
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Probably just me admittedly, maybe it could have had a few tweaks though you have to wonder what fangled IP they'd throw into it without much thought or care.

Either way, Toyland could have had a well done overhaul if done right...actually suppose that might be a challenge for you to sketch up a surviving Toyland Tours with updated set pieces! :p
 
s_g_k said:
Toyland Tours 2022 - new and updated with several new scenes!

The fortnite room, the CoD room, the TikTok room and the Snapchat room.
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Sadly knowing Merlin wanting a new hip IP...sometimes a few years past their height, this is honestly what would have happened with the poor pink flying Elephant getting the boot in favour for one of those ideas.

Mind you, the thought of the happy Toyland Tours theme song playing happily within the CoD room just makes me want to wet myself of how hilariously stupid it be.
 
To be honest, how many people actually bother with the AT dungeons? For day visitors it takes 45 minutes out of an already limited time on park and MAP holders can go to the other dungeons for free which have almost identical scenes and are usually longer. It also looks like the other dungeons are struggling currently, The Blackpool Tower Dungeon is closing over winter and The London Dungeons frequently closes at 4pm on weekends in one of the biggest tourist hotspots in the world. I guess the AT Dungeons would have worked better if it was located closer to the car parks and could stay open after park close but I don't think there are any suitable places there. The other question is what they should do with the building, I would like to see a family-friendly boat ride included in park entry, I don't really care what it's themed to so long as it's done well. It would add to the park's list of all-weather attractions which is surprisingly short for Britain and it's unpredictable weather.
 
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