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The Alton Towers Dungeon

Looking at responses to TowersTimes post about Amigos in the Afterlife, it seems that the boat ride hasn't been used this year. I'm not so sure about the lift simulators but think that would be used naturally.

I'm assuming this may mean that the Dungeons will be redeveloped or rethemed next year, possibly for Project Horizon when that opens?
 
owenstreet7 said:
Looking at responses to TowersTimes post about Amigos in the Afterlife, it seems that the boat ride hasn't been used this year. I'm not so sure about the lift simulators but think that would be used naturally.

I'm assuming this may mean that the Dungeons will be redeveloped or rethemed next year, possibly for Project Horizon when that opens?
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Trick or Treat Town uses the space where the lifts were.
 
Manchester1894 said:
I thought the Dungeons were reopening for scarefest? Just read on Hex thread it's not? Do you think they are aiming for half term? Or writing it off for the season?
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The marketing around the Dungeons' closure was rather vague. Originally it was not clear whether they were closing for a Scarefest overlay or an entirely different attractions, but it turned out it was the second option.

As Skyscraper mentioned, Amigos in the Afterlife is currently using the space for Scarefest, except the boat ride, which is now SBNO for the season.

There is a huge question mark on whether the Dungeons will return in the future. I'd be hugely surprised if they reopen in their original form, but TBH the work that's been carried out in prep for Amigos in the Afterlife would suggest that the Dungeons might actually be now done altogether.
 
My hunch is that the boat ride is now SBNO through to the opening of Project Horizon and will then reopen as a supporting attraction for the new area. In the meantime, we'll see the building used seasonally for Scarefest.

More or less exactly what happened with Wobble World and House of Monsters.
 
In comparison to other Dungeons, Towers Dungeon was fairly middle of the pack. It had the highlights of all classic scenes, with a cast that was generally stronger than others as they had an existing pool of actors which they could select from, and generally stuck around longer. I never saw a half-arsed performance in it. However the theming was notably lacking, mostly due to it being a temporary attraction, there wasn't the same level of immersion or atmosphere, but it is rather impressive considering the whole attraction was built in six weeks!

It would have been interesting to see what was planned for the three extra rooms that got cut from the attraction, they were meant to be in the Lift building, with the lifts left in place presumably deliberately in case they ever wanted a 'Descent' scene or something similar. Expansions never happened not because the attraction initially wasn't successful, but because COVID hit and attention was focused elsewhere. Then when Trick O Treat Town came along, any possibility of expansion was left dead in the water and popularity dropped off outside of Scarefest because it simply wasn't fresh anymore.

The location was also a bit weird, because there really wasn't much foot traffic except for the corpse of Cloud Cuckoo Land and subsequently the World of David Walliams, where there was little overlap with audiences. It would have been better placed in an area of high foot traffic, such as in the Towers or nearby TowersStreet. Obviously Merlin leadership at the time wanted growth through the introduction of second-gate attractions and to replicate the success of Warwick Castle Dungeon. Still, without any integration with the Towers Ruins, it kind of just felt flat. Not to mention the Warwick Castle Dungeons is the only 'thrill' attraction there, whereas Towers Dungeon was competing for attention with the major coasters. Having it as an upcharge just put a load of people off.
 
Honestly although I know that enthusiasts mostly hated dungeons it was always a stupid decision regardless of geek perspective. People generally don’t want an up charge attraction when they have paid a lot of money to get in the park, but add to that the short operating hours and they were always onto a loser.

The mistake Merlin made was they put both midway brands in the park. If you look at it from a purely business perspective and not a quality perspective both Sealife and dungeons would have been better on resort side as upcharges. Combined ticket would have probably had more interest and maybe helped get multi day visits.
 
Dave said:
Honestly although I know that enthusiasts mostly hated dungeons it was always a stupid decision regardless of geek perspective. People generally don’t want an up charge attraction when they have paid a lot of money to get in the park, but add to that the short operating hours and they were always onto a loser.

The mistake Merlin made was they put both midway brands in the park. If you look at it from a purely business perspective and not a quality perspective both Sealife and dungeons would have been better on resort side as upcharges. Combined ticket would have probably had more interest and maybe helped get multi day visits.
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I definitely agree that a condensed Dungeons and Sealife centre should've been added to the resort area of the park for guests of the resort. 🤔
 
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