Thirteen and Hex: Linked?

[Skyscraper]

This is something that I've been suspecting for a long time, and recently a few others on a Discord server also mentioned about it. We have a feeling that Thirteen and Hex are linked by their themes and stories. Here are two points as to why:

1. Could the Chained Oak be in the Dark Forest?
2. Could the tesla coils in Thirteen's queue line be the ones the Earl used in his experiments (seen in Hex's Cinema Room pre-show)?

Plus, this is the original concept art for Thirteen;

Very similar don't you think?

Does anyone agree with the above and think the same? Deliberately linked or just a coincidence?

 

[rob666]

The fallen branch is from the Chained Oak, we know where it is, that isn't the Dark Forest.
Gloom in ride theming has been "in" for decades.
The tesla coil has been dead for years, but so has the fifteenth earl...
Nothing to see here, in my humble opinion.

 

[DistortAMG]

The tesla coil was working last season when I rode Thirteen, cannot comment about this year.

I think given the fact the rides station is themed to the towers. With literal mouldings of the towers bricks being used to make the station, plus the tesla coil gives it a sort of ancient scientific experiment VIBES you get from Hex, absolutely,

The themes for sure give off the same sort of VIBES, not surprising as the theme, when you exclude the story's are very very similar. I would not say this was by accident. With Hex being a stones throw from the ride, I would say this was done very deliberately, with MMM been keenly aware of this when designing it.

As for the chained oak, no it is not in the dark forest, we know where it is. But that is not to say the themes are loosely connected, I would argue that they clearly are.

 

[Skyscraper]

The fallen branch is from the Chained Oak, we know where it is, that isn't the Dark Forest.
Gloom in ride theming has been "in" for decades.
The tesla coil has been dead for years, but so has the fifteenth earl...
Nothing to see here, in my humble opinion.

Yes, but the Chained Oak could be in the Dark Forest.
I've edited my post to clarify I meant that.

 

[DistortAMG]

Yes, but the Chained Oak could be in the Dark Forest.

That is a good point, as in general a forest covers a large area, the chained oak is not too far from the park. So given the rest of the loose connections, I would say that would not be outside the realms of possibility. Completely fictional of course. But the continuity is there.

 

[venny]

Did Hex inspire extents of Dark Forest/Thirteen? Probably.

Is there intended to be a link? Outside of the faux Towers stone for the station, probably not.

If there had been an intention to properly link the two then there would be a stronger link than a couple of coincidental and spurious links. They could have tied the two together in the implementation of the themeing and story narration - they didn’t.

The fact that Thirteen doesn’t really have a backstory mythology a la Nemesis has been confirmed by Mr W himself.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

I've always thought the park should make more use of local legends etc as theming inspiration, but no, I don't think so. They built the ride through an area of woodland they weren't allowed to demolish and got the "spooky forest" theme from there. It would have been clever to link up the concept with the Chained Oak legend but I don't see much evidence that anyone had that in mind really.

 

[Mattie boy]

The Telsa coil was operating the first two days of SF this year, I was quite shocked

 

[Matt.GC]

John Wardleys greatest strength is often overlooked for some reason even though he spells it out whenever he talks about these attractions. That strength is the imagination and ability to create a great experience on a tight budget.

Contrary to popular belief, any criticisms of Merlin or DIC against the Pearson's era are not strictly all about investment. Merlin for example splash cash all over the place. It's more a debate about bang for your buck. Wardley was able to deliver alot of bang for Pearson's buck.

Example would be Nemesis. Spending half the money on building the pit itself means that with imagination and good design, it trebles as not only a way of building a good coaster below the tree height, but also enhancing the experience and serving as a major theming element.

With Hex, the Towers ruins where already there, the legend was already there, all it needed was someone with great talent to tie them all together and make it what it is. With Thirteen, the cash wasn't there to retheme the area but the idea, the trees and the overall setting was.

Thirteen and Hex are related in the fact that they were conceived by the same man. Other than that, there's no purposeful connection in terms of theme. Thirteen and Dark Forest are a product of budgetary constraints. Trees are cheap theming.

 

[JAperson]

How a

John Wardleys greatest strength is often overlooked for some reason even though he spells it out whenever he talks about these attractions. That strength is the imagination and ability to create a great experience on a tight budget.

Contrary to popular belief, any criticisms of Merlin or DIC against the Pearson's era are not strictly all about investment. Merlin for example splash cash all over the place. It's more a debate about bang for your buck. Wardley was able to deliver alot of bang for Pearson's buck.

Example would be Nemesis. Spending half the money on building the pit itself means that with imagination and good design, it trebles as not only a way of building a good coaster below the tree height, but also enhancing the experience and serving as a major theming element.

With Hex, the Towers ruins where already there, the legend was already there, all it needed was someone with great talent to tie them all together and make it what it is. With Thirteen, the cash wasn't there to retheme the area but the idea, the trees and the overall setting was.

Thirteen and Hex are related in the fact that they were conceived by the same man. Other than that, there's no purposeful connection in terms of theme. Thirteen and Dark Forest are a product of budgetary constraints. Trees are cheap theming.

As they say couldn't say it better myself! John Wardley would have likely taken inspiration from his own mind when helping to come up with thirteen as the last ride he was involved with the theming for. I'd say there's no written link storyline wise but in terms of the feeling they were going for there's probably a decent link there.

 

[Rick]

Contrary to popular belief, any criticisms of Merlin or DIC against the Pearson's era are not strictly all about investment. Merlin for example splash cash all over the place. It's more a debate about bang for your buck. Wardley was able to deliver alot of bang for Pearson's buck.

I don't disagree, but it's worth looking at Pearson's buck ... the Nemesis project cost around £22m in today's money, not small change.

That said, it's absolutely true to say that there are plenty of examples of expensive rides that suck.

 

[Matt.GC]

I don't disagree, but it's worth looking at Pearson's buck ... the Nemesis project cost around £22m in today's money, not small change.

That said, it's absolutely true to say that there are plenty of examples of expensive rides that suck.

Indeed. But even at what we would now consider an eye watering cost, it is indeed a very wise investment and most of his attractions offered good value for money nonetheless I'd argue. That buck gave one hell of bang! And value is ultimately what this game is all about.

No matter what wet dreams people can come up with and no matter how much the Pearson era is idealised, the fact remains that they were still a business out for profit, exactly the same as of now. The difference is more to do with governance than the size of the cheque book. Merlin have been known to throw cash around all over the place with very mixed results.

If you were to give a comparable level of investment to Disney Imagineers for example? They'd give you something like DCA or WDS Paris. Not even that I'd wager, California Screamin reportedly cost $60!

 

[venny]

Disney are an outlier when it comes to budgets. Their spend on most large projects is eye watering - yes, they usually deliver a good product but I’m not sure they should be a benchmark for value.