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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

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I'm now wondering, if they kept the ride with Derren Brown removed, what would they call it?
Any name I can come up with is either too generic or gives away what's inside.
 
With regard to the name, the name Derren Brown's Ghost Train is a weird one, because while I can't think of anything better, I would argue that it is a little bit of a misnomer.

In my mind, "ghost train" conjures up images of a spooky tracked dark ride, perhaps slightly old-fashioned, with various monsters jumping out of its crevices. Derren Brown's Ghost Train is not that; the connotations of the term "ghost train" arguably don't match up with the experience provided on Derren Brown's Ghost Train.

Even if you examine the term "ghost train" in the most literal sense (a train with ghosts), I'd argue that Derren Brown's Ghost Train doesn't entirely live up to those connotations. Even though the ride technically takes place on a hanging Victorian train carriage, there are no "ghosts" on the ride per se, from what I gather. The premise of the actual ride itself revolves more around trying to escape a dangerous gas on a modern London Underground carriage.

That does lead me on to suggest that one of the ride's key flaws could be that it arguably suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. The exterior of the ride lends itself to a Victorian theme, the pre-show lends itself to a Derren Brown experiment, the hanging train carriage goes back to the Victorian train theme, but the ride itself is a modern London Underground ride. It's a little hard to tell what it wants to be.
 
Rick said:
The industry is cyclical ... VR will be back in the future.
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DBGT really was the evolution from those HB Leisure VR headset stalls you'd get in 2002, that literally was the future

Matt N said:
In my mind, "ghost train" conjures up images of a spooky tracked dark ride, perhaps slightly old-fashioned, with various monsters jumping out of its crevices. Derren Brown's Ghost Train is not that
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That was the point, it was "avant garde" and the name was a play on words.
 
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Matt N said:
Personally, I would be surprised if they did not try to reuse DBGT’s existing ride system to some degree.
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Trouble with the existing ride system is it’s meant to feel like riding a tube train, which you can do a few miles up the road for real. Without the VR I don’t see what is special about the ride. They could have built something that simulates something less mundane!
 
Matt N said:
With regard to the name, the name Derren Brown's Ghost Train is a weird one, because while I can't think of anything better, I would argue that it is a little bit of a misnomer.

In my mind, "ghost train" conjures up images of a spooky tracked dark ride, perhaps slightly old-fashioned, with various monsters jumping out of its crevices. Derren Brown's Ghost Train is not that; the connotations of the term "ghost train" arguably don't match up with the experience provided on Derren Brown's Ghost Train.

Even if you examine the term "ghost train" in the most literal sense (a train with ghosts), I'd argue that Derren Brown's Ghost Train doesn't entirely live up to those connotations. Even though the ride technically takes place on a hanging Victorian train carriage, there are no "ghosts" on the ride per se, from what I gather. The premise of the actual ride itself revolves more around trying to escape a dangerous gas on a modern London Underground carriage.

That does lead me on to suggest that one of the ride's key flaws could be that it arguably suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. The exterior of the ride lends itself to a Victorian theme, the pre-show lends itself to a Derren Brown experiment, the hanging train carriage goes back to the Victorian train theme, but the ride itself is a modern London Underground ride. It's a little hard to tell what it wants to be.
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The tube train inside a Victorian train was very deliberate, it’s meant to feel unnerving and like you can’t work out what’s going on. What is holding the carriage up in mid-air? Why is it modern on the inside?

The problem was as you say the plot seemed to be something about a gas leak and was difficult to understand. The ride didn’t manage to get the plot across well and then the rest of it when you walk around was just confusing.
 
The facade is on the bottom side of that photo with the queue line to the right (partially under cover but not indoors), the shop is left of the blue marker.
 
VR is still the future, for people either too lazy to go anywhere or can't for whatever reason. While use on a ride at a themepark there's just no place for it. Why pay to go to a "Theme park" and then slap on a headset. At home yes, while at an attraction no.
 
I think it depends on the attraction. Using VR at home holds no appeal for me at all. The Ghostbusters thing at Madame Tussauds in NYC was the best use of VR I've ever seen.

Dr Archibald at HPWW was novel. I'm not sure I'd be in a rush to do it again - but it was fun.

When Ghost Train worked I thought it was a brilliant attraction. Hugely complex and ambitious - I don't think it was an epic fail. The presentation of the railway carriage alone is one of the coolest things Merlin has ever done, for my money. It felt like there were lots of small problems with each aspect of the attraction and all together they added up to a big mess.

I don't think it was irredeemable, had it been Disney or Universal they'd have thrown enough money at it to make it work, but Merlin didn't.
 
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