Whilst I was disappointed that Alton Towers disregarded the proposed scope of works we had put together for their general feedback (bearing in mind a low budget of course), I'd have much rather they consulted the original producers. John Wardley was peripherally consulted I believe, which is great, though of course the attraction was designed & built largely by the Sparks team, whose amazing work is very undercredited and not like the ride is today.
Our demo wasn't about restoring the ride back exactly as it was, but restoring its character using what was still there and reinventing it for today. Relatively simple but things you could only know if you'd done in depth research on the Sparks production of Haunted House (which Alton Towers don't have the time to do).
Howver Alton Towers since reached out to us and it's clear to me that they have the right intentions, it's just a question of whether they are spending the limited money in the right places to get the maximum result for guests. They don't want to bring others on board because they havnt' themselves got it to where they want it yet, too many chefs spoil the broth. Once it's there, they say they are still open to constructive criticism, which is great.
The problem with Duel is, it's one of the biggest dark rides ever built in the country. It was designed in such a way to create maximum effect with a very particular balance of lighting, audio, timing, sightlines, animation etc – once those things started to get very fiddled with years ago, and generally poor upkeep, the show fell apart. It started to get hurredly changed very early on so even fewer people remember how much better the earliest version of the attraction was.
The new works in Duel currently are very mixed, but Alton Towers are aware. Some of the changes havn't translated well into practice (the preshow screens), and some are just so unfinished that it's impossible to tell (all lighting & SFX). But the scope they're going for is great and fantastic that such a project has got off the ground.
The music is spot on, you really have to be there to hear it, it's as good as any new ride score and progresses through the ride really well. Awesome! But even the audio set up that plays the music is very patchy with dead spots at the moment.
Best to wait til finished. Wickerman proves that the public do enjoy a ride when its done well, with audio & lighting that hits the spot using show systems that havn't been cheaped out on, with good flair & timing. Duel needs that and it could be a really fun family dark ride, without necessarily spending a fortune.
