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Sheriff's Showdown
- Thread starter Dan
- Start date
A photo of the fabulous scenic work that came with Sheriff's Showdown from our trip 20/02/19 below.
Sheriff's Showdown was open for the 2019 February Half Term Event and I must say I was very impressed, the interior queue line work was impressive and looks very realistic. I was also pleased about the pre-show video played during the first scene, although this could maybe be displayed elsewhere in the queue to save taking over the ride experience - still a welcomed addition nevertheless, and it utilises the nice new ride hardware.
Inside of the ride, I was so very impressed, the separation work undertaken is fabulous, as well as the obvious maintenance that has been done on the animatronic figures, almost every effect was in operation - every single target caused some sort of audible or visual effect. I didn't see one broken target, and I am fond of the new guns. The dynamite shed at the end was fabulous with the smoke effects! The star cloth makes the ride far more realistic, whilst the addition of yellow targets for bonuses (queue the audio...) was welcomed.
Only things I would change would be to improve the timing on some effects, also perhaps raise the audio volume.
Sheriff's Showdown was open for the 2019 February Half Term Event and I must say I was very impressed, the interior queue line work was impressive and looks very realistic. I was also pleased about the pre-show video played during the first scene, although this could maybe be displayed elsewhere in the queue to save taking over the ride experience - still a welcomed addition nevertheless, and it utilises the nice new ride hardware.
Inside of the ride, I was so very impressed, the separation work undertaken is fabulous, as well as the obvious maintenance that has been done on the animatronic figures, almost every effect was in operation - every single target caused some sort of audible or visual effect. I didn't see one broken target, and I am fond of the new guns. The dynamite shed at the end was fabulous with the smoke effects! The star cloth makes the ride far more realistic, whilst the addition of yellow targets for bonuses (queue the audio...) was welcomed.
Only things I would change would be to improve the timing on some effects, also perhaps raise the audio volume.
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From my visit on 23/05 it was great to see some work had been done on Sheriff's Showdown. The perspex glass between the grille and theming in the queueline has been removed - whether this is temporary or not I am unsure - but this now allows guests to see down into the pit which was previously difficult to view given the dirt on the sheet. The concrete floor around the track in the station has been painted a dark grey to match the colour of the rockwork, this looks really nice too. Great to see these additions being done by Drayton Manor.
Apologies for the poor images - it is hard to capture photos below!
Apologies for the poor images - it is hard to capture photos below!
Themeparksandy1981
Member
Did u notice the new signs as well about minding the gap.
The only thing I couldn’t understand been 18/19 degrees on Sunday they still had the heaters on in the queue line.
The only thing I couldn’t understand been 18/19 degrees on Sunday they still had the heaters on in the queue line.
I notice the mind the gap sign, good that it’s there as the gap probably is an issue, but I think they need it there so the cars canturn. Nice to see the sign matches the others, they couldve easily put a standard 1 in
The heaters can be controlled by the operator I think, wonder why theydidnt turn it off
The heaters can be controlled by the operator I think, wonder why theydidnt turn it off
Interestingly when I was on park today I noticed some changes to the mine room at the start of the ride. When it first opened after refurbishment the lights were bright and when shot they went out or dim, then they swapped it so they were dim and then went out when pressed. Seem to have gone back to the start now and they are bright and when shot at they go dim, this is bettrer in my eyes for the kids because it was the scarier part, but it isn't quite as realistic and effective as it was at the start.
I also wish they would replace the screens on the cars with them smashed, it doesnt look the best when theyre smashed.
I also wish they would replace the screens on the cars with them smashed, it doesnt look the best when theyre smashed.
Looks like the park are experimenting with the cars on Sheriff's Showdown, I'm not sure they were refurbished with the 2018 refurbishment and some of them could do with some TLC in places, it's great to see the park have noticed this and are addressing it!
A provider, Victor Creations, whom of which the park have used for other complex restorations (like the restoration / refurbishment of the animatronic figures in Sheriff's Showdown) has released images of a Sheriff's Showdown car which has been repainted in a grey like finish, it uses the original 3D elements of the car but with a far nicer colour scheme. Personally I'm a big fan of this and think it would look great on the cars - Victor Creations confirmed this is only one 'test car' to us on Instagram, but we'd love to see the others get the same treatment!
Also, as an added bonus, check out this image of an animatronic from Sheriff's Showdown released on Instagram - it's amazing just how much detail these animatronics have!
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See more from Victor Creations over on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorcreationsuk/
A provider, Victor Creations, whom of which the park have used for other complex restorations (like the restoration / refurbishment of the animatronic figures in Sheriff's Showdown) has released images of a Sheriff's Showdown car which has been repainted in a grey like finish, it uses the original 3D elements of the car but with a far nicer colour scheme. Personally I'm a big fan of this and think it would look great on the cars - Victor Creations confirmed this is only one 'test car' to us on Instagram, but we'd love to see the others get the same treatment!
Also, as an added bonus, check out this image of an animatronic from Sheriff's Showdown released on Instagram - it's amazing just how much detail these animatronics have!
See more from Victor Creations over on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorcreationsuk/
I hate to be negative about drayton Manor but have to be in this case, sheriff showdown is not in good condition at all and needs some attention.
the audio does not work in the mine, there is no sound effect other than for the rat target, the smoke machine hasn't been refilled and the area just seems to miss atmosphere nw there is no sound effects or audio.
the cow is not working, you shoot the target and it does nothing at all
the man on the toilet by the saloon is not working porperly, the door opens but the light inside flashes all sorts of coloours
the coffin does not open any more to reveal the bonus target
the man inside the window on the right does not come out any more and hasnt for some time
the man in the barrel in front and on the left just before the chicken bit don't work they just pop up and down constantly or shudder
the man does not pop up in the chicken cart and the chickens do not react to the targets being hit
the donkey does not work properly any more and there is no sound effect
the cowgirl lady in front of the hotel on the left of the exit falls and hits the barrel before being pushed up and leaning forward, this will fall off if they re not careful
the man on the rocking chair has red blue and green lights flash all over it when the target is hit, he doesn move or make sound any more either
the sheriff on the right on the way into the station doesn't work and there is a funny banging ticking sound here too.
The ride isn't very old since it had a refurbishment and it isn't in a good state at all, they should look at maintaining the effects before it starts looking like other closed dark rides that werent in god condition. shooting is a popular ride and should be looked after well, not the condition it is in now. hope the park rread this and takes me action
the audio does not work in the mine, there is no sound effect other than for the rat target, the smoke machine hasn't been refilled and the area just seems to miss atmosphere nw there is no sound effects or audio.
the cow is not working, you shoot the target and it does nothing at all
the man on the toilet by the saloon is not working porperly, the door opens but the light inside flashes all sorts of coloours
the coffin does not open any more to reveal the bonus target
the man inside the window on the right does not come out any more and hasnt for some time
the man in the barrel in front and on the left just before the chicken bit don't work they just pop up and down constantly or shudder
the man does not pop up in the chicken cart and the chickens do not react to the targets being hit
the donkey does not work properly any more and there is no sound effect
the cowgirl lady in front of the hotel on the left of the exit falls and hits the barrel before being pushed up and leaning forward, this will fall off if they re not careful
the man on the rocking chair has red blue and green lights flash all over it when the target is hit, he doesn move or make sound any more either
the sheriff on the right on the way into the station doesn't work and there is a funny banging ticking sound here too.
The ride isn't very old since it had a refurbishment and it isn't in a good state at all, they should look at maintaining the effects before it starts looking like other closed dark rides that werent in god condition. shooting is a popular ride and should be looked after well, not the condition it is in now. hope the park rread this and takes me action
Went on sheriff' shoot out the othrer day, there have been improvements, the lighting in the mine doesnt stay on permanent now, the audio is fixed. The man on the toilet, coffin, man by chicken cart works, man inside chicken cart works, donkey works with sound effect, sheriff on way into station works, man on rocking chair works and chickens on cart are working.
They still need to fix the smoke machine in the mine, the cow, the man in window in sallloon. But good that theyve fixed some of the effects
They still need to fix the smoke machine in the mine, the cow, the man in window in sallloon. But good that theyve fixed some of the effects
Kam
Member
I completely agree with your previous point. Golden Nuggets had many, many issues, and the fact it was in such a poor state before the Sheriffs Showdown refurb happened exemplifies this. It's a shame, because I thought the targets were far better on GN, and the music, and the animatronics programs (which were much more in time with the targets being hit). Sheriffs Showdown just takes these issues to a whole new level, when really it should of been a major opportunity to give the whole ride a much more extensive makeover. The LED 1s are okay. I suppose they can be customized quite a bit but as things are currently, they reset way too fast which makes spamming a major issue in the ride. You only need to shoot in one area as they come back so quickly. What GN did so well is that the targets remained hit until the animatronic effect wired up to the target finished. The golden targets giving more points are a cool idea, but their execution is poor. YOU'VE GOT A BONUS being drummed in to my ears 20 times in a row isn't exactly the most pleasant thing in the world. The bonus score is far better when you hit 3 cans in a row as it used to be.
I'm not denying that there were some good and needed changes that were addressed for Sheriffs. The queueline is excellent with nice rock work and a good use of the old Jungle Palladium waterwheel underneath. The attempts to split the scenes in the ride are also good and much needed (since Golden Nuggets first opened this has been an issue so it's good that it's been addressed). It opens up the opportunity for audio to be used better in scenes that are now clearly more enclosed, but sadly the audio remains very poor and unoriginal.
Overall, the ride refurb job has been a very lackluster upgrade, and as you point out, it's now an incredibly unreliable ride in terms of effects and animatronics. Unfortunate for Drayton as they clearly had the right ideas but went under budget when really the ride needed much more extensive overhauls. But hey, it's better than Duel's 'upgrade', which has that much bright UV paint it looks more like a club or laser station and where you can see literally all of the mechanisms behind the illusions. It's not *that* bad at least ?
I personally think that both Golden Nuggets and Haunting may have had their day. Both originally excellent rides but age has not been kind to either. I think that it'd be great if both rides went at some point over the next few years and were replaced with a single, larger, tracked, dark ride.
I'm not denying that there were some good and needed changes that were addressed for Sheriffs. The queueline is excellent with nice rock work and a good use of the old Jungle Palladium waterwheel underneath. The attempts to split the scenes in the ride are also good and much needed (since Golden Nuggets first opened this has been an issue so it's good that it's been addressed). It opens up the opportunity for audio to be used better in scenes that are now clearly more enclosed, but sadly the audio remains very poor and unoriginal.
Overall, the ride refurb job has been a very lackluster upgrade, and as you point out, it's now an incredibly unreliable ride in terms of effects and animatronics. Unfortunate for Drayton as they clearly had the right ideas but went under budget when really the ride needed much more extensive overhauls. But hey, it's better than Duel's 'upgrade', which has that much bright UV paint it looks more like a club or laser station and where you can see literally all of the mechanisms behind the illusions. It's not *that* bad at least ?
I personally think that both Golden Nuggets and Haunting may have had their day. Both originally excellent rides but age has not been kind to either. I think that it'd be great if both rides went at some point over the next few years and were replaced with a single, larger, tracked, dark ride.
Themeparksandy1981
Member
I think both Sheriff showdown and Haunting is the best it’s ever been. Aerial Park over the past 3 years has had the most work done to the rides. Hopefully Action Park will be the next area as that’s only had 1 new attraction in the past 20 years.
Themeparksandy1981
Member
Well HB leisure operate Test track. The rent to the park must be quite high for all the games and stalls.
Themeparksandy1981
Member
Is it the 1 with number 6 painted on the side of it.
