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The Haunting

Trooper Looper said:
I always thought it would've been great if They brought back its original story, but have new effects.

The POV By British Theme Park archive really shows you how dark it was in terms of its tone. It didn't need sudden jumpscares to make you terrified.

The Haunting nowadays just isn't that scary sorry. I never Found The redo of the lorry I to R.I.P.A as an upgrade, its very tackyinside with the stock Sound effects, LED lights, and Dr Ghostman. I've seen for myself, most guests don't even scream of jump a bit. The only demograph that's always frightened are children under the age of 7 when I go on (no joke)

At least the ride isn't bad, but it isn't that great either unfortunately...
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I did like the original story with Dr X, I think last year would have been a good opportunity for them to bring it back given there was a new ghostbusters film out and the whole Dr X story was clearly a rip off (not that I'm complaining).

I think the Ghostman story is too cheesy, even for a family theme park and the actor who they used should be doing Daz adverts.
 
remlap said:
I did like the original story with Dr X, I think last year would have been a good opportunity for them to bring it back given there was a new ghostbusters film out and the whole Dr X story was clearly a rip off (not that I'm complaining).

I think the Ghostman story is too cheesy, even for a family theme park and the actor who they used should be doing Daz adverts.
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You know its not that good when someone (me) never even experienced the original and still prefer it over the current day variant.

Unfortunately, the park physically cannot bring back The old Dr Ecks footage. One of the reasons is that they don't hold the footage, and 2, they can't since the park has rebounded themselves to 'Drayton Manor Resort' and Dr Ecks still calls them 'Drayton Manor Park', so it'll be classed as a copywrite claim.
 
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I was wondering is there any sort of record kept for how many times the yes or no button has been pressed at the end of the ride i would love to know the number of times each one has been pressed
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Ben R said:
I was wondering is there any sort of record kept for how many times the yes or no button has been pressed at the end of the ride i would love to know the number of times each one has been pressedView attachment 3355
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The Yes / No resets itself to pre-defined numbers each night when the effects are powered off. The buttons only count to votes on the left-hand exit corridor, the buttons on the right-hand side trigger the lights only.
 
Dan said:
The Yes / No resets itself to pre-defined numbers each night when the effects are powered off. The buttons only count to votes on the left-hand exit corridor, the buttons on the right-hand side trigger the lights only.
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I never new that, I never hung around to see if the values changed and always thought it was rigged!
 
The Haunting felt like some areas were better and some got worse.
For starters they need to really update how many guests they let in nowadays as it isn’t 40 anymore.
The pre show area the tv’s need better sound as it was so quiet.
The next room was excellent with the strobes and when the skeletons come down the smoke filled the room.
The next room I think the projector needs updating as she doesn’t look good and some of the effects didn’t work.
The main ride I had hoped the women would have come out of the tomb again but that smoke with the flashing light is a joke.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
The Haunting felt like some areas were better and some got worse.
For starters they need to really update how many guests they let in nowadays as it isn’t 40 anymore.
The pre show area the tv’s need better sound as it was so quiet.
The next room was excellent with the strobes and when the skeletons come down the smoke filled the room.
The next room I think the projector needs updating as she doesn’t look good and some of the effects didn’t work.
The main ride I had hoped the women would have come out of the tomb again but that smoke with the flashing light is a joke.
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I agree with you on this. When you’re in the queue line , the surroundings look amazing and lends to the feel of the tone the ride aims for. I’m not a fan of the pre show In the cabin, I feel like it doesn’t connect properly with the ride experience for example when you enter the room with the lady, it bugs me it’s the same bodies dangling from the ceiling just spun into a new story line. (Probably because to me I’ll always remember the previous incarnation but it just feels out of place before they switch to demonstor style ghosts on a projector screen). The volume for the lady is far too loud in my opinion but I love the little touches like the spinning chair and falling photo frame.

In regards to the mad house itself, I’ve always said having an empty crypt as the main attraction is letting them down. If the animatronic is dead they could do other options. Personally I’d love to see something like a hand poke out and make it feel more real. They definitely have cut the capacity down for the ride. In our group the ride OP kept shouting to have 3 guests in the middle seats and 2 on the outer seats and so by that logic it would take our group to a grand total of 28 and yet there was barely that many despite the queue being cut of regardless of it being a long one at that. I also feel that they have cut the ride time down itself. For some reason it just seems way shorter.
 
Charliie said:
I agree with you on this. When you’re in the queue line , the surroundings look amazing and lends to the feel of the tone the ride aims for. I’m not a fan of the pre show In the cabin, I feel like it doesn’t connect properly with the ride experience for example when you enter the room with the lady, it bugs me it’s the same bodies dangling from the ceiling just spun into a new story line. (Probably because to me I’ll always remember the previous incarnation but it just feels out of place before they switch to demonstor style ghosts on a projector screen). The volume for the lady is far too loud in my opinion but I love the little touches like the spinning chair and falling photo frame.

In regards to the mad house itself, I’ve always said having an empty crypt as the main attraction is letting them down. If the animatronic is dead they could do other options. Personally I’d love to see something like a hand poke out and make it feel more real. They definitely have cut the capacity down for the ride. In our group the ride OP kept shouting to have 3 guests in the middle seats and 2 on the outer seats and so by that logic it would take our group to a grand total of 28 and yet there was barely that many despite the queue being cut of regardless of it being a long one at that. I also feel that they have cut the ride time down itself. For some reason it just seems way shorter.
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That Ride OP sounds like me, because it was XD. Yeah, the new 28 max capacity is a recent thing, I can't say much into why unfortunately, but it wasn't a great move personally as the ride already had a slow capacity, and now its even slower, especially with only one attendant hosting. A ride with a slow capacity, no matter how good the experience is, is never a good thing.

As for effects, I'm a bit surprised myself that it seems that the ride looked to be untouched to how it was last year maintenance wise. The Chapel did seem to have some work done to it, specifically the pews for the new reduced capacity, and the windows that cover the arms carrying the platform. They seem to have cleared the themed dirt and grime from it, which has made it look better now personally. They need to do something with the coffin as nothing pops out from it now, either that being a new prop to pop out, or a new coffin as a whole.

I agree that the Preshow in the trailer doesn't work with the rides very serious tone, but at least the ride isn't all doom and gloom like The Curse at Alton Manor I suppose.

Personally, they need to replace the Lady portrait projection with a proper animatronic head, either being the same character, or a new one. One thing I'd love them to do is get the library wall lights back on, it's way too dark in there at the beginning and I think it hides a lot of the detail on there.

The outdoor area is fantastic, but they need to remove the ivy from the House personally and give it some TLC.
 
Trooper Looper said:
That Ride OP sounds like me, because it was XD. Yeah, the new 28 max capacity is a recent thing, I can't say much into why unfortunately, but it wasn't a great move personally as the ride already had a slow capacity, and now its even slower, especially with only one attendant hosting. A ride with a slow capacity, no matter how good the experience is, is never a good thing.

As for effects, I'm a bit surprised myself that it seems that the ride looked to be untouched to how it was last year maintenance wise. The Chapel did seem to have some work done to it, specifically the pews for the new reduced capacity, and the windows that cover the arms carrying the platform. They seem to have cleared the themed dirt and grime from it, which has made it look better now personally. They need to do something with the coffin as nothing pops out from it now, either that being a new prop to pop out, or a new coffin as a whole.

I agree that the Preshow in the trailer doesn't work with the rides very serious tone, but at least the ride isn't all doom and gloom like The Curse at Alton Manor I suppose.

Personally, they need to replace the Lady portrait projection with a proper animatronic head, either being the same character, or a new one. One thing I'd love them to do is get the library wall lights back on, it's way too dark in there at the beginning and I think it hides a lot of the detail on there.

The outdoor area is fantastic, but they need to remove the ivy from the House personally and give it some TLC.
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Haha! Personally I love it when we get you as our ride OP. I’ve had some people that just are like do this ok but when you’re on , you really play into the story line. You’re amazing at it ! We was the group with the massive Pokémon my little boy was stunned when you said all Pokémon needs to sit down. He was like mom who has Pokémon and then realised it was him. Hahaha.

I know you can’t say pretty much anything but with the 28 capacity it almost sounds like something in the hardware is wearing out but I agree with you the 28 capacity isn’t great especially when it’s designed for a much higher capacity as if I remember the Bryan’s when choosing the mad house chose the larger one over the smaller one so unless it’s Health and safety it doesn’t make sense as to why.

It’s a shame that they can’t up the capacity. If they had more ride Ops surely they could have a group loading in the trailer as a group loads in the mad house ? I’m probably wrong and it probably wouldn’t work but it would definitely help with output in theory.

I feel as a whole the park has been neglected maintenance wise over this winter break but it’s probably got something to do with funds and focus being on the new ride for this year and for next year as they seem to be clearing a lot of things. I was surprised that after they replaced the walkways for maelstrom and appear to have started giving it a fresh paint of coat , that the metal railings were missed and the paint is crumbling off them. And then you have the knapford station building, it’s all crumbling at the front and just doesn’t like nice as it’s turning to rubble.

As for the Haunting it’s a ride with so much potential. I think it would be a great jump scare experience at Halloween . I love the tone of the ride but unfortunately this RIPPAH story line just doesn’t work. Such a shame but I suppose it’s a difficult situation. Did the animatronic from the coffin break ?
 
Charliie said:
Haha! Personally I love it when we get you as our ride OP. I’ve had some people that just are like do this ok but when you’re on , you really play into the story line. You’re amazing at it ! We was the group with the massive Pokémon my little boy was stunned when you said all Pokémon needs to sit down. He was like mom who has Pokémon and then realised it was him. Hahaha.

I know you can’t say pretty much anything but with the 28 capacity it almost sounds like something in the hardware is wearing out but I agree with you the 28 capacity isn’t great especially when it’s designed for a much higher capacity as if I remember the Bryan’s when choosing the mad house chose the larger one over the smaller one so unless it’s Health and safety it doesn’t make sense as to why.

It’s a shame that they can’t up the capacity. If they had more ride Ops surely they could have a group loading in the trailer as a group loads in the mad house ? I’m probably wrong and it probably wouldn’t work but it would definitely help with output in theory.

I feel as a whole the park has been neglected maintenance wise over this winter break but it’s probably got something to do with funds and focus being on the new ride for this year and for next year as they seem to be clearing a lot of things. I was surprised that after they replaced the walkways for maelstrom and appear to have started giving it a fresh paint of coat , that the metal railings were missed and the paint is crumbling off them. And then you have the knapford station building, it’s all crumbling at the front and just doesn’t like nice as it’s turning to rubble.

As for the Haunting it’s a ride with so much potential. I think it would be a great jump scare experience at Halloween . I love the tone of the ride but unfortunately this RIPPAH story line just doesn’t work. Such a shame but I suppose it’s a difficult situation. Did the animatronic from the coffin break ?
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Thank you, I really appreciate that :). I always try my best no matter the attraction, guests pay good money in terms of tickets and petrol for a fun day, so it wouldn't harm anyone to give them the best experience they can offer, even if it won't give you a raise. Seeing those happy faces are what make it worth it, knowing that I'm making potentially memorable memories for the guests and families for years to come by simply giving them my best!

It does seem that Loopongs don't have much interest in the pre 2019 attractions and would rather focus on the new ones under their name, which is a bit sad I won't lie. It's a shame they haven't maintained the Haunting well, especially since The Curse At Alton Manor opened which is a pretty big competitor to all Haunted Attractions in the country now. I think it's time they give it a good refurbishment, but not as drastic as The Curse at Alton Manor. There's a lot of good things in there, especially the theming, but the lighting, story, and audio needs a good rework. The Basement before the library seems very lackluster with the lights not flickering anymore as they used to pre 2016. The RIPA Lorry needs a good repaint and cleaning. The UV LED cannons in the Cellar is god awful sorry, they can be replaced with 365nm UV LEDs, which aren't easy to get, but are brilliant and doesn’t show visible purple light, so it acts like old-school UV but LED based.

The ambient in the library is too loud, sometimes I have to shout at the top of my lungs just go get people's attention. Its too dark in there as well, those wall lights should be put back in working order as you can actually see in there then XD, but I guess if they did that, the projection wouldn't be visible then and you'd only be able to see the old portrait. It'd be great if they actually got a robotic head in there instead of a projection for the lady. I doubt anything will be done to the ride as Looping design the new rides now, it's no longer done in house I THINK.

Also, get a proper preshow, no more Doctor Ghostman and his pink mug! Get someone with the tone of Doctor X again.
 
Thanks for the insights TrooperLooper. I can understand your retiscence about giving some privileged details, and please be careful you don't tie yourself to any comments which may impact on your career!

At risk of derailing the thread it strikes me that the staff manning the rides are in the best place to provide quick and immediate feedback from visitors. You'd hope they'd try and capture it just as much as any of the online surveys etc.
 
Riding yesterday I couldn't help but think that the Library room doesn't really seem to fit in with the basement corridor and the main chapel. To me the story feels a bit disjointed and this room almost doesn't fit due to the blacklights used in the other two rooms eitherside. Its a bit vague in places from a story perspective and felt a bit vague overall.
I like the library room but it just strikes me as very out of place with the rest of the attraction almost. (Could be the lack of blacklight reactive paint!)

Agree that the crypt needs a little something as it doesn't really do a lot and is a bit underwhelming as it currently stands compared to in the past.

Personally, I think the ride needs a rework with a new storyline at least or some rooms need changes to help tie it all together.
 
Trooper Looper said:
Thank you, I really appreciate that :). I always try my best no matter the attraction, guests pay good money in terms of tickets and petrol for a fun day, so it wouldn't harm anyone to give them the best experience they can offer, even if it won't give you a raise. Seeing those happy faces are what make it worth it, knowing that I'm making potentially memorable memories for the guests and families for years to come by simply giving them my best!

It does seem that Loopongs don't have much interest in the pre 2019 attractions and would rather focus on the new ones under their name, which is a bit sad I won't lie. It's a shame they haven't maintained the Haunting well, especially since The Curse At Alton Manor opened which is a pretty big competitor to all Haunted Attractions in the country now. I think it's time they give it a good refurbishment, but not as drastic as The Curse at Alton Manor. There's a lot of good things in there, especially the theming, but the lighting, story, and audio needs a good rework. The Basement before the library seems very lackluster with the lights not flickering anymore as they used to pre 2016. The RIPA Lorry needs a good repaint and cleaning. The UV LED cannons in the Cellar is god awful sorry, they can be replaced with 365nm UV LEDs, which aren't easy to get, but are brilliant and doesn’t show visible purple light, so it acts like old-school UV but LED based.

The ambient in the library is too loud, sometimes I have to shout at the top of my lungs just go get people's attention. Its too dark in there as well, those wall lights should be put back in working order as you can actually see in there then XD, but I guess if they did that, the projection wouldn't be visible then and you'd only be able to see the old portrait. It'd be great if they actually got a robotic head in there instead of a projection for the lady. I doubt anything will be done to the ride as Looping design the new rides now, it's no longer done in house I THINK.

Also, get a proper preshow, no more Doctor Ghostman and his pink mug! Get someone with the tone of Doctor X again.
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Maybe instead of an animatronic head - something like the projection mapping used for the preshow on Wickerman at Alton Towers with the rams head behind the curtain and stuff
 
Sophisticoasters said:
Maybe instead of an animatronic head - something like the projection mapping used for the preshow on Wickerman at Alton Towers with the rams head behind the curtain and stuff
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I don't think projection mapping and screens belong in indoor attraction personally. Their effect on you quickly wears off after a few re-rides. I feel nothing from screens or Projections, no matter how well done they are, but if you put an actual moving prop in there, I'm hooked on the spot! Besides, projections and screens aren't as well looked after than animatronics. They can stop working after a few years, but an animatronic can work for much longer even in a not so good state.

They got the animatronic animals in the jungle restaurant by 4D cinema working again this year, and they haven't been touched for years! That wouldn't Happen with a screen or a projection as the hardware for them are really fragile and you'd probably have to replace it with something entirely new.

While screens and projections are impressive from a technical point of View, they're not that great in terms of an actual themed Experience from my own experience and feel lackluster. This is one of the reasons why I don't like the use of them in The Curse at Alton Manor, as the beginning and end of the ride heavily use them. I hope you all get where I'm coming from.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I don't think projection mapping and screens belong in indoor attraction personally. Their effect on you quickly wears off after a few re-rides. I feel nothing from screens or Projections, no matter how well done they are, but if you put an actual moving prop in there, I'm hooked on the spot! Besides, projections and screens aren't as well looked after than animatronics. They can stop working after a few years, but an animatronic can work for much longer even in a not so good state.

They got the animatronic animals in the jungle restaurant by 4D cinema working again this year, and they haven't been touched for years! That wouldn't Happen with a screen or a projection as the hardware for them are really fragile and you'd probably have to replace it with something entirely new.

While screens and projections are impressive from a technical point of View, they're not that great in terms of an actual themed Experience from my own experience and feel lackluster. This is one of the reasons why I don't like the use of them in The Curse at Alton Manor, as the beginning and end of the ride heavily use them. I hope you all get where I'm coming from.
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True. I prefer the practical effects & animatronics side myself, just thinking about this more given the way that its a portrait that is meant to look like its moving.

I reckon that whole room could use an overhaul / rework as it just doesn't fit to me. Add in some animatronics & other practical effects. More things moving and stuff like that.
 
we took a ride on the haunting today and it seemed like so many new effects had been added that wasn’t there on our previous visits .
 
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