Thorpe Park - Derren Brown's Ghost Train

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Owen
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theparklifekid wrote:Overall I now think Rise of the Demon is a great example of "when done right it's fantastic" and I hope it's like this for quite a while.
I had a very similar experience the other day, and I have to agree VR2 was probably the best bit!
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ColossusInferno
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HELP!

In the line for ghost train however it has just broke down! The announcement was that we are 'strongly advised to leave the que line' (been queuing for an hour already) due to something about a 'red light' stopping the ride from working?

What does that mean and how long will it take to fix?!
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Dungeon-X-Smile
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I find the new VR so much better and now I'm incredibly excited for next year. Derren Brown has become my fav magician because of this ride. I think it's a marvel and it's quickly becoming a must do at Thrope for me. But I do hope that they get the technical problems down because it is a bit ahead of its time and the constant breaking down is rediculous to me.
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timmy1372
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Did DBGT 2017 yesterday and it's a massive improvement over 2016, well worth experiencing the new version, it's absolutely excellent.
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Justin
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It is an improvement! Did you like the new additions?
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timmy1372
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Definitely, very clever indeed!
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Justin
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Good to hear!
Let's hope these changes are a step in the right direction. I still think there is more work to be done but it is a much more enjoyable experience. Part 1 and Part 2 just needs work now!
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JamieDeath
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Went on this twice the other day,
Spoiler
it seems the tube headlights that come towards you, in the midway 'live' part are broken, it was working fine in July when I last went.
The VR worked great the first time (although it seems the quality has slightly decreased a bit? Might just be my imagination), however the second time was awful, it kept freezing, had a weird red 'laser' light that kept appearing, and was completely out of sync with the movement which made me feel quite ill.

Does anyone have any pictures of the track layout, inside the tunnels etc? Would be really interesting to see, as I think there is quite a lot of complexity hidden away, that most people probably don't appreciate (I've heard quite a few people asking if the train actually moves or not).
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Bert
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Spoiler
The tube underground train was working correctly when I rode it a few weeks ago. When I was waiting in the warehouse wth the suspended train I was looking around and noticed a few things: 

1) The building clearly wasn't mirrored at all, but the opposite end to where you entered the warehouse was darkened
2) The train clearly moves, I could see light coming from within the victorian carriage much like an underground train would stop(Does that make sense, its hard to explain) So basically I think there's a transport system within the underground train and victorian carriage which moves back and forth between the two scenes. 

Also I've read something about Intamin and Severn Lamb being involved with DBGT, doesn't anyone have confirmation on this


Also I was going to write a review for the ride but all I'm going to say is, it's my new favourite dark ride(Not been Disney or Universal before), yet when I rode it there seemed to be quite a few issues. 
Last edited by Dom on Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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theparklifekid
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Went on the Ghost Train again today, still absolutely love it, got a hoodie from it!

There was however a problem with the train crashing into you effect in the walk through section, it lit up and all the sounds played, but no train itself. The door that leads you back into the train platform wasn't opening also, so the actors were confusingly wondering about, quite funny though.

I also took a friend on the ride, I told them very little about the ride, but they said they loved it and most of my group seemed to like it also.
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Dungeon-X-Smile
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I'm kinda curious... do people find the 2016 ending or the 2017 ending to the VR better?
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Dom
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I like the 2016 version for one reason only and that was seeing a TNT delivery van get caught up in the action. That always made me chuckle, but I do prefer the 2017 ending as it is slightly more realistic and no matter how many times I watch it there is always one bit that still makes me jump.
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rolicoli8
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Personally I much prefer last year's for a number of reasons:
Firstly this year's has the same issue Saw Alive has, where you're watching 'bad' things happen to people instead of feeling the immediate threat yourself, with only 2 or 3 short bits where something is actually happening to the rider which makes it feel much less scary.
Secondly, although being filmed on a camera makes it more realistic, it means the motion of the headset doesn't track with the video so if you move your head slightly or even look around quickly, you're moving while the image stays in the same place which makes me feel sick, even though I rarely get motion sickness from VR.
Thirdly, this is a general problem with the whole ride at the moment, but the second section is horribly out of sync with the motion of the ride system which again makes me feel sick at the end, to the point where I just take the headset off before the motion platform section.
Spoiler
I find the acting almost shockingly bad in it as well, which is kind of understandable as they had to interact and be scared of something that wasn't there. Along with this is, a section I cannot get over is how one of the climaxes of one of the sections in the 2nd section is the girl being pulled by the leg by the demon, only for the demon to let go and she hits her head on the window. Something I'd expect from a very bad comedy show, not a multi million attraction marketed to be one of the scariest attractions ever created.
This section also somehow increases the already unbelievable number of plot holes and inconsistencies throughout the ride. Why when you get back on the train are there suddenly people again who weren't there in the previous section? Also the fact there is an obvious cut between sections where the characters' positions reset; a 'glitch' where the VR goes black for just a second so it would make sense for people to be in a different position would be a lot better that a normal cut with a funny sound. To make matters worse, there's clearly been a mix up in the order of the scenes. At the end of the scene where the demon grabs the girl's leg, she's holding her head after she hit the window (gruesome, I know!). It then cuts to the next scene and everyone has magically changed position, yet some scenes after that where the train starts moving again, the girl is holding her head like in the scene where she hit her head. Another issue being that the 'where is it' girl just randomly appears from nowhere when it's her turn to speak.
Yet another problem with this section is that at one point, a guy is being dragged by the demon but he's in the shadows for so long, you can hear the screaming but for what seems like ages you can't see where they are and you think you're missing something. Another problem with the shadows is that the dark sections don't really work in VR as it feels like you're looking at a dark screen which is still lit up, ruining the illusion of the VR itself.
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ilyAlton
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Went on this a few days ago, I think that the main illusion of the train changing is overlooked by most people - and to me, didn't seem that impressive?

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the inner, modern train just moves into the other section and then just moves back at the end?
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lewis97
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ilyAlton wrote:Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the inner, modern train just moves into the other section and then just moves back at the end?
Yes, although I think that makes it all sound simpler than it actually is :P
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Nickolai
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Went on DBGT for the first time yesterday and I was impressed with the risk Merlin took with it. The theming overall was pretty decent and I liked all the little touches that added detail to the ride and queue experience. However what I did notice was the large amounts of various graffiti in the queue and on the walls. You can also see where the posters have been ripped for theming and where the GP have deliberately ripped all the graphics off. The queue was 70 minutes which was fairly accurate. I still think the queue moved pretty slowly even with the dual batching 'improvements' for this year. However, they may have been running only 2 out of the 3 trains. (I will explain maybe why that is later)

The VR worked fine on the first part, however I found the audio to be a little too loud for my liking but provided plenty of scares. The VR worked fine on the last part too however, it had a few calibration issues that recorrected quickly. The audio on the second part of VR was also a bit quieter which was better for my liking.

Now for some more detail...
Spoiler
 On the first VR section I had a fairly young man with his dog that came on the train, whilst my relative had a lady with a dog that came on half way through.

It seems to be a regular issue now that the tube train does not come at you, however I liked the monster silhouette in the tunnel. I loved the little detail of fire and smoke coming through the cracks in the floor, and that was great.

I thought the last bit of VR section was one of the highlights, and I liked how you were surrounded by other guests. I thought that had a good balance of scares and entertainments.

Other details I liked were the bangs, tilts and floor movements on the train as they all added to the experience very well and brought the attraction up to a higher level.

The last highlight for me was the Ghost train shop. When there is someone sick on the stairs, there is a demon about! I liked the little spray you get from the demon and I like the whole package they did with it. It really added a bit more to the experience!

What I think they could do to improve the ride is fix the tunnel and do something to make both VR sections link a bit better. I personally was expecting to see another character in the second section who would explain more about what is going on. I know they have just changed VR 2 so I think it would be more realistic to change VR 1 to include the guests, just so it stays more consistent.
 
don't know whether ghost train usually does this, but as we left the Victorian shell, we saw the next batch of people waiting to enter, whereas when we entered it seemed that the previous guests had left. Leading me to think there was only 2 trains running. Anyone with any more inside information about the ride that would like to correct or further explain my reasons I would love to hear it! 
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Morgan
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ON park today, Ghost Trains preshow has a new smell pod. Smells like Dale airs "Boiler Room" scent.
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Nickolai
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A week ago I was there today. And I did really enjoy the use of the smell pods.
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I will be interested to know whether the train in the live scene is working, or whether any other parts aren't!
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rolicoli8
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Spoiler
A host told us that they don't have the budget to fix the oncoming train in scene 2 or the moving floor in scene 4
Last edited by Dom on Thu Oct 12, 2017 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fixed Spoiler
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Justin
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Surely it should be covered by Merlin Magic Making?
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