Duel's future

[monsterdan5]

It may only be half finished seeing as its half term week, a lot could get done to improve it once it closes. Maybe they decided to put it there and see what the public think, and how they could improve it?

[Benzin]

They could do anything to that hand and it would be an improvement...

[Big C]

Yay! The hand is back! Why is everyone assaulting the hand? Its back isnt it? Ok, it is quite loud and you can see the wires but hey! Its back.

I just think duel is all a bit confusing now with all the mis match of scense. My mate was wondering why there was just a random toilet scene lit up in red?

I fear all the lighting fixtures are to easy to spot and that is the main problem i think. Also i think when the faces fly over head the sound seems to cut out half way through the scene.

There are still many problems with this ride but the new zombies are quite good to be fair

[riderita]

The hand? The undertakers hand? What exactly has been done to Duel...?

[thefatone]

The undertakers hand was done around October last year.

What I love is the slow bringing back of haunted house everywhere. It's brilliant to see them constantly improving it rather than letting it rot (ala tomb blaster)

[Mr P]

The Undertaker's hand is awful, It looks like a full size hand nicked from an old wax-work or shop dummy, which will never fit because the figure is smaller than lifesize!

Still, the Drawing Room and Nursery sound like they are slowing getting better and better, all they need to do now is restore the moving eye pictures!

[CoasterCrazyChris]

[quote=""Mr P""]Still, the Drawing Room and Nursery sound like they are slowing getting better and better, all they need to do now is restore the moving eye pictures! [/quote]

...and the moonlit windows and lighting.

[Sam]

The hand looks OK, but it's a bit over-lit and the pressurised air keeps leaking.

What I was really impressed with is the new zombies. They look a lot more professionally done now, really fantastic. I hope now they replace the zombies that swing out on the arms with a strobing light on them (example: the one just before the trommel tunnel). They look awful.

[[Archive]]

Just to clear up completely, the hand effect is the hand effect except for the skin. Same mechanism as before, same sleeve, same jar, but new hand. And a different location, obviously. Here is an image of the hand before refurbishment, again showing its rather unfortunate skin. Image thanks to HauntedOne.



This is probably why it was not restored earlier, as nobody would have wanted to spend money on a new hand. I am pretty sure that the skin was not broken when it was still in place on the ride (although my memory might be slipping), so it was probably torn whilst in storage.

Also, here is the book in its current position! It's back too! Not operational at the moment, but it will be once a new mechanism has been rigged up for it. Notice also that it has now been placed beside the doll house on the opposite side of the room, which should reduce vandalism as it is further from the queue now. Image thanks to HauntedOne.



And, if you want to see the new zombie props you can now, thanks very much again to HauntedOne for the photos.




Well, you can make your own mind up. They are a vast improvement on the old props, definitely. I mean, the old props all had the same face for starters. The addition of hands make them more menacing, better than just leaning towards you randomly, as it is now like they are trying to "get" you. On the other hand, there is a strong whiff of cheese floating about! :P

[Benzin]

There's been a whiff of cheese about Duel since it was the Haunted House let's be honest...

[Rowe]

I would much prefer to say that Duel is just cheesy in it's entirety but still entertaining, it's Mock Horror like the Vampire so I would expect this from the certain concept designer :P

At the weekend I was happy to see the (leaking) Moving Hand back on the mantelpiece and the Book in the chair, although I didn't as much notice as I should've. I do like the 'zombified' zombies too because now the ride contains at least some form of consistency!

Yay!

[monsterdan5]

Why did they decide to remove the giant references as soon as it opened anyway?

[NastyPasty]

[quote=""Rowe""]it's Mock Horror[/quote]
A gold star for Rowe, me thinks.
People should appreciate that Duel isn't created to scare people, and/or be perfect in design. It should be almost comical, and is undoubtedly good at delivering a few family frights. The imperfections don't particularly matter; the theming is passable, the ride is of good quality, it doesn't look poor, and with the 'marmite' appearance of blasters, it will always remain a firm family favourite. It is easy to fault Duel, but we should maybe be more appreciative of it's many talents!
I have a feeling i am about to be shot...

[Nightfall]

[quote=""NastyPasty""]I have a feeling i am about to be shot... [/quote] All blaster will remain in their holsters until the lap bar has lowered :P

The reason most of us get so wound up about Duel is because we loved Mock Horror it once had. We miss the funny gags that used to be hidden among the scares and it's a pity that very few of them remain. I wish I had ridden the old Haunted House just to see those missing touches.

[Islander]

The problem with Duel, and Charlie for that matter, is that people are (rightly or wrongly) unable to judge them on their own merits, but instead always compare them to their former selves. This is even true of some who never rode either Toyland Tours or the Haunted House.

Visiting Towers for the first time in 2009, I obviously never rode either Toyland or Haunted, and I have to say that I quite (to an extent...) like Charlie, and absolutely love Duel. That doesn't at all mean that I can't see the faults in both, but I do rate them both higher than many members on here.

[Farquaad]

Theres been 2 vids posted by one mrCWOA on youtube of the refurbished moving hand in action right here -

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[Mattia]

I really, really want them to entirely rip out Duel and re-start from the beginning, more imagination, one continuous theme and something which is far more entertaining.

Whilst Duel is much much stronger than it's brother at Chessington (Tomb Blaster) there's still a lack of spark. It's lost it completely. The theme's within the house are so mis-matched. If they completely gutted out Duel (which I can only hope), I'd want them to base the Haunted House on fictional characters unique to the resort - not the sub-standard, unimaginative and common zombie theme we currently have.

[[Archive]]

I don't really know how to start this post off, so I'll just jump into it...

I know that Haunted House is/was comical and cheesy in places. Some of the atmosphere in the old scenes seems rather camp now and then and the whole ride is surprisingly stylised and humour-orientated. A lot of it is quite far fetched, deliberately, I think. Suddenly stumbling across the entrance to Hell, anybody? A giant coming through the windows? Certainly not just about a spooky house in Gloomy Wood, that is for sure. It sounds as if, after John Wardley was told to revise the plans, the ride developed a 'spooky and theatrical but not hardcore' style. Would anybody who rode Haunted House in its early years agree with this?

The only really obvious exception, in my opinion, is the preshow (Entrance Hall and Drawing Room), which in contrast is quite realistic in its theming and chilling in its atmosphere. This still shines through, even if it is dampened by the Michael Jackson queueline videos, broken effects and different lighting.

[quote=""NastyPasty""]People should appreciate that Duel isn't created to scare people, and/or be perfect in design. It should be almost comical, and is undoubtedly good at delivering a few family frights. The imperfections don't particularly matter; the theming is passable, the ride is of good quality, it doesn't look poor, and with the 'marmite' appearance of blasters, it will always remain a firm family favourite. It is easy to fault Duel, but we should maybe be more appreciative of it's many talents! [/quote]
You have said that "Duel isn't created to scare people". Well, Duel was not created. Duel essentially is the Haunted House, except with quite a few alterations and changes. In my opinion, the Haunted House's character (Disney-inspired but a lot more British) still comes through today as Duel. One just has to look harder for it. Duel on its own would certainly be bland, unoriginal and cheap in its execution. However, Duel does not come on its own, it still has a hefty lot of the Haunted House beneath it. And, you are right, the Haunted House was not just created to "put people in a dark room and make them feel like all they want to do is die" [/JohnWardleyquote], it was created for good old fashioned fun. :mrgreen:

So... yes, whiffs of cheese indeed! The Haunted House is actually all getting quite dated now. And its purpose has become very confused with all the changes. However, the ride is still good fun, isn't it? Despite its current outrageous imperfection, it isn't an awful ride. I still enjoy it a lot. Bringing back little details from the past can only be improvements, so it's all very good to see. Eventually, hopefully, there will be some major positive and purposeful changes. But as much as I would like them, perhaps they are not all that necessary after all. :-k

[oldgitBEN]

You make an excellent point Bill, a family ride, in a family park with a height restriction that allows 3year olds to rides shouldnt scare you to the core!
And lets not forget, we're british and the route of most of our humour is sarcasm so adding some dark humour to this ride makes it acceptable to everyone!

I rode an early haunted house, with the screaming 'jelly fish' in the dining room, and even the giants fingers and eye. Perhaps it was rather dark (tonally) in areas but still had skeletons taking a dump and the spider room which was as hilarious as wrong.

--

Duel as a ride makes bugger all sense - theres a grand old house, filled with monsters and evil beings - all of which are shootable but it makes no difference to the character, and then lets not forget the main target of the evil, the zombies, forgotten until the end of the ride when 6 or 7 are shoehorned in, without reason to shoot - except the guns stop working at this point. *sigh*
^ This people, is why duel has never bloody worked as a ride.

I think that the feedback Alton have recieved during Scarefest when the guns are off, the ride looks better etc is making them realise the mistake they made several years ago, of just jumping on the 'shooting ride' bandwagon.
Id like to see money re-invested and the haunted house return with some new effects, new scenes and bring it back up to date, and also back to its roots - where it belongs.
Im sure some 19 years since John Wardley made the concept he'd love to go back and refresh the ride, and now hes a consultant to the park its an ideal time. *prays*

[thefatone]

Just incase its not been properly mentioned - the book and hand fully moves now (hand still making some noise - but cant hear that much).

Duel lnow ooks the best its done in years, definitely since I started riding it!