They could Remove the flume and duel keep the building and make some sort of haunted water ride like Valhalla but not that theme. Have the ride start in a small building go outside into the haunted hollow then you get tricked into the duels building and the big drop is there. I don't know if this would work but could they add guns on the boats that are held down and you just shoot. as you go through the outside you could shoot certain things on the ground that would activate a animotronic and would scare guest on the ground walking through!
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:58 am
by lucozade
Changing the haunted house in to a voodoo canyon ride (tying in to the new AT 'Chiapas' water ride) would be AWESOME and offers very strong theming opportunities.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:00 pm
by Coasterfellow
I would love to see that happen! duel is getting a bit old and if they did theme it to vodoo canyon it could fit in with katanga aswell!
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 6:58 pm
by MRWTHO-AT
Oooh tough one. Well I have always liked Duel; the interactivity, the theme and of course the brilliant music, and because of that I do enjoy riding it. I never went on the Haunted House, although I do remember the outside and the Witches' Cauldron etc., so I am not in a position to compare and contrast. I do agree with many on here that Duel/Haunted House interior needs a bit of a facelift and TLC, as of course quite a lot of the inside has remained the same for over 20 years, with the addition of LEDs. Personally, I would keep Duel (its theme and music), but I'd refurbish the ride to make it a little more intense, with more things coming out at you in such a random way, they distract you from shooting effectively. I'd possibly add an enclosed break dancer flat ride called the Witches Cauldron and put it next to the Haunted Hollow. That way there are two rides in Gloomy Wood. If I had the money I'd also find some way to link Gloomy Wood with the Dark Forest, maybe linking in with the Cross Valley Pathway and "Don't Go Alone!" girl.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:26 pm
by daymo74
Or a haunted train ride linking the 2 areas in a 'Orlando Howarts Express' Stylee?
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:04 pm
by Stan.H
They just need to retheme and update.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:14 am
by nickhutson
I think it'll be interesting to see how the new dark ride at Thorpe goes down next year and if they will mirror that over to Alton Towers - but with a different storyline, perhaps.
The rumour I've heard is that Duel is going to go entirely and that area is going to form the park's 2nd entrance.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:02 pm
by TheBeast
No offense mate but that's not exactly a rumour as Im pretty sure TowersStreet claimed it was true, despite it being improbable-
Further implementation of the car parking ‘cells’ and improvements to the entrance on Farley Lane. A new entrance plaza to the east of Duel is also considered so that Towers Street could be redeveloped for other uses.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:40 pm
by cookiee_munster
TheBeast wrote:No offense mate but that's not exactly a rumour as Im pretty sure TowersStreet claimed it was true, despite it being improbable-
Further implementation of the car parking ‘cells’ and improvements to the entrance on Farley Lane. A new entrance plaza to the east of Duel is also considered so that Towers Street could be redeveloped for other uses.
i honestly don't see how this could work though. coming through that part of the park, you've forbidden valley on your left, and the rest of the park on the right...
wouldn't it just create a huge bottle neck in all of forbidden valley? it just seems rather stupid. plus the fact that there's no weenie. its practically theme park law to have a weenie to view as you enter the park.
anyway. back on topic. if this new entrance isn't built and the duel warehouse kept, id love for gloomy wood to get a re-theme to a more whimsical/magical theme. something more family friendly than zombies.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:25 pm
by jessiejuju
I think that Duel should be removed from Gloomy Wood and a new ride should be but in its place with a retheming of the area and a new haunted house should be built in Dark Forset.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 10:55 pm
by bensaund
I think you under estimate the size of Duel, they don't have the space nor would they get planning permission to build such a huge building in the DF
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:12 am
by Dungeon-X-Smile
I, personally, like Duel the way it is. If I was Alton Towers, I would hang onto Duel for a few years more, at least 5. Then, in that time VR and other pieces of technology would've gotten a lot better. I'd copy Bubbleworks and auction off the old effects and parts of the ride, before then redoing it. For them to gut Duel now would be such a shame because the technology isn't there yet to back up creating an entirely new ride, and there's nothing they could do in the meantime that would either make it in the same category as Derren Brown's Ghost Train nor improve it. Towers Love and Care was the correct move because it should get a good repair to lengthen the lifespan for just that little bit more.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 1:47 pm
by Ben-
Coasterfellow wrote:Heres an idea if i could choose what to do with the ride. It would be called Alton Manor. I would replace it and go with a dark ride shooting game simalar to duel but with a twist... You do the classic haunted house shooting ride and then you reach what looks like the end station. The car keeps moving and your restraint dont come up. You the here a booming voice saying something along the lines of"Why leave the manor so soon? (evil laughter)". Then there is a small launch and your car then goes through the door at the end of the station you then go into a small dark roller coaster section with flashing lights and classic but large scale haunted house props. You then reach a brake run themed as a corridor and the voice says "I hope you enjoyed you stay at alton manor. Do visit us again soon."
You then reach the real station where you disembark.
This could be the rides backstory;
When futher work was being done on restoring the towers they unearthed a few paintings that had been made by the earls wife depicting the gardens and the towers. In one of the painting was an old manor situated south of the gardens. Merlin entertainments became increasingly interested in finding the manor and opening it to the public as part of the alton towers resort experience. They eventually found the manor in a clearing and it is now open to the public. Since being open, there have been stange sightings in the manor. Do you dare step inside?
I know i have written alto but once i started my idea i couldn't stop developing it.
Great idea probably wont happen but that sounds like it would be my fourth favourite ride, wish they did do that, although i can see Duel bieng removed, Which i am so sad about because to me no alton towers trip is complete without a ride on duel.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 3:05 pm
by Justin
Duel is due for TLC this winter, so it won't be going anywhere soon.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 3:56 pm
by S.J_O'Grady
Justin wrote:Duel is due for TLC this winter, so it won't be going anywhere soon.
Remember the Ice Age queue? 8-[
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:00 pm
by Justin
That was the queue line only. From what I can gather this will be TLC within the main building!
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:12 pm
by S.J_O'Grady
I really hope so, I do think Duel has some potential and even in its current state the park wouldn't feel the same without it.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:21 pm
by TheDuke
The same person who did sub terra and the ghost train is doing the themeing for sw8 so maybe we'll see NST and Duel both refurbished because Duel really needs it
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:26 pm
by Aidan Lowe
Not sure if this has been posted before or if its even new but uploaded not long ago was a half hour documentary about The Haunted House w/ John Wardley etc.
Re: Duel: Retheme, Replace or Remove?
Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:59 pm
by Justin
I'm still to watch it, but it's a reedited version of the 2015 documentary with new content and was uploaded today. Their other documentaries have been good, so I'm sure it'll be worth a watch!
