Attraction Source Forum

Ok, i'm going to throw a theory out there. This is just a THEORY! We know that the Charlie boat ride is going to be utilized for this, but what if they also use the glass elevator. The London Dungeon features a lift (An actual lift) and in theory there is nothing stopping them using the Great Glass elevator part as a Descent elevator. So what if the exit becomes the entrances and the entrance becomes the exit for the Dungeon and the boat ride goes round the other way or the same with with the elevator idea being used as an ascent. 

Might be a bit of a job getting the water to flow the opposite direction, but would enable them to have a decent into the Dungeon. Otherwise, yep an ascent might be possible.

One of the first tabloids has started to cover the Alton Towers Dungeon, alongside today's new image teaser. Mirror Article

No new information, however the reporting makes it seem like it's a straight swap for Charlie, rather than being an attraction with an additional charge and pre-booking recommended. I'm not going to criticise the reporting, as it otherwise correctly reports what the advert shows and is enthusiastic for the addition. It seems that the reporter has made assumptions, reasonably based on how all other attractions at the park work. This to me seems indicative of an issue Alton are going to face, with customers not having read further than the headline text and image and being disappointed.

Attractions shouldn't need what is essentially a terms and conditions disclaimer hidden somewhere within their adverts. If they can't straight up state in their adverts in big letters that it will cost an additional £5-7.50 and that spaces are limited, because they know such statements would be bad for marketing, then why are they even bothering with the attraction? All they're doing is deferring the undesirability of having that info plain and simple in the advertising, to disappointment or annoyance in the park. Alton has been a pay once, ride everything park, this change in direction will catch people out.

All this double posting is going to get me sent to the Dungeon... :sus:

Another article, another misconception about the Alton Dungeons. This time it's the Nottingham Post. The quality of this one is not great, however it seems that they have had access to either a park official or a press release and still come away with the wrong idea of what the attraction will be.

A new misconception, although understandable if you look at the image and nothing else:

While much of the details of the attraction are still under wraps the snapshot does indicate that part of the ride will involve heading out on water in front of the park's famous towers.

Well that is what the image shows, and yes there is water in front of the Towers that has had boats on it in the past.

Again, no indication of additional cost, ability to pre-book, or that its a 45 minute experience. Instead it makes it sound like it's just another new ride, like anything else at the park.

Plus, for theme park reporting giggles:

Many theme park fans have speculated that the new attraction is part of the Dungeon family which already has locations in London, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Warwick and York.

As I say, not great quality reporting, but it looks like they've done some haphazard research and still come away with completely the wrong idea.

Whilst I expect errors in such reporting, they typically have the fundamentals correct. For example: a roller coaster, a new restaurant, or an additional extra like crazy golf. It's this missing fundamentals that is my concern.

Apparently they got the Intern to do the promotional images for the attraction...

It doesn't exactly bode well for them spending much money on it.

Alton Towers have just tweeted some kind of video for The Alton Towers Dungeon

https://twitter.com/altontowers/status/1099406190298255360

Well, I say false advertising! If this is like any other Dungeons, they should talk about the areas, that might be scary to children, and the age recommendation.

It seems to be promoting the laughter in this attraction more than the scares, or the history which is not right because The Dungeons aren't all about laughter unless this one is different somehow. The video isn't very well put together and is very bad quality. The lack of additional prices info is gonna cause a lot of anger and confusion in the park.

I also can't see this attraction, having any sort of good loading system, as I don't think this ride is gonna get a lot of people in every time, otherwise, it will ruin the tension.

(First time using Grammarly )

The Dungeon attractions are more fun than scary. Just because they are based on the scary past, they bring it across in a fun way so I understand that side of it. I don't think the batching will be an issue. Scenes will always need time to reset, so there will always be a delay in start times. I think the London one is every 10 minutes. Plus if you have to purchase a ticket, I imagine it will be a timed ticket like the London one.

Very disappointed that the advert has absolutely no mention of the fact you will most likely need to pay an additional fee to enter.

I noticed the comments on the Twitter version are predominantly negative. Mostly due to them knowing there is an additional charge. Between comparing it to a scam and questioning when they'll have to pay extra to ride Duel, the comments are far from the excitement they had with Wicker Man.

Pretty sad really.

I am beginning to get fed up with this whole gotta pay to do it thing if I'm to be honest. Every Dungeon attraction, including Warwick is pay extra. It's only £5 too, which isn't that expensive. No one will force them to do it. Not doing it will not ruin anyones day. I guess making it a pay for attraction means its less likely to get the twits doing it.

I agree that its really nothing to be complaining about. The problem will come when the public turns up and gets a shock. I think it will anger some people.

I do agree. The ride has been standing there empty for many years, so I am all for seeing part of the park returned to use.

As you say Dom, there is nothing forcing people to visit, just as there is no obligation to buy merchandise or refreshments from the shops or catering outlets around the park.

I do think that people are quick to forget the amount of actors needed to operate this attraction. It is also an In house IP which some may not have experienced before, or would usually get to experience, if it was not for Alton. Yes, in an ideal world it would have been nice to see it being free to all. In reality, it was never going to happen as it would be a logistical nightmare!

Guess I'll be a twit then Dom. :lol

I'm heavily against this pay-to-pay attraction. If the park has a walk-up gate price of £56, then everything inside should be included. If the park wants to charge for attractions, then entrance is free or £5. They can't have both. Not even Disney does that.

The major concern is where does it stop? Because if it proves successful and they find people are happy to pay to enter and then pay to do things, then that's the direction they'll head to make more money. The fact that they're publicly traded means they growth and profits are key, and guest experience is further down the list. If you make more money from those happy to pay compared to that lost by those unhappy and who stopped coming, then all is good. Take a look at the mess that happened within video games when they figured out they could charge £60 a game and then add continual £5-10 transactions, especially by the publicly traded companies. By now your £60 purchase can sometimes feel like getting you not much more than access to a store to buy more things. My real fear is that Merlin will do the same.

From a previous post, I calculated a predicted throughput, which I suspect is the cause of this price requirement. Because I do not buy any claim that the park needs to charge for this attraction to make it work. If the park can't cover its costs via entrance fees, car park charges, food and beverage, sideshow games, fast track, photos, and highly inflated hotel costs (£200 for a shed, with no toilet and towels an extra £10!), then they probably shouldn't be in business, because clearly there is no money in it.

Long rant, but I'm very concerned that people will excuse this upcharge at a premium resort and that we'll sleep walk into higher prices and every attraction added based on whether it can make a profit in a year. At the end of the day Alton is a multi-million pound company, not a charity that should have just £5 handed out to it whenever it asks.

I think the up charge can only be applied as it is an established IP which relies heavily on actors. I do agree that this should not set a precedent for other pay attractions, but we also know what happens to attractions, and the quality of such attractions, which are included within the admission price.

SeaLife proves that they are not charging for everything, then again, this is less reliant on human resources. Had they have installed The Dungeons with animatronic, then of course I would want it to be free to all!

What we are forgetting is that this is included within the cost of Season passes and PMAPs, therefore no money is being paid as it is included within your pass!

Justin wrote: What we are forgetting is that this is included within Season passes and PMAPs, therefore no money is being paid as it is included within your pass!

It's not free for PMAP though is it?

As an aside, irrelevant to anything discussed I'm against the charge, regardless of whether some people get it included it not.

Now where did I leave my pitchfork...? :lol

Ha! A healthy debate is always welcome!

I could be wrong, but I think it was confirmed that PMAP holders would be able to gain entry.

The Kip Hakes article today said he checked before publishing and they said no.

Edit: Linkety link.

I think it will be a case of can't please everyone with it. I personally am happy to pay £5 for it so it pays to keep the actors actually there and not cut them like with IAC than i'm all for it

We shall see, Chris. I am expecting a similar set up to Warwick personally.

I don’t think it’s possible to give access to PMAPs. There’s just too many people that have them. There wouldn’t be enough slots left or money made.