Derren Brown’s Ghost Train Plans

A planning application submitted in October 2014 revealed that Thorpe Park were developing an ‘indoor fully themed’ attraction for 2016. Additional plans submitted in April 2015 provided further insight into the development, which would eventually be revealed as Derren Brown’s Ghost Train.

After the attraction opened during the 2016 season, unexpectedly an application to extend the building was submitted in October 2016. This would turn out to be to enable enhancements to the attraction to be made, as part of its relaunch as Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon for 2017.

These initial plans showed that the attraction was planned to consist of external themed plaza and entrance features, fully themed building to house the attraction, covered queue lines, pre-show, retail outlet and back of house and service areas. Our full news article can still be read here.

Some of the key revelations in these additional plans was a detailed look at the plaza theming feature – a watch tower, which ultimately wasn’t realised when the attraction was constructed – and a peak at the interior layout of the main attraction building. Although this didn’t give much away in terms of the ride itself, it is now evident that the rectangle shown on the interior floor plan was representative of the suspended carriage. These plans also provided the attraction’s code name – Project Whitechapel. Our full news article is still available to read here.

Although these plans, submitted towards the end of the 2016 season, didn’t give much away as to how the Resort were intending to modify the attraction for 2017, they certainly created some amount of intrigue. When the attraction re-opened as Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon in 2017, it was revealed that the shop extension was to enable some of the existing retail space to be used for a new, theatrical ending to the experience. Our full news article can still be read here.