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The World of David Walliams is coming to Alton Towers

I managed to see the land and experience Gangsta Granny for myself today. I was quite eager to see the land and ride Gangsta Granny, as I was a big fan of Walliams’ novels when I was a bit younger, and I must say; I think they’ve done an absolutely excellent job, on the whole!

Be warned; my review does contain spoilers of Gangsta Granny: The Ride.

The Land
I’d be lying if I said that the land as a whole looked unrecognisably different to how it did before, but I think they’ve done an absolutely fantastic job of sprucing it up! The area seems to have far more life than Cloud Cuckoo Land in its dying years did, and it all looks really nice and fresh; all of the buildings have been given fresh new colours and facades which look very nice and vibrant, and Gangsta Granny, Raj’s Shop and the old Theatre building are particularly nice, in my opinion! There’s also absolutely stacks of little details scattered around the area, particularly in areas such as Raj’s Shop, and on the whole, it seems to have had a surprising amount of thought put into it, and seems to absolutely ooze charm! So aesthetically, the area gets a thumbs up from me!

If I had one critique of the land, it’s that I do feel that some of the area’s rides are perhaps a little too juvenile for the target demographic, namely Royal Carousel and Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp. These are rides more suited to very small children than the slightly older children Walliams’ novels are aimed at. In fairness, though, this is a very minor criticism, and the park is only really advertising Gangsta Granny at present, so it’s a bit of a moot point; they could just have done the ride within CCL, so the fact that they’ve done the area too is surely a bonus that’s worth applauding? I’m probably being a bit harsh in this regard.

So overall, I think the area itself is really nice, and has had a lot of thought put into it! I hope it does well for the park!
[IMG]


The Ride
So onto Gangsta Granny: The Ride itself, then.

Your experience starts when you enter the outdoor switchback section of the queue. There’s not loads here in terms of physical theming, but you get a nice panoramic view of the area, and there’s also some nice little minor details and challenges here to keep you occupied, such as “royal riddles” and “find the 5 plastic crowns hidden around the area”. While we’re outside, I’d also like to mention the ride’s facade, which I think is really quite nice!

You then move into the indoor queue line, which I personally prefer. The indoor queue line is really well done, in my opinion; there’s loads of paintings on the wall depicting fake “royals”, some of whom are quite tongue-in-cheek in terms of their name. A couple of these paintings are also Easter eggs; for instance, there’s a painting of the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury and the Chained Oak in a nod to Hex. There’s also some other little details and really nice themed audio & announcements, as well as themed wallpaper and pillars and a green screen photo opportunity midway through. On the whole, I very much like the indoor queue; top job, Towers!

While we’re talking about the queue, I feel like I should bring up the speed of movement of the queue, or more the lack of it. If you are wanting to ride Gangsta Granny, I’m just going to warn you; the queue moves pretty slowly. Due to the current policy of only loading 1 group per car, capacity is quite severely inhibited, and the line moves at what feels like a glacial pace, meaning that what looks like a fairly short queue at face value actually ends up taking 1hr+. As such, I’d say that capacity is probably the ride’s biggest shortcoming, at least at present until the ride can fully load cars again. I’m probably being a bit harsh here, as GG is only intended to be a filler attraction, and the capacity will improve once cars can fully load, but I felt like I should just point out that the capacity at present is, or at least feels, pretty low.

In terms of the ride itself; I was very impressed! They’ve certainly made a lot out of not very much; in spite of the ride’s track itself not being particularly long, it feels like a pretty long ride, and every scene feels fantastically done! The stops are also executed differently to how I expected, as the ride car actually moves slightly during many of them, which I liked because it makes them seem more exciting than they look on video. I think there’s a really nice blend of screens and physical theming, every scene feels like it’s maximised and themed to its full potential, and on the whole, I’m really impressed with what the park has pulled off, especially given that the Wobble World building was fairly small!

I’ve got to say that in spite of having seen a POV, there were elements of the ride that surprised me; for instance, I was not expecting the seats to vibrate at numerous points, and the scene where Ben & Granny drop down into the sewers actually produced a surprisingly convincing effect of dropping! In fact, I’d actually go as far as to say that the cars move a lot more than I’d anticipated prior to riding! The ride was also quite jumpy in places, which I didn’t expect!

One minor thing I did notice about the ride is that you did have audio from certain scenes seeping into other parts of the building, so you can already hear what’s happening in other scenes before you reach them in some cases, or you hear a scene you’ve just bypassed in others. In fairness, that’s probably a very harsh criticism on my part, as the building is very compact and I’m not sure what they could have done to prevent this, but it was just something I noticed.
[IMG]

[IMG]


On the whole, I’ll admit I was very impressed with both the land and the ride, and I think Towers have done a top job! I really hope it’s successful for them!
 
I managed to see the land and experience Gangsta Granny for myself today. I was quite eager to see the land and ride Gangsta Granny, as I was a big fan of Walliams’ novels when I was a bit younger, and I must say; I think they’ve done an absolutely excellent job, on the whole!

Be warned; my review does contain spoilers of Gangsta Granny: The Ride.

The Land
I’d be lying if I said that the land as a whole looked unrecognisably different to how it did before, but I think they’ve done an absolutely fantastic job of sprucing it up! The area seems to have far more life than Cloud Cuckoo Land in its dying years did, and it all looks really nice and fresh; all of the buildings have been given fresh new colours and facades which look very nice and vibrant, and Gangsta Granny, Raj’s Shop and the old Theatre building are particularly nice, in my opinion! There’s also absolutely stacks of little details scattered around the area, particularly in areas such as Raj’s Shop, and on the whole, it seems to have had a surprising amount of thought put into it, and seems to absolutely ooze charm! So aesthetically, the area gets a thumbs up from me!

If I had one critique of the land, it’s that I do feel that some of the area’s rides are perhaps a little too juvenile for the target demographic, namely Royal Carousel and Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp. These are rides more suited to very small children than the slightly older children Walliams’ novels are aimed at. In fairness, though, this is a very minor criticism, and the park is only really advertising Gangsta Granny at present, so it’s a bit of a moot point; they could just have done the ride within CCL, so the fact that they’ve done the area too is surely a bonus that’s worth applauding? I’m probably being a bit harsh in this regard.

So overall, I think the area itself is really nice, and has had a lot of thought put into it! I hope it does well for the park!
[IMG]


The Ride
So onto Gangsta Granny: The Ride itself, then.

Your experience starts when you enter the outdoor switchback section of the queue. There’s not loads here in terms of physical theming, but you get a nice panoramic view of the area, and there’s also some nice little minor details and challenges here to keep you occupied, such as “royal riddles” and “find the 5 plastic crowns hidden around the area”. While we’re outside, I’d also like to mention the ride’s facade, which I think is really quite nice!

You then move into the indoor queue line, which I personally prefer. The indoor queue line is really well done, in my opinion; there’s loads of paintings on the wall depicting fake “royals”, some of whom are quite tongue-in-cheek in terms of their name. A couple of these paintings are also Easter eggs; for instance, there’s a painting of the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury and the Chained Oak in a nod to Hex. There’s also some other little details and really nice themed audio & announcements, as well as themed wallpaper and pillars and a green screen photo opportunity midway through. On the whole, I very much like the indoor queue; top job, Towers!

While we’re talking about the queue, I feel like I should bring up the speed of movement of the queue, or more the lack of it. If you are wanting to ride Gangsta Granny, I’m just going to warn you; the queue moves pretty slowly. Due to the current policy of only loading 1 group per car, capacity is quite severely inhibited, and the line moves at what feels like a glacial pace, meaning that what looks like a fairly short queue at face value actually ends up taking 1hr+. As such, I’d say that capacity is probably the ride’s biggest shortcoming, at least at present until the ride can fully load cars again. I’m probably being a bit harsh here, as GG is only intended to be a filler attraction, and the capacity will improve once cars can fully load, but I felt like I should just point out that the capacity at present is, or at least feels, pretty low.

In terms of the ride itself; I was very impressed! They’ve certainly made a lot out of not very much; in spite of the ride’s track itself not being particularly long, it feels like a pretty long ride, and every scene feels fantastically done! The stops are also executed differently to how I expected, as the ride car actually moves slightly during many of them, which I liked because it makes them seem more exciting than they look on video. I think there’s a really nice blend of screens and physical theming, every scene feels like it’s maximised and themed to its full potential, and on the whole, I’m really impressed with what the park has pulled off, especially given that the Wobble World building was fairly small!

I’ve got to say that in spite of having seen a POV, there were elements of the ride that surprised me; for instance, I was not expecting the seats to vibrate at numerous points, and the scene where Ben & Granny drop down into the sewers actually produced a surprisingly convincing effect of dropping! In fact, I’d actually go as far as to say that the cars move a lot more than I’d anticipated prior to riding! The ride was also quite jumpy in places, which I didn’t expect!

One minor thing I did notice about the ride is that you did have audio from certain scenes seeping into other parts of the building, so you can already hear what’s happening in other scenes before you reach them in some cases, or you hear a scene you’ve just bypassed in others. In fairness, that’s probably a very harsh criticism on my part, as the building is very compact and I’m not sure what they could have done to prevent this, but it was just something I noticed.
[IMG]

[IMG]


On the whole, I’ll admit I was very impressed with both the land and the ride, and I think Towers have done a top job! I really hope it’s successful for them!
I did do the ride yesterday during my birthday visit to Towers. I thought the level of detail was incredible but my only issue was that it broke down for 20 minutes halfway through 🤣 But apart from that, it was great!
 
I’ve got to say that in spite of having seen a POV, there were elements of the ride that surprised me; for instance, I was not expecting the seats to vibrate at numerous points
That surprised me too, especially as the seats are hard plastic. Was it actually a vibrating mechanism? I got the impression it was reverberation from a subwoofer installed somewhere in the car.
 
That surprised me too, especially as the seats are hard plastic. Was it actually a vibrating mechanism? I got the impression it was reverberation from a subwoofer installed somewhere in the car.

I haven't done the ride, and I'm not the most technical person, but just looking at the set up of the ride system on the manufacturer's website - https://www.garmendale.co.uk/ride-systems/dark-rides/spin-master/ - I'd be surprised if it's a vibrating mechanism.

In any case, for most goons it is probably worth having a nose on Garmendale's site imo...some nice geeky bits scattered about if that's your thing
 
Sorry to bring this thread back to life... But 17th Oct 2019 is when this thread was started...

Some research (into something completely unrelated) has just bought it to my attention that the Gangster Granny cars were shown off at the European Attractions Show in 2018

I just find it really interesting that for even a small ride like this, not only was planning well into advanced stages, but the cars were actually designed, built and themed a whole year before we even knew anything about it whatsoever! (although they tried their best to make the car 'appear generic' at the trade show, the design and trim was definitely the Gangster Granny cars.)

The-2018-EAS-Stand-for-Garmendale.jpg

I expect it comes as no surprise to some of you, but it just blows my mind thinking about how far ahead they must work with huge attractions if they work this far ahead with small ones.
 
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Sorry to bring this thread back to life... But 17th Oct 2019 is when this thread was started...

Some research (into something completely unrelated) has just bought it to my attention that the Gangster Granny cars were shown off at the European Attractions Show in 2018

I just find it really interesting that for even a small ride like this, not only was planning well into advanced stages, but the cars were actually designed, built and themed a whole year before we even knew anything about it whatsoever! (although they tried their best to make the car 'appear generic' at the trade show, the design and trim was definitely the Gangster Granny cars.)

View attachment 14378

I expect it comes as no surprise to some of you, but it just blows my mind thinking about how far ahead they must work with huge attractions if they work this far ahead with small ones.
Neat!!
And would it be funny if that was the model for the new Jumangi dark ride car next to it!
 
I expect it comes as no surprise to some of you, but it just blows my mind thinking about how far ahead they must work with huge attractions if they work this far ahead with small ones.

John Wardley has openly stated many projects begin in the pipeline 5-6 years before they have a ribbon drop - even then, as with any creative industry, ideas are constantly backlogged and recycled. There is a strong chance that many of the future Merlin attractions already exist in some far detached form in the MMM archives somewhere. When the process starts for the next ride to be designed (which no doubt has already taken place for most the Merlin parks) it's common practice to draw inspiration from past concepts, reshape them into whatever the new brief is, and then develop it from there until its somewhat marketable and feasible.
 
There's a rumour floating round that the ride system of Gangsta Granny was purchased by a different Merlin attraction (one of the European Midways I believe the rumour goes), but then plans changed and they no longer required it. So Towers effectively gave the money to this midway, et voila.
I'm not sure how accurate a representation that is (and even if the story is vaguely true), but take that as you will.

We know that plans for a Walliams World extend as far back as early 2018, as it was mentioned (presumably accidentally) during an episode of Britain's Got More Talent in April 2018: https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reali...simon-cowell-jokes-reinvented-david-walliams/

I've always been under the impression that a Gangsta Granny themed ride was meant to be the headline attraction of the area, but what that ride was exactly changed on some occasions.
 
There's a rumour floating round that the ride system of Gangsta Granny was purchased by a different Merlin attraction (one of the European Midways I believe the rumour goes), but then plans changed and they no longer required it. So Towers effectively gave the money to this midway, et voila.
I'm not sure how accurate a representation that is (and even if the story is vaguely true), but take that as you will.

We know that plans for a Walliams World extend as far back as early 2018, as it was mentioned (presumably accidentally) during an episode of Britain's Got More Talent in April 2018: https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reali...simon-cowell-jokes-reinvented-david-walliams/

I've always been under the impression that a Gangsta Granny themed ride was meant to be the headline attraction of the area, but what that ride was exactly changed on some occasions.
Have you noticed the text in the story says ‘cut you in the gangsta granny ride at Alton Towers’ but I swear in the video he says ‘cut you in on the royalties on the books!’ It sounds nothing like the quoted sentence!
 
The ride system was planned for Madame Tussaud’s New York but couldn’t be installed due to structural issues I believe.
 
I wonder if Alton Towers will take any action on this area with the current David Walliams accusations...
 
I wouldn't imagine so. He was a bit rude and inappropriate, but it's not enough for Merlin to sack off an entire dark ride. If he said anything truly bigoted or was accused of something of something like sexual assault or racism, then yes imagine that Merlin would remove his name from the area.
 
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Agreed, I don't think that - as things stand - there's any risk of the area being binned off. Though if this is the first domino to fall and more comes, we'll see.

It is an interesting discussion though. Most IPs aren't focused around a specific, real-world person. But in the case of Walliams World (or, say, Derren Brown's Ghost Train), there's an inherit extra risk that if that specific person gets caught in some (big) controversy, the parks have to act swiftly to distance themselves, and likely will find themselves an attraction down. Obviously those risks are minimal, but still an interesting thought experiment if nothing else.

Imagine if parks in the 80s had The Rolf Harris Digeridoo Drop Tower, or the Jimmy Saville Experience for example...
 
Can't comment on Walliams, I have no idea what he's said and frankly am uninterested.

But yes, one of the risks of IPs is that parks are permanently tied to something they don't have full control over.

Safest long-term option is always original themes. 😆
 
I mean, haven't we known he was a bit of an arse even before the area at Alton Towers was built? To echo what others have already said, I doubt this will have an impact unless more sinister allegations emerge.
 
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