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Thorpe Park | Derren Brown's Ghost Train | VR Attraction

Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Yeah the new Derren Brown show is on exactly the same day. The Alton reveal is 8:30 where as the Derren Brown show is at 21:00
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Found this pic from Dynamic Attractions's booth at IAAPA:

dynamic-attractions-6.jpg


Clockwork? Pocket watches? Sounds familiar....

Along with a "new project for 2016"? http://www.dynamicattractions.com/adventures/robotic-track/
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Darn, looks like there wasn't an ad during Derren's new show. Kinda surprised, but I guess it is a little early to start building the hype. Anyone else think the ad may premier when Derren's stage show Miracle is shown on C4? If they don't show it then I think they've missed a clear marketing opportunity.

With regards to the dynamic attractions thing I have my doubts. The gears and pocketwatch are suspect, but don't go expecting an SFX coaster, I will genuinely be shocked if it ended up being one of them. The track is too large to fit inside the building without even taking into account the pre shows and store. That being said it could be something else from them, but I can't say I know much about their portfolio of products other than the SFX coaster.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

I think it's too late to start building the hype tbh, if this was an American park the whole thing would have been announced and advertised to death! Never understand this whole mystery around projects merlin tries to do all the time, it just makes me loose all interest.

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Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

^Same here, it's getting boring now.
Presumably most of you have been following the Mindswanted minisite? Have you noticed that, despite several mysterious pictures and all but one of the supposed "clues" being published, nobody has even bothered to repost them in this thread? That suggests to me that either A; The clues are far too cryptic for even the nerdiest fanboy to make any sense of, or B; Nobody gives a ****.
I fear it's more likely the latter.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

It's more nobody cares tbh, I don't want to have to solve puzzles and find out clues to work out what a ride will be, I'd rather just be told and let the hype begin from their.

As soon as I found out this was to be a dark ride I lost all interest, I'm not a massive fan of dark rides anyway but I do like them if you can tell effort has been put into them. This I feel will just be classic Merlin though, done on a budget not big enough, half arsed and lose its appeal very quickly, but that's just how I feel though, I have no problem with other people being excited by this because that's up to them, I though have lost all interest and excitement.



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Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

I've been following the clues closely. To be honest, I reckon they reveal next nothing about what we're in for anyway, so never really saw the point of sharing them...

The first two clues were ridiculously obscure clues to Derren, the third was the Derren reveal, the fourth was some mood board images, and the fifth and sixth give next to nothing away, but do seem to both relate to 'trains' and 'ghosts'. So loads of details to go on...

Derren dos tweet yesterday that a "week off Thorpe PR begins", so maybe we're going to see more stuff coming out very soon?
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Oh I totally agree their marketing doesn't work for enthusiasts. This whole mind gap has been mind-numbingly boring for me. That being said, considering most of the GP won't be aware of WC16 until its official announcement, I can understand why they'd want to leave that announcement as close to the rides opening as possible.

Interestingly enough, the next and final clue is out Monday. Wonder how much it will reveal.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Trains, ghosts, dolls ... so it's gonna be some sort of haunted train ride, right?
Or is it?
This is Derren Brown we're talking about here. There's no doubting that he is a bit of an evil genius. What if it's all a bluff? What if we're being 'manipulated' already, just like that poor sod on the telly last night who nearly pushed a guy off a roof? What if it has nothing to do with trains, or ghosts, or dolls, or clockwork, or Victoriana at all? It could be a fecking Tellytubby ride for all we know.
Just sayin' like.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

owentaylor121 said:
I think it's too late to start building the hype tbh, if this was an American park the whole thing would have been announced and advertised to death! Never understand this whole mystery around projects merlin tries to do all the time, it just makes me loose all interest.

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I wish it was a Dynamic Attractions SFX Coaster... if only...

When it comes to generaling publicity, it's far from too late to generate any, so I suggest until you get your marketing degrees and work in said field for a company, you should stop tarnishing the general public with the same opinion as yours? People are still interested in this project, clearly - plus, what's the point in releasing all of the information so soon after Christmas when people are broke - you want to launch it after payday when people are going to book tickets in advance - marketing is introduced to promote and sell a product, use your brain.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Lofty said:
owentaylor121 said:
I think it's too late to start building the hype tbh, if this was an American park the whole thing would have been announced and advertised to death! Never understand this whole mystery around projects merlin tries to do all the time, it just makes me loose all interest.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
I wish it was a Dynamic Attractions SFX Coaster... if only...

When it comes to generaling publicity, it's far from too late to generate any, so I suggest until you get your marketing degrees and work in said field for a company, you should stop tarnishing the general public with the same opinion as yours? People are still interested in this project, clearly - plus, what's the point in releasing all of the information so soon after Christmas when people are broke - you want to launch it after payday when people are going to book tickets in advance - marketing is introduced to promote and sell a product, use your brain.
I'm not the only person who shares this view or shared this view on this forum, so why single me out once again. Yes I get it your involved in marketing, but the marketing for this is crap! The Swarms was perfect, even Sub Terra's was fairly good and much more hype around it than this has had.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

I'm not heavily involved in marketing actually, I just market my own shows and some other things, but, there are people on this forum who work for the marketing department of Thorpe Park (not gonna name them as I don't know if it's common knowledge).

I didn't single you out, so don't flatter yourself, yours was the first post I saw on this page that stated everything in such a condescending and demeaning manner (towards the park) so that's why I quoted you - but carry on acting the victim and making me out to be the bad guy for trying to give reason and stop you from further shading the work of a fellow member.


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Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

silenthillXD said:
Oh I totally agree their marketing doesn't work for enthusiasts. This whole mind gap has been mind-numbingly boring for me.

It's interesting that you say that, as for the most part, the more Thorpe-oriented forums have been going crazy over the marketing (in a good way). I remember reading through pages and pages of discussion following the park posting a picture of a perfume bottle on Twitter. Thorpe have always been great and getting marketing right for enthusiasts imo and always have the majority of them in the palm of their hand..

Fair enough if it doesn't interest you, or even the majority of this forum for whatever reason, but their marketing is great for enthusiasts.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

What we have to remember is rides are not marketed at enthusiasts, they are aimed at the massive proportion who don't care as much as we do.

It makes sense to throw out a few teasers mid-season before to keep us guessing, discussing and subtly getting it in the mind of the public. If they marketed too early, people might hold off their visit and wait for the new ride to open. That makes no commercial sense. Therefore the closed season is the best time for a full reveal.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

I think with ‘mysterious’ marketing like this the effectiveness largely depends on the quality of the end product. In theory, this marketing campaign will gradually build excitement and mystery around the ride and then boom – you eventually get to ride it and it is incredible and mind-blowing and everything the marketing hinted at. Thi3teen had a similar approach, and if it had been a genuinely terrifying and amazing ride the marketing would’ve been seen as much more effective, as it would’ve built up excitement without leading to disappointment, and the hype of the marketing reflected the quality of the end product.

However the disappointment of Thi3teen and some other rides have earned Merlin a reputation for indulgent and unnecessary marketing that leads to a disappointing end product. I’m not sure if this is the same for the majority of the GP, but I would imagine many people excited by the Thi3teen hype were disappointed by the ride itself. Its marketing was definitely successful as it built up mystery and excitement around the new ride, but then it opened and turned out to be an anti-climax, resulting in the marketing being viewed as unnecessary and misleading. Had Thi3teen been brilliant I think its marketing would’ve been viewed as perfect and very effective.

Due to Merlin’s reputation their marketing generally gets negativity from the enthusiast community, which is fair enough as it has led to disappointment previously. But if this new ride turns out to be fantastic quality and genuinely mind blowing then this perception could change as the marketing would be appropriate – building up excitement to the perfect climax of a brilliant ride. Hopefully Derren Brown has a strong involvement in the development of this, after watching his shows I’m often left thinking ‘woah, that was amazing… what was that’, and that’s the feeling this ride needs to create to make the marketing appropriate and effective.

So if this ride turns out to be incredible (which it could be!) then brilliant, the marketing has been spot on, appropriate and exciting. However if the ride turns out to be disappointing, then the marketing was still successful in attracting and exciting people, but lead to an anti-climax and was somewhat excessive and inappropriate. Here’s hoping for the former!
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

^This, completely. It's going to happen with Galactica too.

They seem to have really good marketing departments who are better than the products themselves - it means their campaigns are always great, and then people get there and go 'eh'.

And then when the rides do live up to the marketing (at least in GP's eyes) they crash them anyway, so.

Merlin are such a WEIRD company. Flashes of brilliance obscured in a sea of not giving a crap. The ride at the end of the campaign is like the jizz shot - the foreplay can all be great but if you just end up jizzing all over yourself it leaves you ultimately disappointed.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

Very interesting article...
http://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=413&codeid=320805
Exclusive: Merlin creative director reveals new details about Derren Brown attraction coming to Thorpe Park in 2016
Paul Moreton, global creative director for Merlin Magic Making at Merlin Entertainments has exclusively revealed to Attractions Management new details about Derren Brown’s new ride at Thorpe Park, which will use a number of modern and traditional techniques to create an experience right from the mind of the master illusionist.

Touted as a ghost train reinvented for the 21st Century, the age-restricted Derren Brown’s Ghost Train will incorporate grand illusion, live action, next-generation technology, 4D special effects and physical transit to create an experience unlike any other.

“We’ve taken the ghost train as an inspiration,” said Moreton speaking exclusively to Attractions Management. “The thing we love about a good ghost train is creating that sense of being scared, but laughing at the same time. We’re trying to capture that element and we thought it was about time we took that standard, that Victorian product which has been around 200 years or so, and gave it a 21st century makeover. It’s Derren’s interpretation of that.”

Upon entering the 2,300sq m (25,000sq ft) warehouse encompassing the ride, guests will encounter a large disused Victorian warehouse, which in its centre will have a 20 metre (65 foot) -long, seven tonne Victorian train carriage suspended in mid air by iron chains.

Little detail has been revealed about what will actually take place within the attraction. What is known is the ride is designed to leave guests questioning where their perception ends and where reality begins.

“Like with Derren’s show, he doesn’t really want everyone to say what happens so they can experience it for themselves because the less you know, the more you will get out of it,” said Moreton.

“Just like Derren’s shows we’re playing with your mind, making you question what’s real and what’s not. When the ride ends, we want you to come away with a thought-provoking experience. Did that happen? Did that not happen? That is the new generation experience we are talking about and that’s what will make it very unique.”

Moreton revealed that virtual reality would be one of the elements used to create the illusions, using an HTC Vive headset within the train. He was keen to stress however that the attraction is not a VR experience.

It’s not the same as our launch of Glactica at Alton Towers last week,” he said. “We’re using that to enhance the experience but crucially it’s just one element of several which are all equally as important as each other.”

One of the attraction’s key elements, is that each rider will have a unique experience. On the 10-15 minute ride, there are 12 possible journeys to get to two alternate endings. Dependant on choices made, each individual rider will encounter a different path as they go through the experience.

“If you and I went on the attraction together, you would probably experience something different to what I did,” said Moreton. “You may come out and say ‘did that happen to you’ and I’ll respond ‘no this happened instead’.”

“I firmly believe that this kind of multi-sensory, mind blowing attraction represents a glimpse of what the future holds for theme parks the world over,” said Derren Brown.

“Akin to my shows, I ask that when you board the train, the secrets remain mine and yours to share and fear, and you don’t spoil the experience by telling others ahead of their visit.

“People should also note that this is not an experience for the faint hearted. But to ensure you are in the right frame of mind to take full advantage of the journey I will send you on, I refuse to reveal any further details past the doors of the carriage.”

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Also

Derren brown posted this on facebook...


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The fact that it says under Class DBGT as well as this insider sneek peek article, this surely must confirm that it is called Derren Brown: Ghost Train! :D
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

I'm quite surprised something like that has released this early…


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Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

^That was all very interesting and exciting... until I read the term 'HTC Vive headset'. And my heart sank.
 
Re: WC16 | Thorpe Park | New ??? for 2016

So, basically, Merlin have just got a job lot of VR headsets? It's just another ruddy gimmick.
 
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