The Curse at Alton Manor Opening Day First Riders Experience
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- Опубліковано 17 бер 2023
- Join me as we start at the front of the queue for Alton Towers on the opening day of the Curse at Alton Manor (at Alton Towers theme park). Then we go through the turnstiles and I go (unusually) full enthusiast and have a steady jog to 'The Curse' to get to the front of the queue. The lengths you go to sometimes to get some decent footage to look back on (training for the 5k run at Towers late last year helped)! We then get led through the empty queuline by one of the dressed up actors and there are lots of actors etc around the outside of the house as time goes on. John Wardley (designer of Nemesis et al) is sighted at least a couple of times (from memory, once opening the door of the Manor and once in the giftshop). Then there is Michael Eley who was treated to a VIP first ride as he has written a book about the original ride and is known to Alton Towers. Shawn Sanbrooke of Theme Park Worldwide is also spotted turning up to join the queue and do a bit of vlogging. We latterly enter the facade of the house...Then, it's simply time to Exit through the giftshop (where John Wardley is spotted) as I don't break the rules and film inside. Enjoy :)
I love the baby doll and remote control pram. The recording of a baby crying is an added touch.
Surprisingly they still have the actors roaming Gloomy Wood (as of last week anyway). I thought they would only be there for the first couple of weeks, so fair play to them :)
It's not actually remote control they paid a real ghost to push it
Loving the walkaround characters in the queue area!
Yeah, that was a nice touch. They were very good :)
My God ! So much hype! I'm sad... I live in France so I have to wait for my majority to finally make this park just INCREDIBLE 😢
It's worth the wait. The rides and the history! Thanks for watching my video, I appreciate it :)
The queue goes on and on! I thought you never would get to the house!
I know yeah, haha. I thought it was worth filming as we had the honour of being led by the actor guy as we were the first to get there. And no doubt in years to come they'll probably shut off the extended queueline again. Thanks for watching, Adam :)
Props to you for sprinting in. Impressive dedication, mate 👍
Sometimes these things things have got to be done buddy. I appreciate your appreciation of the effort haha. Love it :)
Love that you caught Shawn and Charlotte entering the queue 😂 5:38
lol everyone knows everyone
I was with Michael eley what a privilege & honour to ride it with him as first guests + John wardley & John burton were with us as well
That's brill, sounds like an experience to remember for a long time for you! Glad you found my video so that you could re-live it from another angle. Thanks for watching :)
@@AltonTowersMemories I’ve got a couple of angles on video but thanks anyway Michael is such a legend & a great friend of mine so I was chuffed I got to experience Alton manor with him & his family 😊
@@Fromthedronetothescreen I've sort of known Michael online for years now. Think I met him on a gardens tour many many years ago (could be wrong) and I also think I captured him being one of the first riders to enter The Smiler on my opening day vid for that ride a fair few years back (could be wrong again). It's all good fun :)
@@AltonTowersMemories I got to know Michael from working on duel for a few years 😊
You caught us on cam in the queue! Was great being there.
It was a good atmosphere :)
Great vlog thanks 4 sharing
You're absolutely welcome. Thanks for watching :)
Great video and we are in it at 0:40 and you caught my pass malfuction haha Was great to have a little chat with you in the que line also mate. Sure we will see you again.
Thanks. Yes, it was very nice to have a chat with you all. I quickly had to divert to the left hand turnstile when I saw there was an issue with yours haha! I'm sure we will spot each other around again at some point. If not, meet you at 7.30, turnstiles, Project Horizon opening day ;)
I quite like how they've added some context to the haunted house now. There was always a little doll's house in there with a hologram of a little girl walking around upstairs in the dark with a white cat. I never knew what that was about. The first time I went in there was 1993 and the last time was 2010. In the 90's is was called 'The Haunted House' and in the 00's, it was called 'Duel'. I think this is a good departure from Duel and a better direction for it. It captures the spirit of what it originally was. I don't know if this was always the story behind it and now it's finally being explained or whether it's a story they've come up with more recently. The little girl in the doll's house that has always been there does seem like a bit of a coincidence though. Then again, maybe it was just there and it gave someone the idea for what we're getting now. Anyway, I like it when these sort of rides have a story. I always liked Hex, for that very reason. Speaking of which, is it still there?
Well, that is a very reasoned and thoughtful reply, which I appreciate. I have also been very similar when it comes to the little girl in the dolls house. The girl was always something that I noticed in those early days of the Haunted House but I didn't think that 'she' would ever become a major character in anything in the future (or 'going forward' as people like to say). I do like the fact that they've made Emily more of a character though. I find it interesting and I like the fact that they've done it in all honesty. And yes, Hex is still there, in all its glory :)
@@AltonTowersMemories Yes, it certainly changes how I look back on it now. My perception was totally different back then. I never saw the little girl as a threat and I never knew that she was called Emily. She and her cat seemed like the only things in there that were not sinister in any way. It just looked like she was in a dark spooky house, looking around and wondering what was going on, like her parents had just been taken away by whatever had been lurking and she was going to be next. Personally, I don't think that Duel fits into any kind of narrative or storyline for this ride so I am also glad they have gone in a new direction and done this. They've taken something that was there from the very beginning, and also very impressive for the time, as I think this ride originally opened in 1992 and they've used it to create a story which has enabled this ride to go back to being a traditional haunted house while also giving people a new experience. Part of what makes Alton Towers great is the history and the stories.
@@Super1866 Oh my god. I couldn't possibly add to what you've just said. I couldn't agree more. It's perfect.
@@AltonTowersMemories Thank you. I definitely preferred the original Haunted House to Duel. I think it was scarier and more atmospheric, basically how it was originally supposed to be. I remember it smelling awful, the pictures in there being a lot more scary and the music being super creepy. There was even a hologram of a creepy old man's face in the fireplace. He was saying something but I can't recall what it was. There were many little details that were better. It may have seemed that way because I was younger but there were definitely differences. I do wonder if the girl in the doll's house was always supposed to be Emily Alton or whether that is something they just came up with recently. What we saw in the doll's house originally all seemed quite innocent. I don't know if she was actually looking around with an impending sense of dread, that was just my perception or how I might have felt, but there was certainly nothing sinister happening. The only strange thing was that she was tiny. It portrayed the idea of an actual doll's house where the little doll inside is alive which in itself is a little spooky.
11mins 47secs in, that's my son in the beanie coming up the Fastrack steps & me right behind him.
Oh yes, I remember seeing you guys walk in :)
@@AltonTowersMemories made my day, thanks. I've watched a few VLOG's & only just caught glimpses from afar. You probably remember us because we were the last ones let in before they started letting the main queue in. Bet you were CURSING us ha ha.
@@richardwillcock5768 It's all good. I'm a very patient person, haha :)
I already made a comment but I forgot to ask this question, this year I will be 13 years old, so I would like to know if in 2030 (For the 50 years of Alton Towers) The park will still exist?? The Smiler won't be demolished or something? (It's my favorite coaster and I would really like to do it) Can't wait for you to answer me!
Greta vidoe ❤
Thanks Kuya. Thanks for watching :)
12.09… someone clearly enjoyed their armarak breakfast quite a lot! BURP! 😂
Hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it, haha!
@@AltonTowersMemories hahaha! You’re welcome! (And thanks for such an amazing vid!)
@@coastermadab Thanks a lot, you're very kind :)
Whattt noooo John wardly was there I walked straight passed him (I literally bumped into the girl in the red and black Ferrari jacket (sorry I was rushing to air)
Yes, I think that this girl was with 'Digital Dan'. I had no prior knowledge of him before today but he seemed thoroughly decent around the queuline this morning (as did the girl/lady/woman) :)
When I came off the ride someone asked for my opinion in the exit station. My daughter and I obliged, not realising John Wardley was stood next to us listening with a smile!
What time did you get on? We were there just after you and the queue didn’t start moving till 11am?!
Yep, pretty much not long before 11 (the last time I looked). God knows what was going on inside that building, lol. The likes of us had waited around 2 hours before we rode haha. That's what we get for going on days like this though. Appreciate you watching and taking an interest :)
Such a shame TCAAM isn’t actually that good. I wish they’d have kept it as Duel and updated & fixed it.
I've heard a few people say that now. Personally I was never overly keen on Duel and I'm not a massive fan of ghost trains in general, so I wasn't blown away by this new version. With the shooters there was probably a bit more re-rideability with Duel, but it's all down to personal preference in the end I suppose. Thanks for watching the video anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Adam :)
@@AltonTowersMemories yeah I think you two are literally the only people saying this... lol... duel sucked, this is a much needed revamp, it beats duel is every way,,
@@adamblackedition5529 Haha. I find them both a bit boring in all honesty. Not really my favourite kind of rides within theme parks. I find ghost trains tend to get a bit boring after the first few times for me personally.
@@AltonTowersMemories I think the whole build up, and walking around and interacting with the actors is what everyone likes the most... but riding it once and coming off with a smile on your face, means the ride already done its job...
@@adamblackedition5529 Yeah, each to their own mate. I enjoyed the atmosphere and everything else the first couple of times but I don't find it very re-rideable, but that's just my personal preference on rides. I'm glad that others find it more enjoyable than me and that's obviously why Merlin thought that it was worth paying the money to upgrade it 👍
Out of interest is that the rap queue at the doorway
I think that the very near the doorway shorter bit to the right was the Fastrack/VIP queue, the very long bit further on was the RAP which extended around the left towards Forbidden Valley.
i am sorry for ruining your vlog with me running past screaming “I JUST MET JOHN WARDLEY”
That was actually one of my favourite bits. I made sure that I left that in :)
So few animatronics… screens will look outdated in 2 years
What happened to the little white cat? I'm pretty sure the little girl used to have a white cat. I think the cat's love could have prevented all this. I guess the cat must have ran off, couldn't be doing with all the nonsense. Probably had the right idea, wasn't daft.
Apparently, the cat turned out to be a robot and it was sent to Japan for further testing. Following this it was sent to New Zealand where they destroyed it in a vacuum and then buried it at the bottom of the sea where it couldn't cause any harm for 70 years.
@@AltonTowersMemories I had a word with Snowy and he denies all accusations.
Did they actually let the disabled queue in first for fucks sake lol
It appeared that the RAP and maybe the Fastrack were shown in first. I can't confirm it though. A bit annoying when you've turned up VERY early and done a decent run. But yeah, fu** it, Everyone was happy in the end :)
No. Fast track. RAP was let in third out of the queues (or so it looked).