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The Haunting

It sounds like you had the same operator that I did recently… Very unprofessional and completely ruined the immersion!

Was he a chap with brightly coloured hair?
I have had a rude operator experience at Drayton Manor not on The Haunting on Thor during April they sang happy birthday through the speaker even though it wasn't even birthday.

Also stapled me on Thor wasn't thrilled about it
 
Went on the haunting on Saturday
And it was weird to say the least during the doctor x pre show that slammed there fist down extremely hard then just as your entering the library he put on a cowboy hat and starting scaring people comming in it was weird because he was waring drayton mnaor standard uniform
And waring a cowboy hat so we had a tour guide and some chap pretty much ruining the expirence when the lady said that a incident happened long ago the man screamed out OH SO LONG AGOOOO then during the madhouse after the voice said please prep to leave he came over the microphone and said please don't leave me I'm far to lonely and handsome to be left alone
 
Noticed on Saturday that the chimney in the middle of the facade has the pipes missing, so they've either fell off or been removed, it looked as if the entire top section had ripped off from the rest.

I've highlighted what was missing, i did take a photo but its missing from my phone.

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I’ve visited many times over the past few weeks, and had many strange rides on The Haunting…

As a huge fan of The Haunting, I always look forward to the storyline, immersion and atmosphere of the ride. I’m sorry to say this has been single handedly destroyed by a worker on my last few visits.

During the truck video, the staff member behind the boards shouted “Hi There!” when Dr X introduced himself. He also made ringing noises and held his hands to his ears when the video mentioned “Staffordshire Police”. The same guy makes beeping sounds when the video tape is running. He then proceeded to repeat lines from the video, like “we need your help”. He kept banging on the metal boxes at the front, and kept screaming at certain points throughout the video. On one occasion, he or another worker kept banging the door into the skeleton corridor, distracting the group and making the video inaudible.

The conduct in the projection room is by far the most abnormal. Firstly, when this guy works on The Haunting there’s 2x workers in this room, but everybody else leaves it with 1x worker…

When the sequence begins, he shouts “here we go”, which completely detracts from the immersion and makes it obvious a button has been pressed. When the portrait says “I am the lady of the house”, he yells loudly from the back “No you’re not, I am!” When the portrait says “did nobody warn you to keep away”, he yells loudly “They did, but I chose to ignore them”. He then paced the rear of the room, repeating phrases like “the lady of the house” in a weird, disconcerting voice. On another cycle, he seemed to be responding to the questions the portrait projection asks with either “Yes” or “I have” or “They are” — completely unnecessary and strange.

Perhaps one of the most strange things I’ve ever witnessed is the worker blatantly making meowing sounds like a cat. He kept repeating them and then shouting “Where’s that cat noise coming from” and “who let out a cat” — what’s The Haunting got to do with a cat, and how does this add to the immersion in any way? On one of the rides, he placed his hands on my shoulders, and was tapping guests on their shoulders. Surely this isn’t something that Drayton Manor allow, given the signage doesn’t state that live actors are present, or that they may touch you?

When in the ride itself, the same worker asks guests over the tannoy to “raise their hands in the air like you just don’t care” whilst the worker physically in the ride is trying to get things ready, further slowing things down. He also continued to scream strange phrases down the tannoy throughout the ride, making any themed audio inaudible. Myself and the other customers were completely bewildered by his behaviour.

I don’t want to drop this guy in it, but these strange things only happen when he’s working on The Haunting, and that doesn’t feel right to me. I’m up for comedy as much as the next person, but this just seems very extreme and far too regular.

I can’t imagine what less regular customers are thinking — I’m a regular and I’m confused!
 
I’ve visited many times over the past few weeks, and had many strange rides on The Haunting…

As a huge fan of The Haunting, I always look forward to the storyline, immersion and atmosphere of the ride. I’m sorry to say this has been single handedly destroyed by a worker on my last few visits.

During the truck video, the staff member behind the boards shouted “Hi There!” when Dr X introduced himself. He also made ringing noises and held his hands to his ears when the video mentioned “Staffordshire Police”. The same guy makes beeping sounds when the video tape is running. He then proceeded to repeat lines from the video, like “we need your help”. He kept banging on the metal boxes at the front, and kept screaming at certain points throughout the video. On one occasion, he or another worker kept banging the door into the skeleton corridor, distracting the group and making the video inaudible.

The conduct in the projection room is by far the most abnormal. Firstly, when this guy works on The Haunting there’s 2x workers in this room, but everybody else leaves it with 1x worker…

When the sequence begins, he shouts “here we go”, which completely detracts from the immersion and makes it obvious a button has been pressed. When the portrait says “I am the lady of the house”, he yells loudly from the back “No you’re not, I am!” When the portrait says “did nobody warn you to keep away”, he yells loudly “They did, but I chose to ignore them”. He then paced the rear of the room, repeating phrases like “the lady of the house” in a weird, disconcerting voice. On another cycle, he seemed to be responding to the questions the portrait projection asks with either “Yes” or “I have” or “They are” — completely unnecessary and strange.

Perhaps one of the most strange things I’ve ever witnessed is the worker blatantly making meowing sounds like a cat. He kept repeating them and then shouting “Where’s that cat noise coming from” and “who let out a cat” — what’s The Haunting got to do with a cat, and how does this add to the immersion in any way? On one of the rides, he placed his hands on my shoulders, and was tapping guests on their shoulders. Surely this isn’t something that Drayton Manor allow, given the signage doesn’t state that live actors are present, or that they may touch you?

When in the ride itself, the same worker asks guests over the tannoy to “raise their hands in the air like you just don’t care” whilst the worker physically in the ride is trying to get things ready, further slowing things down. He also continued to scream strange phrases down the tannoy throughout the ride, making any themed audio inaudible. Myself and the other customers were completely bewildered by his behaviour.

I don’t want to drop this guy in it, but these strange things only happen when he’s working on The Haunting, and that doesn’t feel right to me. I’m up for comedy as much as the next person, but this just seems very extreme and far too regular.

I can’t imagine what less regular customers are thinking — I’m a regular and I’m confused!
Sounds like you had the same guy I had
 
It used to be a good ride, but not been on it for a long time. It is a little out of place for the park and some children find it frightening. Maybe they are looking to give it a retheme next year and taking time to get it right. It does feel out of place in its current form when you look at the parks direction and relatively low througput, maybe its time to sort out this ride. Not do the same but the madhouse at Legoland, it is more family friendly. Could have a wild western theme in it.
 
If rethemed / refreshed, it must be done correctly.
If rushed or poorly thought through, it will be more harm than good. The Haunting has a bit of a following who really enjoy the experience...

I'd rather see it close for a significant time and have a proper reimagining that is properly thought out and done with care, than see it be rushed over a closed season.

It needs to be done right... The ride system offers itself to some really good ideas, however appropriate thought must be put into it to make sure that idea actually makes sense.

They also have the exit building, which could be put into the attraction too - Need to address that.

I'd love to see the ride hosts be able to get involved in the story a bit more - but... in a way that actually supports the story, instead of hinders. (as I do love interaction/actors etc)
 
I'd just like to see the ride survive into next year to celebrate it's 30th anniversary. Why not instead of asking for a retheme, we ask for a revamp that really pays tribute to the ride and embraces what made it so beloved back in 1996? I'd rather they put the money into upgrading it than retheming it.

We've seen what Drayton did to Drunken Barrels. A once beautifully themed flat ride, with hand painted murals and banners, 3D props of Barrels with multiple facial expression, custom made music, and of course Giddy Herself. And now it's all just cladded up in wood or AI generated posters, with a short and stock Soundtrack that plays every minute, and Giddy replaced with nothing... do we really want to trust Drayton With retheming one of their most iconic rides with such a uniqueness and legacy?

If it's a retheme for simply because of its age/just for the sake of it, it'll go down terribly. It'll be like Air/galactica at Alton Towers all over again. People wanted air gone for a new theme, they got it, and regretted asking for it and appreciated the original theme more than ever after. Let's not repeat history now.

With staff members, I think a script would be a good idea for them, but that they can also mould it into their own interpretation as long as they follow the story and tone, unlike whoever has been operating it recently.
 
I feel like the issue with The Haunting is that the story & visuals are quite scary to younger guests and that actively goes against the Fun for all family focus which the park has shifted to with Looping group.
As much as I agree, I'd love to see it be restored to it's former haunting glory, I feel like we would more realistically see a refurbishment & retheme to suit the target audience.

Many a time I have seen children (and older) crying and sobbing in there, wanting to get out and all that.
 
Yeah, from my own experience, most kids seem to be scared of the library, a 2019 addition, but many seem to be really interested when watching the Dr X preshow and the (mostly reverted) cellar corridor with the old audio back in there. It's surprising how such small changes like changing audio can really improve an experience.

So I'd say they're mostly just scared of the stuff from the 2016/2019 additions, and the original 1996 stuff seem to be an amazing middle ground for both young and older visitors after all these years, aka it seems to have a broader appeal than the 2016/2019 additions. Spooky yet a bit quirky, compared to the more serous and realistic take the ride had after 2016. Even then, it seems 50/50, some kids are fine with the library, while others the same age can be very scared. So it does vary quite a bit.
 
We've seen what Drayton did to Drunken Barrels. A once beautifully themed flat ride, with hand painted murals and banners, 3D props of Barrels with multiple facial expression, custom made music, and of course Giddy Herself. And now it's all just cladded up in wood or AI generated posters, with a short and stock Soundtrack that plays every minute, and Giddy replaced with nothing... do we really want to trust Drayton With retheming one of their most iconic rides with such a uniqueness and legacy?
Sorry if this should be posted under a separate thread but it's a great point. With hindsight wouldn't have been retheming the barrels to a saloon rather than the keller have been a much better option?
 
I feel like the issue with The Haunting is that the story & visuals are quite scary to younger guests and that actively goes against the Fun for all family focus which the park has shifted to with Looping group.
As much as I agree, I'd love to see it be restored to it's former haunting glory, I feel like we would more realistically see a refurbishment & retheme to suit the target audience.

Many a time I have seen children (and older) crying and sobbing in there, wanting to get out and all that.
Yep, we've tried three times over the years and never made it to the swing element.
 
In my experience most kids get upset by the “jump scare” in the Library more than anything, very rarely do kids get scared by the cellar because you can very clearly see the mechs for the skeletons. @Trooper Looper makes a good point with how the 1996 version being a middle ground as there wasn’t necessarily any jumpscares. I always thought the 2016 version was a bit strange because Dr Ghostman sort of made people think it was gonna be quite a goofy / unserious ride.
 
I had a child very brave and bold outside, get very very upset at the cellar... So it definitely terrifies some
 
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I think they mean the haunting is getting re-themed.
Like I took pictures 2 weeks ago and the frontage is in a bad shape
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Now they could give it a Rory and Lory re-theme and Rory is the sheriff of the town and needs to investigate strangle going on in a disused house and in the presence show we see a video of Rory explaining that he needs our help. Then we enter the basement and the skeletons have been replaced with moving props above our heads.
Then in the next room we see the lady of the hotel has been replaced with a tv screen themed to a portrait and show a cartoon image and have more things happening in the room.
Then the mad house theme it to a saloon and have a bar in the middle and things more as the room goes round. Then as you exit Rory on a tv thanking you for your help.
 
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