Considering it’s predecessors, I personally feel that whilst the entrance looks ok.....I really hope there is more to come as currently  looks like a cheap ratheme of am exterior and nothing else. Burger kitchen looks clean and fresh, but if the inside hasn’t been updated it’s going to look out of place, there are also a lot of outdated vinyls etc inside like Sub terra, Air and CATCF which means it needs sorting out. Fingers crossed they don’t do half a job, something Merlin has the tendency to do.

Even Doom and Sons had a better, scarier look and that was nearly 40 years ago. The giant wood fence is just so lazy and unfitting.

The outside doesn't give me a great first impression as it is. Given all previous attractions here have had fairly substantial external theming, it's currently quite disappointing. But, they still have a week and a half to go.

Interestingly, there are still tickets available for all time slots on opening day (note 11am-12pm has never been available for opening day). Will be intriguing to see just what level of interest this receives, and whether people will just get tickets on the day rather than pre-booking.

On Tuesday, TowersTimes was invited to a special ‘Meet the Maker’ event at Alton Towers Resort, to discover some of what lurks within the chambers of The Alton Towers Dungeon ahead of its grand opening on 23rd March.

TowersTimes News has a full round-up of what we learned, but traitors be wary, for spoilers do lie ahead…

Theme Park Worldwide have also filmed a separate behind the scenes video on their channel, going by what I’ve seen so far this is looking promising and pretty decent quality for something that only costs £5 online

Well done everyone for getting it ready for immediately after the embargo lifted.

It looks like they're working very close to the deadline. Having only had 6 months to work on the project, in comparison to a normal 18 months, I fear is going to show. Not having fully themed rooms, but rather a 3-wall set, I hope won't detract from everything when it's up and running. More positively, they do seem to have put a lot of effort into ensuring the acting will be extremely high quality.

We now know the capacity of the attraction, and it turns out it's slightly worse than my calculation a few pages back. There will be 8 groups an hour, for 6 hours a day, with 27 people per group. Grand total: 216 people an hour; and 1,296 people per day. So about 10% of guests in any given day will be able to experience the dungeon. I struggle to see how this works within a theme park.

Slightly negative post, but it looks like the attraction will be entertaining for those who get to experience it.

We've now also got a video up on the TTSP YouTube channel featuring some short snippets of a few of the Dungeon's scenes, and some insights from Eddie Saul, Head of Creative Partners at Merlin Entertainments, and Chris Carter, Head of Entertainment and Tech at the Resort.

If you haven't watched it, then it is certainly an interesting watch. I really enjoyed it!

Just finished watching it. Gives a great insight into the passion and hardwork that the team has been through to get the attraction delivered (well almost delivered at this point in time).

Would love to know how this thing came to be, if it only got executive sign off 6 months ago! A fairly huge task to ask of the development team, even if they can draw on a lot of experience from within Merlin.

With the brand already existing, I suppose it isn't that difficult to implement. The show concepts exist and the props can easily be recreated!

I really can't wait for this!

Swarm Chris wrote:

Would love to know how this thing came to be, if it only got executive sign off 6 months ago! A fairly huge task to ask of the development team, even if they can draw on a lot of experience from within Merlin.

Would fit with the rumoured David Walliams attraction/area not working out, by which point the building may have already been gutted and so an opportunity to add the Dungeon was spotted...?

lewis97 wrote:

Would fit with the rumoured David Walliams attraction/area not working out, by which point the building may have already been gutted and so an opportunity to add the Dungeon was spotted...?

That is quite possible. A significant change in direction if it is the case.

Having watched the video and read the article, my opinion on the Dungeon has softened somewhat.

I still don’t think it’s the attraction that Towers needs, but I am looking forward to going through it. As I’ve said previously, it’s not going to be an attraction I make a point of doing on every visit, especially on the days with the shorter opening hours.

I think it looks poor to be honest.

I kind of like this Dungeon. It looks like MMM put a lot of effort into theming this attraction in the space of 6 months.
However, I am slightly disappointed they didn't make it into a new Toyland Tours, or something that fitted into the CCL area.

scruffy_ wrote:

I think it looks poor to be honest.

Always helpful to say constructively why.

DerpyQuark wrote:

I kind of like this Dungeon. It looks like MMM put a lot of effort into theming this attraction in the space of 6 months.
However, I am slightly disappointed they didn't make it into a new Toyland Tours, or something that fitted into the CCL area.

From the Meet the Makers video, it certainly shows a lot of passion went into the project. Perhaps it is a bit of a shame that this passion wasn't used to make a lighter and more CCL relevant attraction, with a longer development time.

scruffy_ wrote:

I think it looks poor to be honest.

What’s important to remember and as I’m sure is mentioned in the video, when the Meet the Maker event took place, changes, additions and the site was still being added too. I think, like I’ve said before, it’s easy to judge something before you’ve seen it properly. It’s easy to say it looks poor or slam a product/attraction/ride before you’ve experienced it.

Like Chris has already said, it always helps to expand.

Honestly I've seen the vids from inside parts of the attraction (excluding the Black River Boat Ride) and honestly, it might look like a fort/Saxon gateway at the facade, but inside there's so much great stuff to see!

I agree that the facade looks slightly disappointing, but inside I'm so excited cause I think they'll pull it off. Especially the Black River Boat Ride section! I'm very excited to get down there before the summer holidays kick in (probs a weekday in June).

That's school trip season so don't expect it to be empty
I'm currently torn between looking at the videos and staying spoiler free on the off chance I actually do it. It certainly isn't something I'm desperate to do.
Does anyone know if they've managed to fully cover up the Charlie stuff yet?