Vengeance is the third ride to be installed at the dungeons, and falls in between the two current rides, Traitor: Boat Ride to Hell and Extremis: Drop Ride to Doom in terms of intensity. It lies between the scenes of Sweeney Todd and Jack The Ripper, replacing some of the previous Jack the Ripper scenes, which have now been condensed and modernised.
Guests enter a corridor, which resembles the hallway of 50 Berkeley Square, the location in which the ride takes place. The Hallway is lined with paintings of what we can assume are the house's residents, former and present, as well as their family. Little details really make the hallway more convincing, such as a coat stand, which cleverly hides a height stick, and fake cobwebs lining the walls and paintings. Here, you meet a ghastly looking Butler who talks guests through what is about to happen, and asks those riding to don the protective eye wear located on a corner table – otherwise known a 3D glasses!
After a short wait, guests are then called into the ride area. After stepping through the doorway, guests enter a room with bright green lighting, and a large, circular seating platform. Riders are seated in Gothic styled armchairs, each equipped with a Revolver laser gun. Seats are arranged in rows of 6 and 7, providing a total capacity of 25 people per ride and up to 300 players per hour.
As the ride begins, the lights are dimmed, and a screen is revealed from behind a curtain. This is where the fun really begins. You are transported to a computer-generated Victorian room, in which Florence Cook is seated with two other unknown characters, just as they are about to conduct a seance. All seems well, until things take a turn for the worse, and Florence Cook becomes possessed, resulting in the two other characters to die. From there, Florence begins to throw an array of objects towards riders, all whilst riders attempt to shoot at any objects flying towards them. The 3D aspect really lends itself to this attraction, and does not feel gimmicky as with many other applications of 3D, boosting the chaos and ongoing mayhem due to the constant stream of objects seemingly coming ‘out of the screen'.
Whilst riders attempt to fight off the onslaught of objects and ghostly enemies, numerous effects built into the seat and around the room further enhance the realism of the situation. These include wind, water, leg and neck ‘ticklers' as well as what is described as a ‘buttkicker'. Unbeknown to riders, there is a second screen located behind the seating arrangement, which is viewable due to the whole seating platform being capable of spinning throughout 360°, and at some speed aswell! As the seating platform differentiates between the two screens, there are also random moments where it'll whip riders around and around numerous times, providing for one of the most fun and disorientating parts of the ride.
The shooting aspect of the ride, at this current time, doesn't seem to add an awful lot to the ride experience. Unlike many other laser ‘shoot-out' rides, Vengeance's laser system doesn't seem to have an impact on the storyline or on-screen events/actions. Riders aren't too aware of where and what they are supposed to be shooting, and from what we could tell, are not given any confirmation/recognition that they have shot a target. There are many shooting marks that pop up on screen, however, they don't seem to represent where the rider is actually targeting, and seem to be randomly placed, however, we were told that the ride can be remotely programmed by Alterface, and that tweaks and improvements will be made to the ride over the coming week/s to ensure the best possible ride experience. We personally feel that if the shooting had a more visible impact on the on-screen events and story, there would be a greater incentive for riders to use the provided guns, and enhance the enjoyability of the ride.
Enter one of the most gruesome of scary London attractions set in the middle of historic Southwark. the London Dungeon, one of the best London experiences invites you to see the London Dungeon 5D ride
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