Closed in mysterious circumstances for 18 months, Hex left a pretty big hole in Alton Towers’ ride line-up.
In what was widely understood to be costly maintenance and replacement of parts, the park said that the ride was also going under renovation.
In reality, the reopened version of Hex – launched in October last year – is virtually identical to the previous version, albeit with a few niggles removed.
But annoyingly, some niggles of a different kind have been inadvertently added.
The Octagon scene, notable for its moments of pitch blackness, now features backlit screens which are incapable of appearing truly black.
Their dim glow is a little intrusive, and takes something away from this part of the experience, which still manages to remain great.
Earlier, the large pre-show screen and audio is the same as before, but the ride system has been fine tuned to near-perfect synchronisation.
An unusual light effect at the ride’s finale doesn’t really add much, as it isn’t clear what it is supposed to represent.
But overall, the atmosphere and theatre of this unique, world-class dark ride remains like nothing else.