Every Shocktoberfest Attraction ranked and reviewed.

Entry posted by JoshuaA March 25, 2020

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So due to the corona virus, I thought I would actually post on this blog (for my own amusement as well as others)

This blog today will rank every Tulleys Maze ever to exist (bar a few that I did not sadly get to experience)

Here is the few attractions excluded from this list:

Field Of Screams- this was a maze in the park's former cornfield (where The Wreckoning currently is)

I sadly didn't get to experience this or some of the future reincarnations

Dr Plagues Trail of Terror- This is the 2012 successor to Field Of Screams

Woodshock: Rottin since 69'- Another Field Of Screams incarnation I sadly did not get to experience

ItsCurtains- This is one I really regret not being to able to walk through. This was the original Clown Maze that debuted back in 2009. This maze apparently was incredibly confusing with the classic curtain maze being the staple of this attraction. This is now Twisted Clowns 3D.

Anyway, onto every haunt I have been through!

Ranked from worst to bet, this was hard list!

The Wreckoning: (present)

Tulleys have done quite high quality attractions throughout the years, this makes finding a 'worst' maze hard.

The Wreckoning sadly falls short compared to other Tulleys attractions. It just doesn't quite work.

It certainly brought some interesting ideas though, and I think with some extensive tweaks this could be a great maze. Coven wasn't my favourite in its opening year and look at that maze now. If they give this the coven treatment next year I could see this being a highlight attraction for the park, I think this year though it just got a bit upstaged by another new maze..

Pandemonium's 3D Carnival: (2016)

The clown maze at Tulleys has always been chopping and changing. Back in 2016 they debuted the 3D element, this element is incredibly cool though the maze only had its second half in 3D, which meant you had a awkward pause in the maze and the pacing kinda didn't work because of that.

Silver Scream Drive In Scare Zone: (2014)

I think this one gets forgotten about really easily. Silver Scream was located next to the entrance of Twisted (before Chop Shop and The Colony were there) and it was a lot of fun. This scare zone is where the 'popcorn girls' originated from, the girls who walk around with their disgusting flavoured popcorn.

It is not higher due to the fact it was pretty short and small, but it still has a left a mark on the park today with the popcorn girls still coming out every now and then.

The Tunnel (2014)

Before The Colony was the incredibly suspenseful and long, The Tunnel.

This maze's first half was just long dark tunnels with short spaces and extended pitch black darkness. The maze at points made you feel the walls to find the way which was unnerving for 10 minutes at a time! The second half was a long Wastelands style strobe maze, it was long and incredibly confusing to the eyes after the stupid amount of darkness. The maze was very fun though I have ranked it this low due to the first half having little to no actors. But when its so dark and claustrophobic, I'm kinda glad they didn't have actors in that first half.

The Volt (2015)

2015 was a huge year for Tulleys. With Nightshade, The Colony, Chop Shop, and this maze debuting, it was a big year for them.

Unlike the huge highly themed Colony or Chop Shop, The Volt was a very minimalist attraction in comparison, the theming was really not all that good.

The maze didn't really focus on theming though, it was a 5 minute pitch black maze meant to create anxiety with the electric shock gimmick.

The maze was all about the idea of the shocks with the actors being somewhat of a afterthought, overall The Volt was unique and certainly was a interesting concept.

I do think The Dark at The Howl (2015) did this concept better and I can see why the concept was not brought back after the initial year.

The reason it isn't lower as it actually was quite scary, like the shock element was very psychological and it meant actors had a very easy job of scaring.

Chop Shop (Present)

Chop Shop is such a hard maze to rank as on its opening year it was amongst my favourite mazes ever, but sadly over the years it has kinda ran out of steam.

I decided in the end to rank it by its current incarnation which isn't bad, it has such great theming in the first half and the maze certainly is enjoyable.

Creepy Cottage/Haunted House (present)

The Creepy Cottage was my first haunt at Tulleys and I always have had a soft spot for it.

Its tight corridors, amazing theming, and good use of a small cast really makes this maze for me.

Its not the scariest, its a bit cheesy, but its such a classic that makes me smile every year. It can also pack quite a punch depending on the cast!

The Cellar: (Present)

Arguably the signature maze from about 2009 to 2012, The Cellar has spanned a very long time at the event. The maze has seen an extension and a cage section since opening, but besides that it is completely the same as it was in 2009.

The Cellar remains a long jump scare focused assault, with some theming here and then to compliment the experience.

The reason it isn't higher is that I think the event has really grown a lot since 2009, and Cellar in a way has became a little dated. It still is a brilliant maze though that certainly is a classic.

VIXI (Present)

This is gonna piss some people off, but I like VIXI.

I think it was a trailblazer for the industry and its something completely different to any other maze at Tulleys.

When you have so many haunts like Tulleys it is so important to have a maze that is so different, Vixi really impressed me last year.

The experience seemed to have a good amount of actors and the maze actually made me want to go again!

I think Vixi gets a bit over-hated if I'm being honest.

Twisted Maze: (2012-2014)

Twisted Maze was honestly such a fun time back in 2014. It didn't focus on scares but it had a lot of funhouse elements including a section where you walk through a slanted corridor, a huge check room with actors in matching costumes (this room was a lot bigger than the current check room), many elevation changes, darkness, and a bunch of curtains. This maze was not very scary but it was buckets of fun and honestly it was my fav maze when I visited in 2014 (that is very nostalgia flavoured though..)

Though I do admit its future incarnations are superior (barring Pandemonium)

Nightshade Circus (2015)

This maze was really a push up from Twisted. The maze had severe layout changes along with a new entrance with a themed facade (it is Tulleys after all!)

The Nightshade Circus introduced a lot of UV lights into the clown maze as well as refining the classic Tulleys Clown Maze formula with a brilliant layout and a curtain maze or two!

The Nightshade Circus also had some new music as well as a really fun finale which is now sadly absent.

Twisted Clowns 3D (Present)

Very close with Nightshade but ultimately Clowns 3D is probably the best edition of the park's clown maze.

The Bungee scare really lights up the first half of the maze and the 3D element being consistent throughout most of the maze makes it very trippy and fun.

This is very biased though considering I've worked in here for the past two years 😉

The Colony (2015-2018)

The Colony was utterly epic compared to The Tunnel.

The maze has so much theming and it never seemed to end. It was easily the most impressive maze back in 2015.

I think this maze certainly is missed, it was a absolute monster of a attraction.

Coven Of 13 (present)

I was incredibly harsh on Coven upon its debut back in 2016. Let me just pull up that review to show just how harsh I was..

Quote

'The scares were piss-poor, and the maze lacked actors in places'

Every year since the maze has got progressively stronger for me. In 2017 I lukewarmly liked it, and my run through in 2019 with the new finale honestly blew me away.

The maze really feels complete now. It is long, has a great finale, great scares, and a nice variety of inside and outdoor sets.

This now makes Coven a maze that I think will be a staple in the lineup for many years, it also is quite unique with its all female cast.

Haunted Hayride (present)

The heart, the soul, and the lungs of Shocktoberfest.

The hayride never seems to get old, even with some of the scenes like the billboard being the same since its debut..

It is just such a brilliant attraction that sums up everything that Tulleys is about. The Hayride is here to stay and easily the most iconic attraction at Shocktoberfest.

Wastelands (present)

Probably one of my favourite mazes to ever grace the earth, I adore Wastelands.

Its not even the maze, its the area around it, the queue, and the show. Its more than a new maze, its a immersive scare zone, show, and a brilliant maze.

Wastelands to this date is probably the most epic, the most immersive, and the best attraction to grace Shocktoberfest.

Anyway hope you enjoyed this list. Make sure to stay safe everyone!