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Just to go back to the topic of attendance, it is really worth stressing that the TEA Attendance Report is not accurate for Thorpe / Merlin. This graph is from the Hyperia consultation, including numbers up to 2020: The Queue Times website also has these numbers listed, as well as numbers from the TEA Report: https://queue-times.com/parks/2/attendances#reference4 Just for some reference: 2019: Thorpe say 1.49m, TEA say 1.9m 2018: Thorpe say 1.59m, TEA say 1.88m 2017: Thorpe say 1.54m, TEA say 1.8m 2016: Thorpe say 1.62m, TEA say 1.8m 2015: Thorpe say 1.51m, TEA say 1.85m 2014: Thorpe say 1.83m, TEA say 2.1m etc, etc. As you can see, there's years when the actual attendance has gone down, but TEA say it's gone up, and vice versa. But there is no rhyme or reason. So it is certainly possible that 2024 saw an increase in attendance compared to 2023 at Thorpe. As Benin says, the late opening of Hyperia followed by its extended downtime will have hurt attendance. But once it did get running, it ran well and was a draw. Was that enough to outweigh and then eventually beat what was a quiet, but consistent, 2023? It felt like it, but we'll never truly know.

Recently on the website, it has been suggested that people could arrive earlier and "take advantage of the facilities available in the dome" though I think for most, that would only be a visit to the loo. A while back, when the rides opened at 10a.m., my joy would be to be the first to my favourite ride, as the teams would put you on for an unaccompanied ride; just a distant memory now, affected by the hotel guests and several staggered entry times. I am lucky to live fairly local so don't take my car. A lot of congestion around the public road junction is caused by pick ups, massive congestion.times in my past employment experience, discretionary baggage searches work better than 100% searches. It would reduce the queues and requires less staff.

A few things to throw out into the realm of conversation... Fright Nights Music I noticed during the last week of Fright Nights that many rides did have Fright Nights themed announcements, from Lucifer. Rush, Detonator and Nemesis Inferno spring to mind. It's weird that it happened late into the event, but good to see. I do think it's something that really does add to the atmosphere, and something the park should continue to focus on and improve. Fright Nights specific audio was one of the biggest successes from early Fright Nights - even if it was just Midnight Syndicate - and something that the park should continue to replicate. Even using free, spooky audio would add an extra layer. The park have shown this year they have the ability to programme park-wide changes to lighting and audio, so the next step is to really focus onto ride-specifics. I've also been on park for the pop music change at the end of the day. And...I still don't get it. I've seen a couple of videos of large groups of people really getting into it. My experience was a couple of people scattered around getting into it, but most people not being bothered by it. When I say I don't get it, I do understand the logic behind it. But I just don't see how it links to Fright Nights, how it adds to the overall experience or anything. In the BTS interview, it was mentioned they wanted to replicate the vibe that occurred in 2013 when they used Perfect Day (which was used in the You're Next film, which was part of that year's Fright Nights), and they wanted Bittersweet Symphony in particular to be another "iconic" Fright Nights song. I certainly don't view Perfect Day as an iconic Fright Nights song, or even associate it with Fright Nights all that much. That whole viewpoint comes from a very skewed perspective in my opinion. Mazes Thorpe have a...problem with the mazes. I will maintain what I've always said in that the quality of the mazes, on the whole, is pretty good. Yes, there's issues, batch sizes majorly affect the experiences, costs are high, etc, but on the whole, they're pretty good. You chuck any one of their mazes into any previous Fright Nights event, or into most scare events across the country, and they'll be well received. But the problem is that they're all so samey. You have 4 mazes where you get batched in as a group. You then watch a pre-show (3 of which on shown on a screen). You then walk round well themed sets as a group whilst actors jump out, invade your personal space and then you move on. The mazes feature quite passive scenes, where you see actors do things to others, but you experience no real scare. Examples.. Trailers in the dentist scene, when the dentist 'beats up' the patient. Deadbeat, just before the sewer, when a Visceral sucks out the soul of a raver. Stitches, when a worker is sewing up a mannequin. As I say, each maze in its own right is good. And the variety in themes of the 4 mazes is perfect. The issue simply is is you have 4 mazes which are basically carbon copies of each other, just dressed differently. I think that, in part, comes down to have a consistent creative team for many years, using UVE for many years - there's a level of comfort and knowing what works. I think this is highlighted again in the BTS video. One notable reason for Survival Games (which, prior to this year, stood out as being completely different) being changed is because it was seen in guest feedback that people were getting an inconsistent number of scares, which was impacting experience and the perception of value for money. And their solution to that problem is to make Survival Games like every other maze they have - single route, actors jumping out, you continually moving. Thorpe know how to make that work, so they went with that. I'm not saying that was necessarily a right or a wrong move. Nor am I saying it's easy to create a multi-route experience which is consistent. But they went with the easiest option available to their team. The last time that Thorpe had no variety in their mazes, in terms of style of scares, was 2010. They had 4 mazes (Asylum, Hellgate, Se7en, Curse). They were all "get batched in a conga line, go straight in the maze with no pre show, and actors will jump out and touch you" in style. In 2011, they changed things (not just for them, but for the wider UK scare industry as a whole). They introduced Experiment 10, which had a pre-show, split you up, etc. And even 14 years later, is spoken about extremely fondly. And that kick-started a wave of creativity for them. Each year after, you had at least one maze which was completely different. The Passing, Cabin in the Woods, Blair Witch, Big Top, Do or Die...heck, even Vulcan Peak. The quality of those vary, but there is no denying that all those mazes felt different, and all for varying reasons (split up, multi-route, outdoors, hoods, etc). There's certainly an argument that in playing it 'safe', creating the same style of maze, has allowed the maze quality to increase. But there's a parallel argument that that 'safety' is stifling creativity and progress. I'm not saying the park should change their creative team. Far from it, as they've really pushed Fright Nights forwards. But they need to take a risk, try something different, and not be afraid to put the work in to tweak and change it to make it work.

One thing I've noticed with Thorpe is that such a large number of people arrive for 10am. As in, they see the park opens at 10, so they think 'Well let's aim to arrive at 10ish'. Whether that's something embedded deep in UK culture or something the park can get better at communicating, I don't know. With multiple thousands of people all doing the same, it will inevitably cause issues. That issue was particularly compounded during Fright Nights, when even more people attend. The simple answer is security is slow. What they choose to do takes a while. Simply put, if they want to continue with the level of security they are doing, they should look to invest in better scanners which means they can get through people quicker. The alternative is to reduce the level of security check (which they could do, as it is a very thorough process; significantly more thorough than most parks who do manual bag searches). Hiring more security is impractical, as has been discussed. This Fright Nights I've been impressed with all of my exits from the car park. Yes, it's busy and again many thousands of people are leaving at once. But it does feel smoother compared to previous years. The biggest issues I've found is the quality of parking (when people arrive later in the day and just park wherever and however they please) and the red and white dividers getting blown around. It would be nice if the park could manage what many other parks do with paying for the car park before entry, but realistically, I don't think the park have the space, design or capacity for that to be feasible.

I complained about this before and got shouted down on socialz saying I should have planned my time better and stopped for 10 minutes to get something to eat 🙃 ...I haven't been to a Fright Nights since, as the idea of paying for mazes and not getting them all done - potentially - I found insane.

the noise returns. 2026.

it's been 4 months aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnd we're likely never getting that soundtrack...😔

Towers is the same. The state of the entrance plaza at around 10am isn't the best first impression. Especially when most guests have either queued 30 mins for Monorail or walked.

The security queue is an interesting one. I've had some thoughts on it - I always wondered how other parks, DLP for example, can handle vastly larger crowds everyday with minimal queues of just a few minutes. Yes I know they have a far larger budget, but the point still stands. I think it's got to be because parks like Thorpe only actually need the security point staffed for a couple of hours each morning. After 11am the workload drops off almost entirely. It's not feasible to employ a large team of security for 2-3hrs every morning. Other parks have a steady flow of people throughout the day outside of the 9-10 peak, so a large team is justified and can be working throughout the day. I think Thorpe are limited in that they only actually need staff there for a couple of hours, which realistically isn't something they can recruit for, so they're settling for a small team. I preferred the old system of spot checks, but I suppose after the spate of violence and the stabbing that happened a few years ago it has become more needed. To be fair, even DLP's security is purely theatre. The bags go through scanners and you walk through the detector, but realistically it is very much a quick in-and-out. Perhaps they can gear it up if required, but keep it relaxed most days? (could be an option for TP going forward).

I can't believe we're nearly at four years of this twaddle.

I thuppit! a ride in times gone by When hope was high and plans worth making I thuppit! the crowds would come and cry When track and thrills were there for taking Then budgets cut, they came at night With voices soft as paper shredding As they tore the blueprints from my sight And left my coaster dream unthreading They killed the plans, they cut the funds They turned the launch to magnet spaces They stole the loop, the airtime runs And left us with… more burger places Still I thuppit! the ride would rise again That steel and speed would soon deliver But there are storms we can’t contain Thorpe’s lost its dream forever I thuppit! a ride that now is gone A phantom coaster in the distance So here I stand, still holding on To scraps of hope and sheer persistence

everybody raise a glass, HEY! raise it up the constraints pass, HEY! everybody raise a glass, to the master of the park!

I know some people have a nervous disposition of roller coasters. you could say they have a arachno? claustro? it's funny, how the word 'photo' sounds like 'foto' when you say it

When it comes to security checks they examine everybody with the same level of scrutiny, whereas in some organizations, it's more professional, as those conducting the checks are allowed to use their discretion. Many of the "guests" can be seen to be no threat. However, if those with a particular bent see that, then they become a problem if they don't agree with that action. Under the present regime, the speed of the queue is dependent on the speed of each individual examination. ironically one even encounters queue jumpers in the security queue and it is not "policed".

The security queue is still a mess, and not sure how it only seems to be an issue here, but always has been since it was introduced. That said I have no issue with the operations inside the park on the whole. Thorpe Park have been leagues above all other UK parks in my opinion the last couple of seasons.

Couple of things to consider: -Merlin recently made Halloween an included day for most passes. -The excluded days, somewhat ironically, tend to be a bit quieter because: There's less passholders People expect those days to be busy so avoid them -The weather was forecast to be a bit rubbish, which can put passholders off -There were 2 severe cases of bad weather, including electrical storms in the nearby area, shutting down most rides. That, along with the rubbish weather, meant people left earlier. The park today didn't feel as busy as it was yesterday. Nor did it feel as busy as it was last Halloween. However, the park was still extremely busy and lively.

One of the few exclusion dates for annual pass is tonight, yet the app shows the park isn't that busy?

What is everyones thoughts on the capacity at the moment for Fright Nights? I know its been the same for a long time and it isn't likely to change, but I can't help but feel they are overselling tickets at the moment resulting in a really poor customer experience. - Security queue taking well over an hour to get into the park (I've seen many reports of over 90 minutes) - Multiple coasters over 2 hours queue - All mazes over an hour queue for a paid time slot - Car park nightmare getting out (again not a new issue) For comparison, I went to Walibi Holland on 2 sold out days this year. I waited 15 mins to get in one day and 5 mins the other. Getting out, about half hour one day due to a car accident and about 15 mins the other day. You also don't have to pay for car parking during for Fright Nights there. I don't know another theme park where you get greeted with huge cattlepen queues to get in. Realistically, how many people who wait 90 minutes to get in, stuck in queues all day and then another queue to get out are going to enjoy there day and return? I don't think it helps matters having the rapids closed and ghost train opening at 3pm on the busiest days of the year. The park really does need all the capacity they can get. I do think theres more they can do with the mazes too. Towers opens theres at 1pm on peak days, so opening them earlier could definitely help with the queues. And of course 10pm closes. With Fright Nights as busy as it is (and generating nearly half the parks yearly income) it would be great to see the return of 10pm closes. I know this is quite a negative post, but just something I've thought about recently. For me, the security queue is the biggest issue that needs addressing and is a terrible first impression.

Happy Halloween!

Y'know, ParmPap has grown on me over the years, despite their crazed posts. For what it's worth, Se7en was a maze at Fright Nights which was based in The Arena from 2006-2010, and on the larger side of The Beach in 2011. Obviously The Arena was replaced by Derren Brown's Ghost Train. The larger side of The Beach is earmarked for the stage redevelopment. Whether that's still the plan is anyone's guess for now. So maybe Parmesan Papa is hinting at a DBGT replacement?

ding dong, ding dong, things at merlin are stag, nant, stag, nant, but, never fear, for there is life in the old dog yet something mega may be to come, if the wind blows in the right direction the old maze se7en, may need to be crossed for this ride to come here, ding dong, ding dong, just don't get too scared. I know some people have a nervous disposition of roller coasters. you could say they have a

For me, my TP season ended yesterday having jumped in for an extra day due to the changing weather forecast, a great day for me. It could not have happened without the Staff and it would, like life, be easy to thank those who helped me directly. There are many staff whose contributions to that, and all my TP days, are normally not acknowledged. I do thank everybody from the cleaning, washroom, maintenance, management, security, gardeners and ride team, a lot of people. Just like the bus on which I ride to the Park, so seldom do I hear a "thank you". We, as visitors, don't get the chance to wish those well in their futures who, within a few days, won't have a job. Just my thoughts.

Chesington's far worse as you can see the character the park used to have and when you compare to the modern day equivalent, it has lost so so much. The way IP has become an invasive species at Chessington, is far worse then so so so many parks.

Hopefully you will get to ride her before end of season .She's certainly a beauty 😍

Been looking at old videos of Chessington back in the 80's/90's as well. These parks had so much character and charm