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The game will be up when they sell Legoland California. That and the London eye are the bread winners for Merlin. Could see them just wanting to run the London attractions and then franchise the other brands.

To translate, would appear Merlin are outsourcing some more parts of the park operations, such as cleaning. Given how crap Aramark are (Towers specific in my recent visits) this could be a concern of a continuing downward trend.

no clues to hide in the mazes this year, for nothing, is happening :(

something serious is going on, ding dong, ding dong soon, the sauce will be put out, and there will be no more scapes of land or cleanings in the park, sauce will one day be sold, the signs are for all to see, but in the meanwhile, the sauce is out with gravy gravels parp parp parp parp, parp parp parp parp ppaarrpp ppaarrpp

Think longest I saw on the app for a maze was 15 minutes. The time slots aren't as strict this year (1-5 or 5-9 being the options), but I wonder if the cost is an issue. Especially when you only get 3 mazes for it. Park is still struggling on other fronts (lack of support rides, some diabolical food options and weird ops) looks like Scarefest could be a success.

Reviews I've heard from this weekend suggested that - outside of the first hour or two - mazes have been very quiet / practically walk on, despite the park itself being lively. I certainly don't expect that to be the norm - the last weekend of September was inevitably going to be quiet for scare attractions - but it's also possible that the high price point of the mazes in the first place will reduce queue times. Ultimately even paid-mazes will have queues. I don't think Towers (nor Thorpe) is a shining example of how paid-for mazes should operate in terms of queue times, etc. I'm not necessarily against Fastrack being an option for paid-for mazes (after all, I've paid for Fastrack for mazes for my visit to Walibi Holland this year). But having to choose a time slot for your maze and the corresponding Fastrack slot doesn't quite sit right with me either.

Scarefest does look pretty solid this year. Lots of new theming around the park, a new maze and an additional free scare zone. I've decided to give it a miss again this year, as I can't go on any of the quieter days, but will 100% on my to do list next year. Compound looks solid so need to give that a go, and hopefully mine tours will get replaced new year. ____ One thing to note though, Towers are now selling one shot Fasttracks for £5 on the mobile app for mazes, which is something they haven't done before. Disappointing to see them do that, in my opinion time slots should mean you should get straight on (or at least very quickly)

Nemesis at night is still the best reason to do Scarefest.

I thought I’d share some thoughts on Fright Nights and the new scare zone. Firstly, I think the new scare zone is a good addition, and the location works well since it’s in a main part of the park—unlike Swarm Invasion. That said, the theme feels a bit strange. I read an excerpt that linked it to Lucifer, but I don’t really see the need for two similar zones. On top of that, the area itself has a Mardi Gras theme, so why not go with a creepy New Orleans–inspired zone instead? I’m also not a fan of conversation-based zones. As someone who’s more introverted, I find it hard to play along and create stories with the actors, so I usually avoid them. Amity High was a good example of this—it was only fun if you already knew the performers. That being said, the more scare zones the better in my opinion. Especially now with paid mazes, since I can’t afford to do them every visit, the scare zones give a free alternative for a spooky experience. Since 2020, the number of scare zones has decreased in favor of paid mazes. For example, Amity High used to be staffed all evening before the shows, but now they only appear during show times. I’m not entirely sure what scare zone style would work best at Thorpe Park, since The Crows feels more like an outdoor maze than a true zone. But I do know that conversation-based zones just aren’t for me. The mazes themselves have become pretty consistent, which is great if you’re paying for them. Deadbeat and Stitches are especially reliable, maybe because they’re well-themed walkthroughs—although Deadbeat does lack actor-driven scares. I think less-themed outdoor mazes could actually work really well as free alternatives to the current scare zones. One of my favorites in recent years was Lucifer’s Lair. A couple of years ago, the insults Lucifer hurled around made it hilarious and memorable, though last year it felt much more toned down. Hopefully, now that it’s become a bigger part of the event, the zone will keep improving year after year.

There's been no confirmation either way really. Obviously the plan was for it to be this year, but planning delays stopped that. They pushed through and it was approved in Spring. That at least signals intent for them to do it. But whether the plan has changed since then is up in the air. They technically have 3 years from the approval of the application to start the work, so if it doesn't happen for next year it could still happen later. This is a very long-winded way of saying "we don't know". At the same time, I still think the default for now should be to expect it to happen.

Back in 2019 it was common place for Thorpe to close midweek and advertise it on twitter (X). It’s going to be like that again and it shouldn’t be a totally bad thing. Yes, inconvenient and annoying but it’s not sustainable and the money they can save will be able to go towards future projects. On another note, is the beach going to be finally redesigned this closed season or has it been canned?

To be fair, most of their Halloween days sell out, so it's much the norm. The operations are pretty slick. It was 6 years ago so I can't remember exact timings, but they were very tight with maze slots: if you arrived before your slot, you were turned away. If you arrived after, they would put you in a standby queue and only let you in when everyone from the current time slot was cleared. That meant that realistically you never waited more than 15 / 30mins. But their mazes are HHN/ continuous conga line esque

I know it's not an exact science with those crowd calendars, but that's big difference - and as I said, there are filler rides down this year where as last year there weren't. I can't see them opening for as much of September 2026 as they did this year to be honest, or if they do, they need to be far more aggressive with marketing to get people in and offer an off peak deal. As I said, the Shark Hotel deal is insane value - any "non enthusiasts" I've told have been shocked by how cheap it is. I think you can get even cheaper than £139 too dependant on availability, I've definitely seen £129 for 2 people. Maybe go even harder and do a £99 deal for two people and get those crowds in? They need to do something....!

@JoshC. another couple questions comes to mind... Looks like the days I'm going are likely to be very busy/sellout days. From your experience, how long have you queued for mazes and the experiences on average? Also, do you happen to know how the fast track is operated at the park on different days. Do they give you pretty much instant access or still likely to be waiting a while?

Yeah I was thinking the same, I know we have this off peak period every year but it does seem particularly deserted this year. And thats not just Thorpe either, seen videos from the other parks just as deserted. For comparison, here is the queue time calendar from last year in the same 3 week period. And then this years... Obviously not sure gate figure wise, but queue time wise they've definitely been shorter this year on average. Towers is already on 4pm closes, Legos been cut to 4:30 this year, Chessingtons cut hours to 4pm this year, wouldn't surprise me if we see more closed days or some dreaded 4pm closes next year. Especially in the state Merlin seem to be in at the moment. Even this summer the park was really filtering out way before closing at 7pm, wouldn't surprise me if we see cuts across summer too.

So it'll be opening at 12pm every day up until the start of the school holidays. I would hope that these Thursday closures and 12pm openings aren't cost cutting on one of their major coasters? Would be interested to know if any work is actually taking place on it tomorrow and next Thursday.

Ah fair enough. I assume you went when Ferrari Land was open during the day, before they changed the hours? Yeah I agree, unless you’re in the front row it’s really juddery, and that definitely took away from the experience for me. I do find it bizarre that Ferrari land has been open since 2017 and they haven't bothered to add another headline attraction? I agree its just Red Force, and that really doesn't have the capacity to be a main draw. Thoroughly enjoyed it there, PA really exceeded my expectations. Nice all round park. El Paso was very good for the price. Gold River does look like quite an upgrade though and obviously has the perk of being right next to Uncharted so definitely one to consider for next time.

I would say just as forceful if not more than Stealth. Obviously red force does have more speed, and that is noticeable. But I would say Stealth takes the crown for me. I prefer the initial launch, being hydraulic the launch is more forceful. The top hat on Stealth I prefer, Red force was too slow on the top hat but obviously did have much better views up there. And just general comfort. Unless you're front row on red force (assigned seating and no front row queue so its rare) its very rough. Even with just lap bars, the vibrations/shaking isn't pleasant.

Something funky is definitely going on with Stealth. It was on one train on 23rd and 24th September, plus the closures above, and now the below also: Cost cutting? Not running it too much to make sure it survives all of Fright Nights? I don't like it - don't hurt her! 🙃

No visible work on Samurai over the last 2 days, and it all appears in one piece, so who knows what's going on...

We visited yesterday (Wednesday) and Tuesday, staying at the Shark Hole.., I mean, Shark Hotel... absolute bargain at £139 for 2 people all in (Shout out to the Vibes breakfast, it's decent!). As reported by the Youtubers etc. - incredibly quiet yesterday and the day previously, with 5 minute queues for Hyperia often (think the most I ever saw was 20 minutes). Stealth peaked at 30 minutes but only because it was on reduced capacity both days. Even with Stealth on 1 train, no Zodiac, no Rapids, no Samurai, no Ghost Train (and on Wednesday - no 4D Cinema too) - for most of the afternoon, all rides were on 5 minutes. The place was absolutely dead, I've never seen anything like it. As much as 5 minute queues are great for re-rides (finally got a Row 1 on Hyperia - Row 2, 1, 2, 10, 2 and 3 if you're asking) and also not having the pressure of trying to fit everything in - is it not a touch concerning JUST how dead it is considering Hyperia is still "new". I went this time last year too mid-week, and it was definitely considerably busier - there was Oktoberfest last year but I don't think that was a particular draw for people....! We don't want a repeat of Swarm-gate with it being deemed a failure and then not getting a new coaster for 12 years...

I'm not sure I'd prefer working in a HHN maze to a Thorpe maze. The whole acting like an animatronic sequencing of the acting style looks incredibly boring compared to the improvisation you get at typical Thorpe and other events but yes first year certainly. That said out in the scare zones at HHN or working shows would be far better!

Plopsaland de Panne recently rebranded themselves to Plopsaland Belgium. This follows suit of the company rebranding other parks, including Holiday Park to Plopsaland Germany. More interestingly, it has been revealed that in 2027, Plopsaland Belgium is getting a Flying Theatre attraction from Mack, called Airific. It will be located near the entrance plaza of the park: https://www.instagram.com/p/DO8LbZ_jH27/?igsh=YWgwcmR4Nndjdmdn

I only got one ride on Red Farce due to the terrible operations and wanting to get back into the park. Was near the back and it's notably juddery, and the brakes at the end I found very harsh. I find that Ferrari Land is a singular ride (Red Farce), which they stretched out into an area, which they stretched out into a "park". It's nonsense really. Seems like you had a decent trip to PA though. I think everyone I know who's done Hotel Roulette has ended up in Hotel El Paso too, but it's a decent little place

Jack Silkstone has posted his Behind the Scenes documentary for FN 2024... It's much the same as his previous BTS, looking at the creation of the marketing video for Fright Nights 2024. One thing I found interested is how - almost in a throwaway comment - Jack mentions how he had been documenting the build for DeadBeat. I've said this a couple of years now, but it would be neat to see a BTS focusing on the coming together of a new attraction. It's probably not as exciting as people expect, but even a timelapse just showing the interior come together is pretty neat (I think the creators of Big Top did one in 2016/17). Aside from that, this video simply shows the labour of love that KA Creative have for creating the videos. I'd argue the after some point, the amount of effort they put in becomes unnecessary / misplaced energy, but there we go.