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Oh WOW. Those tour prices are just crazy. Merlin’s scare events are getting ridiculous price wise. I’ve not been fussed enough to pay for them this year - Towers fireworks appealed to me more this year.

I think the sponge walls maybe are tighter because most of them are new. I know they used the same one for years, but last year they removed most of them because of covid, and now they are all being brought back (Island also has a horribly tight one alongside Electrick). I think with the theme of Electrick it is a little confusing- basically there is a bunch of clown costumes (the ones they wore in Twisted) scattered on the walls of the first section, which kind of sets the tone of the clowns being murdered. The mannequins also have the previous costumes on them as well. The electricians in this narrative are kind of posing as clowns, they took their paint, and some of what they wore. Most of them are in boiler suits though to reflect they are not clowns. The van at the end also has some text on it which lists an electrician company with the message "the electricians you can trust!". With the lighting and the costumes being above you, it is very easy to miss. Maybe next year they can highlight some of these details a little better and elaborate on the story a bit more. I do believe it is a little Survival Games esque though, scares first and theming generally comes second.

Track has now arrived, pictures thanks to Chessington Buzz. It's so refreshing to see a rollercoaster that isn't black, white or grey being added to a a UK theme park. The track looks GORGEOUS It's giving me Hulk/ Hydra the Revenge colour vibes. 😍

Sorry folks, the Blobby costume in the fake Noel Edmunds' House Party set has been decomissioned so they've replaced it with a bloke in a white tshirt instead. Good enough, right?

My review from last night: Summary Tulleys is a really strong Halloween event in my opinion and certainly has the best atmosphere of any I’ve been to, which is really what makes it strong. I think generally you can have a good or bad run through on any of the mazes (excl hellements which is awful every time). The live music, bars, roaming actors etc are great. The night we went (wed 19th) wasn’t overly busy, queues were for the most part fairly short and even in a couple of cases we went in on our own or in a 4 (and managing to loose the other 2) which was great, and I managed to be at the front for every maze. As always think the event is well run and the actors are great and I always appreciate the effort that’s gone into the event! Also- this is the first time an actor accidentally slapped me in the face when trying to do the classic stamp and hand in face thing, wasn’t painful but certainly contact there haha! So I’ll list these in the order we did them. The only one we did twice was Doom Town, wanted to do Coven again but it was a 35 min queue even at 10.30! Coven of 13 9/10 First maze of the night and it didn’t disappoint, there were a lot of actors and a lot of scares, we loved it! I think based on that run through it is my favourite maze. Creepy cottage 8/10 So this maze had no queue at all, so we went in as a 2 which I think really made a big difference. The actors spent lots of time with us- even stopping me from leaving for quite a while ha! Although of course it feels a bit pokey and old school in terms of the decoration, I still enjoyed it so id give it a solid 8, if we were in a big group I imagine more like a 7. Wastelands 7/10 Advertised as a 20 minute queue but actually was 5 minutes, again being up the front gave the best chance of a good run through, but I found this a bit light on actors overall or at least not overly scary. I also find the going in different rooms thing halfway through quite pointless and also the bunching up in the strobe bit is terrible. Electrick Circus 7/10 Again I enjoyed this, I think it is an improvement on the previous maze and a bit darker, the animatronics work well in some cases but in others it feels like they are just plonked there instead of having actors. I think the theming could be a bit more rich. We managed to lose the rest of our group which was good so plenty of jump scares. The sponge wall things feel firmer than normal for some reason?? I also don’t really get the theme, clowns are dead and scary electricians but the electricians in some cases are dressed as clowns…I don’t know how many years this will continue as it is but I do find something about it a bit jarring. Maybe a bit more variety in the maze might be good. Doom Town 8/10 for the set (6/10 otherwise) So I give this maze 8 for the theming really. I enjoyed it, I thought the detail is incredible especially the pub and a creative route around it, fun soundtrack too. It really does show up the other attractions in terms of the set, 10/10 for that! However- my issues with it are that the acting fell a bit flat for the most part, I didn’t get many scares both times, even at the front. The middle area where you keep coming back to I think although looks good, isn’t scary as you see other groups walking in and out of the places and bunching up, it kind of kills the immersion. I don’t know how that is fixed but perhaps breaking up the view a bit more. Also I felt like there were not enough actors, and no storyline at all not even in the pre recorded message like other mazes which is really bizarre. With a set this good, why would you skip the story? Maybe there needs to be some panicked people or something telling the story, then falling to the floor and getting eaten by zombies, that would be good. Just needs to be more terrifying rather than aimless groaning. The second run through unfortunately actually had fewer actors than the first so wasn’t any better. The cellar 7/10 Good run through, went in as a 4 and lost the other 2 quite quickly. Felt like a good amount of actors there, I think it is due a bit of an overhaul though as you know exactly whats coming. I still find the prison bit very random and jarring, I don’t think it fits with the rest of it. Some good scares. I think if we were in a bigger group, the rating would be lower. The Island 7/10 Again a very solid run through, the actors really got in your face and even sent us on different routes. Had some funny dialogue (who has my bananas) and things like that which was cool. I think there does need to be more scenery and maybe more indoor sections, it is a bit dull after you've done it before. The chop shop 3/10 Wow this is a fall from grace and very disappointing. It used to be my favourite maze, but in the first few rooms the actors were softly talking to us, no jumps, nothing scary at all, was just a slow walk through. Then the chainsaw bit- nowhere near enough actors, long periods of time not seeing any actors at all, really I think this maze needs a big overhaul or putting more actors in it. The weakest run through I’ve ever had. The hayride 9/10 This really is a tulleys signature attraction, and still delivers. I think its good because it is unique. I’d like to see more additions, perhaps changing some of the themes up, but overall really enjoyable. I do think sitting in the middle row is the worst and for some reason the actors ignore you when you’re there lol. Didn’t bother with hellements but I don’t like bag over head mazes. Also didn’t do the circus but in previous years its entertaining and if you’ve not seen them before then check them out.

Same with me, this is the first Fright Nights I've missed in a long time. As much as Survival games is tempting, I just simply don't think its worth it anymore for 1 run through

Due to todays political news, I’d expect the likeliness of the decision being delayed is much higher