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I hate this guy

I think it should be called Prime.

https://www.container-xchange.com/blog/shipping-container-investment/ - Invest in your shipping containers now, Thorpe may have a large order coming soon. *Not financial advice*

Some YouTuber mentioned it and as such it's gone overboard as people jump over themselves to present opinions as facts as to why its a FAILURE OF AN ATTRACTION rather than a simple solid addition to the park.

Very true - by contrast, Tulleys VIP is now £102 each including fees, if you order on Black Friday. Last year we managed 26 run throughs in total using that - when you factor in the fact we got a £10 food voucher, £5 drinks voucher and £15 merch voucher - even discounting the merch, you would almost certainly eat and drink on a visit, so £82 for the ticket, £3.15 a maze represents good value to me.

Is SAW the best IP Merlin have got? Who would have thought we'd still be here releasing Saw Movies..... Whoever decided to pick this IP should be held at the same level of respect as John Wardley.

I'm pretty sure I read on the passholder Facebook group a while back that they were toying with the idea of an unlimited scare maze pass - someone threw a ballpark figure out there of £100 I'm pretty sure and the park came back and said it'd likely exceed that amount if they did decide to implement it. (Don't quote me on the figure - I definitely remember the conversation taking place, but don't quite remember the ballpark figure thrown out there by a member of the group) I get that it has to be expensive to avoid everyone buying it and therefore solving nothing, but surely they can get away with charging less than that. Even at £100 a pop, for that to be worth the money you'd need to do the mazes 20 times (and that's just to break even, you'd have to do it more than that to really get your money's worth!) - which would be a stretch considering just how busy peak Fright Nights can be.

All I know is, doing the Blue Light day last year as well as standard FNs made me really miss the multiple-run through days. I'd be more keen if Thorpe offered an unlimited maze ticket to be honest. I very much begrudge the "one and done" ticketing system, especially on quieter days where they could easily have more run throughs. (That said, last year the ticket scanning was sporadic at best, meaning a couple of extra run throughs may well have occurred 👀 )

Survival games was a weird one last year, a lot of the hype from the maze was from two/three things. 1) Thorpe stating it was the largest investment, now we know largest isn’t always best (creak freak wins) 2) The fact it was hands on and portrayed to be more aggressive. (Being 6ft 3 meant that it was more of a tug and me walking myself backwards) it also was not hands on at all other than the first part 3) Multi Route, you could kinda tell where you were by looking at the ceiling. But most rooms were dark and empty and lacking actors. So it didn’t match the hype of a multi route maze. Thorpe have a very difficult situation now, four returning attractions at least. Crows, Deaths doors, Trailers and Survival games. I’d say 2/3 of them need work or changing completely and working with a new theme and concept. They also would be good as tamer additions, if they had bigger, intense mazes. These attractions would be good with another 3 scare mazes to do as would provide variety. Which we aren’t getting, Fright Nights used to be maze after maze as there was alot of choice especially as far back as 2019.

It must be an absolutely fantastic ride if it's already being overhauled.

Not quick enough to close it now and put a new maze in there for October, would be the blunt answer. I certainly expect another indoor maze, but as you say, there's no way they'd create a new building, and there's no pre-existing building which can house a maze. My best bet would be shipping containers. You can see the appeal: everything can be done off site, and then you simply drop them into place and connect up the electrics. After all, that's what Experiment 10 / My Bloody Valentine was. And that could certainly fit in either the Saw pathway, the Lost City area or the Beach. The second option would be a teng. But I can't imagine Thorpe wanting to build, dismantle and rebuild a tent maze each year again. At the same time, it could happen, and that could be why they've started Death's Doors so early. I'd like to see (in the future) the park revisit outdoor mazes again. Possibly just the one, as a free experience. I guess a sorta evolution of what the Crows experience has been - a walk through which gives you a taste of what the mazes are like, whilst not being at the same level. Whets the whistles for some, helps introduce people to the concept if they're unsure too.

[Citation Needed]

I would imagine shipping containers on the picnic area plaza where Saw Alive queueline used to be.

There's a lot of "make it like the original version" in there again. Think most people could've figured out Sub Terra was going to reopen given all the work happening around it. Plus it was a rumour every year since it shut in the first place. Do think that people place way too much value on the words of specific coaster influencers these days. Almost to the detriment of forming their own opinions. Sure they've got a list of improvements to make, given John Burton had been spotted around the ride and all the various surveys again not a difficult assumption to make. Depends what budget and plans are available if it makes much difference.

Well Death's Doors is back up... it's a interesting scenario, building a scare zone so soon. Especially one which can be built so quickly. I guess, in part, it helps advertise the event. I'd also hazard a guess that they don't have the manpower to build multiple attractions in September, plus doing whatever they need to on existing attractions and running the other events. Thus creating a need for building stuff now. We'll be getting a new maze (presumably just the one). It was strongly suggested that it was the last year of Amity vs LycanThorpe. The space the Crows took up is a lot more open so needs more work too. Plus if they choose to bring back Terminal, that needs improvements. So there's a lot to do. I've also heard that the park now has an Events/Entertainments Project Manager, as well as more staff focused primarily on the operational and design features of Events, particularly Fright Nights. Hopefully this will allow a much more streamlined process all round.

Wonder if the 7-9 age range also found the original Haunted House scary. I certainly wasn't a fan of those attractions at that age (still not big on scare attractions either). However times have changed. Cheesey lite dark rides aren't the in thing, and the rise of mascot horror and modern tastes require different approaches. I do wonder how much of many opinions is down to nostalgia almost, and perhaps giving the original Haunted House far more of a aur around it given a lot of younger enthusiasts didn't ride it. And due to those old enough to have ridden it in its hey-day of the 90s saying it was great has pretty much led to a very skewed view on things. See also those who wanted the original Bubbleworks back, it was never going to happen, and nor should it have given how times have moved on and it would've been a poor imitation anyway. This isn't helped by the way in which John Wardley is seemingly viewed these days as almost messiah-esque. He's literally a PR mouth for the parks now, nothing more. Given his comments on how they've done something great to the capacity of Mandrill Mayhem it's clear you cannot believe things that come out from him in such events or press bits. Which is a shame given that he's inspired many enthusiasts to follow such a career but I guess it's heavily managed by Merlin as to what he can and can't say. Haven't done Curse yet, not going to Towers whilst Nemesis is shut. But it's clear that there'll always be some divide over the existence. Whether it be down to those who push the mystification of the original, or those who miss the brain dead version of Duel. As a filler ride to most peoples day it seems fine enough. Definitely seems some improvements need doing and we've yet to see what the newer version of Merlin's approach is to such things. Dark rides are often difficult to get right first time after all, even the original Haunted House had its issues, and Hex hasn't always been the atmospheric powerhouse it is today. Also can we ban the term "thoosies" on here. Honestly makes me want to vomit when I see it. Stupid Coaster Twitter.

Truly depressing seeing the state of the posters in the queue line on Ghost Train. Can't quite believe they'd make the same mistake again to be honest, could they not have some sort of plastic cover over the top? Appreciate someone might scratch it but the posters would still look good from a distance.