JoshC.

I went to Tulleys for the first time in 5 years last weekend. I make it no secret I'm not a big fan of Tulleys, having done 3 visits in the past which never blew me away, but I thought I'd give it another go. In short, I'm still not huge on it. I like Purgatory, and the small groups and lanterns does really differentiate this. The effect of the lanterns is lost when the maze is designed so that you use the same space multiple times and can see other groups' lanterns. Doom Town is nice, but nothing special in my book. Looks nice, but very Tulleys. The Appleton stuff was meh. Wastelands felt nowhere near as good as when I first did it. The street performers remain a highlight, but with the place so busy, your interactions with them become limited. The highlight, but a country lightyear, was House of Hades, the new show this year. 20 minutes of pure spectacle, and enough to make the ticket price justifiable. My issues with Tulleys' mazes remain. Many are too long with not enough actors to justify the length. I know that's by design, but it doesn't work for me. With so many mazes, there's too many similarities between them. So many mazes feature actors yelling at you in made up languages, and have doors left open ajar for you to walk through. It's just tiresome. I went on the cheapest night I could book and it was still like £45. Other nights go up to like £70, which is extortionate. I don't see myself returning any time soon.

So I've taken some time to think before I do my write up. I usually do one the night of (or morning after) the Launch Event on Thursday. My schedule meant I didn't have the opportunity. I then did mazes again on Sunday. So I've got a good vibe for Fright Nights now. I think the headline is, unfortunately, simple. Fright Nights isn't as strong as it has been the last couple of years in particular. For those who maybe have only done Fright Nights, say, in the 2020s, I could understand if their view was it was their weakest Fright Nights yet. That wouldn't be something I'd necessarily agree with. But I could understand. I'll get into ins and outs of that later. For now, let's get into the attractions. Tenement I've done this a couple of times now. The maze is very consistent, in that it is very story-driven and has the same scares designed into it. Lots of show scares, and perhaps slightly HHN in style. There's a lot of tech inside too. There's a reversing wall, doors opening by themselves, lights, audio, etc, plus the torches of course. My runs during the Launch Event weren't as good. The maze was light, the torches added little. On Sunday, it was better: very dark, the torches added more, etc. There's a couple of good scare moments throughout, but it is a lot more atmospheric then jump scary. There's a few scenes which are passive in that you watch stuff happen to actors. It works for some, but not others. One thing I don't like is that actors lip sync to audio. It creates an awkward experience at times. It also means actors can't direct guests appropriately - I've yet to go through the crawl tunnel because everyone goes through the wheelchair route. So that could have been better designed. The best thing about Tenement is that it is very different to the other Thorpe mazes. That's what Thorpe needed, and something I was crying out for. It needs tweaks and fine tuning, but hopefully it will work out. I'm concerned by the amount of tech involved and if it'll last. I'm unsure if the style will hold up each time and if actor numbers will continue to hold up. On top of that, the story is a little lost and confused, and the Luxivora concept is missed a bit as a result. Some of the masks for them don't look great. DeadBeat A surprise favourite for me this year. There's no changes beyond the scrapping of the flying actor. I'm still not big on the pre-show, but the maze is 'fun scary'. It's got a decent cast. I think the fact that I've never rated this one but it is my favourite speaks a lot though. Trailers You know what, people moan about how long this has been around. But it still does the job. Over half the maze has, slightly, changed. It's a good starter maze and works. It's a shame they can't have chainsaws in the building anymore. The new scene is themed to MBV. It's a missed opportunity as it could be more claustrophobic and the miner could have more props to bang on. Survival Games No real changes, beyond new videos. This is a shell of its former self. The current set up is too long and repetitive, with not enough actors. It verges on boring. It's time for this to go. The space could be used much more effectively. In fact, I'd argue it could have been a great place for Tenement to go. Lucifer's Lair I've seen a lot of people talk about how this area has suffered from "cut backs". I think the actual fact is a lot more nuanced. What has effectively happened is Lucifer's Lair has been split into two, with the stage moving to the Launchpad for Rebel Ball. I'll get there later. But last year, if you removed the main stage from Lucifer's Lair, you'd have the small stage with cages, some flame poles and the actors. This year, the flame poles haven't returned. So in some sense, there is very minimal cut back (in theory). But the trouble is, the stage was the focal point of Lucifer's. Lots of shows, from Lilith, the stunt show, the live band and, of course, the mega fire and dance show. Even between all that, the speakers from the stage would play music. But now, there's nothing. It's just the actors roaming around with nothing to work with. The actors work their socks off and are brilliant, mind you. I feel for them so much when they have so little to work with. But yeah, Lucifer's has gone from the crown jewel of Fright Nights (for the past 3 years running), to a floppy pancake. Rebel Ball This is frustrating. The idea isn't bad, using the Launchpad as a central hub and having something a bit more friendly than Lucifer's for it (meaning that people who dislike scares can still use it as a relaxing spot). But it misses the mark a lot. No mega dance and fire show. Big fire shows have been a thing at FN since 2021, so they have lost that. Yes, they have dance shows with fire, but they're shorter and minimal. The opening ceremony largely being based are the promo video feels a bit lazy. The other small dance shows have AI videos in the background. There are other shows there - fire performers, dancers, etc. But there's no times listed, so complete potluck if you see it. Sometimes the Wolf DJ is out with dancers, other times, not at all. This could have been so much more. The Crows There's no getting round it, it's a lot shorter than before. And they could have made it more twisty and maze-like. Perhaps they wanted to keep it open to reduce the need for plain-clothed staff / security, which had been a bugbear for some from previous years? It's fine and does the job. It's nicely done and the Crows as characters are brilliant. But it simply doesn't hit the same highs as previous years. Creature Campus Another fun show. They dialled back the storytelling elements this year compared to the last two. To be honest, it's too dialled back as they basically completely ignore all the previous story (if all the other characters were defeated / killed, how have they come back for a 25 year reunion?). But heyho, it brings it all back I guess. It does very much feel like the end of road for this now. It's been at the park as a dance show since 2019, and I think they've milked the story enough. With Rebel Ball being more family friendly, I think that can replace that gap now. Purgatory Town Aside from the Tarot Desk (which was added later in the event), I think the amount of theming is the same here? It's as it was last year, so it does the job and will get some viral TikToks. Conjuring 4D Good to have a new film. Maybe not as good as the IT 4D highlight reel, but still the perfect add on to Fright Nights. The screening I watched on Sunday (6pm) was completely full with people turned away. As a side note, though, it is rated 15. WHY was there multiple children clearly under 15 in there? They'd get turned away at an actual cinema. Why were they not turned away there? At least two of them also left mid-way through the screening too... 25 Years of Fear Big issue number one. The park made a lot during marketing about it being 25 Years of Fear. There were lots of high expectations as a result. On park, you wouldn't know that the park were celebrating a self-proclaimed anniversary (is 25 really a big deal?). Does feel like they set themselves up for a fall. Buying Tickets If you're on park and want to buy a ticket for a maze, what do you think you should do? Scan a QR code? Go to the app? Nope, both of those options don't exist. You have to either: -Go to the Fastrack kiosk (not clear at all, and can get busy) -Go to the Thorpe Park website on your phone, and click through christ knows how many screens Why is it so difficult? Don't you want to sell tickets? Speaking of the app, it's a shame there's no FN overlay this year. RWS Now this is the big talking point. Ents has been outsourced to RWS. They're a huge company. They do stuff all over the world, including Disney. It's meant that Tenement was designed and built/contracted out by them (I believe one of the main designers for Tenement is based in the US). Lots has been made of Merlin's decision to outsource that, and the job changes it's made for people. Ultimately, though, it shouldn't really have affected the guest experience. But it has. First one to note, and it's minor, is that the maze hosts are employed by RWS. They have their own uniforms. Or at least, they're meant to. Apparently they hadn't arrived last weekend, so they were dressed in black and with RWS lanyards. Some staff were wearing black clothes with logos on, such as HHN merch. It just didn't scream professional. I don't see why they can't just wear Thorpe uniform (like Aramark and OCS do). On that note too, on Sunday, there was an actor stood outside the exit of Survival Games who was talking with the chainsaw actor in between groups. If it was an important conversation, at least go into the exit? Hugely unprofessional, and something I've never witnessed before anywhere. Next thing to talk about is actor numbers. There are less of them this year. That's caused some mazes (SG, Trailers in particular) to suffer. I expect there will be more issues as the event progresses. It's a real shame. Simply put the transition between Fright Nights being done by Thorpe to being done by RWS hasn't been smooth. Which is a shame, as the event has suffered as a result. Hopefully things improve. Bottom Line Fright Nights is still good. I think there's been some over-reactions floating about online about it's huge dip in quality. But it's definitely not lived up to the highs it's had the last few years, or the push the park put out there. It's a shame. I really hope it is just a blip and not a sign of things to come. I'd still recommend going, but set expectations accordingly.

With the Launch Event tonight for Fright Nights, all spoilers for 25 Years of Fear here! Follow along your favourite Thorpe Park dedicated fansite for all the best coverage!

I enjoyed the event, was great to see them offer something like this. Whilst I don't want to be negative, I think it is worth saying there was room for improvement. Communication and organisation was pretty poor, from entering the event, to having to literally read out 250 numbers, and whilst the reason for it was clear, holding a 2 hour ride time but closing the queue after 90mins isn't ideal. But these are things that come with experience, and can be ironed out. The enthusiasm was there. The idea is there. It was an enjoyable event with a great, positive vibe and I really hope they look at doing more of these things in the future.

Some great points raised there. I've done a couple of 'torch mazes' (including Haunted Lantern tech and other), and they work best in small groups and when the torch serves a purpose (ie the rest of the maze is in low lighting). So if Thorpe are reducing group sizes, and so lowering throughput, it does justify the higher upcharge and the fact it is not bundled with the other mazes. It may take some time to get it right operationally. Even just ensuring the torches are working, have full battery, and are transferred from exit to entrance is something which requires a certain air of slickness. My hope is that Thorpe aren't afraid to recognise that, take time to tweak things and don't give up straight away if it doesn't work.

Well at least the coaster won't be called Minecraft: The Ride. Instead it'll be Escape the Nether. The Azteca Hotel is also being rethemed to a Minecraft Hotel.

Thorpe's definition of a scare zone has always been...confused. I remember when Blair Witch first opened and they marketed that as a scare zone. But it could handle the crowds and basically always operated as an outdoor scare maze. Even in 2020 when they had loads of zones, things like Swarm Invasion and the Lycanthorpe zone had very very minimal theming. Their biggest zone successes have come in the forms of Crows and Deaths Doors, which have operated like high-throughput mazes. Their other zones have relied on shows to do the heavy lifting, which is fine, but yes, they need more to bring it to life. One of my peeves in recent years is how Creature Campus is non-existent outside the show, and it just feels like a missed opportunity. Lucifer's Lair almost always had something going on, even if it was just the actors roaming. This year may be more a struggle for that zone. Part of me wonders if they've effectively split Lucifer's in two, with Rebel Ball taking the shows, etc.

Construction has been going along at a steady pace and the exterior track has been going into place this week:

It would certainly be sod's law if the ride experienced prolonged downtime and couldn't open for an event specifically for it, and just before the park's busiest time of the year.

Quick update: https://www.facebook.com/thorpeparkmania/posts/pfbid04oZqhh1mAwhagY1x2aU1uqTHZX1GTjtw6EmRjjhnypT58ZiMvoXMZNyM9NhGGbDpl Lucifer's Lair will be scaled back this year it seems, with just the small stage there. Will be interesting what exactly happens there. It does seem like Rebel Ball could 'take' the entertainment from Lucifer's Lair which would be an interesting choice. The Crows could take quite a large space under Inferno based off how far the construction fences go back too

Park music is a bit of a mess right now. There doesn't seem to be consistency, rhyme or reason to what they've done with much of it

That YouTube channel has all the videos. As you said, the one you posted was the first. And though this wasn't a teaser, it was posted shortly after the name reveal: I believe that the Saw IP was confirmed reasonably late in the process - my understanding is that it could have even been after the first teaser video was released.

Pretty cool idea. Price / sign-up style will be interesting.

A look at some theming: Worth noting this is a different / new company for the park to use for building mazes.

A few extra details from the Thorpe Park Blog: https://thorpepark.com/blog/new-maze-2026-announcement/ That confirms we're seeing Haunted Lantern style technology, whereby the light guests are given are controlled by your location in the maze. The blog also says that Rebel Ball is at the Launchpad. An interesting wrinkle is about Survival Games: On the one shot purchasing, it has been edited from last year, to say that actors "will" touch you and you will be split up, as opposed to you 'may'. However, it is still listed as 13+ there.