JoshC.

Make Poland another trip. I get you want to do a lot and are excited by the prospect of doing Energylandia and the country in general, but it's better to try and localise things. Waiting longer for Poland, for example, won't mean you'll miss out on anything (in that, everything you want out there will still be there a year or two later), but it'll be much easier to do. Another general note: from a personal perspective, I found it took me a couple of trips before I was able to minimise costs, whilst still keeping quality good. That might just be a me thing, but if you cram in too much in a first trip, you also run the risk of the cost spiralling more than how it might have been over a couple of different trips

Just on a more logistical perspective, how would you plan to carry around sufficient clothing? I'd imagine you're not planning on taking 3 weeks' worth of clothes, but then you need to factor in accommodations / time and places to do washing and drying of clothes. And that could well increase costs more than you initially realise. It would also be a lot to lug around when using public transport! Port Aventura, Europa and Phantasialand are parks you don't want to do in a day, especially if you're at the mercy of public transport and not able to guarantee getting there for opening / staying until closing. You certainly could get all the major / highlights done in a day, but they're parks which deserve more time. In general, as others have said, it's a lot of travelling to do. I will say it's sensible you've got non-theme park days; it's something you hear people mentioning of getting burnt out of theme parks after doing so many in such quick succession. I will add as well that, broadly speaking, the norm is that people will do these big multi-park trips whilst driving, as opposed to using public transport. It's possible of course, but harder. It may mean it's harder to get advice related to travelling to some of those parks by public transport though. Have you ever heard of coast2coaster.com ? It's a great tool for planning multi-park trips (or just for finding out if a park is near a certain place you're going). You're looking at doing multiple parks in multiple countries and, simply put, it's something which realistically should be done across multiple trips. You're already looking at some Dutch and Belgian parks, so perhaps consider something along the lines of visiting: Parc Asterix Plopsaland Walibi Belgium Walibi Holland Toverland Efteling (also not a 1 day park, FYI) Phantasialand You could chuck on extra parks like Europa / Energylandia if you wanted to travel further afield too. There's a couple of parks there that aren't on your list, but definitely worth looking at. Doing those parks also gives you some time to look at nearby cities / take breaks, which if part of your plan currently (although, again, different places). It significantly reduces the travelling, and also the length required. Obviously it's your trip and your plan, but I think anyone who's done a big multi-park trip before will strongly recommend you scale it down a touch, in regards to distance travelled and length of the trip.

Plopsa is a lovely little park and RtH has obviously been such a wise move for them. I've been to the park 3 times since its opened and never seen it on 2 trains (which included a trip in the middle of summer and it on a 1hr+ queue...), so hopefully they can operate and maintain it appropriately. Anubis is slept on a bit these days. Good ride. I'm intrigued to see what they do next. Their indoor Bumba World has no doubt filled a gap / extending the offering for younger audiences, but I thought it was a bit rubbish in comparison to the Maya Land, with the dark ride being quite weak. The park could probably benefit from a new, more modern, high throughput 1m restriction coaster. Vekoma/Gerstlauer have good offerings on that front. Big issue I have with Plopsa - as you noted - is the cost. Food is expensive and not good quality. Park tickets are reasonable enough, but then with parking, etc, it's not cheap. I've noticed that they've been doing more UK-focused marketing lately, so they do seem to be capitalising on their location more, so it'll be interesting to see what they do next. Looking forward to your thoughts on Asterix!!

Guys I think ParmPap lost their job at Merlin.

Yep. I think there could be some short term issues, with staff maybe relocating and jumping ship to Universal due to the name. But Universal is a premium name at a premium price. No doubt there will be people who will choose to save up for a trip there over somewhere like Towers or Thorpe. But Towers and Thorpe will settle in nicely, and somewhere like Thorpe might even benefit in a weird way, given its close location to Heathrow. Obviously very early, so hard to say for certain what will happen. But I'm not sure Universal will cause as many issues as some expect. Very similar for me on Sunday: I went in with low expectations and only really wanting to do 3 things (Nemesis, Hex and Compound). I got on more, but it is so easy to end up doing so little. What happens at the moment when you go to Dark Forest and Th13teen is experiencing an issue? Rita is dead, the Skyride isn't there to take you away, and Hex isn't exactly a thrill ride. So for those looking for a more thrilling ride, they've wandered to a dead end and now have to go all the way to X Sector or Wicker Man. That's a lot of idle walking time. And of course, if you don't want to do a coaster, you've got few options. Hex, Granny, Blade, Curse, Sub Terra, Rapids or Battle Galleons are the main options. Battle Galleons is more of a warm weather ride. Rapids are shut. Blade, Curse and Sub Terra are located very close together, in a more isolated area of the park. Granny is more a kids ride. Your options getting crossed off very quickly. Personally, I think the decision to add a flat ride in Forbidden Valley is not necessarily the right one. More flat rides, yes. Another filler ride in FV, when there's other parts of the park in dire need of support, isn't the best move. It's not a quick fix, it's a long journey. Let's not forget that right now the next installation is a ride type which was removed almost 10 years ago. They've got a long way to go to get back to where they were, let alone improve.

Another capacity sell out day today.

Was at Towers yesterday. It was also the day where a large number of the traveller community visit. All in, it wasn't a bad visit. Certainly better than my summer visit. But between Rita being closed (apparently waiting on a part) and Nemesis being on one train (apparently engineers need to do some addition work to it), Th13teen being temperamental, staggered openings, no Skyride, etc, it wasn't exactly a good visit either. Hex has certainly seen interesting changes. Broadly speaking, it's all a bit too light, and lacking in subtlety. The branch in the main show sequence is lit in what is best described as green Christmas lights for the whole ride, which I found distracting, and the ending has loads of little white lights across the whole room, which is a bit...eh. The park are really limping through to the end of season. I didn't visit until May, so I can't comment on what it was like at the start of the season, but I do wonder if Nemesis' opening disguised some of shortcomings Towers had anyway this season, and the season has really just taken its toll.

There's plenty of things to say about how the park operates when it's that busy, but from a purely numerical business perspective, it is so good to see the park hitting capacity numbers.

I imagine that the capacity would have been reduced following the closure of the farm? That took out a lot of physical space for guests to be spread about. Even if a quarter of guests weren't using that area, it would certainly have helped with things in theory.

The park do not need a planning application to remove it. However, if the park intend to use the space for a flat ride, it is better to leave it until they submit the planning application. This is because it makes it easier/quicker for the application to go through ("We have a ride here, we're replacing it with something of a similar size and scale"). If they remove the ride, turn it into a blank space, then put in an application, it's slightly more effort to put through (not to mention a general faff too). The park did say they'd look at removing it this closed season, but beyond that statement there's no indication either way whether that will happen. As you say though, there's no planning application in place as of yet, so it's unlikely we'll see a new ride in its space in 2025.

Seems to be a quick fix for now. If the ride stops at the top of the lift hill, there's no guarantee it can reach that increased speed in time. Also think that moving forward it's only something they're doing on test trains (which tbf, is when there's problems). But yes, good news that it's back on 2! I believe today is one of the busiest days of the season, so very much needed!

I think the branding in general is an upgrade. It's great to see a consistent, clear tone across marketing, and it feels like the park knows itself now. I totally agree that in isolation it's a bit bland and easily missed. It doesn't exactly scream "theme park" either. But when included in videos or within other things, it works well. I also think it's got extra versatility. I loved how they used the infinity logo in different ways in the past Fright Nights blood, Oktoberfest pretzel, etc). But it was harder to achieve and only done infrequently. The current logo can be easily tweaked to suit ride/event colours and style, and it makes everything feel a bit more natural. For example, we can see Colossus, Hyperia and Fright Nights versions of the Thorpe logo, and they blend in nicely with each individual identity, but still feel part of the Thorpe brand. I still prefer the infinity logo, which probably has a bit of nostalgia attached to it anyways. But the current logo is modern, in style with how logos work these days, and is still versatile. And, more importantly, the park have a consistent brand identity, which has been a big issue in recent years.

I mean, they are running it with dummies during testing. For a whole hour, who knows. But should a ride have to run with dummies for a whole hour every day before opening? Sure it's new a is still bedding in, but that feels like a Mack issue there. Also doesn't help if the ride shuts down for a prolonged period and the park need to do test runs, which is where the ride has been running slowly.

Yep, I believe Zodiac also has a smoke machine too. Marc grabbed some awesome photos last night: Does seem like Fright Nights has had an awesome glow up - literally - with lighting. Hopefully that can be maintained in future years, and things like smoke machines become more appropriately common place too. And next, they can do some proper audio!

Nah, the land behind Swarm is fine and ready for a coaster, unless there's something seriously wrong with it. You don't need that long for the land to before you can build on. If we take a look back in 2005, none of the infilled land was present. That includes Saw, Saw Alive path, Swarm, island behind Swarm and the road linking up the old Treasure Island to the Engineering area, plus Hyperia's infilling. 2005: Google Earth allows you to look at 3D models of current buildings too. It's not accurate, but gives a rough look: Fastforward to 2008. The land for Saw was infilled and settled (completed by 2007). The park are starting on Saw Alive pathway, and the two islands. What's noteworthy is that Saw's had been completed and constructed on between 2005-2008, and neither Swarm nor the other island are complete yet. 2008: Go again to 2010 (annoying Google Earth doesn't have yearly looks). Saw open, Saw Alive pathway being used. Swarm island complete. Adjacent island almost complete. 2010: 2012. Swarm opens and Thorpe flops, apparently. Tidied up of Swarm island land. The adjacent island is now completely infilled, even featuring some of Swarm's layout. All is golden. 2012: I also haven't mentioned the building of the hotel. We see nothing in 2008, the land almost complete in 2010, and by 2013, the hotel exists. We can also see with Hyperia, some supports were built on reclaimed. Compare 2024 vs 2022. 2024: 2022: The island behind Swarm has been complete since 2012. Whilst no doubt there is a level of needing the ground to settle, it will be settled by now. If not, there's major integrity issues and the park would either be actively doing work to resolve that, or not be considering the area for rides at all. However, before Swarm's failure, a coaster was planned there for 2015. A coaster was considered there for 2020. The project that ultimately ended up with us getting Hyperia was considered for there. The park have actively considered rides there, and as I understand, it's the front runner location for the next major investment.

They did manage to get Timber Tug Boat and Lumber Jump without planning application. Equally the move of Lumber Jump to High Striker didn't require prior approval. Can't think of any other time that's happened, so I imagine it's because they're small rides which aren't technically permanent (ie if necessary, they could literally pick them up and move them at any given notice)

They're also charging £12 for a one shot maze ticket over Scarefest. TWELVE POUNDS.

Unfortunately not. The park need planning permission for any permanent ride (to the best of knowledge). Personally, I don't think a ride suits the Beach area. There's no natural landscape there, so it would be a blank slate, flat surface. It would need a significant amount of visual appeal to fit in and not be an eyesore, or spoil the the view. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, or that Thorpe couldn't make it work. But I just don't see it happening.

We're aware that there's been a large influx of junk posts the last couple of days (and surprisingly not from ParmPap). We're looking behind the scenes how to resolve this and doing all we can to remove junk posts, etc as quickly as possible. It goes without saying, do not click on any potential links in these posts. If you think there's any posts we've missed please report them. Cheers

Ahh man, we've had so much peace and quiet, but you've ding dong done it

I visited Thorpe on Friday and Sunday. I did the mazes again on Sunday. Friday was an interesting one: park was surprisingly quiet, as were maze queues. Not sure why, but just one of those things. Sunday was...less good. Bought the Fearsome Four package for 3-7pm. The park wasn't that busy, but it took us the full 4 hours to do 4 mazes. -Survival Games was walk on at 3pm. I was a bit disappointed that they double batched the cages. At that point, it's completely unnecessary. I'd rather wait a few extra minutes and get a smaller, more personal experience (and that's for any maze). Maze was more hands-ony that on Thursday though. -Trailers was next. Advertised as 60mins, took almost 2 hours. There were 2 shutdowns, although you wouldn't know that as they didn't do any announcements or update the app. I could tell from seeing staff going in and out of maze and not hearing anyone leave. But to someone less aware of FN operations, you'd have no clue why it wasn't moving. There's also a hidden queue line behind the building for it now, to stop the queue spilling out. Seems like a very poor design, and rushed, as there's no lighting, audio or cameras there. Maze was just as good as Thursday, though a couple less actors. -DeadBeat was a 15 minute wait. Same again as on Thursday. -Stitches was another long wait. Always seems to be, but can't figure out why. The park need to re-think the queue for this. There were multiple instances of people ducking under barriers and getting into the queue. That meant that people were getting in without paying and were queue jumping. Worse, when reported to security (as these people were being rude to other guests too), nothing was done. Maze itself was fine, again little difference compared to Thursday. Crows had improved compared to Thursday, and Lucifer's Lair was as fun as ever. There were a few operational issues too. Some of this is teething issues, some of this is staff frankly not being trained properly, of which I reported / complained at Guest Services. Needs sorting out. There were a few shutdowns too, which doesn't help when you've got the main coaster on one train. So yeah, not my greatest Fright Nights visit. FN attraction quality good, but outside of that, somewhat burdenous. I haven't watched the above vlog, because frankly I don't care to spend 20 minutes of life watching some randos talk about their day at a theme park. Especially if they wrote it all down and I could read it in 5 minutes. But there will be different opinions and all that. But honestly? I don't think the maze quality was that different between Thursday and Sunday. The bigger issue is that the park has struggled operationally. Not great security choices. Bad batching intervals. Dodgy operations and communication. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and right now Fright Nights' weakest link is not the attraction quality. The good thing is it means they can resolve that quickly, if they take action. On a tangential note, I went to The Howl (the little brother of Tulleys this weekend). I paid £30 for 6 mazes, as opposed to the £27.20 for the 4 at Thorpe (with discount). The mazes at Thorpe are vastly superior in terms of theming, scare and overall quality. The Howl is the second-closest Halloween scare event to Thorpe (after Tulleys), and it showed to me how far ahead Thorpe are on that front. In terms of UK theme parks, Thorpe's only potential competition is Towers, which has been a mixed bag for a while. Yes, there's much better events than The Howl out there, but Thorpe can only compete with what they're up against, but Thorpe are leagues ahead. I think it's easy to forget that sometimes.

Aside from Stealth, can you give any examples of a park buying more trains than they can run on the track at any one time? I know of a couple: Blue Fire at Europa, which has 5 but can run a maximum of 4. Joris en de Draak at Efteling, which again has 5 but (across the 2 coasters) runs a maximum of 4. I'm struggling to think of more examples, but I'd love to hear more. I'd be very surprised if there's any outside of the biggest theme park players. Let's take stock for a second. One of these is a Mack coaster at the theme park that Mack owns and operates, and is the only such instance where they've done that. Efteling purchased a 5th train for Joris around 13 years after opening, following issues. These are two extreme examples. You are saying that Thorpe should, in engineering terms, be in the same league - or better - than two theme parks which are considered some of the best in the world. One of which has a huge engineering advantage of being owned by a manufacturer, one of which is open daily and has huge financial backing. I'm all for aiming high and Thorpe being the best they can be, but we have to acknowledge the limitations there. To say the park "cheaped out" by not buying a 3rd train is crazy. A 3rd train is likely a high-6 / low-7 figure number. On top of that, you realistically need to include extra space for the third train in maintenance. That costs more. Then you need more money to maintain a 3rd train. All adds up. On top of this, we have an area which looks far from perfect, and money needs to be spent there to bring that up to the quality it should be. That's where they've cheaped out. If the park were to have bought a third train, and they couldn't increase the budget, that would come either at the sake of even worse presentation, or an even shorter layout. And remember, this is all in the situation for when a train cannot be used whatsoever, which is - across the board - not that common occurrence. Incorrect. The park have not sold "more" Fastrack. The park have sold Fastrack in line with the expected throughput that Hyperia would achieve. However, that, topped with shutdowns and multiple Hyperia Fastrack tickets being given out as a result, means that the queue length spiralled on occasions. I add here: I do not think that selling Fastrack for the major new coaster when it's on 1 train is a good idea. I do not think they should do it whatsoever. However, the park are categorically not selling more Fastrack, or selling it at a greater proportion compared to when it was on two trains. I expect that the lack of MCBR was, partially at least, a conscious design choice, as opposed to solely a budget choice. The ride is fast-paced, quick and relentless. It uses every inch of its layout to provide large, swooping, airtime-filled elements. It's not to everyone's liking, and some will argue that even without an MCBR it could do more. But it's also clear what they've tried to do. I do expect there's a budget-decision behind it too of course, but again, I don't think it was "How can we build the UK's tallest coaster for as cheap as possible?". Also, in terms of length, Hyperia is the third-longest coaster in Merlin's entire portfolio. Again, that's not to say the park / Merlin shouldn't be aiming to build longer coasters, but there's a certain level of context that should be kept in mind too I think. I guess the question here: is this Thorpe/Merlin's or Mack's faults? Hyperia's issues could arguably be pinned on Mack. The lift hill thrashed itself after 1 day of opening to the public. The ride has stalled twice in the same location. Was it expected that the ride would enter the station at a quicker pace? Did Merlin check? Should they have had to? Can Mack do anything about it? Or did Merlin cheap out? Would be interesting to know what the other Mack, non-launched hyper coasters are like. Kind of goes to the point: should Thorpe (or any park) have to buy a third train to mitigate for the potential of issues which could be down to the manufacturer? Or should the park buy 4 trains, in case both trains have issues? Let's look at other issues on other rides/parks. -A few years ago, Swarm's chain lift hill snapped, just as Fright Nights started. Should the park have a spare chain on hand at all times. -Formula Rossa's launch cable snapped earlier this, and it damaged a train. That happened in January and the ride is still closed. Should Ferrari World have a spare launch cable, and an extra train, on hand at all times so they can just replace them, rather than going through the lengthy wait to get them replaced/repaired? Every park everywhere will do what they can to prevent issues. But there has to be a business balance. Should parks spend millions (literally) to allow for maximum operation at all times, to mitigate rare and extraordinary circumstances. I'm a little confused by this finale point. What problem are you saying is in the company's power to resolve? Is it: 1. The company paying more to get, store and maintain a third train. 2. The company hiring more maintenance staff, so they would have the resources to maintain a hypothetical third train. If it's the first point, that's been discussed. If it's the latter, as you have said yourself, it's an industry problem. Engineers at theme parks work unfriendly hours, in all weathers, in a role which is driven by delivering immediate customer service and satisfaction. That is unlike many other engineering roles. On top of that, the park isn't as good as many other engineering roles. But that's the same at every theme park. We can argue that Merlin should pay more, offer better benefits, etc etc. But it's not just them, it's every park. It's exactly the same in plenty of other industries. Teachers should be paid more, why doesn't a school just pay its teachers more? Doctors should be paid more, why doesn't a hospital just pay its doctors more? McDonald's servers should be paid more than minimum wage, why doesn't a particular franchise just pay its staff more? As I say, we can argue that Merlin should pay its staff more, but that's a much, much wider problem. I respect you Coaster, but honestly, I think the standard you're trying to hold Thorpe/Merlin to is just completely unrealistic and unachievable for them.

For anyone wanting some photos inside the mazes / to read the official TPM review, it's now live: https://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/index.php/2024/10/05/fright-nights-2024-begins/ --- I haven't notice the second effect you mentioned there in any of the 4 runs I've had. An interesting thing, but definitely a cool visual.. I think again that's my issue with the maze (along with Stitches) in that that's a very "show-y", passive thing. It looks cool and is memorable, but does it in any way create an atmosphere which is scary? If it was a clear show scene that everyone's paying attention to, yes. But just in passing as you walk through, not so much, and those 2 actors could be better used elsewhere. I think the ending works well, but it does need at least 2 actors to work. But that might be because of my aversion to strobes, so I'm happy for it to be short but sweet. Even a loud train horn would be good! But I guess also for the fact that scene-wise you go from the train to the village, it doesn't quite flow nicely. The house section isn't much longer, and whilst it has extra theming, isn't much different either really. I think this year they've tried changing things a bit with the house section featuring body bags / animals hanging from the ceiling. Almost like they're trying to tell you that The Crows are cooking / killing people in a way. It doesn't quite work. The Crows work best as a supernatural-esque identity, of people who have been turned into Crows. Last year's version was so strong thanks to the tight, winding layout and a story of there just being loads of Crows, with one actor also in the process of being mysteriously changed into one. This year is more open and the Crows feel a bit more attacky. I'd very much like it to stay, but they need to take a step back with the direction they're going. But yeah, if it does go, using them as roamers is preferable. I do hope this is on the cards. Lighting has been a longer-term project which they've nailed this year, audio should be the next step. A few years ago, the major rides had overlays which were related to fears / phobia. For example, Inferno had announcements of "Pyrophobia is the fear of fire...". That concept would still work well given the park is the "Home of Fear". Even just FN announcements / dispatches, and keeping the same audio, would be a step in the right direction.

I'll give my honest immediate reviews now. I'm honest here. This isn't "TPM Josh" talking. This is "JoshC., Thorpe Fan but fair" talking. DeadBeat Ehhhhh, not for me. Visually it looks great; no dead spots. However, the story is a little...lost. The pre show talks about a rave being hosted by a DJ. But there's no reference to the DJ when you're in there. The maze is just going through a club / bar / similar areas. It's cool, but very incoherent. The maze isn't the longest, but makes best use of its space. They've also cleverly designed the maze to make it feel like you're repeating yourself / going in circles, which I liked. However, this had a downside of a group thinking they'd gone the wrong way and turned back on themselves. That's just something which needs actor knowledge though, so no issues. It's a bit of a passive experience too, with you watching clubbers and demons (known as "Viscerals") interacting with each other. There's nothing wrong with passive experiences / scenes, as they can create fear, but it's not for me. The final quarter is much more interactive, just focusing on the Viscerals, and is nice. The finale is great (some have said it's like The Cellar at Tulleys, of which they ain't wrong, but so what) It does need time to bed in and the actors to really know what ticks. It needs tweaks with the presentation and story line too. A big positive though: I did it 3 times, and it was very consistent. Consistency is a huge thing to sort out in mazes, and it's something directly within the park's control during the event (in that, they can encourage / coach / train actors to be consistent, they can't change say the space the maze takes). Based on today, it's great to see they had that right, as even on previous press nights, mazes haven't been consistent run to run. Hopefully that continues. My personal opinion, is that the maze needs to start off completely as a rave. No scares. No viscerals. Just pure fun. There are already "dancers"/"ravers" actors, just make them happier, with a bit of an edge if necessary. Then have a scene where everything goes wrong, and it's purely demons. It involves you in the story, and creates the necessary distinction. Stitches This remains very similar to last year. Which means I don't like it. It's a completely passive experience, focusing on creepiness and a fear of what is happening to others, as opposed to what is (or could be) happening to you. Absolutely fine as a maze, and there's a place for those experiences as it gets people. but not for me. Was a bit disappointed they didn't change the mirror scene at the start. They could have put something different there. Survival Games My favourite of tonight, although I will have extra bias as there was only 2 of us in the whole maze. It remains intense, in your face and hands on. That's great. It's not for everyone (like Stitches), but it is for me. I heard some mixed reviews through the evening, so I think actors need to bed in and get used to what they can and can't do with guests, but that comes in time. 2022 Survival Games was exactly the same. There's currently no chainsaws in the finale, for reasons I'm not sure I can say. I believe they're working on it though and they should return. Trailers A very good version this year. 3 scene: -Hell Cell has been changed into Creek Freaks -Vulcan Voodoo has been changed into Knock Knock -Ship Happens and Nightmare on Staines Street have been turned into The Sleeper Express Knock Knock is a nod to Death's Doors, and re-uses the good costumes there. The pre-show is now no longer a cinema employee, but The Director. The pre show is a bit meh for me, but it is fan-servicey, which is what the whole maze is. However, they've completely cut the second pre show in the cinema screen - meaning the removal of what I unaffectionately referred to as the "orgasming actor" - HURRAY. The premise of the maze is much the same. Unfortunately, the new scenes aren't so much "new". They are just overlays of what was already there. Creek Freaks still has the prison bars from Hell Cells, but they've got Buckwheat actors and some stuff added to the walls. Knock Knock is still in a wooded area, but with doors added. Sleeper Express has the same layout as the other two, just made to feel more like the maze. It's fine, but don't go in expecting something totally new. As I say though, strong maze. Good cast, and the maze works well. The Crows This hasn't quite hit the highs of last year yet, but it's still very good. The new fenced section looks cool from afar, as well as very big, but it's not. There's two routes too: One which takes you in that fenced section, one that takes you round. The ended is incredibly dense with smoke (I expect that might change soon tbh, but if it doesn't, great!). It's a great scare zone and I'm glad they've kept it. One point of note: It now starts a little further down the pathway, with a little queue made of hay formed, which should help the batching into it. Creature Campus Only caught a glimpse of it due to how busy the night was, but it looks nice. The removal of the werewolves and vampires has meant they've brought the music into a more modern era, and it seems pretty cool. Will be watching properly tomorrow. Lucifer's Lair My absolute highlight of the night. There's a fire / dance show which is INCREDIBLE in my opinion. It's only 8 minutes long, but there's so much crammed in there that it felt twice the length (in the best possible way). The concept of the zone is perfect. The actors are fab. I expect I'll spend a lot of time round there this year. IT 4D Didn't watch. Will watch tomorrow. Little bit of theming dotted around the cinema. Is cool. This is a strong Fright Nights. Maze-wise, they do have 4 mazes which are good. And I will say this again as I have done in previous years: If you take any maze this year and put it in any other FN line up from before 2020, it would almost definitely be the highlight and best received. If not, it would rival Big Top, Ex10 or Asylum. That's the quality of the mazes on show. I don't think any of them are worth £10 still. The £5 mark would be best. £6-8 is reasonable. But beyond that is pushing it. And I think Thorpe are very formulaic now: pre-show, wander around highly themed sets in a linear fashion, flashy ending. It's another reason I like Survival Games so much: it breaks that formula. I hope we see something different next year. There's still stuff to iron out, and not all of it is for me, but I think this is again a good showing. I hope it stands the test of time for the event.

With the VIP Preview Event tonight and opening tomorrow, it's that time once again to open up a spoilers thread... This thread remains open for general, non-spoiler discussion. Happy Fright Nighting!