JoshC.

And a look at construction: (Above image from Chessington Buzz too) A couple of alternate views from Theme Park Guide:

One would imagine they were told at the time "the codename of the roller coaster is Project Exodus" as a bare minimum. That particular clip would have been filmed only a couple of months before the plans came out so they might have been told a bit more. As for anything else, well that's anyone's guess. At this stage, there's not much else to know. We're still 2+ years from opening, so whilst the park will have theming and name ideas in mind, for example, they might not be set in stone. We're still a while from construction even starting. They might know more (and if they do, it will all be under NDA), but really - at this stage - I imagine there's not too much more to know!

It has been confirmed that Enso (spinning Icon) will only be on one of Icon's three trains. Due to the limited capacity, it is - unsurprisingly - an upcharge. £15 - standard ticket. You virtually wait the length of the queue of Icon £25 - VIP ticket. You only wait 10% of the queue time for Icon I guess £15 is comparable to Steel Taipan's spinning seat (Steel Taipan being the near Blue Fire clone at Dreamworld in Australia, which also has a spinning row on one of its trains), although that doesn't have much of a wait to get on I believe? I get the reason for the upcharge. But even though it's a pretty unique experience, it's just so expensive considering you can literally experience spinning launched coasters at other parks included in the park ticket. Saucey: https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/icon/

It seems like Toverland are set to introduce some sort of permanent camping-like accommodation from next year, with a Greek theme, following the success of temporary pop-up options over the past couple of years. https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/19060/Toverland-wil-permanent-verblijfsresort-openen-in-2023.html It doesn't sound like a full hotel, which has long been part of their masterplan, buy definitely a step in the right direction.

Ah yes, the old "posting lyrics from a song used in a scene of a film related to the IP" gimmick, even though the IP is not exactly a well-kept secret at this point...

We have an interesting update. Pre-face: An image featured here is a drone image over the park. Whilst there is nothing 'wrong'/'illegal' about flying a drone over Thorpe without permission when the park is closed, it's not something I particularly condone. We can see that some sort of paving has happened next to Creek Freak Massacre. Here's a comparison from Google Maps, from around 2019/2020:

Following Jack Silkstone's FN2021 behind the scenes video, there was a post show which featured a brief Q&A with the park. See here: I'll highlight some key questions and answers: Q. I heard rumours of plans for a Big Top return last year that were dropped due to uncertainty over the COVID situation, are these rumours true and will these plans be resumed for FN22? A. This rumour loves to do the rounds… but we can confirm there is no truth to it. We know fans loved The Big Top, but we feel it’s best for the circus to have ended on a high! Q. What will happen to Creek Freak Massacre in 2022? A. To be honest, even we don’t know just yet! Project Exodus is only entering planning stages so until we know the outcome, we can’t confirm anything... However, we are aware The Buckwheat’s have a huge fan base – and Ma Buckwheat is a strong negotiator, so we hope we don’t have to give the mill the chop just yet! Q. Why is there a key (in the FN22 logo)? A. Okay, firstly we’ll put a rumour to bed… Locke and Key, great show – but no links to FRIGHT NIGHTS. Why the GIF? It just looked cool... So ‘The Key to the Door’ is traditionally given as a 21st birthday gift, it symbolises the start of adult life and independence – but at FRIGHT NIGHTS things are going to be far more bitter than they are sweet. We won’t give much away at this stage however we can confirm this will be the overarching theme of FRIGHT NIGHTS 2022. So there we have it. Definitely no Big Top in 2022, or in the immediate future (shock horror!) The official line is that it is undecided whether CFM will return, but one would imagine they have some sort of plan up their sleeve already, with contingencies in place. No Locke and Key maze for 2022, but the 'key to the door' idea will be the big theme for this year. I'd imagine that whilst they have ideas in place, there's a sense of fluidity about it too, and the park still don't have a, ahem, locked in plan just yet.

Recently, Jack Silkstone posted a documentary about his involvement in Fright Nights 2021, which was primarily the teaser videos, as well as some other bits: It's worth a watch to see the amount of effort himself and Kieran Adams put into the creation of the videos. I'd say they're some of the best official Thorpe Fright Nights videos to come about. I think there's some questionable things - the amount of effort and manhours that seemed to be put into creating the SuperSpark Cinema Shop feels like wasted energy as it didn't quite work. And whilst it's great to see a lot of work going into giving nods to fans and such, I hope it hasn't come at an expense of alienating a wider audience. Though that is something that the park seem to be cautious of. But yes, back to the documentary itself - it gives a great insight into the creation of the videos, as well as a little bit of the operational preparations before Fright Nights begins. Give it a watch if you can!

I wonder what proportion of adults are taller than, say, 6'4", and how comparable that is to people shorter than 1.4m. There's obviously Health and Safety issues that can be present at both ends of the extreme scale. I'd certainly have thought that with lap restraints now common over OTSRs, taller people will have the opportunity for more (comfortable) rides. Hopefully that ends up being the case in the future.

I'd say Category B. I do my best to ride all of them, and would tack them on to a trip. But I don't have the time, money or inclination to travel way out of my way for a Wacky Worm for now.

A look from the horse's mouth (park app)... They've changed the name of this place more times than I've had hot dinners from there. Given this is usually a reflection of their brand and is their premium restaurant, I wish they'd keep it under the same name and brand for longer. It's almost meme worthy in itself now. Especially since Infinity lasted 2 years. But hey, as long as the food is good (and it usually is tbf), it doesn't reallllllly matter.

Planning seems to be going smoothly... https://www.facebook.com/283706330623/posts/10166554504730624/

Planning seems to be going smoothly... https://www.facebook.com/283706330623/posts/10166554504730624/

Following @Inferno's excellent write up about their Face it Alone experience, I've been inspired to talk about my own. For those who haven't seen Inferno's write up... To those unaware, Face it Alone was a VIP extra available at Fright Nights between 2013-2016 where, after the park closed, - you guessed it - you could go through a Fright Nights maze...alone! But it was more than that, the run throughs were much more extreme and personal, and unlike anything seen at Fright Nights before or after. --- I'll take the opportunity to discuss my first ever Face it Alone experience, which was in Saw Alive in 2013. But before actually going into it, some additional context. In autumn 2012, I had started uni. Thorpe Park had gone from a 5 minute drive away for me to a near 3 hours train journey each way. Instead of cramming in as many Fright Nights visits as possible, I only managed one. And, frankly, it was dreadful. Huge queues. I had bad runthroughs of the mazes. It was terrible. After that visit, I questioned whether I would bother going to Fright Nights the following year. Now, I'm too much of a Thorpe fanboy for that to have really been a serious suggestion, but that's how much I hated my Fright Nights 2012 experience. Anyway, the park announced the Lionsgate tie in for 2013 and that had me pretty much sold. And then they announced Face it Alone, and any potential thought of not visiting had been washed away. So I was pretty much sold on doing Face it Alone. But there was still some concerns about it. There were promises of an extreme experience. But Thorpe market tons of mazes as extreme, was it just empty words? (Spoilers: it wasn't!). I'd done Fright Nights mazes enough in the past on quiet days to have the occasional solo run (plus, Experiment 10 you were split up and could go solo anyway!). Was this really worth the £15 extra?? I had a great day during Fright Nights; an immeasurable improvement from the disaster of my 2012 visit. The mazes were all a good standard pretty much, at it felt like Fright Nights got its groove back. 10pm came and we made our way to the Calypso BBQ, the meeting spot for Face it Alone. The Director and his assistant (the key characters of Fright Nights) were there, along with some VIP hosts who confirmed our booking and what maze we were doing. The Director and assistant spoke with those who were waiting, and it was hear I got my first glimpse as to what was to come... I was sat at the bar in the BBQ, enjoying my complimentary drink, when The Director came over and sat on the bar surface. He spoke with me individually and asked for my full attention. Sat on the bar towering over me, he spoke with a level of arrogance and firmness about it, saying about how scary the experience was going to be, and that I wasn't ready for this. Any time I looked at him directly, he told me to keep my head facing straight, not up, meaning I was staring directly at his crotch. Describing this, I understand this may come across a bit...sexual I guess? But it did not feel like that at all. It was all part of the act to make me feel uncomfortable and hopeless, whilst also giving that personal experience. By the time all 6 "Face it Aloners" were here, we were given Thorpe Park ponchos to put on and the Director read the waiver to us. The waiver pretty much said anything could happen: we could be made to do anything, might be tied up, blindfolded, might come across bad language, nudity, bodily fluids, etc etc. The park take no responsibility for any damages, etc. Standard scare waiver. This then ended with the line which is still stuck in my head... "If this all sounds too much for you, you can f*ck off to Chessington". If anyone wants to know how all this build up felt... There's a documentary series on Netflix called Dark Tourist. Great show, highly recommend. In the last episode, the presenter (David Farrier) attempts the infamous McKamey Manor, and it shows the psychological aspect of the waiver signing process for that. This felt very similar. Everything in this build up and the reading of the waiver felt designed to put people on edge, intrigue you, but also make you that little worried. In a matter of like 15 minutes I'd gone from "I hope this is more than a bog standard walk through by myself" to "What on earth are they going to do to me?!" With that signed, The Director escorted me and the other Saw Alive Face it Aloner to Saw Alive. But again, this wasn't quite so straightforward. The Director clasped a hand around a wrist of each of us, tightly. And he then proceed to take us along. He was walking very quickly, always ensuring he was in front of us. It was like we were being dragged. There was a huge demeanour change here too. In the BBQ, The Director was this mysterious, creepy individual. The classic horror movie trope of someone who has a dark side. Now, he was this rude, snarling guy who didn't care about anything other than make us as uncomfortable and scared as possible. Whilst dragging us along, he would sometimes stop. Then change direction. Then circle back. He was taking his time. We went around Rocky Express. He then took us towards Saw The Ride. We were made to stand outside the station building, in different corners, roughly speaking in this area: The Director just told us to stand still and shut up, he would return shortly. We must have been there for less than a minute, but it felt like a lot longer. I saw rides staff out of the corner of my eye, pointing and seemingly laughing, knowing our fate. When The Director returned, he was shouting at us, saying we were wasting time and asking why we weren't following him. Again, creating a narrative to make us feel uneasy and second guess ourselves I guess. We were dragged again to entrance bridge. It's worth keeping in mind, all of this, and the "Face it Alone" section hasn't actually started yet! I was told to face away from the entrance, head facing the floor, as the other person went in first. The Director took them in and I waited. I heard The Director from the entrance to the boat shouting and taunting me. Again saying stuff like "I'm not ready for what's coming" and "You should see what's happening to the other person". At this point, I naturally turned my head to face The Director, to hear him more easily. He came running towards me and snarled in my ear that he didn't tell me turn around, I wasn't to look at him and I was to do exactly as told. He then pushed on my shoulders and told me to sit on the ground and wait. Shortly after, I was then dragged by The Director into maze, around the Billy Puppet photo point and pushed into the pre show. The Face it Alone experience was about to begin, and I was already a rattled wreck! In the pre show, the police woman actor gave what I can only describe as a mini interrogation. Screaming in my face, asking me questions and belittling me for not knowing the answers. The 1 on 1 nature gave the personal touch, but the general script and screaming nature made it feel that bit more intense. Eventually, she told me to get on my knees and crawl through to the next room to face Jigsaw's game. I do also seem to remember her sitting on my back as well, for whatever reason. Any fears that this would be a 'normal' runthrough ended when I entered the first scene. I was instructed to get up the next actor, and she then proceed to spit a very large mouthful of very cold water directly in my face. Ah, bodily fluids. This took me by complete surprise: the shock of it happening at all, the coldness of the water, the not being able to see for a second. It all just hit me at once. Looking back, it's still something I can't believe they actually did, and these days, it's a concept which would never even be considered by most places. From here, I was pushed, pulled and shoved around here there and everywhere. I was made to get in the bathtub, told how there was no escape. I made my way to the second scene, and pushed and bounced on the chain mesh fencing. I was shoved into corners and made to squeeze my way out. To exit the second scene, I had to crawl under an actor who was blocking my way, only for another actor to grab my ankle and try to drag me back a little. I made my way to the freezer scene, which with the water still on my face felt that little bit colder. The nearly nude actor in there then proceeded to spit more water in my face for good measure. Much like with all the actors in the maze, they were playing roles of 'crazed Jigsaw victims who were failing their games, and so didn't want you to pass your's'. A 'pig head' character came seemingly out of nowhere and pinned me against the wall by my wrists, before then dragging me into the fourth scene. This was the scene that most closely resembled a normal runthrough, though I still had the actors completely filled with energy, ramping up the intensity, and trying to wrap the chains around my arms. But aside from that, nothing major. Things become a bit more of a blur for me now (this was almost 9 years ago after all!). Scene 5 involved me climbing over the 'table' in the scene, being pushed, pulled and dragged around. Actors screaming in my face, etc. The final scene (the carousel), involved me being pushed against the mesh fencing where the carousel was, and having air blasted in my face a couple of times. I remember being made to crawl around the whole scene, before being able to exit into the Picsolve area. Even then, the experience carried on, and I was grabbed hold of, held against walls and effectively pushed out of the exit onto the bridge by about 3 actors. It was all just full on and intense. And that was it. That was also the 'end end' - there were no other outside things. I can't remember who specifically was outside the maze (I think maybe The Director and a VIP host, but it might have just been the host). But we were asked how we found it, etc. And then we made our own way out of the park. What I found striking was how different the other person's experiences were. They spent a lot longer in scenes 4 and 5 for example (and that included being tied on the table in scene 5), but much less in 2 and 3. The general idea, aim and direction was the same, but there were lots of little differences. The actors truly had to be commended for their energy and dedication. Keeping in mind they had done a full shift on a busy Saturday, to then have to give a full on, high intensity experience for two people, and create something that was truly memorable is incredible. And a real hats off to The Director, who definitely must have enjoyed his role! Walking to the exit, it was a little before 11pm. Given we got to Calypso BBQ around 10pm, and we had interactivity with actors from then until leaving the maze, it was definitely worth the £15. The maze experience must have been around the 7-10 minute mark, and that alone would have been worth it, but the entire spectacle was excellent value. As I say, I think it says a lot about the experience that almost 9 years on, I can remember so much of this so strongly (this entire write up is done from memory...so apologises if it's a bit jumpy and haphazard in style!). It definitely ranks as one of my favourite scare experiences ever. Truly just magnificent. It's interesting even comparing to Inferno's experience as they've written up. Cabin sounds equally fantastic, but the pre and post maze experiences sound rather different. Whether that was just down to numbers, or whether they were changing things up a bit, who knows. Maybe the reason we were dragged around the then Canada Creek so much is because there was a delay and The Director was improvising? Who knows! But it certainly would have been great to meet up with other Face it Aloners from different mazes and hear about their wacky experiences too! So there's my first Face it Alone experience. I'd love to try and write up some of my other experiences too later. Anyone else want to share the horrors they experienced?

I'm bored and have nothing better to do.... Wh-wha-what's going on-on? Ding, ding This is the Crazy Frog Ding, ding... ....perhaps? Hey, that looks like Loggers Leap's final drop! "The wildest ride in the wilderness!"??? Maybe 236 feet?? Ooooooohhhhh. DWS. Doctor WhoS. Ohhhhh Subtle LOGGERS LEAP OPENED IN 1989. IN 2005 IT BECAME THE TALLEST LOG FLUME IN THE UK AGAIN IT ALL ADDS UP

I've split the Fright Nights stuff into its own thread, because why not! It's certainly possible. I know in the past, they have considered a more broader family friendly attraction, and you could argue that things like the Amity High dance show fit that too. At the same time, Thorpe and Fright Nights are still gearing towards the more older / young adult market, and always have done, regardless of who visits. It would be a very stark change to create something for a broader market. The last year they had mazes with IPs was 2019, which was the last year of The Walking Dead maze license. I remember hearing rumours that Do Or Die (the partial outdoor one by Rush) was being considered for 2020 before Covid happened and changed things. Obviously Living Nightmare was going to be replaced by Black Mirror regardless. I also think there was a time when the park tried getting Stranger Things for Fright Nights too, or if not, at least ripping it off in some way. So perhaps Covid played a bit of a role in a lack of IPs over the last couple of years. But it has equally shown how the park do have a good creative side to them, and the original stuff can work. So it would be interesting to see what happens if they did return to using an IP. As for the Lionsgate thing, I'm not too sure. The standard length of many IP contracts within Thorpe (especially for the mazes) is 3 years, with possible extensions. 2013 and 2014, the park leaned in very heavily with the 'Thorpe Park Movie Studios' motif, and pushing the IPs. 2015, for whatever reason, they went away from that and introduced the Big Top. The space used previously by Asylum and Studio 13 was now used for I'm a Celeb, so they needed something new for a headline attraction. Maybe the short term plan was to edge away from IPs at Fright Nights, or the Lionsgate films just weren't as big a hit as they wanted for the cost they were paying? What I think should be kept in mind is that Thorpe and Lionsgate still have a reasonably good working relationship. They still have Saw going very strong, and that's clearly mutually beneficial and is regularly renewed. They scrapped Blair Witch for one year to focus on Walking Dead, but then bought it back. So there wasn't necessarily a bad reason for it disappearing. I guess it was just a creative decision when it boils down to it.

A naughty double post... Here's the extended post I mentioned chatting about Face it Alone: Looks like my write up from my Original Face it Alone is on my old-old laptop, and I dread to think how long that will take me to find and boot up. But still, you've inspired me to re-write it up...keep watching this space!

A good shout that - it's not something I was all that familiar with, but it could well be that. Equally, I wouldn't be surprised if it does link in with something they're planning for an attraction. Thorpe do know how to push people's buttons when it comes to social posts after all. The Locke and Key speculation is interesting. It's a show which has a creepy tone, and some scare element to it. But it's certainly not all out horror, and is unlike any other scare IP the park have tried before. I believe the graphic novels it is based upon are a bit darker, but still. It's also quite a niche show which doesn't have a huge market. When Season 2 hit Netflix UK, I don't think it broke into the Top 5 watched shows for example? And yes, the skull and horns don't fit in particularly with anything related to show (though I gave up watching it a couple of episodes into Season 2, so maybe more relevance later on...might have to try watching it again) The speculation seems to have originated from the key references, and also the park responding to a couple of people on Twitter with a gif taken from the show. So it is a big stretch to go there yet. On a bit of shameless speculation, it would be an interesting theme for a maze. The show is based around a creepy old house which has loads of locked doors. The characters find keys and unlock the doors, giving you powers, but usually with a dark twist, or something a bit weird and creepy. It would be difficult to translate to a maze, but I'd be lying if I said the idea of a Cabin in the Woods style maze didn't come to mind. A 'choose your own route' style maze, where you go through different doors which have different weird things going on. I don't think it will happen, and I don't see how it would in practice, but just something which came into my mind.

Now this is a proper trip down memory lane - thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed Face it Alone. It was a cracking experience that really differentiated Thorpe from other scare events in the UK for a short period of time. It was unique, worthwhile and a joy for the niche market it targeted. And most importantly, in my eyes, it was something which let Thorpe justify Fright Nights as a premium Halloween event, which had something for everyone. It certainly changed over its 4 years of being offered (and some of those changes were for the worst). It's a shame that it stopped, though it would be great to one day see Thorpe try something a bit more extreme again. There's clearly demand for these more extreme experiences, and they can certainly fit it into their line ups imo. I never did Cabin though for Face it Alone. It's great to hear what exactly happened during your run! My runs were: 2013: Saw Alive 2014: Studio 13 2015: Big Top 2016: Big Top All were very different and interesting in their own way. I don't think I ever posted my experiences / reviews at the time (because of how they were asking people not to, to keep the element of surprise). But I did write them up...I'll have to try and track down where I saved them and post them! If not, I can recall parts of my runs, so will share them a bit later. I also think I did an extended post about Face it Alone a couple of years back on here, discussing some more of the ins and outs of the experience and why it changed and left the line up. And again, if I can't find it, I can remember some details, so will add some more. Watch this space!

Nice write up, and a nice trip down memory lane! It's funny, I don't have too many memories about Sun Scream, aside from it being "a thing". I remember watching the stunt show, and never being as interested or excited by it as some of the stunt shows in previous years at the park. It was a mix of something and not a lot at the same time. But then, it was an excuse to open late and just create a bit more of a vibe on park, which it certainly succeeded in doing! Sometimes it's easy to overcomplicate things, but Sun Scream was a nice simple event which added a little bit of extra value to the park's season. I don't know if this happened during Sun Scream or just summer more generally, but I do also remember having people dare you to press a "big red button" with the slogan "What's the worst that can happen?"...where either nothing would happen, or "something" would happen and you'd win a prize. That was a bit of a laugh if nothing else.

Exciting to have a new version tilt coaster come to life. Vekoma have been building a tilt section at their site in Vlodrop to test. It is believed this will be sent to Energylandia: Source: https://www.coasterforce.com/forums/threads/vekoma-testing-something-new-at-their-testing-facility.45089/page-5

A blunt response here, but that is absolute rubbish. It's true that the area Colossus is built on has shifting ground. This can cause some of the supports to shift / 'sink' ever so slightly. Obviously coasters require millimetre precision to be as smooth as designed, and a slightly shift can make a ride rougher. This is why back in 2019, the park infilled and concreted some of the area around the vertical loop, in an attempt to create more secure ground. But let's say they do take a hollow support and fill it with helium, to keep the supports at the same level as it should be (as claimed in the video). What would that actually do? The helium won't make the support rise, so presumably the idea is to stop it from going down. But if the ground goes down and the support doesn't, that means the support is coming away from its foundations, which would ultimately make things unsafe. Also, they say they have to "keep topping it up with helium". Why would they need to top up supports with helium? Surely they would fill the support with helium, seal it off and be done. It wouldn't be able to escape anywhere in such a short period of time...unless of course, there were big holes somewhere, which would be very unsafe. The thing with these VIP tours and coaster climbs is the people giving them are just any other person 90% of the time. They've just been given a script of facts to learn. It's their job to sound knowledgeable and answer questions, but of course they don't know everything. Sometimes they might have been told old wives tales or lines which help them move conversations along. Sometimes they might just make things up on the spot. It's the nature of what they do. I don't blame them for it either; just the way it is! These tours do give an interesting insight for a guest who doesn't have encyclopaedic knowledge / doesn't want to know weird follow up things. tl;dr 1 - Colossus supports aren't filled with helium tl;dr 2 - The VIP tours are good fun, but always worth taking some things that are said with a pinch of salt

Thorpe seem to be focusing on the events again this year, and posted this logo-rific image: The "key" takeaway from the FN logo is very curious

It is currently still in place at the park. It almost definitely won't be moved and will be scrapped when the time comes to remove it in preparation for the new roller coaster.

Thanks! I've been doing pure maths. A lot of theoretical and experimental stuff, with some exciting (in the very narrow field I work in) results to go with it! I'll drop this link here which gives more details in a simple (but still mathematical) explanation: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/mathematics/news/2022-02-24-joshua-coyston/ (Though always happy to go into any more details for anyone genuinely interested!)