JoshC.

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!)

This seems like as good a thread as any to post this in... I passed my PhD today!

This is something I've seen suggested a few times, and it's certainly possible. There are two things that make me think it won't (just) be demolishing the entirety of Loggers: 1. Merlin don't demolish stuff unless they need to. They keep things for as long as physically possible. If something can be left SBNO they will. Look at Thorpe and Loggers and Slammer as examples. Towers only removed the likes of Submission and Ripsaw because they would be too obvious if left standing. They won't decide to just remove bits of Loggers they don't need to. They will remove what needs to be removed and nothing else. 2. Usually, you don't need permission to remove a ride. You just...remove it. There's exceptions and caveats of course, but generally speaking, parks are free to simply take something down if they want to. It's another reason why UK parks like to keep rides SBNO until they're replaced: when it comes to planning applications, they can say "look, we have something here, we're just replacing it with something else". If this is just for the removal of Loggers and nothing else, it's possible they're including this addition because it covers themselves in case someone moans about work happening outside of the permitted zone. Would be a grey area I guess. As said, the likely course here is that they're extending the zone for practicality purposes: either for ease of construction for the ride, or for extra engineering / maintenance once the ride is open. That would definitely fall under "design developments". But equally, a change in layout isn't something to completely rule out, and would also fall under design developments.

Forgive me for continually posting random pictures, but here's an overlay of the two plans, which is probably the clearest look at how the development area has been extended: Now, time for some speculation: If this for a layout change, I have an idea for what it could be. And I don't expect it to be anything drastic. Many people noted that the ride takes a lot of speed into the suspected splash zone area, and that that area could be quite trimmed. And even if not, it does have a lot of speed and doesn't do a lot. I expect that the short layout is, in part, a creative choice. The ride very much looks designed to be big, fast-paced and hard hitting. Rather than creating a long, drawn out experience, it seems to be a "throw everything at you as quickly as possible" experience, designed so that when you hit the brakes, you're left stunned, and begging for more in a good way. You won't feel short changed, but you'll want to go round again. So a potential adaptation to the layout would be as follows: Now forgive the crude drawing, but let me explain what this would achieve: -A straight section post-splashdown, to include one or two powerful airtime hills. -A new turnaround, which could be dragged out for some sustained forces, or be quirky / different (like the other turnaround) -Give more space pre-brake run for another airtime hill, rather than the airtime moment post-turnaround as currently suggested. My particular thought on the final point is that they could create a 'double down' airtime moment which is similar to Loggers Leap's drop. This would be in the exact same position as Loggers drop, and serve as a reminder/Easter egg/reference/whatever you want to call it to the ride (something that Thorpe and John Burton, the likely Creative Lead of the project, love doing). This would address the concern which a lot of people had about the ride's ending, whilst keeping in line with the (what I expect to be) feel of the ride. May not be everyone's cup of tea or what people want, but it's what I feel would be most likely. Equally, I think this is a sufficient change to improve the ride. Obviously, this is all speculation. But I don't see anything more significant than this.

Are changes a-coming? A new document has appeared on a planning application related to Project Exodus, which shows a change in boundary... Before: After: And to show this more clearly, here's the size of area that's been added, the green line is roughly the old cut off point: The area now includes the Platform 15 route up to the bridge, as well as more parts over water, including the Loggers track over there. Now I don't think this necessarily means that the layout could change. However, it's certainly possible. If we look at the original plan, the coaster doesn't hit all the way to the boundary, but does come close. And I believe the boundary plan is just where they will do any sort of work. So it could be just for access during construction, or to create an engineering route. For what it's worth, the document suggests this is due to a development in the design: We won't know exactly what this means until the full plans go in, but for now, there's a slither of evidence to suggest that changes to the layout are possible.

Indeed, that's why Thorpe stopped selling balloons - all the helium budget went to Colossus. (It's a little early for April Fools; think you've been had)

Bit weird to now have two Rocking Tug attractions in one park, but heyho. Investment in that area is good, and some small new rides won't do any harm. I worry about the queues for the Watermania thing, especially as Chessington are pretty thin on the ground with water rides. With a new Pirate Ship and a drop tower last year, investment is going in the right direction. But if we're being truly honest, these investments follow from years of neglect and years of rethemes which had been aimed at fixing that neglect. So there's an air of 'It's about time!' that these things have happened, and I hope that this investment can continue, and the quality is of a good standard. It was weird, I visited the park yesterday and walked right through the area these rides are going. Little did I know it would be the last time I'd walk through it, and probably the last time I'd walk through Pirates Cove. The planning application says construction would start in March and the rides would open by June.

So I'll be doing the UK Merlin quartet and Paultons Park again this year. I'd like to do a bit more UK stuff too (Pleasurewood Hill maybe), but we'll see. As for international stuff, after a break of not going abroad (due to Covid rules and finishing a PhD), this is what I have planned concretely: April Heide Park and Hansa Park June Six Flags Great Adventure Hersheypark Kings Dominion Busch Gardens Williamsburg +a selection (or all) of Six Flags America, Knoebels and Dorney Also planning to return to Phantasialand and finally ride Fly, as well as go back to Plopsaland and Walibi Belgium for their new rides. I'd also like to do the Gardaland/Movieland Italy duo and a couple of parks in Denmark, butttttt those plans are a bit more up in the air at the moment.

As has been said, we won't know until the park officially confirm. However, I highly believe that Rocky Express will just stay where it is until it needs to be ripped out, Timber Tug Boat will go to a different park and Lumber Jump will be relocated within the park.

The park have announced 2 new events: Mardi Gras and Carnival. Mardi Gras takes places in May/June, and Carnival in July/August. These accompany Oktoberfest (September) and Fright Nights (October): The descriptions for the new events do sound reasonably similar. And with Oktoberfest too, it is 3 events which sound incredibly similar at heart, just dressed with different colours. It's good to see the park diversify and include more events. But hopefully they are sufficiently different and worthwhile in their own right.

ding ding ding, we have a winner It is from the 'Load Room', the room after the pre-show and before the hanging carriage scene. It's also facing backwards, in a way one would not normally look. So yeah, a tricky one

Maybe I made this a bit too hard, so let's zoom out just a little...

Mr Rabbit is still on his travels and this is not right. --- BOO! Probably time for a clue... he he he