JoshC.

Yeah, this really does confuse me - just makes no sense. As for this whole bridge connection to Swarm, I personally think it's rubbish. I believe Sunken Garden is the area near the bottom left, with a pool showing in it. Now, how can one build a bridge to Swarm from there without going onto Island A, whilst doing it cost-effectively. You can't really (it is physically doable, but just not worth it). Whilst you could build bridges from Island A, it would be pretty stupid really - the island has nothing, so they would have to build fences to stop people randomly exploring, and make them so you can't see a pile of dirt. Also, I really doubt the park would want that area to have public access in any way when they'd be developing in. So yeah, I really just can't see that happening.. (Though, every time I say something like that recently, it has happened, so I'll no doubt end up being wrong again.. :-P)

One thing I'd like to ask Mark; what would you have liked to have seen for a new attraction to Fright Nights? At the beginning of this thread, you said that you wanted: By the sounds of it, this is what The Passing will do. However, it seems as though you don't like the idea of it because it will cost and have a low throughput. Personally, I think it would be VERY difficult to create a high throughput maze which creates scares which are more than "an actor running at you, screaming and running away" for the duration. The maze will have a low throughput so the actors can spend more time scaring individuals, and the cost of it is in essence to keep queues down. I understand the issues, especially with the additional charges there already are, and problems with rides and Fastrack sales, but it seems that even though Thorpe are trying their best to improve the experiences of the mazes, that isn't enough. One thing which I didn't like about Experiment 10 last year was when some of the characters were seemingly helping us. I always felt that the general gist of the maze should be that we are being experimented on; whether that was made clear from the get-go, or whether we were meant to think we were visitors, who were then being used. From my personal experiences, the maze benefits best from a chaotic, brash and quick feel; you're not in control, and you have no chance to ask what's going on. For example, in my first go, when I was put into the room, the actor put his hand on the back of my head, guided me into the room whilst shouting "GET IN HERE". On one of my later goes, the actor opened the door, then put his hands on his head and said "Hands on you head. In here, quickly. Now don't move until I tell you." Don't get me wrong, this all sounds very worrying, but it's not making me scared - it's making me feel as though that I'm here for my safety, not to be experimented on. I do think the maze will continue to be one I will enjoy thoroughly, and whilst I don't mind a varying story, I do believe it need to have a central idea of 'You're being experimented on, you're not safe and have no friends in this laboratory'.

My trouble with charging extra for mazes at Thorpe is simply because they've already raised the prices. The prices tend to increase by a good £2/3 at least for Fright Night, and the majority of AP holders pay £5 to get in. So, it's not like anyone's expecting extra for nothing in essence. (I don't know what Alton do with their on the day prices for Scarefest; though I think they increase them as well?). I think when a park so regularly has a "one price for all" strategy, and then changes this for what is perhaps the most popular time of the year, it leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. I also bet that many will also be a bit disappointed/shocked/annoyed when they find out that a ticket for The Passing is more like £5 on the day, when they've read about £3 tickets online. As I've said though, a charge for The Passing sounds reasonable, considering the experience it seems to be giving, and some of the logistical issues that may surround it.

My biggest problem is with people who claim they're in financial hardship one minute, then the next, go out and buy expensive things. I'm not too fussed whether that person is on benefits or has a job - if money is tight, cut back on your spending regardless of you job situation. For example, one person I know recently was saying about how she was "really struggling with money" and was "cutting back on luxuries and switching to supermarket basics products, etc."; the very next day, she bought a Jack Russell puppy for £250 - which now means she has 4 cats and 2 dogs. If money's THAT tight, why buy a new dog?

Well that's shut me up, hasn't it? Now this all sounds very exciting, doesn't it?! Last year, Experiment 10 begun to push the boundaries a bit, and stopped Thorpe's traditional conga line through a corridor approach. This year, I think we all wanted to see that continue with this new attraction, and I think it's safe to say we got what we wanted.. With regards to the body bag thing, it is only over the head. The site says a "hessian body bag", so it will be similar to this I would assume: I expect some will recognise these as the style of bags used to cover people's heads before (and during when) they are hung. The whole idea of this is nothing new however. At a theme park Halloween event, possibly, but in scare attractions, definitely not. Anyone remember http://forum.maniahub.com/topic/9563-new-over-18s-scare-attraction-this-june/]THIS[/url] event? I have read reviews about the attraction (I think it was on TTF, not sure), and they definitely used this or a very similar technique. The story to this maze sounds brilliant as well. I definitely think we are in for a case of something special, and I think a £3 charge is justifiable (going back on what I said earlier, funnily enough!). I wouldn't be surprised if we're in for another Experiment 10, in that people are split up as well. The main focus seems to be on the beginning of the maze (the head over the bag), when the whole maze is actually about passing into the afterlife and seeking salvation. But now, I've got a few slightly negative thoughts... -Like all of Thorpe's mazes, The Passing is recommended for those over 12. Now, maybe it's just me, but when I was 12, there was no way I'd have coped with the likes of Experiment 10 (being separated from my group), and I could barely cope with the standard conga line maze concept. I can't imagine there's many 12 year old who are perhaps able to cope with such extremities, unless of course it's toned down. I really do think Thorpe could (and should) increase the minimum recommended age to at least 15, simply so they have more lee-way, even if that hasn't stopped them pushing boundaries. -£3 is the early bird price, so no doubt it's going to go up to about £5/6 for on the day prices. -Could this end up being another Experiment 10, in that the first half of the maze is extreme and brilliant, and the second half is average-okay? I do hope and expect Thorpe have learnt from Experiment 10's first season and improved it, and also learnt how to do similar attractions (like this one), this could still happen. Fingers crossed though. I'm also happy to see the park-wide 'theme / story'; something I've always felt the park could do. The prison theme ties in nicely with The Passing, which is no doubt intentional, and it certainly looks like we're in for roaming actors and the like again - fantastic stuff! Perhaps a little early to say, but well done Thorpe for setting up what looks to be a brilliant event which they should quite nicely deliver upon! I'm really gutted at the distance I'll be from Thorpe for this event. Depending on early reviews, I may just have to consider the 5 hour round journey just for this attraction; it sounds that tempting..

Compared to Towers' pricing, it's not bad, but... Charging for a maze? Just no; I'm against the whole idea of it (including at Alton). I prefer the concept of 'one ticket for all', especially when the cost is so high, and Thorpe charge £5 for AP holders. Seems a bit weird that they'd confirm details such as those over the phone when they've yet to be announced. I really just can't believe this happening, and until an official announcement comes, I won't believe it..

A bit of an over-exaggeration there. Though not a good thing, the use of TV adverts instead of the specific Swarm-loop (possibly even for just one day), it in no way signals that the ride and ride area will look shoddy and need a paint job and TLC, like the picture you used - which is probably Thorpe's worst example, as well. Swarm will age well with time, especially if the additions over the past few months are anything to go by.

You know what I see there? A cross. With black and blue bits around it. There also seems to be a rectangle above the top of the cross with squiggles in it.. In my opinion, I really don't think there's much more to that clue than the cross itself.. Thorpe are definitely leading us down to a cemetery / dead theme here, but whether that's exactly what we're getting is perhaps a different matter. Highly doubt that this is a Swarm related-maze. The rumoured position of Hellgate / the old X extension queue may be unsuitable as a position (though I don't see it as an issue personally) and it would more be serving as a prequel to Swarm at best (seeinghow Swarm is based in current time, and the church is being struck / already invaded). In honesty, I'd be disappointed with a Swarm tie-in IF they are going for this cemetery / church idea, as there's much better routes which could be taken in my eyes, like Terenzi that AstroDan mentioned on the previous page. Time will only tell I guess.

I don't think The Sun's offer was all that popular. I sent my application form off a week after the closing date for applications (which, in the T&C, said "strictly no applications will be accepted after this date"), and I received them in a couple of days. Couldn't see that happening if the offer was extremely popular... But hey, I could be wrong about this.

To be fair, Thorpe's current promotion for the new attraction at FN is only slightly less cryptic than Sanctuary's, and as such is being prolonged over days, rather than hours. It will no doubt get a full announcement by the end of the week...

My first thought after I heard this... After hearing that it's on constantly... I do hope they aren't doing this permanently, and this was just a glitch or something. Not only would it ruin the atmosphere a bit, it would be a shame to see a very good video which obviously had a lot of thought put into it used for only a few months...

As a clever Facebooker pointed out, 'HATED' is an anagram of 'DEATH'. Couples with the turning in the grave thing, a maze themed around death / a cemetry seems likely?

That is right by the entrance isn't it Jack? If so, those doors might be from back when The Showcase was used for shows? Or possibly be used as storage for stuff?

Surely they've got that pretty much covered with Asylum? Basically crazy patients that have been locked away. Unless you were thinking of something quite different to how Asylum currently is?

(Film posters with one letter removed..)

As a side-by-side comparison. Looks very similar in my opinion; as if Thorpe have drawn inspiration from it. Would love to see a maze which furthers Experiment 10's concept of forcing you into situations which aren't just walking in a conga line; being controlled by people into doing things against your will and such. Not sure how feasible that would be, however.

Ah, didn't think of that actually. Would've thought though that, considering Se7en is not present, they would have had some sort of idea of a new attraction replacing it. Meh, not really like it's important; there's a new attraction replacing an old one, which is what matters when it comes down to it..

Confuzzled - there is an 'edit' button in the bottom right hand corner of your posts. Rather than posting again and again, why not use this to add more information; it is rather annoying seeing consecutive posts... Strange that there's no specific mention of a new attraction in those pages though.

10 times this year. 2-3 more visits planned with a bit of luck. 5 of those visits were in the first month and a bit of opening.. Normally would have somewhere in the region of 15-18 visits so far, but things happened which stopped that..

I personally don't think it will be around phobias in general - too hard to pull of well in my eyes. For someone who isn't scared of, say, spiders, it's very difficult to cause a scare to them using spiders. Imagine doing that with several common phobias, and having to do it well; just can't see it happening. Would prefer it didn't happen either - seems like a really cheap idea for a scare maze to be honest.. However, there's every possibility that something which people are commonly afraid of could play a vital part of the maze (much like how Carnival of Screams has clowns as a key part).

Just for the record, I didn't see it boarded up on Saturday (1st).. Strange, but as Sids says, it could be worse.

- There is no way enough room for a new ride and accompanying queue there. The area is very small and rather peaceful. - It is by no means concrete there will be a new ride for 2013. - The Sunken Gardens area is basically a walkway in a circular-ish shape these days. I really don't think it would be suitable for a FN attraction as it wouldn't cope when busy. I guess anything is possible however. A shame if they're going to corner off the area permanmently. It's a really nice area, though I've heard the quietness can be abused; again a shame. The area's days are likely numbered anyway; would prefer it of it's open as long and as much as possible... EDIT: I have some pictures which I will post this evening.

There's a topic for these sort of questions - forum.maniahub.com/topic/7117-how-busy-is-it-going-to-be/page__st__360 [/backseatmod] On Monday, all schools and colleges should be back. Being a 10-5 day, it should be fairly quiet and I wouldn't think queues should exceed half an hour. Let us know how you get on though.

Very true. Dusk doesn't come till about 6ish (even a bit later perhaps) before the clocks change. I guess at 4 is when it does begin to get a bit 'less lighter', however (if that makes sense...)