JoshC.

Yep, it hasn't been officially confirmed anywhere (in the sense that they haven't said on social media / website / app that Legacy is running today), but the fact they've updated the app to include showtimes suggest that it will indeed be running this evening! Everyone's favourite Thorpe Park fansite () will be there tonight hoping to see some fire...

It was delayed for various reasons. I hear the park have been working on it a lot the last couple of days in particular, so hopefully should be ready now, but still no confirmation. A good thing is that the park have released "Legacy Hints" on the park app over the last day, which means that something should still happen.

Who's ready for a good ol' fashioned bit of speculation... So people have seen and brushed aside the 'TP-RMC 22' gag in Trailers. TPM even did a (admittedly somewhat clickbaity) article discussing what it means: https://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/07-10-2021/New+for+2022%3F!+RMC+and+Egypt%3F%3F In short: yeah, it's a joke to get people talking and/or laughing. Now if they put TP-RMC 23, it might have got people's attention a bit more. But what if there's something else hidden in Trailers? Some may remember I tried starting up a theme park blog earlier in the year. It's still alive and kicking, but I haven't updated it in ages. The last post on there (cheeky plug) was about the Easter Eggs / references that had appeared on some graffiti-decorated grabbing machines opposite Ghost Train. Most of them I was able to figure out. One I couldn't figure out was Exodus: I wracked my brain and can't think of any relation to has to anything Thorpe-related. I asked around, and no one could think of anything either. Heh, fair enough. Could be anything. And in Trailers, it appears again, albeit slightly more subtly: Okay, it has the obvious X:\No Way Out link, but it's also clearly there to say 'Exodus' too. Pushing the boundaries of coincidence now. Obviously could still mean anything, could mean nothing. Could even be Thorpe making something out of nothing to get people talking and making post like these. A speculative mind could start trying to put 2 and 2 together here though. That poster has trees in the background, with a vague look of the trees which go around Old Town. Trees are being cut down round Old Town, and Platform 15 is closing. So could Thorpe finally be building a coaster again, have it going round Old Town, and the project name is Exodus? Nah, probably not... Unless..?

So let's post the official review from TPM then: https://thorpeparkmania.co.uk/news/07-10-2021/Fright+Nights+2021+Review And now my personal review. Trailers Trailers is great. Starts off with 2 pre show sequences which feels a little unnecessary, but they work and do the job. You then, as expected, go through scenes from seven different films, which themselves are references to previous Fright Nights attractions. A nice little touch is that each film takes place in a different 'screen' in the cinema, and the screen numbers are the year each maze opened (eg: Bozo's Playground relates to The Big Top, which opened in 2015, and so is in screen 15). Once you get through that, you go into the Project Room of the cinema, which has all the characters leave their films and come to life. It features some good spark effects and air cannons, but it needs a little bit more oompf. Something to really just cap it off. I'm not sure what exactly - maybe just more sparks and more air blasts would do it. But it just needs something. Trailers has lots of good effects (many are button operated by actors for added effect and good timing). From a story perspective, I still don't really *get* the electricity motif. Like it's said that there's power surges and outages and stuff, which kinda explains why the films are coming to life. But it feels very removed from the idea of the films coming to life themselves. It's like two separate ideas merged into one. Creek Freak Massacre The same as 2019 pretty much, bar a couple of minor practical changes. It's good, people will enjoy it, but not my thing. Platform 15: End of the Line Another new story and new lighting package. A really neat animatronic of children in a playground near the start too. Aside from that, more of the same. That's off slow and gets better throughout. Couple of good jumps near the end. There's lots of audio throughout the maze explaining the story, making it feel more like a tour. I know others liked it, but not for me - felt very lazy. Crows of Mawkin Meadow Nice use of space, and Saw Alive is completely hidden when you're there. It's fine for what it is, but I reckon this will struggle during normal operation. Birthday Bash This is actually very similar to Fearstival Arena last year, just with a birthday theme rather than a creepy carnival theme. Lots of dark humour. Show is good, maybe a bit long, but easy to dip in and out of. Really strong characters and actors here too. Amity vs LycanThorpe Nice new dance routine. Features full length songs though with the schools 'dancing off' against each other; think it might flow better if the songs cut over one another. Swarm Invasion More props, more actors. Needs a bit more time to bed in but it's decent and fun, and will grow and get better. Creek Freaks Unchained Dialled back from last year now the maze is open; lots of good photo opportunities though. Legacy Currently not ready. Not sure when it will be ready. Hopefully the park handle it's lack of ready-ness well, and it is ready asap. Very much an overview review for now - will hopefully give some more thoughts later in the event. But simply put, Thorpe have created a great parkwide atmosphere with lots of different themes and ideas. It's had the time, thought and money put into it this year, and it's a great event. Are the mazes worth £10? Probably not. Are they of good enough quality that upcharging in its own right feels justified. To be honest, I'd say yes. In any case, Fright Nights is pretty fab and well worth the visit.

As you may have seen, a new spoiler-specific thread has been set up for Fright Nights now: Please post all spoilers in there from now on (will leave any previous stuff here for convenience). This thread will stay open for anyone who wants to avoid spoilers but wants to discuss Fright Nights thangs

It's that time of year again! Tonight is the Press Night for Fright Nights, and so I fully expect some spoilers to start floating around social media from later this evening. From now on, please post anything spoiler related here. The non-spoiler thread will remain open and available. Also, of course, everyone's favourite Thorpe Park fansite will be there and posting updates throughout the afternoon and evening. Make sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter in particular! On a final note, here is the entrance feature to Trailers, from Jack Silkstone...

Jack Silkstone has made a documentary about the Big Top. It includes a look at 3 versions and interviews with members of the Ents and Tech teams at the time. Really good and well worth the watch!

There's been some cracking promo videos for the attractions coming out lately: Creek Freaks Crows of Mawkin Meadow: I imagine we'll get one a day for each attraction

Looks about right - they increase the price of the Ultimate Fastrack during Fright Nights, and then they just tack on the £30 for the mazes on top of that. Bit weird to not give any sort of discount for the mazes. I'm sure prior to the mazes being upcharge, it worked out cheaper to buy Ultimate Maze Fastrack rather than Ultimate Ride Fastrack + Maze Fastrack. Hopefully it's made clear to those who buy that the mazes don't actually have Fastrack, and you're just getting a ticket for each included.

Whilst it's true the park have done work to the system to make rollbacks less of a thing, they will still happen. It's just one of those things with launch coasters, even with modern ones. Getting it back open quickly is a good sign, in theory, that they were able to pinpoint the reason why it rolled back and feel confident it wouldn't happen again. Then again, I hear it also rolled back this morning too. Could be a weather related thing given the reasonably quick change we've had from warmer and humid weather to colder and wetter weather?

Confirmed to be Jumanji: The Adventure... https://www.gardaland.it/jumanji/ With the all but confirmed nature of Chessington's new land being Jumanji themed, I'm expecting this to be a new dark ride experience. Gardaland can ride off the IP and "world's first Jumanji ride". Chessington can then ride off the IP and "world's first Jumanji roller coaster".

If you like images from the sky showing a reduction in the number of trees in a random location, boy do I have a treat for you... There is very much a clear and obvious removal of trees over the year period between March 2020 and April 2021. So, what does it mean? Who knows. One would certainly have to raise a suspicious eyebrow at this slow deforestation and the fact that this is Platform 15's final year. But here's the thing. Cutting down trees is a very simple job in the grand scheme of things. If an investment for 2022 (or 2023, or beyond) was going there, what need is there to cut down trees over a year and a half in advance? Genuinely don't know the answer there. Maybe some groundwork surveying or something? I dunno. Could this just be a sign that there's some diseased trees in the area? Or that the trees were felled for all the wood used in Creek Freaks Unchained last year? Could there be a plan in the future to create a building round the Platform 15 route to create an indoor maze space? Or could it actually be for some new ride in the future? Only time will tell I guess.

A selection of updates is available on the TPM Facebook page... Most exciting one is for Legacy, which is having a huge rig being set up on the Beach: https://www.facebook.com/thorpeparkmania/posts/10166055995155624 It looks similar to the rig that's been set up in the past at Fear at Avon Valley, done by Aardvark FX (who do great fire effects). Could be a really fun show!

Don't think it does it much any more (though I'm not that well acquainted it tbh!)

This is what is said when you go through to buy it online: So it doesn't list Walking Dead The Ride. But I think that could be an outdated list and Walking Dead might be included now. Your best bet would be to ask the park directly for confirmation

Yep, VIP host gives you the front of the line, choice of seat experience. They'll also litter your day with fun facts about the park, etc. There's a very niche market for it, but for a select few I'm sure it is worth it.

I've just checked now and it seems to have been edited to remove 'Outdoor'. So I assume it was a typo / copied from a previous template. Everything suggests it will be indoors. I imagine the 'take your seats' is in reference to the cinema-esque style, and perhaps even a possible pre show element.

Some constructiony updates via Everything Fright Nights... The Crows of Mawkin Meadow is receiving some hay Creek Freak Massacre is going through tech rehearsals: Work is going on round Old Town for Creek Freaks Unchained: Somewhat tacky addition to the Platform 15 entrance: Saving the most interesting one for last: There's been some work towards the side / back of the building for Trailers. This has recently been themed, and very much seems like this will be the entrance of the maze. That would make it the first time the entrance for an attraction in that building wasn't by the main corner by the pathway.

A passholder preview event has been set for Thursday 7th October with all attractions available. All passholders get free entry (regardless of exclusions) and 50% off mazes (presumably make the trio ticket £12):

Just shows how meaningless - and perhaps farcical - the Golden Ticket Awards are.

Hey there. Here's the locations of all of the photo points: Stealth: At start of launch Swarm: Just after the billboard Saw: Just after airtime hill Colossus: After 5th inversion (double corkscrew); it's near the queue line entrance so you should be able to see it Nemesis Inferno: Just after the final inversion (corkscrew); again, you should see when in the queue as well Rumba Rapids: Near the water tower at the end (though currently the flash isn't working on that) Tidal Wave: Bottom of drop Walking Dead The Ride: Spoilered just in case you don't know about this surprise Flying Fish: Turn into the first helix (you can't miss it)

As of yesterday, construction and preparation has turned up a notch for Fright Nights: Seemingly the Saw Alive pathway will be the location of the Crows scare zone: Old Town is being partially shut off for Creek Freaks Unchained: I am also under the impression that much of Trailers is complete now, which is a good sign of course.

It is basically the same voice as heard on Detonator which says something along the lines of "Bavarian Bingo has been activated..." (along with other stuff). It then plays the Chicken Dance song, which goes into one of the Bavarian versions of the Thorpe Park tune. The actual tune of the Chicken Dance song into that Bavarian version is cool in itself, but the randomness I'm less a fan of, especially when it can be very jarring with the music and announcements of the ride itself. Would rather musical overlays or nothing new, not an awkward blend of both.

Went to the Oktoberfest event this weekend. Marked improvement over last year's event. The main area from last year remains and is more or less the same. The tented picnic area in Lost City is also an Oktoberfest tent, with beer and entertainment. There's live music and actors around these areas from 12pm, along with the food offerings available. There's themed music around the rides again, along with the random 'Bavarian Bingo' which takes over rides randomly. Not a fan of that; would prefer something a bit more streamlined, but I guess it's cool all the same. I think Rumba (sorry, Oompah) Rapids has new audio over last year which is better. Detonator audio is the same as last year and I still don't like it. The main problem I have is that the actors the park have speak with terrible German accents. In the sense that they're meant to be terrible. They act as caricatures of Germans. It's "'Allo! 'Allo!" level of humour, and is extremely cringey. It's really, really not my thing. Maybe it's something the masses react positively, but it simply doesn't work for me. But yeah, as I say, a marked improvement from last year. Some good entertainment. Just drop the cringey accents please.

And the final maze, Trailers: The 'never ending loop' thing makes me wonder if this will feature some sort of multi-route / repetition throughout the maze. The theme is a nice idea and I've seen other places make this sort of concept work. And I also think this is where these play a part: These are probably the 'films' which are shown at the SuperSpark Cinema, and throughout the maze, you enter into a scene of each one. This then combines a nice mix of Fright Nights throwback whilst keeping things fresh (and makes things easy to follow for people unfamiliar with old mazes too). I think the main concern I have there is space. The Jungle Escape space isn't that big: I reckon it's similar to Creek Freak Massacre, if not, smaller. So it's by no means small, but not huge either. So fitting in 8 scenes (plus the inevitable pre show, and an ending scene) is a challenge, especially if you want to make sure the maze flows coherently too. I think being upcharge and putting people in small groups will be a huge help, but that still isn't an answer to many of the concerns.