JoshC.
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Posts posted by JoshC.
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The park have confirmed some details about Fright Nights maze tickets for this year's event:
-There will be 3 paid-for mazes again this year.
-You can either book an afternoon slot (3pm-6pm) or evening slot (6pm-9pm) for mazes
-Afternoon slots for the Terrifying Frio package cost £24 (£19.20 with passholder discount)
-Evening slots cost £30 (no passholder discount available)
-An "unlimited" Passholder maze ticket is available, priced at £99 and valid for all of Fright Nights and all mazes
The afternoon/evening slots definitely reflect the demand of the mazes. For one reason or another, people always do the mazes in the evening, even if they're indoors and don't suffer from light bleed. That always led to the mazes being significantly busier in the evening, and causing many issues. Hopefully this helps spreads the crowds. Also nice to see that the afternoon slots represent a decrease in price compared to last year's prices.The unlimited pass for Passholders is a nice idea too tbf.
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Vertical construction will probably be starting September / October time.
For a point of reference, Swarm's didn't start until late September, and only took about 30 days.
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The exact quote in question:
QuoteHey we don’t plan to keep Slammer sitting around much longer especially with a beautfil new coaster nearby! No set date of removal yet but we’ll keep you all updated. No plans to sell any parts.
Really, it doesn't confirm anything. The park have said in the past they would consider removing it / have plans to remove it, etc. Obviously hasn't happened yet. And those plans could be a few years in the future.
Really, until we actually see plans for something to replace it, or see it physically getting torn down, we should assume it is here for the long haul.
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2 hours ago, tactic said:
How quickly do we think the can rip out black mirror to put a new maze in there??
Not quick enough to close it now and put a new maze in there for October, would be the blunt answer.
6 hours ago, ML27 said:Where is a new maze going to go? I can’t see them building another building to house a maze. Back in 2021, Neil (then general manager) now divisional director said that indoor mazes were the way they wanted to go. I have a feeling tho, it maybe a shipping container maze back to the likes of the walking dead mazes. There isn’t just the space for an indoor one.
I certainly expect another indoor maze, but as you say, there's no way they'd create a new building, and there's no pre-existing building which can house a maze.
My best bet would be shipping containers. You can see the appeal: everything can be done off site, and then you simply drop them into place and connect up the electrics. After all, that's what Experiment 10 / My Bloody Valentine was. And that could certainly fit in either the Saw pathway, the Lost City area or the Beach.
The second option would be a teng. But I can't imagine Thorpe wanting to build, dismantle and rebuild a tent maze each year again. At the same time, it could happen, and that could be why they've started Death's Doors so early.
I'd like to see (in the future) the park revisit outdoor mazes again. Possibly just the one, as a free experience. I guess a sorta evolution of what the Crows experience has been - a walk through which gives you a taste of what the mazes are like, whilst not being at the same level. Whets the whistles for some, helps introduce people to the concept if they're unsure too.
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I mean nothing is confirmed; just a rumour from a Youtuber. Even if it is a more reputable one, there's nothing set in stone.
What's more, I wouldn't call it an overhaul if anything does happen. Improvements, sure. Overhaul, no.
Until it happens, I don't think we should count on it happening.
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Well Death's Doors is back up...
it's a interesting scenario, building a scare zone so soon. Especially one which can be built so quickly. I guess, in part, it helps advertise the event.
I'd also hazard a guess that they don't have the manpower to build multiple attractions in September, plus doing whatever they need to on existing attractions and running the other events. Thus creating a need for building stuff now.
We'll be getting a new maze (presumably just the one). It was strongly suggested that it was the last year of Amity vs LycanThorpe. The space the Crows took up is a lot more open so needs more work too. Plus if they choose to bring back Terminal, that needs improvements. So there's a lot to do.
I've also heard that the park now has an Events/Entertainments Project Manager, as well as more staff focused primarily on the operational and design features of Events, particularly Fright Nights. Hopefully this will allow a much more streamlined process all round.
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25 minutes ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:
It appears Alton Manor is set for an overhaul!!
Where has this information come from?
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I've had a look around all the archives I have access to, and I don't have any images or videos of the game, or even of the minisite.
I can give a bit more detail though...
-The game was called "Disciples of Saw", and indeed was how you described. The objective said to do the game in as quick a time as possible, but as long as you completed it, you were entered into the Ride it First competition (fun fact: I was a winner of the Ride it First competition!)
-The minisite for the ride was originally called ProjectDylan.com. When the ride name was announced, it changed to SawTheRide.com
-There was a really nice blog / developers diary on the minisite...I've tried looking on Wayback Machine to get some stuff, but no luck with any visuals.
I do hope there's some images somewhere - the minisite in general was pretty cool, and got 14 year old me excited!
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Construction had begun on the site where Death's Doors was last year:
https://twitter.com/J_Silkstone/status/1684539562230526102?t=6UwnRfKLeV6Y8I2ZZQuqjg&s=19
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Did Ghost Train yesterday. A couple of notable changes:
-There is now only 1 nun actor on the carriage.
-The finale actor has a cloak when they appear through the wall, making them look like a druid/monk/wraith.
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Went to the Carnival event yesterday.
It's definitely a family-oriented event, but it's fun enough for what it is. The use of the Saw Alive pathway is perfect for these events really.
Trailers is a weird one. It's not a scare maze, because it's not designed to be scary. But it's not an interactive walkthrough. It's a maze with clowns who interact with you. The park was quiet yesterday, but it had basically no queue whatsoever. One has to wonder if it would be worth them just making it a free experience to give people more options, rather than making it an upcharge.
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I think in an ideal world a flat ride would have replaced Slammer this year, helping to revamp the area, draw eyes to that part of the park, then you have a ready made new support ride for Exodus next year for people who haven't visited in a couple of years. Black Mirror could still exist in the space too.
Hopefully the park revamp the toilets in the area too. Again, they need it, and they're the last ones on park which need it.
The biggest 'disappointment' in my eyes over the Exodus investment is the lack of anything else (as things stand). We're getting the coaster, and then either a shop or food unit with it. That part of the park is in need of another non-coaster ride, another F&B unit serving lunch options and a shop as a minimum ideally. Hopefully it'll all come sooner or later, but it's a bit of a disappointment it's not all as one big cohesive investment.
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2 hours ago, eveares said:
Don't know if there is any truth in this, but I recall a staff from the park a couple of years ago saying the reason Slammer is still standing is because it's tied in with a legal contract with Rush and that it can not be removed until Rush also goes.
Either way, I do miss Slammer and it's sad to see it standing there. It's never going to happen I know, but I do wonder how much it would hypothetically cost Thorpe to repair Slammer and get it back into operation?
Yeah, there's no truth it that rumour. There would be no legal obligation on Thorpe's behalf to keep the ride stood there. If there was, it would more than likely be an obligation to have it actually running rather than not.
The reason it's stood there now is simple: money. Why spend money removing it and replace it with nothing more than a flat space, when they can wait and replace it with a new attraction? Then the money spent on its hypothetical removal can be spent on more urgent things for now.
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Equally, this could be a double bluff, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Exodus. And indeed, could mean absolutely nothing.
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There's over 400 pieces of supports, so will take many, many trucks!
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2 hours ago, coasterverse said:
A great idea coming out of the annual passholders group this evening, but I can't help but be a little frustrated that passholders are still required to pay so much money?! I understand that it's so they can pump more money into Fright Nights (apparently), but honestly as the years go by it seems that annual passholders are receiving less and less perks and feels like they're trying to totally phase out the extras other than free entry at this point.
I think it's worth pointing out that as Halloween event at theme parks have grown, it is very much the norm that parks charge their passholders extra for Halloween attractions. Even moreso post-Covid. This isn't just a Merlin thing, it's an industry thing.
Now there's loads of arguments that can be made both ways about this. And of course we can say that 'just because everyone else does it, it doesn't mean Thorpe should'. But I think it's a point worth stressing. Most theme parks charge for their mazes, and that includes charges for their passholders. Thorpe aren't some special case here. That means whatever the reasons they have, they won't be unique to the park, they're a common, industry trend.
2 hours ago, coasterverse said:Survival Games being the big investment for last year, but even that I don't see how that is the biggest Fright Nights investment to date? The building is just big. The quality of scares isn't any greater than it was pre-paid era Fright Nights, so what is the point honestly?
I asked this to people in the know, as I was somewhat confused as to how Survival Games was the most expensive maze investment myself.
The answer is simple, albeit underwhelming. The cost of raw materials. At a time where the cost of everything is soaring, even things like the wood used to build sets has gone up in price (I hear it had quadrupled in price compared to even Creek Freak Massacre). That adds a significant amount of cost.
Another, separate issue, is that Thorpe are once again using external companies to build their mazes. That has pros and cons. One of the main cons is the price: the external company can name their price, and Thorpe will pay, and it can mean that the cost of labour is significantly more than if they had an in-house team, or even worked with MMM.
Obviously there's a marketing incentive to advertise mazes as expensive to build. People hear "expensive to build maze" and they think "it must be quality". Whether that ends up being true or not is a different matter.
Ultimately I think that the overall quality of the event has improved. The park are investing more money into the event (even scaling for inflation), and have expanded in a sensible way in recent years.
2 hours ago, coasterverse said:This is definitely a Merlin-wide issue and not a park specific issue - but bringing it back to Thorpe specifically, I've said it countless times that I honestly don't see that big of a Fright Nights improvement since they introduced paid mazes. Take The Big Top for example - a free entry maze that easily levels (if not surpasses) the experience of Trailers.
Big Top is a great example of a great maze, yes. It's also a great example of what I mentioned above.
2015 Big Top was made by an external company. To some degree, that would have involved Thorpe giving said company a brief and a discussed-upon budget, and from there, it was out of their hands. We ended up with a maze which had potential and was different, but not well received.
2016 and 2017 Big Top were designed in house, by the park's scenic and tech team at the time. They had greater freedom and creative control, the money that would have gone to the pockets of an external company could instead go into the maze in some way.
Here's where an issue lies with the current creative identity of Fright Nights. By having mazes designed by external companies, you can get that expertise in, and get a solid product. But that doesn't mean you will get the best value for money, or the best product. But at the same time, there currently isn't the skill-set at the park is design and build mazes from the ground up. They can conceptualise, work with external companies, etc, but they can't do it all.
Again, I stress that's not a bad thing. But it can hamper the processes and result in some poor experiences, or experiences not being as good as they could (/ should) be.
2 hours ago, coasterverse said:Most scare attractions from what I see have moved away from this model now and are now allowing their guests to do the scare mazes multiple times for the price of admission - which is how it should be in my opinion. The only leg up that Thorpe Park (and all the other Merlin parks offering a Halloween event) have on them is that they have rollercoasters to compliment the lineup. That's it.
I don't know how true it is about 'most scare attractions allowing multiple runs'. But here's the biggest thing that Thorpe (and Towers) have to deal with: competition from scare parks. 10-15 years ago, the idea of a scare park was a huge novelty, and outside of a handful, they just didn't exist. These days, they're much more common. That creates significantly more competition.
The competition from scare parks when it comes to quality is very strong. In part, this is because scare parks have...less strict H&S regulations to follow (because Merlin impose such strict rules on themselves). In part it's because they have stronger creative freedom over their attractions, usually designed in-house by specialists with a passion for the industry. In part it's just because they are a scare park, and focus solely on that.
It's a very broad and layered landscape now. And the comparisons that brings makes it very challenging for the parks to be on top.
- tactic, coasterverse and WWTPRadio
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50 minutes ago, tactic said:
I think since the start Jack has been some sort of marketing for exodus. In the description of all the construction updates there is something along the lines of ‘this video is made in cooperation with thorpe park therefore I class it as product placement’.
Yep, this is the key point:
QuoteThorpe Park have not paid me to create this content, however by allowing me access to areas that are not available to the general public and because I am benefiting from said access - this is deemed as product placement.
Jack, and Kieran, are not - to the best of my knowledge - directly employed by the park / Merlin. They effectively operate as contractors. This isn't too dissimilar to how Thorpe work with other companies, such as Unique Concepts. In short, by hiring them as contractors, Thorpe get their expertise, whilst the contractors (in Jack's case, himself) can get more money than if they worked solely for Thorpe, and are free to work for other companies too. If anything, Thorpe are the ones who lose out slightly, but that's the way they go about things.
3 hours ago, Glitch said:I do feel sorry for the other UK youtubers, why does Coasterstudios get to go on site but Legends like DGOfficial who have been putting in a load of hard work arn't getting any access, seems like access is being gatekept?
Access will in part be restricted for H&S reasons. I think it's notable that during Jack's on-site construction updates, it is only him (and not him and Kieran) on-site. There's a reason why we rarely see such in-depth coverage of coaster construction. I expect that the signing off and training process that Jack had to go through to be allowed on site is a lot.
When Coasterstudios did their update, I noted that they were only ever on the viewing platform above the offices. So they likely went through a different H&S sign off to be allowed on site. I'm certain that their presence was pre-approved by Thorpe, and not Jack just having a jolly with mates and letting who he wanted on site.
As for why them and no one else. Ultimately, Coasterstudios is huge across the pond, so will get a little more enthusiast buzz created in America, for very little cost.
Now here's the thing, with the more Thorpe / UK centric sites. Who do you choose outside of Jack?
Do you choose DG95, who is clearly very passionate, but has a limited fanbase and who's videos are more rough the edges?
Do you choose Attraction Source, a large fansite who work with Merlin for paid extra events and produce higher quality videos?
What about ECC, with their broad reach?
Or CoasterForce; again somewhere with broad reach, one of the longest-running fansites about and who produce quality content?
And what about TPM? We're the only sole-Thorpe-focused fansite around now; our reach on social media is very big (and our Facebook, in particular, attracts people far beyond the usual enthusiast circles).
So yeah, how do you choose? Why should any of them get access?
Maybe it's just a case of asking - I don't know if anyone else has, but I know TPM hasn't. Ultimately, as awesome as it would be to go onto a coaster construction site, I don't know what TPM (or anyone else) can offer that's different to the content that's already been produced by someone else. So why should anyone else get access...
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On 6/30/2023 at 2:10 PM, Benin said:
But the influencers said it'd be closed all season because the track was cracked! Does this mean they fibbed to get Internet clout?
Wild speculation really does go unchecked these days.
I reckon they were just psychics who got confused between Nemesis Inferno's track and Fury 325's supports.
- ImLucifer and coasterverse
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I went on Ghost Train again yesterday. There's effectively no difference to the experience, beyond a different costume for the finale actor.
Presumably the 4 day closure was focusing more on technical aspects, to do with computer hardware for the ride system, and similar things.
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The fact that it's all during one week makes me wonder if it's for some sort of filming / marketing, which is why the rides are opening slightly later. Obviously lots of questions remain if that is the case.
Closures / delayed openings are always a pain, but ultimately 45 minutes for one coaster at the start of the day on an off peak day isn't the most disastrous case.
- coasterverse and Cal
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They do need to so what Towers did with Hex and make it a bit clearer it's more an experience than a ride. I hope they can make that clearer soon.
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I think the Imagine Dragons song is a more recent addition...I don't remember it playing during my runs on the preview event, but heard it on my run on Friday.
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I like the use of Imagine Dragon's Believer, in that it adds that little bit of humour. That smirk across your face when you hear it and put 2 and 2 together. However, you usually walk straight through this room; maybe held for a few moments at most. But it's not something you'd be hearing a lot of in any case. Being held in that room and hearing it a lot probably does detract from the vibe a bit.
Ghost Train does well at blending the scary bits and the humour, a bit like with the Dungeons, but it has to be careful that to hit the mark each time. It's easy to go too far on the humour, or for it to just not work if the timings are off.
- ML27, Cornflakes and coasterverse
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Fright Nights 2023
in General Discussion
Posted
I wouldn't use that picture as a means of confirming what is and is not returning. They have used that image all season, and it is just a visual made by Jack Silkstone (for the park of course) using existing images.
I expect the new maze will use shipping containers. They have used them for Survival Games, and they looked into using them for Trailers. They have lots of positives and can be placed in several places across the park, giving more flexibility for the park.