MattyMoo

Those screens in the Swarm queue haven't worked for quite some time as far as I am aware! Shame as they actually help set the scene/story!

Nicked this off that there Twitter - what a welcome to the Island Like No Other that entrance screen is. One part on the left has been broken for what seems like years, but it now seems that the rest of the screen is trying to catch up 😆 Hope it's still under warranty.

Different colour flags and they rename the food stands 🙃

I stand by my prediction of just a load of ruddy clowns throughout it. Agree with the above, my first thought was exactly "SAW Alive outside of Halloween didn't work out, and that wasn't even an upcharge". I'm not convinced the general public are still super enamoured with the idea of upcharges on top of the entrance fee.

Twitter algorithms pointed me towards a tweet containing the below - interesting! One would assume just a load of clowns throughout the whole ruddy thing or.... IS IT.... COULD IT BE.... A NOD TO THE BIG TOP.

Random post alert - credit to Towers Times for this picture from back in the archives - whatever happened to these Smiler logo graphics on the backs of the trains?

I think this is a very real possibility - this is quite a unique site to build on, versus say, The Smiler. It's always far messier and more involved when you are demolishing/building next to water. Looking back at The Smiler construction the time from ground clearance completed (and excavations started) to opening day was approximately 10 months - I really would imagine though, that Thorpe would want a start-of-the-season opening for Exodus if at all possible to start the season off with a bang and get momentum going for (fingers crossed) 2024, after so many years of "events" and "experiences".

I see Swarm Island entrance has a little "NEWS 16" newspaper sign (the kind you'd get outside an off licence/convenience store) saying "Church Open For Shelter" on one side and "They Came From The Sky" on the other. Nice little additon.

Fire effect anyone? Ever? Maybe New For 2023?

That's Vibes Bar & Kitchen to you, son! 😂 I see from the latest TPWW visit to Thorpe that DBGTROTD's fake shop ending was not operational at all on their visit - not even the white t-shirt actor version!

Surely they could move Rocky Express to Chessington and theme it to Scorpion Valley?

So - sorry - are we saying that people emailing the council with "come on m8 let em bild The Xodus cos I live local and would be sick and means I dont ave2 go2 Blackpool, kind regards" don't counteract the objections of the Environment Agency? I THOUGHT WE LIVED IN A DEMOCRACY 😡 Simple solution: Scrap Exodus, bring back Old Town as Even Older Town, and bring Slammer back to life.

eAStER egG, a NoD tO tHE biG ToP. One thing that you can't fault Thorpe on is their commitment to making the most out of any set pieces or props they have bought....

EA Sports.

Well that's not very mysterious is it! Unless... game... I want to play a game.... SAW: The Bigger Ride C O N F I R M E D.

Whilst we're at it, anyone heard anything about Slammer's fate?

Yep, spot on - from the very off with this ride after my first run through all those years ago, I have always sung the praises of the hanging carriage, the tube train & station platform. They are all incredibly, incredibly well done and immersive and I don't really think anything else quite compares - in the UK at least - in a theme park. Swarm Island is definitely up there but DBGT's interior is a step even further up.

Cheers for that @JoshC. - re: the hanging carriage, you're completely right, bearing in mind it's a huge huge part of everything about the ride, you barely get time to even "appreciate" it to be honest!

But...but... but... what about the Retrosquad? People definitely want to go to a theme park to ride fun fair rides with stickers on?

Well done to all concerned... I didn't get to experience Fright Night's last year but Trailers, both concept, branding and theming looked particularly decent to me! That, combined with Creak Freak is a pretty solid offering. Was saying to @JoshC. earlier - as much as I am a fanboi of Tulley's, it did feel maybe a little stale in 2021 vs. what Thorpe were offering (though I didn't get to experience that in the flesh, as it were) - hopefully the 2 new haunts this year will give it a little bit of a refresh, and hopefully more story led concepts like Trailers. Fingers crossed my £95 (GULP) advance VIP ticket is worth it

or use as an eASTeR EGg/nOD to ThE pASt (aka lazy theming) in a Fright Nite's maze xoxo

Just spotted these posts - yes, Twisted will be missed as it was something completely different to the rest of the haunts. I'm not convinced that the clowns are coming back personally, but we'll see. Clowns just had a totally opposite vibe to all the other mazes, a good mix of humour and banter mixed with jump scares. That bungee was iconic too! All that said, I'm pleased Tulley's are mixing it up a bit this year as otherwise I think with just one new maze (Wastelands extension...?) it would feel a little tired to say the least I think. My personal opinion is we could do without VIXI/Hellements but I guess the whole blinded idea scares some people. I just find it boring as hell and would much rather the whole Hellements theme was done without the bags!

Forgot a ride from my rIDe CoUnT, inexcusable. It was of course - Wild Hog Dodgems NEW FOR 2022 WITH ADDED CENTRAL PLASTIC SHEET VIEWING WINDOW 🤩

Just to add to what @Han30 said - I just can't believe that the second VR featuring the demon, which was actually quite good, has been cut so much, so that it now barely features the demon - which features in the name of the flippin' ride! Also - that 1950s style microphone on the Minds Wanted plinth looked very familiar, I wonder if the Lycans will want it back for Fright Nights? Or maybe it was an "easter egg".

Maybe they are mixing up the VR a bit still... which is something!