MattyMoo

That may have had something to do with it, but it's pretty clear from acroprops etc. dotted around that the structure itself is evidently past it's best. Since it's now been sitting there for a number of years to rot further, untreated, I can't see Loggers Leap ever coming back now without being completely ripped out and started again!

I was there Saturday also - will do a full review shortly! Think Clowns 4D was my highlight this year, due to the interaction in there - we had paid for VIP tickets (back in February!) so had multiple goes and they remembered me each time, and when spotting my Smiler hoodie, proceeded to sing The Smiler "ha ha ha ha" Towers theme in my face and ears! I love that sort of interaction. Roaming actors are flipping brilliant at Tulleys - love the red headed woman on stilts with horns, Frankenstein's monster and wife were awesome too, the guys with Darren the rat in his box - but big shout out to the three nurses ? Such bloomin' good fun, and decided to give me a "check up" which was packed full of double entendres, making me squat on my knees and being told to make sure I kept eye contact, how they were concerned I looked stiff, and that I wasn't lubricated enough, showing me tongue exercises etc ? I needed a lie down! I think one of them is called Melody from talking to a mate who works there, kudos to her for making me laugh and embarrassed in equal measures! PS. Yes rain wasn't ideal but it was a lot better in the end than the forecast was!

My thoughts from last night's mEDiA pRESs NigHT at the Island Like No Other as follows... Top 5 Celebs I spotted. 1. TheJackSilkstone - was behind him in the free buffet queue so I now know how to create the SICKEST of SICK combos of buffet food. ? 2. The Scottish Man What Won Strictly Last Year 3. Err.... Right onto the important stuff - at approx 9pm the bar bill on just one of the tills in Fins was over £2k already. Oh no wait, I jest, now onto the important stuff... Mazes Ranked from Best to Really Really Really Awful: 1. BLAIR WITCH If you told me I was going to find this the best maze of the night before visiting, I would have said pickle me sideways and call be Shawn Sanbrooke but alas here we are! We had 3 run throughs on this, two of which where we were in just a pair and I have to say, the first in particularly, was ruddy brilliant. The scene is set very well at the start, love ending up "back where you started", some excellent jump scares, was proper dark and you really did feel you were going through the woods - Thorpe have played a blinder with the scenery in the dark, not so sure how it would work at 3pm! One run we had in a group of 8 (C'mon guys it's press night m8) wasn't as good so maybe come proper FN's with large groups this won't rank highly among da fans - but yes, for us it was our standout. One thing I will say - the Heras temporary fencing (Thorpe love the stuff) at the very start should have black plastic or a thicker tarpaulin on it because yellow (?!) doesn't exactly set the scene, nor does it manage to hide the platform of P15 to the left, so you can see the tour guide waiting for guests. I can also forsee the queue of Blair Witch going far far beyond the area they have set aside, it's tiny. 2. CONTAINMENT Cracking run on this in it's tweaked format. We were useless. The actors were most definitely not - the blonde girl doing the doctor intro at the start was fantastic, delivered so many lines as if she knew them like the back of her hand and performed it like she meant it. No actors in first room obvs, but the second room with the clocks - man, the actor in there was losing his sh**, amazing stuff, trashing the filing cabinet, getting up in our faces, muttering about time, freaking out - awesome. Similarly, the dentist room next was equally as hectic and delivered with passion, I was made to sit on the chair and the actor performed the creepy dentist role perfectly - also love how the assistant in the back ground does nothing and just looks creepy - until you get into room 4 where it all kicks off! Again we were thoroughly impressed with this attraction and the actors involved last night should be commended if they end up reading this, they knocked it out of the park. 3. THE WALKING DEAD: LIVING NIGHTMARE We got a Neagen, and Neagen had a proper mic! Impressed with this, as anticipated - top notch theming inside, and I love the intro (even if the families don't like the swears). New little twist halfway through at the car scene which worked well. As I say, love the theming on this, the bus is absolute quality and the rooms prior to that were packed with actors - good scares, breathing on your neck etc. Top tip: don't point out to the girl freaking out on her bed that her bottle of Smart Water is on her bedside table as she'll gesture to you to move away 4. MATT CREEK'S HAUNTED WOODED AREA This isn't actually a scare zone but a legit maze... we had low expectations but again there were some decent scares and everyone loves a chainsaw right? Again, a good intro and set piece (via some temporary fencing and you end up doubling back on yourself) which sets the scene well, a decent amount of actors scattered about. I liked it - some actors followed us out too (as they must have been going on their break!) but continued to scare us outside of the maze which was cool. Good interaction, and good to see the actors progressively more "contaminated" as it goes on. A solid effort if you ask me and we enjoyed. 5. SAW ALIVE Not much really to say about this - nothing has changed, it was OK... seemed to be over very quickly and there weren't too many actors vs. other mazes but it's SAW and it's well themed. 6. SANCTUM DO OR DIE THE WALKING DEAD If you look very carefully at this you can tell they've used the shipping containers from Sanctum in it's construction... We were underwhelmed by this, considerably. Expected good things - again, a good start with the bus and set piece with two actors arguing but after that it deteriorated pretty quickly. The area is too well lit (considering it was 8pm!) so you can see exactly where the actors are... just didn't do it for us at all and it all feels very temporary in it's construction (I appreciate it is temporary but you know) - this wouldn't be so noticeable if the lighting wasn't so bright. Perhaps we got unlucky with our run but for us it ranked about the same as Sanctum last year. 7. PLATFORM 15 Right, whoever's vanity project Platform 15 is at Thorpe Park - please, please, please admit defeat and get rid of it. I cannot comprehend any Youchoober or vlogstar or fan site raving about this. The walk at the start goes on for too long and does nothing in particular, walking alongside a rotting Loggers Leap, still lit up like a Christmas tree. You see the train with some dummies on it, you might get a bit of fire, you find a bride wandering about, then there's a house that smells of human faeces (which to be fair, had like 4 actors in which was random), then there's the never ending tunnel where not much happens and you get told to go back, and then you have to do a seance (and to put some positive spin on it - the actress here was good and felt like she was holding onto my hand for dear life) and then the conductor appears and then you're out, and you wonder - what the hell was all that about? And the answer is, no one actually knows. Maybe if they filled some areas with some smoke machines (although that's an expense) there'd be more atmosphere, but the walk is just too big and any pace or anticipation just goes and then you think "oh look, there's some actors coming up" and there they are. Kudos to the actors involved like I say because they were good, but the maze just doesn't work and we found it more of a chore to complete than a thrill. Sorry guys but I think Platform 15 needs a new timetable in 2019 where it gets taken over by Southern and then just never turns up. 8. VULCAN PEAK Well. Wow. This has to be quite possibly one of the most hastily and cheaply thrown together embarrassments of an attraction at Thorpe Park I've ever seen. Heck, it wasn't even supposed to open last night because it was still being finished, showing as "opening 5th October". The only plus point I can draw from this "attraction" is that they created an introduction video to watch, but make no mistake other than this, this maze is total utter garbage. I find hooded mazes pointless anyway, the original Hellements at Tulleys was poor, but they at least improved it last year by adding a live action section at the end. We must have literally had 1 actor in Vulcan Peak last night, and it was basically 5 minutes of walking round in the dark with a bag on your head. You then have to take off the bag, before walking through the inflatable walled section, and then you're out. Because that makes a lot of sense. Also - and this is possibly a small thing but it's all about the details - why on earth are there blue LED string lights in the bit where you take off your hood? Do they mean anything? Who decided to put them there? Who at Merlin signed that off? It looked like something from Maplins (RIP) and served no purpose - why not have a flickering light or something SpOoKy. Why not green so it's vaguely "jungle" themed? Anything, but that. That detail just typified the maze for me: cheap, tacky and pointless and I defy anyone to find it anything otherwise. This just screamed to me, Merlin wanted quantity over quality this year. I take pity on anyone should this get big queues and people decide to pay for a Fastrack one shot not knowing the horror that awaits. I can't comment on Fanta Horror Thing as it was still being finished (though did look quite impressive), nor Screamplexx. Spotted the Big Top show happening in the dome but didn't bother watching. Terror at Amity High - I assume this just means the roaming actors? I think? Anyway, they were out in force on the entrance bridge and were good! Massive shout out to the awesome clowns and associated freaks too, they are fantastic walking around and then starting their menacing clap before terrorising someone - genuinely top stuff there, was impressed and added to the night. More of this please! Had two rides on Stealth on the dark including one front row (swoon), a nice night ride on the smooth Swarm, a not so smooth ride on Sore The Ride, and my first ever ride on X Version 2.0. Which, to be fair to Thorpe really isn't that bad at all considering what they had to work with in terms of converting a family coaster. However, as expected, whoever signed off the article stating "15 out of 10 on the scare scale" really really needs to consider their life choices ? Total utter hyperbole as I expected but like I say - in terms of slapping on an IP on to X, they've done a pretty good job - I like the nod to X on the trains (at first I thought they'd just left the old logos on, ha!) No actor in the after ride bit though which was a shame. One thing I touched on earlier - being able to see P15 from Blair Witch etc. - those 3 mazes in Old Town are seriously seriously close together, and I wouldn't like to be queuing round there once FN's get in full swing and there's fast tracks and RAPs and what not going on because there is going to be SO many people in such a small place, it isn't going to be pretty. The Blair Witch queue as I say is tiny, assume they can extend out but yes, the quantity of mazes angle they are going for, when you have a finite amount of space like Thorpe has, could make peak times pretty horrific. Congratulations if you read all that. Bit of a mixed bag as you can see. Be intrigued as to how I find it when the general public (shudder) are allowed in when in visit on the 11th and 13th! ? Oh one thing I forgot to say - Thorpe definitely got a great bulk deal on human waste smell pods this year, bleugh! Could smell 'em in 4 different locations.

Agree from FN 2017 - not sure if it's been changed this year...? It was a very anti-climactic end to the maze last year from memory.

I think Dom means being let in before rides open to have a buffet is a rarity!

I didn't know that was a thing, @Marc - that actually sounds really decent! Is that weekends only?

Certainly sounds like a combined number of issues making the problem worse... general conclusion thus far seems to be better staff awareness/checking so cards are signed and secondly reducing the number of helpers per RAP. I think these two factors corrected would make a massive difference Of course what also doesn't help is when guests complain, the normal "compo" (sic) procedure is to give them a Fast-track pass or 5... which compounds the problem. Perhaps try and push some free food or drink vouchers instead if they can instead (and if they will accept them).

Nighttime robbery ?

Another excellent post @Marhelorpe. It's a bit of a "hot potato" to discuss but it's clear the system is broken and/or being abused/flouted beyond what it was intended for - that group of TWENTY people on one pass being a perfect case in point. I understand people have needs and reasons, but I can't help but think the popularity of the internet and therefore awareness of RAP's on groups such as the MAP group means they are being abused for the very slightest reasons purely to maximise the number of rides and minimise the queuing time vs. non RAP users. It wouldn't surprise me if Merlin are scared to refuse a RAP to a guest for fear of reprisals on social media, the press etc. which is a sorry state of affairs but that sums up the grabbing, want-want-want and superiority complex that an increasing number of the population seem to have. Did someone say VIP MAP lanyard? *cough*

Indeed. Rooms from £125... nice little money spinner for Thorpe there ?

THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS, I blagged my press event ticket under the premise that general riff raff would NOT be allowed in. Unbelievable. Now I know what the MAP holders group feel like - FUMIN'! ??

Enjoy is a very strong term, Mr. Creek. I would say I "tolerate" Colossus for example.

That's good to know. Just watched The Jack Silkstone's vlog from the sick AP preview night of sorts - have to say the roaming clowns looked good from that. Have also read complaints from the beloved MAP'ers group that they were too scary and were frightening their children... perhaps some research before visiting would be a good idea to a theme park that is allegedly the Year Of The Living Dead (and Love Island) when bringing your kiddy winks ?

I really hope Negan being absent is a temporary thing - he was fab last year! Iconic even.

In a frankly unheard of twist of events, I'm going to Thorpe on 4th, 11th and the 13th so will be interesting to see the difference in mazes, queue management etc. over those days... the initial reports are a little concerning but will reserve judgement until I experience it myself. (Tulleys on 6th.... shhhh)

Maybe the 12th attraction isn't happening...

To give Merlin some credit, I would say Wicker Man is approaching world class. However, the problem is always maintenance of effects and presentation - see The Smiler ?

Does anyone know if our beloved leader, Shawn Sanbrooke will be at FN's Press Night? Asking for a friend ?

Anyone who's anyone knows that Mr. Nick's natural odour is a beautiful heady mix of rosemary, thyme, mint and a slight hint of cardamom. ?

I spotted Chloe Jasmine (whoooo) off of that there X Factor of yesteryear at last year's press night. Had to Google her as couldn't remember her name, luckily "posh girl x factor" gave me her name ?

Thorpe are being a lot stricter with plus ones this year on press night, as previously discussed (unfortunately/fortunately).

Yes. The third train is for parts. That's the theory anyway ?

Cheers for that ? Simple but effective. Happy FN memories! And not an IP in sight...

Ah yes, Humpty Dumpty on Detty - good times! Seems like I'm going to Thorpe 3 times in October now, I've become a proper #enthusiast

No - Annual Pass "preview" on Saturday 29th with "selected mazes" (I.e. those that are finished). Press Night 4th October First "proper" Fright Night for the great unwashed, 5th October.