MattyMoo

All hail the Slammer Memorial Pit.

Only a year out.
 
Thorpe have applied for permission to remove it. Finally.
 
Rust in pieces.

That's mad. I don't even recall RAP being a thing on the Blue Light day I went to.

When everyone has RAP, nobody has RAP. 

@Cal that's an incredible bargain, however I'm a fake fan and am MAP-less!

Have you got a merlin pass/thorpe pass? 
 
If you book a date either side of a closed date in September for 2 people its currently £65 and include unlimited all day fasttrack including on Hyperia. Crazy value seeing as Hyperia 1 shots are currently £20.
 
https://www.thorpepark.com/short-breaks/offers-packages/merlin-holiday-club/

If an Easter Egg is a put up in a forest and no one understands it correctly, is it still a Easter Egg?

Okay honest Tulleys Review from my visit a few weeks back.
 
I visited early on in the season and I found my visit to be really good. I did about 20 maze throughs with two fastracks (just for Purgatory). I think if you are going next year do an early day in the season and you will be shocked at the light crowds. Hayride, Wastelands, Coven, all walk on. Queued 15 minutes for DoomTown and that besides Purgatory, was the only wait.
 
Purgatory:
Very Very different maze from Tulleys here. Purgatory uses the haunted lantern technology and uses it pretty well in my opinion. The Nuns in an abandoned manor I thought was a good idea, though theming is a little light compared to stuff like DoomTown. I feel it is a little more psychological compared to the rest of the lineup with a lot of The Nuns stalking you and trailing you, this makes it feel quite distinct. I feel it has some issues like a lack of a finale and some light bleed. These though I think are stuff that can be worked on and the concept itself is good. The VERY small groups that are batched are great, but equally makes the queue very hard. 
 
DoomTown:
Theming is still just stupidly detailed and it feels very full of actors. 3 years in and I am still wondering how a farm can build a literal 80s town. The theme is just beyond cool and the maze has a lively cast to back it up.
 
Wastelands:
Brilliant sets, loads of actors, and generally just a really consistent attraction for me. The outside show is a really fun riot like usual too.
 
Carving:
Probably the best use of this space? Adding talking I think helps differentiate this from the other mazes. I love the saw mill at the back, that is a great new set piece. The mazes re-uses some sections but does try to overhaul them. Still a little long for my liking but better than Island. 
 
Cellar:
Wasn't a fan last year but this year it felt like they gave the actors steriods. It shows what a brilliant cast can do with a space, every little small crack in the wall had an actor popping out on my run throughs.
 
Coven:
Some really good scares in here with good pacing, with a kind of slow build up to the fire finale. I do feel some moments in between the main sections could do with some darkening/more theming but it had good actors and a lot of them!
 
Cottage:
Not my favourite this year to be honest. I feel like this maze felt a bit empty on my run through, but I guess it is the smallest maze here.
 
Eletrick Circus:
A bit hit and miss with the run throughs, but I think it is good fun. Could do with more going on in the middle, but I really like things like the animatronics, the actor staring at you while you hear the announcement, and the lively scares.
 
Haunted Hayride:
Went in a half full trailer and it was a total laugh. I love the GhostBusters ending, just silly and fun. 
 
Chop Shop:
Probably done this too many years now- actors really going for it but I think I am little unfazed by chainsaws now.
 
I did not do Hellements as I kind of know what to expect and Tulleys has so many mazes at this point. Overall a great night and I would say my £45 was well spent with 20 maze run throughs. I paid £16 for Fastrack (£8 each), so I think that's about £3 a maze? I think the value is better than Thorpe. Particularly with actor crammed longer mazes like Wastelands or Doom. 
 
Purgatory X2
Carving X3
DoomTownX3
WastelandsX3
EletrickX3
Coven X1
Cellar X2
Chop X1
Cottage X1
Hayride X1

If an Easter Egg is a put up in a forest and no one understands it correctly, is it still a Easter Egg?

If an Easter Egg is a put up in a forest and no one understands it correctly, is it still a Easter Egg?

I did my usual FN trip with my pops on Friday/Saturday, and while it felt like a fairly decent event this year, it still doesn't give me the same buzz as it did back when stuff like Saw Alive and the face it alone thingies were still around.
 
[Pleasantly impressed]
The things that pleasantly surprised us were the nice lighting this year. And we were happy to see Lucifer's Lair return as we thought it was a brilliant addition last year in terms of entertainment. We generally don't watch show stuff, but everything at Lucifer's has been watchable (though it's no Circus of Horrors!) We both liked the Hell's Angels circus-style performers, but our opinion was divided on the dancers. My dad thought they were decent (but he also doesn’t think they're professional dancers, he reckons they're TP staff!) I thought they could have used more practice cos they weren't particularly in sync. The live band was decent.
 
[Dead Beat]
As for mazes, I think we maybe got a bad run through Dead Beat as there were a lot of empty rooms devoid of actors It felt very empty in general. Nice theming and stuff, but more like just wandering through a funky set than a scare maze since it lacked scares for most of it.
 
Sadly, we didn't see any of the stuff mentioned above in some of the other posts. And agree that the story was quite lost and confused after the initially impressive pre-show type start.
 
It seemed like a cool concept that fell flat due to the lack of actors for us.
 
[Trailers]
Trailers was the same sorta goofy fun we've always found it to be, more comical than creepy, plenty of actors, and the new nods were cool! 
 
[Stitches]
Stitches was our favourite this year just because it feels like the best value for money. It's pretty long and has plenty to see. It also had plenty of actors both times we went through there (with many of them switching places on our 2nd go). Some of the scares were passive, but we also had some brilliant in-your-face moments from energetic actors that wouldn't stop until they interacted with everyone in the group.
 
2 completely different actors with different approaches in the room near the end with the body on the table. 1, in particular, made the scene into a pretty epic set piece before terrorising the group. She was just brilliant and really the icing on the cake for us!
 
[Survival Games]
We had the free hotel 2nd day maze access, which states 1 single go on each maze, but in reality, it's 4 scans of the barcode. That's how come we did Stitches twice, as we chose to skip Survival Games this year due to neither of being particularly fussed about doing it. We've done it multiple times at previous Fright Nights, and assumed it hadn't changed much, if at all.
 
Don't get me wrong, Survival Games absolutely has its place, and the very first time I did it in a previous year, it did get my heart racing more than any of the other Fright Nights attractions. BUT, I go to 18 rated extreme scare stuff like Scream Camp when I want more hands-on thrills. For me personally, it's a bit of an in between kinda thing. Like the actors are more intense than the other FN attractions, but not really intense enough for me to make up for the lack of theming in the maze. It's a good bridge for anyone wanting a taste of something a bit more adrenaline fuelled, but it does feel a bit like a baby face-it-alone. 
 
Personally, I'd rather have an attration that is properly full-contact, 18-rated, requiring a waiver kinda thing. Alongside the other, less intense but more heavily themed attractions. I know that isn't likely to happen though!
 
My dad's reason for skipping Survival Games is somewhat similar. He hasn't done any full-contact scare stuff because he's not into that sort of thing at all. His reason for disliking SG is purely the lack of theming. He said he finds the style and actors of SG "annoying, not scary", haha. 
 
He said he likes scare attractions not necessarily for actually being scared (he generally just doesn't get scared by anything), but for the atmosphere. So he's only really impressed by the stuff that is more comparable to a movie set, like Doom Town at Tulleys. But even still, while theming is important to him, atmosphere matters more, so even with a drab set, if the atmosphere is good, he's on board! But he says SG lacks any kind of theming AND atmosphere.
 
Of course, everyone is gonna be completely different, and I get why SG has its fans, it's just not for us.
 
[Overall]
We're hoping the maze tickets at Alton Towers work similarly to Thorpe since the Daz thing is included in the multi-attraction ticket this year, but neither of us have any desire to do it whatsoever!
 
Overall though, it was an enjoyable Fright Nights this year, but still not as good as it has been in years long gone by, and increasingly poorer value for money.
(not just for mazes, but rides considering we had unlimited hotel FT on Swarm, yet the FT queue was consistently 35 mins each time we tried to use it!)

Selling Fasttrack when the queue is 240 minutes is just turning a problem into an even bigger problem.

Thanks for the in-depth review JoshC Thorpe Park Fan. Have to say.... I don't really feel too bad about not doing Fright Nights this year. I think I did the same thing when Trailers was new and then went the next year when SG was new so the effort and expense was worthwhile  I know this is unlikely to change, and keep repeating myself, but the £10 a maze fee I just can't entertain when every FN seems to be busy now as there are purposefully no "quiet days" meaning the likelihood of a "busy" run through in a massive group is always a risk. Plus I still feel burned by paying out for all the mazes last year, and nearly not getting them all done (by mere minutes).
 
Impressed that Lucifer's Lair is evidently so good when it's not an upcharge. Bit of a shame there's no Death's Doors either this year, that was a fun - free - addition.

I'll give my honest immediate reviews now.
 
I'm honest here. This isn't "TPM Josh" talking. This is "JoshC., Thorpe Fan but fair" talking.
 
DeadBeat
Ehhhhh, not for me.
 
Visually it looks great; no dead spots. However, the story is a little...lost. The pre show talks about a rave being hosted by a DJ. But there's no reference to the DJ when you're in there. The maze is just going through a club / bar / similar areas. It's cool, but very incoherent.
 
The maze isn't the longest, but makes best use of its space. They've also cleverly designed the maze to make it feel like you're repeating yourself / going in circles, which I liked. However, this had a downside of a group thinking they'd gone the wrong way and turned back on themselves. That's just something which needs actor knowledge though, so no issues.
 
It's a bit of a passive experience too, with you watching clubbers and demons (known as "Viscerals") interacting with each other. There's nothing wrong with passive experiences / scenes, as they can create fear, but it's not for me. The final quarter is much more interactive, just focusing on the Viscerals, and is nice. The finale is great (some have said it's like The Cellar at Tulleys, of which they ain't wrong, but so what)
 
It does need time to bed in and the actors to really know what ticks. It needs tweaks with the presentation and story line too.
 
A big positive though: I did it 3 times, and it was very consistent. Consistency is a huge thing to sort out in mazes, and it's something directly within the park's control during the event (in that, they can encourage / coach / train actors to be consistent, they can't change say the space the maze takes). Based on today, it's great to see they had that right, as even on previous press nights, mazes haven't been consistent run to run. Hopefully that continues.
 
My personal opinion, is that the maze needs to start off completely as a rave. No scares. No viscerals. Just pure fun. There are already "dancers"/"ravers" actors, just make them happier, with a bit of an edge if necessary. Then have a scene where everything goes wrong, and it's purely demons. It involves you in the story, and creates the necessary distinction.
 
Stitches
This remains very similar to last year. Which means I don't like it.
 
It's a completely passive experience, focusing on creepiness and a fear of what is happening to others, as opposed to what is (or could be) happening to you.
 
Absolutely fine as a maze, and there's a place for those experiences as it gets people. but not for me.
 
Was a bit disappointed they didn't change the mirror scene at the start. They could have put something different there.
 
Survival Games
My favourite of tonight, although I will have extra bias as there was only 2 of us in the whole maze.
 
It remains intense, in your face and hands on. That's great. It's not for everyone (like Stitches), but it is for me. I heard some mixed reviews through the evening, so I think actors need to bed in and get used to what they can and can't do with guests, but that comes in time. 2022 Survival Games was exactly the same.
 
There's currently no chainsaws in the finale, for reasons I'm not sure I can say. I believe they're working on it though and they should return.
 
Trailers
A very good version this year. 
 
3 scene:
-Hell Cell has been changed into Creek Freaks
-Vulcan Voodoo has been changed into Knock Knock
-Ship Happens and Nightmare on Staines Street have been turned into The Sleeper Express
 
Knock Knock is a nod to Death's Doors, and re-uses the good costumes there. The pre-show is now no longer a cinema employee, but The Director. 
 
The pre show is a bit meh for me, but it is fan-servicey, which is what the whole maze is. However, they've completely cut the second pre show in the cinema screen - meaning the removal of what I unaffectionately referred to as the "orgasming actor" - HURRAY.
 
The premise of the maze is much the same.
 
Unfortunately, the new scenes aren't so much "new". They are just overlays of what was already there.
Creek Freaks still has the prison bars from Hell Cells, but they've got Buckwheat actors and some stuff added to the walls.
Knock Knock is still in a wooded area, but with doors added.
Sleeper Express has the same layout as the other two, just made to feel more like the maze.
It's fine, but don't go in expecting something totally new.
 
As I say though, strong maze. Good cast, and the maze works well.
 
The Crows
This hasn't quite hit the highs of last year yet, but it's still very good. 
 
The new fenced section looks cool from afar, as well as very big, but it's not.
There's two routes too: One which takes you in that fenced section, one that takes you round.
 
The ended is incredibly dense with smoke (I expect that might change soon tbh, but if it doesn't, great!). 
 
It's a great scare zone and I'm glad they've kept it.
 
One point of note: It now starts a little further down the pathway, with a little queue made of hay formed, which should help the batching into it.
 
Creature Campus
Only caught a glimpse of it due to how busy the night was, but it looks nice. The removal of the werewolves and vampires has meant they've brought the music into a more modern era, and it seems pretty cool. Will be watching properly tomorrow.
 
Lucifer's Lair
My absolute highlight of the night. There's a fire / dance show which is INCREDIBLE in my opinion.
 
It's only 8 minutes long, but there's so much crammed in there that it felt twice the length (in the best possible way). The concept of the zone is perfect. The actors are fab. I expect I'll spend a lot of time round there this year.
 
IT 4D 
Didn't watch. Will watch tomorrow. Little bit of theming dotted around the cinema. Is cool.
 
 
This is a strong Fright Nights. Maze-wise, they do have 4 mazes which are good. And I will say this again as I have done in previous years: If you take any maze this year and put it in any other FN line up from before 2020, it would almost definitely be the highlight and best received. If not, it would rival Big Top, Ex10 or Asylum. That's the quality of the mazes on show.
 
I don't think any of them are worth £10 still. The £5 mark would be best. £6-8 is reasonable. But beyond that is pushing it. And I think Thorpe are very formulaic now: pre-show, wander around highly themed sets in a linear fashion, flashy ending. It's another reason I like Survival Games so much: it breaks that formula. I hope we see something different next year.
 
There's still stuff to iron out, and not all of it is for me, but I think this is again a good showing. I hope it stands the test of time for the event.

MCDONALDS VAN.
 
Just watched the Deadbeat POV on TPM Twi....X - hmmmm. Visually it looks very impressive. But.... to me... it's giving Doom Town with a bit of Cellar: Imprisoned at the end. I remember seeing Survival Games on TOWIE Preview Night for the first time and thinking.... yep, can't wait to give that a go, that looks fantastic and intense. Deadbeat... not so much to be honest. Be interesting to see the reviews.

Tonight - BEST FRIGHT NIGHTS EVER
 
Tomorrow - where did all the actors go?!

2, 3 and 6 are definitely in them.

I feel the fault of this incident lies firmly with @JoshC. as he did not visit Guest Services to air his concerns 2 days ago.
 
Fair play for the prediction Josh, I thought I was good with my not subtle hints back in the day that DBGT was going to be themed around a train way before anyone knew a thing
 
Hideous timing, Press Night coming right up - those who were miffed that Hyperia wasn't completely in the dark will now get their wish as the thing ain't gonna be running for a while. At least they should get a repeat customer discount with the crane. Realistically what do we think? Closed for 3-4 days and then 1 train ops for a while? Nightmare stuff. The park closed dates 14-16th October will be handy.
 
Jokes and nastyness aside - I feel lucky to have ridden the thing 7 times, considering I'm not local (Portsmouth) and the absolute stress-fest that was having June 11th pre-booked and having to decide whether to change the date or not to June 12th for the rumoured Opening Day 2.0.
 
Oh, and in those 7 times - no front row, so forts and prayers xox (Got a Row 10 though, ridiculous). Absolutely love Hyperia, but it shouldn't be this stressful hun.
 
It appears to have valleyed in the same place as before, so didn't make it over the M3 Ejector Loop.
 
 

2, 3 and 6 are definitely in them.

It stalled this morning.
 
Call me Derren Brown. 

Right in time for Fright Nights :)))))))
 
It was clear it was running slow, so why not fully load the train with dummies? Especially in the morning
 
Anyway, looks like over closed season they will have to implement new procedures to avoid this occurring. It’s too late now to modify the ride in anyway.

Not nearly ambitious enough. I say this as someone who wears red tinted glasses when it comes to Chessington. I think it's mad to replace Wild Asia. This is a park that cannot afford to run Tiger rock and Rattlesnake on quieter days. So they knock down Wild Asia. 
 
An the rumoured replacement theme fills me with a sort of mehness. 

It’s a flat white so no difference in sizes

That 1 hot drink included has swung it for me, is that small, medium or large?

I find that we're having this conversation really concerning, particularly for the UK market as a whole. It kind of came and went but the attendance report for parks was released and some key sentences in there are quote below
 
 
and
 
 
I find this to be our ultimate problem is that whilst the European parks are exceeding expectations, the parks in the UK aren't despite investment. I was at Europa Park and Efteling over the last two weeks. Both parks very busy, every ride open (well apart from one but Efteling isn't a seasonal theme park). Rides open on time, fully staffed. If you think it's an unfair comparison, well it isn't. Its the same time of year, Merlin is the third biggest worldwide operator.
 
It's going to take some bold action for our parks to return to a place where they are not only highly profitable but successful. And one of the realities of the Merlin parks is the Annual Pass creates so much drag across the parks. I think a significant look needs to take place as we've seen places like Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Phantasialand either remove entirely or price accordingly and the respective parks have never been so profitable..