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Oooooh, I think I get the honour of writing the first full Black Mirror Labyrinth review online. What an exclusive!
 
I should start by giving a disclaimer: Yes, I attended a preview event which invites celebrities and influencers, and the intention of these events is for such people to share positive thoughts about the experience. If you want to see that stuff, check out TPM's social pages, and a review will be live on our website later.
What follows is a balanced reflection of my genuine thoughts of the experience. As always, whenever I attend these events, I try to give my feedback to staff/managers/creators too, good, bad, or ugly...
 
Slight spoilers follow.
 
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"It's...interesting"
That was my immediate reaction. It doesn't sound very positive, but it's also not very negative either.
 
I guess a good way of describing it is a grown up Hocus Pocus Hall. And that's not a bad thing. It's a multi-route experience, with dead ends and multiple special effects. There is a mirror maze in there, yes, but that is just one part of the experience. Your name and face is used at a couple of points too.
 
The story is that the Labyrinth is an AI creation which has become self aware. It's stolen all its information about you, and now wants to 'delete' you. So the premise is original, but slightly Black Mirror in tone.
 
It's a fun experience with some quirky moments. We got lost a few times. We became disoriented. There were some moments which were a bit of a surprise. There's nothing special, but it all works and flows pretty nicely.
 
After having done the experience twice, though, I'm not clambering to do it again any time soon. That's just the nature of this experience - there's not enough multiple routes to keep it completely fresh each time, and it is kind of 'one and done'. That's not a bad thing really, as it is an enjoyable enough experience in its own right, but I don't think it's what Thorpe need right now.
 
Some assorted Q&As:
-Is it scary? No. And I wonder if that will lead to complaints with people expecting a FN like maze...
-What is batching like? You're batched in your household group exclusively. And it seems like it will be a group every 90 seconds.
-What would batching be like without Covid? It seems like there's space for 12 people per group normally. That would give a throughput of 480pph in theory. Bog standard for a Merlin maze really.
-What are Covid rules like? This is a weird one. You have to remove your mask whilst your photo is taken (this is for a special effect). And inside you naturally end up touching things as you find your way round, and you may come into close contact with people due to the non-linear route. I expect this may make some people feel uncomfortable. 
 
Some fun facts:
-Figment Productions have been involved with parts of the experience
-The experience was rethought and had extra money put into it last year, since they had extra time
-Though nowhere near as much was invested as in a new ride, a lot more was invested in this compared to a Fright Nights maze (about 7-10 times the budget of a maze I believe)
-There's a couple of little Easter eggs about (and some I probably missed)
 
There's a couple of photos on TPM's Facebook, I won't post them here because effort.
 
So all in all, the premise of the experience is interesting. As I say, it's not something I'm itching to get back to doing again, but it's a fun experience. It's another indoor experience for the park, which is needed, but ultimately it is very much a 'one..possibly two... and done' type thing, which is perhaps not what the park needed.
 
I'm very much worried about how this will cope with the crowds. It seems like an operational headache. However, given it's going to be Timed Tickets for a while, and it should be pretty reliable, hopefully it means physical wait times are minimal for now, if done right. So definitely worth giving it a crack when you're next on park.

I get the viewpoint, I just disagree with it completely. There's no way the Smiler and the Wicker Man soundtracks for example blend into one just because they use ITHOTMK briefly. I don't think there's an argument you could use to make me believe those two rides are bland with no identity. 
 
 I just quite like the use of the park theme in the attraction soundtracks. The island like no other theme is actually really nice to listen to in general and I weirdly prefer it in that Black Mirror snippet then the entrance one.

I Disagree.... long rain HOTMK
 
 
 
Side note, it's a shame that Alton Towers can't play this mix at 9:30 AM every morning before gates opening to get everyone to dance along too and hype everyone up for a day full of adventures.
 
It also works as excellent marketing, in the UK at least if you hear HOTMK what is the first thing you think of?

Closed by 2023 is all I could think of to be honest.

In a truly shocking turn of events, Tomb Blaster is... exactly the same.
 
https://twitter.com/ChessingtonBuzz/status/1394256497517993986?s=19

I can't believe for a second they'd go for a B&M wineries, it just feels all wrong.
 
I'm sticking my money on a variant of that S&S prototype with the flicking out seats that looked a lot like it could be developed into a winged coaster.
 
Not much money mind, because it probobly won't actually be anything that exciting.

Where have I heard these things before? Let me ask my buddy, Derren:

"I don't know Josh, I just don't know..."

Paultons was indeed excellent on Sunday.
 
Tornado Springs is a stunning new area and Storm Chaser is an incredible addition to the park.  I really like how it's a coaster of two halves, you get the calmer first half with views around the park, then you dive into the helix which is packed full of force before the final few turns throw you around a bit before you reach the brakes.
 
Genuinely, I think it's the best Mack coaster in the country.  It left me with a real "wow" feeling when I hit the brake run on every ride, and had me eager to get straight back on.
 
As others had said, it does outclass the other rides in terms of throughput, but it also looks very promising for the park's future.  Just a brilliant, delightful area and the very best of UK parks at the moment.

Hello last spring.
 
Surprised it wasn't mentioned after this post, but the theming element is no longer missing although you'd be hard pressed to notice it wasn't. Really, it is tiny sitting atop this ride, the scale is all wrong. It just looks bizarre, with some big sort of padding thing below it and a relatively tiny motif on top. The base has colourful stones in sections, but this is full of detritus from the trees so just looks messy. The ride itself is also quite broken, with a couple of elephants (including the yellow one I found myself on) very obviously not able to make it more than a couple of feet off the ground.
 
When small but IP led retheme investments are this bad you know something is deeply wrong at the heart of what is happening here.

The ride cant seem to lift much weight these days.... ( I'm not saying your big lol) more that any elephant with an adult doesn’t go full height

Hello last spring.
 
Surprised it wasn't mentioned after this post, but the theming element is no longer missing although you'd be hard pressed to notice it wasn't. Really, it is tiny sitting atop this ride, the scale is all wrong. It just looks bizarre, with some big sort of padding thing below it and a relatively tiny motif on top. The base has colourful stones in sections, but this is full of detritus from the trees so just looks messy. The ride itself is also quite broken, with a couple of elephants (including the yellow one I found myself on) very obviously not able to make it more than a couple of feet off the ground.
 
When small but IP led retheme investments are this bad you know something is deeply wrong at the heart of what is happening here.

Walk on Vampire fun times!
 

Not really much help but I’ve been today and had one of the best days there in a long time - staff were lovely, social distancing far better than Thorpe in my opinion and it just looks like it’s had a lot of TLC.  We don’t often venture into the zoo areas but really enjoyed seeing the animals.  The only downside which isn’t the parks fault is that we had to eat outside but once restrictions are lifted that is sorted.  Also flying jumbos is much prettier with the repaint and new music 🙌

Went today, everything was pretty much walk on  to 5mins. 
 
Overall operations were pretty good, only shutdowns noticed was Croc Drop, the modified tiny truckers was back down to 4 car train.
 
Food was poor on park with some units/ restaurants being weekend/ peak days only
 
 

I went last week and everything was running full capacity and walk on queues
 
Open 10 - 5 and the only staggered openings was Zufari and Tiger Rock opening at 11 so didn't affect the day at all

Highly recommend visiting on midweek days

Today, myself and others made our way to the park to check out the new area. Here’s just some of my thoughts. 
 
Tornado Springs is a lovely area and really adds another dimension to an already great park. It’s must be amongst the best areas I’ve seen in recent years. 
 
Storm Chaser is a lovely fun coaster with a very reasonable throughput, Cyclonator is surprisingly thrilling, the drop towers are fun and the tractor ride pleasant. Rest of the area further compliments this. 
 
Rest of the park still great and surprisingly busy. The comparison of newer areas to the likes of where Cobra and the Flume are located is remarkable. Hopefully they’ll sort those next. 
 
All in all great park to see if you can. And worth the longer drive compared to say Chessington.
 
A few photos. 

Somehow I forgot to share my thoughts here after my visit last week.
 
I guess my thoughts will pretty much echo Mark's. Tornado Springs is one of, if not, the, most complete theme park areas in UK. It has something for everyone - play areas, rides of varying height restrictions and thrills, eateries, etc. It's seeping with detail and theming all around. It is brilliant. Some parts feel a little cheap and bordering on tacky admittedly (the hay bales in particular feel a bit out of place), but that is nit picking.
 
Storm Chaser is a solid coaster. Not as spin-y as the other Mack spinner I've done, but still packs a nice little punch. 
 
I think one thing that the area does highlight is the park's ambition going forward. High quality rides, with high throughputs. If anything, it perhaps overshadows the rest of the park slightly, and shows some of the shortcomings even more - especially operation-wise. Storm Chaser with its two trains can power through the crowds, but the rest of the park's coasters trudge on by. That's not a criticism per se, but it shows that the park have used this opportunity to level up.
 
I can't wait to see what the next major development at the park ends up being.

And there was much rejoicing.

Jack Silkstone has released his pre-season behind the scenes video, where he's shown round by the park's Commercial Director, Russ:
 
 
If videos aren't your thing (though tbf, it's a nice video), here's a fairly comprehensive overview of the changes for 2021...
 
Changes to the Drop Off system in the car park. There's now a barrier and you have 30 minutes after entering before you're charged (thanks to number plate recognition) Thorpe Perk Express, the rethemed car from Stealth's plaza, will serve breakfast food, hot dogs and Costa drinks The Dome has a new, sparkling blue floor The Coffee Shack in the Dome will be open for takeaway only No seating will be available in the Dome to support government guidence Indoor arcades are not allowed to open until May 17th, so these will be covered up The company who bought out Picsolve last year, Pomvom, have a facial recognition system being trialled at Thorpe and Towers. Effectively, you take a selfie on your phone, and any on ride photos get sent to your phone (presumably with a watermark / low res) for you to view to decide if you want them Lots of signage to fit in with the rebrand that started last year, including new signs for Amity Kebabs and Colossus Hotdogs The fingerpost signage directing to rides instead of areas is because it's felt guests just want direction to rides rather than areas, but the areas will still exist The Megastore has seen a refresh Tidal Wave will be receiving a flame effect, some new audio effects and has had a refresh in the queue line and surrounding water The partnership with Nitrogenie has ended, but the unit is still being used for nitrogen-made ice cream, and will also serve ice cream cookie sandwiches  The Fastrack unit now has self-serve machines Jungle Escape has fences around it hiding it. When asked about it, Russ was very much dodged answering about if it would reopen, so I don't expect to see that again tbh In terms of dining options, everywhere is expected to be open, with Pizza Pasta operating takeaway service only for now The marquee by Zodiac is indeed just going to have seating, and will be available for people staying at the Shark to use, with the nearby Cantina having an extended menu The Saw police car is back, near the Fastrack entrance, behind some theming Possible summer event might be happening  
Black Mirror
As expected, Slammer's old queue line will be the queue line for the experience. The fences seem to have been painted black The endless tunnel that was used for waiting when mazes were there has been removed. That walkway exists for wheelchair users The pathway leading up to the entrance has been smoothed out, with the rocks around there removed Because of the delay, some further work was done to improve the experience There will be some sort of Black Mirror merch  
Tidal Wave
I'd usually avoid screenshots from videos, but for reference, here is the new theming feature which has replaced the decaying old rusty ball:

A flame effect will be coming out from the petrol pump. I'm very intrigued how that will happen, but if they've managed to get something that is a proper fire effect, looks good and works reliably, that is very impressive.
 
There will also be a sounded effect from the tower, and there's also been more theming placed in the pool where the remote control boats used to exist (they have been removed from there this year).
 
EDIT: Ninajed by Marhelorpe, but meh, it can stay
 
It's always worth reminding one's self that these videos are effectively a form of marketing from Thorpe, so some stuff should perhaps be taken with the tiniest pinch of salt. And naturally the focus will be on the new and the good, and not the ignored and bad. But in general, the park is looking nice and I'm a fan of many of the changes. 
 
Some impulse reactions from me:
The new Dome floor looks very shiny and bright. I have fears it will dull down quickly and may not look the part after a year or two. It also looked a bit tacky from the video, but hard to say until seeing it in person.  It's nice to know that the branding has been extended throughout the whole park. It's not my favourite branding to have existed at the park, but on the whole it's nice. I just hope they stick with it for more than 2 years... I can't help but think that the park should just give up with themed areas. They haven't gone all in with them in YEARS, and it just leads to confusion and things being messy. If the guests really just want to know about ride locations and not areas, then just focus on that. I'd rather that than half in / half out themed area ideas I'm already overly excited about the existence of ice cream cookie sandwiches at Thorpe tbh If Jungle Escape really has gone, please please please Thorpe, use the space for Fright Nights again Seeing the Saw police car behind a fence is sad, but given how often it was carted away because people destroyed it, I'm not surprised Black Mirror's entrance looks nice  
So yeah, in short: park is looking nice, and I'm intrigued by the changes. We're at a point where it's been a long time since there's been anything new, and the Black Mirror attraction doesn't solve many of the problems. But I feel more optimistic than I have in a couple of seasons about the park, which is a nice surprise!

Thought I might as well introduce myself as I’ve been sort of a lurker on the site for years and now thought I should try and be a bit more of an active member. - so hello!
 
I’m Jordan from Dorset, I used to live in Addlestone, just down the road from Thorpe Park and have been to there countless amounts of times. For 18 years in a row I held a MAP so have spent most of my time going to Merlin theme parks. A couple of years ago I decided not to renew it and try out some different places, since then I’ve been to Europa Park, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Paultons Park and plan on going to Drayton Manor and Flamingo Land later this year - been so nice to go to some new places!

Gruffalo and Room on the Broom are also not listed, neither is Sealife. So I assume they have just (temporarily) removed attractions which are not going to reopen when the park opens on April 12th.
 
If Tomb Blaster was going to be rethemed back to Forbidden Tomb I'm fairly certain we would have heard something official by now.

If only they had a family enclosed Vekoma coaster.. It would do wonders for the park's younger audience.
 
I actually agree with the actual entrance not being the problem, but the area around it needs improvement IMO.

Narrator: it will

I imagine next year will be a near repeat of this year. 
 
TWD, DBGTROTD, BM all closed.
Capacity issues elsewhere. 
 
If only they had a nice open space like a farm to relax in, a large capacity train ride to take you there, an event space like an arena where people could be spread over a large searing area, or a log flume where each riding group could have their own socially distanced ride vehicle. 

Do you think the 2021 Tomb Blaster refurbishment will be as good as the rumoured 2022 one? I dont want to see them break the tradition