Matt 236

Welcome, to the Haunted Reviews, Mwoarhaha 2016 has provided me with a vast number of park trips and adventures. A trend which has continued happily for the Halloween season. Due to excessive number of events done and trying not to bore you with maze review after maze review, I thought I would try and compact my trips into just one report. Where I intend to focus mainly on the best bits (and sometimes the worst). Xtreme Scream Park/ Beginning with a bang. This was my first event and it certainly did not fail to disappoint. Despite its fairly remote location and its budget not being massive I was highly impressed with this event, from the interaction and portrayal of roaming actors to the scattering of spooky theming. Pie Factory was by far my favourite maze, down from the consistency of actors and scenes throughout and the fact some scenes worked fine without any actors as they helped build up the suspense and fear factor. Apart from The Dungeon which I wasn't a fan of, was strongly impressed by all mazes there (a total of six). Stilton House Hotel and Hunted are honourable mentions. Scarefest It may surprise some of you that prior to October this year I had never been to a Scarefest event before (although I tried and failed last year). And finally losing my Scarefest virginity finally happened With no regrets attending. All three maze offerings were of acceptable quality, Terror Of The Towers being surprisingly good despite being a largely established maze. Sub Species was my preferred maze, which I liked the split elements and the preshow which was of good quality. Altonville Mine (or Skin Snatchers) seemed the weaker one and looked like it had potential, but I feel we may have just experienced a poor run through which was a shame. Aside from the decent park lighting, the amusing flash mob and acceptable theming, the addition that Pleased me the most was House Of Monsters. A family based attraction which was more funny than frightening, the use of scenery and acting proved and was certainly an entertaining attraction that was worth the £5. Particularly liked the Skeleton and vampire actors and was certainly 15 minutes well spent and reminded me of Shrwk's Adventure in a few ways but maybe better. Night rides are cool too Fright Nights No Halloween would really be complete without at least a visit or two to Fright Nights, especially being one of my local parks. The event celebrated it's 15th anniversary by bringing back some of the park's popular roaming actors from deceased mazes including the Freezer and Experiment 10. This is always one of the things I like about Fright Nights and would like them to add a scare zone one day. Big Top was much better this year. The flow was better, the acting was consistent and it generally felt more of a maze than a few disjointed scare zones. Face It Alone was as enjoyable as always but cannot help feel last year's was better. Whilst I've tried to remain positive, this is where it sort of dwindles. The park was rammed on literally each attendance. Whilst some may see this as a positive thing, the crowd handling certainly has room for improvement. Three and a half hours for Platform 15 just can't be justified, as the queue was barely moving and not even completely full. The maze itself however was better than expected and offered something different and unique from the rest with its location and plot line. The long tunnel was one of the stronger elements which I thought built up suspense rather well. Cabin is still cabin, acceptable but rather stale now. I can't comment for the rest as I never got to try them . Howl O Ween Despite possibly saying I probably wouldn't go I visited anyway (call that unacceptable if you must). The only reason I visited was because it was on the way for other scare attractions and night rides never go a miss. A round on tomb blaster, Carousel later and a final night ride on Fury ended the season. Didn't manage any mazes as they're the same as last time and Vampire was dead. The theming however was quite good though. Acceptable theming! Tulley's Shocktoberfest Tulleys is somewhere I've been wanting to go for a while now and was finally able to do so this year. Though lacking the exterior theming and roaming actors, this event certainly impressed me which provided a sufficient of mazes, eight to be precise. The Horrorwood Tractor ride was certainly my favourite with it's interactive scenery and theming elements and vast range of different actors appearing throughout from scary cowboys to mad scientists. Certainly more of a ride than a maze and clearly better than Zufari. Other mazes that impressed me included the Colony and its large length and variations, The Cellar with its haunted theme and Pandemonium with its use of 3D elements. Hellements was the only maze I wasn't taken with as it seemed weaker than rest, though Creepy Cottage was rather on the short side though. Only other negative was the location as a whole looks very temporary and the use of temporary loos but that can't be helped given the location. Legoland Brick Or Treat Perhaps not a Halloween event in the traditional sense but still appropriate. At the end of each year Legoland holds themed fireworks to end the season with a bang, alongside a selection of kids Halloween activities in their enchanted forest area. This year's fireworks were themed to Nexo Knights (one of their current product lines) which featured audio dialogue synchronised to the fireworks. The display as a whole was good, although not amazing. Helped by it's audio plot line and glasses that turn the fireworks into Lego bricks (worth the £1.50). I particularly liked how the harbour area (one of the main viewing areas) was sort of turned into a pre-show before the main event as a result of the connected fountains and light being synchronised to the music. Apart from the lack of good nighttime lighting and the number rides closing at dusk, was a very good event. And this marks the end of another good Halloween season which has certainly been a good one (most of. The time). Didn't do Screamfest Burton and Screamland, but hopefully they can be done for another year. so, in brief: Best maze- Pie Factory Xtreme Scream Best non maze attraction- Haunted Hayride- Tulleys best fun scare attraction- House Of Monsters- Alton Towers Best scare event- Xtreme Scream Park Most improved maze- Big Top Thorpe Park Most awkwardly hilarious moment- Walking out of a fire exit on the Twisted maze at Xtreme Scream Best lit park- Alton Towers StormmSurge- Hellements- Tulleys Until next time, Farewell.

Absolutely unacceptable. How can an authority do this to such a quality ride. Let's all go and chain ourselves to this thing and stop them at all costs Seriously though hopefully this will be sorted like the Paultons and Plopsa situations like the Baron said so no stupid rituals should be necessary.

Controversially I'm strongly hoping the fountain finale remains and is reused in the retheme. I understand the finale had seen better days (even as the IL version), but the ending always brought excitement and happiness to many of the guests who witnessed this. Secondly, unless the track is reprofilled (unlikely), there will probably be limitations on what can be changed there considering the ride's pumping/water systems appear to be there. The only other thing that comes to mind is water screen projections. My fondness for the fountains staying/reused is not completely down to it being my favourite scene, having an obsession with fountains or the fact my GF and I shared our first kiss there (I promise).

I think these safety rules are all firm but fair.

Xtreme Scream Park is an event I would suggest to anyone to make as the quality and selection of mazes there exceptional, particularly Stilton Hotel and Pie Factory. Scarefest has been very good and I love the variety of activities there. House Of Monsters despite being a family attraction has been my favourite. Fright Nights has been mixed but was impressed by Platform 15 (very very long queue aside) and the new Big Top. Still got Howl O Ween (for a quickie), Tulleys and Brick Or Treat left, so been a good year for events this year. Full review and summary coming soon!

The railway is dead. And so is Loggers I'm afraid. A good chunk of the post 2007 route is now used for Platform 15, starting at the old station and finishing at the second of two level crossings (in the opposite direction). The bridge, rock canyon and Saw areas (although heavily concealed) are all on route for the new maze.

Hopefully whatever happens, the extension will be something to compliment the experience and not just a scare maze add on. I wouldnt like to see another Sub Terra situation. Fingers crossed the new shop will still be exceptionally themed and retain the animations found in the existing one.

At the end of the day though I go to these events to be immersed and entertained. Not to be beaten up or stabbed though.

Phantasialand is a certainly a park worthy of two days (based on experience) to get the best out of. However I would recommend the following rides at the park: Taron Chiapas Black Mamba Maus Au. Chocolate River Quest Winjas Talocan Colorado Adventure Hollywood, Nighthawk and Geister Riksha are worth a go if you're in the area and normally feature short'ish queues. Raik depends on the queue. Mystery Castle is best done in the afternoon as you're likely to get the better setting but not essential to a trip if the park seems to be rammed. Taron should be done either at the start or end of the day as it always get rammed. The shows are of top quality at the park particularly the Ice Show (one of the skaters looks like Liam_T) and there's also a stunt, action and closing show. Queues will close before park close which is typically 15 minutes for most rides but will probably be noticeably earlier for Taron. Closing time is typically 6pm but can be extended if the park is busy. Berlin Street offers a great quick service outlet that does good quality Bratwurst if you're interested.

Saw is certainly not 5G, unless you are reffering to the pain endured during the ride's jolts. The actual G is likely around 4.5G considering the track, layout and pace. Especially given Smiler's similarities which also offers 4.5G. Lap bars on this would be loverly and probably make the ride more enjoyable. Unfortunately at this time that is probably wishful thinking.

Isn't this park supposed to be getting a dark ride next year, or is that just the Holland Park? Presumably this will be for another coaster, which will be interesting to see what they do there.

I will see myself out goodbye.

Absolutely can't wait for this to open. I love being patronised by attractions intended for someone much younger than me.

Well said. Certainly enjoyed Big Top and compared to last year it feels much better and the flow feels more consistent, not to mention the Ranger figure that appears within. Platform 15 has set me a new personal record, but sadly not an acceptable one. Nearly Three and a half hours of queuing. The longest queue I've ever queued in my life. May have well travelled to Universal Halloween Horror Nights in the time it took to get in. Platform 15 in extreme contradictory was actually surprisingly good. The buildup from scene to scene and the conductor story line was done rather well. Still not worth the queue though and really needs it's batching sorted. Inferno in the dark is bliss, that is all. Not the best end of season to Thorpe though, 2013's and 2014's were more acceptable in comparison.

Alton Towers becomes CBeebies World then. Yay for a balamory overlay for Smiler.

So it's official, even though most saw it coming.

Well we know already that the one after WC16, will be Derren Brown's Ghost Train 2. The WC16 tagline was actually for the toilet refurbishment near the Thorpe Store, considering the code name WC16.

Phantasialand's music as a whole is generally fab. Alongside Chiapas I also love the Berlin Street music and Taron theme. As a result I now own the Klugheim soundtrack too.

It could be good. It could be very good. But Tomb Blaster 2, Zufari and others don't fill me with much optimism unfortunately. If it turns out to be better than the Imperial Leather Bubble works, I'll buy the first person to say told you so, half a pint.

The only comparison between the Gruffalo ride and Burger Kitchen is they are both Merlin and both Chessington. Does this mean the ride is going to be awful? Who knows, but I'll be amazed if it makes my top 20, let alone my top 10.

When the Imperial Leather closed, the ducks took a ride on the Vampire. They quacked up.

Well this is a surprise, as I honestly thought the only changes would be the VR. As long as this is shipping container free and the new shop is heavily themed, then it's an acceptable change.

Loving the scary report here and it certainly sounds like an event to definitely consider visiting in the future. I'm guessing in regards to closing just at 11:30, it may be something to do with noise levels or placement in the village but it's difficult to say. I think Silver Star closes after a certain time as a result of this.

Probably Loggers Leap. As if they're honestly going to reopen a ride that's been derelict for a year. I will buy someone a pint if it actually does reopen.