Cal

So I've taken some time to think before I do my write up. I usually do one the night of (or morning after) the Launch Event on Thursday. My schedule meant I didn't have the opportunity. I then did mazes again on Sunday. So I've got a good vibe for Fright Nights now.

I think the headline is, unfortunately, simple. Fright Nights isn't as strong as it has been the last couple of years in particular. For those who maybe have only done Fright Nights, say, in the 2020s, I could understand if their view was it was their weakest Fright Nights yet. That wouldn't be something I'd necessarily agree with. But I could understand.
I'll get into ins and outs of that later. For now, let's get into the attractions.

Tenement
I've done this a couple of times now. The maze is very consistent, in that it is very story-driven and has the same scares designed into it. Lots of show scares, and perhaps slightly HHN in style.
There's a lot of tech inside too. There's a reversing wall, doors opening by themselves, lights, audio, etc, plus the torches of course.

My runs during the Launch Event weren't as good. The maze was light, the torches added little. On Sunday, it was better: very dark, the torches added more, etc.

There's a couple of good scare moments throughout, but it is a lot more atmospheric then jump scary. There's a few scenes which are passive in that you watch stuff happen to actors. It works for some, but not others.
One thing I don't like is that actors lip sync to audio. It creates an awkward experience at times. It also means actors can't direct guests appropriately - I've yet to go through the crawl tunnel because everyone goes through the wheelchair route. So that could have been better designed.

The best thing about Tenement is that it is very different to the other Thorpe mazes. That's what Thorpe needed, and something I was crying out for. It needs tweaks and fine tuning, but hopefully it will work out.

I'm concerned by the amount of tech involved and if it'll last. I'm unsure if the style will hold up each time and if actor numbers will continue to hold up. On top of that, the story is a little lost and confused, and the Luxivora concept is missed a bit as a result. Some of the masks for them don't look great.

DeadBeat
A surprise favourite for me this year.

There's no changes beyond the scrapping of the flying actor.
I'm still not big on the pre-show, but the maze is 'fun scary'. It's got a decent cast. I think the fact that I've never rated this one but it is my favourite speaks a lot though.

Trailers
You know what, people moan about how long this has been around. But it still does the job. Over half the maze has, slightly, changed. It's a good starter maze and works. It's a shame they can't have chainsaws in the building anymore.

The new scene is themed to MBV. It's a missed opportunity as it could be more claustrophobic and the miner could have more props to bang on.

Survival Games
No real changes, beyond new videos.

This is a shell of its former self. The current set up is too long and repetitive, with not enough actors. It verges on boring.
It's time for this to go. The space could be used much more effectively. In fact, I'd argue it could have been a great place for Tenement to go.

Lucifer's Lair
I've seen a lot of people talk about how this area has suffered from "cut backs". I think the actual fact is a lot more nuanced.

What has effectively happened is Lucifer's Lair has been split into two, with the stage moving to the Launchpad for Rebel Ball. I'll get there later.

But last year, if you removed the main stage from Lucifer's Lair, you'd have the small stage with cages, some flame poles and the actors. This year, the flame poles haven't returned. So in some sense, there is very minimal cut back (in theory).

But the trouble is, the stage was the focal point of Lucifer's. Lots of shows, from Lilith, the stunt show, the live band and, of course, the mega fire and dance show. Even between all that, the speakers from the stage would play music. But now, there's nothing. It's just the actors roaming around with nothing to work with.

The actors work their socks off and are brilliant, mind you. I feel for them so much when they have so little to work with.

But yeah, Lucifer's has gone from the crown jewel of Fright Nights (for the past 3 years running), to a floppy pancake.

Rebel Ball
This is frustrating. The idea isn't bad, using the Launchpad as a central hub and having something a bit more friendly than Lucifer's for it (meaning that people who dislike scares can still use it as a relaxing spot). But it misses the mark a lot.

No mega dance and fire show. Big fire shows have been a thing at FN since 2021, so they have lost that. Yes, they have dance shows with fire, but they're shorter and minimal. The opening ceremony largely being based are the promo video feels a bit lazy. The other small dance shows have AI videos in the background.

There are other shows there - fire performers, dancers, etc. But there's no times listed, so complete potluck if you see it. Sometimes the Wolf DJ is out with dancers, other times, not at all.

This could have been so much more.

The Crows
There's no getting round it, it's a lot shorter than before. And they could have made it more twisty and maze-like. Perhaps they wanted to keep it open to reduce the need for plain-clothed staff / security, which had been a bugbear for some from previous years?

It's fine and does the job. It's nicely done and the Crows as characters are brilliant. But it simply doesn't hit the same highs as previous years.

Creature Campus
Another fun show.

They dialled back the storytelling elements this year compared to the last two. To be honest, it's too dialled back as they basically completely ignore all the previous story (if all the other characters were defeated / killed, how have they come back for a 25 year reunion?). But heyho, it brings it all back I guess.

It does very much feel like the end of road for this now. It's been at the park as a dance show since 2019, and I think they've milked the story enough. With Rebel Ball being more family friendly, I think that can replace that gap now.

Purgatory Town
Aside from the Tarot Desk (which was added later in the event), I think the amount of theming is the same here? It's as it was last year, so it does the job and will get some viral TikToks.

Conjuring 4D
Good to have a new film. Maybe not as good as the IT 4D highlight reel, but still the perfect add on to Fright Nights. The screening I watched on Sunday (6pm) was completely full with people turned away.

As a side note, though, it is rated 15. WHY was there multiple children clearly under 15 in there? They'd get turned away at an actual cinema. Why were they not turned away there? At least two of them also left mid-way through the screening too...

25 Years of Fear
Big issue number one. The park made a lot during marketing about it being 25 Years of Fear. There were lots of high expectations as a result. On park, you wouldn't know that the park were celebrating a self-proclaimed anniversary (is 25 really a big deal?). Does feel like they set themselves up for a fall.

Buying Tickets
If you're on park and want to buy a ticket for a maze, what do you think you should do? Scan a QR code? Go to the app?

Nope, both of those options don't exist. You have to either:
-Go to the Fastrack kiosk (not clear at all, and can get busy)
-Go to the Thorpe Park website on your phone, and click through christ knows how many screens

Why is it so difficult? Don't you want to sell tickets?
Speaking of the app, it's a shame there's no FN overlay this year.

RWS
Now this is the big talking point. Ents has been outsourced to RWS. They're a huge company. They do stuff all over the world, including Disney. It's meant that Tenement was designed and built/contracted out by them (I believe one of the main designers for Tenement is based in the US). Lots has been made of Merlin's decision to outsource that, and the job changes it's made for people.

Ultimately, though, it shouldn't really have affected the guest experience. But it has.

First one to note, and it's minor, is that the maze hosts are employed by RWS. They have their own uniforms. Or at least, they're meant to. Apparently they hadn't arrived last weekend, so they were dressed in black and with RWS lanyards. Some staff were wearing black clothes with logos on, such as HHN merch.

It just didn't scream professional. I don't see why they can't just wear Thorpe uniform (like Aramark and OCS do).

On that note too, on Sunday, there was an actor stood outside the exit of Survival Games who was talking with the chainsaw actor in between groups. If it was an important conversation, at least go into the exit? Hugely unprofessional, and something I've never witnessed before anywhere.

Next thing to talk about is actor numbers. There are less of them this year. That's caused some mazes (SG, Trailers in particular) to suffer. I expect there will be more issues as the event progresses. It's a real shame.

Simply put the transition between Fright Nights being done by Thorpe to being done by RWS hasn't been smooth. Which is a shame, as the event has suffered as a result. Hopefully things improve.

Bottom Line
Fright Nights is still good. I think there's been some over-reactions floating about online about it's huge dip in quality. But it's definitely not lived up to the highs it's had the last few years, or the push the park put out there. It's a shame. I really hope it is just a blip and not a sign of things to come.

I'd still recommend going, but set expectations accordingly.

Yes - there has been no movement on Vortex since that last picture I took in August, so looking like it won't be back till next year unfortunately.

Apparently it has a structural issue, which makes sense seeing as its just been sat there.

I’m avoiding any spoilers till I have a go myself, but I think it’s clear if it’s struggling on press night it’s going to really struggle when the crowds hit.

This was only going to ever work in much smaller groups.

Lucifers lair and the Crows also look like a huge downgrade, as expected.

Doing the rounds on X, looks terrible and plastered all round the park.


I know its likely outsourced, but do these not have to get checked and signed off?

I enjoyed the event, was great to see them offer something like this.

Whilst I don't want to be negative, I think it is worth saying there was room for improvement. Communication and organisation was pretty poor, from entering the event, to having to literally read out 250 numbers, and whilst the reason for it was clear, holding a 2 hour ride time but closing the queue after 90mins isn't ideal.

But these are things that come with experience, and can be ironed out. The enthusiasm was there. The idea is there. It was an enjoyable event with a great, positive vibe and I really hope they look at doing more of these things in the future.

Today, launch platform smoke was switched on during the afternoon, apparently, the upturn smoke will return for Fright Nights.

It was an amazing event for sure, I was on the final train of the night and the vibe was immaculate, especially with Amir (operator) paying homage to some of the other Accelerator coasters by riddling off their announcements.

It just goes to show how much people love this ride and it's legacy.

10/10 event and I would love to see something like this again soon!

First visit of the year yesterday (10th September) as didn't manage to get a date that worked with my park buddy in April time and once it starts getting busy we CBA with the queues!

Anyway, my rambling thoughts
Got 3 rides on Hyperia - max queue all day was 50 mins, bottomed out at 15 minutes. We decided to wait for it to open in the morning, it opened around 10.30am. I know that it's an off peak day, but I think it's a valid point to say that as the headline (icon?) ride it really should be open for park opening. I appreciate that problems happen butit seems to happen too often. Our first ride was Row 1, second was Row 2 and last ride of the day was Row 10, so as someone who only visits once or twice a year, I was very happy with that. Row 10 is absolutely nuts. The force of being dragged over the first drop is just ridiculous. I don't care what anyone says, I adore Hyperia - I personally don't want another element, I like the fact it's compact, does just enough (in my opinion) to make it super thrilling without ruining your day. The area is looking far better now that the plants have started to bed in. Good to see station effects are all working too still.
Stealth is evidently upset that my love has switched to Hyperia 🤣 Ended up on one train operation, we suspected there must be a train issue from the up and down time (no pun intended) in the morning. Maxed out at a 40 minute queue on one train which really shows how painful it is when it's not at full capacity. Still had 2 good rides, but can I just say - those Stealth birthday flags were evidently bought on the cheap because they are all missing bar one, so you have barrels there with metal poles on and nothing at the top. I say close RIta now and use it all for parts to keep Stealth alive, please and thankyou.
Nemesis Inferno was INTENSE, I swear this gets more and more intense every year. Flies up the lift hill every time, and feels faster than ever, if you like that sort of thing. For me, it's a one and done really as I like to keep my stomach contents down. An advertised 15 minute queue ended up being more like 40 minutes though due to loading of guests with accessibility issues, which I understand and appreciate - but the whole thing seemed to take forever with two empty trains sitting there with no guests in sight. Empty trains were sent round also prior to this - not sure of the process they have to go through but I've never seen anything like it before.
Colossus was incredibly unpleasant.
Ghost Train was closed all day and then opened at 3.30pm approx, so fair play for them bothereing to do that. We didn't get to ride as didn't want to risk being stuck on it if it went down, as that seems to happen to us far too often. Have to wonder how much longer this has left in it, it must cost them a fortune in power and staff.
Quantum was shut until late in the day.
Samurai was closed all day and advertised as so.
Vortex & Zodiac both closed of course.
Walking Dead The Ride had a lot of downtime - when we did get on, a lot of the effects in the first half seemed to be inoperable, I'm guessing that's why they didn't bother opening? In the pre-show, they now have a tensar barrier infront of the board with the creator names "easter eggs" on, assume that's to stop people vandalising it but odd that's suddenly been done now as I haven't seen anyone do so prior. The walk through to the station was very dark (too dark?!) - they've turned off that car that honks all the time so that's good, especially when we had to wait to load in the station for 10 minutes or so for reasons unknown. Also, incredibly oddly, you can hear the Nemesis Inferno music INSIDE in parts of the ride?!
The Launchpad has all the F&B units there - closed, and the flower entrance sign/portal, minus the central sign - so just some flowers on some wood.
There were no staff in the car park directing you where to park, so went and charged my EV on the hotel charge points (as the ones in the "main" car park have a number out of action).
The entrance bridge looks tired after it's glow up with the rebrand - specifically, a lot of the flags with the new branding are again missing. Appreciate these are effectively small details, but that's the entrance to start (or finish) your day and to me speaks volumes.
We felt the staff in general were pretty downbeat/narked/didn't want to be there (which we totally get tbh, but still) - with the exception of a very cheery chap who was at the queue line entrance on Colossus who wished us a good time and an enjoyable ride (Colossus did not adhere to these wishes) and also a queue batcher on Hyperia who commented on my retro Stealth shirt (Human cannonball one). Tiny details but they help make the day more enjoyable. We spotted a ride op on Inferno leaning on the barrier where the train exits the station whilst waiting... now, I'm sure it's probably safe but I don't think I'd put my trust in that with the drop below and probably not in the ride handbook...!

So all in all - the park is tired in places (as are the staff) - will we ever see a relaunch of the Sparkle Project because I feel the park needs it (Whilst I'm here - the Stealth tyre entrance is completely faded and unreadable again...).

Hyperia still very good indeed and much needed for the park - getting queues of 40-50 minutes on a "dead day" is impressive.

Will be interesting to see what 2027 brings, if anything, but it all just feels a bit stale and stagnant at the moment there, tired is the operative word and the state of the flat ride lineup (not that I really ride them, but they serve a purpose) with increased downtime ahead of the busiest time of the season is concerning, and indicative of the age of them all. It seems a done deal that Zodiac isn't coming back this year... Vortex is more of an issue as this is always popular. Hopefully Samurai is nothing too major considering it's work in closed season.

One final thing - we actually saw SAW have a 5 minute queue at one point, which is normally unheard of, but for most of the day that thing still pulled in the crowds. Whoever signed that IP has a lot to be thanked for by Merlin....

PS. I await Parm Pap's thoughts on the above.

I came across this which I found quite interesting https://creativepool.com/merlinentertainments/projects/hyperia-experiental-award-for-merlin-entertainments?utm_source=chatgpt.com

It’s Merlin’s entry for Hyperia in the 2025 Creativepool Awards, a few things I found particularly interesting:
Hyperia was specifically designed with teenagers in mind, with Merlin saying one of the aims was to 'reignite the passion' of teenagers for Thorpe Park
Within just a few months, Hyperia had achieved a 9.6/10 Product Score, while Thorpes Net Promoter Score increased by 12% year on year
46,154 Hyperia merchandise items had been sold, with the shop generating £698k. This was £385k more than expected
The queueline shop generated £240k, making it the best performing queueline shop on site
Merlin says Hyperia directly contributed to increased visitation, with many guests specifically saying Hyperia was the reason for their visit

Seems as though you're right Cal, though nothing officially confirmed...

Couple of extra bits:
Only available as a one shot ticket (£12-£14, so £2 more expensive than the other one shots) or VIP packages
Actors will touch you and you will be split up.
It's a cool concept and I'm intrigued by it. It feels slightly...un-Thorpe like? Which I mean in a positive way. That probably makes sense given RWS are more in charge this year.

Throughput will be an interesting one. Lots of darkness, being split up, plus the presumed torches. Some mazes that have used Haunted Lantern have gone for very small groups (eg Purgatory at Tulleys), others keep group size the same. But I'm not aware of any that have split groups up before.

So yeah, intrigued and excited.

Hyper Coaster is probably not talked about much as it isn't that ridden. Looks like a solid ride all round though.

I really enjoyed Batman GCE, but it didn't hot the upper echelons of my list. I can't describe why really, as it has lots of what I like. I'd love to have ridden it more, but my god the throughput is rubbish.

Updating my 10 top as I don't currently have any more trips planned this year, new entries in bold.

1) Batman Gotham City Escape
2) Toutatis
3) Untamed
4) Kondaa
5) Shambala
6) Hyperia
7) Ride to Happiness
8) Taron
9) Balder
10) Hyper Coaster
Helix and Zadra now both fall out of my top 10.

Batman has always intrigued me, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Every element hits no matter what seat you're in. The tophat works, the ejector airtime is insane, and it's easily my favourite stall I've done on a coaster.

I never really see Hyper Coaster talked about, but it's a solid coaster. Pretty traditional hyper layout with an insane first drop and a crazy zero g roll.

I believe they own that stage and have done since the mid 2010s (when they purchased it for the Thorpe Sounds event... I'm getting deja vu...)

I don't think on-park announcements or advertising will work all that much.

I agree that using the screens around park to make it clear what time the park closes is not a bad thing. But if people are oblivious to the closing time, think it's 6pm (say), and then rock up and find out at 2pm it's actually 9pm, I don't think that will encourage that many people to stay.

I think there's two things to keep in mind with later opening hours.
You need to give people a reason to stay. Fright Nights is always packed until close, because there's a reason to stay (scare stuff and night rides). Summer Lates had a DJ and maybe one night ride if you join a queue late on. For many, that's not enough to get people to stay.
You have to accept that people will leave early. At similar sized parks (and bigger), people leave before park close, especially when there's late closing. Just as a recent example: I went to Dollywood last month, 10am-9.30pm opening hours. All day, Lightning Rod had 45min+ queue, except in the last hour where it dropped to 5mins. People leave early. And that's fine, so long as you're busy enough during the day and people who stay late get their money's worth.

I was on park both Fridays and staying late felt worthwhile. If it translated into people spending money and giving better KPI scores it's worth it.

The park just need to come up with a way of making staying later more appealing, and advertising that a bit more.

I arrived at 6 for the evening on Saturday and the number of people leaving was insane. I also believe there was nothing in park or at the entrance telling people the park was open until 9pm which I think is half the problem. Not everyone physically looks at the opening times and assume it shuts at 6. They really should add a closing time sign at the entrance or perhaps the bigger queue time boards.

Summer lates were great, really hope they build on them and we have more of them next year.

I normally completely avoid Thorpe during July and August but I went last Friday and yesterday for the afternoon/evening.

Last Friday seemed to be the quietist of the 4, but I think a lot of people left/were put off due to the heat. Yesterday a good amount of people stayed till the end which is good to see.

I do think they could do a better job of advertising it though. I don't think theres enough (anything?) on park telling you the park is actually open until 9.

I got sent a survey the other day about the event, asking about reasons for visiting, rides being open late, the food stalls, DJs and what time of year is best for rides in the dark. So it's good to see they're at least considering expanding on it.

Not usually.

Most of Thorpe's IP contracts, to my knowledge, have been on 3 or 5 year contracts which can then be renewed for certain periods of time. All very flexible.

It appears they haven't given up with Zodiac just yet - quite surprised to see all the doors from the gondolas seem to have been removed.

It appears they haven't given up with Zodiac just yet - quite surprised to see all the doors from the gondolas seem to have been removed.

shush

In a similar fashion to Alton Towers, Thorpe now have a selection of street food stalls, all in The Launchpad.


The stage is set up for Thorpe Lates, and a lot more seating is available (I think some of it moved from the old Saw Alive path now that construction is taking place there).

The area was the most alive I've ever seen it, and definitely how it should be used.

Wildest reaction to launch yesterday. A young woman alongside me flung her arm out (still attached to her body) grabbing me almost by the throat in terror, so intense that I had to check she hadn't ripped my shirt, wow! She did apologize afterwards.

The tent has been covered. It is 5 roof panels wide; Stitches is 6, so it's a bit smaller (but still very big).

Vortex (and Zodiac) look like they'll be down for a fair while longer as their entrances have been fenced off to allow for Fright Nights construction to pass through.

They wouldn't need fences that far forward if the rides were open, so it's likely to stop people going so far unnecessarily.

When DeadBeat was introduced, Thorpe had a 3-maze package (of the returning 3 mazes), and the 4-maze package too. So I guess it's not totally unheard of for them to do something like this.

My hope would be that this 5th maze is something different to the current norm. Paying £40 odd on top of entry for 5 "Thorpe mazes" where you're batched in a group, have a pre-show, wander round well-themed sets as actors jump out at you just feels a bit overkill to me. Yes it helps with capacity, but I'd question whether it improves the quality of the event.

What "something different" looks like is of course a different question. My personal preference, once again, would be an alone experience. I don't mind spending more on something like that. But if there's not a market for that, which I accept there might not be, something which is done in smaller groups, and just 'feels' different to the norm. Tulleys had success with that with Purgatory, for example.

My biggest criticism last year was how all the mazes felt the same, just dressed differently. I hope they can avoid that.
I also hope that they have the finances and the numbers to man 5 mazes plus shows and zones adequately.


On another a note, a tent has been set up today on Saw Alive's pathway:
Whether this is the new maze, or perhaps Stitches relocated there, currently unclear.