spoon

Reviews from tonight: Big Top: 5/5 Platform 15: 4/5 Living Nightmare: 4/5 Saw: 2/5 Sanctum: 1/5 Big Top: wow. Strobe was so disorientating I didn't know which way was up - got super lost. Maze was very long (took me 12 minutes on my second go), towards the end of the Night had a lot of actors who were giving it their all. By far the best maze of the night: impeccable theming and effects throughout. Chainsaw finale was fantastic as well. The only one that made us want to rush straight back and see it again. 5/5 Platform 15: didn't do it last year but was great! Very long, with the first section containing nothing much more than a creepy story and some cool pyrotechnics; the second section being a walk through an 'abandoned village' - beautiful theming, and some really effective scares, especially in the smoke filled areas. This may as well have been its own maze it was so good - lots of corners for actors to hide behind. The tunnel finale had a few good scares but was pointlessly long and empty. Final room was so misty we couldn't see anything which was pretty cool. More of a creepy one than a truly scary one, but it's the longest and most audacious out of the 5. 4/5 The Walking Dead: Living Nightmare: theming is Hollywood level at points. Pre-show and story is crazily good with the acting being of a super high standard. The maze itself, however, is quite disappointing. Despite the scenery, and some free choice areas at the start, there weren't many actors on our go-through and the ones that were there seemed to ignore us. Some good scares and brilliant effects but for us it wasn't intense. It looks like it might be more refined in a week or two. 4/5 Saw: Alive: I was always of the opinion that this maze improved year upon year, but was really disappointing tonight. Actors weren't properly trying to scare us, not even the pig faces, and it was by far the shortest run through of the Night. It's looking a little more tired than before, but with a little more work it could be back to standard I think. 2/5 The Walking Dead: Sanctum: This was awful. Like really, seriously, awful. The theming and acting are great, but the spacious outdoor feel to the Maze (which is brightly lit), combined with the sparse actor placing means there are no scares - at all. It feels like a massive miscalculation - Not big enough to be a scare zone and not cramped enough to be a maze. Theres a little story, and its enjoyable, but my heart rate stayed at the same bpm throughout the entire experience. 1/5 Overall looks to be a great year! Big Top was legendary. Did Platform early tonight, and I reckon it improved as the night went on so could honestly have been worth a 5/5 from me. Living Nightmare, if it gets its act together, could also be a strong 4 to a light 5. Saw could move up to a 3 or 4; and I reckon only Sanctum is a very weak attraction. Theming and acting is high accross all mazes, and on park soundtrack is great! Lots of mist and special lighting covering the park. Light power kept cutting so at one point we rode Saw in pitch blackness which was fun. If you wanna know specifics AMA ?

I know ? it was a joke - read the first bit of my post, there's no new IP.

Hey, not posted here for quite a while ?. Two things: firstly, for those insinuating that there might be more than whats already announced; as part of the press chain, it seems as if the only major release was The Walking Dead. Secondly, I'll be there on the 28th so can provide comments - last time I was at fn was 2 years ago though, so I haven't seen platform 15 before. Update: if y'all still wanna be conspiracy theorists about more IP, this just popped up on my FB:

Anyone on park today for what could be the busiest day?

Also, the argument about pure scares is kinda nonsense. I did Thorpe and Alton's events this year, and, in terms of actual scares, neither of them are too good. If you actually want to be really scared, do an event that purports to be 'extreme' (phobophobia/face it alone)

I got on it in 5mins at 9:30.....

So, I was at fright nights on Wednesday and Thursday. Two VERY different days. From the get go on Wednesday the park had an odd atmosphere. There were hundreds of people being violent, shouting, swearing, and smoking. The park absolutely stank of nicotine and weed. Ride operations were incredibly efficient and we got on a lot. However, when it hit 3pm, the park must have reached capacity almost, as all ride queues shot up to 140 minutes. We did containment which was fun, but not scary (it was very good though and we finished it). Then We did a couple of thrill rides (I'll mention here that Colossus was ultra smooth), and headed to cabin at 7. By this point families were gone and we were left in a park filled with drugged up, drunk teenagers. Literally all I could smell was weed, and everyone was just staggering. Cabin was efficient with a 1hr queue from the end of the queue line. One problem: it sucked. There were too many people inside and the lights were too high. We were forced to go where we didn't want to go as well by actors. Not one scare. Disappointed, we headed to saw alive - again an efficient hour. This was really good! Loads of effects, actors, and 3 pig heads. Everyone loved it. Once again, the queue stank of drugs. We abandoned the mazes for the night and did some night rides. As the park thinned out, the drug smell grew stronger and stronger until the whole park just smelled. When we left, there was a security presence as groups were fighting and trying to abuse taxi drivers/ throwing rocks at cars. On a side note, the stealth lights were not on. The next morning there was a very large police and security presence. All bags were checked and there were sniffer dogs all over the entrance (and police all through the park). We bought fast track for big top and then spent the day on efficient ride operations. The crowd was noticeably smaller and nicer. We queued for MBV at 2:50, and were in in 50mins (efficient ride ops again). It was really enjoyable and filled with actors, including pickaxes and gas masks. It was slightly hampered by a slow group of terrified 10 year olds in front, but it made me jump quite a few times! After a few rides, it was time for the big top. Well, we never got on the big top, because it flooded and closed. E stopped for 30mins, opened on first two tent ops for an hour, then closed completely. Dissapointed by that . Instead, we did Blair witch, which was really great. Wasn't busy at all and had a high volume of actors. A tense, scary experience. Overall, we had a good two days of efficient operations, slightly hampered by a broken big top, and a bad audience. Overall, from best to worst, I rate the mazes: Blair witch Saw Alive MBV Cabin

^^

Like how this argument has turned into how 'intense' the touching is. If Thorpe push you into other rooms (me in cabin last year) and Alton also do it, I don't see the difference. The weird 'it's not just touching, it's pushing' makes no sense whatsoever. And the fact that Alton are like 'ooh, it's touching' all over social media does make it, by definition, a gimmick. Thorpe does it too, I'm not denying it, but it's just something they do - not the basis of the event

I dont think you understand my point! All maze tactics are 'cheap'. Towers is selling their whole event on the basis of 'touching'. That's just gimmicky. Thorpe just does it... Also the reason why the Smiler is closed has no bearing on the point that it is closed.

?? Number one, the fact the main ride at Towers at the mo is screwed does have input! You know, if stealth was closed for FN, you wouldn't be happy, would you? Thorpe has used their tactics, but as a matter of status quo. All of the marketing for scarefest is based on getting touched and being blindfolded. That is the definition of gimmicky

But I feel that Thorpe just do that anyways! Even if you see it as cheap, it's just as cheap as anything else. With Towers, they're plastering all over their website 'you will be touched'. That IS cheap and gimmicky

OK cool.

Here's my defense of Thorpe vs scare fest: Smiler is shut, and mazes are expensive AF at Alton. Plus, if I'm being honest, it feels like cheap tactics (blindfolds and 'touching' heavily emphasised). I already said I'm not the biggest fan of Tulleys!

A little bit harsh