MattL28

I went to fright nights for the second time in 2025 last night and had a few thoughts since my first visit. First of all, this is the first year since 2020 where fright nights has been the same and I’d say since then, every year has been different….. until this year. I genuinely think this year is boring and not worth multiple visits unlike other years. Mazes: I’ve now done all the mazes multiple times over the years, I have no urge to go back into them but that’s only because I’d have to pay to go in them Zones: There is one scary zone and that’s the crows. Deaths doors a few years ago was a good walkthrough too but with only the crows really holding the line. It means that it can get pretty boring doing the free stuff. Shows: The shows are pretty much the same as last year except different soundtracks. Amity show is good and they’ve slowly transitioned the theme and story away, it makes me slightly nolstalgic for amity high. As a one off dance show with a lot going on it’s good! But lucifiers lair is difficult to judge as it’s a really solid area with a lot going on and really brings the event together. However, it feels like I’m watching the same shows as last year. The event is just like it continued from last year which to me makes it less enjoyable and I am unlikely to go again. I get however it is now a solid event, it feels more professional and you know what your going to get.

There is certainly a correlation between Merlin pass holders and RAP. Midweek vists rap is dead and weekends rap is heaving.

I am concerned that creature campus is a fan service at this point. The only people I see watching it are the creators of the sound track and Merlin pass holders. The general public aren’t interested/ understand/ aware of this show. I think the show as good as it is to a fan of a scare event doesn’t really have anything stand out away from dancers. I think realistically it needs to be a full production with stunts and effects. It needs to be different and not dancing to a mash up, there is no reason for anyone really to watch that show. Lucifiers lair on the other hand has got that draw and appeal particularly because of the location and the variety of shows put on regularly throughout the night. Fire effects are a big draw and shows that there is something different. Purgatory Town is exactly what I thought it would be and unfortunately adds nothing to the event. I’ve visited scarefest at Alton towers with two walk through scare zones and they are both different. One creepy and one abrupt and jumpy. I think this is what Thorpe really need rather than just crows which get you because they are creepy. I think this year on paper is a really strong year but with no new scare mazes. It won’t have the hype to compete with previous years.

I thought I’d share some thoughts on Fright Nights and the new scare zone. Firstly, I think the new scare zone is a good addition, and the location works well since it’s in a main part of the park—unlike Swarm Invasion. That said, the theme feels a bit strange. I read an excerpt that linked it to Lucifer, but I don’t really see the need for two similar zones. On top of that, the area itself has a Mardi Gras theme, so why not go with a creepy New Orleans–inspired zone instead? I’m also not a fan of conversation-based zones. As someone who’s more introverted, I find it hard to play along and create stories with the actors, so I usually avoid them. Amity High was a good example of this—it was only fun if you already knew the performers. That being said, the more scare zones the better in my opinion. Especially now with paid mazes, since I can’t afford to do them every visit, the scare zones give a free alternative for a spooky experience. Since 2020, the number of scare zones has decreased in favor of paid mazes. For example, Amity High used to be staffed all evening before the shows, but now they only appear during show times. I’m not entirely sure what scare zone style would work best at Thorpe Park, since The Crows feels more like an outdoor maze than a true zone. But I do know that conversation-based zones just aren’t for me. The mazes themselves have become pretty consistent, which is great if you’re paying for them. Deadbeat and Stitches are especially reliable, maybe because they’re well-themed walkthroughs—although Deadbeat does lack actor-driven scares. I think less-themed outdoor mazes could actually work really well as free alternatives to the current scare zones. One of my favorites in recent years was Lucifer’s Lair. A couple of years ago, the insults Lucifer hurled around made it hilarious and memorable, though last year it felt much more toned down. Hopefully, now that it’s become a bigger part of the event, the zone will keep improving year after year.

Back in 2019 it was common place for Thorpe to close midweek and advertise it on twitter (X). It’s going to be like that again and it shouldn’t be a totally bad thing. Yes, inconvenient and annoying but it’s not sustainable and the money they can save will be able to go towards future projects. On another note, is the beach going to be finally redesigned this closed season or has it been canned?

I assume they decided not to keep the splashdown this year?

I think the whole project was a shame really. They tried something different and have a great themed show building but it just has never worked and retheming it to ghost train or anything else would have never saved it. It’s demised has been written since 2016. It would have been 10 years next year since its opening and it wouldn’t surprise me after 10 years that they think it’s ok to scrap it. Thorpe have just got rid of all SBNO rides, so it will be sad seeing a massive one hidden in a building again. I’d rather have it open

I am looking forward to this years Fright Nights and I think this year is going to be a great event. They have got it to a place where the event is consistent and has a range of indoor mazes and hopefully a few good scare zones and entertainment building on previous years. Smaller queues and more consistent experiences have been the trend over the past 4 years. I am worried however about next year in which RWS are going to take control of the event and experience. How much input does the park have into the event anymore creatively…. Thorpe Park is an outlier in which you can see this event is someone’s/ a group of people’s baby. The themes have been created by the same people which a consistent aim. Now it moves to another company which doesn’t have the same passion or knowledge about the event. I just hope we don’t go back to outdoor lower quality mazes again. It’s worrying as Thorpe doesn’t need an external entertainment provider as they basically only do fright nights.

I think there’s a discussion to be had around permanent maze spaces. Theres a higher cost to create the mazes in permanent spaces. For stitches and survival games this is even more apparent. The quality of mazes has gone up and it saves them setting mazes up every year. However because of the high cost and its that it’s a permanent feature. It has to operate for quite a few years and you start getting bored of mazes. Trailers for example, I see everyone complaining that it’s still here and it’s defintely one of the weaker mazes too. However it has to come back to make it worth it

According to a LinkedIn, A new role at Thorpe Park has been created: Creative Manager - overseeing creative maintenance across the park, while continuing to support the conceptualisation of future Fright Nights, as well as new projects, land developments, and ride rethemes. The person is quite well known, but I’ll leave that to linked in. It’s interesting to see a role as such created in the current climate and will be interesting to see how much impact they have on implementing changes and maintaining theming. That’s is something key to all Merlin parks as MMM can create something really good and the parks let it go downhill. Also very interesting in this current climate is the mention of lands and ride rethemes. I mean there’s not much at Thorpe which could be rethemed other than the walking dead which is long rumoured to be next. The rest have been rethemed in the past couple of years.

There was a post on LinkedIn from an BALPA event hosted at Thorpe Park. This graph shows the direction they want Thorpe Park to take. It’s quite simple and fairly obvious but also I’m glad they are taking that direction in becoming the thrill park, nothing else. The graph also shows the way they want to improve revenue and the way they’ve done it. A few things: 2021-2023 it says “event led strategy” and in 2025+ it says “event development” to me it suggest Thorpe management want to and the plan is to bring back events. It was never the plan to drop them from Thorpe’s side. Also they state multiple times how they are keen to remove IP. I hope the management outlasts the cuts as when funding does come back, we need them to push forward with these goals as ultimately this is the correct way forward.

Currently Thorpe has no SBNO attractions and they did well to make it that way over the past couple of years. Hopefully sbno attractions don’t happen again!

Just a general observation/thought. I find my enthusiasm & excitement for Thorpe Park/ Merlin parks muted this year. It’s just simply “open”, no new things to do, no events to change things up every few months, no dramas or issues. No 2025 TV advert, no real advertisement. No communication from parks e.g passholder page. Simply there’s nothing going on and nothing going to happen in the near future (excluding fright nights). There’s no evolving, it’s a difficult one as we had a period of investment and events. To simply going back to basics and providing what they have already. This is my first season since becoming a passholder which there has been no events or new attraction to keep it entertaining. I suppose what I’m asking, is this normal? Down periods in years gone by, with not much happening.

The recovery procedure needs to be changed in addition to more permanent changes to ensure it doesn’t happen as much as possible A platform around the track which it valleys in. It also needs to be able to pulled through the track somehow. I know they are pretty good at removing the train quickly but once it’s on one train. It’s so slow and takes them a while to put it back together and test. Of course it would be better if theres a more permanent solution to prevent stalling. Which either lies in increasing lift hill speed even more or adding weight to the train on the front. The videos I’ve seen shows it was incredibly close to making it through the outer bank.

Lack of sculptures is annoying, and possibly less theming/ landscaping. I get it on the planning application front, just really don’t want it to be a flat tarmac area. Hopefully it’s all worth it!

The fenced side looks really nice and really good! Definitely what they needed. I just find it strange the area where the stage was hasn’t been touched and looks ugly. Also the F+B side to fearless valley still has wood chips, everyone was using that to cut through to Hyperia. Ideally that all needed fencing and turfing too

It is 20%

According to the app- Rumba Rapids will not return until May 2025 🎉😂 I love the 3 months of operating it gets every year. It’s an Opex saving clearly which makes sense queue times wise. However the amount of winter maintenance to operate for 3 month, is it even worth it? They can get away with it because it’s location, I bet they’d love to do the same with tidal wave but that’s in the middle of the park. Poor decision, the beach is open longer.

In some sense it was going to be hard to beat last closed season. However, it’s clear to me that budgets from Merlin have affected most of it. The management at Thorpe have still tried their best with it. For Example - Landscaping looks really good - They’ve built a fence around slammer and painted it to fit in with the existing fencing - Jetwashing all the areas of the park With existing equipment these are very easy upgrades but not always done before. Realistically need more money to be unlocked to: - refurb entrance - new ride for slammer site - removal of rumba rapids

I assume it will be similar to 2018/2019 with a few roamers if not needed for rides.

If anything, I don’t think these plans will continue to go ahead with the cuts to entertainments and current financial enviroment

Jack has posted a video covering the removal of Slammer. The first thing which comes to my mind is that I highly doubt 2025 Merlin would have committed to this project. I assume they already had gone too far with plans to back out and realistically they’d have to pay for it one day. Another thing to note is that Jack states the site won’t be used for quite a while, I predict it won’t before 2030. You can see that Colossus has had its repaint, hopefully they’ve done the rest of it. Hyperia has grass planted around the plaza area (but looks like weeds and still needs fencing. I am sure there are other minor updates around the park but definitely nothing major. The discussion of Thorpe Parks future is a long discussion with the Merlin group as a whole cutting entertainment. This time last year it was clear, however I believe no more than ever the future is unclear. They admit to knowing they must invest via management and planning applications but will finance allow?

Exactly, if they kept the investment up and also invested more into Hyperias landscaping (which they haven’t touched yet), the park would have got better and gette

Ah thanks for the update! Good to know, its annoying really as they are building on an existing attraction. It’s really baffling and infuriating they are going into a restructuring phase. Especially after 2024, a lot of false hopes for the future

Any update on the progress of this? The complete 180 on closed season updates from the parks is amazing. They must not have much to show?