spooky

This might be unrelated, but I have seen a shift in tone in regards to the discretion of social media for Fright Nights under RWS. I saw a post earlier on Instagram recommended with like a fair amount of backstage stuff for Stitches, including a kind of warm up thing from a captain. It certainly intrigues me as this kind of thing is usually banned from being posted until the end of the season. It makes me wonder going forward if we are going to see more backstage stuff and details under RWS, and is it nessecarily a positive thing? Edit: Wanted to add I have always thought SG's actors having to use the same toilets as guests, and filling their water bottles in plain sight always interesting. I guess it's human characters, just kind of weird washing your hands next to that guy who told you he would kill you a couple minutes ago lol. Also questionable to the immersion.

Just visited Tulleys myself, and my opinion definitely differs. Anyway Appleton Farm and Sawmill I was a little eh on, the farm had some good new set pieces, and I liked the sets and the actors present, though felt it lacked actors for its duration. I also would like a more punch ending for farm, even if Sawmill is "meant to be the ending". The sawmill was a bit better in regards to actor density, though I think the sets felt quite tired, mostly as a lot of it has been used before. I think the Farm one has more potential with its mostly new sets, and the gruesome parts! But yeah that space seems to be a struggle for them. Cellar Returning is mixed for me, I personally feel maybe it was time to throw new life into the event, though after experiencing it, it might have some of the best scares at the park! It does seem to be fully rebuilt? And some new set pieces towards the end really help, I do still dislike the strobey cage room, feels so random lol. Overall though, strong. The Fuel Girls's House of Hades might be the best thing this year at the event, it feels HHN coded, honestly a absolute must do for any guest visiting. The stage and bar area around it I feel is quite nice. I think that show might be enough reason to visit to be honest. Obviously you have some older favourites, like Coven (which I would like some new scenes added soon to spruce it up), you have DoomTown which has a new room this year. Overall quite actor dense and some nice jumps, a few jump scares with acting lunging at you out in the open, rarely behind doors. A couple of moments embracing comedy too, that was fun! I do think it might be one of the strongest sets on a scale that challenges Universal even. Wastelands is old now, but I don't think we've hit the expiry date yet. It's still pretty full on, and works pretty well in my opinion. The vibe of that little area always brings joy. Electrick was fun, I enjoyed some of the UV stuff added, the theming is a little skeletal so it helps! Obviously very strong scares in there! Finally Chop Shop I think is very much on its way out. Despite great actors Inside, I think it feels a little like a relic of the past. The theming of the exterior and first 1/3 is on par with current standards, but the ending is definitely no longer the shock that it used to be, I think it's time for a more squealers yard style thing. But then I guess Appleton Sawmill kinda blends in a bit too well. (PS I forgot some stuff) Purgatory is fun, though like Tenement, I do think having a throughput disaster maze In a VERY busy event was a little ballzy, if not silly. I do appreciate it's difference to other mazes though, it feels eeriely quiet in there, with more psychological stuff. Definitely not one that is in your face. I did Hayride and loved it as per usual, and skipped Hellements and Cottage. Overall I do think the park has some diversity in scares. Wastelands Chop, Appleton, and Electrick have more verbal human language used. While DoomTown, Coven, and Cellar have the kind of noises and grunting. While Purgatory performers seem to be on the quiet side. I do think the cost is actually surprisingly reasonable as you break down current scare events. The Howl is the best value in my opinion, but let's say my friend who came last minute today, who paid £52 She managed 10 mazes, that is £5 a maze? like is Thorpe or Towers much better value? Arguably worse. It's definitely pricey, but I think the industry is just expensive lol.

I have to admit it does puzzle me why the busiest events in the country (Tulleys and Thorpe) are the ones to utilize this technology, I feel like a medium sized event that requires less throughput would a much better fit! Agreed on Crows and Lucifer, from TPW's video it does worry me that Tenement has just spread the actors out thin. Lucifer's Lair was an absolute highkight over the last few years, this version feels diluted, as does The Crows. I do worry for Thorpe, as over the last 3-4 years or so it has had quite a good series of years, but preview night is indicating maybe having a fifth maze might not actually be the thing we wanted.

Yeah the announcements definitely didn't spark too much excitement. Hopefully the new 2 mazes are better in person than they sound on paper! I guess the Fuel Girls might be the most exciting new thing to me so far! Hopefully preview night delivers

Honestly it takes a hour or so on Canva, so lazy.. In other news it seems reviews for Tenement are mixed. In general we have some raving reviews of last night, and then some others like Scaretour and TPW that seem more critical. I hope this does not foreshadow the run, as preview night is usually when the mazes are at their peak (full casts, loads of energy).

So I have some thoughts on Tenement. The Haunted Lantern style tech is great, and Purgatory is a fun maze, but.. Throughput and batching is glaring issues, which Purgatory often seems to have crazy queues st Tulleys. I do fear for Tenement being in such a big event, is the throughput going to be enough? Also batching is everything, Tulleys were batching us at a 20 second or so interval which was timed on a big timer, and it was groups of 1-4, but bigger groups could stick together. Obviously splitting up is cool! But I hope the maze is not too overpopulated and is batched and designed with that in mind. Purgatory also had some light bleed in its first year, which could be an issue. Cool idea, and if executed well could be amazing. But selling too many tickets for it, batching improperly, and design oversights needed to be dodged. Which is hard!