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The Howl is a fairly new event- debuting in 2015 in Leighton Buzzard, it has slowly became more and more known amongst the community. It is the sister park to Shocktoberfest, so it shares a lot of DNA with its brother. I first visited in 2015 on opening night- I found it to be very fun and had an AMAZING street team, though with its mazes it very much was very similar to Shocktoberfest, which meant that if you had been to Shocktober, you generally knew what to expect. 7 years on, and the event has grown and evolved into its own thing. This year it felt like a total different place to how it was in 2015, it was amazing to see the growth and its unique quirks that it has developed over the past 7 years. One thing I would like to comment on first about The Howl is that I believe it is great value for money- I paid about £30 for entry, which sounds like a lot. But at Towers and Thorpe you are looking at £32 minimum for 3-4 mazes, but for £30 you get 6 at The Howl. I also believe the roaming team are amongst the best in the country- the characters are now completely different to Shocktoberfest's, but keep a lot of the wit and charm, and made me laugh in between mazes. RED: Red is a small maze- it has a pretty small building, and lasts only a few minutes. Despite this it manages to cram in so many scares in that short time period. It reminds me of a little of Creepy Cottage if it took steroids. It has a great puppet moment, and some brilliant masks mixed in with a cast who harass you. The maze is short, but jesus it packs in so much it completely makes up for it. Attic: This maze has some beautiful theming- I love the use of levels and it has a few genius moments for scares. The actual Attic section itself is brief though intense, and certainly is a quirky moment that'll stick it out from the other mazes. The cast were more than lively too! Toppers Twister: I love clown mazes- I love the interactions, the freedom for the actors, and the contrasting colors to other mazes. Clown mazes always stick out to me, and forever have a place in my heart. Toppers Twister is a very good clown maze- it has a great trommel tunnel, some weird sets like a ball pit, and a pretty tried and tested finale- a true tulleys hat trick. The cast were very lively, full of wit, and seemed to be having a fun time- being in a clown maze is also a fun time. If you're not scared of clowns, you'll still get some laughs and fun out of this. Its a solid maze that oozes joy. Howl Valley High: First off can I comment on the theming? This maze is SO well themed it feels like a complete new chapter for the mazes at The Howl with its sets. I also love the theme, it is fairly unique in my opinion, and is a very cool concept. The cast were very interactive and lively, and in the second half became increasingly more threatening and scary. I feel the maze is a really good addition, and I cannot wait to see how it evolves over the years, and the future of new mazes at this event. The Shed: This maze is the same as it was in 2015, but I do not mind as it was great then, it is still great. I love some of the outdoor sets, and its use of hiding spots and holes for actors to come out of nowhere. There was also a moment where I saw 5 actors in one room, which was pretty amazing and equally scary as hell. Squealers Yard: Now, all of The Howl's mazes are good/great, but Squealers is by far the crown jewel in my opinion. It is the longest on park, the most varied with its sets, the most intense in my opinion, and even confusing at one point with a crazy room that ruin your sense of direction. The ending also is savage for people like me who have a certain fear. The maze even had some good comedy in the first half, which just is the cherry on the cake. Overall I would say the lineup is very equal- no maze stood out as bad, and a lot of them had very spread out queues due to this. I had an amazing night there, and I have not even mentioned the Circus Of Horrors! But yeah it is a very solid event, and great for those who are north of London and a little too far from Shocktoberfest

Hi everyone, Halloween is coming up and that means we will be holding the annual TPM Thorpe Park Fright Nights meet. Based on a poll the date of the event has been set to Saturday 13th October 2018. Please message or reply below if you plan on attending even if you voted in the poll. The event will take place over the whole day as the park will be open 10am - 10pm, with horror mazes from 3PM. Below is the provisional plan for the day: Park opening - Meet in the dome 10:15 - Start making way around the rides 1:30ish - Lunch 2:30 - Meet back up and start making way to first maze choice. 3:30 onwards - More mazes and rides in the dark until close (maybe another stop for food later if people hungry) The meets are great fun and everyone is invited, even if you have never posted before or even been to a meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there once before, so all know the feeling, please don't let this stop you from attending. Once you are there you'll be part of the group in no time at all! Everyone attending will have my number or be a part of a FB messenger group. Attendees ChiapasC (evening) Doc EpicSmatty J.S217 Jessica2 Jenzie1997 Marc Marhelorpe Mattgwise Mattymoo TallGuyDom Terrortomb Maybe David B Jack MarkC Terry Terry Ben MoweR

Would like to see reviews, comparisons to other events and general discussion here! Baffles me no one has to my knowledge made a topic for Tulleys ... (if one already exists awks) :/ Going for the first time in a few weeks (FINALLY *yawns*)

So Halloween is over, and sadly its closed season Though with last month being October, I thought it would obligitary for me to write about some of my Halloween Highlights and re-live some of the happiness for the following months of depression and vodka which is the closed season.. (I would do photos but then I realise most of my pictures are sh**) Best Theming/Costume Design Honourable Mentions: The Final Cut, Skin Snatchers, The Colony. Winner- The Welcoming Even though I did have my criticisms about this maze, it for sure had some of the most beautiful theming I have seen in a while and it was the absolute highlight of the attraction! The actors inside used the large sets to its advantage and because of this- The Welcoming I think more than deserves this award. Most Improved Attraction Honourable Mentions: Coven, Creepy Cottage (the cast in the cottage were insane this year) Winner- Platform 15 Platform 15 was my least favourite maze of last year, as it just bleeded dull with little to no actors or anything whatsoever going on.. Though this year sees the maze being actually being my favourite at the park as the actors swarmed the maze with scares, and the new village scene is just fab. The infamous tunnel section is back though, but some actors with torches this year provided this previously dull section into a tension filled one.. The maze still has a few niggles, but overall I think Platform feels like the most complete maze at Thorpe, and with the cast this year I have to say this is easily one of the best mazes I have done this year.. Most Original Concept/Theme Honourable Mentions: The Welcoming, Coven. Winner- The Legend Of Crank Jack Crank Jack has a very simple concept, though it just works so well.. So for those who have been hiding under a rock, Crank Jack sees guests crawling through a massive crawling section which is both confusing and jumpy with the large amount of panels for actors to jump out, and they can come from the ceiling too! The non crawl sections also are jumpy and confusing with countless dead ends and trigger-happy clowns with perhaps the most annoying horns.. The idea and excution is far from elaborate, but it works, and it works incredibly well too! Worst Maze Dis-honourable Mentions: The BrotherHOOD, Festino's Festival Of Freaks, VIXI, Saw Alive. Loser- Dead And Breakfast Dead And Breakfast felt like a massive shadow of itself this year with the witty improv and some of the brilliant scares completly stripped from the maze.. For example last year this maze had a Bunker scene, where this year you just walk straight past it.. Its the exact same with kitchen scene and even the elevator effect from last year is now gone.. The main maze itself lacked scares (I got like 1 jump scare throughout) and the nicely themed sets generally felt un-used.. Dead And Breakfast is a maze that could be (or was) brilliant, but this year it just fell incredibly flat IMO, heck even the chainsaw finale at the end felt poor.. Most Intense Maze Honourable Mentions- Chop Shop, Big Top Winner- Sub Species: The End Games What haven't I said about Sub Species? The maze is seriously something completely different in that actors have so much freedom to do what the hell they like with you. I was alone for long periods with it, they shoved me and stalked me throughout, and overall I was on edge for the entire experience. The experience is very varied in that you get darkness, open rooms, claustophobic tunnels, and just pretty much everything the maze can throw at you. Sub Species is just insane, even in its third year it still continues to shock me every year! Best Event Winner- Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest Now, its really a combination of stuff that comes to making up a event for me- the operations, roamers, the mazes, the atmosphere, ect. Tulleys Farm I feel like has overall the whole package with its great operations (from my 3 visits) and its amazing atmosphere and roamers. The roaming actors make Screamland or Fright Night's roamers look poor, and the music and overall atmosphere of the place is just amazing. The operations are also fairly decent too, with queues being resonable (no crazy 3 hour queues) and roaming actors seemed to show up in the queues to entertain guests which was nice. And of course the attractions themselves are a pretty good selling point of Tulleys, and after tonght I have to say I actually think the lineup is incredibly strong. All mazes felt like they had quite a few actors in them, and in some mazes (Twisted Clowns and Cellar) the actors seemed to swarm some sections which caused back to back scares! Overall Tulleys is by far the most fun I've had this Halloween, and I can't wait to get back next year! You have reached the end of this blog, I congratulate you, you poor soul! Anyway what events and stuff have you done? Anyway happy Halloween (I know I''m 4 fuc**** days late) and happy off-season! May the next few winter months be depressing.. (Bar Winter Wonderland, which fu** that, I don't want to take a loan out..)

Scarefest is a event that has somehow lured me back every year despite the painful drive and the overpriced maze tickets.. The event I think just feels so much more complete and well rounded than Fright Nights, and the mazes on offer feel longer and more fleshed out than the Thorpe offering. The atmosphere is solid as always, and Nemesis in the back row at night is perhaps the most orgasmic experience of my life.. Thirteen is also a great night ride. Anyway you're probably not here to listen to me ramble about how good the rides are.. ONTO THE MAZES! This review will contain spoilers, and sorry for the lack of photos- I sadly lost my phone in Sub Species! Freakshow Scare Zone: Freakshow for sure isn't anything to scream about, but its a fun little addition that brings a lot of atmosphere. The actors were for sure more funny than scary, but with it being near the entrance- thats probably a good thing! Terror Of The Towers: Stale enough yet? Well its back again- completely unchanged too! Look its not a bad maze per se- it has great theming, a long length, and a disorientating and intense finale, though next to the others, it falls flat.. The conga line approach also feels boring after the other three, and actors seemed a little hindered compared to the others as they couldn't touch you or be as intimate as Sub Species or Skin Snatchers.. 5/10 Skin Snatchers: Skin Snatchers is by far one of the best themed mazes at the park, and the theatrical approach at the beginning really sets the scene for the very jumpy and dark sections towards the end of the attraction. The actors inside like last year were lively and gave some pretty nice touch scares, and the maze built up a lot of tension throughout. My only niggle had to be the maze seemed a bit sparse on actors in the first section (especially in the gas mask room) though the strong second half made up for it. The new finale this year I thought was pretty funny and witty, though I think perhaps it wasn't utilised or executed as well as it could of been.. In this I mean we just casually walked past it, and I feel like the actor could of really caused panic if it was timed better.. 9/10 Sub Species: The End Games: Sub Species is one of the most hands-on and intense experiences I've ever seen, even in its third year it still shocks me how incredibly chaotic and intense this attraction is. The maze from the word go sees actors one-by-by dragging guests through one of the three doors, and from that point on, you traverse through everything from a genuine maze section, to pitch black darkness, to crawling tunnels. Actors inside are not afraid to push/shove you, and the actors try constantly to isolate you throughout the maze which amps up the scares even more. The ending is simple, but effective, and by that point I was desperate to get out! Its rare for me to be breathless from exiting a maze, but Sub Species is for sure one of the best mazes (if not the best) I've done this year. 10/10 The Welcoming: Be Chosen: The Welcoming is new for this year, and with a £8 upcharge, I had high expectations. The first half is very open as actors dance around the beautiful sets that resemble a village, this opened up the maze really well and actors seemed to know how to pop up from nowhere! The maze in tone slowly gets darker as it goes on, and the scares ramp up before you're instructed to put on your hoods. The hooded section was fairly short from memory, but it did well in building up the tension. The finale sadly fell a little flat, and our group just kinda walked out like "is that it"? I think with a killer ending The Welcoming could be a brilliant maze, and its easy to see that tons of effort has gone into theming this maze as some of the sets at the start are beautiful. Anyway The Welcoming is not as relentless as Sub Species per se, but it has great theming and some great scares, it is a shame though about the finale being a massive anti-climax.. 7.5/10 Conclusion I think Scarefest is by far a must visit for die-hard scare maze enthusiasts as it does house some of the most intense mazes in the country IMO. Yes I do think it is a little overpriced, though Sub Species was worth every penny. I sadly didn't get to experience House Of Monsters because I'm broke.. Though it seems like a fairly decent attraction for families. Oh and cheers to The Sub Species team for finding my phone in the end, I was so scared in Sub Species I dropped it without noticing draw me like one of your french gerstlauer infinity coasters

Screamland at Dreamland Margate is a fairly new event (only in its third year) though its managed to become well known in its first year for beautiful theming and creative scare tactics. In its second year (last year) the event seemed to get panned by a few, and I feel like last year the event kind of went under the radar, though the "Paradise Foundation" proved that Screamland weren't running out of ideas, and all the mazes (bar their mirror maze) all proved to be well themed, and full of scares that completely caught me off guard! When 2017's lineup was announced, I think a lot of people were shocked.. The Paradise Foundation has departed in return for two new mazes, which is certaintly a move I didn't see coming. Nevertheless, what would 2017 bring to the table for Screamland? *This will contain spoilers* Punchinello's Revenge I overall had a dire run through of the park's Mirror Maze last year, though this year the actors inside made this a really fun short sharp shock. The opening saw a mini puppet show which set the scene greatly, before we entered the mirror maze to find a crocodile and the baby.. YES, I'M NOT JOKING, there was a jump scare involving a actor dressed as a crocodile.. 100/10 cos crocodile 4.5/10 Festino's Festival Of Freaks Festino last year had quite a large space to work with and the maze had tons of theatrical scenes and oversized props that gave tons of scares and laughs throughout its long length. Sadly this year the maze has been reduced to a white marquee, and I can't help but feel like the maze is a shadow of its former self.. The intro was something akin to last year, though as soon as the scene ended we were pushed into the strobe filled main maze. The maze itself gave a few good scares, though sadly most of the unique props and scares are gone from last year. To its credit though the maze is very disorientating, and our group did circles around the maze a few times, though sadly the maze even with this still feels shorter.. The ending also saw no finale, which left me a tad disappointed with Festino overall.. Festino overall is a fairly disorientating maze that is well acted, though sadly it feels weak compared to its last incarnation, and the maze feels a little run-of-the-mill for the event.. 6/10 The BrotherHood Oh.. Hooded Mazes, they can work so well (Molly Crowe) but they can be so dull (Hellements/VIXI).. BrotherHood overall sadly felt more like Hellements in its first half with little to no scares, and due to the lack of sound or anything else this section actually was even more DULL than Hellements.. The second half redeems it though with the removal of the hoods and some great scares with torches, and generally a few really strong jump scares that worked better than anything the hooded section was trying to do.. The Brotherhood overall I think was a massive mixed bag of a maze in that the first half is pathetically dull, but the second half gave some of the best scares of the night! 5/10 The Final Cut: They Came From Outer Space The Final Cut returns very similar to last year with some brilliant concepts and some very intricate theming that immerses you in from the start. The use of the squish bag at the start, the Little Shop Of Horrors reference, and the loud but effective finale make the attraction strong. Scares were overall very intense, though I thought the maze felt more rushed this year, and some of the monologue and improvisation from last year seemed to skimmed past which was a tad disappointing. 8/10 Dead And Breakfast: Under New Management Dead And Breakfast sadly felt a tad poor on my run through with a lot of missed opportunities across the board.. In this I mean scares and actors felt sparse across the maze, the improvisational more actor led scenes are pretty much gone, and special effects such as the lift or the bunker room are seen completely un-used which is a shame.. Towards the end you briefly see Fag Ash Lil again, and she sets up the finale.. Shame the finale is beyond cliche, and the actor using it didn't really attempt to chase or startle us, we casually walked past it.. Anyway I think its time Dead And Breakfast bites the dust, as something wasn't right about this B&B on my run through.. 3/10 The Legend Of Crank Jack Crank Jack is a example of a maze using simple, but incredibly effective tactics like the crawling section at the beginning. This section seems to go on forever, and scares come from all angles- including directly above you! The "pop goes the weasel" eerie audio also makes this section even more creepy as you wind through the incredibly twisty layout. After the crawl section you're back on your feet, and holy god is the second half even more confusing with its countless dead ends and its Clowns who seemed happy to torment and blast horns in your ears! I gotta say Crank Jack really had me on my toes throughout with its confusing layout, and overall the maze can give off some great scares in form of loud horns and many holes and secret doors for actors to come out of nowhere! Overall I was very impressed with Crank Jack- for being in a small white marquee, this maze packs a lot into its small space, and the scares were easily some of the best of the night. 9/10 I also managed to get a audio recording of my second run through of the maze, so if you wanna hear pop goes the weasel for 5 minutes, enjoy! The Atmosphere/Roamers Overall roamers at the park were alright though sadly I feel like they lacked the amazing improvisation and interaction of Tulley's street team.. In this for sure the Clown Girls who walked around on stilts were impressive, though some of the freaks/clowns roaming about didn't even interact with guests.. Anyway Dreamland has a solid atmosphere, and I feel like fire breathers at the entrance really *excuse the pun* heated up the atmosphere! Operations I feel like operations were solid and the mazes had reasonable queues for a peak night (no 200 minute stupid waits) and the batching generally seemed very good in very un-linear mazes like Crank Jack which was nice to see (no stacking of groups or over crowding) Scenic.. IT WAS OPEN! IT DIDN'T BREAKDOWN! Overall Scenic is a fun classic, and oh god does it look beautiful.. Well it does next to the drab town of Margate anyway.. Conclusion: I think this is a very rocky year for Screamland, though I think there is some hope (Crank Jack and The Final Cut) which shows some of the prettier sides of Screamland.. Anyway I think for 15 quid the 6 mazes and Scenic plus the fairground rides are completely worth it, and if you live near-by, this is a must visit. Though I think some big changes are due next year though, as I think overall the event is not as solid as last year.. 10/10 my photography is only the best..

So Fright Nights is a event that I think pretty much everyone on the forum will know well.. well duh. So with a massive new IP behind the park, what would 2017 bring to Fright Nights? This will contain spoilers Big Top Big Top returns akin to last year, and the maze continues to be the chaotic fun that it was last year. The acting was strong- the strobe section proved to be even more intense than ever, and the second half sees some new scenes including a mini-mirror maze, and even a homage to Cabin which I think for the most part worked really nicely. The maze overall is more fun than scary, though I did spend the second half of the maze on my own, and when the chainsaw finale hit, I ran fast 8.5/10 The Walking Dead: Sanctum Sanctum is like Zombie Scare Zone if the Zombies were creepy twisted cannibals, and the zone itself housed some extremely lively and vocal actors. The actors inside made us laugh and simultaneously creeped us out while running around the nicely themed sets. My only problem is that Sanctum feels like more like 1/4 of a maze/scarezone than a actual complete attraction.. There was a lot of possibility with the containers or just in the layout in general that could lend the attraction a few more sections as Sanctum currently can be easily done in 2 minutes.. 4/10 Platform 15 Platform was a maze that I bashed to death last year.. Actually, I even called it my least favourite scare attraction of last year.. Thorpe have luckily (for the most part) have poured some life into this maze, and now it is actually one of the highlights of the event for me.. The new village section in particular impressed me with some pretty intense scares, heck I even had two actors cornering me and they nearly separated me from my group.. The finale also successfully built up tension and some of the actors in the tunnel got some great scares from me. My only problem with this maze is that a lot of tension is built up and you just kinda walk out the maze causally.. Platform though has seriously impressed me this year, so for that, cheers to Thorpe for making a terrible maze into a very decent one.. 9/10 Saw Alive So Saw Alive felt incredibly stale on my run-through. I think Saw Alive has probably run its course by this point, and the fact the maze has remained untouched since opening doesn't help matters.. 3/10 The Walking Dead: Living Nightmare So, replacing the fan-favourite Cabin, Living Nightmare had a lot of pressure under its belt.. Though on my run through I have to say, I think Living Nightmare is by far a worthy successor to Cabin. Cabin for me in 2015/2016 was a scareless mess that had very sparse theming, though Living Nightmare is near opposite in that it has very decent theming and the sets in some places look beautiful. The scares were very strong in the first half, and I gotta say it was pretty terrifying to be separated from my group with not 1, but 4 actors attacking me at once, this shook me as one of the most intense scares (if the not the best scare) I have had in a maze this year. Yes the scares towards the finale were pretty underwhelming from the chaos that the first half had, though the finale for me was generally fairly decent, and it left a lot of us running! My only other niggle towards Living Nightmare is that it is a tad short, but besides that this maze impressed me, nice! 8.5/10 Park Operations I have to say as much as I liked the mazes this year, the operations at some points were depressingly awful.. Within a hour of me queuing for Big Top, I saw not 1, but 3 E STOPS! And there was kids running round the whole place queue jumping and even running into the maze past the puzzled people trying to organize the damn queue.. I also think Living Nightmare was also pretty dis-organized, though luckily Platform and Saw were actually organized.. Conclusion Overall I think this is a strong year for Fright Nights.. I think most of the mazes were of a decent quality, though the operations did let down the event at some points. I do have to say that I wish they were better roamers though, as I only saw like 1 one of them..

Tulleys, oh Tulleys.. Being on the scene as early as 1998 with Creepy Cottage, and then throughout the years adding more and more, Tulleys has really evolved as of recent into one of the best scream parks in Europe. Now with 2015's massive changes, and the fairly large Coven last year, this year I think is more of a slow down year in terms of growth in the event. Anyway with the re-do of Hellements, and the 3D transformation of the Twisted Clowns, how would 2017 fare for Tulleys? (This will be spoiler free, though I have put some more details in the tags for those who want to be spoiled.. I'm also sorry for the photography, and you cannot sue me if I kill your eyesight with the quality of these ****ty photos..) Creepy Cottage Dating back to 1998, the cottage is the oldest maze at the park and its by far the smallest- though do not underestimate it, as the cast were rocking it on Preview Night! The actors in here caused a lot of suspense, and the suspense was usually followed by a great jump scare. The maze is also nicely themed too, and the layout is very tight which gave the actors even more fun in tormenting us. The Cottage is by far one of the more low-key mazes in the lineup, and its by far not the best maze the park has to offer, though if the cast keep this up, its gonna be a great year for the attraction. 7/10 VIXI- Hellements V2 Being a "new" attraction, I think a lot of people are gonna ask whats new in VIXI. Now I'm gonna say that for the most part this is near identical the to last year, though there is a new section or two that mixes up the formula a little.. The actors in the rope section seemed a lot better than last year, and the cast here made this a bit better than Hellements IMO. -5/10 Coven Of 13 Coven I think with a few more large-scale scares could be a icon maze for Tulleys, though sadly on my run through the actors were more creepy than scary. I also think the swamp scene needed a actor or two more, as I think this brilliantly designed section could of been put to use better.. The maze though looked just as (if not more) beautiful than last year, with the cottage section, and the swamp scene is awesome. Overall I think when the cast begin to find their feet, this could be great this year. -6/10 Chop Shop Chop Shop remains fairly similar to previous years, and that IS a good thing. The cast in here seemed to be in full force as actors from the first room got scares thick and fast. The finale remains the fast, fun, and chaotic feast that it was last year, and the theming in the exterior and inside the first half also continues to be impressive. -8.5/10 The Colony The Colony is back, and it feels longer than ever.. Overall the first half of the maze was generally fairly slow in getting scares, though in the second half the scares were actually pretty brilliant. The actors were using the beautifully themed sets to their advantage, and in some sections scares came pretty relentlessly. The ending is something that I've been debating about since its debut though.. Yes the ending got me and my group running out of the attraction, though it really does not fit in with the tone of the maze.. Also when you use a object constantly in a maze (Chop Shop) makes the use of it in The Colony slightly feel like a cop out.. 7.5/10 Haunted Hayride The Hayride has some new scenes this year, and the attraction remains just as fun and as jumpy as previous years. Various highlights include the pole dancing Nuns, The movie-based scene, and the good old chainsaws at the end. -8/10 The Twisted Clowns After testing the waters with Pandemonium last year, Tulleys have made their Clown Maze fully 3D, and for the most part I like it. The maze feels even more disorientating than last year, and the layout led to our group getting lost quite a lot. The only thing I dislike is how this maze on my run through seems to have had adopted a conga line style, which didn't seem to fit the style of the maze. Anyway this maze remains fun and lively like previous years, and I liked how this year they attempted a finale. - 7/10 The Cellar The Cellar has been running strong since 2009, and for the most part this year is no exception. I do think some of the cast might of not found their feet yet though as some of the scares in the second half/finale were a tad on the slow side. Though it is preview night, so this is probably just the cast getting used to the endless amount of scare opportunities that the maze's layout brings. Though when actors were on form, the scares were intense. - 8/10 Roamers/Atmosphere/Other Sh** So as always the roamers here were brilliant. Some of them scared the crap out of me, some of them made me laugh, some of them are just plain entertaining! The roamers along with the live music gives the farm just such a crazy and fun atmosphere that makes Tulleys feel special. Heck I could go along to Tulleys without entering a single one of the haunts and enjoy it. Along with the 8 haunts this year also saw an unadvertised 3D cinema experience. This was fairly odd, and the experience itself felt a tad half baked (I can see why it was chosen not to be advertised..) I think if it returns next year, maybe give it a few actors? And some special effects to make it feel less like a DIY project plonked on a high standard Scream Park such as Tulleys.. Thoughts/Conclusion Overall I think 2017 is another great year for Tulleys. Chop Shop, The Colony, The Cellar, the new scenes on Hayride are all massive reasons to visit. Yes this year hasn't seen all too much changed, though I think with Tulleys it didn't really need to.

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.

So to start the blog off, here's a joke The Conservative Party Anyway its sadly nearly Halloween, meaning the parks close for off season! So I guess its back to rocking back and forward in my room til march.. So I've reviewed a few events over Halloween, so I'm going to do some awards to recap my Halloween Season! http://forum.maniahub.com/blogs/entry/812-alton-towers-scarefest-2016-review/ http://forum.maniahub.com/blogs/entry/808-screamland-margate-2016-review/ http://forum.maniahub.com/blogs/entry/804-thorpe-park-fright-nights-2016-review/ http://forum.maniahub.com/blogs/entry/803-tulleys-farm-shocktoberfest-2016-review/ Anyway.. BRING ON THE AWARDS Best Theming/Costume Design Honourable Mentions- Dead And Breakfast, The Cellar, Altonville Mine Tours Winner- The Final Cut What haven't I said about The Final Cut? The theming is fab throughout, and the Sci-Fi costumes felt very well done. Especially if you're a film buff like me, its fun seeing all the references to classic Sci-Fi Movies. Most Improved Maze Honourable Mentions- The Colony Winner- The Big Top The Big Top last year was admittedly a plane crash. At first even I didn't want to admit it. The maze just did not work, the open spaces made scares a tad awkward, and it felt half-finished as well. This year the maze seems like a whole different attraction, with some changes the maze now sits as one of the best in Thorpe's offering. The maze itself feels much more frenetic, with the intense strobe section, to the well themed rooms towards the end. Worst Maze Dishonourable Mentions- Bloody Mirror, The Cabin In The Woods, Hellements, Donald Trump's House Of Horrors Winner/Loser- Platform 15 After doing some run throughs of it recently, I've came to the conclusion this is the worst of the year.. Whats the point of having a long attraction if nothing happens for 90% of it? It just drags on, and unlike The Colony for example there's not much to see for most of it.. The ending tunnel takes the cake for being the worst scene, its long, and you'll probably not see a actor! The theming is OK, but a lot of the attraction is just nothing.. Nothing.. Most Original Concept/Theme Honourable Mentions- Coven Of 13, The Final Cut Winner- The Paradise Foundation I love originality in scare attractions, it really sets a attraction apart from the rest, which is what The Paradise Foundation did! The Paradise Foundation is a gore infested theatrical journey through a controversial surgical clinic. Basically the idea is that the rich pay for the 'bliss' treatment, which involves the poor being surgically operated on to give there happiness for the rich. The maze throughout has a lot of gore, including disgustingly disfigured costumes that actors wear. The maze overall is something quite different to anything else I've done this Halloween. Most Intense Maze Honourable Mentions- The Paradise Foundation, Altonville Mine Tours, Chop Shop Winner- Sub Species: The End Games Sub Species breaks the boundaries of what actors can do in a maze. I was split up throughout, faced sections of the maze on my own, and was constantly manhandled and pushed by actors. The maze has a intense crawling scene, periods of complete darkness, and had me on edge throughout. Best Roaming Actors And Atmosphere Winner- Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest The Atmosphere at Tulleys is unmatchable, with a range of brilliant roamers and two music stages, its really brilliant! Best Scare/Halloween Event Winner- Screamland Margate This award was very tough to decide. But I've decided Screamland was my favourite event of the season. The great atmosphere, the four brilliant mazes, and the heavy load of creativity in the mazes is something special. Anyway thanks for reading me ramble in this blog! Have a spoopy halloween frens and fellow geeks What events have you been to this Halloween?

As spooky times are fast approaching I thought I'd create a little topic where we could express our creative ideas for potential mazes/scarezones etc. Not park specific either so go wild! The first idea I have is a maze for Thorpe Park, not too sure on a name yet so ideas are welcomed... UNTITLED A maze focusing and playing on the nostalgia of Thorpe Park. Taking you back in time to have your childhood memories distorted and warped into a mushy nightmare. Primarily the characters involved would be the old Rangers. Their severed heads would be scattered around and occasionally they'd pop out whilst the pitch changed carousel song would play, using old props to really create the immersion. Old uniforms and costumes would be used but not in a lazy way, more of a I'm gonna remind you of how things were kinda creepy way! Use some failures the Park has had previously and really grind them up, show everyone that the happy feel was in fact quite dark and twisted. I feel like they could really use dark humour in this too so everyone could enjoy (both new and old guests to the park) whilst still creating a horrific environment... Would also be 10x better than Dead End and less reusing items more taking advantage of lost childhood memories! Try and keep ideas unique and fun and constructive criticism is encouraged. This one's gonna be more of a serious topic so any joke ideas should be directed in the topic below, have fun!

So its that time of the year again... NO NOT CHRISTMAS. Anyway its getting nearer and nearer to the Halloween season.. So this means I'm gonna get a crap ton of travelling to do! Anyway I'm going to review quite a lot of events this year! 1 Of October, Tulleys Farm Shocktoberfest: Tulleys always finds a way into my calendar. With it being located at my local farm its quite a no brainer, new for this year includes a 3D revamp of there clown maze, and a entirely new maze based on witches! Not forgetting the returns of classic like Haunted Hayride and The Cellar, and the return of the incredibly dull Hellements.. Meh. 8 Of October, Thorpe Park Fright Nights: After the train crash of last years event.. The event returns! This year inlcudes a new maze loosely tied into DBGT, and a revamp of The Big Flop! Overall the event seems to look better than last year! Well.. We Hope! 15 Of October, Screamland Margate: After the sheer rave reviews from people I had to get myself over to Screamland! This year sees return of last year's great mazes, as well as two new mazes! Overall Screamland last year seemed to be one of the best events in the UK, and I suspect this year will be no different! 22 Of October, Alton Towers Scarefest: After the massive success of last years event, I had to get myself back to Scarefest! Sub Species is a good enough reason alone to go back, so with the addition of a new maze and the return of TOTT, it was a must. So there you go, the Halloween season is very near! I wish everyone a happy Halloween, and good month of getting sh!t scared!

I have recently relocated to the tiny town of Kingsbridge in Devon and am wondering if anyone knows of, or can recommend any Halloween events or attractions in the county. I'm up for the full range from scare mazes to pumpkin patches and hayrides. Muchly appreciated!

Hi all, The response I've gotten from Thorpe park via facebook message has been a bit mixed on this question, at first they said yes and also said 'should be ok' but that's not really enough certainty to travel down on! We have tickets online brought using the Kellogg's 241 code thing. The T&Cs are below, would you say that the 8th October as a fright night date would be ok? The part that worries me is the 'and any events across all attractions' despite them not stating this date in the exclusions. "Offer EXCLUDES: 21st October – 31st October 2016 at THORPE PARK Resort, every Friday and Monday until Sunday 27th March 2016 and 29th – 31st October 2016 at The Blackpool Tower Dungeon, 28th – 31st October 2016 at The London, York and Edinburgh Dungeons and 1st -31st December at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, 25th December 2016 and any events or concerts including Christmas themed events across all Attractions as well as any secondary attractions within the Attractions for which an additional payment is or may be charged." If we get there and they say no, I suppose I'd have to show them the communication I've had with them as they did say on a message it should be fine, surely they could just give a definitive answer!! thanks for your help. Jess

So was in the park from around mid day. The event started at half 7, and the park closed for normal quests at 6. People for Howl O scream were aloud in at 5 and were given wristbands, so from 6 only people with wristbands were given access to all the rides. This was nice as it meant we didn't have to sit doing nothing for an hour like we did at Universal. Was really looking forward to this event, open until 1am with 7 houses with all the main rides open. There was a also a show, live music and nightclubs for those interested. There were no specific scare zones listed on the map like universal but there quite a few around the park, and groups of actors walking round the park similar to Fright Nights. There were people dressed up in ghille suits hiding in bush's and trees all around the park who just randomly just out at people or make a loud bang every so often. I found out the hard way when at 6 (still daylight) I shat my pants when one jumped out a bush and made a loud bang. Didn't expect any actors to be out at all, especially at 6. The event hadn't even started and I had already had a much bigger scare than I got the whole time I was at Universal. Such a great idea, and scared so many people. No one expected it. There was a group of clowns roaming the park as well, and one of them made me jump again as well. At a corner there was a clown just standing there making strange noises distracting me, then another clown jumps out from behind a bin with a horn and scares you. Very well done. Anyway onto the houses... The Basement So first up was the Basement. Turned up here about 15 minutes before it opened not knowing how busy/quiet it was going to be, but thought it was strange there being like 5 people in front of me when there was only 15 minutes until it opened. As soon it was time, we were led down into the main queue and we were straight in. No talks like all the events in the UK, just signs at the entrance. So at Busch gardens all the mazes were free flow meaning you didn't have to hold on the person in front of you, and they put you in the maze in around groups of 20, not as small as what they do in the UK but not as big as Universal (which is just a 1 massive conga line.) Themed around mamas kitchen and how she is gonna cook you up and eat you. A brilliant house, better than all of the ones I did at Universal! Theming was excellent, water sprayed at you (as vomit) for example. All actors were great and stayed in roll the whole time, chainsaw ending on this one as well. 9/10 So next up located in Gwazi park (now closed during the day)... Circus of superstition 3D So being a 3D maze, you wear 3D glasses and everything in the maze is painted really bright UV colours, and all the glasses do is make the colours strike out a lot more. After doing a dreadful 3D maze at Universal Halloween horror night I really wan't expecting much from this one. I walked up to the maze to see a completely empty queue, and got asked if I wanted to wait for a group or just go in alone (Didn't meet my family until after this house). So for the whole first half of the maze I was completely alone until I caught up with another group. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life. Full of scares, including actors on swings/bungees who come out of no where and swing of the wall right up to you (you can't see them on a wall before they swing at you, they just come at you out of nowherere and swing back again. ) Clown costumes were excellent, music was excellent, acting quality again was amazing and overall just an amazing house. Defiantly one of the best I've ever done. 9/10 Facade looked amazing. And there was a giant clown running around outside as well. Next up was the new house for this year, Unearthed scarlets revenge. Waited around 15 minutes for this one, was a bit stupid of us going in the house at the entrance of the park just as the event started as it had no queue later on Gwazis queue was used as the queue for this house, and even went right up to the station... So annoying having a beautiful woodie lit up next to us SBNO which closed months before we went All the trains are still there sitting in the maintenance sheds. Anyway back to the house, it was alright. Theming was good once again and was creepy, but lacked scares, which wasn't helped by the fact too many people were let in meaning it was very slow moving inside there. The main character in there Scarlett was just weird, a sexy girl with horns? Don't know how she was meant to be scary, or how she linked in with the rest of the monsters in there and rest of the house. Was just all a bit weird. Was a good house but just no where near as strong as the first 2 I did. 7/10 Death Water Bayou Didn't really know what to expect for this one. Walked up a long path to find a nice facade, looked like an abounded house. This house was seriously amazing. Probably the best house/maze I've ever done. Seemed to have so many parts of the houses all combined into one, for example the swings/bungees from the clown maze were in here. A ridiculous amount of scares, a spinning tunnel, actors were amazing, theming was amazing, was just a really strong house throughout, loved every second. Very intense, most amount of scares in a maze. 10/10!! Zombie Mortuary Wasn't expecting to be scared a lot from this one, had never been through a zombie maze but once again a very good house. Soundtrack was great with a strong organ sound playing throughout, made a creepy atmosphere. Zombie costumes were really good, theming was good surprisingly a lot of scares. Another really strong house. 8/10 Deadfull Again a pretty strong house, not a lot to say about this one. Theming was great, remember seeing a Merry go round, a playground, a graveyard. Was more creepy than scary. 8/10 Zombie Containment unit 15 Unfortunately I didn't get to experience this one. It had over a 45 minute queue the whole night when everything else was pretty much walk on, so we really couldn't be bothered. Guessing the reason for this is low throughput, all I know is that you have a gun and have to shoot the zombies. My advice to anyone that goes would be to do this first before it builds up a queue, the queue did not go down the whole time we were there. Rides open at night were: Cheetah Hunt in the dark was very good with a lot of it being dark. Dodgems were great with smoke, lazers and loud music. Kumba :wub: :wub: :wub: Sheikra Falcons Fury, which the Americans seemed to love. and Montu. Overall this was by far the best Halloween event I've ever done. The park atmosphere was fantastic, actors all round the park were fantastic and obviously all the main rides are open for night rides. There was really good music throughout the park, lighting and smoke machines everywhere. It's crazy how much a huge place can all have such a good atmosphere. All the houses were very good, all had excellent theming, nice facades, great soundtracks and full of actors. Obviously some were better than others, but all the houses were very strong and there was none that I thought were terrible. Walking around the park in the day is completely different to walking around it at night, it just all comes out of no where. There are loads of really nice photo opportunities dotted around the park as well, with actors standing there and staff to take a photo for you. Have one of me and my Dad. We left the park a few hours early, we got we wanted to do done multiple times as there was literally no queues. Busch are good with re-rides on the coasters as well which is nice. Lots of actors at the exit when we left Apologies all the photos are terrible but they were all taken on my phone and all turned out very bad at night. Thanks for reading. Happy to do a trip report of Busch Gardens in the day, Universal halloween horror night, Islands of adventure, Studios, Sea World, Fun Spot if people are interested

The traditional annual Spooky Meet is upon us. Always one of the most popular events of the year! Due to popular request you can choose if you would like to do what we love to do at Thorpe Park again this year or instead go to Tulleys Farm for their Shocktober event. Tickets for that range from £25-£50 depending on the date. So vote away, you have the power to choose the destination and the date Provisionally it is set to: Date Sunday 18th October 2015 Time 9:30am (Please be there on time) Where - Thorpe Park: Outside the Entrance As it is a long day and you wish to come to the meet later in the day there will be additional meeting points. As you will have my contact details we will arrange the most convenient place for you and the group that is already in progress. We will not wait if you are late! If you are unable to attend these meeting points you will all have a contact number so you can arrange to meet us in park. I will be handing out my phone number for everyone who is attending the meet that day, should there be any problems. We aim to stay together as a group for the day, going from one activity to the next, enjoying getting to know people you share very similar interests with, the idea is to just go with the flow and enjoy the day with some awesome people. There will be many photo’s in the day being taken and the possibility of a few video clips. Whilst we cannot force you to stay with the group, it is the general purpose of these meets! You will have my number (and some of the senior teams) if you become split so by all means use it. The meets are a fantastic laugh and everyone is invited, even if you have never posted before or been to any kind of meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there at one point so know how it feels, please don't let this stop you from attending - Once there you'll be part of the group in no time! Just look at the past trips this year! For the older members after the park has closed we will be arranging for those who want to go to try out Brave It Alone, if it returns... This is a fantastic experience to which I would highly recommend. If you would like to take part in this please contact me so we can arrange to experience it at similar times. Tickets last year were £20.00 but it's OVER 18'S ONLY. However if you do not wish to take part or too young and want to know the reactions of those poor fools you are more than welcome to join us after in Bar 360 for a social drink before we head home. Scarily Attending (24) Alpengeist Amarghh CoasterDude CWOAFanMalcolm Daniel.S312 Equoaster and His Spooky Friend GladiatorFanKyle Han30 InfernoMartin JoshC J.S217 Lewumbrajumbos Marc Matt Creek Mer Mr. Fish Peaj Phill Pritchard Ryan ScaryCoasterBoy StevenVig Toofpikk TopsyTurvy15 The Idiots Braving It Alone (7) CoasterDude Daniel.S312 JoshC Matt Creek Peaj ScaryCoasterBoy TopsyTurvy15 Going to Scare School (7) Amarghh (Big Top & MBV) CWOAFanMalcolm (Big Top & MBV) GladiatorFanKyle (Saw Alive & Cabin) JoshC Lewumbrajumbos (Big Top & MBV) Ryan (Big Top & MBV) StevenVig Cannot Contain their excitement for this meet (10) Alpengeist Amarghh InfernoMartin JoshC Matt Creek Mer Peaj Ryan StevenVig TopsyTurvy15 Too Wimpy to Commit to the Screams (11) CoasterCameron98 DaddysLittlePrincess FrightNights04 Horcruxer Iannem (Depends on Jet Lag from Florida) Luke_A (Depends if hes with his friends) MattyMoo Smidget (Depends on Jet Lag from Florida) SmilerGeorge Styles TobyNBZ

I'm gonna start a annual Halloween awards, its gonna be quite a long post so lets start! Most Awful Maze: Honourable Mentions- The Volt,My Bloody Valentine Big Top- Big Top is awful. Big Flop starts off in a dull tent with dull black walls with little to no theming. And even funner 1 actor, IN THE WHOLE TENT. The Second Tent is ok, but with barely any actors in this tents it falls flat it in its face. Third Tent is good, but I had a couple of runs when I've saw no chainsaw. IMO Big Flop is the most disapointing maze this season. Most Well Themed Maze: Honourable Mentions- Saw Alive, Sub Species The Colony- The Colony's theming is something to behold, half the time I was drooling over the sets. The Colony is a example on how do to a long, well themed, attraction. Best New Attraction: Honourable Mentions- Sub Species,Molly Crowe Chop Shop- First off Chop Shop has a massive facade, which makes it look really good. Once inside your presented with guess what? More great theming! After loads of twists and turns through the garage your teased that your about to meet your "brothers". After that the Chop Shop is mad, with 4-6 actors in a big strobe maze all holding chainsaws! It is everything I want in a scare attraction. Theming,scares,and a cool concept. Best Maze Overall: Sub Species: The End Games- Sub Species is amazing. You start off with the control room telling you the rules to the games. What happends next can only be described as mad. You get split up a lot, the maze has loads of different scare tactics and each scene feels varied. It is themed quite a lot too, it is also quite long too. If thats not enough there's two endings, Sub Species has to be experienced to be believed, it is a amazing attraction which is probably one of the UK's best mazes. Best Scare Event: Tulleys Shocktoberfest- Tulleys is just a paradise for scare event fans. Tulleys this year has gone above and beyond for me, with some of the theming being top class, and some really great attractions too, With two musical stages, loads of roamers too, it is just a really fun event. I can't really say much else. Best Roamers: Tulleys The Howl- Tulleys The Howl had amazing roamers, the whole Lyncanthorpe family were really entertaining. Also it tied into the whole events theme, which is pretty neat. Ok to end here is some facts of this Halloween Season! Sarcastic Coments made about Merlin: 5 Swear words said to actors: 1 Fanny jokes about the squish bag sections: 10 Bad run throughs of Big Top: 2 Bad Times at Tulleys: 0 Bad Times at Thorpe: 2 Hope you Had a Happy Halloween, and its only 12 months untill Halloween 2016!

For several years now, there's been something on my theme park bucket I've always been wanting to tick off now for a long time. No, not Baron 1898 [although soon hopefully], not Europa Park either I'm afraid, however keep an eye out for MC16 which is happening soon, some hints to what this may even appear in this very blog entry. This something is of course on home soil and relatively simplistic in all honesty. It's Chessington's Howl O ween event. It's been something I've planned for over two years but until had not worked out, due to not getting chance in 2013 and absolute rotten luck in 2014, very narrowly missing out on going [big emphasis on the very narrowly]. However due to numerous reasons [cough cough budget cuts], the two former fantastic mazes from the last few years were gone despite receiving strong reviews in their time and in were two new mazes [although in different locations to those], which begged the question. Would they remain as strong? Wait & see. One thing to note about Chessington is how much theming and decoration there was set-up, which made it feel a-lot more in swing, certainly more than Thorpe too. Pumpkins, lots of lots of pumpkins. Not bad theming for Chessington. BTW, I would recommend the Chicken Shack for food at the park as I'd say it's the best eatery there by a large'ish margin, especially if your fed up with Pizza, Pasta buffets or don't want miniscule fish & Chips either. But this was definitely the most impressive Halloween thematic element though, and looked even better at night. Review Of The Mazes [why the heck didn't I take more pictures] Curse Of The Lost Tomb The Main new maze for this year, with the absence of Haunting & Mystery [as mentioned earlier], this was the maze I was looking forward to the most and it had a lot to make up for. The maze was located in Wild Asia where the conference centre was [there might have been a stage there once too]. From the outside, there wasn't much to see really, just a standard temporary cattle pen like in to a building [bit like Thorpe really], not to mention was taking a bit of time for the queue to move. But the question was, did the maze itself prove to be worth it? Overall rating 9/10. Really enjoyed this maze, which featured an original storyline and features [game show like in a way] but unlike Thorpe's mazes were your just straight in to the action and are scraed silly, this had not just more of a backstory and not to mention a general reason why you were here in the first place. Trick Or Tweet Woods Located on the grassy area near Hocus Pocus where the log cabins continue to still exist. Being out in the open, not the best setting for a maze [though Blair Witch copes well] not to mention the cabin and trees were some cause for concern. Due to these reasons, we avoided the maze during the day and only did it once it was starting to get dark, hoping it would turn out better. But were we in for a trick; or a treat? Overall rating 2/10 [I'm feeling generous] That's 5 minutes I won't be getting back, makes Blair Witch MK1 look amazing, bring back Haunting In The Hollows! Though feeling hugely let down by that second maze, there was one good thing now, it was completely dark and meant it was time for some night rides. With the park closing at 8pm this year [something that will hopefully remain for next year], this gave us over 2 hours to experience rides fully in the dark [over 3 hours once the clocks change]. Night rides we managed were Scorpion Express which looked quite impressive at night especially the orange fire effect. We queued for Vampire next, which the dimly lit queue in the darkness really added to the experience even more than it does in the day. Unfortunately the ride broke for a while when we queued but was well worth it in the end, as the ride at night is superb. The way the ride interacts with the trees as it helix's through the shrubbery, it was absolutely amazing, shame there is only 10 days in the whole season you can really experience this ride at night. We did Fury after which turned out to be our final ride of the trip, which proved to be just as good at night, the darkness made the ride more fun and disorienting, not to mention the view from the lift was highly impressive [why I don't see that in the day is astounding]. Howl'O-Ween Summary The event as a whole was very good. Absolutely loved the Curse Of The Lost Tomb maze and the night rides, where the park as a whole looks amazing, even more so than Thorpe [except Stealth], as there was different coloured lighting and effects park wide which greatly added to the atmosphere. The park's soundtrack helped set the scene but was a little repetitive in all honesty. Whilst in some ways this event was better than Thorpes [There I Said It!], like the park's current state, there were a lot of flaws. Firstly ride operations were hit and miss. Some rides were OK such as Scorpion and Falls, but others left little to be desired. Rattlesnake especially which was going very very slowly and took 45 minutes to queue for from the cave, plus Vampire didn't seem to operating as fluently as normal, whether this was because of possible ride issues remains another story. Aside from Trick Or Treat being disappointing, this years event was described as not being as good as previous years [gutted 2014 never happened], but the overall absence of two fantastic mazes replaced by one that was very good and one that was poor, amongst there being a severe lack of live entertainment and roaming actors, which made Thorpe look like it was flooded with in comparison. The factor that Ramesis once had lasers and did not continue to this year, only added insult to injury. There was even slightly less theming this year too [so I've been told]. If the park had kept Haunting In The Hollows, at least one live stage show and live roaming actors, the event would've been amazing to the degree it's better than Fright Nights. However, unfortunately due to the line up being a little on the small side, I would say Fright Nights at least maze and entertainment wise is better. Chessington need to get their act together and pick up the disco ball they once held, I've heard some amazing things about their Halloween events in the park and though this years was ok, it didn't seem to quite up to it's previous amazing standard. With much investment, TLC & efforts Chessington could once again become the creme de la creme of UK parks but has since become very stale. Scarefest is definitely at the top of next years Halloween list.

Tulleys farm is one of the best scream parks in the UK, and this year Tulleys has expanded to 8 attractions! Here's my review, sorry not many photos, but I was having so much fun I forgot. The Nightshade Circus: Nightshade replaces Twisted from last year, it is very similar in some ways. But also very different, the maze was full of curtians. With loads of other things too..including VERY uneven floors, a spinning tunnel, and a bag squish section (I call it the fanny). Another change is the ending,there was a clown on the floor, who got up and had a noisy power tool! The Colony: I hated The Tunnel last year, The Colony is way better in a way, it weaves in and out of darkness and tribe(ish) sections. At one point there is even a teepee! The ending was decent,not the best maze but still good. Haunted Hayride: Haunted Hayride is infamous for its scares and laughs. This year its changed quite a lot, with it being very different from last year. With new scenes including Sweeney Tod, a girl with a chainsaw friendly boyfriend. Haunted Hayride for me will never get old, great attraction, Hellements: Hellements is very mixed, some people will find it very scary, some people will find it meh. Hellements overall is done very well, with water,fire,wind. Its very good with special effects. I guess it adds a unique addition to the lineup, ok gimmick, beautifully presented. Haunted House: Haunted House is similar to last year, not many actors but very eerie. It is beautifully themed, with a great facade. The actors it does have are very lively. But sadly its a little short, but a fun little attraction. The Cellar: The Cellar is excatly like last year, amazing. The Cellar is just mad, actors are mad, scream and jump at you. They are loads of actors too, they are almost everywhere, most of the time they surround you. The Cellar is really themed, dark and very scary. The Chop Shop: Wow, The Chop shop was great, it was mad. The Chop Shop is like a chainsaw frenzy, with 6 (I counted) actors with chainsaws near the end. It is very manic with blood everywhere, loads of strobes and actors with chainsaws. The Chop Shop is awesome,best maze of the night. The Volt: Hmm, The Volt was wierd for me, it fell a little bit flat. There were shock pads, but it was light enough and wide enough for them to be useless. They weren't many actors, it was short. Could be a lot better. Roamers: They were loads of roamers, from chainsaws, too popcorn girls. I saw the mummy, dracula, and loads of more roamers. The roamers are way better than Thorpes IMO. Overall I had a good time, Tulleys was great this year.

Well first of all I would like to say, if you ever decide to go to PortAventura via Barcelona, once there, get the train!!!! We had a large proportion of our day cut in PA because we were waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive, which was an hour late, we then waited an extra 25 minutes so that the bloody grump that was the driver, who wanted a fag break then proceeded to have an argument with someone on his phone... yeahh wasn't exactly pleased but yeah rant over and onto the trip report!! This will be more of a what I thought of things rather then what exactly happened as we were there for 4 days it would have gotten pretty boring you to read haha!! waiting waiting waiting... 20 minutes into the fag break... But yeah eventually when me and DGC got to PortAventura finally, we just ran straight into the park, to the nearest ride we could find and since we were staying in the Hotel PortAventura, this was the nearest ride... Now I had heard a LOT about this ride, some saying that it is the worst thing ever created, some saying its the best thing ever, and because of this this was the ride that I was most eager to try out, all I can say is nothing can prepare you for what this ride does, I can honestly say you need to ride it before making any presumptions of it because this ride is just fricking horrid... BUT amazing at the same time, I don't know how but this ride I like because the launch and the inline twist is just something else but the ride is by far the roughest steel coaster I have ever been on, in the front as it isn't that rough I can easily give it an 8/10 for the launch along, dat launch doe but the outside seats on anywhere else but the front row and especially, (which was really odd ) the 3rd row, were just horrific, to the point where I came off the ride and I literally had to go back to my room and sleep it off as I was in so much pain (migrane, bruises, ringing ears) felt like a zombie, but I don't know I just kept on getting drawn back to it, which was odd, but yeah the inside seats were fine, Colossus rough nothing major, but the outside seats were like getting KO'd by a boxer, but yeah for the rest of the trains outside seats I'd give it a 5/10 because I still sort of enjoyed the ride and on the inside 7/10 not bad but not good either. Here are some more pics of it in action Lets face it, it is a beautiful ride to look at Looks so calm over the lake, anything but on the damn thing!!!! #BACOFACE So yeah after that ride the second coaster we did was a little bit of a trek into Polynesia No joke it was so humid in this part I was sweating like a rat in a gym sock but we soldier on!! Entrance in sweat shop central AKA Polynesia! What's that peaking in the distance I wonder?? SHAMBHALA AND DRAGON KHAN!!!!! These were 2 rides that I had been waiting to ride for years and now they were the right in front of me !! Kid in a candy store was a good cliché to describe how I was feeling when I saw these two . Me and Dean decide do save Shambhala for a little while to try out Dragon Khan. This is an imposing ride to be under and look at despite being dwarfed by Shambhala, does and did intimidate people, so we decide to hit middle row just to get a feel for the thing and this is what I think about it... It is an awesome layout, and one which was quite intense and that Zero-G roll is amazing BUT this ride is ruined by the incredible rattly trains, which for me ruined the overall ride for me, as the further back on the train we went the rougher it got to the point where on the back row, I came off with an almost Baco bad headache! At the front like Baco, it is raw and a little rattly but no problem and was an awesome ride, any other row though and it was quite uncomfortable to ride, made Smiler and Colossus feel smooth, no joke! Which was so unfortunate as I really wanted to love it but it was let down by those trains. So like Baco again, on the front row, I'd give it an 8/10 but for the rest of the ride I'd give it a 6/10 as the trains were way too rattly for me to enjoy on the other rows, but dat B&M roar doe!! So now onto the big boy himself, I had heard a lot of great things about this ride, and lets cut to the chase but this ride is without a doubt the best roller coaster I have ever ridden!!!!!!!! Its SMOOTH, its fast, it has amazing airtime floater AND ejector! The water effect was absolutely amazing the themeing around the area was just fantastic, I just adore it so much the ride is just amazing and special and makes up for the disappointment of the first 2 rides completely, so Shambhala.... 10/10!!!!! Just perfect Now onto this thing! Hurakan Condor, I have to say that this isn't as intense as Detonator, no where near in fact! But the shear terror I had for it and the fact that I actually enjoyed the drop (well maybe not on the standup seats) meant that this is my favourite drop tower, great ride! 9/10 Next was El Diablo... For some reason I only took a picture of it's station... ! But this ride is ok the first part was the most fun for me with the rest being incredibly meh... +1 4/10 Here is a internet photo of the ride if anyone is even bothered... But yeah enough of that on to Stampida!! Yeah, one thing I have to say is It was a god send having the unlimited fastpass, as the queues were huge for rides that weren't the best, but onto the review of this ride. This was another ride I had heard bad things about and it wasn't till I had gotten onto the ride for the first time (blue side) I understood why people say it lives up to its name... The blue side was absolutely horrific, easily the worst coaster I have ever been on, just all it was, was 2 minutes of just pure pain getting launched into the horridly uncomfortable restraint at every twist and turn, it was just horrid, and my dad (who was on the trip with us as he'd wanted to go to Spain for a while) said and I quote " It was the worst f***ing ride I have ever been on "... and he had only come off the back row of Baco's outer seat about 30 minutes before! :excl: Kumbak have ruined what was probably a decent ride on the blue side it has to be a 1/10. However the red side was quite decent but the 2nd half was incredibly dull, like really dull!!! Which was a shame as it has a good first half as its a lot smoother then Blue. For the Red side I give it a 5.5/10. I had taken strong painkillers so it didn't feel as bad on my poor head! The rides best asset was that it was a great sun umbrella, thats the only positive... Next up are the 3 big water rides that were in the park before 2014! The Rapids ride, called Grand canyon rapids, were great, easily the best themed one I had been on and for me was the 2nd best after Fjord rafting at Europa park! Despite the fact I literally knocked my self out for like 10 seconds after hitting the side very hard which launched my head into the hard plastic corner of the back rest (I really don't know how I managed to do that but it happened!) but over then that minor blip it was a great rapids which I will give 8/10 for! Next was the silver mine log flume which all in all was a good little flume but unfortunately it meanders a lot like Alton's which is a bore and the final drop doesn't get you that wet other then that its quite good and well themed! 7/10! Now finally was my favourite of the water rides Tutuki Splash!! This ride is amazingly themed for the area has 2 awesome drops and gets you absolutely soaked, for me much better then Tidal Wave at Thorpe Park and Drenched at Oakwood. The themeing that this ride had was perfect and really just makes the ride look lush! Tutuki Splash gets a 9/10 for me Now for the new for 2014 attraction, on the 2nd day of the visit we rode Angkor, which had a 3hr queue we completely skipped... hehe got to love the fasttrack package! And its good we did because apart from amazing themeing this was a disappointment for a splash battle as we didn't even battle with anyone till near the end because of its layout which completely defeats the point of a splash battle! Its a 6/10 for me mainly because of the epic themeing! This up next was one of the last coaster creds we got on the trip, quite tucked up and if you didn't walk right past its entrance you wouldn't have known it was there due to it being nestled up to Stampida, for this coaster was Tomahawk a tiny, quite unassuming woodie that actually packs quite a punch for a ride of its size, it was smooth for a woodie, which was quite good and I think it was a cracking little ride that for me was better then its bigger brother for me it was a 7/10. Only downside is the trains are ridiculously small so it was quite awkward fitting my legs into the ride, Dean had problems as well as he is taller then me haha: The final proper ride I will talk about is in this area Sesamo aventura ( I think that's how its spelt...), which despite it being completely different to any other part of the park, by not encompassing a country or ancient time as a theme, this area holds its own well. It is a really nice area to look at and was always one of the most busy as it was always packed with families, so I think job well done PA! Tami Tami! The final cred in the park and one that looked really pretty with the lush plants and with it being situated mostly over a little pond it was a really nice ride to look at. Its a +1 but its a really good +1, its a nice little ride which its train looked like it was designed by a guy tripping on weed, what's not to like about it! 7/10. The final thing I have to say about on this trip is Templo del Fuego. Its basically a walk in show with special fire effects and what not and has a special finale which was quite good. I would have probably enjoyed it more if I could understand Spanish, but it was a good show, but one I think you could only do once on a trip as it can get a bit monotonous, but for this ride I would give it a 6/10. We also did, as it was part of the Halloween event there at the time, La Selva de Miedo, basically forest of fear and I can straight up say it was much better then any Thorpe maze hands down, it was a very long maze and a good atmospheric one at that, whist it didn't scare me as such, it scared dean which was a mission accomplised! Like Blair witch it only takes place after dark to give it the atmosphere but it was a good maze I think so for this, it's a 8/10 Here are a few more photos we took of the trip On the final day, we waved goodbye to PortAventura with one last ride on Furius Baco and Dragon Khan, (Shambhala doesn't open till 11am... the spite!!!) and we set off on our journey to Barcelona!! Here are a few photos we took in barcelona! One of the many Gaudi-designed buildings in Barcelona! The Barcelona tubes were like London's but worse, basically miles of tunnels before you even get to the platform!! And the tickets are ridiculously priced compared to the London Underground!! The trains were nicer though Where could we be going I wonder?? To La sagrada Familia!! The Unfinised church that, on one side looks brand new and on the other looks ancient!! La sagrada Familia is an architectural marvel, such a beautiful building with lovely parks to the front and back of it. Its only marred by the tacky shops and fast food restaurants to the side of it but none the less was a beautiful building. The dog looked a little unimpressed by it We got lost... many, many times... Weird dildo sculpture thing We thought this was a theatre at first but we actually found out it was a... Huge shopping centre! It doesn't look it but that top floor is high up!! It did make my knees wobble La Sagrada in the distance from the shopping centres observation deck, which I forgot to mention it had! Great views though! This was an Art Gallery, we didn't go inside but it is a majestic looking building, almost looks like a palace! The Barcelona Olympic park in the distance. Such a beautiful view from the Art gallery walkway. After this we left for the airport as our journey had ended. Not sure what Dean was doing here... Overall it was a fantastic trip, Barcelona although filled with tacky shops, is an amazing city from the parts we saw and a city I wouldn't mind visiting again! Salou was great, the beach was lush the pubs were actually quite decent and the final stage of the WRC Spanish rally was in Salou at the time as well so we saw a bit of that as well which was awesome This was my first visit to Spain and I hope it isn't my last Here are a few pics of Salou What we really came to see and do was Port Aventura. A park that I had wanted to do since I became really interested in roller coasters ( which is a long, long time!) so I was revelling in the chance to go last year in 2014. And I have to say its one of the most beautiful parks I have been to just everything is just lush and I really, really like it! Sure there are some humb dingers there but that is made up for the fact that it has the best coaster I have ever been on, Shambhala!! The only ride that has ever truly scared me, Hurakan Condor. And a ride that got me stupidly soaked when I most needed it Tutuki Splash! I love PortAventura, and I hope to go back soon! Here are a final few photos before I round off the report The best view of any theme park I have ever been to!!!!!! Finally some pictures of my hotel, Hotel Port Aventura. This hotel is amazingly themed and is one the nicest hotels I have stayed in. The service was great, the rooms were lovely and clean, and the beds were nice! Also the food was great and decently priced I think this last photo sums up PA for me, the place has its ups and downs, can leave pained expressions on your face, and ones of surprise, but overall it will be and was an amazing experience, and one I will remember for a long while! Once again, thanks for reading my report

The traditional annual Fright Night Meet is upon us. Always one of the most popular events of the year! I can only apologize over the EXTREME delay of announcing this trip and that was due to some unsuccessful corresponding away from the forum. However in the knowledge of some new details we will be better equipped for next year which I hope will not disappoint and I will assure you next year's Fright Night's meet will for once be announced in plenty of time rather than the traditional last minute as you have grown accustomed to over the last 3 years. Date Sunday 19th October 2014 Time 9:30am (Please be there on time) Where - Outside the Entrance As it is a long day and you wish to come to the meet later in the day there will be additional meeting points. As you will have my contact details we will arrange the most convenient place for you and the group that is already in progress. We will not wait if you are late! If you are unable to attend these meeting points you will all have a contact number so you can arrange to meet us in park. I will be handing out my phone number for everyone who is attending the meet that day, should there be any problems. We aim to stay together as a group for the day, going from one activity to the next, enjoying getting to know people you share very similar interests with, the idea is to just go with the flow and enjoy the day with some awesome people. There will be many photo’s in the day being taken and the possibility of a few video clips. Whilst we cannot force you to stay with the group, it is the general purpose of these meets! You will have my number (and some of the senior teams) if you become split so by all means use it. The meets are a fantastic laugh and everyone is invited, even if you have never posted before or been to any kind of meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there at one point so know how it feels, please don't let this stop you from attending - Once there you'll be part of the group in no time! Just look at the past trips this year! For the older members after the park has closed we will be arranging for those who want to go to try out Brave It Alone. This is a fantastic experience to which I would highly recommend. If you would like to take part in this please contact me so we can arrange to experience it at similar times. Tickets are £20.00 but it's OVER 18'S ONLY. However if you do not wish to take part or too young and want to know the reactions of those poor fools you are more than welcome to join us after in Bar 360 for a social drink before we head home. Attended (12) Alpengeist Coasterdude Darkadder312 Iannem J.S217 Marc Matt Creek Peaj Phill Pritchard Smidget StevenVig TobyNBZ

Last year, a new, independent, scare company burst onto the scene - Twisted Attractions. Opening up in Birmingham in a disused nightclub, 'The Morgue: Live' caught the attention of many people, and got amazing reviews from the scare industry. Fastforward to May this year, and Twisted Attractions had moved to an old warehouse, bigger than the nightclub, with 'The Facility'. The reviews of The Morgue caught my attention, and upon hearing about The Facility, I really wanted to go try it out, but alas, I couldn't for a variety of reasons. After The Facility closed, it was announced that two new attractions would open in its place for Halloween - 'House of Insomnia' and 'Ward 78'. And, well, I just had to go try it out. And that's just what I did tonight, on the opening night! I arrived just before the 7pm opening and after a slight delay due to some actors being caught in traffic (to which they offered free tea or coffee whilst we waited), it was time for the scares to begin... NB: I'll give a review of both mazes in the order I did them - I'll do a non-spoiler review followed by a spoiler review (in spoiler tags). Ward 78 Ward 78 is very different to most scare attractions, in that it's designed to be done either by yourself or in a group of two. Essentially, the maze involves you going through a Victorian hospital ward where, of course, not all is well. The website describes it as follows: After being told the instructions and signing a waiver, I was given my candle (one of the electronic torch-like ones, not a real one!) and ventured down the hospital corridor... Non-spoilers: The maze involves a lot of tight spaces, loud noises and disorientation. Being by yourself already leaves you on edge and the actors take advantage of it; they like to bully you! After a while, my candle was taken from me, leaving me seemingly without hope. This actually turned out to be near the end of the attraction, which involved some nice trickery and a lot of special effects. Spoilers: So, all in all, a fun scare attraction. It makes good use of scare tactics and special effects, but I think it was a bit on the short side and needed a bit more to it. The entrance/exit. Image from ScareTOUR. House of Insomnia House of Insomnia is more of a traditional maze; you go through in groups, though there's no need for hands-on-shoulders. The vague idea is about a pair of twins in lived in a house who essentially went crazy due to mistreatment from their parents, lack of sleep and whatnot (from what I understood) at least. Here's what the website says... Non-spoilers: The maze starts with an introduction to the story, telling you about the Demurrer Twins. Very nice idea and from what I heard, very cleverly done, however, there was noise bleed from inside the attraction, making it difficult to hear. After that, we ventured into the maze. The maze is quite possibly the best themed maze I've done - lots of details and consistent storytelling theming about. Each scene follows from the previous and usually builds upon it. The maze is again very claustrophobic and makes great use of a small space. The actors are very well placed and each add to the story line - there's no 'random' actors or anything. The ending isn't particular special and is something that has been done before (indeed, I don't think it's a spoiler to say what the end is, since it's rather obvious from outside, but alas, I shall not say here...). Nonetheless, still very good. Spoilers: Overall, House of Insomnia was a very good attraction, again making brilliant use of scare tactics, tight spaces, creating a great story and some top-notch theming. I think the fact that people quickly ended up holding onto one another, even though you weren't required to have your hands on shoulders, shows how unnerving the attraction can be. In fact, the girl being me was seemingly clinging onto my shirt for dear life! Entrance to House of Insomnia - taken from ScareTOUR. It's hard for me to compare these two attractions to their previous ones, but I personally think that the creating of two attractions may have been a bad thing. The Facility was one attraction in the same place as these two, and had a Face it Alone feature as well. Instead, they've created two separate attractions, a Face it Alone one which feels like it needs to be longer and have more substance, and an 'ordinary' attraction which should go on a bit longer. Maybe it just needs more time to settle; who knows? However, I guess I shouldn't really complain when I really enjoyed both attractions! For anyone interested, the cost of both the attractions was £12 (though it goes to £14 on peak days) and I definitely think it's worth every penny! The main issue is of course getting to it, but if you're near Birmingham at some point when Twisted Attractions are running a show, definitely give it a try (they're about a 10-15min walk from Birmingham New Street train station). A link to ScareTOUR's review, where I got the photos from - http://www.scaretouruk.com/review---halloween-scream-nights-by-twisted-attractions.html So yeah, all in all, some great scare attractions from an independent company who only have good things for their future!

RestrIctIon Welcome to Restriction, a tricky yet fun forum game. The object of the game is to create normal everyday sentence (or in this case, theme park chatter) with certain restrictions on certain letters. This means, every member has limitations of what they can type using the letters they have available. Their will be 3 rounds, each round has a different restriction to cause different problems for each user making it more unique. Also, their is a variety of ways you can win each round and only one winner will be announced at the end of each round. Then shortly after, the new restriction will be announced How to win The game will continue until one person makes a mistake (As in, breaks the restriction set in their post) meaning the person above (the last to post) would win. OR, if a person has posted correctly and nobody responds within 3 days, they also take victory of that round. . Rules The rules are simple! Don't break the restriction is key! Also, each post must contain at least 2 words relating to what the other person has posted which makes sense! If any rules are broken, the person above wins the round. RestrIctIon Round 1 For the first round of posts, the restriction is your not allowed to use any letter used in your forum name! (Example; Username: EndlessDayz - Cannot use the letters (E, N, D, L, S, A, Y and Z) Let the chatter / game begin! I'll start you guys off Hi TPM