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Found 10 results

  1. 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
  2. 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..
  3. This Blog Contains Minor Spoilers* Screamland is a upcoming giant in the scare industry, and last year received rave reviews from scare veterans and the GP alike. I personally have never been to Margate, so my whole night was a complete 'new experience' to me..Yup Especially the completely rundown city of Margate, and some "interesting" graffiti on some of the walls.. Anyway the event was a grueling Hour and a half drive, so was it worth it? In short, yes.. Screamland was one of the best halloween events I've ever experienced, I'm not easily scared, but the event caught me off guard with some of the most creative scares I've ever seen in a maze. Bloody Mirror Bloody Mirror was the parks mirror maze with a few actors.. Overall it was the shortest/weakest at the event, but it was fun for what audience it was aiming for. I was a tad disappointed TBH, but the attraction is more of a good start to the event than anything else -3/10 or 100/10 if you have a big ego The Paradise Foundation TBH this mazes concept and theme disturbed me before even entering the attraction! Overall The Paradise Foundation is a well themed, theatrical, and terrifying experience! First positive would have to be the actors hiding spaces, they really came from everywhere. The maze itself is very disturbing, with a lot of the actors looking disfigured and the sets full of gore. I'm not easily grossed out but some of the actors costumes where quite disgusting, in a good way! My only negative comment I'd say about the attraction is the ending, its a cool concept but not effective as it could of been! All in all- The Paradise Foundation was a brilliant maze which had our group on edge throughout the experience-9/10 The Final Cut Presents..They Came From Outer Space The Final Cut was what I'd call perfection.. The concept was so brilliant, and so brilliantly executed. The first half is reminiscent of a theatre, with popcorn being thrown everywhere! The use of a inflatables was genius with the transition into the movies, and once into the film The Final Cut goes crazy from that point on! The maze has plenty of scenes involving Sci-Fi classics which where both funny and scary in equal measures! If that wasn't enough awesomeness for you.. I present the ending! The ending involved a scary alien and a girl with a gun! The ending was loud, unique, and left our group desperate for the exit-10/10 Dead And Breakfast- Murder Hotel Dead And Breakfast starts right after the awesomeness of The Final Cut, And oh god was the first half brilliant. Fag Ash Lil had our group in stitches with her fast-witted insults, She even called me a slag! Once inside your chased by Lil's new man, who has a taste for flesh! The maze had some beautiful sets, as well as some good theatrical scares making use of the brilliant theming that immerses you in. Lil's new man seemed to be everywhere, and caused a threat throughout the attraction. The attraction's finale was also pretty good, and was a good ending to a great maze-9/10 Festino's Forgotten Funhouse I've experienced some great Clown/Circus themed mazes this Halloween, but Festino has to be the best clown maze I've ever experienced. The creativity on this one was insane. The hiding spaces for actors where very creative, and at points you see a prop, next minute that prop would start moving to realise its a actor! The attraction's first half is very trippy and full of unique scares, and the second half was surprisingly theatrical! To meeting a knife thrower to a Bearded lady was pretty fun! The ending slightly disappointed me, mainly due to the absence of Pearlywhite! But three actors with chainsaws held our group hostage in a cage for a few minutes, which made up for it! The maze itself though was more fun than scary, but the maze's creative scares and scenes make up for that-8/10 Atmosphere/Roamer Actors Overall the roamers where pretty great. They weren't no Tulleys level, but I had some fun interaction with them. Though the atmosphere was buzzing-8/10 Conclusion: Screamland is a event which I recommend to anyone who likes scare attractions. The event is nothing short of brilliant, and even though Scenic was unfortunately closed, I still had a blast!
  4. (THIS BLOG WILL CONTAIN MILD SPOILERS) So Fright Nights returns for its fifteenth year! Overall this year the event was somewhat of a mixed bag. One thing to note is some of the park-wide theming! Fright Nights in previous years have not bothered with theming, but this year they seemed to make some effort which is nice. The Big Top The Big Top has been completely changed this year, and was way better than last year! The maze is everything it should have been last year, its fast, its frenetic, and its pretty fun! The strobe maze in particular was very confusing, leaving our group doing circles for a while. Though the maze was a little light on actors at points, and in some sections a bit of light from outside the tent was let in. The Big Top like other clown mazes may not be the scariest, but they sure are fun and confusing at the same time-7/10 Platform 15 Being new for this year, Platform had a lot to live up to. After going through, the maze was IMO a mixed bag if I'd seen one. Now the first half was brilliant, the scripted beginning to actors giving some pretty good scares in the open spaces. Some sections where a little to wide, but actors towards the first half where giving some pretty great scares. Now the tunnel finale was a different story.. Most of the tunnel was spent doing nothing, making a decent portion of the maze boring.. The finale at the end of the tunnel was a good idea, but it was not effective in the slightest, making Platform the most anti climatic maze I've seen in a long time. The attraction's second half needs a massive overhaul IMO, but the first half is still pretty fun-3/10 Saw Alive Saw Alive seemed to be crawling with actors on my run through! The attraction seemed to pack more than enough actors, and the scares where pretty great. Though the maze is starting to get very stale, and the maze has a crap ton of problems.. Mainly the scares for one, why would a chained up actor be moving freely? Though the maze still has some great scares-5/10 Blair Witch Project Blair Witch remains the same state that its been in since 2014. The attraction packs a lively cast of actors which seemed to be hiding pretty much anywhere! The finale always packs a punch, and the actors where doing a good job. Though like Saw Alive its starting to get a little stale as nothings really changed at all-5/10 The Cabin In The Woods Cabin is really a attraction that has seemed to declined since 2015.. Cabin back in 2014 was amazing, it was crawling with actors, some actors jumping out from the ceiling! On my run through the attraction was not bad, but it weren't great either.. Overall I think the maze has like Saw/Blair became a little stale. Also the group flow seemed to be a little manic on my run through.. Cabin has always had these problems, but you'd think after three years of operation they would of ironed out these issues-4/10 Roamers Actors Only saw roamers one time sadly. Overall the EX10 actors where wrecking havoc when we did see them! Though the amount of roamers was very poor TBH, especially like a event as large as fright nights! Maybe I've been spoilt with Tulleys's amazing roamers, but I think Thorpe needs some better roaming actors overall-5/10 Conclusion: The event like I said earlier was a massive mixed bag. Big Top was fun, Cabin/Saw/Blair where all very fun too but a little stale. Platform being poor due its long drawn out boring ending. Overall Fright Nights are better than last year IMO, but I still think there is MASSIVE room for improvement..
  5. 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!
  6. Beware this review may contain mild spoilers! So Tulleys Shocktoberfest is back! Overall being located at my local farm Tulleys is a must each year, this year sees two new attractions and a bunch of classics return! Creepy Cottage Even though being the smallest attraction at the event, Creepy Cottage is still a strong attraction. The theming and the eerieness of the attraction is really what makes it, plus a few actors make this attraction a little gem. Overall a fun start to the event- 6.5/10 PANDEMONIUM'S 3D CARNIVAL Overall very similar to other incarnations of Tulleys yearly clown maze, Pandemonium's was pretty fun. The maze like Nightshade Circus from last year shared a lot of scenes, but the 3D element towards the end made the maze even more confusing! Overall the maze was pretty good, but more funny than scary like usual-7/10 Haunted Hayride So the infamous hayride returns! The Hayride seemed to have a lot of work done to it this year, with a ton of new scenes! Overall the Hayride is fairly similar in tone to previous years, the attraction can sway between laughter and utter terror! The Hayride is just as impressive as usual, though we missed the twerking nuns -7/10 Hellements Hellements has always been decently dull for me, but this year it was actually pretty good! The scares where pretty effective, and the group where pretty desperate to get out! The effects are fun as always, the fire was as hot as ever, and the wind tunnel was so strong our hoods nearly fell off! Overall a improvement from last year-6.5/10 Coven Of 13 So Coven was quite a disappointment.. Some of the special effects where good and well executed, but the scares not so much.. The scares where piss-poor, and the maze lacked actors in places.. The maze had some pretty good theming in some places, so I'll give some credit.. I think Coven could be great once actors settle in, But Coven was somewhat poor from Tulleys- 3/10 The Colony The Colony was a mixed attraction for me last year, but the actors where surely rocking on preview night! The Colony last year lacked actors and was quite spread out, but this year the maze seemed to have a lot more actors than previous! The Maze still has a long length and great theming, but the scares throughout the attraction seemed to come thick and fast! One scare in particular was a very loud car horn which had me jumping outside my own skin! Overall the attraction is now a highlight of the event, and is well rounded maze which seems to go on forever-9/10 The Chop Shop The Chop Shop returns! The Maze still has a beautiful facade, and chainsaws galore! The Pacing is really the thing thats makes the Chop Shop, you'll go from hillbillies teasing you to being attacked with chainsaws at all angles! Overall actors seem to constantly re-appear, and the amount of hiding places and shortcuts for actors also make scares for actors pretty easy! A very impressive attraction-8.5/10 The Cellar The Cellar is the crown jewel of Tulleys. It is yearly great, and seems to never get old. The Cellar is a long, well themed, and very great with scares. The Maze itself at points seems to flood with actors, some scares being back-to-back! Overall a classic which always seems to be a highlight of the event every year-8.5/10 Roaming Actors: Tulleys is famous for its great roamers! This year is no different, the roamers are really something special at Tulleys! Had a few conversations with some of the roamers, and there really are brilliant-10/10 Conclusion: Tulleys has had a mixed year, some mazes being as good as ever, some being improved, some new additions completely failing. Overall I think the good outweighs the bad, if you live near the area it is definitely a must visit! Also to note its only preview night, so there is still time for stuff to change!
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. So Scarefest is back! And it's better than ever! Day 1: So I started the day by a small drive of 3 HOURS! We arrived about 3ish, we got our maze tickets and then we were off. We got on Blivvy quickly due to the long que of 5 minutes.. After that we went to sonic-flopball which had along que due to it raining and only 3 per car. Then we went over to our first maze.. TOTT! Great maze: 9/10 Then we walked over to Molly. Unique maze 8/10 Sub Species The End Games:
  10. 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.
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