Fright Nights 2014

[Marc]

Totally agree. Thorpe hasn't got enough things to do with the reserve and ride system in place. Flat rides like you say would be stupid queue times and not worth it and so would water rides most likely. If thorpe in my opinion want to implement RnR fully they need more rides or at least shows or something! So glad I'm going this weekend... no hassle just normal queue what I don't mind

 

As it stands - I agree there isn't enough things to do with RnR in full operation, realistically though I think if they can make it work as they want to that is years away, in which time they could add additional things to do to help combat this problem. 

[Project LC]

As it stands - I agree there isn't enough things to do with RnR in full operation, realistically though I think if they can make it work as they want to that is years away, in which time they could add additional things to do to help combat this problem. 

If they added things to help combat the problem then RnR wouldn't be needed as the queues would have been reduced by what they have added.

[Marc]

If they added things to help combat the problem then RnR wouldn't be needed as the queues would have been reduced by what they have added.

 

Reduced to a degree (assuming no more guests are attracted) - for RnR to truly work they need things which can please large groups of people and not be something else you need to queue for.

 

Either way I'm sure it will be a interesting few years! 

[Altitude]

They should just do something like MyMagic+ at Disney.

 

Limit people to three fastpasses a day, make reservations at the pizza restaurant, unlock your hotel door, enter the park with just one wristband/card. Make a smartphone app for it too.

[Coaster]

If the park is dead by 8pm like it was last year then I hope they just stop running the system as it would be stupidity to have to reserve a maze if it was walk on...

[Marc]

They should just do something like MyMagic+ at Disney.

Limit people to three fastpasses a day, make reservations at the pizza restaurant, unlock your hotel door, enter the park with just one wristband/card. Make a smartphone app for it too.

There's no limit to fastrack plus , once you've used your first 3 you can do 3 more. To be fair they seemed to suffer the same fastrack issues - as soon as a ride went down fastrack allocations went to pot and end up stood in a non moving queue. I guess there's no 100% bullet proof way of doing things.

[Altitude]

^ Ah yeah I forgot about that. I think we only used the first three ones though.

I think limiting people to absolutely 3 would be great though, not for the park but for the customer. 

 

I would say although every system has it's flaws, Disney is the closest to perfect for me. It feels more personal and less about the park wanting money.

[Project LC]

There is one pretty easy way which is pretty much bullet proof. Normal queuing plus a fastlane type system cedar fair uses. Its still a queue just a shorter one, with perfect allocation as long as the host counts the right number of people which had been pre-determined. That way ride breakdowns don't effect it, no over allocation to reduce fastrack queue and Thorpe would still make some money. All without the need of a stupid virtual system that makes queues longer, guest miserable, and destroys itself when a ride breaks down.

[Graw]

Blimey, they really are going all out with the actors this year - neither of these will be cheap to recreate!  I'm impressed.

 

daaamn, I hope we get hell lord on the second week when I'm going, that'd be so so cool.

[Benin]

There is one pretty easy way which is pretty much bullet proof.

 

And that's no Fastrack whatsoever, whilst pushing the rides to get the highest throughputs possible...

 

Makes a bigger difference to every single guest, rather than making that quick pound by overselling to the impatient masses...

[RubyRed95]

Off topic here- but does anyone know what time the official AP preview event starts tomorrow? I mean- the tickets say 6-10 but I realise the park is open all day; is that also just to annual pass holders? If not, how do they get everyone out who doesn't have a pass? So confused but trying to plan what time to get there! Any help would be fab

[Dodge2002]

Just to put things back on topic, a few fright nights updates from my visit yesterday.

 

There were a LOT of actors mulling around and presumably doing dress rehearsals yesterday. Some of you will be happy/unhappy to hear it seems like the Chainsaw finale is definitely coming back for Studio 13, at least that's judging by the loud chainsaw noises you could hear coming from the exit of the maze. Also interestingly, you could just about make out the old Asylum theme playing inside. Whether this was just a placeholder track or not though is yet to be seen.

 

Moving to TBWP, we saw them doing what I would guess was a test run with some staff while exiting Inferno. From what we could see of it, the ending was way more intense, and I would guess the acting through the whole attraction, was much more full on rather than the passive lurking in the shadows type we saw last year. I could hear a LOT of screaming coming from the actors while they were in the hut, although obviously I couldn't say what was actually going on.

 

Not much to say about MBV/Saw other than they just started putting up the fencing today for MBV.

 

And also I'm sure its nothing, but bizarrely the sign board for Cabin In the woods was placed up on the fence where The Aslyum/Studio 13 entrance should be. Have Thorpe just made a stupid mistake here I wonder? And again maybe reading too much in to it, but there was a distinct smell of "construction" (I.e fresh fiber board/paint etc) in the air while walking through X's queue, so I don't know whether maybe this means they're adding some elements to CiTW or not.

 

Outside of that there was a Scruffy Dog van (the theming company) parked outside the Shark hotel, not sure whether that just happens to be where they're park, or if perhaps they're doing some work on the rooms? No idea there.

 

1 Day left!

[J.S217]

Off topic here- but does anyone know what time the official AP preview event starts tomorrow? I mean- the tickets say 6-10 but I realise the park is open all day; is that also just to annual pass holders? If not, how do they get everyone out who doesn't have a pass? So confused but trying to plan what time to get there! Any help would be fab

I would say 4:30 to ensure you are there on time come in the park and join a few of members who there also then we would all leave at around 5:00 to keep a spot in the queue to get in.

[TPJames]

Off topic here- but does anyone know what time the official AP preview event starts tomorrow? I mean- the tickets say 6-10 but I realise the park is open all day; is that also just to annual pass holders? If not, how do they get everyone out who doesn't have a pass? So confused but trying to plan what time to get there! Any help would be fab

Basically:1) at 5pm the Park closes and everyone leaves. 2) make sure you have the eventbrite ticket printed off3) once the Park is clear of day guests (5:45 ish) they'll start letting Pass holders in4) this happens by you joining the cattle pen queue set up by the ticket boothes, the staff then manage the front taking the paper ticket you have printed off at home from you5) walk up to the turnstiles as usual and scan your pass6) go in and enjoyDon't worry, there are lots of staff ensuring no one jumps that queue or tries to sneak up to the turnstiles just to scan their pass. It's a tried and tested system that works well.

Thats SCBs post just bumping it for you. As jack said a lot of tpm members will be there going around the park however it's not necessary to get to the park about 5:45 as thats when people start getting let in. Its on a thursday this year so should not be as busy as it was last year and weather might put some people off. They then hold everyone at the dome until 6 from what ive heard and everyone is let past at the same time. Getting there before 5:30 is not necessary unless you want to go in park but bear in mind the park will close at 5pm.

[J.S217]

Not the Dome the gates before the queue time boards

[TPJames]

Sorry didnt go last year was just saying how I heard it ran. Am I right in thinking that it started at 6:30 aswell last year or was it just extremely delayed?

[Coaster]

There were a LOT of actors mulling around and presumably doing dress rehearsals yesterday. Some of you will be happy/unhappy to hear it seems like the Chainsaw finale is definitely coming back for Studio 13, at least that's judging by the loud chainsaw noises you could hear coming from the exit of the maze. Also interestingly, you could just about make out the old Asylum theme playing inside. Whether this was just a placeholder track or not though is yet to be seen.

The theme music or sirens?  To be honest both would fit the new maze just as well as they fit Asylum.

Glad to hear that the chainsaw is probably back!

 

Outside of that there was a Scruffy Dog van (the theming company) parked outside the Shark hotel, not sure whether that just happens to be where they're park, or if perhaps they're doing some work on the rooms? No idea there.

Scruffy Dog did the theming for My Bloody Valentine last year so they may well have been called in to make some final touches to the other mazes.

 

 

Another little advert clip:  

[Dodge2002]

It was this track

[JoshC.]

Another little advert clip:  

 

Nice little teasers Thorpe have come up with, especially since they're all stock footage from old Fright Nights mazes (and that one even has some from Saw - The Ride!).

 

As for Asylum's music potentially being reused - boo.  The maze should have been given as much a new identity as possible, from theme and name to music and audio.  I also think it'd be a shame if the ending is kept the same too, though can understand why it would be in fairness.

[RubyRed95]

Getting there before 5:30 is not necessary unless you want to go in park but bear in mind the park will close at 5pm.

Okay thank you so much, very informative! We're currently just debating whether to go for the day too or just for the evening haha!

 

Sorry didnt go last year was just saying how I heard it ran. Am I right in thinking that it started at 6:30 aswell last year or was it just extremely delayed?

Thorpe are saying on their twitter it starts at 6:30 this year, though the tickets say otherwise. maybe we start to get let in by 6 an then everything will be open and ready by half past?

[Coaster]

It was this track

Ah nice, glad they are reusing that!

Not sure why it would be playing inside the maze though.

 

 

As for Asylum's music potentially being reused - boo.  The maze should have been given as much a new identity as possible, from theme and name to music and audio.  I also think it'd be a shame if the ending is kept the same too, though can understand why it would be in fairness.

To be fair the Asylum music was also used for Freezer so it's more just a general Halloween track, and as it really suits horror mazes I'll be glad if it is used again.

[th13teen]

The only problem with Fright Nights and Reserve N Ride, is the fact Horror Mazes are incredibly low capacity combined with the more pressing issue that Mazes are very temperamental they shut down, emergency stops, actors getting punched, etc, etc, very rare can a maze go a few hours without something happening, and that could have a nasty nasty effect on all queues.

However I do encourage this system for Fright Nights, if there is an attraction I would never ever, ever wish to wait for if I get half a chance is those bloody maze queues, they are simply nasty! So I am all for Reserve N Ride on such rides, although I agree with others there should be no standby queue.

 

[JoshC.]

Trying out RnR on just the mazes is a great idea I think.

 

One of the issues people have with the system is that if you're not queueing for attractions, what are you going to do?  It's a fair point to raise and, at this point in time, Thorpe do not have enough other things to do.  

 

However, if you try it out on just the mazes, there's a whole park still to do!  It's no worse than a usual day at Thorpe, except that the ride queues will be a bit shorter as you'll have people doing the mazes as well.  Yes, Fright Nights will be busy, but no busier than say a day in summer, for example.  It allows people to do the mazes, without having to do an unnecessarily long queue, and they still get to do night ride and so forth.  

 

So long as the system works (and, based on previous trials, the system itself is working well), then this is just a great idea all round for Fright Nights dates.

[Benin]

Will the ride queues be shorter though? Where will those who would normally be queuing for the mazes go if there's no standby one?

 

5 mazes, that usually gain 2 hours worth of queue... So that's another couple of thousand now roaming the park instead of being in one place...

 

 

Here's an article about Disney forcing people to use Fastpass+ on Midway Mania in Florida which is pretty much the same issue Thorpe are having, only that it's available to everyone:

 

http://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20141008/29380/5-questions-raised-disney-s-newest-fastpass-test-disney-s-hollywood-studios

[Project LC]

Mega park like disney destroyed by the system, I am 99.99999% certain Thorpe will have same fate. It cant be done. Physically or theoretically. If they offer enough attractions to get the system working then they wont need the system. Queues cant be removed, 20,000 people in the park will go somewhere. They will allocate themselves where they want to spend their own time. They don't want to be forced into shops. It doesn't increase ride count, it doesn't allow more to be done in a day. It just redistributes people. It doesn't solve anything. The second Thorpe understands that then they would stop the entire idea. If anyone disagrees I'm willing to explain the entire idea of RnR in extreme detail explaining the dynamics of it however I don't think that belongs in a fright nights thread.