'I'm a Celebrity' Maze

[TraX]

I can only imagine, the idea is that this attraction is only supposed to be a quiet attraction that was never aimed at the mass market. In a few years when its popularity dwindles, it'll still draw the family crowd and offer a great experience, without having to worry about not being busy throughout the day.

 

Either that, or Merlin really are stupid, and didn't even theorise potential throughput, and thought "eh, lets just hope for the best"...but a multi million pound company couldn't be that stupid,right...?

 

Merlin's main instinct these days is having something new, that will get people in. That's it. Once they're in and the figures show an increase.. Job done. Well done everyone.

 

Oh sorry, I forgot to mention the guests.

 

[Matt 236]

Looks like IAC don't be winning best 2015 ride (in the UK that's a hard battle between Red Arrows & Octonauts).

[jon81uk]

(in the UK that's a hard battle between Red Arrows & Octonauts).

 

The new ThomasLand expansion at Drayton Manor might be beating both of those!

[JamminGamer]

Yeah I was at the park pretty much all day and the longest queue was always held by this, at least 60+ constantly. Didn't bother trying it as mazes/live actors aren't my thing and as mentioned the universal panning! Also had an hour queue at 6pm and the people in the queue were either attempting to leave or looking rather bemused!

[FuelledMash]

I went on this on the 16th April and I don't think it was worth the time we waited which was 30 minuets. also if you haven't been on it yet be careful as some of my friends and I came off with burns all up are arms and sides form the exit. 

[Project LC]

It is good to see that they are working to fix whatever your issue was and it does show that they do actually care although sometimes it may seem that they don't. However it is in their terms and conditions that you do not disclose emails from guest services. "This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed."

[Altitude]

Ok so I went onto this I'm a Celeb today...

 

We got there at 10:50, and she said it'll open in 10 minutes, and we were the first ones there. Then she said there's another 15 minute delay, that was alright. Then she said there was another delay which she wasn't allowed to explain to us, and we ended up waiting for about 40 minutes. I know we could have left the queue, but I wanted to try it.

 

Anyway the "maze" was pretty atrocious really. Felt rushed, the actors were friendly but most seemed uninterested. It didn't feel immersive either for me. You could see the real ceiling above the theming as there was light spilling everywhere! The rocks on the glory hole part were nice, but again there were parts when you could see just plain black walls next to them. The scene with the question tanks was lame too. There was literally one question, I got sprayed with air, and then told to get out.

 

Worth doing if there's no wait but don't waste 45 minutes of a 7 hour opening.

[gabbygrace]

I went in the maze today and thanks to our amazing guide had a great time!  All the effects seemed to be working, she joked and interacted with everyone in the group, made it her mission to scare everyone as many times as she could, and explained everything really well. (but the question tank thing is so, so lame!)

Only thing I have to ask is why, oh, why did someone think it was a good idea to have an attraction that allows 10 people in every 10 minutes!? 
When we joined, the sign at the start of the queue said 15 but after about 5 minutes in the queue were told it had gone up to 40! (kudos to the staff actually telling those already in the queue this information though). In the end I think we waited close to an hour on a day where other queue times for rides such a Stealth peaked at 15/20 minutes. 

 

[MachoMachine]

Went in this on Sunday and it was no where near as bad as people are making out. It's definitely had some improvements (this is coming from ryan as this was my first time) and it's definitely an immersive experience. I think the chamber task should be a bit longer as we only had to answer one question! Our 'guide' was brilliant and the beginning part definitely was a shock to a certain part of my body we used fast tracks I had but still ended up waiting about 20 mins, wasn't too bad though. Theming is beautiful too! Hopefully they're getting a better understanding now of how to make it better.

[Ian-S]

It always takes a while for something to hit it's stride, whether people's patience will last that amount of time in this modern instant access world is another thing.

I do feel sorry for the actors, they must get really depressed if they read certain review sites.

[Kerfuffle]

It's definitely had some improvements. Hopefully they're getting a better understanding now of how to make it better.

Knew they would do this, considering Nemesis Sub-Terra was a failure when it first opened. They improved that with new effects and a scare maze and to this day it's still a brilliant attraction! Glad IAC also had improvements.

[James Allgood]

It fair to say the attraction has been greatly improved over the past few weeks!! They've added more challenges to the maze but have made it a lot better!!

[Coaster]

Does the I'm a Celeb maze open at 10am?  I may be visiting soon and want to get on it before the queue builds.

[Cal]

Does the I'm a Celeb maze open at 10am?  I may be visiting soon and want to get on it before the queue builds.

 

Yeah it opened at exactly 10 when I went there, it didn't open with other rides for ERT.

[Coaster]

Yeah it opened at exactly 10 when I went there, it didn't open with other rides for ERT.

Okay, thanks

Out of interest was there a big queue of people waiting to go on at 10am?  (I.e. do I need to wait there early?)

[Cal]

Okay, thanks

Out of interest was there a big queue of people waiting to go on at 10am?  (I.e. do I need to wait there early?)

 

There wasn't when I went, no. We got in the park at 9:15, did a few rides and then got to the queue at around 9:50 and we were in the first run through of the day. We also got in the queue at 6 even though it said 100 minutes, and only waited just over 30 minutes. It seemed a lot better at the end of the day as well, actors were a lot better. 

[TPJames]

Don't go at the end of the day whatever you do... They will heavily comprimise experience to get rid of the queue so they are able to go home.

If you're really desperate to go in, I'd reckon getting to the maze at any time between 10-10:20 and the queue shouldn't be longer than 15-30mins at that point (which is only 60people anyway) and you should get a nice long run as at that point the queue will be short meaning they can take their time during the run.

Go in with extremely low expectations. If you expect anything good in the slightest you are more than likely to be disappointed, especially if it's busy and they decide to rush it.

[AstroDan]

With all this talk of improvements... I look forward to seeing this new attraction in a couple of weeks!

[Cal]

Don't go at the end of the day whatever you do... They will heavily comprimise experience to get rid of the queue so they are able to go home.

I'm not saying you're wrong, as it did sound awful when you went in at the end of the day but please remember that was just your experience. It's not going to be the same every time and every day.

When I went in on the last run through of the day, it was the best run through I had all day. It lasted a lot longer than the others, and the actors were on top form.

[TPJames]

I completely understand what you are saying, it is a maze which means every experience will be different inside no matter what time you enter within it. However I was simply advising not to visit at the end of the day as it leaves you very liable to getting a poor run just like I did.

Experiencing this at the end of the day was actually an ideal option for me as it means you get longer within the park; we ended up leaving the park well over an hour after closing and walking through a deserted park was certainly something! However the fact that the run was so poor and they rushed us through left us feeling so disappointed and disgusted that it completely contradicted the purpose of going at the end of the day; going at the beginning of the day seemed a far more ideal option and meant we got a nice controlled run with only a 15minute queue.

All this speculation about both amazing and disgustingly poor experiences just goes to show what a bad idea implementing this maze was. I have no doubt either that it isn't increasing gate figures by much either as I've not seen it over 120mins, which is only 200people anyway. Barely anyone is likely to have gone to thorpe park this season for the sole purpose of experiencing this (with the possible exception of its first weekend being open). It has settled into its surroundings now but the matter of fact is that the main time people go to thorpe park for mazes is at fright nights. Having this maze open throughout the season is likely to be unpopular and it will end up like saw alive due to ridiculous running costs. It also reduces potential space for fright nights meaning everything is likely to be very squashed up this year. Things like the 2016 dark ride is the type of expansion we need to see to this park, not tacky low-throughput fillers which expire after a couple of years. The flat rides are also likely to die soon and I hope we see worthwhile decisions moving forward in investment rather than last minute decisions to try and push gate figures.

[Coaster]

Finally experienced the maze. Initial thoughts when I heard about it were that it was a strange choice of IP, and it didn't really work IMO. Theming was good (although the warehouse roof is clearly visible removing any sense of realism), but the trials didn't really work as they didn't have any sense of actually being a trial.
Lighing was used well in places and overall it wasn't awfully carried out, but I just think that the concept of an IAC maze doesn't really work.

Overall, in my opinion it was a nice try, but I'm still not sure why they built it after the failure of Saw Alive and I wouldn't rush back for another go anytime soon.  It's also worth mentioning that the throughput is absolutely dire, about 10 metres of queue took 45 minutes and later on the queue (which looked like it should have been about half an hour tops) was advertised as 85 minutes.

 

My rating:  4.5/10

[paige]

I actually went on IAC in April and I feel like the fact I haven't posted any sort of summary or review on it says a fair amount. I was pretty scared throughout but that is down to the fact that I'm a jumpy, claustrophobic person who is terrified of bugs. The actors/hosts really did put a lot into it for us and the theming really is something to admire, but after the hour long queue and the whole getting stuck on the slide thing, I came out with a bitter taste in my mouth. A bit like that time I queued for Storm Surge for 2 hours. 

[pognoi]

I really enjoyed I'm a Celebrity, and it's something I'd happily do again. (today was my first go)

I visited today with Celia Mae, Scarycoasterboy and Phill, and I couldn't help but admire the potential and presentation of the maze.

To begin with, it was so long! I found it extremely lengthy, in a good way, there was alot to do compared to what I was expecting.

The queue wasn't too bad. We joined at around 10 30 ish and it wasn't more then 20 minutes or so. 

From a design point of view, it's fantastic how much they crammed into such a small complex. The design unfolds beautifully and really maximizes the space they had to use.

Our actor was very fun. She was very interactive and was a good guide and directed us around the maze very well, whilst explaining everything. 

The theming was terrific. From the clever use of ropes to the misty rains, from the tornado bag thingys (and in particular I loved the rock work and use of shrubs). I've seen alot of you moan that some of the walls are just painted rather then heavily decorated, and that the roof hasn't been covered. So what? It doesn't take away from your experience at all, unless you've got a broken neck and can only look up, or have a fear of walls.

It was a great, interactive maze and wasn't something you just pointed and laughed at. All our trials worked as far as I'm aware (apart from a couple, seemingly un-necessary buttons, but this may be because our actor helped it flow so well) and I can completely agree with J.S217. It was just a bit of fun. I fully feel sorry for people who had a rushed or broken up experience, I seriously enjoyed this and wouldn't hesitate to visit it again if it's queue wasn't too long. But Hey. thats the same with most things.

[AstroDan]

I can't wait for this now! I've never watched IAC but it does sound top drawer now.

[Mitchada04]

The changes to it are fantastic! Having the same tour guide the whole time works much better and you feel more like a team trying to accomplish something and gain stars! (You actually collect gold stars from the trials!) It's still a really good long experience with many cool effects in it. I love the scruffy dog theming, clever effects and feelings. There's one bit that's even like a trial 

Had to put my hand in this bowl of god knows what but it smelt awful but you collected gold stars from it so there was reasoning behind it

Finally experienced the maze. Initial thoughts when I heard about it were that it was a strange choice of IP, and it didn't really work IMO. Theming was good (although the warehouse roof is clearly visible removing any sense of realism), but the trials didn't really work as they didn't have any sense of actually being a trial.
Lighing was used well in places and overall it wasn't awfully carried out, but I just think that the concept of an IAC maze doesn't really work.

Overall, in my opinion it was a nice try, but I'm still not sure why they built it after the failure of Saw Alive and I wouldn't rush back for another go anytime soon.  It's also worth mentioning that the throughput is absolutely dire, about 10 metres of queue took 45 minutes and later on the queue (which looked like it should have been about half an hour tops) was advertised as 85 minutes.

 

My rating:  4.5/10

The roof: It's visible, so is X's, and all of the Dungeons. It's not a problem in my eyes as the theming is so immersive around you if you're looking up then you're odd, you're surrounded by an amazing theme and setting that is more than enough to detract you from the bare ceiling (that is very dark and not exactly stand out).

 

You say about the throughput, yes it's low but it's not really a problem. If people are happy queueing 85 minutes then it's fine. A ride with higher throughput doesn't instantly guarantee low queues. It's a flawed logic. Like Forbidden Journey gets 1900+ every hour yet can still surpass a 2 hour queue. It's all about what people are willing to queue. It may look like a short line in comparison to other rides, but you can't compare ride for ride. By that logic, Disney geeks would see Swarms queue half full and think "Oh that'll only be like 15 minutes" when in reality it's 50. You can't compare an idea that it looks "short" because other rides with the same queue length are only 10 minute queues. It doesn't work.

 

It's something Thorpe have lacked which this and the dodgems brought back, FUN! It's interactive, fun for the whole family, well themed and something different to do. Yes it's got a low throughput but it's all about the experience, to get the throughput up you'd slash the experience just like FN mazes and so on. 

 

Nice to see they've tweaked it heavily from press night and the like to something that'll be much more consistent.