Jump to content

'I'm a Celebrity' Maze


pluk

Recommended Posts

Inside looks well themed but the queue looks like a total bodge job (as usual for Thorpe). Would hardly break the bank to get a few small trees and jungle decoration down and make it more 'jungle' themed, but instead we get a couple wood poles with an 'entrance' sign on top. Fantastic. At least tarmac the floor properly so there aren't random recently dug-up patches everywhere... 

 

Thorpe is going to be in for a rude awakening if Paramount UK actually becomes a thing. It's the small details like this that make the difference. It's not like they're not capable either - The Swarm is really well themed in my eyes, it's just a shame that this kind of attention to detail doesn't extend to the smaller projects too (Storm Surge, Angry Birds Land, this...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The place to discuss all things Celebrity!

 

WARNING:  This thread will contain spoilers - read at your own risk.

 

 

---

 

 

I found the maze a really good laugh to be honest.  It's fun and an experience.  Inside, the maze looks great and has some cool effects too.  There's certainly a few things which need tweaking here and there, but I think that's only natural at this stage with an attraction of this type.  Look out for a more in depth review soon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having just experienced this tonight, I must say the theming throughout was absolutely amazing. However, I felt the maze to be of a slow pace and we spent around double the time chatting to camp mates opposed to Bushtucker trials(also didn't help my chamber was broken in the chamber of horrors...)

The throughput is awful, they were only sending around 10 people in every 5mins resulting in a 40minute queue even with the timeslot. Luckily, as we were the only two in the line, we got half our wait cut off to fill up another group.

I fear this attraction will end up like Saw Alive, it heavily relies on 10-15actors to run the experience and I imagine popularity will wear off sooner or later. With the current throughputs, I imagine it will gain lengthy queues this year however I worry about the future.

Overall, it was a good attraction with a good atmosphere and interactions from the actors. However the actual purpose of interaction in terms of trials and things to do was certainly lacking, although this may have been due to the fact we were in there 20mins+, most of which was standing around waiting. Did enjoy it all though and would certainly have another go provided there was no queue! :)

(The free photo was a really nice touch from the park, really makes the annual pass worthwhile ^_^)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went in with very low expectations. I came out with a massive smile on my face. Hats off to Thorpe Park for not only giving us a great event last night but also for producing a pretty decent 'cheap' attraction.

 

We went in at about 7pm and were put with Nicola Mclean (no? me neither) and her children. She was a 'celebrity' in the show a few years back apparently, I have since learnt she is an ex-Page 3 model. Anyway, the first scene was full of little surprises, as was the rest of the maze to be honest. As mentioned before, the themeing is world-class, wow! I couldn't imagine that being in the same shell as The Freezer/The Asylum/Studio13 - incredible. 

 

When I put my hand in the first 'catacomb' it was poor, not much going on, felt naff, found the 'star'. Then I decided to swap for another; full of gunk and straw - was nasty = brilliant! The rest is a bit of a blur but I didn't think much of the chambers (not sure they worked correctly to be honest) but the finale was incredible! What great fun!

 

Again, the free photos were a great touch. I really hope they all start to appear on social media and, therefore, advertise the park so that Thorpe Park/Picsolve see this and think about doing more free photos.

 

Anyway, in a nutshell; I was ready to be disappointed last night but cannot stop raving about it this morning. I know it was the preview event and that the actors were new/over-staffed so I just hope the budget keeps the attraction running like this during the off-peak season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Admittedly the photo posted on here of the queue line doesn't really do it justice. There is theming in the queue like a table dressed to look exactly like that from the eating tasks, etc. The building also looks amazing from the outside and there is space in the queue for the actors to walk around and chat to the people waiting (like they were doing in much abundance last night). I'd wait for a few days running for this to become more apparent (as a lot of this couldn't be appreciated last night in the dark) before judging it's budgeting, it certainly didn't come across as a bodge job just to drag the punters in for the next year to me :pardon:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think this is going to be a mass draw long term, walked past today and the queues were tiny, with 50 minutes on the boards., throughput must be terrible.

Was quiet funny to see all the extra cattle pens they'd errected with temporary railings empty, not many people in the park seemed the slightest bit interested by it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think this is going to be a mass draw long term, walked past today and the queues were tiny, with 50 minutes on the boards., throughput must be terrible.

Was letting about 10 people per 5minutes in last night. Was about 80people in the queue ahead and was advertised as a 40minute wait. I dread to think how long the waits are going to be in easter with fastrack in operation.

I would hate for this to happen, but they may find a way to make it shorter in some way. Most of the time inside the maze was waiting to go into a bushtucker trial with an actor talking to the group. Considering it was taking 15-20mins to get through the whole maze, it may potentially be able to be cut down to a shorter time length to reduce queues. Doubt it was reaching more than 150pph last night as the lady by the entrance said we didn't have to stick to the timeslot as it wasn't running as "smoothly" in terms of operations as they thought it would have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I also tried the maze out today, and it wasn't as good unfortunately.  It's a shame, as just as we'd done the intro, the maze was evacuated following a technical fault.  A good 20-25 minutes later, it reopened, but it felt very rushed (no photo point, a scene or two walked through, etc), and I'm not sure if that's because they wanted to get people through quickly, whether they thought we had more done, or what.  

 

In saying that though, I did still enjoy it today.  Granted, not as much as yesterday, but I do think some of that is because I was making comparisons to a less-rushed through version.  I do hope that that my experience today is not a more accurate reflection of how the maze will always run.

 

A bit more detail from me with my views on certain aspects; I'll stick it in spoilers just in case...

 

-I really dislike the Ant and Dec intro.  Don't get me wrong, I like the humour that's there, but I hate how they have to say "WELCOME TO THE WORLD'S FIRST JUNGLE MAZE" and gone through all the trials that are coming up; felt very cringey.

 

-The bridge across Croc Creek (I think) is dreadful.  Is it meant to do something?

 

-There's a neat interactive projection on the ground with bugs and stuff that I really love.

 

-Holey Moley is brilliant.  Love (to hate) the feel of whatever's inside!

 

-Chambers of Horrors is good fun too.  I do think some of the effects need to be a bit more blatant though.

 

-Fawlty Towers and the lead up to Celebrity Cyclone is fun, though maybe the escape door should be a bit less obvious.  

 

-Why did Ant and Dec not record the Fawlty Towers TV scene.  Did they run out of time or something? :S

 

-I found Celebrity Cyclone a bit meh to be honest.  Needs more water and some wind at the side or something.

 

-I love love love the theming.  Everything seems so realistic, and the moving trees are a very nice little touch!

 

All in all, I do think it is a fun attraction.  Yes, one should be concerned about how long this will last.  Yes, one should be concerned about throughput (at a guess, I'm thinking it will be 300-400 people per hour!).  Yes, the actor issue is something we should be worried about.  But this is a fun attraction, and something where you can have a bit of a laugh.  It's a nice experience, and something like this has been needed at Thorpe in my opinion.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...