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Fright Nights 2015


spoon

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Hey guys, I know it's only May, but I think it's time to bring up the subject of Fright Nights!

As you probably know, the Thorpe website very recently changed the year in their description from 2014 to 2015..... so it now reads 

 

Experience a horror movie takeover of the UK's premiere Halloween event, as THORPE PARK Resort and Lionsgate UK present Fright Nights in 2015. On selected dates in October and November, experience a full 12 hours of thrills with rides in the dark til 10pm and terrifying horror mazes based on iconic Lionsgate films, including The Blair Witch Project, My Bloody Valentine, The Cabin in the Woods and SAW.

 

 

So, what do you guys think this means? Are we just to expect what we had for the previous two years? Will Thorpe introduce new mazes? Will they keep 'Studio 13'? What improvements would you like to see? And do you think they will utilize their new 'I'm a celeb' maze? Discuss!!

Edited by Tommy
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I'd be surprised if Studio 13 made a return, considering I'm A Celeb's now in its place. However, I do see potential for it! Last year's "movie" was 'The Motel', so my guess is that Thorpe'll go in a whole new direction and have The Director shoot his latest movie based in a jungle. Sounds crazy, but then again Studio 13 was the only good maze last year, so would love to see it return! :)

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Indeed, and with I'm a Celeb being torn apart by every human being, they need to do something with it to invigorate it. The only problem would be the fact that the layout isn't suited to a horror maze with all the challenges and incredibly short runthrough. So unless they modified it (or created essentially what would be a family attraction), it would most likely be ineffective. However, I just took a peak at last years chat, and it's basically the same - everyone expected a family attraction and then we got Studio 13. The only change is that last year, the asylum disappeared whereas this year, there is a clear retheme...

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Is I'm a Celeb being torn apart anymore? Not too sure on that one, though I've no idea, sure Marc could shed some light somewhat...

 

Sounds like it'll be the same line-up as last year then... Horray for stagnating Merlin Halloween Events!

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Some of my mates seemed to love IAC when we went through it, so I think opinions are very mixed. Although may I add the people in my group that enjoyed it were the ones with little theme park or Fright Night experience, so they had no frame of reference really! :)

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I mean, I assume that they will do something with it for fright nights (its almost a given), and the 2016 development is shaping up to be an addition to their lineup then by the looks of things. But this year, they've got to develop it Halloween style, and that's gonna be hard to do (as the layout is filled with non adaptable trivial challenges that would make a scare maze hard to create). However, its got a tunnel, and individual booths... do I sense potential? The only other theory I sense, if they were to do this, would be to have planned it already. I know its a long shot, but in the I'm a celebrity layout, there may be setups for a possible fright nights maze. The only basis for this reasoning would be that Thorpe wouldn't remove a maze without replacement, as they need to improve on their offering every year (or else the public will rip them apart). I mean, look what Alton did to Sub Terra... it went from an abomination to an incredible experience with a small bit of work.

With the recent news that Alton just added new mazes to their lineup, will Thorpe be overtaken this year?

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We have to remember that this year potential locations for horror mazes have significantly reduced and therefore it is unlikely we will see an expansion this year to the event despite how popular it has appeared to be in the last couple of years.

-The arena is currently in use for construction of the 2016 dark ride and therefore MBV will have to be relocated; most likely to the beach or potentially next to the swarm island as it was advertised to be located there last year.

-Studio 13's building is currently in use by I'm a celebrity and it is unlikely Studio 13 will make an appearance anywhere else upon park simply due to the layout and complexity of the building and design. I also find it unlikely that IAC will be converted into a horror maze due to the complexity and specificity of the layout meaning that it isn't able to suit any other purpose. I wouldn't be surprised however if they added a couple of Halloween elements to cater for the target market.

-With the rumoured return of CCR, and the fact that the BWP shed has been removed, despite CITW's theming remaining standing, this could yet again take away another potential location for a maze. Unfortunately, if the railway track is indeed being replaced, it is unlikely that BWP will return as there are no other locations to suit the maze.

I think it is going to be a tight squeeze for the mazes this year and I reckon we could potentially be returning to the mazes located in tents on the beach. The event was simply so popular last year that an expansion would be ideal to cater with the 3 hour+ standby queues the mazes were receiving(although RNR was not helping the situation). In an ideal world, I would like to see the same mazes return from last year with an additional maze and a new scare zone(along the lines of scary tales to cater with slightly younger audiences) and these would help spread out and ease the crowds as last year all rides and mazes had full queue lines and to experience a major attraction there was no queue time under 2 hours.

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^^ Yeah I certainly agree that last year publicity ramped the popularity to an impossible level where queues were unacceptable. Solution: more mazes (ideal solution: no fast-track, but we know that's never going to happen). But tents on the beach feels a bit like returning to the past before improvements... However, that said, if it means we get extra mazes - then I will not hesitate in supporting it. On a sidenote, the Thorpe Park Fight Nights FB page mentioned relocation of MBV to 'the island' (and by that, they don't mean TP!).

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Wow! A setup maze like the Sanctuary? Good idea! It would make sense. I mean, if you look at the plans, its fairly obvious it's a 'scary' theme with boarded windows and abandoned building feel. People have been talking about a CCR ghost train for a couple of years now, and this year it would make more sense than ever! I just don't want the best Thorpe event of the year to be shat on because of a frankly terrible family attraction (IAC), and a closed off area(WC16).

A side note: Would we assume CCR would be aimed at families, or would they do something inventively horrifying with it...

 

I was trawling through the old records of 2014 fright nights and came across the following.... it's probably not to be taken seriously, but if true, then we could have a cool new maze coming....

 

 

 

The Asylum is better, and I have to say I am not displeased that this is the only year for Studio 13; this year is the 'audition' phase to what is coming next year, according to what I overheard two employees talking about outside of the maze (as well as a poster saying THE MOTEL, coming Fall 2015). So again, the maze was good, but not Asylum good and the poor timings meant both times there was no chainsaw which just isn't the same experience; the ending is a key aspect of the maze.
Edited by Tommy
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Blair Witch, MBV and Cabin in the Woods are all on a 3 year contract I believe, so that's why they'll always be the most heavily advertised along with Saw Alive.  I'd expect Blair Witch will remain in the same location; the removal of the shed is nothing to worry about yet.

 

Simply put, if Thorpe want more mazes, they're going to have to start using tents again.  Whilst they're eyesores, they can also be efficient.  And I'm sure if they wanted to, they could loosely fit it in with the theme of a maze.

 

I'd guess MBV would either go on the unused island or the beach (though I remember hearing they couldn't use the beach with the shipping containers, so maybe that rules the beach out?).  I'd expect Studio 13 or a spin-off of it (ie The Motel) to return also; a custom layout within a tent would be fine.  And if Studio 13 doesn't return, I'd expect something new to come about - Fright Nights is far too popular for them to lose a Fright Nights attraction.  

 

It'll be interesting to see what happens to I'm a Celeb over FN.  Fright Nights is primarily aimed at an older audience, so it would make sense to 'up the intensity' a little bit.  But at the same time, what could they actually realistically do whilst still keeping within the spirit of the attraction?  Not a lot in my eyes.

 

I think it's worth remember that Fright Nights has seen something new each year since 2010.  They've done a lot to keep the event fresh, original and interesting each season.  If it does so happen that nothing new is added this season, I don't think it's a bad thing.  Perhaps a focus more on park-wide theming should be put in instead (yeah, I know it's said every year :ninja: )..

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I reckon my Bloody Valentine will be going on the island next to Dwarm as it was apparently meant to go there last year and was a last minute thing it returned back to its main location.

As for Studio, I don't know what to say if it will return or be replaced again, but one things for sure, it's unlikely IAC is goi g anywhere except receiving a more intense setting for fright nights maybe.

I can see S13 if it does return either going in a tent on the beach or even going in the conference area where they did Braniac in February half term.

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Yeah, I'm beginning to see that tents may be the best option here.... I definitely do not want to see ANYTHING less than we've had before... If s13 is relocated into a tent and park wide theming Is introduced then I could probably abide with it (on a side note, next year, when the IP is gone, do you think thorpe will renew it?) . Now, the problem that I have with this is queuing. As we saw last year, there are only 3 things thorpe can do:

1: don't oversell fast track

2: increase fast track price exponentially

3: build more attractions

I don't see the first two happening as Thorpe will want as many as possible to buy fast tracks and get more money. I do possibly see the last one and fully hope for it **pleeeeeaase**. Also, they need to get their asses into gear and stop one train operation!

You know, last year was so predictable! Everyone panicked over whether or not the asylum replacement would exist and if it would be good... This year seems to be quite interesting.

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That WOULD be funny. You know, that's an avenue for them! Say that you're on a reality TV show that goes wrong... In any case I'm pretty sure that we will get at least 1 new attraction (If not, I'll be annoyed). On the subject of other mazes, as in the ones on the Lionsgate IP - what improvements would you like to see? There were incredibly mixed opinions from around the internet. Some called all the mazes an improvement, whilst others cited most as tame and funny. However, one thing that was universally agreed on was that Blair Witch was incredible compared to previous years! Certainly based on last year, I would like to see it return (possibly along with another Scare Zone). Also, Reserve n ride is back from the 23rd of October.... thoughts?

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In order to try and confirm Thorpe's stance on the current plans, I dropped them an email. I know its WAY too early for them to give us any information, but their website clearly states information, so I wished to confirm it. They stated they couldn't say... so we could see a change up.

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  • 3 weeks later...

As some might be aware, ScareCON took place this past Friday, and Thorpe gave special runthoughs of Saw Alive to everyone there.  Some photos from inside the maze were take and have been uploaded to their FB page.  Doesn't show much more than other previous photos from inside the maze, but still nice to see...

 

https://www.facebook.com/ScareCON/photos/a.10152994919556716.1073741845.269404796715/10152994923451716/?type=1&theater

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Yeah. that's cool and a nice bit of photography. I assume that Thorpe will always use the barge for a scare attraction, it wouldn't make sense for them to do away with it. On another note, during the summer season, we usually see some fright nights signage appearing for promo purposes, as the park has already publicized Island Beats. However, that starts in a couple of weeks, and we can assume that there will be zero information about FN from Thorpe, as they'll be busy pushing tickets via social media...

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