Tulley's Shocktober Fest Scream Park

[JoshC.]

11 hours ago, Jack said:

Anybody else have problems posting photos to the forums? I tried 3 times and every time I got chucked off the site. I have some I took of the farm today and wanted to share on here

How are you trying to upload them - are you trying to attach them or adding in a url from a different source? If you haven't tried both, try the other version if you can.

 

If you have tried both / can't try both, drop me a PM and I can look into it a bit more  

[JoshC.]

Went to Tulleys last night. Some thoughts (will put spoilers for Wastelands and Wreckoning):

 

 

Wastelands Penitentiary 

In many ways, this is actually two attractions. The entrance feature is pretty striking, and going through it takes you through to what can best be described as a mini scare zone, with inmates and steampunk-lite characters roaming the area, along with people doing ironworks and stuff. Every half an hour there's a show with lights, fire, actors dancing, etc., which is good fun. Needs a bit of refinement, but it works.

 

Then there's also a maze. It's a classic prison themed maze. You go through various prison scenes, which are all well themed, and actors do a good job at splitting groups up. I was leading our group, and then the rest of the group was held back early on so I was left to do much of the maze alone. There's a moment where your group can be briefly split up too which is different for Tulleys, and nice. Then there's a long strobe maze section, with multiple routes and just generally very well done. Probably my second favourite strobe section after Big Top's.

 

After that, there's an ending, but it's not actually ready yet. "Something" is arriving soon for it, what that is, though, is anyone's guess. It did mean the maze lacked an ending for now which is a shame.

 

There's still a bit of work to be done, and smelt of fresh paint so seems to have only just been done. And there was a lack of actors in some of the prison scenes. But it's still got great foundations for a great maze and I really, really enjoyed it.

Non spoilers review: Great maze, needs a bit of work, but still very, very good! And make sure you're near the maze at quarter-past / quarter-to an hour!

 

The Wreckoning

This is very much just a standard like-for-like retheme of Colony. There's some great set pieces in there, and good theming pieces. After a while it seems to lose its way with the story and becomes quite generic. And the length - it's still super long. Too long. And some of the lull moments are just excessive. 

Non spoilers review: Wonderful theming, okay maze.

 

Twisted Clowns

This was one of the few mazes I really rated last year, and I still enjoyed it last night. It's great how it blends scares and humour, and the cast are brilliant with hitting that sweet spot.

 

Haunted Hayride

Great fun again. Couple of minor changes, but like Clowns, hits a sweet spot between scares and fun.

 

The Cellar

Another typical Tulleys maze - a bit too long with a couple too many lulls. There's a new ending which was confusing, but it worked well.

 

Chop Shop

Chainsaws do little for me, so Chop Shop doesn't get my motor running. We bunched up with a group in front too which meant we got even less scares. 

 

Coven of 13

Same criticism of going on a bit too long / too much lull-time for my liking. However, I still adore the swamp section, and there's a new ending which is pretty clever and I liked it!

 

Creepy Cottage

Fun little maze. Again, seemed like there's changes to the ending. For what it is, it's fine.

 

VIXI

Eurgh, this. This ended up being the absolute longest wait last night: almost 40 minutes! And anyone who's done it knows it isn't worth that. Still by far the worst maze at the place.

 

Circus of Horrors

Great 20 minute show which runs on the hour, every hour (including 11pm). Would really recommend as it helps breaks up the day, and the intimate atmosphere works very well.

 

Roamers

Absolutely brilliant again. Didn't see the nurses though 💔

 

 

So there's been an improvement across the park this year with Wastelands, and there's been some improvements in quite a few mazes. And with 10 attractions now, it's a very full on night! But for me personally, Tulleys are just such size queens with their mazes, and I'd love it if they just shortened their mazes a bit / made the lulls in the mazes a bit shorter - that would make a BIG improvement to the overall event imo.

 

[Jack]

A VERY clear top 3 for me this year which were all many tiers above the rest on my visit:

 

3 - The Cellar. As much as that strobe room doesn’t fit the maze (even more so now we have wastelands) the cellar was packed full of crazy actors who provided plenty of great scares throughout to compliment the beautifully themed maze. The cellar has been a top maze for years now and I still can’t see it going anytime soon as it is still consistently one of my favourites.

 

2 - wastelands. This maze was brilliant. Just brilliant. If there were a few more actors it would easily be the tulleys number 1, but even without a lot of them the maze still comes in at a very close 2nd.

 

1 - twisted. This was amazing this year, full of actors who all make an effort to interact with you and make you laugh and cry at the same time. At one point there were 5 actors in one room with us at the same time. Whilst it may not be the scariest, it is easily the most enjoyable experience at tulleys this year without a doubt.

 

creepy cottage and the hayride are always good but I’ve never really rated them as highly as everyone else does (especially the hayride). The wreckoning is just a less-scary version of the colony imo and shouldn’t have been returned as I much prefer its predecessor. The worst maze by far this year was VIXI which really needs to be scrapped. Coven and chop shop are still both solid mazes but I feel they are starting to get very stale and could maybe do with rethemes or replacements in the coming few years.

[MattyMoo]

Right - got back from Tulleys at about 1.30am last night, so thought I'd write up my thoughts - we had the VIP pass as always, which I think is well worth the money as it means you never have to queue more than 5 minutes, and should you have a "bad" runthrough with a big group - which does happen - you know you can do it again to hopefully let the maze shine.

 

Our total count of run-throughs was 21 in the night - we nearly snuck in one more but were seconds too late!

 

Anyway, worst to best.... here we go:

 

9. THE WRECKONING (X1)

We feared this was going to be just Colony with some ropes, pirate hats and rigging etc. - and it basically was. Not enough actors, and I joked with my mate that there better not be a pointless chainsaw ending - and there was. The UV section with "spears" on the wall looked particularly poor I'm afraid. The ships were good though. Very disappointed, couldn't wait to get out. Shame really - maybe it wasn't quite ready in time and needs tweaking?

 

8. VIXI (X1)

It's good once you take the hood off. I don't find it scary having the hood on, just frustrating. The finale was good as before, actors were strong here.

 

7. TWISTED CLOWNS (X1)

This suffered from lack of actors for us - not sure what happened there compared with the review above, but there were numerous parts where we were just walking with no actors at all. Shame as this was a highlight last year. No changes from last year that I could see. Disappointing.

 

6. CHOP SHOP (X2)

A massive fall from grace here, again, due to lack of actors - not really sure what's going on as it's the first Saturday, maybe they had agency staff in for Press Night? We gave it a second go to have a second chance but we had only a handful of actors in the finale whereas previous years we've been faced with 3 chainsaws at once. Only really rated over other mazes due to the iconic theming. Good chatter with the actors in the opening scenes!

 

5. CELLAR (X2)

Solid as always - good laughs with the massive snake head on our 2nd run through  #toomanysnakes Actors in the strobe/maze part were awesome, using the strobes to great effect.

 

4. HAUNTED HAYRIDE (X1)

A few changes this year but quality as always - highlight for me is always that SPoOKy girl on a swing, classic. If ain't broke don't fix it, this attraction is pure Tulleys and we love it. A must do, well executed, spot on.

 

3. WASTELANDS (X3)

Well - this area, and maze, is MASSIVE. Lots of roamers in the arena, and a crazy rave/dance show goes on every 30 minutes. The maze itself had a huge queue at the end of the evening (but not at the start) so I'm not sure if people didn't realise it was there, maybe people thought the attraction was just the arena? But yes - dominating shipping container structure (Thorpe Park would get very excited about so many containers in one place), it really is HUGE and the maze itself was impressive. Love the way that all the "doors" are left a jar, nice touch. You go through various rooms with various staff - all quality actors it has to be said, before ending up in the cells themselves with prisoners climbing all over the mesh side walls and using the strobes to great effect. Interesting set up where you have the central maze section and then you can go into side rooms too that are dark. After this, there was a torture room on one side, with a finale of being chased by actors with massive weapons (oooh errr) where you then exit back into the arena itself. It was clear that the maze was still being finished - you could smell paint! - but already the haunt is top notch. Really really impressive and love the actors that wait around the entrance to the area.

 

2. COVEN OF 13 (X4)

We were concerned with Chop & Wreckoning not delivering that our night was going to be a bit meh - but that was until we went on good old Coven (and Creepy Cottage). Always a favourite and yet again, the witches that lie in wait were bloomin' fantastic - in the swamp section, one actually climbed onto the side wall which I'd never seen happen before, and on another run through, a witch scared the living sh** out of me jumping out behind me in the swamp, making me jump out of my skin - and whack my knee, ha! The outside sections were fantastic as before, some awesome actresses in there, but a massive shout out to whichever witch hid INSIDE the fireplace and jumped out whilst I crawled through, absolutely scary as hell haha. The new finale was good - and needed - could do with more smoke at times but again the 3 witches in this bit were amazing, with some great interaction/blocking your path. Such a good maze.

 

1. CREEPY COTTAGE (X6)

It's a classic. But in the same way Creek Freak Massacre was so good because of the cast, Creepy Cottage excelled too. On the very first run through, the very first actress appeared in the distance - then disappeared, and then when turning one corner, she screamed full blast in my ear from the left, and I can honestly say I've never had a scare like it. No idea how the actress in question manages such a blood curdling scream - and she did so every. fricking. runthrough. Iconic stuff. I doubt this will ever get back to her but massive props for her dedication! The rest of the cast made the maze too - comments of "What are you doing back here again" - in character of course - to which we reply "We're VIPs hun!" which is met with a sarcastic - in character - "Get you"  Brilliant. Same actress as well at one point, my mate said "I can see someone but not sure who" to which a reply came "It's your favourite" 😆 Love it. Just gutted we didn't get a 7th run - we were close! Haha. Just goes to show, you can have all the bells and whistles you want on a maze, but it comes down to the cast - Cottage has never really changed much, and it doesn't need to. That first massive scare will haunt my dreams!

 

Saw the nurses just the once (so sad!) but had some good chat with some other roamers! Staff were lovely on the maze entrances too, friendly and asking how our night was going! We had an awesome night - a shaky start thanks to our maze choices but those witches and cottage dwellers saved the day!

[Glitch]

Going on Thursday, to have my Tulley's virginity taken, I hear there's some nurses who will be able too do that for me.

Few questions:

Will I be able to do all the mazes in the one night?

Is there a best order for doing the mazes?

Last year there were mentions of bounce back passes, how much are these?

Is there a guest services so that I can get some compensation which I am entitled too if the ending for the new maze is not ready on my visit?

 

I look forward to it.

[JoshuaA]

10 hours ago, Glitch said:

Going on Thursday, to have my Tulley's virginity taken, I hear there's some nurses who will be able too do that for me.

Few questions:

Will I be able to do all the mazes in the one night?

You should be able to if you allow for enough time. Thursday should have low to moderate queues but there is a lot to be done at Tulleys so as long as you are arriving early you should be able to get everything done just fine.

 

10 hours ago, Glitch said:

Is there a best order for doing the mazes?

I recommend starting at the back of the park first as Coven, Cottage, and Vixi tend to be dead at the start of the night (Cottage however is always dead lol).

I also recommend leaving Hayride and Chop until it gets dark as both I think are much better when it is darker (Chop has no roof).

After the back of the park I think everything is generally fair game. Biggest queue you'll have will probably be Hayride but everything else will probably be around 5-15 minutes.

Oh and make sure to spend some time just walking around, the street actors are brilliant and something you should experience along with the attractions.

 

Have fun, make sure to check out Twisted 😉 will see you there!

 

[Stuntman707]

We usually start with Creepy Cottage as it's the least intense one to get started with.

There is certainly a lot to do there!

I'd go to the indoor ones next like Twisted, Vixi and The Cellar. Wastelands is also supposed to be busy later on.

 

Then when it's getting dark we usually start with Coven then do the outdoor ones like Chop Shop, Shipwrecked (This one will take a long time) and usually end with the Haunted Hayride.

 

Wasn't going to go this year but the new attractions have drawn us back this weekend! 😃 Love all the street actors, live music atmosphere. Most of the farm and all the queues are under cover too.

[MattyMoo]

12 hours ago, Glitch said:

Going on Thursday, to have my Tulley's virginity taken, I hear there's some nurses who will be able too do that for me.

Few questions:

Will I be able to do all the mazes in the one night?

Is there a best order for doing the mazes?

Last year there were mentions of bounce back passes, how much are these?

Is there a guest services so that I can get some compensation which I am entitled too if the ending for the new maze is not ready on my visit?

 

I look forward to it.

I can't help you I'm afraid mate as I get free VIP for being an influencer with nearly 300 followers.

[jessica2]

Going tonight, looking forward to it! My dad has never been in a scare maze and is convinced he will be unfazed by any of it... we will see. Only issue is that its basically guaranteed rain but hopefully will mean lower queues (not VIP so have to queue with the rabble..)

[Jack]

2 hours ago, jessica2 said:

Going tonight, looking forward to it! My dad has never been in a scare maze and is convinced he will be unfazed by any of it... we will see. Only issue is that its basically guaranteed rain but hopefully will mean lower queues (not VIP so have to queue with the rabble..)

It’s pi**ing down in Crawley right now! It won’t ruin the fun, just wear old shoes and be prepared to get wet 

[Stuntman707]

Spoiler: Some footage I got of the Wastelands show from last night.

 

[Jack]

After a revisit I can confirm that wastelands is now the best attraction at tulleys and is also probably one of the best all-time tulleys attractions. 

As much as it doesn’t scare me, chop shop was filled with actors which was great and made it a lot more enjoyable. Everything else was much the same. The event is really, REALLY strong this year 

[Stuntman707]

2 hours ago, Jack said:

After a revisit I can confirm that wastelands is now the best attraction at tulleys and is also probably one of the best all-time tulleys attractions. 

As much as it doesn’t scare me, chop shop was filled with actors which was great and made it a lot more enjoyable. Everything else was much the same. The event is really, REALLY strong this year 

I agree. Did Wastelands 3 times at the weekend. Without a doubt the best scare maze I've ever done.

I'd recommend boots or wellies especially for The Wreckoning.

My review will be incoming soon.

[Coaster]

I'll try and get around to writing a full review soon, but Tulleys Shocktoberfest was absolutely incredible this year.  The mazes were all on top form and Wastelands Penitentiary is unlike any scare attraction I've ever seen before in terms of both the exterior show and interior.

 

The atmosphere around the attraction is phenomenal and I would highly recommend a visit for fans of scare events.  Whilst I felt like last year was a bit of an off-year for the event, it feels refreshed and at the top of its game this year.  Just amazing.

[JoshuaA]

I went as a guest last night and honestly Wastelands blew me away and then some. The theming is incredible and the maze just feels like a breathe of fresh air for Tulleys. The roamers around the area were also brilliant and made me grin before even getting into the queue. The rest of the lineup was also pretty solid!

[Martin Doyle]

Two visits to Tulleys under my belt so far this halloween season and two incredible evenings out!!

 

This event goes from strength to strength every year and this year’s new addition of Wastelands has really only served to hammer home Tulleys position as the best overall event in the country. Acting quality across the event is terrific (shout out to the pirate inside Wreckoning who seemingly knows me from this forum!! That was pretty darn hilarious I must say having a name drop in a Tulleys maze!!) and once again the quality of attraction is immense this year and Wastelands penitentiary is right up there with the very best horror mazes in the country.

 

I do however now think that VIXI needs to move on next season as that’s now got quite stale to repeat visitors and I also hate to say it given how great it was in its opening year but I also believe Chop Shops time is up now. However that aside, an all around solid year for Tulleys!!

 

*shout out to @JoshuaA clowning around in Twisted Clowns about my damn hairline!! 😮

[Glitch]

Went today, medium crowd levels, but still loads of time to get through all the attractions.

Bought tickets at November black Friday sale for £25 each, offering excellent value, I almost think the VIP would be a bit overkill, I feel that once is enough on all 10 attractions.

Twisted Clowns - Was excellent and a good way to start the evening loved the bungee and the varying levels / floors.

The Chop Shop - Meh, Creek Freak wins for me.

Wastlelands - Wins it for me a great maze overall and better than Creek Freak in my opinion, the show was also visually stunning, I wouldn't be surprised to see Glastonbury / Boomtown style festivals copy this style of stage in the near future.

Wreckoning- Ok, pirate theme was cool, but it went on for a long time with little actors to fill the areas.

Coven - Loved the white room, may be getting my mazes muddled up here!

Circus of Horrors- Excellent, Thorpe need something like this back to replace the cinema.

Creepy Cottage - Was a nice attraction.

The Cellar - This just blurs with the other attractions can't remember too much.

Hayride- Queue was about an hour looking at it in the muddy looking queue line, so bought fasttrack for £5, well worth it straight onto the attraction, was very good feel sorry for the actors who must be getting bruised legs from the lack of space onboard, but overall the set design was excellent.

VIXI - Longest queue of the night at 20mins but I enjoyed the experience, yes it may be seen as weak but the isolation factor was quite cool, I am hoping that next year they retheme and rename Vulcan Peak as a troll to Thorpe.

 

Overall Tulley's seems to be a well oiled shipped, that knows its operations and how to run them smoothly, the ticketing system works well and is something which I would like Thorpe to introduce for RAP on busy nights, whilst overall with the £25 +£5 fasttrack works out to £3 per attraction which seems like excellent value and has left a smile on my face, as well as I would assume the majority of other guests even on a peak night.

 

Would I recommend? - Yes.

 

 

 

[Glitch]

 

Wonder if they have been having issues with customers not getting around all attractions. 

[JoshuaA]

7 hours ago, Glitch said:

 

Wonder if they have been having issues with customers not getting around all attractions. 

I think its to avoid people thinking the queue lines always close at 11:30 on the dot. If the queue is fairly large then they might need to close the queue earlier so everyone (the actors, security, and everyone else) leaves the farm by 12. 

I do think what you have said probably is a issue though. 9 mazes+ Circus Of Horrors is a lot to do and when I went I only just got round everything once, its not easy by any means!

 

[JoshuaA]

*Double post*

 

Here is my full recap/review of all the mazes:

 

Creepy Cottage

Excellent little maze that is a complete classic. Its not the biggest, baddest, or most flashy maze. But its great fun and a good introduction maze for those who perhaps haven't experienced a maze yet.

 

VIXI:

I had a good run through this! Actors seemed to be everywhere and the hoods seem to block out the light more than previous years, I couldn't see anything at all this year!

Its not the best maze but its something different to other 9 mazes. It adds variety to the lineup IMO. I do think it might need refreshing soon though! It was the first hooded maze after all and has been pretty untouched since 2011!

 

Chop Shop

Had a solid run through. I do think it is on its last legs though.

 

Wreckoning

Potential is there, theming is outstanding and actors have a pretty unique angle being pirates and all.

Sadly the maze feels dead in some places and its a shame! I think with a few more actors and a few tweaks to the maze itself next year could really make this into a standout attraction.

 

Twisted

I'm not going to review Twisted as I don't think I can fairly review it TBH lol.

 

Cellar

Good run through. I got completely murdered in the cage section.

 

Coven:

Coven has always been a maze I thought could be elite if it had a better finale. This year Coven got that finale.

Now it is easily one of the strongest mazes at the park.

 

Hayride:

Hayride was brilliant. Some of the new sets are beautiful and the actors are rock solid. The nuns singing 'like a virgin' is one of the best things I have seen in a scare attraction. Such a laugh.

 

Circus Of Horrors: 

This really worked! Funny, a bit freaky, and campy. It really suits Tulleys IMO, sure it is a scream park but Tulleys are not afraid to be fun! The show really makes a nice break in between mazes too!

 

Wastelands:

My favourite maze of this year. Theming is stunning, queueline is even themed!

Area around it is brilliant with roaming actors being hilarious and the show is fun too!

 

Main maze is brilliant with the cage section being by far one of the best strobe mazes I have experienced.

It is easily on the same level as TOTT or Big Top, its crazy in there!

 

Tulleys really brought their A game this year IMO. My jaw dropped when I walked through Wastelands for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MattyMoo]

16 hours ago, JoshuaA said:

Tulleys really brought their A game this year IMO. My jaw dropped when I walked through Wastelands for the first time.

This. An absolutely ridiculous chunk of theming for what is a seasonal attraction. Incredible, and shows how seriously Tulleys are taking the event going forward.

 

I don't recall them selling out ticket-wise as many times as they did this year vs. previous years, which is good to see. From what I've seen at the event, fasttrack tickets are not oversold either, and I know that they are particularly strict on their VIP tickets - which is why every year I've gone, I've not questioned buying them one jot.

 

My only negative really for this year, was The Wreckoning - the UV corridoor with foam swords etc on the wall looked very amateur when you have a probably world class attraction like Wastelands next door. Hopefully they'll work on this maze a bit more for 2020 as it felt rushed in parts. Wonder if there'll be a new haunt? I personally think that VIXI's days are numbered. Coven, Cottage & Cellar remain strong.

[MattyMoo]

On 10/29/2019 at 5:11 PM, Glitch said:

 

Wonder if they have been having issues with customers not getting around all attractions. 

Sorry for double post but just spotted this - the night we went early in the season, for whatever reason, people seemed to leave Wastelands til the end, and the queue was MASSIVE, there was no way it was going to be processed in time! 

[Glitch]

36 minutes ago, MattyMoo said:

Sorry for double post but just spotted this - the night we went early in the season, for whatever reason, people seemed to leave Wastelands til the end, and the queue was MASSIVE, there was no way it was going to be processed in time! 

NEVER DOUBLE POST AGAIN. I have moderator friends and I will not be scared to tell on you and get you banned once and for all.

[JoshC.]

Pffft, I double post all the time. #BadMod

 

This year did see them have the most sell out dates. And if Wastelands has improved capacity (which it should have really), then that's very impressive.

 

On a Wastelands note, I believe it had a super high budget, something in the region of about 3.5x the budget of Creek Freak Massacre at Thorpe, which was one of the park's most expensive maze investments. Mental really!

[Glitch]

3 hours ago, JoshC. said:

Pffft, I double post all the time. #BadMod

 

This year did see them have the most sell out dates. And if Wastelands has improved capacity (which it should have really), then that's very impressive.

 

On a Wastelands note, I believe it had a super high budget, something in the region of about 3.5x the budget of Creek Freak Massacre at Thorpe, which was one of the park's most expensive maze investments. Mental really!

I believe capacity is around 6,000 a night, a nice level to control lines and flow of park guests meaning most have a high level of satisfaction on leaving.