Tulley's Shocktober Fest Scream Park

[MattyMoo]

Now going next Sunday 16th!

 

Any word on how the queues are faring with the new multiple run throughs system? Praying for my VIP pass being worth the money 😂

[Mattgwise]

It hasn't been too bad so far. Some friends went last weekend and said it was a waste having fasttrack. I went on Friday with a few from here and the queues peaked at 35 mins. 

 

Fastrack single shots are available for £8 on the night. 

 

 

[MattyMoo]

Cheers! We normally get around 20-25 total maze run throughs with VIP... I do like having it because of the chance of a run through being ruined by numpties 😂 We love our re-runs (Coven normally, ha).

 

Not looking super busy tonight from the app - do love an unplanned "brave it alone" at Tulleys haha.

 

 

Sundays seem to be the quietest days:

[RobF]

Sunday was very quiet tbh, I think we dropped to 3 trailers on Hayride by 10pm with most being walk on, expect it to get busier though.

[MattyMoo]

So - my annual trip to Tulleys was last night! Have never done a Sunday before. We always purchase the VIP "RIP" bundle in advance - with fees that worked out at £97 per ticket, and included a £15 merch token and a £10 food voucher according to the website - but in true Tulleys fashion, you actually got a £20 merch token, a £10 food voucher and a £5 drinks token - so that was nice! In case you don't know, the VIP RIP ticket entitles you to unlimited fast-track all night - which, with the new maze entry system where even the paupers with a standard ticket  can now go through mazes multiples times (provided they queue obvs), becomes even more worthwhile.

 

Quick and efficient entry to the park as per - they now have bag searches in the queue, and I also got patted down upon entry too - must look dodgy innit!

 

We got into the park at 5.20pm, with haunts due to open at 5.30pm. So lets crack on with my reviews and number of run throughs I had...

 

COVEN OF 13: X3

Normally my favourite maze this one. A few changes this year though - there's a smokey walk to the swamp scene and then after that there's another - pointless - walk without actors that doesn't really do anything in a corridoor. Our first run through was awful, but really because of the group in front taking photos mid-way through the swamp a number of times - despite literally being told not to use phones mere minutes before in the announcements. Also being slow as hell just meant everyone got bunched up and that kills it for that maze. Early in the evening the haze in the swamp was lacking, but this did rectify itself as the night went on. There definitely seems to be less of an outside section from what I could tell and the scares in the outside areas were not forthcoming (had some iconic moments before in the outside sections being stared out blocking the narrow paths). Great actress with a knife in the house section, and I still love the heat room bit! Had a run through effectively by myself at the end of the evening which rectified the wrong-doings of the previous 2 runs with Coven being it's former awesome self. Shout out to the witches in the swamp for now getting up and in your face, crawling on the side walls and such, really cool... and during the heat room section, I was surrounded by no fewer than 5 witches ❤️ Just a shame that this maze suffers badly when you are with a slow group or a big batch. Coven had by far the biggest queues all night - which is a little odd to me when you have newer additions. Maybe people just love that swamp still?  And can I re-iterate - having an awful run through is EXACLY why "one shot" paid mazes should not be an £8+ price point... I knew that I could at least give Coven another chance or two throughout the evening vs. "Oh well, some numpty in front completely ruined it for me and that's £10 down the drain"

7.5/10 (on the solo runthrough - if we'd had just the first runthrough, would be 3/10)

 

CREEPY COTTAGE: X3

This was actually our first maze of the night - tradition innit. Some cracking scares on the first run through - always feel the actors have to work harder on this maze. Do have a soft spot for Cottage, however, the end section (with the drapes) should go back to the white fabric from last year in my humblest of opinion - more spooky and fitting, the blue just was a bit odd and that area looked tired. Good fun, but actors seemed sparse late in the evening on this one. Wouldn't like to see Cottage go, but would be nice to have a bit of investment I think. One run was over SUPER quickly in particular. Shout out on this one to the actress with the crucifix on her head who was the perfect mix of creepy and quirky, appearing from nowhere and politely pointing me away when I accidentally ended up in actor run (I know, after ALL THESE YEARS, the shame on me!) Love the "Ring" style actress continually getting up on the ledges in one of the corridor, always looks class when you see that shadow looming at you in the distance! Loved the "there she is!" from one actress when she appeared too  

6/10

 

THE CELLLAR: X4

This was consistent during the night - I know it's basic AF, but I love that snake still, iconic. The strobe/mesh maze at the end was and still is a good addition, with some good scares as always with numerous actresses ganging up on us. On more than one occasion, an actress on one of the bunkbeds got me completely unawares due to how dark it was - one point I was literally looking where she was and couldn't see a thing, only for her to jump out at me into my face! Just a solid maze this really.

7/10

 

WASTELANDS: X2

This was pretty actor heavy but found the first runthrough suffered due to slow groups in front, meaning you end up as a conga line which just ruins it unfortunately Still an amazing area, and a very big, imposing and consistent maze. Like the "air gun" at the end being fired by an inmate, that makes a real nice change to a chainsaw. Had a go essentially by myself at 11.28pm which rectified the bad run through earlier in the night, got well and truly put upon in the centre of the jail.

7.5/10 (thanks to second solo run - 5/10 based on first run)

 

ELECTRICK CIRCUS: X3

Always liked the Twisted Clowns - not the glasses so much - but it was in need of a refresh, and my god has it got one. Still keeping the fun, silly, scares of before, but now with animatronics, and some true "is that or isn't that a person" moments - particular highlight was the actor with the mask (a la the dolls in Trailers) - spooky as hell. Just really mixes the evening up a bit this maze, something very different, quite intense at times - love the see through actor runs so they can see you coming even whilst waiting in the pre-maze announcement. Great refresh, and an ummmm interesting photo opportunity at the end! That trommel tunnel properly gets me queasy too, bleugh!  

8/10

 

HELLEMENTS: X1

Be wrong not to give this a go, but nothing really has changed. Chainsaw finale that makes no real sense. Kudos to the actor right at the start hearing me saying "We're descending to hell" and then holding down the rope meaning I ended up crawling along. Other than that - can't really say much on it at all. Hooded mazes aren't scary to me and I think the hoods should go and then do the whole fire & ice malarky "in real life"

2/10 

 

CHOP SHOP: X3

I'm saying it - Chop Shop needs change. Whilst of course you are going to dodge a chainsaw (again - must point out an actress here remembering me from a previous run and then cornering me so I couldn't escape "I remember youuuuuu!" great stuff) - it needs more. Maybe make it multi-route (Hey, bad wood/good wood works for Creek!) I'm not sure what other than freeflow/multi route but it can become processional and if there's an actor deficit, the ending can be weak - in fact, whilst I remember - we found most endings quite weak last night to be fair (even Doom Town - review next). Some great interactions with actors though in the first section "Do you like my dress, it's pretty ain't it, like you" - and then asking "you in a rush to get somewhere boy, you're moving real fast" - yes m80, I want another run on Coven innit!

5/10

 

HAUNTED HAYRIDE: X1

This ride is pure Tulleys. Simple, well executed, consistent, funny, tongue in cheek. It just works. Some new scenes/characters for this year, plus some classics too. Good moment where the hillbilly girl (the brother and sister: "Me and my brother are like cheese and ham... we're In Bread" - asked about my mate's pistol, and I said he's firing blanks - and she said - holding back the laughs - "that's what I was about to say about my brother" 😁 Sorry for ruining the gag, didn't mean to!

8/10

 

THE ISLAND: X1

Fair play to Joshua on here for calling me out on our run, that caught me by surprise - well done for getting Thorpe Park Mania in amongst your noises and chatterings, ha! The starting scenes here were good with a number of actors (except that expanse of mud with nothing in it, wtf?) - but this is maze is loooong. I still think it has a lot of potential, and other than Joshua - the two female actors in the room with the wooden blocks in that they stand on (for want of a better description) were great, blocking us off and swiping at us, and splitting up a group. The ship section is just dead and don't know why they don't do... something with it? It definitely wanes in the middle a bit. There wasn't the pointless chainsaw ending as far as I recall which is probably a good thing because I don't know how that fits in anyway  Maybe next year I'll have a banger of a run on this - I just think it's too long and too much of a time-eater vs. the payoff.

4.5/10

 

DOOM TOWN: X5

Ok, Ok, Ok - let's just cut straight to the chase here. This is brilliant. Nearly perfect. So much so, it makes everything else look so inferior. Take a bow Tulleys for creating this, because it's absolutely superb. It's got real life road that runs through (from the outside entrance), complete with traffic lights and road signs - and it's genius how you end up criss-crossing this to go in and out of shops and whatnot - through the central area, and you'd be forgiven for thinking it's free flow, but due to well hidden and cleverly disguised seemingly abandoned items, you do go through a particular route - shopping trolleys, bins and such are cleverly laid out to mark the route, but blend in as scenery perfectly. The central area is what really makes this attraction so clever, because actors can interact with you multiple times during a run. I doubt they'll end up seeing this, but there was a tall chap in the outside area who eyeballed me many times on our runs, and then effectively followed me as I went through, which was utterly fantastic.

Queue line in the graveyard is brilliant, going through a church with pews, was class - then, as I remember, there's the toilets, into a nightclub, and then there's a newsagents, Blockbuster, a cinema, a pub, a Chinese takeaway, a grocers - with real rotten fruit, you walk through a bus, a hairdressers.... there's SO much content and theming built in to such a comparatively small footprint vs. other attractions, it's top notch. Some particular interactions that I loved, other than the guy in the central area, was a zombie in the centre holding a bin lid over my head because it was raining (love that), the hairdressers making us sit down in the chairs, the cinema attendants pointing to "Small" on the popcorn menu then pointing to me, same attendants using popcorn buckets as hats in the rain, the guy in the newsagents with magazines, one of which was one from the 90s of an adult nature, getting very excited by it, the landlord in the pub reaching through the pile of chairs to grab at you as you go through, the zombies playing the fruit machine cos I told them it was going to payout, zombie in the pub offering me his drink... honestly, so much interaction and again it's something so different to anything else at Tulleys. The whole area is superb, only minor niggle is the strobe/mist finale which falls a little flat, and maybe something else needs to be in the "disco" section - more lights/theming maybe? - otherwise this would be perfect. What I will say is, even on a run through with "numpties" one time, the maze still worked well because of that central section that you criss-cross. There are references to horror films all the way through - we were chatting to one of the creators at the start on our first run through and he was most pleased with what they'd achieved - and quite rightly so. One would assume they won't be adding a new haunt for 2023, but who knows?

9.5/10

 

TOTAL RUNTHROUGHS: 26

Cost per maze (taking off merch, food and drink benefits): £2.38 👀

(£10 food voucher got us a hog roast roll and a can of Coke - the vendor strictly speaking didn't have to give us the coke but he always does!) - £5 drinks voucher got us 2 pints of Coke (fair play for doing that too, barstaff!) and the £20 merch vouchers were used for 2x mugs and then we had £10 left still of the £40, which they were happy to let us spend, so added a fiver to get a Tulleys scent candle!)

 

Good evening last night all in all - however, I will say that the new queuing system does mean the main queues were notably bigger at times - and this was a Sunday - with even Creepy Cottage having a 30+ minute main queue at one point. VIP/Fasttrack queues were either literally walk on or 2-5 people in front all night, which I think helps maintain the value of said upcharges. At only one point did a maze have a VIP queue that was too big, and that was Electrick Circus. As per above, I was a bit gutted at my poor run throughs on a couple of mazes, but having the VIP means that you do get that chance to re-do a maze very quickly and rectify. Another decent year for Tulleys in my humble opinion, and as above - Doom Town is brilliant, absolute next level - so glad I didn't read any spoilers before hand as it made the first run through even better! Goes without saying - roaming actors were great last night as always (love the spooky twins just appearing in a completely empty covered area where we having food, didn't even spot them and was only aware of the appearance when we heard a very cutesy "Hello" from behind us!... it's all that that makes Tulleys what it is. 

[JoshuaWAHH3]

Tulleys is my annual go-to Halloween event. Living 3 miles way, and being my local farm growing up- it has been intriguing to watch the farm turn into a mega scream park. 

When I started visiting in 2012 PR was minimal, there was 6 lowkey mazes, and it had no rides! It now feels gigantic!  The park feels like a new kind of beast this year- it has a coaster now, and has a new haunt (10 now overall), and god is it a whole new world. I have visited every year, but this year I really felt it. This is the biggest scream park in the country, and maybe Europe. And it’s all on my doorstep!

 

The Island:

So with my current occupation, I don’t think I’m really qualified to fairly review this. The Island this year has been cut heavily in scale, but even with 1/3 of the maze gone, it still is a HUGE attraction spanning plenty of outdoor sections- I believe it needs tweaking but making it smaller this year was a smart move, as the attraction even now is of a pretty crazy length.

 

Creepy Cottage: The OG- sure it’s not the most intense, the most long, or elaborate. But it’s such a fun maze that I’m glad returned. It truly is a living relic and shows just how much their mazes have evolved. It is a true haunted house.

 

Hellements:

Not my kind of thing. My partner liked it though! So to those people who are new to Tulleys- it can be surprisingly popular. 

 

Cellar:

I had a meh run through- the cage bit was strong though, and the overall maze I think is a cool layout. I do believe it is on its last legs though. 

 

ElecTrick Circus:

As someone who was in Twisted Clowns for 3 years, I absolutely shook with intrigue when I was told it was to be redone. Now ElecTrick layout wise uses a lot of Twisted’s blueprints- the actual path in 2/3 of the maze is actually the same layout, but you’d never know! It feels worlds apart from Twisted with mannequins, creepy music, erratic strobes, and "clowns".

 

Twisted Clowns was a lot more humour and improvised- which I think was fun, but ultimately not very scary. Electrick certainly takes the tone from trippy and silly to serious and sinister, and I believe it is a really fun theme with its fairly misunderstood concept. To those who do not know, Electrick Circus is about a bunch of electricians who killed the clowns, and all the actors are not actually clowns! Previous nods to Twisted Clowns do remain in the attraction as easter eggs which is cool!

 

Chop Shop:

I really enjoyed this, and so did my partner! I think for anybody new to this event, Chop Shop is forever a bloody shock. He seemed so amused when the attraction just kept going with its chainsaws, it is truly a simple but completely chaotic experience. Sure I have been in this attraction dozens of times, dating back to its debut in 2015, but it always is a bit of fun.

 

Hayride:

Forever a icon at Tulleys, and this year it very much delivered as per usual. Some of the jokes this year hit very well with our group, and yeah. Its a very fun attraction.

 

Doom Town:

JESUS. Me and Will actually entered this first, as it did not have a queue for some reason. What a way to start a night! Doom Town is by far the best themed maze in the UK- I do not want to jump the gun, but I do not think another attraction in this country is as elaborate as this maze. It probably would wipe the floor with anything at HHN or events in Europe on the grounds of theming. It is stunning- armed with references, cars, a cinema, a blockbuster, a salon, a chinese, a church, and a zombie disco room. It just feels so complete, and so elaborate. Tulleys literally built an ENTIRE town for a maze. The sets are just detailed to the brim, it feels like more of an immersive experience than an Scare Maze.

 

Now Doom Town may not be what you are expecting- it is very campy, has a very cool slick 80s theme, but I would say it is a lot more fun than scary. I do believe though that the maze is by far one of the best scare attractions in Europe, probably the world. One thing I really enjoyed as well was the use of scents- the smell pods felt very strong, and this is actually a new thing for Tulleys! I really hope we have more smell pods added throughout the event in the future- it makes the world class sets feel even more immersive. The music is also a joyous 80s guitar riff which just puts a smile to my face.

 

Wastelands:

Year number three for this attraction, and every run through just makes me wanna scream, or cry at the amazing design of this maze. Scares were constant, sets were beautiful, and the maze just feels so "busy" with actors always being close by.

 

My partner's reaction was amazing- he is a hard nut to crack, but he seemed overwhelmed by the actors in the first few minutes. The first few rooms were really flowing with actors, and then when we hit the strobe maze he seemed to drop his jaw- he was shocked. It truly is a crazy moment, with the insane strobes, heavy rock music, and actors surrounding you from all angles. Probably my favourite maze at the park, but Doom Town honestly makes it a hard decision.

 

 

Overall:

Me and will had great interactions with the amazing street team, and we had a rocking night. I may be biased, but jesus it is a pretty rocking event. Doom Town, Electrick, and Wastelands  make me very excited for what they do next.

 

[RobF]

11 hours ago, MattyMoo said:

So - my annual trip to Tulleys was last night! Have never done a Sunday before. We always purchase the VIP "RIP" bundle in advance - with fees that worked out at £97 per ticket, and included a £15 merch token and a £10 food voucher according to the website - but in true Tulleys fashion, you actually got a £20 merch token, a £10 food voucher and a £5 drinks token - so that was nice! In case you don't know, the VIP RIP ticket entitles you to unlimited fast-track all night - which, with the new maze entry system where even the paupers with a standard ticket  can now go through mazes multiples times (provided they queue obvs), becomes even more worthwhile.

 

Quick and efficient entry to the park as per - they now have bag searches in the queue, and I also got patted down upon entry too - must look dodgy innit!

 

We got into the park at 5.20pm, with haunts due to open at 5.30pm. So lets crack on with my reviews and number of run throughs I had...

 

COVEN OF 13: X3

Normally my favourite maze this one. A few changes this year though - there's a smokey walk to the swamp scene and then after that there's another - pointless - walk without actors that doesn't really do anything in a corridoor. Our first run through was awful, but really because of the group in front taking photos mid-way through the swamp a number of times - despite literally being told not to use phones mere minutes before in the announcements. Also being slow as hell just meant everyone got bunched up and that kills it for that maze. Early in the evening the haze in the swamp was lacking, but this did rectify itself as the night went on. There definitely seems to be less of an outside section from what I could tell and the scares in the outside areas were not forthcoming (had some iconic moments before in the outside sections being stared out blocking the narrow paths). Great actress with a knife in the house section, and I still love the heat room bit! Had a run through effectively by myself at the end of the evening which rectified the wrong-doings of the previous 2 runs with Coven being it's former awesome self. Shout out to the witches in the swamp for now getting up and in your face, crawling on the side walls and such, really cool... and during the heat room section, I was surrounded by no fewer than 5 witches ❤️ Just a shame that this maze suffers badly when you are with a slow group or a big batch. Coven had by far the biggest queues all night - which is a little odd to me when you have newer additions. Maybe people just love that swamp still?  And can I re-iterate - having an awful run through is EXACLY why "one shot" paid mazes should not be an £8+ price point... I knew that I could at least give Coven another chance or two throughout the evening vs. "Oh well, some numpty in front completely ruined it for me and that's £10 down the drain"

7.5/10 (on the solo runthrough - if we'd had just the first runthrough, would be 3/10)

 

CREEPY COTTAGE: X3

This was actually our first maze of the night - tradition innit. Some cracking scares on the first run through - always feel the actors have to work harder on this maze. Do have a soft spot for Cottage, however, the end section (with the drapes) should go back to the white fabric from last year in my humblest of opinion - more spooky and fitting, the blue just was a bit odd and that area looked tired. Good fun, but actors seemed sparse late in the evening on this one. Wouldn't like to see Cottage go, but would be nice to have a bit of investment I think. One run was over SUPER quickly in particular. Shout out on this one to the actress with the crucifix on her head who was the perfect mix of creepy and quirky, appearing from nowhere and politely pointing me away when I accidentally ended up in actor run (I know, after ALL THESE YEARS, the shame on me!) Love the "Ring" style actress continually getting up on the ledges in one of the corridor, always looks class when you see that shadow looming at you in the distance! Loved the "there she is!" from one actress when she appeared too  

6/10

 

THE CELLLAR: X4

This was consistent during the night - I know it's basic AF, but I love that snake still, iconic. The strobe/mesh maze at the end was and still is a good addition, with some good scares as always with numerous actresses ganging up on us. On more than one occasion, an actress on one of the bunkbeds got me completely unawares due to how dark it was - one point I was literally looking where she was and couldn't see a thing, only for her to jump out at me into my face! Just a solid maze this really.

7/10

 

WASTELANDS: X2

This was pretty actor heavy but found the first runthrough suffered due to slow groups in front, meaning you end up as a conga line which just ruins it unfortunately Still an amazing area, and a very big, imposing and consistent maze. Like the "air gun" at the end being fired by an inmate, that makes a real nice change to a chainsaw. Had a go essentially by myself at 11.28pm which rectified the bad run through earlier in the night, got well and truly put upon in the centre of the jail.

7.5/10 (thanks to second solo run - 5/10 based on first run)

 

ELECTRICK CIRCUS: X3

Always liked the Twisted Clowns - not the glasses so much - but it was in need of a refresh, and my god has it got one. Still keeping the fun, silly, scares of before, but now with animatronics, and some true "is that or isn't that a person" moments - particular highlight was the actor with the mask (a la the dolls in Trailers) - spooky as hell. Just really mixes the evening up a bit this maze, something very different, quite intense at times - love the see through actor runs so they can see you coming even whilst waiting in the pre-maze announcement. Great refresh, and an ummmm interesting photo opportunity at the end! That trommel tunnel properly gets me queasy too, bleugh!  

8/10

 

HELLEMENTS: X1

Be wrong not to give this a go, but nothing really has changed. Chainsaw finale that makes no real sense. Kudos to the actor right at the start hearing me saying "We're descending to hell" and then holding down the rope meaning I ended up crawling along. Other than that - can't really say much on it at all. Hooded mazes aren't scary to me and I think the hoods should go and then do the whole fire & ice malarky "in real life"

2/10 

 

CHOP SHOP: X3

I'm saying it - Chop Shop needs change. Whilst of course you are going to dodge a chainsaw (again - must point out an actress here remembering me from a previous run and then cornering me so I couldn't escape "I remember youuuuuu!" great stuff) - it needs more. Maybe make it multi-route (Hey, bad wood/good wood works for Creek!) I'm not sure what other than freeflow/multi route but it can become processional and if there's an actor deficit, the ending can be weak - in fact, whilst I remember - we found most endings quite weak last night to be fair (even Doom Town - review next). Some great interactions with actors though in the first section "Do you like my dress, it's pretty ain't it, like you" - and then asking "you in a rush to get somewhere boy, you're moving real fast" - yes m80, I want another run on Coven innit!

5/10

 

HAUNTED HAYRIDE: X1

This ride is pure Tulleys. Simple, well executed, consistent, funny, tongue in cheek. It just works. Some new scenes/characters for this year, plus some classics too. Good moment where the hillbilly girl (the brother and sister: "Me and my brother are like cheese and ham... we're In Bread" - asked about my mate's pistol, and I said he's firing blanks - and she said - holding back the laughs - "that's what I was about to say about my brother" 😁 Sorry for ruining the gag, didn't mean to!

8/10

 

THE ISLAND: X1

Fair play to Joshua on here for calling me out on our run, that caught me by surprise - well done for getting Thorpe Park Mania in amongst your noises and chatterings, ha! The starting scenes here were good with a number of actors (except that expanse of mud with nothing in it, wtf?) - but this is maze is loooong. I still think it has a lot of potential, and other than Joshua - the two female actors in the room with the wooden blocks in that they stand on (for want of a better description) were great, blocking us off and swiping at us, and splitting up a group. The ship section is just dead and don't know why they don't do... something with it? It definitely wanes in the middle a bit. There wasn't the pointless chainsaw ending as far as I recall which is probably a good thing because I don't know how that fits in anyway  Maybe next year I'll have a banger of a run on this - I just think it's too long and too much of a time-eater vs. the payoff.

4.5/10

 

DOOM TOWN: X5

Ok, Ok, Ok - let's just cut straight to the chase here. This is brilliant. Nearly perfect. So much so, it makes everything else look so inferior. Take a bow Tulleys for creating this, because it's absolutely superb. It's got real life road that runs through (from the outside entrance), complete with traffic lights and road signs - and it's genius how you end up criss-crossing this to go in and out of shops and whatnot - through the central area, and you'd be forgiven for thinking it's free flow, but due to well hidden and cleverly disguised seemingly abandoned items, you do go through a particular route - shopping trolleys, bins and such are cleverly laid out to mark the route, but blend in as scenery perfectly. The central area is what really makes this attraction so clever, because actors can interact with you multiple times during a run. I doubt they'll end up seeing this, but there was a tall chap in the outside area who eyeballed me many times on our runs, and then effectively followed me as I went through, which was utterly fantastic.

Queue line in the graveyard is brilliant, going through a church with pews, was class - then, as I remember, there's the toilets, into a nightclub, and then there's a newsagents, Blockbuster, a cinema, a pub, a Chinese takeaway, a grocers - with real rotten fruit, you walk through a bus, a hairdressers.... there's SO much content and theming built in to such a comparatively small footprint vs. other attractions, it's top notch. Some particular interactions that I loved, other than the guy in the central area, was a zombie in the centre holding a bin lid over my head because it was raining (love that), the hairdressers making us sit down in the chairs, the cinema attendants pointing to "Small" on the popcorn menu then pointing to me, same attendants using popcorn buckets as hats in the rain, the guy in the newsagents with magazines, one of which was one from the 90s of an adult nature, getting very excited by it, the landlord in the pub reaching through the pile of chairs to grab at you as you go through, the zombies playing the fruit machine cos I told them it was going to payout, zombie in the pub offering me his drink... honestly, so much interaction and again it's something so different to anything else at Tulleys. The whole area is superb, only minor niggle is the strobe/mist finale which falls a little flat, and maybe something else needs to be in the "disco" section - more lights/theming maybe? - otherwise this would be perfect. What I will say is, even on a run through with "numpties" one time, the maze still worked well because of that central section that you criss-cross. There are references to horror films all the way through - we were chatting to one of the creators at the start on our first run through and he was most pleased with what they'd achieved - and quite rightly so. One would assume they won't be adding a new haunt for 2023, but who knows?

9.5/10

 

TOTAL RUNTHROUGHS: 26

Cost per maze (taking off merch, food and drink benefits): £2.38 👀

(£10 food voucher got us a hog roast roll and a can of Coke - the vendor strictly speaking didn't have to give us the coke but he always does!) - £5 drinks voucher got us 2 pints of Coke (fair play for doing that too, barstaff!) and the £20 merch vouchers were used for 2x mugs and then we had £10 left still of the £40, which they were happy to let us spend, so added a fiver to get a Tulleys scent candle!)

 

Good evening last night all in all - however, I will say that the new queuing system does mean the main queues were notably bigger at times - and this was a Sunday - with even Creepy Cottage having a 30+ minute main queue at one point. VIP/Fasttrack queues were either literally walk on or 2-5 people in front all night, which I think helps maintain the value of said upcharges. At only one point did a maze have a VIP queue that was too big, and that was Electrick Circus. As per above, I was a bit gutted at my poor run throughs on a couple of mazes, but having the VIP means that you do get that chance to re-do a maze very quickly and rectify. Another decent year for Tulleys in my humble opinion, and as above - Doom Town is brilliant, absolute next level - so glad I didn't read any spoilers before hand as it made the first run through even better! Goes without saying - roaming actors were great last night as always (love the spooky twins just appearing in a completely empty covered area where we having food, didn't even spot them and was only aware of the appearance when we heard a very cutesy "Hello" from behind us!... it's all that that makes Tulleys what it is. 

Glad you had a good time overall, I likely loaded you onto your Hayride trailer yesterday! 

[MattyMoo]

You may well have done actually @RobF - very efficient if it was yourself, was good to tell people exactly where to sit otherwise it's a free for all!

[jessica2]

My review from last night:

 

Summary

Tulleys is a really strong Halloween event in my opinion and certainly has the best atmosphere of any I’ve been to, which is really what makes it strong. I think generally you can have a good or bad run through on any of the mazes (excl hellements which is awful every time).

The live music, bars, roaming actors etc are great. The night we went (wed 19^th) wasn’t overly busy, queues were for the most part fairly short and even in a couple of cases we went in on our own or in a 4 (and managing to loose the other 2) which was great, and I managed to be at the front for every maze. As always think the event is well run and the actors are great and I always appreciate the effort that’s gone into the event! Also- this is the first time an actor accidentally slapped me in the face when trying to do the classic stamp and hand in face thing, wasn’t painful but certainly contact there haha!

 

So I’ll list these in the order we did them. The only one we did twice was Doom Town, wanted to do Coven again but it was a 35 min queue even at 10.30!

 

Coven of 13 9/10

First maze of the night and it didn’t disappoint, there were a lot of actors and a lot of scares, we loved it! I think based on that run through it is my favourite maze.

 

Creepy cottage 8/10

So this maze had no queue at all, so we went in as a 2 which I think really made a big difference. The actors spent lots of time with us- even stopping me from leaving for quite a while ha! Although of course it feels a bit pokey and old school in terms of the decoration, I still enjoyed it so id give it a solid 8, if we were in a big group I imagine more like a 7.

 

Wastelands 7/10

Advertised as a 20 minute queue but actually was 5 minutes, again being up the front gave the best chance of a good run through, but I found this a bit light on actors overall or at least not overly scary. I also find the going in different rooms thing halfway through quite pointless and also the bunching up in the strobe bit is terrible.

 

Electrick Circus 7/10

Again I enjoyed this, I think it is an improvement on the previous maze and a bit darker, the animatronics work well in some cases but in others it feels like they are just plonked there instead of having actors. I think the theming could be a bit more rich. We managed to lose the rest of our group which was good so plenty of jump scares. The sponge wall things feel firmer than normal for some reason??  I also don’t really get the theme, clowns are dead and scary electricians but the electricians in some cases are dressed as clowns…I don’t know how many years this will continue as it is but I do find something about it a bit jarring. Maybe a bit more variety in the maze might be good.

 

Doom Town 8/10 for the set (6/10 otherwise)

So I give this maze 8 for the theming really. I enjoyed it, I thought the detail is incredible especially the pub and a creative route around it, fun soundtrack too. It really does show up the other attractions in terms of the set, 10/10 for that!

 

However- my issues with it are that the acting fell a bit flat for the most part, I didn’t get many scares both times, even at the front. The middle area where you keep coming back to I think although looks good, isn’t scary as you see other groups walking in and out of the places and bunching up, it kind of kills the immersion. I don’t know how that is fixed but perhaps breaking up the view a bit more. Also I felt like there were not enough actors, and no storyline at all not even in the pre recorded message like other mazes which is really bizarre. With a set this good, why would you skip the story? Maybe there needs to be some panicked people or something telling the story, then falling to the floor and getting eaten by zombies, that would be good. Just needs to be more terrifying rather than aimless groaning.

The second run through unfortunately actually had fewer actors than the first so wasn’t any better.

 

The cellar 7/10

Good run through, went in as a 4 and lost the other 2 quite quickly. Felt like a good amount of actors there, I think it is due a bit of an overhaul though as you know exactly whats coming. I still find the prison bit very random and jarring, I don’t think it fits with the rest of it. Some good scares. I think if we were in a bigger group, the rating would be lower.

 

The Island 7/10

Again a very solid run through, the actors really got in your face and even sent us on different routes. Had some funny dialogue (who has my bananas) and things like that which was cool. I think there does need to be more scenery and maybe more indoor sections, it is a bit dull after you've done it before.

 

The chop shop 3/10

Wow this is a fall from grace and very disappointing. It used to be my favourite maze, but in the first few rooms the actors were softly talking to us, no jumps, nothing scary at all, was just a slow walk through. Then the chainsaw bit- nowhere near enough actors, long periods of time not seeing any actors at all, really I think this maze needs a big overhaul or putting more actors in it. The weakest run through I’ve ever had.

 

The hayride 9/10

This really is a tulleys signature attraction, and still delivers. I think its good because it is unique. I’d like to see more additions, perhaps changing some of the themes up, but overall really enjoyable. I do think sitting in the middle row is the worst and for some reason the actors ignore you when you’re there lol.

 

Didn’t bother with hellements but I don’t like bag over head mazes. Also didn’t do the circus but in previous years its entertaining and if you’ve not seen them before then check them out.

[JoshuaWAHH3]

22 hours ago, jessica2 said:

Electrick Circus 7/10

 

Again I enjoyed this, I think it is an improvement on the previous maze and a bit darker, the animatronics work well in some cases but in others it feels like they are just plonked there instead of having actors. I think the theming could be a bit more rich. We managed to lose the rest of our group which was good so plenty of jump scares. The sponge wall things feel firmer than normal for some reason??  I also don’t really get the theme, clowns are dead and scary electricians but the electricians in some cases are dressed as clowns…I don’t know how many years this will continue as it is but I do find something about it a bit jarring. Maybe a bit more variety in the maze might be good.

I think the sponge walls maybe are tighter because most of them are new. I know they used the same one for years, but last year they removed most of them because of covid, and now they are all being brought back (Island also has a horribly tight one alongside Electrick).

 

I think with the theme of Electrick it is a little confusing- basically there is a bunch of clown costumes (the ones they wore in Twisted) scattered on the walls of the first section, which kind of sets the tone of the clowns being murdered. The mannequins also have the previous costumes on them as well. The electricians in this narrative are kind of posing as clowns, they took their paint, and some of what they wore. Most of them are in boiler suits though to reflect they are not clowns. The van at the end also has some text on it which lists an electrician company with the message "the electricians you can trust!". With the lighting and the costumes being above you, it is very easy to miss. Maybe next year they can highlight some of these details a little better and elaborate on the story a bit more. I do believe it is a little Survival Games esque though, scares first and theming generally comes second.

[JoshuaWAHH3]

Some post season thoughts:

 

So I went to Tulleys again on the penultimate night- here is my closing thoughts on the event .

 

Cellar: I believe this maze is on its last legs- it just blends with the other attractions too much for me. Really the weakest maze for me.

 

Cottage/Hayride- I think hayride could do with a refresh. It has been the same in terms of most characters and sets for a few years- it has seen refreshes in the past, I think it needs another one very soon. It is a great and unique attraction though. Cottage is completely fine as is with a cult following now it seems.

 

Chop: I think this is very fun, but obviously not everyone’s cup of tea. I think maybe a few extra actors and an extended buildup would be welcomed. It’s a great maze in my opinion

 

Wastelands/Doom Town: amazing. Doom Town in particular gave me two killer run throughs, we had 3 jump scares within the first 15 seconds on one of them!

 

Coven: I do think some of the walks between main sections could do with work- but it is a great maze with some unique ideas- the swamp, the fire finale, ect.

 

VIXI: I think this space should be reworked- maybe half a hooded maze with some more maze sections. Not my thing.

 

Electrick:

This one I have the most thoughts on- I think it’s a very good attraction. It has brilliant Animatronics, soundtrack, and scares. Though I have heard people miss the silly and trippy atmosphere that Twisted had, as it was such a stark contrast to every other maze in the park- especially with the bright popping colors. Electric is a lot more dark and filled with strobe lights- which is cool, but I’ve heard people don’t find it as distinctive. They find it a little akin to other mazes.

 

My overall biased opinion that I hope we see a more light hearted or a true clown maze appear next year- though ElecTrick is great by itself, I would call it more of a loose “clown maze”. I think also they should double down on reminding us they’re not clowns lol. But overall it’s certainly creepy in there, and I love things like the strobe filled actor runs. 

 

Overall a great year- these are just some thoughts I had after that night. Another thing I would like to mention is how I love the addition of the punk rock girls and the DJ. The street team this year really seemed to be slaying the other night- I saw all the characters while queueing at some point. Brian in particular was amazing, Romeo and Juliet was also a banger of an addition. The jokes were sharp and funny- I love the mix of new with the classics like The Nurses. The park also did a very consumer friendly move in my opinion and now make repeating haunts free with a Xscream pass- on a quiet night like the 4th, it was a godsend being able to do Wastelands and Doom 3x each.

 

I did 15 run throughs+circus of horrors without fastrack on the 4th, which compared to the 4 attractions at Thorpe for £32, the £35-40 I paid felt more than worth it.

[MattyMoo]

Prices confirmed for next year....

 

 

I'll still be getting a RIP Bundle because I do still think that represents value for money for us, with the food, drink and merch tokens - the main issue here is, I despise 98% of the general public who have a habit of ruining a run-through 🙃

[RobF]

On 11/23/2022 at 12:03 PM, MattyMoo said:

Prices confirmed for next year....

 

 

I'll still be getting a RIP Bundle because I do still think that represents value for money for us, with the food, drink and merch tokens - the main issue here is, I despise 98% of the general public who have a habit of ruining a run-through 🙃

It would have been cheaper to buy it whilst at the event for next year though, bounce backs are the cheapest ticket option every year 

[MattyMoo]

I did think that - it's just the idea of forking out £200 whilst I'm there that stops me I think!

 

There's no mention of any new haunts for 2023 in the email that was sent out, but then, considering they've just installed Doom Town, I can't say I'm surprised!

 

Don't recall seeing this before on the website....

 

"Please note - Shocktober Fest is a 16+ event. Please do not book tickets for anyone under the age of 16 as they will not be permitted entry on site."

 

Wonder how strict they will be enforcing that?! Looking into the FAQs, it says to bring ID if you look under 21, with a photocopy of a passport etc.!

[Cal]

I ended up last minute going on the last Friday of the event. Just had the standard ticket this year. It was surprisingly quiet (they had less than 2k people there) which meant with the new ticketing system we got on things multiple times, including Electrick circus and Doom town 4 times.

 

I'll just be getting the standard ticket from now on, and go on one of the first Thursday/Sundays for low crowds. They were selling them on the night for £30, on the blackfriday sale they're £37 (£2 fee) so its definitely worth buying the bouncebacks if you're there the year before.

I won't repeat what everyone has already said but I really liked the changes they've made to Electrick circus although its a little on the shorter side.

 

I was blown away by doom town. I was a little worried that with reports of it not being very intense I wouldn't enjoy it, but it really is an incredible immersive experience and a solo run through at the end of the night on this was definitely the highlight of the night for me.

 

5 hours ago, MattyMoo said:

There's no mention of any new haunts for 2023 in the email that was sent out, but then, considering they've just installed Doom Town, I can't say I'm surprised!

 

From what I've heard, there won't be any new haunts for the next couple years but they are planning some BIG changes for the hayride. Whether or not that happens next year is all dependent on how well they did this year, but yeah I believe that is the next focus. 

[MattyMoo]

Oooh, updates to Hayride would be good. I mean it's iconic anyway but still!

 

Just looked back on a photo from the night with pricing in the background and Bounceback VIP was £90, vs £102 each booking in the sale - think I'll just do that on the night next year for the 2024 season!

 

Thought I'd add some photos from my visit this year, whilst I'm here. What an iconic place Tulleys is. Proper fanboi.

 

[jessica2]

Ah- I should have bought for next year then while I was there! Good tip for 2024 as Mat says hah.

 

A complete retheme of the hayride would be great IMO!

[Stuntman707]

Tulley’s have increased the minimum age to 16+ for the whole event. They also mention about ramping up the horror. I can also confirm the no touch policy will still be in place so I’m not sure what they’re going to do if anything!

[MattyMoo]

They put the 16+ policy in place when the Black Friday tickets went on sale, but you'd have to have looked in the FAQs to see it - I think they'll be making people more aware of this as the months go on as a large number of teens visit.

 

When we visited last year, we spotted a fair few youngsters recording on the Snapchap or for Tickeytocks - one run through on Coven was ruined because of it - so I wonder if this is partly why.

 

Intrigued as to how this will affect the crowds this year, and general feel of the place. I would say I am for it...

[MattyMoo]

There's obviously no new haunt this year, so maybe a new fairground ride perhaps?

[Cal]

5 hours ago, MattyMoo said:

There's obviously no new haunt this year, so maybe a new fairground ride perhaps?

 

Bringing this back  

 

On 11/25/2022 at 1:16 PM, Cal said:

From what I've heard, there won't be any new haunts for the next couple years but they are planning some BIG changes for the hayride. Whether or not that happens next year is all dependent on how well they did this year, but yeah I believe that is the next focus. 

 

[MattyMoo]

O rly! Well - there is a tractor in that screenshot... intrigued!

[RobF]

Tractor hints …..hmm

[JoshC.]

Whatever it is, I'm sure Tulleys will end up tweeting me saying it's the best thing since sliced bread, since their social media team seem to have an unhealthy obsession with me. #BigShot

[MattyMoo]

https://fb.watch/na_F8fhjeF/

 

Stand by your Twitter Josh.

The Rayride is now 666 Edition innit.