Fright Nights 2022

[Inferno]

 

There's been some speculation about the key referring to the Netflix series Locke and Key, but that skull and horns doesn't seem to fit with that?

Interesting! 

Edited March 1, 2022 by JoshC.
Split Fright Nights discussion into new topic!

[jessica2]

interesting- I assumed its because its the 21st anniversary and 21 is the 'key of the door' birthday, but who knows.

[JoshC.]

6 hours ago, jessica2 said:

interesting- I assumed its because its the 21st anniversary and 21 is the 'key of the door' birthday, but who knows.

 

 

A good shout that - it's not something I was all that familiar with, but it could well be that. Equally, I wouldn't be surprised if it does link in with something they're planning for an attraction. Thorpe do know how to push people's buttons when it comes to social posts after all.

 

On 2/25/2022 at 1:35 PM, Inferno said:

There's been some speculation about the key referring to the Netflix series Locke and Key, but that skull and horns doesn't seem to fit with that?

Interesting! 

 

The Locke and Key speculation is interesting. 

 

It's a show which has a creepy tone, and some scare element to it. But it's certainly not all out horror, and is unlike any other scare IP the park have tried before. I believe the graphic novels it is based upon are a bit darker, but still. 

It's also quite a niche show which doesn't have a huge market. When Season 2 hit Netflix UK, I don't think it broke into the Top 5 watched shows for example?

 

And yes, the skull and horns don't fit in particularly with anything related to show (though I gave up watching it a couple of episodes into Season 2, so maybe more relevance later on...might have to try watching it again)

 

The speculation seems to have originated from the key references, and also the park responding to a couple of people on Twitter with a gif taken from the show. So it is a big stretch to go there yet.

 

On a bit of shameless speculation, it would be an interesting theme for a maze. The show is based around a creepy old house which has loads of locked doors. The characters find keys and unlock the doors, giving you powers, but usually with a dark twist, or something a bit weird and creepy. It would be difficult to translate to a maze, but I'd be lying if I said the idea of a Cabin in the Woods style maze didn't come to mind. A 'choose your own route' style maze, where you go through different doors which have different weird things going on.

 

I don't think it will happen, and I don't see how it would in practice, but just something which came into my mind.

[Matt N]

Perhaps if the Locke and Key thing is being pursued, the park is trying to give Fright Nights a broader appeal beyond all-out adult horror? I admittedly don’t know much about Locke and Key aside from having heard the name, but if it isn’t overtly a horror IP like the others the park have pursued, then maybe the park is trying to attract a broader demographic to Fright Nights?

 

Going back to an IP would also be an interesting move; they haven’t had any IPs for a few years now, have they? Is it known why the Lionsgate-themed Fright Nights mazes ever went?

 

I apologise if I’m not exhibiting much knowledge here; I must admit that FN and horror stuff in general isn’t my thing at all.

[JoshC.]

I've split the Fright Nights stuff into its own thread, because why not!

 

 

16 hours ago, Matt N said:

Perhaps if the Locke and Key thing is being pursued, the park is trying to give Fright Nights a broader appeal beyond all-out adult horror? I admittedly don’t know much about Locke and Key aside from having heard the name, but if it isn’t overtly a horror IP like the others the park have pursued, then maybe the park is trying to attract a broader demographic to Fright Nights?

 

It's certainly possible. I know in the past, they have considered a more broader family friendly attraction, and you could argue that things like the Amity High dance show fit that too.

 

At the same time, Thorpe and Fright Nights are still gearing towards the more older / young adult market, and always have done, regardless of who visits. It would be a very stark change to create something for a broader market.

 

16 hours ago, Matt N said:

Going back to an IP would also be an interesting move; they haven’t had any IPs for a few years now, have they? Is it known why the Lionsgate-themed Fright Nights mazes ever went?

 

I apologise if I’m not exhibiting much knowledge here; I must admit that FN and horror stuff in general isn’t my thing at all.

 

The last year they had mazes with IPs was 2019, which was the last year of The Walking Dead maze license. I remember hearing rumours that Do Or Die (the partial outdoor one by Rush) was being considered for 2020 before Covid happened and changed things. Obviously Living Nightmare was going to be replaced by Black Mirror regardless.

I also think there was a time when the park tried getting Stranger Things for Fright Nights too, or if not, at least ripping it off in some way.

 

So perhaps Covid played a bit of a role in a lack of IPs over the last couple of years. But it has equally shown how the park do have a good creative side to them, and the original stuff can work. So it would be interesting to see what happens if they did return to using an IP.

 

As for the Lionsgate thing, I'm not too sure. The standard length of many IP contracts within Thorpe (especially for the mazes) is 3 years, with possible extensions.

 

2013 and 2014, the park leaned in very heavily with the 'Thorpe Park Movie Studios' motif, and pushing the IPs. 2015, for whatever reason, they went away from that and introduced the Big Top. The space used previously by Asylum and Studio 13 was now used for I'm a Celeb, so they needed something new for a headline attraction. Maybe the short term plan was to edge away from IPs at Fright Nights, or the Lionsgate films just weren't as big a hit as they wanted for the cost they were paying?

 

What I think should be kept in mind is that Thorpe and Lionsgate still have a reasonably good working relationship. They still have Saw going very strong, and that's clearly mutually beneficial and is regularly renewed. They scrapped Blair Witch for one year to focus on Walking Dead, but then bought it back. So there wasn't necessarily a bad reason for it disappearing. I guess it was just a creative decision when it boils down to it.

[JoshC.]

Following Jack Silkstone's FN2021 behind the scenes video, there was a post show which featured a brief Q&A with the park. See here:

 

 

 

I'll highlight some key questions and answers:

 

Q. I heard rumours of plans for a Big Top return last year that were dropped due to uncertainty over the COVID situation, are these rumours true and will these plans be resumed for FN22?

A. This rumour loves to do the rounds… but we can confirm there is no truth to it. We know fans loved The Big Top, but we feel it’s best for the circus to have ended on a high! 

 

Q. What will happen to Creek Freak Massacre in 2022?

A. To be honest, even we don’t know just yet! Project Exodus is only entering planning stages so until we know the outcome, we can’t confirm anything... However, we are aware The Buckwheat’s have a huge fan base – and Ma Buckwheat is a strong negotiator, so we hope we don’t have to give the mill the chop just yet!

 

Q. Why is there a key (in the FN22 logo)?

A. Okay, firstly we’ll put a rumour to bed… Locke and Key, great show – but no links to FRIGHT NIGHTS. Why the GIF? It just looked cool...

So ‘The Key to the Door’ is traditionally given as a 21st birthday gift, it symbolises the start of adult life and independence – but at FRIGHT NIGHTS things are going to be far more bitter than they are sweet. We won’t give much away at this stage however we can confirm this will be the overarching theme of FRIGHT NIGHTS 2022.

 

 

So there we have it. Definitely no Big Top in 2022, or in the immediate future (shock horror!)

The official line is that it is undecided whether CFM will return, but one would imagine they have some sort of plan up their sleeve already, with contingencies in place.

No Locke and Key maze for 2022, but the 'key to the door' idea will be the big theme for this year.

 

I'd imagine that whilst they have ideas in place, there's a sense of fluidity about it too, and the park still don't have a, ahem, locked in plan just yet.

[coasterverse]

 

Tickets for 2022 Fright Nights are now on sale - promotional material mentions scare zones, three scare mazes and a scare experience. Creek Freak is all but 100% confirmed and you can bet everything you own that Trailers will re-open as well, but what do we think the other maze is going to be? And what are we thinking is this 'Scare Experience'? Clearly something new as isn't being lumped in with 'Scare Zones'.

 

What I'm hoping for (albeit very naievely) is them actually reimagining DBGT for Fright Nights. Such an insanely themed area and show building, a very good ride system that could potentially be utlised in some way or another (hopefully without the VR), not to mention that the space is huge.

 

I've always said they're missing a trick by not doing something with it for Fright Nights... I mean, it is literally a year-round scare attraction, so why not?!

 

Although this would be my dream scenario and I would pay through the arse to see it come to fruition, I think with all of the 'key' branding we've been seeing this year, odds are much higher for it to be an upcharged live-action escape room of sorts, personally.

 

Let's discuss.

[ML27]

Definitely a containment rehash or similar….

[JoshC.]

So yeah, a new maze (serving effectively as a replacement for Platform), and a new experience. Plus maybe some refreshed scare zones.

 

The new experience is intriguing. There's no real details yet, and you can't book anything specific yet.

But, currently, the price for the "Fearsome Four" add on works out as £37 on top of the entrance ticket. Last year, the Trio ticket for the 3 mazes worked out as £27, and I can't imagine the park will price the mazes as more expensive than £10, or £9per maze when booked as the trio. So that could suggest it's a 'step up' experience compared to the other mazes.

 

Something similar to Containment wouldn't be a surprise; an interactive scare experience, even if not an escape room. 

 

Personally I'd love something a bit more extreme / designed as a solo experience, but I don't think that quite matches with what the wider audience wants. So wishful thinking there.

[coasterverse]

Everybody always talks about Thorpe mazes (such as Trailers and Creek) being intense, but personally I've never really gotten that vibe from any maze I've done at Thorpe. I suppose because they work with such little space in all of their mazes, it ends up making the scares really predictable. It seemed like I was in the minority last year when I said that I think Trailers was personally the weakest of the three mazes they had going. Yeah, sure Trailers has really good scenery... but because they tried to pack so much into that space, you could see everything in each room well ahead of time which totally ruined the scare factor for me.

 

A small, really intense maze (like in the Containment space) would be amazing. Thorpe Park are a park catering for 'thrillseekers' after all, so having that option there would be amazing.

[ryanpell]

The first of many fright nights teasers has been posted. Any thoughts?

Edited August 8, 2022 by Mattgwise
Merged into pre existing topic. Always check first please :)

[coasterverse]

I don't know why but I've got such an intense vibe that something will be happening at Thorpe Farm this year.

The teaser trailer doesn't look like it's filmed inside of Containment and looks veeeeeery similar to the location where the teaser for Creek Freak Massacre was filmed last year (pictures below for comparison).

 

Thorpe Farm is just used for storage at the moment and obviously is still connected to the main Thorpe Park - so my prediction is that you walk over to Thorpe Farm and this is either where the new scare experience is or is the third maze.

 

Personally, I think there's more weight behind this being the location of the scare experience, as I have to agree that I think Containment will be making a return for the third maze this year.

 

[ML27]

The third scare maze is said to be an Indoor maze, would definitely include the farm building under that description. However, it would mean it wouldn’t use the land to and around the farm.

 

scare experience seems more likely in this location. However why tease the scare experience. You’d think it would be a nod to a new maze. 
 

For an indoor maze though, unless you joined shipping containers together. Where else in Thorpe could they house the scare maze?

[coasterverse]

55 minutes ago, ML27 said:

The third scare maze is said to be an Indoor maze, would definitely include the farm building under that description. However, it would mean it wouldn’t use the land to and around the farm.

 

scare experience seems more likely in this location. However why tease the scare experience. You’d think it would be a nod to a new maze. 
 

For an indoor maze though, unless you joined shipping containers together. Where else in Thorpe could they house the scare maze?

 

Actual building-wise we're very limited. Obviously there's the conference hall next to Depth Charge, but I can't imagine them wanting to retire that entire building for the duration of the event. The Black Mirror building is also potentially on the cards I suppose considering it used to be home to Walking Dead (can't remember if it was Do Or Die or Living Nightmare now for some reason) but can't really see this being an option either as I would imagine they would have needed to close the attraction by now to convert it, so that's off the cards too. As I mentioned above, converting Derren Brown into a Fright Nights attraction would be amazing... but much the same with Black Mirror, they'd have to have closed the attraction by now to carry out the works.

 

That really just leaves us with the Containment container, and the plot of land next to Trailers. There has been clearance work taking place there apparently... however I'm not entirely sure if logistically the park would want two scare attractions directly next to eachother... I'd imagine that would cause one hell of a bottleneck when it comes to crowd control.

 

I really do think our only option at this point is having the old Containment attraction re-themed and re-opened and having the scare experience on the farm.

[ML27]

The new scare experience could be really good (especially if it’s not an escape room and something more original)

 

I’m just concerned if it was a major experience, we would have seen something physical by now.

 

No planned AP preview but 20% individual mazes between 3-6pm during the off peak parts of the evening. Considering they are indoor mazes, shouldn’t make a difference though. 
 

[coasterverse]

But again if it is something major but was happening on Thorpe Farm... we wouldn't really see anything anyway as it's so out of the way... so who knows!

[Inferno]

My first thought was that the farm would be too far a walk from the main park, but really it’s no further than you’d walk elsewhere, even at Towers, and it would spread the crowds nicely.

 

Is there any evidence so far suggesting that the farm could be on the cards?

 

Hopefully whatever it is, it’s indoors.

[ML27]

Not too sure another route to get there other than old Canada creek railway route, but I’d be suprised for them to use it. Just incase project exodus work starts… 

[MattyMoo]

I really really can't see them using the farm, especially with Exodus as pointed out.

 

I say this, and then in a few weeks time, someone can quote this post and gloat in my wrong-ness!

 

I don't think the SAW Alive boat is usable, but that whole area (where the scare zone was last year) including the abandoned SAW Alive queue line is pretty damn big.

I mean, you could even stick a tent over the queue as is, switch some fences around and make it a true "maze" of sorts.

 

DBGT being used for FNs - I'd love it, and it would potentially be one of the best things they'd ever done purely because of the grandness of the hanging carriage, tube trains etc. - but I just can't see this happening myself.

[coasterverse]

The only issue is that I think The Crows of Mawkin Meadow will probably return this year again as another scare zone as it was so well received last year (it even won an award iirc), so I can't really see them converting that into a maze/scare experience space. The fact that they are marketing something completely seperate as a 'Scare Experience' alongisde the mazes and scare zones to me suggests something bigger, but hey I could also be completely wrong.

 

I think if we were betting safely - the space next to Trailers could be converted into a new scare maze space (although take into consideration my comments above re the proximity of the space to Trailers and the footfall of people queuing for two different scare attractions directly next to eachother) and Containment could make another return as the 'Scare Experience' escape room, similar to how it was when it initially debuted.

 

I know that the promotional material doesn't say much as it is literally just a set at the end of the day, but I just feel like one thing that nobody would expect to happen would be an attraction at the farm. The length of the attraction alone - taking into consideration the length of the walk from the park to the farm, the experience itself actually on the farm, and the journey back to the park - would certainly give more than enough space for it to be considered a 'Scare Experience' rather than a 'Scare Maze' or 'Scare Zone' based on its sheer length alone.

 

Is it probable? Probably not.

Do I think it would be beneficial and free up loads of space to make a truly world-class scare experience? Absolutely.

 

But if anyone lives close to Thorpe, someone should definitely take a peek at the farm and let us know if anything's going on over there 👀

[Mattgwise]

I'm pretty sure the farm was just used for filming the trailers and teasers. That's certainly what it was used for last year

[coasterverse]

New teaser!

 

The description reads:

Let us introduce you to the Locksmith, one of FEAR's devilish disciples😈
Hidden within the island, the Locksmith dwells in his workshop creating unearthly keys that unlock the doors to your darkest nightmares🚪🗝️

 

So, probably a multi-room escape room with different fears so people can choose their worst fear and have it brought to life? Certainly what it sounds like to me.

[JoshC.]

Re. the farm being used for Fright Nights.

 

This is a rumour that crops up every now and then. On paper, it is clear to see the appeal and potential it has. But logistically, I don't think it would ever happen. 

1. The farm is used for back of house operations / storage. Turning that into something suitable for guest view is difficult.

2. How do guests get to the farm? Walking takes a long time, would require a lot of CCTV, H&S and security considerations and just generally is a nightmare. Other modes of transport are expensive.

3. It's not as simple as just opening a new attraction. You have to consider a lot of extra staffing, emergency plans for guest safety, etc. It's a HUGE task.

4. Noise. The farm is by Thorpe Village, and there are some concerns from locals about noise during Fright Nights. Introduce attractions so close to the village will amplify those complaints.

 

I don't know if the park have ever seriously considered the idea of FN attractions at the farm. But if they have, I wouldn't be surprised if the thoughts were given up with very quickly. 

 

The only way I could see an attraction on the farm ever taking place would be if they incorporated transport into the experience. Maybe not a hayride (though that could work). More like the experience starts on park, and you're "kidnapped", driven to the farm, go through an indoor experience there, and then driven back, all within story. Trouble with that is that the operating costs would be huge. So even then, I see it as an extremely unlikely option.

 

 

---

 

As for the current teasers, they're well produced. The slow-burn teasers do less for me these days, but it gets people talking and hyped, so all good.

It seems like they might be making "The Locksmith" a character for the event. That has potential, and the park have had success with these sort of headline characters (The Governor in 2012, The Ringleader in 2015 and of course The Director in 2013-2014). If they capitalise on it correctly, it could be good.

 

I do think the park should go down the Walibi Holland route and have a mainstay headline character (Walibi have Eddie the Clown). It feels like they're trying this by creating a character called "FEAR" (who also 'introduced' the lukewarm Legacy show), but making said character a mysterious figure who almost doesn't exist. Doesn't quite work for me and feels confusing. Just have a physical, cool-looking character for people to interact with.

 

 

As for the attraction line up. I'm expecting Creek Freak to return; all the pieces are there. I'd've thought the new maze would go next to Rush, possibly in shipping containers (the park said they considered this for Trailers last year). It also means large parts of the maze could be completed off site, and then have it as a 'plug in and play' type thing.

The 'scare experience' feels very much set up to be some sort of twist on an escape room. Containment is still there and could still be used. They could also use the compound next to Trailers if they wanted I guess. The bit adjacent to Swarm (where Sanctum was in 2017) is logistically difficult, but not impossible I guess. 

[ML27]

If it were an escape room, I’d be very disappointed. Especially as described as an experience and haven’t worked.

 

what tricks me with the new maze location is that it’s described as an indoor maze. Don’t know how literally to take that. Will it actually be a physical building or just container after container after container.

 

 

Will legacy also be back in some form, will be interesting to see?

 

 

[RobF]

Land train experience from nemesis area along the route to the farm, akin to tulleys hayride ??