Fright Nights 2013

[Dodge2002]

I may as well chip in with my own review from yesterday since it's a little different to most.

Starting with the mazes...

The Blair Witch Project 4/10

A frustrating amount of wasted potential. The start was strong, an eerie red light and lots of fog probably the best part of the attraction. If it had been silent, and there weren't lights and rumblings of coasters coming in from outside the park then I should imagine this would have been one of the scariest attractions on the night. The actors were sparse and theming minimal, and the fact that the ending takes place going through the service area of Inferno is just laughable. I can't help but think they shoehorned this attraction in to appeal to a broader market, with TBWP being a horror classic.

You're Next Roaming Actors 4/10

They weren't all that bad, but those props of damn awful. I liked the fact they had a woman going round with them acting hurt, it was a real nice touch, but they just lacked any dimensions. The scary clowns the last 2 years were far more fun. I also noticed there were 2 other Actors that went round the park too. A director and his asisstant, I spotted them in the dome and they were doing some random little show which was actually pretty cool. It's a shame there wasn't more stuff like that instead.

The Asylum 5/10

It used to be the parks crowning glory of scare attractions, but nowadays its tired and showing its age. It just doesn't do it for me anymore, the actors do a poor job of keeping up with the long conga lines that go through, and the chainsaw ending is a chore, almost feeling obliged to run out of the actors way. I'm kind of sat they kept it. It really needs to either go or receive a REAL update if they plan on bringing it back for another year.

Saw Alive 6/10

The use of space was impressive, and it was full of actors, but the lack of narrative still really bugs me with this maze. Full of jump scares and nothing else, the actors should really be forced to go and watch all the source material through, I genuinely think this would improve the maze tenfold. Nothing has really changed inside, and I still firmly believe this is one of the best themed attractions in the park.

My Bloody Valentine 7/10

A great maze, but far too short. Without the room separation, it really gives away how small experiment 10 actually was. The theming (while not exactly universal standard) was really good but often got missed if you weren't looking around. If you try not to let the chasing phase you and actually see whats going on, you'll see some very intricate details scattered around. Its a real shame they got rid of the separation rooms though, without it, it just seems like there's no point in the maze being inside these containers, I'd much rather a tent with a facade. The use of music inside the maze was also appreciated and again the actors use of space was top notch.

Cabin in the Woods 8.5/10

Flaws aside, easily the best maze I've ever been in. Where do I begin? The variety of actors is probably my favorite aspect, its very reminiscent of Carnival of screams at the Towers, with a diverse cast that do different tricks. They are also very clever and subtly set the pacing in the maze by blocking you from catching up, although most people probably wouldn't realise this. Again, the actors are aggressive and use the space well, lurking in shadows and teaming up. In one case this guy was distracting me while another girl snuck up behind me and was right in my face!

The negatives for me lie probably in the fact that I over analysed the maze. The idea of choice is really only an illusion. There's only one real route you can take, with detours along the way. And as others mention the theming gets worse over time, to the point where you can see they've gaffer taped up a false wall where there used to be a ramp in the Passing. And the control room is pretty pathetic. Half the effects didn't even work.

They still have a way to go to becoming the best, but all in all I would say this is the best Fright Nights yet.

Ignoring The Swarm and its flood lighting, the park as always has a fantastic ambient lighting setup. Stealth looked great with its colour changing lights, and the park just looks plain beautiful when the sun goes down.

The music was alright, it was nice to see it actually being consistent throughout the park for a change, but it was a bit naff. I much preferred the use of movie tracks like Saw.

They've obviously fired the person who used to direct the actors or something, because frankly they seem to have been given far better direction this year. I can ignore the fact that the theming of the mazes isn't exactly big budget, because frankly the actors made up for those shortcomings. As far as theming goes, I think this is the most we'll ever get over here. Yeah its not the best, but you can tell they have made a huge effort compared to the last few years (I.e the passing, where apparently using a UV marker on a black wall is "Theming"). This of course excludes theming around the park, because of course that's nonexistent...

[Glitch]

What are the queues like?

Firstly chill tomorrow will be quiet as with every Sunday.

Asylum- 100mins

CITW- 100mins

MBV- 90MINS

SAW alive - 2hours

Blair witch project -80mins

[TPJames]

Firstly chill tomorrow will be quiet as with every Sunday.

Asylum- 100mins

CITW- 100mins

MBV- 90MINS

SAW alive - 2hours

Blair witch project -80mins

WOW. Hopefully will be empty tomorrow like you said!

[Dan9]

WOW. Hopefully will be empty tomorrow like you said!

He said quiet. A quiet Fright Night is definitely not empty... apart from Friday, that was empty.

[J.S217]

Blair witch has a queue

[TPJames]

Firstly chill tomorrow will be quiet as with every Sunday.

Asylum- 100mins

CITW- 100mins

MBV- 90MINS

SAW alive - 2hours

Blair witch project -80mins

Are they selling fastrack for BWP then?

[Glitch]

Don't have a clue about fast track (Don't think so) but they probably will by next week. But yep the queue bent round the hot dog place and back past the log flume so we gave it a miss.

[Paul123]

Report from Friday 11th October

Another year and another Fright Nites, and its all change this year with
new mazes, and new scares around the park. Firstly a big "sigh" though, Yet
again this year there is no added themeing around the park(WHY), Come on
Thorpe, Surely you can put in a budget for a bit of extra themeing here and
there(You did do it for a number of years when you first started Fright
Nites) but now its complety non-existant, I actually find it really sad and
despressing a little, Its what makes Fright Nites that little bit special
IMO,Alton goes to a bit of extra effort for their halloween event, so

surely you can too.

But enough about that, lets go to the positives,Well yet again, The First
Friday of the event is definatly THE day to do Fright Nites(There is no way
I'm doing this event on a weekend ever again)I've done the first friday of
the event the past 2 years now and its wonderful not being bothered by big
crowds,or big queues for anything(which can be horrible on a Fright Nites
when you're trying to get as many rides as possible, and fit in all the
mazes) ALL Rides had 30 mins max queues or less(Most were walk ons at
times) and the mazes as well also reached upto about 30 mins or less. Ride
availability was a bit shocking,Loggers,Samurai,Slammer were all down,
Rumba was down for a good portion of the day but did eventually open,Also
Colossus and Inferno running one train, Also Colossus got shut down for a
good 20-30 mins as someone forced the closure of the ride so the ride ops
could look for something someone has dropped from the ride(Not sure what)
but it seemed odd, I thought they could only do this after park close??
Now for what Fright Nites is all about(The Mazes),when I left, I had tryed
Cabin 4 times,Saw Once,Asylum Once,Bloody Valentine Once, and Blair Witch
Once,I also Saw the You're Next actors around the park.

CABIN IN THE WOODS - WOW seriously loved this maze(which is why I did it 4
times) loved the whole interactive different routes element, loved the fact
you could stroll round it all pretty much at leisure, and do it on your own
if you wish. This is how I would like to see other mazes do this theme next
year(I think Asylum would be brilliant), loved the actors new approach
where it was right upto your face and touching you to intimidate
you,forcing you into corners and not letting you go,Blocking your route,
and even trapping you in rooms, Basiclly I went in the room with the
ballerina(eventually realising it was a dead end), and when I tryed to get
out, the actor basiclly blocked my route and kept closing the door,I tryed
to get out three times before being allowed out(Just brilliant interactive
stuff), I found the control room, but its a waste of time,The Buttons dont
do anything which is a shame. After the choice of rooms, The themeing goes
off scale a bit, but I still enjoyed it, yet again some good scare tactics
by the actors,Overall Brilliant and some good themeing inside too

So The Rooms to explore is this, Can you find them all(I think this is all
of them??) the Main First Room where you enter,The Garden,The Room with the
Chains, The Bedroom,The Room with the Wolfs Head on the wall,the secret
control room, The Room with the Faces on the wall,and the Ballerina
room(which I think is refered to the Basement room)

SAW ALIVE - Nothing has really changed inside, but it felt better than
normal to me,slighty better scare tactics than normal, again a little more
in your face than just coming out of a wall or hiding place scaring you
which I think works better,Overall ok

MY BLOODY VALENTINE - Well I enjoyed this one, Loved the roaming actors in
the queue for starters which really passed the time well,thought they were
very good. As for the maze, thought it actually had a good theme
throughout,Quite enjoyed the start of the maze(Where the F%^$ did that
actor come from behind him), and that just set the tone well, sure it then
feels a little rushed going through the rest of it, but I thought it was
ok, felt a little annoyed I couldnt go through the tunnel section as wanted
to really try that bit of the maze,but still not bad overall.

THE BLAIR WITCH EXPERIENCE - Bravo for Thorpe trying something new, but it
didnt really work, Nothing really happens, but then nothing really happens
in the film, so I guess they were trying to cleverly portrait that, but I
still think they should improve it if it comes back next year, a few nice
touches here and there, and one or two decent sound effects, but the end
bit felt pointless, and didnt really work,I think the House should have
been complety blacked out(Like a tiny maze) and we were made to feel our
way out while lots of sound effects keep going of around you or something
like that.

ASYLUM - Its as good as ever and popular as ever, but maybe this does need
a re-theme now as it is maybe getting a little tiresome, I would like to
see this get the Free flow treatment like Cabin,and theme it so you go
through multiple rooms or alter the maze with a few dead ends. I think the
new ending though is brilliant and well done, Lets just say Chainsaw Guy is
back and back with a vengence

YOU'RE NEXT ACTORS - hummmmmmm, thought they could be more convincing if
I'm being honest, they didnt really do anything to anyone, I did like how
they were carrying convincing real weapons like a Crossbow,Sledgehammer
etc, but there was'nt much scare tactics involved from them, Just needs
more scare tactics involved

So best Fright Nites ever, NOT QUITE, but this whole new change is a step
in the right direction, and I think they will learn from it so if they can
just pinpoint the few odd problems and just improve the whole experince a
little(assuming they stick with this theme again for next year) then I am
really forward to next year, so bring it on

[TPJames]

I'm hoping that loggers and samurai will be open for today's fright nights! **fingers crossed**

[Mark9]

WOW. Hopefully will be empty tomorrow like you said!

I hope not. We want this event to be a success otherwise it risks having hours cut, rides potentially closing earlier, less actors roaming in the mazes and on park or even less days where the event is running.

[Kerfuffle]

Well, when I went last night, Samurai was shut the whole day, and Loggers was open for a majority of the day, but by dusk, it had been drained. I suppose this is just due to Blair Witch Project

[Coaster]

Obviously it was going to be busy yesterday. It's a Saturday (which automatically meant it will be busier than a Sunday) and has anyone seen the forecast for today?

I'm braving the weather today - hope it's quiet!

I hope not. We want this event to be a success otherwise it risks having hours cut, rides potentially closing earlier, less actors roaming in the mazes and on park or even less days where the event is running.

If they made more of an effort to get rides running at full throughput when the park is busy then I wouldn't mind it being busy.

[Glitch]

Hours need to be extended on a Saturday to midnight!

[Benin]

Were the ride queues REALLY that bad to warrant such hours yesterday?

The answer, no... Of course later on during half term we might see packed things EVERYWHERE, but yesterday was a day of moderate busy times...

Does Fright Nights only exist after 3pm? Aside from the entrance signage and the random dotted theming there and in the Dome, you wouldn't be surprised if it was any other day at the park, especially with the chart music blaring at the entrance... Also, Thorpe have decided that organised queuing to get in should be forgotten, and having 2 queues into the AP gate is a FANTASTIC idea... Why get rid of the old queue system that worked pretty well and was rather clear as to what was what? Rather than have lines of people waiting for 30 minutes to be effectively jumped because the staff member wanted a 2nd AP entrance queue?

The ride announcements are cheese... Simple as, and I dunno, just not that great? I think it's because it's the same announcement on each ride bar the odd differing one (on Det) which makes it seem like a good idea poorly done, like every Merlin addition...

You're Next actors were great, that simple really... The fact that they go around in one large group is both their best and worst feature, as it means you might never encounter them at all during your visit... Also bumped into the Director and his entourage a few times, he was fab and these were easily the best part of the day...

Blair Witch is awful... People standing in your way does not constitute scary times, neither does a man running up to you and then as soon as you notice him retreat away... Perhaps this would be more suited to a 'Brave it Alone' thing, or smaller groups, as the constant conveyor of people doesn't help it at all... Plus B&Q shed theming </3

Didn't do the other mazes cos don't like them in the first place, and why queue 80 minutes for Saw Alive when Swarm is on a 10 minute queue?

Queue estimates were all over the place as well for rides and mazes... Cabin advertised at 90 ended up being 30, whilst ones advertised at 60 were longer... Swarm's advertised 5 minute queue was aforementioned 10 minutes...

All in all, it doesn't FEEL like a Halloween event with just music, actors, mazes and lighting that's there all year around... The park (and Towers) NEED to look into making the park look Halloweeny... Port Aventura made an obscene effort and Chessie no doubt will as well to make the park suit the Halloween theme, it's disappointing that our top 2 UK parks don't...

A real air of indifference to the event... Mainly as outside the mazes, it's just another day in the park... Shame...

[Mark9]

Obviously it was going to be busy yesterday. It's a Saturday (which automatically meant it will be busier than a Sunday) and has anyone seen the forecast for today?

I'm braving the weather today - hope it's quiet!

If they made more of an effort to get rides running at full throughput when the park is busy then I wouldn't mind it being busy.

I've always seen two trains on Swarm, Colossus, Inferno and Stealth when I've been on busy days. It's the off peak days where they don't think it will be busy and then it suddenly is where issues seem to come about IMO.

[RubyRed95]

Went yesterday. Did all the mazes, all the rides and Saw, Stealth and Swarm (forwards and backwards) in the dark and left at 8:30. It was an amazing night.

Saw: Alive was our first maze (we had Director's Cut fastrack)

I don't really get how the Directors Cut fastrack works but am considering getting one for my visit. Could you possibly explain a little about how they work, because I've tried to figure it out from the website and it's really very confusing, so any help would be much appreciated! Thanks =)

[Glitch]

Rant time:

Fasttrack is really poor this year for those of us who decide to queue in the normal line.

So I was in the queue for MBV and it decides to break down or somebody had an accident etc, meaning we were in the queue for 30mins longer.

So when the maze reopend again the groups were being batched with 8 people from fast track and then two from the standard queue surely this is not fair after waiting so long whilst these guys have waited 5mins.

On the plus side whilst it had ceased operation the entire cast came out and interacted with the queue line.

[J.S217]

I've heard from somepeople today that Cabin has become rather naff and MBV is certainly better

[Mattgwise]

I have been on Cabin in the Woods twice (Preview night and this friday evening) and have found it to be awful both times, but mainly hearing good reviews. Only saw three actors on both occassions. Probably didn't help that both times 12 - 15 of us ended up cramped in the rooms together as everyone caught up with people in front. Was funny this Friday though as the woman letting us in at around 9:30 started to tell us what to do and then asked us if we had been on before and when we said yes she said leaning on the wall looking completely shattered. "Do you know what I have been here since 9am and I can't be bothered to say it again, go through"? There was no queue for it at all at this point but busy inside.

[TPJames]

Just got back from a cold and wet day. No rides went over 10 mins the whole day and the majority of the rides were walk on due to the rain. However, it stopped raining in the evening and the mazes got long queues.

I only managed the asylum, cabin in the woods and my bloody valentine. Will post reviews on these later but thought MBV was poor, cabin the woods was good but could have been better(should have gone a longer route!) and the asylum was definately the longest and the best. Will post reviews when have done the other two on Saturday

[Topsyturvy15]

Correct me if I&#39;m wrong but it looks as if loggers shuts for Blair Witch every night??? The Blair witch queue hit 45 mins on Friday with a break down (Yes it can break down!!!!!!!). Point taken that long queues do mean a successful fight nights but it is also true that overselling fast tracks can be a night mare :/ If fast track sales were reduced the event would be brilliant; thats the only real issue ive seen so far

[TPJames]

Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks as if loggers shuts for Blair Witch every night??? The Blair witch queue hit 45 mins on Friday with a break down (Yes it can break down!!!!!!!). Point taken that long queues do mean a successful fight nights but it is also true that overselling fast tracks can be a night mare :/ If fast track sales were reduced the event would be brilliant; thats the only real issue ive seen so far

Blair witch doesn't have fastrack...

Cabin in the woods and saw alive broke down today. Strange how's mazes can break down!?

[OldFarmerDean]

Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks as if loggers shuts for Blair Witch every night??? The Blair witch queue hit 45 mins on Friday with a break down (Yes it can break down!!!!!!!). Point taken that long queues do mean a successful fight nights but it is also true that overselling fast tracks can be a night mare :/ If fast track sales were reduced the event would be brilliant; thats the only real issue ive seen so far

Loggers and Rapids close at 5pm... as a cost saving measure and then to aid with blair witch which doesn't open til 7 (or at least so on friday!)

Was stuck in the indoor queue section of cabin in the woods for about 10 mins while an emergency evac happened - I think a group of kids was messing around and got kicked off the park - but then have to get all the actors back inside and reset / check the maze before allowing people back in.

things can go wrong - like lighting etc and cause the maze to need to be closed until resolved.

[Topsyturvy15]

Its usually a case of an actor getting punched or a bit of scenery braking/ mechanical fault.

[Benin]

Seeing the queue for Blair Witch I understand why Rocky closes, Loggers closes because of safety at night...

It also has Fastrack, as people used it whilst we were queuing... Combined with the low throughput of the mazes, they'll always have long queues of burden...

Though if that means the coasters get low queues, I'm not gonna complain...