Fairground Frights - 2024
In a last minute itinerary change, we decided to drop into Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach to see their Fairground Frights event. Unusually for a Halloween event, when the doors opened most people ran to get into queues for some of the more popular rides, which meant we were able to quickly blast through the main scare attractions!
We started with South beach Institute, which was as a mad and chaotic as we remember from 2023. We were so pleased to see the nurse back in the waiting room - she really is a stand out character and wonderfully sets up the experience ahead. As before, once we were released from our individual waiting rooms, we were to left to find our way out through the very dark tunnels and pathways that just seemed full of actors. We all got a number of great scares throughout the attraction.
We then raced over to the new maze inHumane, which was an exciting visit through a facility where a mad doctor has been experimenting with human being and animals hybrid creatures. The sets costumes and make up throughout were very detailed, and we had a number of good jump scares as we passed through. We also liked the use of different levels for the scares as well as a number of fun diversion scares. All in - this was a much invigorated attraction over the existing Workshop.
Fairground Frights is famous for its live action makeovers of the rides, and both of these were as fun as always. Although we have a soft spot for the snails - this was probably the more family friendly attraction this year, whereas the ghost train additions were truly great fun (and it was nice to see Kim the legendary ride operator brought back out of retirement!)
The final attraction was the Not So Fun house which was as chaotic as ever. The clowns in here were relentless and we got some great scares in a new route that utilises even more of the space.
As we have said before - Fairground Frights has an incredible atmosphere walking around and of course is absolutely filled with roaming actors. We loved watching them, and interacting with them and as they all roamed freely around the whole site, we never knew where we were going to see them next.
We are so glad we made a diversion to visit this event this year, as we never fail to have a great time here. Fairground Frights really has a different feel to other theme park events, and it's really clear that the team and all the staff work really hard to put on a fantastic show. Their passion and ingenuity shines throughout and we would defy anyone NOT to have a great time here at Halloween!
We started with South beach Institute, which was as a mad and chaotic as we remember from 2023. We were so pleased to see the nurse back in the waiting room - she really is a stand out character and wonderfully sets up the experience ahead. As before, once we were released from our individual waiting rooms, we were to left to find our way out through the very dark tunnels and pathways that just seemed full of actors. We all got a number of great scares throughout the attraction.
We then raced over to the new maze inHumane, which was an exciting visit through a facility where a mad doctor has been experimenting with human being and animals hybrid creatures. The sets costumes and make up throughout were very detailed, and we had a number of good jump scares as we passed through. We also liked the use of different levels for the scares as well as a number of fun diversion scares. All in - this was a much invigorated attraction over the existing Workshop.
Fairground Frights is famous for its live action makeovers of the rides, and both of these were as fun as always. Although we have a soft spot for the snails - this was probably the more family friendly attraction this year, whereas the ghost train additions were truly great fun (and it was nice to see Kim the legendary ride operator brought back out of retirement!)
The final attraction was the Not So Fun house which was as chaotic as ever. The clowns in here were relentless and we got some great scares in a new route that utilises even more of the space.
As we have said before - Fairground Frights has an incredible atmosphere walking around and of course is absolutely filled with roaming actors. We loved watching them, and interacting with them and as they all roamed freely around the whole site, we never knew where we were going to see them next.
We are so glad we made a diversion to visit this event this year, as we never fail to have a great time here. Fairground Frights really has a different feel to other theme park events, and it's really clear that the team and all the staff work really hard to put on a fantastic show. Their passion and ingenuity shines throughout and we would defy anyone NOT to have a great time here at Halloween!
Fairground Frights - 2023
Since first opening in 2020, Fairground Frights at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach keeps getting bigger, with this year seeing three walk through experiences, two ride makeovers and of course a whole legion of roaming actors.
And let's start with those actors. There are no dedicated scare zones or out of bounds areas in the park at all. Nowhere is safe, which means that the actors have free reign to terrorise people as they walk around, sit and eat, or even standing in a line for a ride. Yes these actors aren't afraid to get into the ride queue-lines, and just scare and torment the captive audience who are just waiting for a ride. This really creates a great atmosphere throughout the whole event, and with the loud DJ music blaring out it is difficult not to just soak up the fun.
But on to the scare attractions. The new experience South Beach Institute has actually been built in the space that used to be occupied by Sheer Terror - one of the UK's first ever scare attractions. The opening waiting room was very reminiscent of any standard Dr's waiting room and the clever use of doors separated us from the outset. What then followed was a very twisted route round a medical facility where the doctors and nurses were clearly just as dangerous as the inmates. Scares seemed to come from all angles and we have to praise all the actors inside, But we must mention the first nurse who greeted us, as she was easily the best actor we saw all Halloween. Her creepy laughter filled delivery and quick witted retorts had us in stitches (even if none if us decided to lick the walls in the waiting room like she encouraged!)
The other traditional scare attraction is the Workshop, and once again we had a very lively bunch of actors throughout - our main host was hilarious as he took the mickey out of the older ones in the group "Here - aren't you too old for silly things like this?" as well as taunting the group of teenage boys ahead of us who were proclaimed as the "World's Chaviest Boy Band". We loved the fact that this maze is themed around the park's real maintenance/warehouse (although the butchers scenes in the middle seemed a bit out of place!) Regardless of that - we had some great scares and laughs throughout
One of our surprise highlights from our last visit, was the characters and scares that have been shoehorned into the Fairy Snails ride. It is incredible that just a few actors in a brightly lit family ride could have such an impact, but this really is a great fun makeover and needs to be experienced if you visit the event.
The other ride makeover is made to the Haunted Hotel Ghost Train. As with the snails - the addition of just a few actors to this experience, really notches it up a level and along the way we had trouble at times working out what was going to be real person or what would turn out to be an animatronic!
Our final attraction was the Not so Fun House which has been extended even more since our last visit. Instead of just looping round the room twice, the path also brought us down to the central hub of the fun house. The clowns throughout this attraction were relentless funny and scary and even chased a couple of us out the door. The extension of the path round the attraction and the addition of the claustrophobia tunnel just elevated this attraction above what they had done before.
One of the things we love about the Fairground Frights event is just how diverse the scare experiences are acrossthe park. Each one has it's completely own character, and they all left us screaming and laughing in equal measures. Add in the atmosphere and the roaming characters and Fairground Frights is definitely one of our Halloween highlights!
And let's start with those actors. There are no dedicated scare zones or out of bounds areas in the park at all. Nowhere is safe, which means that the actors have free reign to terrorise people as they walk around, sit and eat, or even standing in a line for a ride. Yes these actors aren't afraid to get into the ride queue-lines, and just scare and torment the captive audience who are just waiting for a ride. This really creates a great atmosphere throughout the whole event, and with the loud DJ music blaring out it is difficult not to just soak up the fun.
But on to the scare attractions. The new experience South Beach Institute has actually been built in the space that used to be occupied by Sheer Terror - one of the UK's first ever scare attractions. The opening waiting room was very reminiscent of any standard Dr's waiting room and the clever use of doors separated us from the outset. What then followed was a very twisted route round a medical facility where the doctors and nurses were clearly just as dangerous as the inmates. Scares seemed to come from all angles and we have to praise all the actors inside, But we must mention the first nurse who greeted us, as she was easily the best actor we saw all Halloween. Her creepy laughter filled delivery and quick witted retorts had us in stitches (even if none if us decided to lick the walls in the waiting room like she encouraged!)
The other traditional scare attraction is the Workshop, and once again we had a very lively bunch of actors throughout - our main host was hilarious as he took the mickey out of the older ones in the group "Here - aren't you too old for silly things like this?" as well as taunting the group of teenage boys ahead of us who were proclaimed as the "World's Chaviest Boy Band". We loved the fact that this maze is themed around the park's real maintenance/warehouse (although the butchers scenes in the middle seemed a bit out of place!) Regardless of that - we had some great scares and laughs throughout
One of our surprise highlights from our last visit, was the characters and scares that have been shoehorned into the Fairy Snails ride. It is incredible that just a few actors in a brightly lit family ride could have such an impact, but this really is a great fun makeover and needs to be experienced if you visit the event.
The other ride makeover is made to the Haunted Hotel Ghost Train. As with the snails - the addition of just a few actors to this experience, really notches it up a level and along the way we had trouble at times working out what was going to be real person or what would turn out to be an animatronic!
Our final attraction was the Not so Fun House which has been extended even more since our last visit. Instead of just looping round the room twice, the path also brought us down to the central hub of the fun house. The clowns throughout this attraction were relentless funny and scary and even chased a couple of us out the door. The extension of the path round the attraction and the addition of the claustrophobia tunnel just elevated this attraction above what they had done before.
One of the things we love about the Fairground Frights event is just how diverse the scare experiences are acrossthe park. Each one has it's completely own character, and they all left us screaming and laughing in equal measures. Add in the atmosphere and the roaming characters and Fairground Frights is definitely one of our Halloween highlights!
Fairground Frights - 2021
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach made a big impression with their Fairground Frights in 2021, and this year has seen new additions to the line up. The main difference with this event is that NOWHERE is safe, and the scare actors can go anywhere around the park. Instead of being allocated a particular zone or area, we saw the diverse range of characters in different places (including on some of the rides.) Also these actors had no qualms about chasing scared children, and all through the night the park was filled with people running away and being chased by one of the actors!
The two returning attractions are the Haunted Hotel and the Not so Fun Factory. The Factory is pretty much unchanged from 2020 and provides more of a fun and spooky diversion, but the additional live actors in the Haunted Hotel really add some additional scares to a great ride.
New for 2021 is the Snails and Scary Tales ride, a seasonal makeover of the snails ride that places live actors in various scenes, such as an evil watch, a very angry Snow White and a totally deranged Mad Hatter. The sets in this attraction are beautiful and the addition of the actors really added a great Halloween makeover. Although not particularly scary, we loved the whole Snail ride.
The other new experience is the event's first real walk through scare attraction – The Workshop. Built at the back of the park in an old workshop building, this maze utilised many old props and signs from the parks past including old roller coaster cars, broken arcade machines and more. The room was full of theatrical smoke and the actors throughout were working hard to get their scares and interact with the guests. We were lucky to get to this early in the night, as the queues built up through the night, but it was the first day of operations and the team were visibly working hard to increase capacity.
Finally – to celebrate the launch of this years event – we were treated to an impressive firework display on the beach at the end of the night. It was a great way to finish a fun night at this unique event. Well done to all involved for improving on what was already a great event to start with!
The two returning attractions are the Haunted Hotel and the Not so Fun Factory. The Factory is pretty much unchanged from 2020 and provides more of a fun and spooky diversion, but the additional live actors in the Haunted Hotel really add some additional scares to a great ride.
New for 2021 is the Snails and Scary Tales ride, a seasonal makeover of the snails ride that places live actors in various scenes, such as an evil watch, a very angry Snow White and a totally deranged Mad Hatter. The sets in this attraction are beautiful and the addition of the actors really added a great Halloween makeover. Although not particularly scary, we loved the whole Snail ride.
The other new experience is the event's first real walk through scare attraction – The Workshop. Built at the back of the park in an old workshop building, this maze utilised many old props and signs from the parks past including old roller coaster cars, broken arcade machines and more. The room was full of theatrical smoke and the actors throughout were working hard to get their scares and interact with the guests. We were lucky to get to this early in the night, as the queues built up through the night, but it was the first day of operations and the team were visibly working hard to increase capacity.
Finally – to celebrate the launch of this years event – we were treated to an impressive firework display on the beach at the end of the night. It was a great way to finish a fun night at this unique event. Well done to all involved for improving on what was already a great event to start with!
Fairground Frights 2020 - Review
Did you know that Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach was once home to Sheer Terror, one of the first live scare attractions to open in the UK? You can read more about the history of this attraction here, but after 20 years away from live scare entertainment - what would the new event Fairground Frights bring?
Well surprisingly the scares started outside the amusement park as we were queuing to get in. The live actors kept coming up to the fence and making people jump, which only got worse when the actors strolled out onto the pavement to torment us all some more.
Once inside, the roaming actors were everywhere and were very full on with guests. As a separately ticketed event - the park don't recommend small children attend, and the actors certainly weren't taking any prisoners. In fact the whole park kind of turned into one massive scare zone, with no areas safe from the attention of the actors. This really created a great atmosphere throughout, which was complemented by the loud music and sound effects around the park, as well as the impressive projections on the side of the Roller Coaster.
And talking of that coaster - we took a ride on it not realising there would be an actor included. It was a great touch and although not even scary, it was a surprise to see him there. Obviously a night time ride on this classic coaster was just one of the highlights of the event.
But of course we were there for the dedicated scare attractions and our first experience was in the Haunted Hotel, which has been plussed for the event with a number of live actors throughout. The ghost train itself has only recently received a large makeover with new effects and lighting, but the addition of the actors really added to the scare factor. The characters ranged from the creepy looking bell boy welcoming us to the hotel, through to a terrifying ghostly appearance in one of the top bedrooms. Unlike other ghost trains, where actors are just placed randomly inside, all these actors in this ride were themed to their location and added some extra theatricality and scares to the experience.
The other converted attraction is the park's fun house which has been renamed into the Not So Fun House. Warned at the entrance that there may be "one or two clowns" inside, we were surprised at just how over run the place was. Normally the fun house involves a number of moving floors and walkways that lead around and down into a central space with fun house mirrors and more. Well for Halloween this central area has been filled with smoke, lights and clowns as we wound our way round the walkways - they were particularly lively and vocal. What made it worse is that we knew we would have to go down to ground level to get out, and as we finally descended, they were there waiting to taunt us. It wasn't the scariest experience ever, but really was great fun, and the clowns managed to get a number of good jump scares from us.
One slight negative we will pick up on is that none of the actors in the fun house or the street team were wearing masks. In the current Covid climate, with them shouting and getting close to people we would have expected the extra precaution to have been made by the event.
But all in - we had a fantastic time at Fairground Frights. and would have loved to have visited in a large group of friends. It really wasn't the most terrifying event we have experienced this Halloween, but the park had done a really good job of creating a halloween party atmosphere around the whole venue. With the threat (promise) that they may even bring the classic Sheer Terror back in the future - we cant wait to see where this event goes from here!
Well surprisingly the scares started outside the amusement park as we were queuing to get in. The live actors kept coming up to the fence and making people jump, which only got worse when the actors strolled out onto the pavement to torment us all some more.
Once inside, the roaming actors were everywhere and were very full on with guests. As a separately ticketed event - the park don't recommend small children attend, and the actors certainly weren't taking any prisoners. In fact the whole park kind of turned into one massive scare zone, with no areas safe from the attention of the actors. This really created a great atmosphere throughout, which was complemented by the loud music and sound effects around the park, as well as the impressive projections on the side of the Roller Coaster.
And talking of that coaster - we took a ride on it not realising there would be an actor included. It was a great touch and although not even scary, it was a surprise to see him there. Obviously a night time ride on this classic coaster was just one of the highlights of the event.
But of course we were there for the dedicated scare attractions and our first experience was in the Haunted Hotel, which has been plussed for the event with a number of live actors throughout. The ghost train itself has only recently received a large makeover with new effects and lighting, but the addition of the actors really added to the scare factor. The characters ranged from the creepy looking bell boy welcoming us to the hotel, through to a terrifying ghostly appearance in one of the top bedrooms. Unlike other ghost trains, where actors are just placed randomly inside, all these actors in this ride were themed to their location and added some extra theatricality and scares to the experience.
The other converted attraction is the park's fun house which has been renamed into the Not So Fun House. Warned at the entrance that there may be "one or two clowns" inside, we were surprised at just how over run the place was. Normally the fun house involves a number of moving floors and walkways that lead around and down into a central space with fun house mirrors and more. Well for Halloween this central area has been filled with smoke, lights and clowns as we wound our way round the walkways - they were particularly lively and vocal. What made it worse is that we knew we would have to go down to ground level to get out, and as we finally descended, they were there waiting to taunt us. It wasn't the scariest experience ever, but really was great fun, and the clowns managed to get a number of good jump scares from us.
One slight negative we will pick up on is that none of the actors in the fun house or the street team were wearing masks. In the current Covid climate, with them shouting and getting close to people we would have expected the extra precaution to have been made by the event.
But all in - we had a fantastic time at Fairground Frights. and would have loved to have visited in a large group of friends. It really wasn't the most terrifying event we have experienced this Halloween, but the park had done a really good job of creating a halloween party atmosphere around the whole venue. With the threat (promise) that they may even bring the classic Sheer Terror back in the future - we cant wait to see where this event goes from here!
Links:
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach website
You Review
Have you also visited this or any other attractions recently? - tell us what you thought here
|
All the latest news, stories, review and gossip can be found on the ScareTOUR social media pages - the hottest presence in the UK for Scare Attractions! |
|
|
|
|