Meltdown at Luna Springs 2023
Luna Springs is a massive events space in Digbeth, which is home throughout the year to multiple seasonal events. For Halloween season they debuted their Halloween event including a bar, fairground rides and a new scare maze – Meltdown.
The attraction itself has been built within several viaduct arches and looks like it has always been there! The impressive façade looks aged and rundown and hides any construction or structures behind. To be honest, we were kind of expecting a white marquee with a small façade at the entrance – so the attention to detail here was stunning. It would easily put many larger (higher budget) events to shame!
Once inside – the attention to detail continued through a series of elaborately dressed rooms and set pieces including a hugely impressive machine/console thing, which was easily one of the biggest temporary props we have seen in a scare attraction. Alongside some impressive special effects, the sets were just the icing on the cake for an immersive experience that mixed theatrical story telling with a good helping of sudden impact scares throughout.
For the location and the audience (who potentially could be a bit lubricated!) the attraction could have easily gone down a simple scare maze route by pulling out a few tired tropes such as chainsaws, zombies and random characters in masks. Instead, what they have done is crafted an experience that tells an engaging story which is able to entertain and scare in equal measures.
The only negative thing we can say about this attraction is the placement of the massive fairground ride outside, which unfortunately does mean there is a lot of noise bleed into the attraction (especially in the office scene). Talking to the creatives on the night we visited (the first of the public nights) – it is obvious they are aware of this and will work to see what they can do about it going forward.
As it may be clear from this review – we really weren’t expecting a lot of form Meltdown. Granted – we have known the creative team for years, and their reputation precedes them, but for the first year in a new venue, we genuinely thought this would be a very basic attraction.
As it was – they have created a stunningly original experience, with great sets and impressive storytelling and filled it with a team of energetic actors that were really able to sell the story. If this is what they do in year one – we can’t wait to see what they come up with next year.
The attraction itself has been built within several viaduct arches and looks like it has always been there! The impressive façade looks aged and rundown and hides any construction or structures behind. To be honest, we were kind of expecting a white marquee with a small façade at the entrance – so the attention to detail here was stunning. It would easily put many larger (higher budget) events to shame!
Once inside – the attention to detail continued through a series of elaborately dressed rooms and set pieces including a hugely impressive machine/console thing, which was easily one of the biggest temporary props we have seen in a scare attraction. Alongside some impressive special effects, the sets were just the icing on the cake for an immersive experience that mixed theatrical story telling with a good helping of sudden impact scares throughout.
For the location and the audience (who potentially could be a bit lubricated!) the attraction could have easily gone down a simple scare maze route by pulling out a few tired tropes such as chainsaws, zombies and random characters in masks. Instead, what they have done is crafted an experience that tells an engaging story which is able to entertain and scare in equal measures.
The only negative thing we can say about this attraction is the placement of the massive fairground ride outside, which unfortunately does mean there is a lot of noise bleed into the attraction (especially in the office scene). Talking to the creatives on the night we visited (the first of the public nights) – it is obvious they are aware of this and will work to see what they can do about it going forward.
As it may be clear from this review – we really weren’t expecting a lot of form Meltdown. Granted – we have known the creative team for years, and their reputation precedes them, but for the first year in a new venue, we genuinely thought this would be a very basic attraction.
As it was – they have created a stunningly original experience, with great sets and impressive storytelling and filled it with a team of energetic actors that were really able to sell the story. If this is what they do in year one – we can’t wait to see what they come up with next year.
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