Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2019
After the fairly lukewarm reception to Fright Nights 2018, all eyes were on the park for 2019 to see if they could turn things around. Fortunately for everyone involved - we can categorically say that they have succeeded, and this years event has turned out to be the freshest and most exciting season at the park in years!
But what has happened? On paper the line up is poorer than last year. We have lost Vulcan Peak (although hard to say if anyone will mourn its demise!) Saw Alive has been officially decommissioned, and Dead Creek Woods has not returned. So with only one new maze - Creek Freak Massacre, how can this event be so much better than before?
Well for a start, it is clear that the park listened to the feedback from 2018 and cut the mediocre attractions, to give themselves chance to actually focus on the main line up. This has therefore meant changes to all 4 returning mazes, plus a massive new maze, touted as their most intense ever. Across all five mazes we could see a marked improvement on actor engagement with actors throwing their all at us, and delivering good quality scares. Definitely a case of quality over quantity and we have to thank the park for the effort they have made with each show.
Starting with the big new maze, Creek Freak Massacre had a lot of hype to live up to. Pre-publicity promoted the sawmill and promised lots of chainsaws and killer hillbillies, and that's exactly what we got. The maze is a perfect mix of detailed sets, lively characters, some free flow sections, and of course a strobe lit finale to rival the classic Thorpe maze - The Asylum. By the time we were left to get lost in this final section, we were completely in love with the whole experience, and ran out wanting to go straight back in! If this had been the only change for 2019 we would have been happy, but there was a lot more to come.
Platform 15 has always had a great potential, but has often been let down by long periods with nothing really happening, and an ending that always left us feeling more confused than scared. This year we got a number of good scares along the main route, and the new ending completes the story so much better than previously. Even within the long black tunnel, the actors were really working the space and getting good scares from all the group!
Blair Witch has seen multiple changes including a far more twisted route, replacing the linear path of previous years. The switchbacks and direction changes all add up to make a totally confusing experience. We also noticed how densely packed the bushes and trees were at times, which really gave the impression of fighting through dense woodland. Although quite slow to start, on our runs through, the tension certainly built up with a number of good jump scares towards the end.
Having given up on the TV series a few years back, we now understand that the characters in the new ending to Walking Dead Living Nightmare are The Whisperers. Although we didn't know the characters at the time, the sudden attack from multiple directions in what used to be an empty space, was most welcome, and just added to the whole Walking Dead experience. Of course this maze has always been about the beautiful set,s but we also got some good scares along the way.
Walking Dead Do or Die has always been the poor relation in comparison to Living Nightmare, but this year the maze has seen a massive turnaround in intensity, layout and story. It sets up the story well from the start, and instead of being threatened by zombies, the real dangers lay in our interactions with the community, and it was clear that they soon wanted their pound of flesh. Early on, there is a chance for groups to be split up and at one point this reviewer was left in isolation for a few minutes while the rest of the party walked away. We then got sent for "processing" and had to complete the rest of the maze alone! One of the things that impressed us the most was the level of acting throughout. The actors were thrilling, relentless and genuinely terrifying. This maze was a real eye opener for us and a lot of people were saying was the best of the night!
Being big escape room fans, we headed down to Containment to see if we could escape the multiple rooms in their latest incarnation. First up - the negative. We found some of the puzzles were just too obtuse or difficult to actually get out. In one room the UV torch wasn't strong enough to see anything, and in another we had solved the puzzle but couldn't actually see the numbers on the padlock due to the poor lighting in the room. This made the game play extremely frustrating, as there was nothing we could do to rectify it. What made up for it though was the level of acting throughout. The characters were really entertaining with a mix of frights and fun. Their ad-libbing to the situations (or our lack of progress ) really added to the experience. So despite despite the terrible logistics for solving the puzzles and escaping, we genuinely had a fun experience!
Another big experience for 2019 is the return of Amity High, in a musical flash mob show based around the American vampire high schoolers. The show is a great medley of upbeat Halloween songs and ended with the dancers running into the audience for a few close up scares. A great fun show, that you should catch if you can.
Finally - Thorpe Park Fright Nights have always generated long queue times for the mazes, when some of the nighttime rides have been a walk on. Hopefully the new Feared Five challenge, where guests have to ride 5 of the main coasters to get a small prize, will encourage the crowds to spread round the park a little better.
All in, we were overjoyed to see how much of a difference the park had made in a year. Creek Freak Massacre and Do or Die both rank pretty equally as the best mazes there, and the changes in the other attractions, have all added new and exciting elements to the shows.
So now the park seems to be back on track, and we are sure they will use this as a launch pad for the future and really seal their reputation as the home of FEAR. We're prepared to forget about 2018 and the issues it had, and just celebrate that one of the longest running theme park events in the UK has finally got its mojo back!
But what has happened? On paper the line up is poorer than last year. We have lost Vulcan Peak (although hard to say if anyone will mourn its demise!) Saw Alive has been officially decommissioned, and Dead Creek Woods has not returned. So with only one new maze - Creek Freak Massacre, how can this event be so much better than before?
Well for a start, it is clear that the park listened to the feedback from 2018 and cut the mediocre attractions, to give themselves chance to actually focus on the main line up. This has therefore meant changes to all 4 returning mazes, plus a massive new maze, touted as their most intense ever. Across all five mazes we could see a marked improvement on actor engagement with actors throwing their all at us, and delivering good quality scares. Definitely a case of quality over quantity and we have to thank the park for the effort they have made with each show.
Starting with the big new maze, Creek Freak Massacre had a lot of hype to live up to. Pre-publicity promoted the sawmill and promised lots of chainsaws and killer hillbillies, and that's exactly what we got. The maze is a perfect mix of detailed sets, lively characters, some free flow sections, and of course a strobe lit finale to rival the classic Thorpe maze - The Asylum. By the time we were left to get lost in this final section, we were completely in love with the whole experience, and ran out wanting to go straight back in! If this had been the only change for 2019 we would have been happy, but there was a lot more to come.
Platform 15 has always had a great potential, but has often been let down by long periods with nothing really happening, and an ending that always left us feeling more confused than scared. This year we got a number of good scares along the main route, and the new ending completes the story so much better than previously. Even within the long black tunnel, the actors were really working the space and getting good scares from all the group!
Blair Witch has seen multiple changes including a far more twisted route, replacing the linear path of previous years. The switchbacks and direction changes all add up to make a totally confusing experience. We also noticed how densely packed the bushes and trees were at times, which really gave the impression of fighting through dense woodland. Although quite slow to start, on our runs through, the tension certainly built up with a number of good jump scares towards the end.
Having given up on the TV series a few years back, we now understand that the characters in the new ending to Walking Dead Living Nightmare are The Whisperers. Although we didn't know the characters at the time, the sudden attack from multiple directions in what used to be an empty space, was most welcome, and just added to the whole Walking Dead experience. Of course this maze has always been about the beautiful set,s but we also got some good scares along the way.
Walking Dead Do or Die has always been the poor relation in comparison to Living Nightmare, but this year the maze has seen a massive turnaround in intensity, layout and story. It sets up the story well from the start, and instead of being threatened by zombies, the real dangers lay in our interactions with the community, and it was clear that they soon wanted their pound of flesh. Early on, there is a chance for groups to be split up and at one point this reviewer was left in isolation for a few minutes while the rest of the party walked away. We then got sent for "processing" and had to complete the rest of the maze alone! One of the things that impressed us the most was the level of acting throughout. The actors were thrilling, relentless and genuinely terrifying. This maze was a real eye opener for us and a lot of people were saying was the best of the night!
Being big escape room fans, we headed down to Containment to see if we could escape the multiple rooms in their latest incarnation. First up - the negative. We found some of the puzzles were just too obtuse or difficult to actually get out. In one room the UV torch wasn't strong enough to see anything, and in another we had solved the puzzle but couldn't actually see the numbers on the padlock due to the poor lighting in the room. This made the game play extremely frustrating, as there was nothing we could do to rectify it. What made up for it though was the level of acting throughout. The characters were really entertaining with a mix of frights and fun. Their ad-libbing to the situations (or our lack of progress ) really added to the experience. So despite despite the terrible logistics for solving the puzzles and escaping, we genuinely had a fun experience!
Another big experience for 2019 is the return of Amity High, in a musical flash mob show based around the American vampire high schoolers. The show is a great medley of upbeat Halloween songs and ended with the dancers running into the audience for a few close up scares. A great fun show, that you should catch if you can.
Finally - Thorpe Park Fright Nights have always generated long queue times for the mazes, when some of the nighttime rides have been a walk on. Hopefully the new Feared Five challenge, where guests have to ride 5 of the main coasters to get a small prize, will encourage the crowds to spread round the park a little better.
All in, we were overjoyed to see how much of a difference the park had made in a year. Creek Freak Massacre and Do or Die both rank pretty equally as the best mazes there, and the changes in the other attractions, have all added new and exciting elements to the shows.
So now the park seems to be back on track, and we are sure they will use this as a launch pad for the future and really seal their reputation as the home of FEAR. We're prepared to forget about 2018 and the issues it had, and just celebrate that one of the longest running theme park events in the UK has finally got its mojo back!
Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2018
For their 17th year, Thorpe Park announced that they were going bigger than ever, and as the season approached it was clear that some big changes were afoot. It soon became obvious that The Big Top maze wasn’t due to return, but what would the park use to spread out the crowds across attractions? In a surprise move, they actually announced seven attractions (an increase from the usual five) plus two “scare zones”. These along with the Screamplexx movie event, a new Fanta sponsored clown experience and the return of the pay extra Containment, looked promising on paper. But could the park live up to its marketing claim that “this year – nowhere is safe?” We went along to find out.
We genuinely had a really good time and we will highlight all the positive aspects of this year’s event later in this review but first we MUST address the very big elephant in the room. If you have been to the event, or read any social media, then you will know exactly what we are talking about. Two words to strike fear into the heart of any scare attraction enthusiast – Vulcan Peak.
Now anyone who has read any of our reviews in the past, will know that we love this industry and love scare attractions in general. We can always find something positive to say about any experience - even if it is a bit rough around the edges. But this was before we experienced Vulcan Peak – the new hooded experience based in the I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here building
It pains us to say it, but this was genuinely the worst scare attraction we have ever visited in over 20 years of reviewing scare events. From the strange name of the attraction – we generally associate Vulcans with Dr Spock from Star Trek, through to the the annoying soundtrack, there is nothing good we can say about this maze (and we’ve experienced the Passing!)
Granted we visited on first night, but comments on social media over the weekend have been just as poor. But why? We think the attraction has multiple issues. First off – the hoods are covering the view of rooms and sets that are already beautifully themed - the space could easily be utilised for a jungle themed attraction without the hoods. Secondly it was too bright throughout so we could see through our hoods in places so we could tell where the “actors” were. Thirdly the attraction used the most annoying voice over in a scare attraction we have ever heard. Having an unthemed voice just repeat “do not remove your hood” every 10 seconds becomes really monotonous - it spoilt any immersion there might have been, and actually made us want to remove our hoods just to rebel! Next, the attraction was light on actors (if there were any at all) – we seemed to only have 2 moments of interaction throughout the whole thing - generally we just walked round the room following a rope. Finally, the “finale” was just a member of staff asking us to remove our hoods, and then a final walk through some hastily covered scenes from the I’m a Celebrity maze. We walked out so disappointed that we can’t even imagine that this is in any way finished. If it wasn’t then it shouldn’t have been opened. It’s such a shame that the park have messed up such an opportunity, but we would recommend they hastily review the design of this show before re-opening to the public this weekend, or there are going to a lot of very disgruntled customers!
So that’s the negative bit out the way – lets focus on what we liked about this year’s event.
One of the criticisms of last year Walking Dead Sanctum maze, was that it was effectively an outdoor maze walking round a few packing containers. This year – Do or Die follows a similar storyline but has utilised the packing containers to create a mix of indoor and outdoor elements. Best visited in the dark, we had several good jump scares throughout and the acting crew seemed to be partially active from beginning to end. The maze started impressively on the American style school bus, but the theming slightly petered out by the end with some Heras fencing covered in Tarpaulin. It didn’t stop the actors from scaring us but it was a shame the quality design couldn't make it all the way through. Saying that – we genuinely had some great scares in the attraction – a marked improvement on Sanctum.
Saw Alive has been a staple of the event for years and can always be relied on to provide some short sharp scares. We shouldn’t still be getting surprised by this maze as we have done it so many times, but the actors were really going for it and gave us a great run through filled with screams.
Walking Dead Living Nightmare has returned to the “non-extreme” version and suffers slightly for it. Although scarier than its previous year, its hard not to miss the sheer volume of zombies in the extreme version. Either way- the sets are as impressive as ever and we had a great run through with some very energetic actors.
The other returning maze from last year was the excellent Platform 15, which again seems to have really upped its game. The addition of the indoor sections last year really help the experience and we had some genuine scares as we passed through the village. We also love the storytelling throughout and the many effects such as the flaming train. The finale of Platform 15 has always appeared to be the hardest thing to pull off, but this new ending worked better for us and actually left us running out the tunnel in fright!
New for this year (although returning to park after a 2-year absence) The Blair Witch Project has been reinvigorated with a new route, new story and a much denser forest. Compared to the wide-open paths of the previous show, Blair Witch felt much tighter and more like walking through an actual wood. The closer nature of the woods also worked well for the actors who managed to get us loads of times with some really impactful scares.
The final “new maze” is Dead Creek Wood that just utilised most of the same route as this Summer’s Zombie Hunt. Fortunately, the props and sets for that mostly worked well in the story (well apart from the studio set playing quotes from the classic Night of the Living Dead). There were some good scares here, but you could argue that Dead Creek Wood and Blair Witch could have been combined to make one larger experience instead of two smaller ones.
So, let’s go back to the disappearance of The Big Top this year – although we miss the attraction, we found the roaming actors to be great fun whenever we experienced them. They were always both cheeky and scary , and the concept of the Big Top Showtime was great fun. If you are visiting the park – we recommend you check out the show times as the clowns WILL have fun at your expense!
The other “scare zone” is more of a character meet and greet with some American High School vampires wandering about. We caught up with them on entering the park and they really add atmosphere to the event, although are more fun than scary.
As you would expect from Fright Nights – the general atmosphere around the park is incredible - especially with the new soundtrack (most notable in the Amity area). Also, compared to other UK parks that just drag in generators for Halloween, Thorpe has been designed for night time opening, and as such feels more complete for it.
So, as we said – we genuinely had a great time at Fright Nights this year - only one maze completely dropped the ball (and we think we have made that point pretty clear already) so it will be interesting to see how the changes and additional attractions make an impact on the busier nights coming up. We will keep monitoring for public reactions and report back on any changes when we visit later in the run.
We genuinely had a really good time and we will highlight all the positive aspects of this year’s event later in this review but first we MUST address the very big elephant in the room. If you have been to the event, or read any social media, then you will know exactly what we are talking about. Two words to strike fear into the heart of any scare attraction enthusiast – Vulcan Peak.
Now anyone who has read any of our reviews in the past, will know that we love this industry and love scare attractions in general. We can always find something positive to say about any experience - even if it is a bit rough around the edges. But this was before we experienced Vulcan Peak – the new hooded experience based in the I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here building
It pains us to say it, but this was genuinely the worst scare attraction we have ever visited in over 20 years of reviewing scare events. From the strange name of the attraction – we generally associate Vulcans with Dr Spock from Star Trek, through to the the annoying soundtrack, there is nothing good we can say about this maze (and we’ve experienced the Passing!)
Granted we visited on first night, but comments on social media over the weekend have been just as poor. But why? We think the attraction has multiple issues. First off – the hoods are covering the view of rooms and sets that are already beautifully themed - the space could easily be utilised for a jungle themed attraction without the hoods. Secondly it was too bright throughout so we could see through our hoods in places so we could tell where the “actors” were. Thirdly the attraction used the most annoying voice over in a scare attraction we have ever heard. Having an unthemed voice just repeat “do not remove your hood” every 10 seconds becomes really monotonous - it spoilt any immersion there might have been, and actually made us want to remove our hoods just to rebel! Next, the attraction was light on actors (if there were any at all) – we seemed to only have 2 moments of interaction throughout the whole thing - generally we just walked round the room following a rope. Finally, the “finale” was just a member of staff asking us to remove our hoods, and then a final walk through some hastily covered scenes from the I’m a Celebrity maze. We walked out so disappointed that we can’t even imagine that this is in any way finished. If it wasn’t then it shouldn’t have been opened. It’s such a shame that the park have messed up such an opportunity, but we would recommend they hastily review the design of this show before re-opening to the public this weekend, or there are going to a lot of very disgruntled customers!
So that’s the negative bit out the way – lets focus on what we liked about this year’s event.
One of the criticisms of last year Walking Dead Sanctum maze, was that it was effectively an outdoor maze walking round a few packing containers. This year – Do or Die follows a similar storyline but has utilised the packing containers to create a mix of indoor and outdoor elements. Best visited in the dark, we had several good jump scares throughout and the acting crew seemed to be partially active from beginning to end. The maze started impressively on the American style school bus, but the theming slightly petered out by the end with some Heras fencing covered in Tarpaulin. It didn’t stop the actors from scaring us but it was a shame the quality design couldn't make it all the way through. Saying that – we genuinely had some great scares in the attraction – a marked improvement on Sanctum.
Saw Alive has been a staple of the event for years and can always be relied on to provide some short sharp scares. We shouldn’t still be getting surprised by this maze as we have done it so many times, but the actors were really going for it and gave us a great run through filled with screams.
Walking Dead Living Nightmare has returned to the “non-extreme” version and suffers slightly for it. Although scarier than its previous year, its hard not to miss the sheer volume of zombies in the extreme version. Either way- the sets are as impressive as ever and we had a great run through with some very energetic actors.
The other returning maze from last year was the excellent Platform 15, which again seems to have really upped its game. The addition of the indoor sections last year really help the experience and we had some genuine scares as we passed through the village. We also love the storytelling throughout and the many effects such as the flaming train. The finale of Platform 15 has always appeared to be the hardest thing to pull off, but this new ending worked better for us and actually left us running out the tunnel in fright!
New for this year (although returning to park after a 2-year absence) The Blair Witch Project has been reinvigorated with a new route, new story and a much denser forest. Compared to the wide-open paths of the previous show, Blair Witch felt much tighter and more like walking through an actual wood. The closer nature of the woods also worked well for the actors who managed to get us loads of times with some really impactful scares.
The final “new maze” is Dead Creek Wood that just utilised most of the same route as this Summer’s Zombie Hunt. Fortunately, the props and sets for that mostly worked well in the story (well apart from the studio set playing quotes from the classic Night of the Living Dead). There were some good scares here, but you could argue that Dead Creek Wood and Blair Witch could have been combined to make one larger experience instead of two smaller ones.
So, let’s go back to the disappearance of The Big Top this year – although we miss the attraction, we found the roaming actors to be great fun whenever we experienced them. They were always both cheeky and scary , and the concept of the Big Top Showtime was great fun. If you are visiting the park – we recommend you check out the show times as the clowns WILL have fun at your expense!
The other “scare zone” is more of a character meet and greet with some American High School vampires wandering about. We caught up with them on entering the park and they really add atmosphere to the event, although are more fun than scary.
As you would expect from Fright Nights – the general atmosphere around the park is incredible - especially with the new soundtrack (most notable in the Amity area). Also, compared to other UK parks that just drag in generators for Halloween, Thorpe has been designed for night time opening, and as such feels more complete for it.
So, as we said – we genuinely had a great time at Fright Nights this year - only one maze completely dropped the ball (and we think we have made that point pretty clear already) so it will be interesting to see how the changes and additional attractions make an impact on the busier nights coming up. We will keep monitoring for public reactions and report back on any changes when we visit later in the run.
We didn't take many pictures but we do have video footage inside all the scare mazes and Big Top Showtime on our You Tube channel. Why not head over and pres subscribe?
Zombie Hunt
As part of their “Year of the Walking Dead” celebration, Thorpe Park have opened Zombie Hunt, a live interactive walk through experience, where the guests get to fight back. The attraction has been built on the old Blair Witch route, along the back of the park, and is included free with park admission.
The first thing to really point out is that this is NOT a scare attraction in the vein of the park’s annual Fright Nights event. Although there are some scares along the way, the attraction is aimed at a younger market and as such, perfectly blends humour with some horror. That isn’t to say we didn’t jump several times, but most of our experience was fun as opposed to frightful.
So why is the attraction so much fun? We would say it is because it really doesn’t take itself seriously. Everything from the setup, through to the zingy script and lively characterisations, has been set up to keep the show moving at a pace. Along the way, the experience references different characters and scenarios from previous Thorpe Park attractions including Platform 15 and the Director, alongside some fun scenes such as the zombie on the toilet and the chainsaw finale. Each scene provides an element of story along with the chance to shoot the hell out of the zombies present.
And so on to the guns. These aren’t cheap little laser quest guns, but are high quality weapons with a responsive trigger and a clear eye sight. The targets throughout the attraction are on the bodies of the zombies and would flash red when triggered. The actors would then use this as an indicator of being hit and would fall dramatically onto conveniently placed crash mats around the route. It was quite satisfying seeing them drop to the floor, dead as we moved from scene to scene.
All in, we genuinely loved Zombie Hunt a lot more than we were expecting to. It was refreshing that the park has gone down the route of family friendly fun and as such, the attraction is perfect for most people. Granted we wouldn’t take a toddler through, but the age range of 8+ suits the attraction perfectly. Saying that though it isn’t just a kid’s attraction – we experienced it several times as a group of adults and had just as much fun as the kids!
The first thing to really point out is that this is NOT a scare attraction in the vein of the park’s annual Fright Nights event. Although there are some scares along the way, the attraction is aimed at a younger market and as such, perfectly blends humour with some horror. That isn’t to say we didn’t jump several times, but most of our experience was fun as opposed to frightful.
So why is the attraction so much fun? We would say it is because it really doesn’t take itself seriously. Everything from the setup, through to the zingy script and lively characterisations, has been set up to keep the show moving at a pace. Along the way, the experience references different characters and scenarios from previous Thorpe Park attractions including Platform 15 and the Director, alongside some fun scenes such as the zombie on the toilet and the chainsaw finale. Each scene provides an element of story along with the chance to shoot the hell out of the zombies present.
And so on to the guns. These aren’t cheap little laser quest guns, but are high quality weapons with a responsive trigger and a clear eye sight. The targets throughout the attraction are on the bodies of the zombies and would flash red when triggered. The actors would then use this as an indicator of being hit and would fall dramatically onto conveniently placed crash mats around the route. It was quite satisfying seeing them drop to the floor, dead as we moved from scene to scene.
All in, we genuinely loved Zombie Hunt a lot more than we were expecting to. It was refreshing that the park has gone down the route of family friendly fun and as such, the attraction is perfect for most people. Granted we wouldn’t take a toddler through, but the age range of 8+ suits the attraction perfectly. Saying that though it isn’t just a kid’s attraction – we experienced it several times as a group of adults and had just as much fun as the kids!
The Walking Dead: Living Nightmare (Summer '18)
When the Walking Dead Living Nightmare debuted in 2017, we were impressed with the quality and design of the sets. In fact, the attraction won this year’s ScareCON award for best set design. It was shame than that the maze wasn’t that scary.
Obviously this was corrected earlier the this when the park ran Living Nightmare Extreme where the maze saw the biggest number of actors ever. It was always therefore always going to be interesting to go back to the standard version of the maze.
Fortunately, this came sooner than expected as the the park had to do a last-minute switch back to Walking Dead after they were unable to open their Saw Alive maze for the summer. We were lucky enough to be there on opening day of the reopened maze and there was no queue - we had to go in!
Nothing has really changed in the attraction apart from the extra scenes added as part of the extreme run. Although quieter than the extreme runs, the actors seemed to be really working the maze hard and still managed several good scares throughout. Surprisingly we had one of our best runs through since it opened last year!
So, which is better? It’s hard to really decide one way or the other. We felt that the standard maze has more tension as you never actually know when the zombies will appear, as opposed to the onslaught that "extreme” created. This version of the show is certainly more subtle in its presentation and probably stronger for it. Maybe the actors have learnt from all the different versions and come up with a sustainable version of the show that works. Certainly we are expected to get this version for Halloween, and the maze has now matured enough to stand proud with the rest of the Fright Nights lineup.
Obviously this was corrected earlier the this when the park ran Living Nightmare Extreme where the maze saw the biggest number of actors ever. It was always therefore always going to be interesting to go back to the standard version of the maze.
Fortunately, this came sooner than expected as the the park had to do a last-minute switch back to Walking Dead after they were unable to open their Saw Alive maze for the summer. We were lucky enough to be there on opening day of the reopened maze and there was no queue - we had to go in!
Nothing has really changed in the attraction apart from the extra scenes added as part of the extreme run. Although quieter than the extreme runs, the actors seemed to be really working the maze hard and still managed several good scares throughout. Surprisingly we had one of our best runs through since it opened last year!
So, which is better? It’s hard to really decide one way or the other. We felt that the standard maze has more tension as you never actually know when the zombies will appear, as opposed to the onslaught that "extreme” created. This version of the show is certainly more subtle in its presentation and probably stronger for it. Maybe the actors have learnt from all the different versions and come up with a sustainable version of the show that works. Certainly we are expected to get this version for Halloween, and the maze has now matured enough to stand proud with the rest of the Fright Nights lineup.
The Walking Dead : Living Nightmare: Extreme
In 2017, Thorpe Park launched their big The Walking Dead takeover of Fright Nights, which was met with a mixed response. There was no denying that the sets and design of Living Nightmare were some of the most detailed the park have ever produced. The scenes all followed noticeable scenarios from the TV series and the attention to detail was unparalleled. In fact, the maze has just won in this year's Scare awards for Best Set, Costume and Make up.
So why the mixed reactions? As we said in our review below - the maze looked great, but it just wasn't inherently scary, and it lacked any real finale. So we were excited to hear that for one week only - the maze has been turned into Living Nightmare Extreme, with more than double the normal actors than were around at Halloween, and some new room additions at the end.
Now just adding extra actors doesn't necessarily guarantee extra scares but, all the zombies were very up close and personal, and did their best to separate groups and try to create individually scary experiences. On each of our runs through - we were very quickly singled out, and even terrified guests hanging on to each other got the full treatment from the zombies. It was advertised as extreme, guests were warned before going in it was extreme, and what we loved was that once inside there really was no turning back - you HAD to proceed through the maze and on each visit we experienced terrified guests just desperately hoping it would end!
The new ending, although not a big impact scare to leave us running out the door, certainly left us lost and confused as to how we would find a away out. Clearly the zombies were having great fun here, just trying to torment everyone. In fact, the actors were everywhere and were completely relentless throughout the maze. This, alongside the ability to touch guests, stroke their hair, sniff them etc, made for a really intense experience for even hardened guests. We hope no scare attraction newbies do this as their first maze - it could scare them off for life!
Essentially Living Nightmare Extreme is EXACTLY the attraction that Living Nightmare should have been last Halloween, which does leave the park with a bit of a quandry. With this promised as a 1 time experience, we will have to see what we get when the maze returns for Fright Nights, as it would be sad to see the attraction take a step backwards.
Also on the day we visited, there were live actors inside Walking Dead The Ride, which really added to the post ride area, so everything is looking really exciting for this year's Fright Nights with effectively more scare experiences than ever before. The park have promised a few extra surprises for us this year, and with them opening Saw Alive during the Summer - this really is a great year for scares at the park!
So why the mixed reactions? As we said in our review below - the maze looked great, but it just wasn't inherently scary, and it lacked any real finale. So we were excited to hear that for one week only - the maze has been turned into Living Nightmare Extreme, with more than double the normal actors than were around at Halloween, and some new room additions at the end.
Now just adding extra actors doesn't necessarily guarantee extra scares but, all the zombies were very up close and personal, and did their best to separate groups and try to create individually scary experiences. On each of our runs through - we were very quickly singled out, and even terrified guests hanging on to each other got the full treatment from the zombies. It was advertised as extreme, guests were warned before going in it was extreme, and what we loved was that once inside there really was no turning back - you HAD to proceed through the maze and on each visit we experienced terrified guests just desperately hoping it would end!
The new ending, although not a big impact scare to leave us running out the door, certainly left us lost and confused as to how we would find a away out. Clearly the zombies were having great fun here, just trying to torment everyone. In fact, the actors were everywhere and were completely relentless throughout the maze. This, alongside the ability to touch guests, stroke their hair, sniff them etc, made for a really intense experience for even hardened guests. We hope no scare attraction newbies do this as their first maze - it could scare them off for life!
Essentially Living Nightmare Extreme is EXACTLY the attraction that Living Nightmare should have been last Halloween, which does leave the park with a bit of a quandry. With this promised as a 1 time experience, we will have to see what we get when the maze returns for Fright Nights, as it would be sad to see the attraction take a step backwards.
Also on the day we visited, there were live actors inside Walking Dead The Ride, which really added to the post ride area, so everything is looking really exciting for this year's Fright Nights with effectively more scare experiences than ever before. The park have promised a few extra surprises for us this year, and with them opening Saw Alive during the Summer - this really is a great year for scares at the park!
The Walking Dead: The Ride
At the close of the 2017 season, the Walkers (remember they aren’t referred to as zombies) from The Walking Dead had invaded Thorpe Park in the stunningly designed Living Nightmare, and the far from well received Sanctum. As the park closed, we were left with one chilling notice – “See you in the Safe Zone.” Speculation was rife but with the announced closure of X – the family indoor rollercoaster – fan theories soon started to circulate the ride was about to get a full Walking Dead makeover.
So, jump forward to 2018, and the Park announced a whole new raft of Walking Dead experiences including a new extreme version of Living Nightmare, Apocalypse Weekends and a new Zombie Hunt experience. This would all be headlined with The Walking Dead The Ride.
We had been fortunate enough to ride an early version of the ride several weeks before, but it wasn’t until the media launch event that we got to experience it with all the effects working. First off – we must remind people that this is a makeover of an existing family rollercoaster, so it was never going to suddenly be the fastest or loopiest ride at the park. The ride’s mechanism works in the attraction’s favour, as it allows multiple stop points along the way. It is at these points that most of the new on ride effects have been added. Our favourite being the second from last stop as the recorded voiceover tries to get the vehicle started whilst zombies start to break through the windows alongside. There are also some great effects on the drop sections of the ride with an incredible gunshot effect, which you can see in the attached video – made us raise our hands to our face in shock!
Another key thing about The Walking Dead The Ride is that the whole thing starts long before the ride itself. The transport system is just part of a longer narrative that runs from entering the main watch tower at the entrance through to the final exit from the building. We also loved the fact that this story is set in Thorpe Park itself and not a recreation ofa location from the TV series.
So all in, we really enjoyed the new experience, as it has given an old and faded ride a much-needed new lease of life. Clearly its not going to be everyone’s cup of tea as despite the horror theme, it really is more fun than terrifying.
So, jump forward to 2018, and the Park announced a whole new raft of Walking Dead experiences including a new extreme version of Living Nightmare, Apocalypse Weekends and a new Zombie Hunt experience. This would all be headlined with The Walking Dead The Ride.
We had been fortunate enough to ride an early version of the ride several weeks before, but it wasn’t until the media launch event that we got to experience it with all the effects working. First off – we must remind people that this is a makeover of an existing family rollercoaster, so it was never going to suddenly be the fastest or loopiest ride at the park. The ride’s mechanism works in the attraction’s favour, as it allows multiple stop points along the way. It is at these points that most of the new on ride effects have been added. Our favourite being the second from last stop as the recorded voiceover tries to get the vehicle started whilst zombies start to break through the windows alongside. There are also some great effects on the drop sections of the ride with an incredible gunshot effect, which you can see in the attached video – made us raise our hands to our face in shock!
Another key thing about The Walking Dead The Ride is that the whole thing starts long before the ride itself. The transport system is just part of a longer narrative that runs from entering the main watch tower at the entrance through to the final exit from the building. We also loved the fact that this story is set in Thorpe Park itself and not a recreation ofa location from the TV series.
So all in, we really enjoyed the new experience, as it has given an old and faded ride a much-needed new lease of life. Clearly its not going to be everyone’s cup of tea as despite the horror theme, it really is more fun than terrifying.
Review -Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2017
It’s crazy to think that Fright Nights have been running at Thorpe Park now for 16 years. In that time, we have seen mazes come and go, along with the introduction of new themes and stories. But for 2017, the park has gone all out to acquire the license rights for the global phenomenon – The Walking Dead.
It’s an exciting but potentially dangerous move for the park – the popularity of the series is slightly waning after a pretty mediocre season 7, but for die-hard fans, they will expect the park to be respectful of the brand and not just produce a simple zombie cop out. The weight of expectation was huge, so how would the park get on?
Well it is a mix of good and bad news. The main Walking Dead Living Nightmare maze looks stunning. For the first time ever, Thorpe have created beautiful immersive sets that look like they have been lifted directly from the TV show. Iconic scenes follow each other and fans of the show will be excited to see themselves in key locations such as the hospital (including the iconic Don’t Open Dead Inside doors.) It was also a brilliant touch to add Negan and Lucille into the mix and the photo op with them is a great souvenir photo! The only complaint we would have is that the maze wasn’t inherently scary and lacked any sort of finale to leave us running out the door.
In comparison – The Waking Dead Sanctum is just a rag tag mix of packing containers and Heras fencing. But the actors here were a bit more active than Living Nightmare. It’s clear where the budget was spent this year and although it was nice to have another “maze”, this attraction feels better suited as a scare zone style experience. It will be interesting to see how this develops in later years.
Which points us to an interesting observation that quite a few people have mentioned recently. It’s quite a blunt statement, but it’s true that in recent years, Thorpe’s mazes have suffered from Year 1 issues. Look back at reviews of The Big Top in 2015 and you’ll see that it was clearly a flawed maze and drew a lot of criticism. Jump forward a year and the revamped Big Top last year was amazing and it’s hard to believe that in 2017 this is now easily the best maze at the event.
It’s the same with Platform 15. There just wasn’t enough going on last year to keep this long walk through the woods interesting, so this year they have added whole new scenes round the back of the attraction including a village with houses that we had to pass in and out of. The change from last year was stunning and even the sounds in the long black tunnel had been improved. The only thing missing still – a killer finale to leave us running out the door.
So, this pattern does bode well for the Walking Dead attractions going forward. The park is passionate about creating amazing attractions and we are sure that they will address some of the weaker elements of the new mazes for the future. That isn’t to say that we didn’t enjoy them. In all, this was one of our most enjoyable nights at Thorpe Park Fright Nights in years and we look forward to going back later in the run to see how things have bedded in!
It’s an exciting but potentially dangerous move for the park – the popularity of the series is slightly waning after a pretty mediocre season 7, but for die-hard fans, they will expect the park to be respectful of the brand and not just produce a simple zombie cop out. The weight of expectation was huge, so how would the park get on?
Well it is a mix of good and bad news. The main Walking Dead Living Nightmare maze looks stunning. For the first time ever, Thorpe have created beautiful immersive sets that look like they have been lifted directly from the TV show. Iconic scenes follow each other and fans of the show will be excited to see themselves in key locations such as the hospital (including the iconic Don’t Open Dead Inside doors.) It was also a brilliant touch to add Negan and Lucille into the mix and the photo op with them is a great souvenir photo! The only complaint we would have is that the maze wasn’t inherently scary and lacked any sort of finale to leave us running out the door.
In comparison – The Waking Dead Sanctum is just a rag tag mix of packing containers and Heras fencing. But the actors here were a bit more active than Living Nightmare. It’s clear where the budget was spent this year and although it was nice to have another “maze”, this attraction feels better suited as a scare zone style experience. It will be interesting to see how this develops in later years.
Which points us to an interesting observation that quite a few people have mentioned recently. It’s quite a blunt statement, but it’s true that in recent years, Thorpe’s mazes have suffered from Year 1 issues. Look back at reviews of The Big Top in 2015 and you’ll see that it was clearly a flawed maze and drew a lot of criticism. Jump forward a year and the revamped Big Top last year was amazing and it’s hard to believe that in 2017 this is now easily the best maze at the event.
It’s the same with Platform 15. There just wasn’t enough going on last year to keep this long walk through the woods interesting, so this year they have added whole new scenes round the back of the attraction including a village with houses that we had to pass in and out of. The change from last year was stunning and even the sounds in the long black tunnel had been improved. The only thing missing still – a killer finale to leave us running out the door.
So, this pattern does bode well for the Walking Dead attractions going forward. The park is passionate about creating amazing attractions and we are sure that they will address some of the weaker elements of the new mazes for the future. That isn’t to say that we didn’t enjoy them. In all, this was one of our most enjoyable nights at Thorpe Park Fright Nights in years and we look forward to going back later in the run to see how things have bedded in!
Warning - these videos contain spoilers
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Very scary - Having been to the Staff Preview Night (I started working for Merlin in January but have been a long time Fright Night Fanboy) I thought I’d share my opinions. Take them to be biased if you will! The Walking Dead theme is cool and the live resort-roamers are more funny and sarcastic than scary which I enjoyed - lots of funny quips about how I “probably had nothing good to steal anyway”. The Sanctum (by SWARM) is the tamest Maze, it’s Outdoor and feels like that “Dead End Terror Zone” they tried a while back without succ ess. Some nice theming with broken cars but on the whole not particularly scary. The other WD Maze (Living Nightmare) takes place behind X where Hellgate was (alas, no Trommel Tunnel). There’s an opening scene which to me didn’t make much sense but I haven’t actually seen the WD so maybe it does to those who have. Then you walk through a hospital scene and the jail. There’s a “finale” where a survivor talks to you for a bit before getting eaten by a zombie, and you have to run away, but scarewise it’s pretty lacking; no loud noises or aircannons. It should also be noted for both of these mazes because the actors are Zombies they’re slower and not as jumpy. It’s more based on theming I guess...?
Platform Fifteen didn’t leave a very big impression on me last year so maybe that’s why I don’t remember what’s changed - was definitely more fun this year
The Big Top is over by Rush, and personally I found this one the scariest. There’s an actual Maze section (I spent a good five ten minutes in there because I got lost) with really dense fog and strobe, with actors hiding around the place. Then a mirror maze which really unnerved me. At one point you have to choose one of three doors. And at the end a good old chainsaw finale (except for us he was waiting at the exit, forcing us to walk PAST him until he lunged and we ran.) also because it’s clowns they’re a lot more enthusiastic and jumpy.
Platform Fifteen didn’t leave a very big impression on me last year so maybe that’s why I don’t remember what’s changed - was definitely more fun this year
The Big Top is over by Rush, and personally I found this one the scariest. There’s an actual Maze section (I spent a good five ten minutes in there because I got lost) with really dense fog and strobe, with actors hiding around the place. Then a mirror maze which really unnerved me. At one point you have to choose one of three doors. And at the end a good old chainsaw finale (except for us he was waiting at the exit, forcing us to walk PAST him until he lunged and we ran.) also because it’s clowns they’re a lot more enthusiastic and jumpy.
Having experienced walking dead mazes many times at Universal HHN was interested to see how the UK version compared.
Sadly neither of them were even close in terms of the quality of the mazes, both of which could have been much better if they had spent a bit more money on them.
Platform 15 had some nice touches but again was let down by a lack of spend.
The big top was ok but the maze using strobe lights was more confusing than scary, with people bumping into each other all over the place.
Overall the whole experience seemed very disorganised as whilst the number of people there was quite low when we visited, the wait times for some attractions was still an hour+ due to the poor layout of the mazes. Having the same entrace and exit for the main walking dead maze didn't make any sense at all.
The park also lacked an overall halloween feel, with no scare zones or actors outside of the mazes.
Hopefully Thorpe Park will address some of these issues in years to come, especially as admission with fastpass isn't cheap.
Sadly neither of them were even close in terms of the quality of the mazes, both of which could have been much better if they had spent a bit more money on them.
Platform 15 had some nice touches but again was let down by a lack of spend.
The big top was ok but the maze using strobe lights was more confusing than scary, with people bumping into each other all over the place.
Overall the whole experience seemed very disorganised as whilst the number of people there was quite low when we visited, the wait times for some attractions was still an hour+ due to the poor layout of the mazes. Having the same entrace and exit for the main walking dead maze didn't make any sense at all.
The park also lacked an overall halloween feel, with no scare zones or actors outside of the mazes.
Hopefully Thorpe Park will address some of these issues in years to come, especially as admission with fastpass isn't cheap.
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