Walibi Fright Nights - 2017
Walibi Holland Fright Nights is the biggest Halloween event in Holland with over 300 actors spread across 6 mazes and 7 scare zones. The park opens during the day with the usual rides and attractions then as darkness starts to kick in, the monsters are unleashed. To walk around this park at night-time is an explosion of sights and sounds punctuated by screams and the roar of chainsaws!
During the day we had experienced Neurogen – a unique personal VR experience that was both immersive and scary, but later we headed back to the same building for our appointment at The Clinic.
We had heard a lot about The Clinic, and in fact, last year we published a full blow by blow account of what happens inside (warning – only read this if you want MASSIVE spoilers.) But even knowing what we did, nothing could prepare us for how detailed and immersive, The Clinic was as an experience. Asked to remove our shoes and socks, the mood in the hospital quickly changed to something more menacing, and the apparent glee with which the medical team strapped us to our gurney, was very unnerving. What then followed was a genuinely unsettling, near death experience that was as personal as it was upsetting. Although the attraction is less about jump scares than it is about atmosphere, there were several moments where activities were so close and in our face that we just couldn't help shutting your eyes to try and escape.
With the current push towards attractions becoming more and more extreme, The Clinic is the perfect example of how you can create believable and immersive attractions without resorting to physical torture or making people eat something unpleasant. We can’t recommend the experience enough – it REALLY is that good!
A new experience for 2017 was the eerily named Below. Themed around a New Orleans bug extermination crew, we were due to be sent into the sewers to eradicate an unknown menace. In the first room our instructions were simple - remove everything valuable from your pockets that could be damaged by water, remove your shoes, and get yourself dressed in a pair of chest high waders! It all seemed a bit dramatic, UNTIL we entered the sewers.
From there on in we were knee deep in water and had to spend the rest of the attraction wading through different levels of water in the sewers. This was already incredibly immersive, but the production team then added some of the liveliest and scariest creatures we have ever experienced, with attacks coming from all sides, above us, through holes in the wall and through waterfalls of water. We needed the waders – you absolutely could not have experienced this “dry”, and we were genuinely terrified throughout. Our only gripe – it seemed quite short, and all too soon we were back in the changing room retrieving our belongings.
That aside, everything about Below was stunningly executed. It genuinely felt like we were under the ground in the park's sewer system and the scares and jumps from beginning to end were some of the best we had all Halloween!
The remaining four mazes were much drier than Below but were all extremely detailed and largely populated with scare actors. The attention to detail and design reminded us of the quality we have seen in large US parks such as Universal Studios, and all four were beautifully immersive throughout:
Psychoshock is based around people’s fears and this maze had many different scenes including the usual themes of needles, dentists, spiders etc. Although the house hasn’t changed much in recent years, the scares were particularly lively and the sets as beautifully detailed as ever.
The sheer beauty Jefferson Manor lies in its film noir design. The attraction felt like stepping inside an old black and white horror movie, and as we wound through the multiple rooms, we were attacked by ghosts throughout. A classic attraction with some classic scares.
Haunted Holidays 2 has had a makeover for 2017 with many new scenes and scares throughout. Celebrating all types of holiday from Christmas through to Easter, Haunted Holidays is a great maze that provided many impressive scares and scenes.
The Villa is an homage to horror movie villains and throughout the maze there were iconic scenes and characters from films such as Child’s Play, Saw and Halloween. We loved how most of the scares were triggered with a special effect lighting cue and sound, which helped create a very filmlike atmosphere.
Alongside the house are seven unique scare zones:
Quarantine was a small area at the top of the park that was populated by zombies. The make-up and effects throughout were great fun and the zombies managed multiple interactions with us every time we passed through.
The theming and effects in Twisted Hellfire looked impressive but we found the actors quite static in their execution. Most of them were in cages along one side and despite loud music, lighting and fire effects, were just standing in place dancing. This was the only scare zone where we had no scares at all.
Populated with many different characters from video games, Game Over was more fun than frightening. To see such large characters such as Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach mixing with characters from Tomb Raider and Assassins Creed, was great fun and we loved the lighting throughout which gave the impression of dodgy 80s style 8-bit graphics.
The pirates of Pirates Cove were some of the liveliest scare zone characters of the event and we passed through this large area several times. What we liked was the laser effect that would punctuate the scene at times giving the impression of switching from above seas to underseas. At each change - the music, lighting and even the characteristics of the actors would change too, which was really fun to see. We also loved the guy on his bungee chords who managed loads of great scares by just bouncing into people's paths and then bouncing away!
Although described as a scare zone – The Campsite of Carnage was more like a full scare attraction, with a one-way route through the zone and a batched queuing system for entry. This zone managed to make us jump so many times – especially with the sheer volume of chainsaws throughout. Also, being Holland, we were so surprised how much the actors swore at us in English. There aren’t many UK mazes in a theme park that could get away with so many “F-bombs”. Outside of the attraction itself, there were loads of roaming characters in the loud and raucous bar area.
Eddie’s Area was new for 2017, and was primarily set up as a meet and greet area for the park’s icon character. The area was filled with loud music, fire effects and some lively roaming scare actors.
Things was a small scare zone filled with a few freaky creatures. The theming around the zone was minimal but there was an extremely impressive aerial attack as a creature roared above hands across the pathway.
The atmosphere around the whole park was electric, with loud music, dance zones and extra bars and catering everywhere. It’s clear that Walibi Holland have perfected the art of putting on an incredible Halloween event in a major theme park. The park is only an hour from Amsterdam which in turn is only an hour from the UK by plane. So, if you are looking for something amazing to do next Halloween, then we recommend you check that your passport is up to date - you're definitely going to need it!
During the day we had experienced Neurogen – a unique personal VR experience that was both immersive and scary, but later we headed back to the same building for our appointment at The Clinic.
We had heard a lot about The Clinic, and in fact, last year we published a full blow by blow account of what happens inside (warning – only read this if you want MASSIVE spoilers.) But even knowing what we did, nothing could prepare us for how detailed and immersive, The Clinic was as an experience. Asked to remove our shoes and socks, the mood in the hospital quickly changed to something more menacing, and the apparent glee with which the medical team strapped us to our gurney, was very unnerving. What then followed was a genuinely unsettling, near death experience that was as personal as it was upsetting. Although the attraction is less about jump scares than it is about atmosphere, there were several moments where activities were so close and in our face that we just couldn't help shutting your eyes to try and escape.
With the current push towards attractions becoming more and more extreme, The Clinic is the perfect example of how you can create believable and immersive attractions without resorting to physical torture or making people eat something unpleasant. We can’t recommend the experience enough – it REALLY is that good!
A new experience for 2017 was the eerily named Below. Themed around a New Orleans bug extermination crew, we were due to be sent into the sewers to eradicate an unknown menace. In the first room our instructions were simple - remove everything valuable from your pockets that could be damaged by water, remove your shoes, and get yourself dressed in a pair of chest high waders! It all seemed a bit dramatic, UNTIL we entered the sewers.
From there on in we were knee deep in water and had to spend the rest of the attraction wading through different levels of water in the sewers. This was already incredibly immersive, but the production team then added some of the liveliest and scariest creatures we have ever experienced, with attacks coming from all sides, above us, through holes in the wall and through waterfalls of water. We needed the waders – you absolutely could not have experienced this “dry”, and we were genuinely terrified throughout. Our only gripe – it seemed quite short, and all too soon we were back in the changing room retrieving our belongings.
That aside, everything about Below was stunningly executed. It genuinely felt like we were under the ground in the park's sewer system and the scares and jumps from beginning to end were some of the best we had all Halloween!
The remaining four mazes were much drier than Below but were all extremely detailed and largely populated with scare actors. The attention to detail and design reminded us of the quality we have seen in large US parks such as Universal Studios, and all four were beautifully immersive throughout:
Psychoshock is based around people’s fears and this maze had many different scenes including the usual themes of needles, dentists, spiders etc. Although the house hasn’t changed much in recent years, the scares were particularly lively and the sets as beautifully detailed as ever.
The sheer beauty Jefferson Manor lies in its film noir design. The attraction felt like stepping inside an old black and white horror movie, and as we wound through the multiple rooms, we were attacked by ghosts throughout. A classic attraction with some classic scares.
Haunted Holidays 2 has had a makeover for 2017 with many new scenes and scares throughout. Celebrating all types of holiday from Christmas through to Easter, Haunted Holidays is a great maze that provided many impressive scares and scenes.
The Villa is an homage to horror movie villains and throughout the maze there were iconic scenes and characters from films such as Child’s Play, Saw and Halloween. We loved how most of the scares were triggered with a special effect lighting cue and sound, which helped create a very filmlike atmosphere.
Alongside the house are seven unique scare zones:
Quarantine was a small area at the top of the park that was populated by zombies. The make-up and effects throughout were great fun and the zombies managed multiple interactions with us every time we passed through.
The theming and effects in Twisted Hellfire looked impressive but we found the actors quite static in their execution. Most of them were in cages along one side and despite loud music, lighting and fire effects, were just standing in place dancing. This was the only scare zone where we had no scares at all.
Populated with many different characters from video games, Game Over was more fun than frightening. To see such large characters such as Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach mixing with characters from Tomb Raider and Assassins Creed, was great fun and we loved the lighting throughout which gave the impression of dodgy 80s style 8-bit graphics.
The pirates of Pirates Cove were some of the liveliest scare zone characters of the event and we passed through this large area several times. What we liked was the laser effect that would punctuate the scene at times giving the impression of switching from above seas to underseas. At each change - the music, lighting and even the characteristics of the actors would change too, which was really fun to see. We also loved the guy on his bungee chords who managed loads of great scares by just bouncing into people's paths and then bouncing away!
Although described as a scare zone – The Campsite of Carnage was more like a full scare attraction, with a one-way route through the zone and a batched queuing system for entry. This zone managed to make us jump so many times – especially with the sheer volume of chainsaws throughout. Also, being Holland, we were so surprised how much the actors swore at us in English. There aren’t many UK mazes in a theme park that could get away with so many “F-bombs”. Outside of the attraction itself, there were loads of roaming characters in the loud and raucous bar area.
Eddie’s Area was new for 2017, and was primarily set up as a meet and greet area for the park’s icon character. The area was filled with loud music, fire effects and some lively roaming scare actors.
Things was a small scare zone filled with a few freaky creatures. The theming around the zone was minimal but there was an extremely impressive aerial attack as a creature roared above hands across the pathway.
The atmosphere around the whole park was electric, with loud music, dance zones and extra bars and catering everywhere. It’s clear that Walibi Holland have perfected the art of putting on an incredible Halloween event in a major theme park. The park is only an hour from Amsterdam which in turn is only an hour from the UK by plane. So, if you are looking for something amazing to do next Halloween, then we recommend you check that your passport is up to date - you're definitely going to need it!
Walibi Fright Nights - 2015
Ahead of us, the lift hill of Walibi Holland’s wooden rollercoaster disappeared in the mist. I was in the last carriage, and as I looked back strobe lighting lit up the fog. I could just make out a group of girls sprinting away, with a zombie in pursuit, while pyro effects were setting the sky ablaze in the distance. Sirens and screams, just faintly above the rattling of the coaster. Without a doubt it was the most apocalyptic view I’ve ever seen. And then we plunged into the darkness.
The last time I had visited Walibi Holland was over ten years ago, coincidentally in the Halloween period as well. I was fourteen and just wanted to ride the rollercoasters, but that day marked my first encounter with a live action maze. Nothing special back then, Fright Nights consisted of just a bunch of pumpkin decorations and one small maze with mediocre acting - oh, how things have changed. We had chosen a dreary Friday for our visit, with fog and light rain than wouldn’t let up for the entire day. The rides were decent entertainment on their own, but it was only at six that the park would show its darker side.
Our first maze was The Villa, with its tagline “Find yourself in a Hollywood hell”. It’s basically a string of iconic horror movie scenes, and the recognisability is its strongest point. We stumbled from Nightmare on Elm Street into Saw, got frightened by Michael Myers and nearly sliced to pieces by Chucky. And you know whose chainsaw it is you hear rumbling in the distance… Although there’s no consistent storyline at all, we had a great time in this maze. The theming and attention to detail were amazing, with even a little puddle of water in front of the television set playing the video from The Ring, just to name one thing. I also loved how some scare actors used the lighting to conceal their hiding spots - sometimes you just knew someone would jump out from a pitch black alcove, but when you tried to look inside you would be blinded júst enough to doubt it. And often, another actor would be hidden nearby, effectively piling on the scares and keeping us on our toes.
Off to Jefferson Manor then, a large and abandoned country estate whose residents mysteriously came to pass. Built in an old storage hangar, it doesn’t look much like a manor from the outside, but that all changes the second you walk through the door. The entrance hall looked so realistic we tried to take the stairs - only there for decorative reasons - to the next scene and had to be ushered in the right direction. What followed was equally impressive, the dust appeared to had settled for years, while fine streaks of sunlight peered through cracks in wooden paneling. A fake outdoor section actually felt like we were walking through the woods at night. I’m making this sound like you actually have the time to take in your surroundings, but scare actors constantly attack you from dark nooks and through dropdown panels. I actually took off and ran away at some point, a first for me, so kudos to these actors. The finale is amazing as well, with attacks coming from above, below and the sides all at the same time. Best maze of the night.
By this time the scare entertainment outside was in full swing. Fog machines everywhere were adding to the already dense mist, and the atmosphere in the seven different scare zones was frantic. Hellfire was lit up completely by pyro effects, while a barrage of demon minions did everything they could to make our passing as hard as possible. The Things scare zone was densely populated with disfigured clown-like beings, and the ever present sounds of squeaky shoes and air horns made all visitors real uneasy. In Quarantine, a huge number of zombies was stalking around an area littered with car wrecks, while emergency broadcast messages and sirens provided an eerie soundtrack. The Campsite of Carnage was a more humorous place, filled with wrecked trailers and Confederate flag waving rednecks. Perfect place to get a drink and interact with the local population, better to be on their good side! My personal favourite however was Scarecrows. The intensity of this scare zone was something I had never encountered before, everyone was being attacked left and right, and you could never be sure which of the dozens of scarecrows lying around or hanging from wooden crosses were puppets, and which were actors. People were constantly being chased full speed by actors dragging along shovels or pitchforks, resulting in utter chaos. The fact that you could only see a couple of meters ahead through the fog did not help either.
Our third maze of the night was Psychoshock – which we were told was a lab researching different fears. As the maze was located on a little island, we first had to traverse a bridge, bathing in eerily lighted fog. Upon entering the administration office a doctor got up close and personal, asking us what our biggest fears were, after which we were admitted to a series of scenes, each depicting a certain phobia. The dentist’s office reeked sickly of antiseptics, and more bloody doctor’s offices followed. We walked through a derelict alley, where people who had fallen through the cracks of society tried to grab hold of us. A scene with a badly burned man, trying to escape from his collapsing house left us with a pungent smoky smell. Again, the scenery and the technical aspect were really impressive – but this time the maze felt a bit too much like a random string of events. Actors were mostly hidden in plain sight, turning the experience into a startle-filled walkthrough without that little extra “something”. A proper finale scene would have been nice too, as the maze ended somewhat abruptly.
Our final maze would be Haunted Holidays – the name covers the theme fairly well. We walked through twisted festive scenes, demented Santas would attack us through windows, we passed by bloated and swollen guests at a Thanksgiving dinner, the Mardi Gras party got a little bit too crazy, and some funhouse mirrors appeared less fun than you’d expect them to be. This was a pretty lengthy maze with a small outdoors section, which made for a good change of pace. While less scary than the others, it offered some fun surprises – the Thanksgiving turkey in particular was a riot, and colourful presents underneath a Christmas tree will never look innocent again. Again, there was a lack of story and continuity, but for sake of holiday cheer, I’ll forgive ‘em this time. I did get the impression that this maze used to run with 3D glasses during previous years, as some transitions felt a little bit rough round the edges and meant for a different purpose. Oh, and that final scare would have worked a LOT better if it hadn’t been blatantly advertised by it happening right next to the cue line.
All in all, Walibi Holland really came through with this year’s Fright Nights. The overall atmosphere in the park is amazing and there isn’t a dull place to be found. The attention to detail in the mazes is on par with the best I’ve seen, and we loved how we were allowed to go through in little groups, especially in the first two mazes where it was just the two of us. The flowthrough through Psychoshock went somewhat more quickly, and the maze did suffer a bit from the larger groups inside. I’ve read tons of complaints about previous years being too crowded inside the mazes and in the park in general, and to me it seems like they have addressed these issues quite well. We didn’t had to cue for longer than a good twenty minutes, and the houses didn’t turn into conga lines due to an effective time slot system. Admittedly, we probably went on the least crowded day of the event, so hopefully they can pull it off as well on busier days. Still, if this is an upwards trend, they can expect me over there the following years as well - to see where they have come since fourteen-year-old me went through his first haunted house is simply mindboggling. Maybe one more story-driven house though, pretty please?
Review provided by Mathias Verduyckt at EuropeHaunts
The last time I had visited Walibi Holland was over ten years ago, coincidentally in the Halloween period as well. I was fourteen and just wanted to ride the rollercoasters, but that day marked my first encounter with a live action maze. Nothing special back then, Fright Nights consisted of just a bunch of pumpkin decorations and one small maze with mediocre acting - oh, how things have changed. We had chosen a dreary Friday for our visit, with fog and light rain than wouldn’t let up for the entire day. The rides were decent entertainment on their own, but it was only at six that the park would show its darker side.
Our first maze was The Villa, with its tagline “Find yourself in a Hollywood hell”. It’s basically a string of iconic horror movie scenes, and the recognisability is its strongest point. We stumbled from Nightmare on Elm Street into Saw, got frightened by Michael Myers and nearly sliced to pieces by Chucky. And you know whose chainsaw it is you hear rumbling in the distance… Although there’s no consistent storyline at all, we had a great time in this maze. The theming and attention to detail were amazing, with even a little puddle of water in front of the television set playing the video from The Ring, just to name one thing. I also loved how some scare actors used the lighting to conceal their hiding spots - sometimes you just knew someone would jump out from a pitch black alcove, but when you tried to look inside you would be blinded júst enough to doubt it. And often, another actor would be hidden nearby, effectively piling on the scares and keeping us on our toes.
Off to Jefferson Manor then, a large and abandoned country estate whose residents mysteriously came to pass. Built in an old storage hangar, it doesn’t look much like a manor from the outside, but that all changes the second you walk through the door. The entrance hall looked so realistic we tried to take the stairs - only there for decorative reasons - to the next scene and had to be ushered in the right direction. What followed was equally impressive, the dust appeared to had settled for years, while fine streaks of sunlight peered through cracks in wooden paneling. A fake outdoor section actually felt like we were walking through the woods at night. I’m making this sound like you actually have the time to take in your surroundings, but scare actors constantly attack you from dark nooks and through dropdown panels. I actually took off and ran away at some point, a first for me, so kudos to these actors. The finale is amazing as well, with attacks coming from above, below and the sides all at the same time. Best maze of the night.
By this time the scare entertainment outside was in full swing. Fog machines everywhere were adding to the already dense mist, and the atmosphere in the seven different scare zones was frantic. Hellfire was lit up completely by pyro effects, while a barrage of demon minions did everything they could to make our passing as hard as possible. The Things scare zone was densely populated with disfigured clown-like beings, and the ever present sounds of squeaky shoes and air horns made all visitors real uneasy. In Quarantine, a huge number of zombies was stalking around an area littered with car wrecks, while emergency broadcast messages and sirens provided an eerie soundtrack. The Campsite of Carnage was a more humorous place, filled with wrecked trailers and Confederate flag waving rednecks. Perfect place to get a drink and interact with the local population, better to be on their good side! My personal favourite however was Scarecrows. The intensity of this scare zone was something I had never encountered before, everyone was being attacked left and right, and you could never be sure which of the dozens of scarecrows lying around or hanging from wooden crosses were puppets, and which were actors. People were constantly being chased full speed by actors dragging along shovels or pitchforks, resulting in utter chaos. The fact that you could only see a couple of meters ahead through the fog did not help either.
Our third maze of the night was Psychoshock – which we were told was a lab researching different fears. As the maze was located on a little island, we first had to traverse a bridge, bathing in eerily lighted fog. Upon entering the administration office a doctor got up close and personal, asking us what our biggest fears were, after which we were admitted to a series of scenes, each depicting a certain phobia. The dentist’s office reeked sickly of antiseptics, and more bloody doctor’s offices followed. We walked through a derelict alley, where people who had fallen through the cracks of society tried to grab hold of us. A scene with a badly burned man, trying to escape from his collapsing house left us with a pungent smoky smell. Again, the scenery and the technical aspect were really impressive – but this time the maze felt a bit too much like a random string of events. Actors were mostly hidden in plain sight, turning the experience into a startle-filled walkthrough without that little extra “something”. A proper finale scene would have been nice too, as the maze ended somewhat abruptly.
Our final maze would be Haunted Holidays – the name covers the theme fairly well. We walked through twisted festive scenes, demented Santas would attack us through windows, we passed by bloated and swollen guests at a Thanksgiving dinner, the Mardi Gras party got a little bit too crazy, and some funhouse mirrors appeared less fun than you’d expect them to be. This was a pretty lengthy maze with a small outdoors section, which made for a good change of pace. While less scary than the others, it offered some fun surprises – the Thanksgiving turkey in particular was a riot, and colourful presents underneath a Christmas tree will never look innocent again. Again, there was a lack of story and continuity, but for sake of holiday cheer, I’ll forgive ‘em this time. I did get the impression that this maze used to run with 3D glasses during previous years, as some transitions felt a little bit rough round the edges and meant for a different purpose. Oh, and that final scare would have worked a LOT better if it hadn’t been blatantly advertised by it happening right next to the cue line.
All in all, Walibi Holland really came through with this year’s Fright Nights. The overall atmosphere in the park is amazing and there isn’t a dull place to be found. The attention to detail in the mazes is on par with the best I’ve seen, and we loved how we were allowed to go through in little groups, especially in the first two mazes where it was just the two of us. The flowthrough through Psychoshock went somewhat more quickly, and the maze did suffer a bit from the larger groups inside. I’ve read tons of complaints about previous years being too crowded inside the mazes and in the park in general, and to me it seems like they have addressed these issues quite well. We didn’t had to cue for longer than a good twenty minutes, and the houses didn’t turn into conga lines due to an effective time slot system. Admittedly, we probably went on the least crowded day of the event, so hopefully they can pull it off as well on busier days. Still, if this is an upwards trend, they can expect me over there the following years as well - to see where they have come since fourteen-year-old me went through his first haunted house is simply mindboggling. Maybe one more story-driven house though, pretty please?
Review provided by Mathias Verduyckt at EuropeHaunts
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