Walibi Holland - Halloween Fright Nights 2023
Walibi Holland’s Halloween Frights Nights has received quite the acclaim in certain scare enthusiast circles. Over the years the event has gradually grown in size, expanding beyond mere scare mazes and scare zones, to the point where they’re now offering immersive scare experiences.
First in line was Urban Explhorror. This attraction is pretty simple in premise, taking place within an abandoned ride storage warehouse. We were thankful to see each group was sent inside in small batches of 3 or 4, making for quite an intimate scare experience. We were then handed Haunted Lantern torches and left to our own devices to explore the warehouse.
Almost immediately, we were plunged into pitch blackness with only the torches to guide our way. We really can’t stress just how dark this attraction was and we absolutely relied on the small cone of light that emanated from these torches to find your way around. This made for an intense experience, cautiously shining the beam around the room trying to find the route forwards.
This most certainly wasn’t helped by the actors who made rapid appearances, attacking the whole group, only to disappear immediately. It felt like the cast was absolutely huge as there were scares EVERYWHERE!
Whilst Urban Explhorror didn’t particularly do anything new, it used the Haunted Lantern technology perfectly and the whole experience was wonderfully terrifying!
Up next was one of our most anticipated attractions of the whole evening, Slaughterhouse. We absolutely refuse to spoil anything that happens within this attraction, but let it be known Slaughterhouse is NOT a traditional walkthrough. This is a solo experience that is designed to be aggressive and very full on. Whilst it never verges into the extreme, the intensity is constant and there’s very little room to breathe in between each scene. You’re mercilessly dragged through the entire meat processing production line taking center stage in each scene. Gradually getting slaughtered, de-feathered, chopped up, cooked and finally signed off with a seal of approval.
From the moment you step into this attraction you get hit with an absolutely horrific sense of looming dread, and trust me when we say things only get worse from there. Other attractions may try to create an authentic slaughterhouse experience, however none come remotely close to what Walibi Holland have created. It’s uncomfortably lifelike and is an experience that is guaranteed to get under your skin. Jump scare central this is not. Slaughterhouse is something far more insidious and psychological. We left feeling absolutely disgusted with what we’d just experienced, yet wished we could go through it all over again.
Our next attraction, The Clinic is also unlike your traditional scare attraction. It’s a solo experience and you’ll find yourself laid down for the entire duration, completely unable to move. However, unlike Slaughterhouse, this experience guides you not through a slaughterhouse, but the process of dying. This has to be one of the darkest, most psychologically taxing scare attractions we have ever done. It would be a complete disservice to say much more about the experience, as it’s something you need to go through for yourself.
We then headed over to our final scare experience of the evening, Below. Having visited FEAR Avon Valley and experienced The Core, we thought we knew what to expect with Below. We couldn’t be much more wrong.
Below is a beautiful attraction, taking no expense into immersing you in its world. From the moment you are batched, you start to unravel the mystery that lurks within the heart of this experience. It will never not feel weird taking the first step into the water in a flooded attraction such as Below. The premise may sound gimmicky in essence, but it adds a real sense of the unknown and trepidation with each step that can’t be rivaled with other attractions. This sense of danger is only heightened when the scares start coming from behind waterfalls and out of overflow pipes accompanied with significant splashes of water. If you’re looking to stay dry we would potentially advise wearing a coat.
Walibi have thought of some genuinely ingenious hiding spaces for actors/scares within this attraction. The scares will come from all directions, angles and heights. Below really is an extremely impressive experience. There's very little to critique as everything feels painstakingly well thought out. I just wish Below lasted a little bit longer as it really does end just as things are starting to ramp up.
With all of the park’s Scare Experiences covered, we moved onto their Scare Mazes. These scare mazes are far more formulaic, however, they certainly feel different to those we have in the UK. These attractions are very reminiscent of those found at larger US events such as Halloween Horror Nights. With actors located within set areas, assigned with specific scares to execute over and over accompanied by befittingly intense lighting/sound design.
Despite it's Roman sounding name, The Villa is based upon infamous horror movie slashers/icons. The sets were gorgeous and fully immersed us into the films which inspired the experience. This attraction perfectly captures the essence of each individual horror icon, with well thought out scares that match the killer's characteristic style. Some scenes were slower with more anticipation building, whilst others (like the Scream scene) were all out brutal assaults full of jump scares. The pacing in this experience was perfect, with scares being dished out equally along the whole group. Whilst unoriginal in concept, The Villa was an all out blockbuster when it came to providing intense, sharp scares!
Jefferson Manor was by far the most visually stunning of the evening, taking place in a lavish yet decrepit mansion, all in a striking greyscale color scheme. Almost immediately upon stepping foot within this attraction we were greeted with some very impact jump scares. Whilst most haunted house mazes take a more eerie, slower paced tone, Jefferson Manor goes all out in trying to scare the living daylights out of you. Exploring the mansion itself was as much of a delight as experiencing the many fantastic scares that awaited us. There were multiple moments where we found ourselves surrounded by actors, with the finale offering an extremely intense run-out that left us beaming from ear to ear (albeit shaking slightly).
Psychoshock is based within a rather chaotic prison, hospital, ward setting. It was rather unclear what exactly the attraction was based around at points, as it flickers between scenarios with some abruptness, however the attraction was nevertheless extremely immersive. This maze had a much darker and more intense atmosphere to it, creating some rather nasty scares from a particularly lively group of actors. We felt that this attraction in particular featured some of the most devious scare tactics out of all of the mazes at Walibi. Be prepared to walk into seemingly empty rooms, only to be left screaming moments later. With so much set dressing to look at it was genuinely hard to pay attention to where the next attack might come from. It didn’t help that Psychoshock seemed like one of the largest mazes at the event, with a never ending route of grim medical monstrosities for us to cower away in fear from. With an excellent cast and a very unsettling tone, Psychoshock is absolutely one of the highlights at the event.
Our last maze of the evening was the newest addition for 2023, The Final Slay Ride. As you can imagine with a name like that, this maze was a festive affair, with lots of evil elves and sadistic Santa’s, hiding within. This attraction was pure unadulterated camp and we loved it for that. Whilst not as intense as the other experiences, it most certainly had an unrivaled sense of joy and humor to it. After all, who wouldn’t burst into fits of laughter after being annihilated by multiple surprise elf attacks in the middle of a plastic Christmas tree nightmare forest. The scare factor of this attraction genuinely surprised us, with yet more devilish hidden scares surprising us on our walk-through. And we simply can’t finish this review without addressing the visually stunning costumes on display. Our particular highlight was coming across a deeply unsettling Krampus character which shifted the tone from the otherwise lighthearted assault of Santa's and elves we’d been subject to.
As night had now fallen we took the opportunity to experience the park’s two outdoor walk-through experiences. We initially assumed these attractions would be less impressive than the mazes, but we couldn’t be more wrong. Both Camp of Curiosities and Wicked Woods exuded quality. Interestingly they were both very different in tone and style.
Camp of Curiosities was a wild assault on the senses, through a rotting carnival of freaks. We found this attraction to be even stronger than some of the mazes, with a large variety of scares and a very energetic cast of misfits and miscreants waiting to ruin our stroll through the woods. The only slight problem we found was the significant noise bleed from the neighboring Festival of Freaks scare zone. Whilst we’re huge Eurovision fans, hearing Loreen belt out Tattoo whilst getting attacked by a horde of clowns wasn’t perhaps the most immersive thing we’d experienced at Walibi!
Wicked Woods was the other outdoor walk-through, opting for a more eerie and atmospheric experience. The lingering sense of dread throughout this attraction was unparalleled. The woodland setting felt very isolated from the rest of the park and fully transported us into another realm. The sets for this attraction were visually stunning, with scenes taking places in oozing bogs and witches cabins. There were some very effective scares, with our two favorites taking place in those aforementioned settings, with great use of lighting effects and projections as well as some absolutely maniacal hidden hiding spots. This is definitely a more theatrical attraction compared to the other mazes at the event, but this doesn’t dampen the scare factor one bit.
The final part of the Walibi Holland Halloween puzzle is of course the scare zones. The lineup this year consists of Nightmares, Pirate’s Cove, Tangled Twigs and the new for 2023 Ghostly Graveyard. They’re all vast in size and scale, with intricate set-pieces and scenery to gawp at whilst being attacked by the actors. Each of the zones felt distinct and unique, with vastly different atmospheres and scare techniques. It’s well worth exploring each of them and dedicating an hour or two to just soak up the atmosphere in these areas once night falls. You absolutely won’t regret it. Just make sure you have your wits with you, the cast in these zones use the crowds to their advantage and caught us off guard on numerous occasions.
It’s also worth mentioning, these scare zones are also open during the day as part of Walibi’s Halloween Spooky Days. Whilst not as scary, the scare zones come alive with some fun and spooky character interactions, all well and truly tailored to a family audience. However, don’t be tricked into thinking you’ll get through without joining in the fun as an adult. On multiple occasions we were roped into situations such as fixing an apocalyptic junk car, or catching a Frankenstein jock’s football. It’s so nice to see so much thought and care being put into a children’s event. We really wish the parks in the UK would adopt such approaches for children’s scare zones.
We simply can’t deny the sheer inventiveness of some of the experiences at this event. They really take scares in bold new directions with more invasive personal experiences, whilst still maintaining the scares in their classic walk through attractions. Halloween Fright Nights really is as good as it gets and should be a pilgrimage that any self respecting scare enthusiast takes at some point in their life. Trust us, you will not regret it.
First in line was Urban Explhorror. This attraction is pretty simple in premise, taking place within an abandoned ride storage warehouse. We were thankful to see each group was sent inside in small batches of 3 or 4, making for quite an intimate scare experience. We were then handed Haunted Lantern torches and left to our own devices to explore the warehouse.
Almost immediately, we were plunged into pitch blackness with only the torches to guide our way. We really can’t stress just how dark this attraction was and we absolutely relied on the small cone of light that emanated from these torches to find your way around. This made for an intense experience, cautiously shining the beam around the room trying to find the route forwards.
This most certainly wasn’t helped by the actors who made rapid appearances, attacking the whole group, only to disappear immediately. It felt like the cast was absolutely huge as there were scares EVERYWHERE!
Whilst Urban Explhorror didn’t particularly do anything new, it used the Haunted Lantern technology perfectly and the whole experience was wonderfully terrifying!
Up next was one of our most anticipated attractions of the whole evening, Slaughterhouse. We absolutely refuse to spoil anything that happens within this attraction, but let it be known Slaughterhouse is NOT a traditional walkthrough. This is a solo experience that is designed to be aggressive and very full on. Whilst it never verges into the extreme, the intensity is constant and there’s very little room to breathe in between each scene. You’re mercilessly dragged through the entire meat processing production line taking center stage in each scene. Gradually getting slaughtered, de-feathered, chopped up, cooked and finally signed off with a seal of approval.
From the moment you step into this attraction you get hit with an absolutely horrific sense of looming dread, and trust me when we say things only get worse from there. Other attractions may try to create an authentic slaughterhouse experience, however none come remotely close to what Walibi Holland have created. It’s uncomfortably lifelike and is an experience that is guaranteed to get under your skin. Jump scare central this is not. Slaughterhouse is something far more insidious and psychological. We left feeling absolutely disgusted with what we’d just experienced, yet wished we could go through it all over again.
Our next attraction, The Clinic is also unlike your traditional scare attraction. It’s a solo experience and you’ll find yourself laid down for the entire duration, completely unable to move. However, unlike Slaughterhouse, this experience guides you not through a slaughterhouse, but the process of dying. This has to be one of the darkest, most psychologically taxing scare attractions we have ever done. It would be a complete disservice to say much more about the experience, as it’s something you need to go through for yourself.
We then headed over to our final scare experience of the evening, Below. Having visited FEAR Avon Valley and experienced The Core, we thought we knew what to expect with Below. We couldn’t be much more wrong.
Below is a beautiful attraction, taking no expense into immersing you in its world. From the moment you are batched, you start to unravel the mystery that lurks within the heart of this experience. It will never not feel weird taking the first step into the water in a flooded attraction such as Below. The premise may sound gimmicky in essence, but it adds a real sense of the unknown and trepidation with each step that can’t be rivaled with other attractions. This sense of danger is only heightened when the scares start coming from behind waterfalls and out of overflow pipes accompanied with significant splashes of water. If you’re looking to stay dry we would potentially advise wearing a coat.
Walibi have thought of some genuinely ingenious hiding spaces for actors/scares within this attraction. The scares will come from all directions, angles and heights. Below really is an extremely impressive experience. There's very little to critique as everything feels painstakingly well thought out. I just wish Below lasted a little bit longer as it really does end just as things are starting to ramp up.
With all of the park’s Scare Experiences covered, we moved onto their Scare Mazes. These scare mazes are far more formulaic, however, they certainly feel different to those we have in the UK. These attractions are very reminiscent of those found at larger US events such as Halloween Horror Nights. With actors located within set areas, assigned with specific scares to execute over and over accompanied by befittingly intense lighting/sound design.
Despite it's Roman sounding name, The Villa is based upon infamous horror movie slashers/icons. The sets were gorgeous and fully immersed us into the films which inspired the experience. This attraction perfectly captures the essence of each individual horror icon, with well thought out scares that match the killer's characteristic style. Some scenes were slower with more anticipation building, whilst others (like the Scream scene) were all out brutal assaults full of jump scares. The pacing in this experience was perfect, with scares being dished out equally along the whole group. Whilst unoriginal in concept, The Villa was an all out blockbuster when it came to providing intense, sharp scares!
Jefferson Manor was by far the most visually stunning of the evening, taking place in a lavish yet decrepit mansion, all in a striking greyscale color scheme. Almost immediately upon stepping foot within this attraction we were greeted with some very impact jump scares. Whilst most haunted house mazes take a more eerie, slower paced tone, Jefferson Manor goes all out in trying to scare the living daylights out of you. Exploring the mansion itself was as much of a delight as experiencing the many fantastic scares that awaited us. There were multiple moments where we found ourselves surrounded by actors, with the finale offering an extremely intense run-out that left us beaming from ear to ear (albeit shaking slightly).
Psychoshock is based within a rather chaotic prison, hospital, ward setting. It was rather unclear what exactly the attraction was based around at points, as it flickers between scenarios with some abruptness, however the attraction was nevertheless extremely immersive. This maze had a much darker and more intense atmosphere to it, creating some rather nasty scares from a particularly lively group of actors. We felt that this attraction in particular featured some of the most devious scare tactics out of all of the mazes at Walibi. Be prepared to walk into seemingly empty rooms, only to be left screaming moments later. With so much set dressing to look at it was genuinely hard to pay attention to where the next attack might come from. It didn’t help that Psychoshock seemed like one of the largest mazes at the event, with a never ending route of grim medical monstrosities for us to cower away in fear from. With an excellent cast and a very unsettling tone, Psychoshock is absolutely one of the highlights at the event.
Our last maze of the evening was the newest addition for 2023, The Final Slay Ride. As you can imagine with a name like that, this maze was a festive affair, with lots of evil elves and sadistic Santa’s, hiding within. This attraction was pure unadulterated camp and we loved it for that. Whilst not as intense as the other experiences, it most certainly had an unrivaled sense of joy and humor to it. After all, who wouldn’t burst into fits of laughter after being annihilated by multiple surprise elf attacks in the middle of a plastic Christmas tree nightmare forest. The scare factor of this attraction genuinely surprised us, with yet more devilish hidden scares surprising us on our walk-through. And we simply can’t finish this review without addressing the visually stunning costumes on display. Our particular highlight was coming across a deeply unsettling Krampus character which shifted the tone from the otherwise lighthearted assault of Santa's and elves we’d been subject to.
As night had now fallen we took the opportunity to experience the park’s two outdoor walk-through experiences. We initially assumed these attractions would be less impressive than the mazes, but we couldn’t be more wrong. Both Camp of Curiosities and Wicked Woods exuded quality. Interestingly they were both very different in tone and style.
Camp of Curiosities was a wild assault on the senses, through a rotting carnival of freaks. We found this attraction to be even stronger than some of the mazes, with a large variety of scares and a very energetic cast of misfits and miscreants waiting to ruin our stroll through the woods. The only slight problem we found was the significant noise bleed from the neighboring Festival of Freaks scare zone. Whilst we’re huge Eurovision fans, hearing Loreen belt out Tattoo whilst getting attacked by a horde of clowns wasn’t perhaps the most immersive thing we’d experienced at Walibi!
Wicked Woods was the other outdoor walk-through, opting for a more eerie and atmospheric experience. The lingering sense of dread throughout this attraction was unparalleled. The woodland setting felt very isolated from the rest of the park and fully transported us into another realm. The sets for this attraction were visually stunning, with scenes taking places in oozing bogs and witches cabins. There were some very effective scares, with our two favorites taking place in those aforementioned settings, with great use of lighting effects and projections as well as some absolutely maniacal hidden hiding spots. This is definitely a more theatrical attraction compared to the other mazes at the event, but this doesn’t dampen the scare factor one bit.
The final part of the Walibi Holland Halloween puzzle is of course the scare zones. The lineup this year consists of Nightmares, Pirate’s Cove, Tangled Twigs and the new for 2023 Ghostly Graveyard. They’re all vast in size and scale, with intricate set-pieces and scenery to gawp at whilst being attacked by the actors. Each of the zones felt distinct and unique, with vastly different atmospheres and scare techniques. It’s well worth exploring each of them and dedicating an hour or two to just soak up the atmosphere in these areas once night falls. You absolutely won’t regret it. Just make sure you have your wits with you, the cast in these zones use the crowds to their advantage and caught us off guard on numerous occasions.
It’s also worth mentioning, these scare zones are also open during the day as part of Walibi’s Halloween Spooky Days. Whilst not as scary, the scare zones come alive with some fun and spooky character interactions, all well and truly tailored to a family audience. However, don’t be tricked into thinking you’ll get through without joining in the fun as an adult. On multiple occasions we were roped into situations such as fixing an apocalyptic junk car, or catching a Frankenstein jock’s football. It’s so nice to see so much thought and care being put into a children’s event. We really wish the parks in the UK would adopt such approaches for children’s scare zones.
We simply can’t deny the sheer inventiveness of some of the experiences at this event. They really take scares in bold new directions with more invasive personal experiences, whilst still maintaining the scares in their classic walk through attractions. Halloween Fright Nights really is as good as it gets and should be a pilgrimage that any self respecting scare enthusiast takes at some point in their life. Trust us, you will not regret it.
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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