Xtreme Scream Park 2015 - Review 1
Xtreme Scream Park has only been open a few years and is really making a name for itself in the scare market. Following the successful launch of Stilton Hall Hotel and Spa last year, we were excited to see that yet another new maze was to be added for the 2015 season. Naturally we hastily rearranged our itinerary to make a visit - and we are so glad that we did!
Compared to previous years, there seemed to be a less roaming characters around the park but the general atmosphere at the main entrance was pretty electric with loud music and great theming, getting the waiting crowds excited. This then continued throughout the park with a lively vibe even in the queue lines (which all seemed to move a bit quicker this year). As before, a couple of the park's rides were open but our main draw was the 5 scare mazes:
Ash Hell Penitentiary is brand new for 2015 and was branded on the map as having a scare factor of 11 out of 10. Crazy marketing hype? Or genuinely scary? We didn’t have long to wait to find out as after a quick briefing, the doors were briefly flung open and we were pushed inside. Once inside – any pretense that this was a theatrical production in a family theme park was gone. The whole experience was the closest thing we will ever get to a full scale riot in a prison!. Prisoners were loose and very angry and we had just one way to go – forwards. The route took us through all aspects of a prison including the cells – lots of them! The convicts had dug out escape holes between cells and we crawled and stooped to get out. The path seemed never ending and each room would contain all manner of crazy inmates ready to terrorise us. The level of scares and intensity through the whole of the attraction were some of the strongest of the season but were also complemented by the incredible theming throughout. The attraction has been built as a permanent structure, and as such, the attention to detail in the design was incredible - we weren't inside a temporary maze in a theme park – we were inside a real prison! The walls were solid, the metal bars were solid, the props all looked real. Even the escape route between cells looked like they had been carved away by the prisoners with a blunt instrument!. For something that is only going to be operated for a few weeks each year, the level of detail in the theming and design is simply stunning. When we finally got out of the attraction we were breathless, shaky and totally exhilarated. Looking back on that rating though - we think they got it wrong, Ash Hell Penitentiary was so incredible that we would give it 15 out of 10!
The Hunted. Hooded mazes are potentially an easy attraction to create, Apart from ensuring there is a rope to follow, there is no real construction required. In fact for all intents and purposes, the actors could be stood around in jeans and t'shirt. We would like to think differently of The Hunted and hope that the cast were all dressed as some rich hunting weirdos as they taunted us from beginning to end. Throughout the maze we were pushed, grabbed and teased with mercilessly – the actors sometimes playing with our hoods as well. Compared to random noises and scares found in other dark mazes, The Hunted continued the story line all the way through until our masks were removed for the last quarter of the maze. By this point it was time to see the wild creatures we were being fed to and the finale had us escaping a small maze section with impressive werewolves appearing form all sides. The mix of hooded and non hooded worked really well and made for a really exciting maze throughout.
Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa was new for 2014 and remains one of the longest scare attractions across the UK. As with Ash-Hell Penitentiary, this attraction is based in a purpose built facility which means the level of detail in the room designs, is some of the best around. The number of rooms seems endless, and as we passed from scene to scene we were again amazed at the different aspects that had gone into building this attraction. Each room is packed to the rafters with furniture and theming and the route through can be very narrow at times, meaning guests can get very close with the sets and the actors roaming them. Of course with such a large set we found there were a few rooms that seemed to be lacking in scares, but this is understandable due to the size. Certainly by the time we had passed upstairs into the attic the attraction seemed to rely more on effects (a very long array of Claustrophobia tunnels for example). Our only other niggle with our visit through was that the groups were being batched very quickly which kept the queues to a minimum but did mean we backed up a bit once inside (especially as the group in front of us had never seen a Claustrophobia tunnel before so after a few minutes arguing about what to do, decided to to crawl underneath it! These slight niggles aside - Stilton Hall is an impressive attraction that we thoroughly enjoyed.
When it first opened, The Pie Factory was an impressively themed attraction that played on the heritage of the parks location (Melton Mowbray – famed for Pork Pies). Since then – the tour of the factory has been extended to include other buildings such as the homes of the pigs and some of the factory workers. The first half of the tour felt slightly underpopulated, and we started to wonder what had happened to the attraction that we had originally loved so much. Fortunately an encounter with a terrifying 5 foot high wild boar puppet kicked the attraction into high gear and from there on in, we were chased, separated and terrorised by all manner of crazy characters, all trying to make mincemeat out of us! The final half of the maze really made up for the slower start and we ended up desperate to escape the onslaught of an all too noisy power tool!
The Dungeon has been a mainstay at the park since they first opened and has vastly improved over the years, Utilising a children's maze, the venue was completely disorientating, as the building was filled with smoke, and rooms and scenes alternated between periods of pitch darkness and areas floodlit with crazy strobe lighting. The maze was populated by a family of crazy vampire type ladies who really knew how to work the space and get multiple scares. Especially at times when we felt either trapped or vulnerable as we tried to squeeze through or under some fairly impassable barriers. From beginning to end the creatures terrorised us and with the maze element of the attraction - we genuinely got lost a few times thinking we were stuck there never to escape . For a simple maze that didn't require much build we were surprised at how many scares we had
Our final maze of the night was Curtains Chaos and we nearly dodged it as we had to dash off somewhere else. We have made it clear before that we aren't great fans of clown mazes and we have seen the whole red and white multi room maze style attraction a few too many times for it to really maintain our interest. Fortunately the queue was short so we stayed later than planned just so we could experience it. And we are so glad we did!. From beginning to end, this maze had us jumping with fright and laughter as the clowns seemed to keep coming from nowhere. We loved the attacks from above and the leg grabs from below as well as the genuinely evil but mischievous way the clowns taunted us throughout. Its not the scariest maze at the park by any stretch but it was genuinely great fun and we are so glad we didn't miss it!
So there we have it - all 6 mazes visited on a whistle stop tour of the park. We cant believe how far the park has come since its first year as the level of theming and attention to detail throughout was some of the best we have seen all Halloween. Add in the amazing cast in all the attractions and unique and different elements throughout, then Xtreme scream Park is one that you MUST visit - just don't tell the prison governor that ScareTOUR sent you - they may not let you out!
Compared to previous years, there seemed to be a less roaming characters around the park but the general atmosphere at the main entrance was pretty electric with loud music and great theming, getting the waiting crowds excited. This then continued throughout the park with a lively vibe even in the queue lines (which all seemed to move a bit quicker this year). As before, a couple of the park's rides were open but our main draw was the 5 scare mazes:
Ash Hell Penitentiary is brand new for 2015 and was branded on the map as having a scare factor of 11 out of 10. Crazy marketing hype? Or genuinely scary? We didn’t have long to wait to find out as after a quick briefing, the doors were briefly flung open and we were pushed inside. Once inside – any pretense that this was a theatrical production in a family theme park was gone. The whole experience was the closest thing we will ever get to a full scale riot in a prison!. Prisoners were loose and very angry and we had just one way to go – forwards. The route took us through all aspects of a prison including the cells – lots of them! The convicts had dug out escape holes between cells and we crawled and stooped to get out. The path seemed never ending and each room would contain all manner of crazy inmates ready to terrorise us. The level of scares and intensity through the whole of the attraction were some of the strongest of the season but were also complemented by the incredible theming throughout. The attraction has been built as a permanent structure, and as such, the attention to detail in the design was incredible - we weren't inside a temporary maze in a theme park – we were inside a real prison! The walls were solid, the metal bars were solid, the props all looked real. Even the escape route between cells looked like they had been carved away by the prisoners with a blunt instrument!. For something that is only going to be operated for a few weeks each year, the level of detail in the theming and design is simply stunning. When we finally got out of the attraction we were breathless, shaky and totally exhilarated. Looking back on that rating though - we think they got it wrong, Ash Hell Penitentiary was so incredible that we would give it 15 out of 10!
The Hunted. Hooded mazes are potentially an easy attraction to create, Apart from ensuring there is a rope to follow, there is no real construction required. In fact for all intents and purposes, the actors could be stood around in jeans and t'shirt. We would like to think differently of The Hunted and hope that the cast were all dressed as some rich hunting weirdos as they taunted us from beginning to end. Throughout the maze we were pushed, grabbed and teased with mercilessly – the actors sometimes playing with our hoods as well. Compared to random noises and scares found in other dark mazes, The Hunted continued the story line all the way through until our masks were removed for the last quarter of the maze. By this point it was time to see the wild creatures we were being fed to and the finale had us escaping a small maze section with impressive werewolves appearing form all sides. The mix of hooded and non hooded worked really well and made for a really exciting maze throughout.
Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa was new for 2014 and remains one of the longest scare attractions across the UK. As with Ash-Hell Penitentiary, this attraction is based in a purpose built facility which means the level of detail in the room designs, is some of the best around. The number of rooms seems endless, and as we passed from scene to scene we were again amazed at the different aspects that had gone into building this attraction. Each room is packed to the rafters with furniture and theming and the route through can be very narrow at times, meaning guests can get very close with the sets and the actors roaming them. Of course with such a large set we found there were a few rooms that seemed to be lacking in scares, but this is understandable due to the size. Certainly by the time we had passed upstairs into the attic the attraction seemed to rely more on effects (a very long array of Claustrophobia tunnels for example). Our only other niggle with our visit through was that the groups were being batched very quickly which kept the queues to a minimum but did mean we backed up a bit once inside (especially as the group in front of us had never seen a Claustrophobia tunnel before so after a few minutes arguing about what to do, decided to to crawl underneath it! These slight niggles aside - Stilton Hall is an impressive attraction that we thoroughly enjoyed.
When it first opened, The Pie Factory was an impressively themed attraction that played on the heritage of the parks location (Melton Mowbray – famed for Pork Pies). Since then – the tour of the factory has been extended to include other buildings such as the homes of the pigs and some of the factory workers. The first half of the tour felt slightly underpopulated, and we started to wonder what had happened to the attraction that we had originally loved so much. Fortunately an encounter with a terrifying 5 foot high wild boar puppet kicked the attraction into high gear and from there on in, we were chased, separated and terrorised by all manner of crazy characters, all trying to make mincemeat out of us! The final half of the maze really made up for the slower start and we ended up desperate to escape the onslaught of an all too noisy power tool!
The Dungeon has been a mainstay at the park since they first opened and has vastly improved over the years, Utilising a children's maze, the venue was completely disorientating, as the building was filled with smoke, and rooms and scenes alternated between periods of pitch darkness and areas floodlit with crazy strobe lighting. The maze was populated by a family of crazy vampire type ladies who really knew how to work the space and get multiple scares. Especially at times when we felt either trapped or vulnerable as we tried to squeeze through or under some fairly impassable barriers. From beginning to end the creatures terrorised us and with the maze element of the attraction - we genuinely got lost a few times thinking we were stuck there never to escape . For a simple maze that didn't require much build we were surprised at how many scares we had
Our final maze of the night was Curtains Chaos and we nearly dodged it as we had to dash off somewhere else. We have made it clear before that we aren't great fans of clown mazes and we have seen the whole red and white multi room maze style attraction a few too many times for it to really maintain our interest. Fortunately the queue was short so we stayed later than planned just so we could experience it. And we are so glad we did!. From beginning to end, this maze had us jumping with fright and laughter as the clowns seemed to keep coming from nowhere. We loved the attacks from above and the leg grabs from below as well as the genuinely evil but mischievous way the clowns taunted us throughout. Its not the scariest maze at the park by any stretch but it was genuinely great fun and we are so glad we didn't miss it!
So there we have it - all 6 mazes visited on a whistle stop tour of the park. We cant believe how far the park has come since its first year as the level of theming and attention to detail throughout was some of the best we have seen all Halloween. Add in the amazing cast in all the attractions and unique and different elements throughout, then Xtreme scream Park is one that you MUST visit - just don't tell the prison governor that ScareTOUR sent you - they may not let you out!
Review 2
This year, Twinlakes Park in Melton Mowbray adds 2 new attractions to their Halloween line up, bringing 6 attractions in total to their Xtreme Fright Nights event. The Hunted, (rated 10/10 on the scare rating) and Ash Hell Penitentiary (which stands at a terrifying 11/10 scare rating) are great additions to their already impressive line-up of quality mazes. Upon arriving we were greeted with some roaming actors who did a great job of scaring guests as they entered the event. They interacted well with guests, even preying on unsuspecting victims as they exited the toilets which caught them off guard and generated many screams.
First up we visited Curtains Chaos, a clown maze which features multiple routes and was easy to get lost in due to every room looking almost identical so our group had no idea where we had been or where we supposed to go. It felt like one of the biggest clown mazes we had ever been through, and along the way we met other guests who were also lost searching for the exit as well as a few mischievous clowns. We really enjoyed this attraction, due to the fact that it felt like a never-ending maze of small rooms that we had to navigate our way through. There were a few good jump scares however we found this more fun than scary, but if you have a phobia of clowns then this maze will be extremely frightening!
We then made our way to Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa to check in for our “beauty treatments”. This is a very long and very big attraction spread over 2 floors, the scenes inside were detailed and impressive to look at. We loved the fact that the sets were created so that guests literally had to squeeze past furniture and walls to progress through, giving it an “up close and personal” feel as well as giving the actors a chance to get very close to the guests. We really enjoyed this maze, the only slight niggle that we had with it was that we would have liked to have seen a few more actors, however even when there were no actors in the room the atmosphere was still intense due to the claustrophobic nature of the rooms.
After exiting Stilton Hall, we attracted the attention of a roaming actor who insisted we visit The Pie Factory next, stating that they were in need of some “fresh meat”. We must mention the first actor here was amazing, she interacted with the whole group making us feel uncomfortable as well as providing a few laughs too. We loved this introduction and she was well remembered at the end of the night. There were a lot of jump scares in this maze, and the atmosphere was great as we wandered past a live pig and then into the pie factory. As we went on it got more and more intense as it was evident that we were to be the next ingredients in their famous pies.
We went on to the Dungeon next, with one of the lower scare ratings at 8/10 we thought that this would be mild compared to the other mazes, however we were wrong! Throughout,there are lots of use of dark sections, fog, and strobes. It was really disorientating and our group literally had to feel our way around a lot of the maze. We got some great scares from actors lurking in the darkness waiting to pounce on our unsuspecting group.
The Hunted was different to their other mazes as this one relies on your senses to get you through. We do not want to give anything away about this maze, however be prepared to get grabbed and to rely on completing the maze without one of your senses. There were sections where we felt more actors could have been but we still enjoyed the anticipation of what would happen next.
Our last maze of the evening was Ash Hell Penitentiary, and we definitely saved the best until last! This was by far our favourite of the evening and definitely deserved its 11/10 scare rating. This is an intense attraction from start to finish, with lively actors throughout. It is also really long and when you are in there you really do get engrossed by the attention to detail. At times we forgot that we were in a scare attraction and felt like we were in an actual prison crawling through holes in the walls and creeping around prison cells. The actors are very hands on, at one point one of our group was on one leg with an actor pulling the other leg in an attempt to eat it, while another victim was locked in a prison cell with a cannibalistic prisoner. We loved this maze and it was by far the scariest and most intense one of the evening.
Overall we really enjoyed the mazes at Xtreme Scream Park, the attention to detail and the sets were really impressive and some of the best we have seen. The mazes themselves are all great lengths and often we were wondering when they would end as they seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning back and forth. The scares used varied too from electronic sensor scares, moving floor platforms, to being grabbed and separated by the actors. The actors themselves were great and they were very hands-on, however we would have liked to have seen a few more actors, but this is only a very slight criticism as the mazes were still some of the best we have seen. At £17.99 for an early bird ticket to the event is extremely good value with 6 attractions on offer. If you are in the area we would definitely recommend Xtreme Fright Nights!
First up we visited Curtains Chaos, a clown maze which features multiple routes and was easy to get lost in due to every room looking almost identical so our group had no idea where we had been or where we supposed to go. It felt like one of the biggest clown mazes we had ever been through, and along the way we met other guests who were also lost searching for the exit as well as a few mischievous clowns. We really enjoyed this attraction, due to the fact that it felt like a never-ending maze of small rooms that we had to navigate our way through. There were a few good jump scares however we found this more fun than scary, but if you have a phobia of clowns then this maze will be extremely frightening!
We then made our way to Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa to check in for our “beauty treatments”. This is a very long and very big attraction spread over 2 floors, the scenes inside were detailed and impressive to look at. We loved the fact that the sets were created so that guests literally had to squeeze past furniture and walls to progress through, giving it an “up close and personal” feel as well as giving the actors a chance to get very close to the guests. We really enjoyed this maze, the only slight niggle that we had with it was that we would have liked to have seen a few more actors, however even when there were no actors in the room the atmosphere was still intense due to the claustrophobic nature of the rooms.
After exiting Stilton Hall, we attracted the attention of a roaming actor who insisted we visit The Pie Factory next, stating that they were in need of some “fresh meat”. We must mention the first actor here was amazing, she interacted with the whole group making us feel uncomfortable as well as providing a few laughs too. We loved this introduction and she was well remembered at the end of the night. There were a lot of jump scares in this maze, and the atmosphere was great as we wandered past a live pig and then into the pie factory. As we went on it got more and more intense as it was evident that we were to be the next ingredients in their famous pies.
We went on to the Dungeon next, with one of the lower scare ratings at 8/10 we thought that this would be mild compared to the other mazes, however we were wrong! Throughout,there are lots of use of dark sections, fog, and strobes. It was really disorientating and our group literally had to feel our way around a lot of the maze. We got some great scares from actors lurking in the darkness waiting to pounce on our unsuspecting group.
The Hunted was different to their other mazes as this one relies on your senses to get you through. We do not want to give anything away about this maze, however be prepared to get grabbed and to rely on completing the maze without one of your senses. There were sections where we felt more actors could have been but we still enjoyed the anticipation of what would happen next.
Our last maze of the evening was Ash Hell Penitentiary, and we definitely saved the best until last! This was by far our favourite of the evening and definitely deserved its 11/10 scare rating. This is an intense attraction from start to finish, with lively actors throughout. It is also really long and when you are in there you really do get engrossed by the attention to detail. At times we forgot that we were in a scare attraction and felt like we were in an actual prison crawling through holes in the walls and creeping around prison cells. The actors are very hands on, at one point one of our group was on one leg with an actor pulling the other leg in an attempt to eat it, while another victim was locked in a prison cell with a cannibalistic prisoner. We loved this maze and it was by far the scariest and most intense one of the evening.
Overall we really enjoyed the mazes at Xtreme Scream Park, the attention to detail and the sets were really impressive and some of the best we have seen. The mazes themselves are all great lengths and often we were wondering when they would end as they seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning back and forth. The scares used varied too from electronic sensor scares, moving floor platforms, to being grabbed and separated by the actors. The actors themselves were great and they were very hands-on, however we would have liked to have seen a few more actors, but this is only a very slight criticism as the mazes were still some of the best we have seen. At £17.99 for an early bird ticket to the event is extremely good value with 6 attractions on offer. If you are in the area we would definitely recommend Xtreme Fright Nights!
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Have you also visited this or any other attractions recently? - tell us what you thought here
Terrifying - Totally amazing from the air raid sirens and smoke bombs to being attacked from the beginning and ash hell....just wow.being separated from group so many times increased the fear this place gets better every year
Scary - This was not just another theme park attraction thrown together.
There was a lot of time and thought put
Into this as u will see for urself all the hard work the organise has done for ower entertainment u will not be disappointed.
U asked was it value for money
There's only one answer for that and it's YES well done to everyone who has put it together and the actors was brilliant well done to one & all gd luck for the future. It was a wicked Thursday night at melton Mowbrays twin lakes theme park. Scarefest 2015.
.thanks everyone
There was a lot of time and thought put
Into this as u will see for urself all the hard work the organise has done for ower entertainment u will not be disappointed.
U asked was it value for money
There's only one answer for that and it's YES well done to everyone who has put it together and the actors was brilliant well done to one & all gd luck for the future. It was a wicked Thursday night at melton Mowbrays twin lakes theme park. Scarefest 2015.
.thanks everyone
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