Xtreme Scream Park
In 2011, Twinlakes had an incredible Halloween event and last year they worked closely with the team behind Tulleys Shocktoberfest to create new mazes and experiences. Some worked more than others, but now the park are back working under their own steam, we went along to see what 2013 would bring:
The Pie Factory
As last year - the Pie Factory is still the stand out attraction at the event, The level of detail and theming throughout are some of the highest in the country and the actors were on top form from the second we entered. Scare follows scare very quickly and some of the issues of last year where it seemed only the front of the group were targeted have been rectified. The layout seemed identical to last year but when a maze is this good - why change it?
Punishment
Punishment returns pretty much unchanged and our issues from 2012 have returned with it. Climbing around a large children's play structure with a hood over your head is not practical at times - even if you have a rope to follow! Actors barked orders and threats at us as we struggled to move around. Having reviewed it in the front of the queue group last time and the back of the queue this time there is is a marked difference in experience. At the front there is the fear of unknown and what is coming, next while at the back you feel vulnerable as you are just being blindly led by the person in front. It's scary in a different way to the theatrics of Pie Factory but still enjoyable (despite some of the obstacles being hard to traverse)
Curtains Chaos
Despite the affect it has on queues, the park have realised that the best impact for a curtains maze is to experience it in small groups. These mazes are just not designed for large groups as you see at parks like Tulleys and therefore in groups of 2 or 3 you actually get the impact of the scares. Of course, clown mazes depend on your feelings about clowns, but these were particularly lively and had us jumping throughout. It also helped that we could hear (but not see) the group ahead of you knowing that the thing making them scream would soon be coming after us!
Farmhouse of Fear
Being an existing structure, there's not a lot that can done with the Farmhouse of Terror but the team have created something that's fun with just the right number of jumps and scares. A lot of this attraction depends on timing and if the actors are in the right place after the group ahead then you could get a great experience. It helps that we entered as a small group which created a quite intimate scare experience. It's probably the tamest at the park - but a great starter event for those not brave enough to enter the Pie Factory!
The Dungeon
The Dungeon is an indoor family maze that disappointed in 2012. This year a new story indicates that a special task force had been sent in to this building and none of them have returned. Our mission, therefore was to discover what had happened to them. Disappointingly this was where the storyline ended. Inside, the lighting was dim and all of the family friendly images on the wall had been covered over. The actors provided some really good jumps, although they had a very large area to cover and sometimes we would walk for a while without any contact. This year the maze has been made narrower in certain places, with mesh roofing placed on top allowing actors to scare from above. As before in some places the maze wall didn't reach down to the ground and we kept expecting attacks to come from here but they never did. The Dungeon is a massive improvement from last year, but still lacked in places.
Like last year, the atmosphere around the whole park is very impressive with several roaming characters, spooky lighting and props all over the pace. The whole park feels complete as a "scream park" and a lot less temporary than many other attractions.
Although still in its infancy, Xtreme Scream Park is maturing well and has a large mix of different scares appealing to all thrill seekers. Of course, the Pie Factory is the most impressive attraction and it would be nice to see the other attractions reach this level of detail. Even so - it's a fun night out and one that is sure to keep improving
Although still in its infancy, Xtreme Scream Park is maturing well and has a large mix of different scares appealing to all thrill seekers. Of course, the Pie Factory is the most impressive attraction and it would be nice to see the other attractions reach this level of detail. Even so - it's a fun night out and one that is sure to keep improving
You Review
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First time I have been to an event like this and was amazed at the lengths the actors went to make make you feel scared uncomfortable and therefore making it somehow more enjoyable.
The Pie Factory is a must ! It felt just like you were in a horror movie at times and certainly had an unsettling experience for most people I spoke to.
Overall a great night and will be certainly going back next year, that's if I can't resist looking to go again over the next few weeks.
The Pie Factory is a must ! It felt just like you were in a horror movie at times and certainly had an unsettling experience for most people I spoke to.
Overall a great night and will be certainly going back next year, that's if I can't resist looking to go again over the next few weeks.
As our first "scream" experience that was pretty amazing ! My fave and the one I hated the most was punishment
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