Xtreme Scream Park 2018
Over the last couple of years, Xtreme Scream Park have been racking up the 5 star reviews and awards, which all culminated in The Village winning the best Halloween attraction in the SCAR awards (with Hoodoo Voodoo coming a very close second!) With such a grand reputation for excellence, and no new mazes for 2018, would this year be a let down in comparison? We excitedly headed to Melton Mowbray to find out.
The first maze we experienced was Curtain Chaos - The Final Curtain, which over recent years has always been the runt of the litter. Compared to the detailed theming in the other attractions, Curtain Chaos has been re-using the same concept since it opened with the event seven years ago, and had started to look tired because of that. We thought we would do it first to "get it out the way" but had a really impressive run through. The maze may be leaving this year, but the enthusiasm and passion from the actors inside really lifted the whole experience and left us laughing and screaming throughout. We have no idea what the maze will be replaced with next year, but it was great to see it go out with a bang and not a whimper!
The second oldest maze at the park is the Pie Factory, which has been extended a lot over the years. We have always had a soft spot for this maze and we were welcomed very warmly by the host, who personalised our experience with a great sense of humour. What then followed was a long walk through the pig paddock and into the meat processing plant, with some very aggressive scares from the talented team. We felt that there were a few places that were a bit light of actors, but when they were present - they were certainly going all out to scare us.
Whilst at the back of the park we decided to check out our favourite from last year - The Village. Supposedly the attraction has been slightly shortened, but it wasn't noticeable to us as we ventured through building after building. Again all the actors were on fine form throughout, culminating in the terrific church scene which is still like nothing we have seen in a scare attraction before. What was obvious to us, was the addition of a number of very impressive animatronics throughout the experience. Now we aren't great fans of animatronics but these were some of the fastest and violent we have seen and genuinely startled us whenever they appeared. We also liked that these effects just complemented the acting talent as opposed to replacing them, giving a great variety to the scares we experienced.
Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa has remained mostly unchanged from previous versions, which in itself is no bad thing, but we did suffer the same problem that generally seems to happen in this maze - our group caught up with the people in front and then got caught up by the people behind. Unfortunately the poor actors really struggle to provide good scares when this happens, as we can see them scare the people in front and reset for the next time. It's really not the actors fault, and with a shortish queueline on the night we visited, this could be easily remedied by the park by slowing the batching times. The fact that this happens to us every year, just lesssens the impact of what is an incredibly themed experience. One final thing - we must just shout out about the gimp room up in the attic and the drag queen inside - totally hilarious and unexpected!
There is something about Ash Hell Penitentiary that makes us nervous even when just stood outside. Whether its the appearance of the building on the armed guard on the turret, the whole thing really is imposing and frightening (and that's before stepping inside!) Once incarcerated, Ash Hell remains one of the most elaborately themed scare attractions in the UK. Everything in this attraction looks real - from the hollowed out crawl spaces between cells to the industrial theming throughout - this could easily be set inside a real prison building. That, with the impressive actors and crazy special effects, creates a terrifyingly long journey that never seems to end. The lighting doesn't help - with such seemingly long pauses of complete darkness - we sometimes had to just stop until the lights came back on! It's a good job that this is such a big permanent installation, as we cant ever imagine a visit to Xtreme Scream Park without at least one terrifying trip through the prison!
It wasn't deliberate - it was just the way we walked round the park, but we left Hoodoo Voodoo to the end - but we are so glad we did. We loved this maze in 2017, but with new scenes and effects it was ever better this year. Everything about this attraction oozes class and the attention to detail throughout is impressive. From the accents of the actors, the sounds, the "non hooded" sections, the new outdoor garden - we cant find a single thing to fault this maze. It also seemed that the actors were having a lot of fun with us, as at one point we were separated in our group and sent off in different directions, just clinging to the rope with no conga line to follow! It's very rare that we directly compare one maze to anther - but the night before we had experienced Vulcan Peak at Thorpe Park - which is also a hooded, voodoo themed maze. Well what can we say - the difference between the two is staggering and Xtreme Scream Park have now set the standard that all hooded mazes need to follow. Absolutely stunning and easily our favourite of the night!
So, all in - apart from a bit of batching in Stilton Hall - we had an incredible time at Xtreme Scream Park again this year. It's clear to say that these guys know what they are doing when it comes to creating long, immersive and scary attractions and the park is a must visit for any scare attraction fan. If you have never been - then go and buy a ticket now!
The first maze we experienced was Curtain Chaos - The Final Curtain, which over recent years has always been the runt of the litter. Compared to the detailed theming in the other attractions, Curtain Chaos has been re-using the same concept since it opened with the event seven years ago, and had started to look tired because of that. We thought we would do it first to "get it out the way" but had a really impressive run through. The maze may be leaving this year, but the enthusiasm and passion from the actors inside really lifted the whole experience and left us laughing and screaming throughout. We have no idea what the maze will be replaced with next year, but it was great to see it go out with a bang and not a whimper!
The second oldest maze at the park is the Pie Factory, which has been extended a lot over the years. We have always had a soft spot for this maze and we were welcomed very warmly by the host, who personalised our experience with a great sense of humour. What then followed was a long walk through the pig paddock and into the meat processing plant, with some very aggressive scares from the talented team. We felt that there were a few places that were a bit light of actors, but when they were present - they were certainly going all out to scare us.
Whilst at the back of the park we decided to check out our favourite from last year - The Village. Supposedly the attraction has been slightly shortened, but it wasn't noticeable to us as we ventured through building after building. Again all the actors were on fine form throughout, culminating in the terrific church scene which is still like nothing we have seen in a scare attraction before. What was obvious to us, was the addition of a number of very impressive animatronics throughout the experience. Now we aren't great fans of animatronics but these were some of the fastest and violent we have seen and genuinely startled us whenever they appeared. We also liked that these effects just complemented the acting talent as opposed to replacing them, giving a great variety to the scares we experienced.
Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa has remained mostly unchanged from previous versions, which in itself is no bad thing, but we did suffer the same problem that generally seems to happen in this maze - our group caught up with the people in front and then got caught up by the people behind. Unfortunately the poor actors really struggle to provide good scares when this happens, as we can see them scare the people in front and reset for the next time. It's really not the actors fault, and with a shortish queueline on the night we visited, this could be easily remedied by the park by slowing the batching times. The fact that this happens to us every year, just lesssens the impact of what is an incredibly themed experience. One final thing - we must just shout out about the gimp room up in the attic and the drag queen inside - totally hilarious and unexpected!
There is something about Ash Hell Penitentiary that makes us nervous even when just stood outside. Whether its the appearance of the building on the armed guard on the turret, the whole thing really is imposing and frightening (and that's before stepping inside!) Once incarcerated, Ash Hell remains one of the most elaborately themed scare attractions in the UK. Everything in this attraction looks real - from the hollowed out crawl spaces between cells to the industrial theming throughout - this could easily be set inside a real prison building. That, with the impressive actors and crazy special effects, creates a terrifyingly long journey that never seems to end. The lighting doesn't help - with such seemingly long pauses of complete darkness - we sometimes had to just stop until the lights came back on! It's a good job that this is such a big permanent installation, as we cant ever imagine a visit to Xtreme Scream Park without at least one terrifying trip through the prison!
It wasn't deliberate - it was just the way we walked round the park, but we left Hoodoo Voodoo to the end - but we are so glad we did. We loved this maze in 2017, but with new scenes and effects it was ever better this year. Everything about this attraction oozes class and the attention to detail throughout is impressive. From the accents of the actors, the sounds, the "non hooded" sections, the new outdoor garden - we cant find a single thing to fault this maze. It also seemed that the actors were having a lot of fun with us, as at one point we were separated in our group and sent off in different directions, just clinging to the rope with no conga line to follow! It's very rare that we directly compare one maze to anther - but the night before we had experienced Vulcan Peak at Thorpe Park - which is also a hooded, voodoo themed maze. Well what can we say - the difference between the two is staggering and Xtreme Scream Park have now set the standard that all hooded mazes need to follow. Absolutely stunning and easily our favourite of the night!
So, all in - apart from a bit of batching in Stilton Hall - we had an incredible time at Xtreme Scream Park again this year. It's clear to say that these guys know what they are doing when it comes to creating long, immersive and scary attractions and the park is a must visit for any scare attraction fan. If you have never been - then go and buy a ticket now!
Terrifying
Great value for money. Amazing theming and amazing sets. Great casts and really lengthy mazes. Great attention to detail and fantastic atmosphere.
Great value for money. Amazing theming and amazing sets. Great casts and really lengthy mazes. Great attention to detail and fantastic atmosphere.
The Village - 5*
Voodoo Hoodoo - 4.75*
Stilton Hall Hotel - 4.5*
Ash Hell Penitentiary - 4.5*
The Pie Factory - 3.5*
Curtain Chaos - 1.5*
Merchandise dirt cheep and great value for money. Food is very average and ridiculously expensive. Avoid! Street theatre is good
Verdict - Best in the UK in 2018, 20% increase in intensity from 2017.
The Village best maze in the UK
Voodoo Hoodoo - 4.75*
Stilton Hall Hotel - 4.5*
Ash Hell Penitentiary - 4.5*
The Pie Factory - 3.5*
Curtain Chaos - 1.5*
Merchandise dirt cheep and great value for money. Food is very average and ridiculously expensive. Avoid! Street theatre is good
Verdict - Best in the UK in 2018, 20% increase in intensity from 2017.
The Village best maze in the UK
Mildly scary
A sinister atmosphere instantaneously becomes oppressive waiting at the turnstiles with audio telling you rules about actors allowed to touch you as clowns frantically trying to burst through the bars under dimly lit pathway spotlights. It’s all very intimidating. Once inside two plazas can be slightly confusing with few toilets right at the start (a fair walk from food so it would be nice in future for there to be two toilet locations) but it was nice to see alternative offerings like fish & chips. A bar and merch stand is a good addition but it would have been so much better if was a properly themed than just last minute car boot sale table tops with boxes of hoodies on the floor. It didn’t feel professional in this respect. Whilst the street team, stilt walking clowns etc with moving eyes are very unique compared to other parks. You can tell Management look at making this aspect of the park different.
The Village 9/10
The Village won Best Scare Maze at this year’s 2018 ScareCon awards and it’s easy to see why. Walking in and out of and an array of excellently themed houses and buildings (the best I’ve ever seen in a scare maze) with world-class animatronic SFX up and down pathways creates a large intimidating apprehensive atmosphere. There’s a noticeable heavy use of black-outs throughout the attraction so it’s a shame the lack of actors (throughout the scream park) didn’t use this opportunity to catch people off guard more moving into dark space once a standard scare has been completed. Groups collected during my visit creating conga lines so scares can be lost if you’re at the start or end (one minor jump scare without screaming for me from a crow running up the corridor - the actor used his physicality starting low then exploding tall to create an impact really well - you could tell he’s worked in a scare attraction before). The grand finale Chapel scene is brilliant having to meander past mannequins again and again not knowing what is real and what isn’t... I’m glad I lead the group front but as people were hurrying though behind me I was disappointed to find out I had missed the full effect with an actor on the ceiling (who incidentally earlier in the night walked through the food zone in full costume/rigging equipment out of character - not very professional). Overall The Village has mastered attention to detail and impact scares, I just hope the final piece in the jigsaw - character is introduced next year with more actors telling you the story about the hessian people as it is hard to fathom and can be used to build so much more tension.
The Pie Factory 7.5/10
I had a really good run through of The Pie Factory this year, more than likely due to good batching as the door host didn’t mind making people wait in the cattle pen queue so our group really didn’t run into any others. It’s a solid underdog maze using effective trap doors built into props and slide drop doors in walls to appear from nowhere (fridge doors etc) with a nice route like The Village running between shanty outback buildings, caravans and across yard pathways. The hillbilly theme is easy to understand through excellent theming (a standard for Xtreme Scream Park) and pig smell pods create a gruesome overbearing atmosphere. My only gripe would be the fact kitchens and living room setups are replicated throughout the park (here, The Village and Stilton Hall) so in this respect atmospheres can become a little repetitive blurring into other mazes. No scares for me as I stopped at the chainsaw guy and he just walked off but throughout the attraction I was a little t ense from animalistic acting.
Stilton Hall Hotel & Health Spa 6.5/10
Quite possibly the longest scare maze throughout the UK lasting upwards of 20mins in purportedly 50 rooms over 2 floors, Stilton Hall Hotel & Health Spa is a quirky, funny maze with some unique scenes including an older actor saying “I’m the hotel pervert” - which got us creasing with laughter, ‘that’ dodgy bedroom upstairs and pushing through a mattress. But dare I say is too big for its own good? The maze consistently suffers from conga lines so actors cannot hide but are just stood around in front of you. It got so bad that some actors weren’t versatile enough to improvise and stopped acting altogether! One female actress broke character saying “move along please” - terrible. From the initial “elevator” pre-show I was gearing up to a scare so it was such a shame when nothing really happened - how good would it have been when the lights went out that from under your seat hands grabbed at your legs? The story is relatively easy to understand however due to horrendous batching (the worst I’ve ever experienced at a scare event) I simply didn’t get the full scary experience it alludes to with no scares.
Hoodoo Voodoo 6.5/10
Hoodoo Voodoo was my first ‘bag maze’ so I was really looking forward to seeing if the unique sensation was any different to a run through standard mazes, however, dare I say it feels a bit of a fad only that is only scary if you are affected by the psychology of scare mazes? The maze is split into two sections. 5-8 mins walking around with a bag on your head which with little theming was probably very cheap to make. It felt like we were walking around the same room in circles for too long with nothing really happening apart from a few predictable hands-on harms, legs, talking and air against your ear to the extent breathing was difficult. So it’s interesting to gain feedback from our group that the second section again lasting between 5-8mins when the bag is taken off was so much better. Particular highlights from me include actors jumping up from layers of smoke (although from certain angles you can see them reset for other scares which is a shame), an actor disguised as a voodoo doll and the outdoor crypt statues. Once again there were no scares for me, I felt actors could have played around more with animalistic noises, textures and sensations against my skin (perhaps use false spiders, snakes and critter bug props next year?) to heighten my senses when I knew whispers and human touches were coming.
Ash Hell Penitentiary 6/10
I was really really disappointed with Ash Hell to the extent I was left wondering what all the hype across social media is all about? Perhaps it simply came down to Xtreme Scream Park’s biggest bug bare - horrendous batching causing too many conga lines but above and beyond this quite simply it’s too repetitive and long with the same scenes multiplied again and again attempting to build tension with no big finale. There really weren’t enough actors so those inside had to double up running between rooms to make up for it mistiming the heavy use of blackouts/strobes. As a result I had no scares and spotted actors before they spotted me then they were in and out in a flash. It got so bad at times I took it upon myself to jump scare the group better than them! One positive I have to say for Ash Hell however is the vibration floor, animatronic convicts going mental and having to crawl - all of these individual non-actor elements were great. Get the acting sorted for next yea r please.
The Final Curtain 4/10
It’s no surprise The Final Curtain has left Xtreme Scream Park as it’s easily the weakest maze so interesting that the same clowns who aggressively greet you at the start of the night are all of a sudden calm uninspired by same old boringly predictable repetitive square flap curtains and didn’t scare? Perhaps they hadn’t the stamina or versatility to scare and ‘burnt themselves out’ earlier in the night? There’s nothing more to say about it really because that’s all it was, lacklustre, a maze on its last legs dying. Harsh but true.
Verdict 7/10
Stand out mazes are without a doubt The Village and The Pie Factory so much so I’d potentially go back just for these two as they are holding the entire event up with other mazes not consistent enough. I.m.o
Xtreme Scream Park has grown in quantity rather than quality. They’d be best going down to 5 mazes (not replacing The Final Curtain) and spend more of the budget on actors that have been trained in delivering aggressive impact scares whilst staying in character. At the moment it feels like they have around 50-70 when this needs almost doubling focusing on random members of a group than just the front person with quicker resets to dark spaces for the next more spaced out batch of guests. The parks biggest USP: touching becomes pathetic and pointless with no sinister intent - if you’re going to do this make it out like you really want to kill me with a quick alternative movement not weirdly caress me.
A sinister atmosphere instantaneously becomes oppressive waiting at the turnstiles with audio telling you rules about actors allowed to touch you as clowns frantically trying to burst through the bars under dimly lit pathway spotlights. It’s all very intimidating. Once inside two plazas can be slightly confusing with few toilets right at the start (a fair walk from food so it would be nice in future for there to be two toilet locations) but it was nice to see alternative offerings like fish & chips. A bar and merch stand is a good addition but it would have been so much better if was a properly themed than just last minute car boot sale table tops with boxes of hoodies on the floor. It didn’t feel professional in this respect. Whilst the street team, stilt walking clowns etc with moving eyes are very unique compared to other parks. You can tell Management look at making this aspect of the park different.
The Village 9/10
The Village won Best Scare Maze at this year’s 2018 ScareCon awards and it’s easy to see why. Walking in and out of and an array of excellently themed houses and buildings (the best I’ve ever seen in a scare maze) with world-class animatronic SFX up and down pathways creates a large intimidating apprehensive atmosphere. There’s a noticeable heavy use of black-outs throughout the attraction so it’s a shame the lack of actors (throughout the scream park) didn’t use this opportunity to catch people off guard more moving into dark space once a standard scare has been completed. Groups collected during my visit creating conga lines so scares can be lost if you’re at the start or end (one minor jump scare without screaming for me from a crow running up the corridor - the actor used his physicality starting low then exploding tall to create an impact really well - you could tell he’s worked in a scare attraction before). The grand finale Chapel scene is brilliant having to meander past mannequins again and again not knowing what is real and what isn’t... I’m glad I lead the group front but as people were hurrying though behind me I was disappointed to find out I had missed the full effect with an actor on the ceiling (who incidentally earlier in the night walked through the food zone in full costume/rigging equipment out of character - not very professional). Overall The Village has mastered attention to detail and impact scares, I just hope the final piece in the jigsaw - character is introduced next year with more actors telling you the story about the hessian people as it is hard to fathom and can be used to build so much more tension.
The Pie Factory 7.5/10
I had a really good run through of The Pie Factory this year, more than likely due to good batching as the door host didn’t mind making people wait in the cattle pen queue so our group really didn’t run into any others. It’s a solid underdog maze using effective trap doors built into props and slide drop doors in walls to appear from nowhere (fridge doors etc) with a nice route like The Village running between shanty outback buildings, caravans and across yard pathways. The hillbilly theme is easy to understand through excellent theming (a standard for Xtreme Scream Park) and pig smell pods create a gruesome overbearing atmosphere. My only gripe would be the fact kitchens and living room setups are replicated throughout the park (here, The Village and Stilton Hall) so in this respect atmospheres can become a little repetitive blurring into other mazes. No scares for me as I stopped at the chainsaw guy and he just walked off but throughout the attraction I was a little t ense from animalistic acting.
Stilton Hall Hotel & Health Spa 6.5/10
Quite possibly the longest scare maze throughout the UK lasting upwards of 20mins in purportedly 50 rooms over 2 floors, Stilton Hall Hotel & Health Spa is a quirky, funny maze with some unique scenes including an older actor saying “I’m the hotel pervert” - which got us creasing with laughter, ‘that’ dodgy bedroom upstairs and pushing through a mattress. But dare I say is too big for its own good? The maze consistently suffers from conga lines so actors cannot hide but are just stood around in front of you. It got so bad that some actors weren’t versatile enough to improvise and stopped acting altogether! One female actress broke character saying “move along please” - terrible. From the initial “elevator” pre-show I was gearing up to a scare so it was such a shame when nothing really happened - how good would it have been when the lights went out that from under your seat hands grabbed at your legs? The story is relatively easy to understand however due to horrendous batching (the worst I’ve ever experienced at a scare event) I simply didn’t get the full scary experience it alludes to with no scares.
Hoodoo Voodoo 6.5/10
Hoodoo Voodoo was my first ‘bag maze’ so I was really looking forward to seeing if the unique sensation was any different to a run through standard mazes, however, dare I say it feels a bit of a fad only that is only scary if you are affected by the psychology of scare mazes? The maze is split into two sections. 5-8 mins walking around with a bag on your head which with little theming was probably very cheap to make. It felt like we were walking around the same room in circles for too long with nothing really happening apart from a few predictable hands-on harms, legs, talking and air against your ear to the extent breathing was difficult. So it’s interesting to gain feedback from our group that the second section again lasting between 5-8mins when the bag is taken off was so much better. Particular highlights from me include actors jumping up from layers of smoke (although from certain angles you can see them reset for other scares which is a shame), an actor disguised as a voodoo doll and the outdoor crypt statues. Once again there were no scares for me, I felt actors could have played around more with animalistic noises, textures and sensations against my skin (perhaps use false spiders, snakes and critter bug props next year?) to heighten my senses when I knew whispers and human touches were coming.
Ash Hell Penitentiary 6/10
I was really really disappointed with Ash Hell to the extent I was left wondering what all the hype across social media is all about? Perhaps it simply came down to Xtreme Scream Park’s biggest bug bare - horrendous batching causing too many conga lines but above and beyond this quite simply it’s too repetitive and long with the same scenes multiplied again and again attempting to build tension with no big finale. There really weren’t enough actors so those inside had to double up running between rooms to make up for it mistiming the heavy use of blackouts/strobes. As a result I had no scares and spotted actors before they spotted me then they were in and out in a flash. It got so bad at times I took it upon myself to jump scare the group better than them! One positive I have to say for Ash Hell however is the vibration floor, animatronic convicts going mental and having to crawl - all of these individual non-actor elements were great. Get the acting sorted for next yea r please.
The Final Curtain 4/10
It’s no surprise The Final Curtain has left Xtreme Scream Park as it’s easily the weakest maze so interesting that the same clowns who aggressively greet you at the start of the night are all of a sudden calm uninspired by same old boringly predictable repetitive square flap curtains and didn’t scare? Perhaps they hadn’t the stamina or versatility to scare and ‘burnt themselves out’ earlier in the night? There’s nothing more to say about it really because that’s all it was, lacklustre, a maze on its last legs dying. Harsh but true.
Verdict 7/10
Stand out mazes are without a doubt The Village and The Pie Factory so much so I’d potentially go back just for these two as they are holding the entire event up with other mazes not consistent enough. I.m.o
Xtreme Scream Park has grown in quantity rather than quality. They’d be best going down to 5 mazes (not replacing The Final Curtain) and spend more of the budget on actors that have been trained in delivering aggressive impact scares whilst staying in character. At the moment it feels like they have around 50-70 when this needs almost doubling focusing on random members of a group than just the front person with quicker resets to dark spaces for the next more spaced out batch of guests. The parks biggest USP: touching becomes pathetic and pointless with no sinister intent - if you’re going to do this make it out like you really want to kill me with a quick alternative movement not weirdly caress me.
Xtreme Scream Park 2017
Over recent years, Xtreme Scream Park has been the one to watch. In 2015, they won the award for the best Scream Park due to their incredibly well themed mazes and attractions, coupled with the sheer volume of scares at the event. The line-up remained static for 2016, therefore we were excited when, the park announced two massive new mazes Hoodoo Voodoo and The Village for 2017.
This year has also seen a wider use of the new hub with three of the scare attractions branching off from the centralised performance area. Clearly, over time – more of the mazes will be accessible from this area – meaning the park will have a self-contained Halloween home that can be shut off during the family day event. However, as much fun as the performance stage and the incredible roaming characters are – our main reason for visiting was the six scare mazes.
As soon as we entered the park, we headed straight to Revenge of the Zombie Clowns, a maze that has always given us some fun scares in the past. The show started so well with a very impressive host who sent us on our way – and as we passed through the multiple curtains, we had some jump scares, but nothing truly outstanding. Then all of a sudden it ended and we were back outside. It would seem that the route has been drastically reduced to facilitate the new exit point, which is a real shame. As a stand-alone maze, the Zombie Clowns were fun and quite entertaining but compared to the rest of the mazes, the maze just didn’t compare. Disappointingly – this was our worst maze of the night. Good job we did it first!
Hoodo Voodoo is the brand new maze for 2017, and we had no idea what to expect. The children’s maze - The Dungeon has been completely repurposed into a beautifully themed love letter to the Southern Caribbean. The walls were lined with wood and and palm trees and with the ambient sound effects and lighting – it was hard to believe we were stood inside a warehouse in Melton Mowbray! Of course, everyone knows you should not mess with Voodoo and very soon, the true nature of this maze was revealed as we were led to a rope and hooded. What then followed was a standard hooded section that was enlivened by the incredible cast of actors and the sounds they were making around us. The section was long, dark and completely immersive, therefore it was quite a shock to suddenly feel the hood being tugged from our heads and realising we still had a massive portion of maze left to go. What then followed was more beautiful theming, some amazing scares and probably the best use of voodoo dolls we have ever seen! From beginning to end – Hoodoo Voodoo was a great maze, and was executed perfectly. After the disappointment of the clowns, we were starting to get our hopes up about the rest of the event – would the other mazes be as good?
Our next maze was Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa – which has always had a reputation for its intricate theming and beautiful design. Fortunately, it was also home to many many excitable actors that were dedicated to scaring the crap out of us! Scares came thick and fast throughout the very long two-storey maze. It was probably the best run through we have ever had – which was made even better by the “bellboy” recognising us and giving us some very special treatment!
The next returning maze is the extended Pie Factory, which includes the outdoor pig paddock section. This was the first maze the park created when they started hosting Xtreme Scream Park, and the whole thing still packs a might punchy. The actors were as ever, wild and almost out of control and terrorised us from beginning to end. In any other park, this would have been the stand out attraction but we had already experienced two other stand out attractions. So far, we were three for four on stand out attractions. Surely, this high ranking could not continue through the final two attractions. Well how wrong we were!
Ash Hell Penitentiary has been one of our favourite scare attractions since it debuted 2 years ago and there was NOTHING on our visit that would contradict that. Beautifully themed, the attraction just seems to go on and on and the actors were some of the most aggressive of the whole event. The scares throughout this maze just never let up and the whole team had some real moments of panic throughout. We must apologise to the one inmate who two of the team grabbed and held onto in the dark thinking he was one of us – his face when the lights came back on were a picture as he had two people hanging on to him! If you haven’t experience AshHell penitentiary then its worth the price of entry to the scream park just to do this one maze. Genuinely – If you visit only one scare attraction this year, make it Ash Hell!
Finally – the new maze for 2017 is the massive The Village – a 20-minute extravaganza of scares, detailed theming, incredible scarecrow costumes and a killer ending that blew us away. The experience takes place in a winding woodland walk with multiple buildings throughout. From houses and garages through to schools and laboratories, the sheer number of different environments that we passed through was incredible and the scares were relentless. All of this would have been sufficient, until the path lead us to a large church like building for the final few scenes. At this point, the story has built up throughout the whole maze and literally all hell broke loose. There were some things in there that we have not seen before and there was one “what the hell just happened” scene that we would have loved to stand and watch again as it happened so quickly and we were too busy cowering!
So there we have it – a scream park where 5 out of the 6 attractions were outstanding. It seems churlish to moan about the zombie clowns when the other attractions are so good and we hope that this is just an oversight for this year. Clearly, a LOT of money has been spent to create such an amazing event, and the park deserve all the success they can get. As we have said already, you really need to visit this for yourself – in fact, we will be bold enough to say that if Xtreme Scream Park isn’t on your itinerary this Halloween then you really are a fool!
This year has also seen a wider use of the new hub with three of the scare attractions branching off from the centralised performance area. Clearly, over time – more of the mazes will be accessible from this area – meaning the park will have a self-contained Halloween home that can be shut off during the family day event. However, as much fun as the performance stage and the incredible roaming characters are – our main reason for visiting was the six scare mazes.
As soon as we entered the park, we headed straight to Revenge of the Zombie Clowns, a maze that has always given us some fun scares in the past. The show started so well with a very impressive host who sent us on our way – and as we passed through the multiple curtains, we had some jump scares, but nothing truly outstanding. Then all of a sudden it ended and we were back outside. It would seem that the route has been drastically reduced to facilitate the new exit point, which is a real shame. As a stand-alone maze, the Zombie Clowns were fun and quite entertaining but compared to the rest of the mazes, the maze just didn’t compare. Disappointingly – this was our worst maze of the night. Good job we did it first!
Hoodo Voodoo is the brand new maze for 2017, and we had no idea what to expect. The children’s maze - The Dungeon has been completely repurposed into a beautifully themed love letter to the Southern Caribbean. The walls were lined with wood and and palm trees and with the ambient sound effects and lighting – it was hard to believe we were stood inside a warehouse in Melton Mowbray! Of course, everyone knows you should not mess with Voodoo and very soon, the true nature of this maze was revealed as we were led to a rope and hooded. What then followed was a standard hooded section that was enlivened by the incredible cast of actors and the sounds they were making around us. The section was long, dark and completely immersive, therefore it was quite a shock to suddenly feel the hood being tugged from our heads and realising we still had a massive portion of maze left to go. What then followed was more beautiful theming, some amazing scares and probably the best use of voodoo dolls we have ever seen! From beginning to end – Hoodoo Voodoo was a great maze, and was executed perfectly. After the disappointment of the clowns, we were starting to get our hopes up about the rest of the event – would the other mazes be as good?
Our next maze was Stilton Hall Hotel and Hell Spa – which has always had a reputation for its intricate theming and beautiful design. Fortunately, it was also home to many many excitable actors that were dedicated to scaring the crap out of us! Scares came thick and fast throughout the very long two-storey maze. It was probably the best run through we have ever had – which was made even better by the “bellboy” recognising us and giving us some very special treatment!
The next returning maze is the extended Pie Factory, which includes the outdoor pig paddock section. This was the first maze the park created when they started hosting Xtreme Scream Park, and the whole thing still packs a might punchy. The actors were as ever, wild and almost out of control and terrorised us from beginning to end. In any other park, this would have been the stand out attraction but we had already experienced two other stand out attractions. So far, we were three for four on stand out attractions. Surely, this high ranking could not continue through the final two attractions. Well how wrong we were!
Ash Hell Penitentiary has been one of our favourite scare attractions since it debuted 2 years ago and there was NOTHING on our visit that would contradict that. Beautifully themed, the attraction just seems to go on and on and the actors were some of the most aggressive of the whole event. The scares throughout this maze just never let up and the whole team had some real moments of panic throughout. We must apologise to the one inmate who two of the team grabbed and held onto in the dark thinking he was one of us – his face when the lights came back on were a picture as he had two people hanging on to him! If you haven’t experience AshHell penitentiary then its worth the price of entry to the scream park just to do this one maze. Genuinely – If you visit only one scare attraction this year, make it Ash Hell!
Finally – the new maze for 2017 is the massive The Village – a 20-minute extravaganza of scares, detailed theming, incredible scarecrow costumes and a killer ending that blew us away. The experience takes place in a winding woodland walk with multiple buildings throughout. From houses and garages through to schools and laboratories, the sheer number of different environments that we passed through was incredible and the scares were relentless. All of this would have been sufficient, until the path lead us to a large church like building for the final few scenes. At this point, the story has built up throughout the whole maze and literally all hell broke loose. There were some things in there that we have not seen before and there was one “what the hell just happened” scene that we would have loved to stand and watch again as it happened so quickly and we were too busy cowering!
So there we have it – a scream park where 5 out of the 6 attractions were outstanding. It seems churlish to moan about the zombie clowns when the other attractions are so good and we hope that this is just an oversight for this year. Clearly, a LOT of money has been spent to create such an amazing event, and the park deserve all the success they can get. As we have said already, you really need to visit this for yourself – in fact, we will be bold enough to say that if Xtreme Scream Park isn’t on your itinerary this Halloween then you really are a fool!
Terrifying
I loved the night - I have never been so scared if I am honest and the actors were fantastic. I will be attending again next year
I loved the night - I have never been so scared if I am honest and the actors were fantastic. I will be attending again next year
Very scary
Absolutely brilliant I run a trip to this for the last five years there was 18 of us this year it just grows and grows every year we run it it's amazing I always bring new people to this however this year and last year the feedback on the clown maze was shocking they need to get rid of this maze all together it really lets it down but everything else was amazing
Absolutely brilliant I run a trip to this for the last five years there was 18 of us this year it just grows and grows every year we run it it's amazing I always bring new people to this however this year and last year the feedback on the clown maze was shocking they need to get rid of this maze all together it really lets it down but everything else was amazing
Xtreme Scream Park 2016
Here at ScareTOUR we are never ones to take a short cut. We go up and down the country seeking out scare attractions and we make a point of visiting as many as we can. Last year, after a few years of operation, we re-visited Xtreme Scream Park and were so impressed that it was awarded Best Scream Park at this years ScareCON SCAR awards.
This year the line up remains unchanged, but when it was as good as last year, that really doesn't matter. But it's not just about the 6 mazes, and this year the park have created a new festival/stage area with live entertainment. This will essentially be the new central hub for future years with the Xtreme event eventually becoming a self enclosed area for Halloween. It's a great addition and was nice to just chill between the mazes.
So, we said we don't take short cuts - but having re-read last year's reviews we realised that everything we said then stands now. So here are our reviews from last year. The mazes remain predominantly unchanged and so does our opinion of them. In fact - if anything the mazes are better this year as the actors seemed even crazier than before!
Ash Hell Penitentiary was 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 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.
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!
Belvoir 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 vampires 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 Twisted 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 scary fun!
So there we have it - all 6 mazes are back for 2016 and we are still impressed with the level of theming and attention to detail throughout. 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!
This year the line up remains unchanged, but when it was as good as last year, that really doesn't matter. But it's not just about the 6 mazes, and this year the park have created a new festival/stage area with live entertainment. This will essentially be the new central hub for future years with the Xtreme event eventually becoming a self enclosed area for Halloween. It's a great addition and was nice to just chill between the mazes.
So, we said we don't take short cuts - but having re-read last year's reviews we realised that everything we said then stands now. So here are our reviews from last year. The mazes remain predominantly unchanged and so does our opinion of them. In fact - if anything the mazes are better this year as the actors seemed even crazier than before!
Ash Hell Penitentiary was 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 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.
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!
Belvoir 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 vampires 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 Twisted 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 scary fun!
So there we have it - all 6 mazes are back for 2016 and we are still impressed with the level of theming and attention to detail throughout. 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!
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Terrifying - For under £20, Xtreme Scream park was without a doubt the best scream ever created in the UK. The general atmosphere across the areas were immersive and chilling. The roaming actors were sensational and quite frankly brilliant. The smell of a combined fire and smoke effects filled the park, giving it such an emmersive feel.
The dungeon was my first maze of the evening, and it consisted of dark confined spaces, crazy strobe lights and actors who really knew what they were doing. The maze was put into a very small area, and the walls were very thin creating an extremely claustrophobic feel. This was an extremely underrated maze and definitely not the weakest one despite being advertised as it. 7/10 from me
Twisted was standard curtain clowns maze that built tension very well, and the actors used a mixture of loud noises, attacks from above and simple (but effective) hiding round corners. The maze, just like dungeon didn't include any themeing, just big curtains and the odd small set, however it made up for it with an enjoyable and yet terrifying aspect. 7/10 again from me.
The hunted was a maze I had high expectations for, however somewhat didn't live up to it. I absolutely the loved the start with the queue line and the maze host, and I also liked the system they used to get the hoods on your head. However I felt like the maze was so lengthy, and had a severe lack of actors. The main scare was desperately trying to follow the rope around and feeling your way through. I loved the fact that they changed the flooring at times, and also the rope changed to things such as fur. However the maze lacked actors, which meant it lacked scares. The finale however was very well done and was enjoyable.
6/10 from me
The Pie Factory really started to up the game in terms of the maze quality, and was the first maze of the night that took theming to a different level. The acting quality was brilliant, and the theming was sensational throughout. The maze again however seemed to lack actors, and I rarely had a jumpy moment, however I can see that the maze has potential to be very strong when it does include a good amount of actors.
8/10 from me
Stilton Hall a hotel and Hell Spa was one hell of an experience. This was the most fun I've ever had in a maze, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Right from the start when we were shoved into a sauna room and locked in, I was straddled and licked by an actor and gave me a good idea for what to expect. The attention to detail throughout the attraction was something very very special, I did not find a room that didn't lack in themeing. The maze itself seemed to go on, and on, and on. And I was grabbed by the leg, had my hair pulled and pinned up against a wall. I came out this maze absolute overwhelmed and it would take me a whole separate page to review this in detail. It gets a 9/10 from me.
Now after coming out of the Hell Spa, I wondered if anything could possibly top that, and my question was soon answered with a big big yes! Ash Hell is the most immersive and intense maze experience in the UK, surely? Right from the off I was tormented, grabbed, bullied and jumped out of my skin. The themeing in this maze was yet again, on a different level, and the acting quality was also absolutely brilliant. I came out the maze shaking and lost for words, and it's an experience that will last with me forever, and one that you will struggle to top in the UK, and possibly Europe. 10/10
Xtreme Scream park has a very bright future on its hands, and I am very excited to see where they can possibly go from here, and what other new attractions they can create. The atmosphere, the feel of the park and of course the attractions all add up to make this an event worse every penny of the ridiculously cheap entry fee!
The dungeon was my first maze of the evening, and it consisted of dark confined spaces, crazy strobe lights and actors who really knew what they were doing. The maze was put into a very small area, and the walls were very thin creating an extremely claustrophobic feel. This was an extremely underrated maze and definitely not the weakest one despite being advertised as it. 7/10 from me
Twisted was standard curtain clowns maze that built tension very well, and the actors used a mixture of loud noises, attacks from above and simple (but effective) hiding round corners. The maze, just like dungeon didn't include any themeing, just big curtains and the odd small set, however it made up for it with an enjoyable and yet terrifying aspect. 7/10 again from me.
The hunted was a maze I had high expectations for, however somewhat didn't live up to it. I absolutely the loved the start with the queue line and the maze host, and I also liked the system they used to get the hoods on your head. However I felt like the maze was so lengthy, and had a severe lack of actors. The main scare was desperately trying to follow the rope around and feeling your way through. I loved the fact that they changed the flooring at times, and also the rope changed to things such as fur. However the maze lacked actors, which meant it lacked scares. The finale however was very well done and was enjoyable.
6/10 from me
The Pie Factory really started to up the game in terms of the maze quality, and was the first maze of the night that took theming to a different level. The acting quality was brilliant, and the theming was sensational throughout. The maze again however seemed to lack actors, and I rarely had a jumpy moment, however I can see that the maze has potential to be very strong when it does include a good amount of actors.
8/10 from me
Stilton Hall a hotel and Hell Spa was one hell of an experience. This was the most fun I've ever had in a maze, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Right from the start when we were shoved into a sauna room and locked in, I was straddled and licked by an actor and gave me a good idea for what to expect. The attention to detail throughout the attraction was something very very special, I did not find a room that didn't lack in themeing. The maze itself seemed to go on, and on, and on. And I was grabbed by the leg, had my hair pulled and pinned up against a wall. I came out this maze absolute overwhelmed and it would take me a whole separate page to review this in detail. It gets a 9/10 from me.
Now after coming out of the Hell Spa, I wondered if anything could possibly top that, and my question was soon answered with a big big yes! Ash Hell is the most immersive and intense maze experience in the UK, surely? Right from the off I was tormented, grabbed, bullied and jumped out of my skin. The themeing in this maze was yet again, on a different level, and the acting quality was also absolutely brilliant. I came out the maze shaking and lost for words, and it's an experience that will last with me forever, and one that you will struggle to top in the UK, and possibly Europe. 10/10
Xtreme Scream park has a very bright future on its hands, and I am very excited to see where they can possibly go from here, and what other new attractions they can create. The atmosphere, the feel of the park and of course the attractions all add up to make this an event worse every penny of the ridiculously cheap entry fee!
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