Thorpe Park: General Discussion

[joelpagett]

Re: Thorpe Park

Just got back from being on park and was having a nosy around looking for some tiny tidbits to go on for Fright Nights! Here are some of the most relevant photos!











Worth also noting

-Experiment 10 is being gutted.
-Noises coming from Time Voyagers 4-D cinema may link in with My Bloody Valentine 3-D?
-The Asylum is currently having work done on it, this maybe something to do with You're Next?
-Work is being carried out along by Nemesis Inferno where the railway used to run. Possibly something to do with Blair Witch Project?!
-The Passing is being completely gutted. This could also be something to do with You're Next or possibly Cabin in the Woods?
- Also note that Neptune's Beach is still open so will not be drained for the space!

You can find the rest of the photos on my Facebook

 

[AstroDan]

Re: Thorpe Park

I am kind of sad E10 is being gutted.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rob]

Re: Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park have released some details of the Cabin in the Woods maze on their website:

For the first time ever in the UK, Halloween fans will be have to decide their own fate in a scare maze

With multiple routes to be taken in your hunt to escape to safety, The Cabin in the Woods will disorientate all those brave enough to face what lurks in the shadows.

Sounds interesting!

They will be releasing details of the other mazes over the next six days. Last night they also had details of what I think was the My Bloody Valentine on their website but these have now been removed. They mentioned something about tunnels (I've never seen the film but apparently it's recreating what was in the film) and it also said that this maze would be based in the arena.

 

[Ian]

Re: Thorpe Park

They mentioned something about tunnels (I've never seen the film but apparently it's recreating what was in the film) and it also said that this maze would be based in the arena.

That would fit the bill.

Spoiler

My Bloody Valentine is set in an abandoned mine where several trapped miners were killed by one of their co-workers, in an attempt to save enough air for him to breath. When they're all found the killer is in a coma, but awakens a year later on Valentines day, and returns to the mine before going on a murderous rampage. That's the basic gist of it anyway

Loving the concept behind Cabin in The Woods. It seems like Thorpe are determined to bring something new to the UK, more in the line of the American Halloween offerings at Universal and Busch.

They've certainly got some fantastic IPs, and the little bits and pieces we're hearing sound very promising. Here's hoping they pull it off successfully

 

[Craig]

Re: Thorpe Park

I am kind of sad E10 is being gutted.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Likewise! Especially considering I didn't get chance to do it

I'm surprised at the amount of work that seems to be going on though. Lots of stuff being chucked out on some mazes it seems, so perhaps it will be quite a bit different than just some IP related stuff slapped on top of existing theming.

 

[PG Ricey]

Re: Thorpe Park

I am kind of sad E10 is being gutted.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Likewise! Especially considering I didn't get chance to do it

I'm surprised at the amount of work that seems to be going on though. Lots of stuff being chucked out on some mazes it seems, so perhaps it will be quite a bit different than just some IP related stuff slapped on top of existing theming.

I don't see why they chuck it all away! They could do so much with all the setups they just chuck out im sure merlin could make several scare mazes with the stuff they've scraped so far... if only they were a little more resourceful.

 

[HaydenCR]

Re: Thorpe Park

Judging by the Fright Nights website. I can infer that:

My Bloody Valentine is to use a redesigned experiment 10. (Crawl spaces and group separation both return)

Blair Witch Project is a scare zone!?!, probably located at the old safari ride/railway.

Saw Alive is unchanged.

Cabin in the woods, is likely to replace The Passing, based on the fact the Asylum is assumed to be related to another project according to ScareTour.

 

[Sam]

Re: Thorpe Park

Went to Thorpe for the first time this year on Sunday.

Really impressed, even though Saw was down all day. The park just feels significantly better than last year, and I can't really put my finger on why. The new queue-time signs, both around the park and at ride entrances, have done wonders. So bright and clear! I really like that.

The clientele also felt different to previous years. I've never seen such a high proportion of families at the park, as well as slightly older young people (students, twentysomethings, rather than kids and teenagers). I didn't see any (I hate to use the term) 'chavs', and the park had a much more pleasant atmosphere than it used to.

They really seem to have ramped up the playing of 60s pop music, both around Stealth and Tidal Wave. Although it's not custom audio, it's certainly themed and just adds an infectious joy to the place that only 60s Motown groups can give.

X is still rubbish, but definitely improved. It doesn't make me feel ill anymore, and the light-show is reasonably well-done. Yes, before you jump down my throat, I'm sure all the self-appointed lighting experts on the forum will assure me that it could have been done ten times better. But it looks pretty good as it is. The queue is a lot nicer.

I think the addition of the billboard to The Swarm has disproportionately improved it, and that fly-through is probably now the best element of the ride. A really great bit of major theming, with some really nice detail in the shape of the graffiti'd over advertisement. The Swarm backwards may not be your cup of tea but I think it definitely adds an interesting new experience to the ride, and the elimination of the front-row queue means you can easily nab that with a one-train-wait if you ask the batching host. I'm glad they did it.

Apart from Saw, there was also no noticeable downtime all day, and operations were pretty damn good. As with every recent visit to Thorpe, staff seem to have improved once again and are now friendlier than ever - probably matching the general improvement in the customers. All these little things seem to have added up to a park that has come on leaps and bounds in just a year. Hopefully with a new addition next year, the revival of the train and the continuation of the re-branding exercise, the park will continue to become a nicer place to spend time.

 

[pluk]

Re: Thorpe Park

X is still rubbish, but definitely improved. It doesn't make me feel ill anymore, and the light-show is reasonably well-done. Yes, before you jump down my throat, I'm sure all the self-appointed lighting experts on the forum will assure me that it could have been done ten times better. But it looks pretty good as it is.

I don't think it is that people consider themselves lighting experts, more that you don't even need to be one to see the error they've made. It is just a shame that they have put so many lights in there, they could have done (and spent) a lot less for a better result. I have been lucky enough to ride with lasers only (none of the centre tower lights on) and the effect is actually quite stunning. It even pushes the ride out of the rubbish bracket, which is quite a feat considering it really is rubbish!

 

[DiogoJ42]

Re: Thorpe Park

Except for those of us that are lighting experts by trade.

 

[HaydenCR]

Re: Thorpe Park

Final line up for fright nights fully confirmed now:

The Cabin In The Woods (Scare Maze)
I quite like the concept of multiple endings,
My Bloody Valentine (Scare Maze)
Saw Alive (Scare Maze) (Returning)
The Asylum (Scare Maze) (Returning)
The Blair Witch Project (Scare Zone)
You're Next (Roaming Characters)

 

[JaykeAT]

Re: Thorpe Park

What have queues been like on school days this year,curious for Wednesday.

 

[Ted]

Re: Thorpe Park

Found this on Twitter, the new map for Fright Nights this year.

The big heads are still there, but I'm gonna guess that they are there because this just a edit for the regular 2013 map.

 

[Rob]

Re: Thorpe Park

So much for the new map design at Fright Nights then! Hopefully we will still be seeing one next year though.

 

[thefatone]

Re: Thorpe Park

Sneaky slammer disappearing off the map.

Wonder if it'll reappear on next years map, or if it's gone forever.

 

[MiserableMonkey]

Re: Thorpe Park

3pm - My Bloody Valentine, Cabin, Asylum and SAW Alive - all open.
5pm - Logger's Leap, Rocky Express, Carousel, Mr Monkey’s Banana Boat and Rumba Rapids all close.
6pm - Blair Witch Opens
8-9pm – select rides close depending on demand
10pm - The 4 mazes close for guests and re-open for 'Brave It Alone' half hour. (16 years + Only)
10.30pm - The 4 mazes close.
11.00pm - Start of Blair Witch Camping.
Early hours - Blair Witch Camping finishes.

Fright Night open hours.

 

[Rob]

Re: Thorpe Park

So, Fright Nights. Here's a relatively brief review. I should probably point out that I haven't seen any of the films that the mazes are based on so I can't comment upon how well the mazes relate to the films etc.

Cabin in the Woods:

This is a free flow maze and it's a brilliant concept. There are apparently three different routes in the maze although they do all lead to the same 'ending part' as it were. You have a number of different doors to go through and you have to close the door after you have entered a room. That is when the actors begin there work. The rooms were all well themed and there seemed to be plenty of actors. So far so good. However for this to really work the operations of the maze have to be spot on. Unfortunately they weren't. There always seemed to be too many people in the maze, meaning that rooms were being crammed full of people. I had a door slammer open right into the side of me which on another occasion could have been quite nasty. It meant that is was hard for the actors to focus on all of the people in the maze and it ruined any scary atmosphere. So basically it's a great concept that is poorly executed.

My Bloody Valentine:

This used the same containers, and therefore the same layout as Experiment 10. And to be honest it isn't a patch on Experiment 10. I actually got split from the rest of the group and was on my own but I only got a couple of scares throughout the whole maze and was in and out within about 3 or 4 minutes which is far too short when you've queued for an hour. It just felt like Experiment 10 but without the same scare factor. We were all really let down by this maze.

The Asylum:

This was pretty much as I expected. A solid maze that got a bit repetitive. No really big scares but the powerful strobes did make it interesting and enjoyable. I suppose this is like Thorpe's TotT, just nowhere near as good as TotT.

SAW Alive:

I actually really enjoyed this. When I have done it in the past it has been incredibly poor so I was expecting the same again. However there seemed to be more actors than there used to be and they all worked really well in the maze. For me it was the second most enjoyable maze on park.

The Blair Witch Project Scare Zone:

The less said about this the better. It made Zombies look like the best scare zone ever done. I like the concept of walking along a dark path through the trees. But there were hardly any actors and the actors that were there either just predictably jumped out from behind an obviously placed tree or asked for help. It really was truly awful.

You're Next Roaming Actors:

These were pretty good and kept us entertained whilst queuing for The Blair Witch Project. No complaints here.

Park Lighting and Atmosphere:

The park lighting was fantastic. There was coloured lighting all over the place and it made the park look brilliant. I love how Stealth was lit up with colour changing lights. I was really impressed, Towers could really learn from this. Pretty much all of the permanent lighting on park had filters on. The overall atmosphere was ok, nothing special though. During the day you couldn't really tell it was Fright Nights. Then when it got dark the park was pretty much dead which never helps when trying to create an atmosphere. However all the rides did have special Thorpe Park Movie Studios audio after dark which I really liked. Each ride was made out to be a different scene that you were a part of.

---

So overall I did enjoy the event. I think it is a great foundation that Thorpe can work on over the next few years. For me though it was not up to the standards set by Scarefest at Towers. Towers have better and more effective mazes. I also think that there is a better on park atmosphere at Towers, although a lot of this is probably down to the more creepy setting for a theme park at night. The big plus was the park lighting. Generally it was a solid event with lots of room for improvement. It was well worth going though.

Oh, and Swarm front row in the dark, wow! It was amazing!

 

[TheMan]

Re: Thorpe Park

Oh, and Swarm front row in the dark, wow! It was amazing!

My run through of Asylum was very poor, which is disappointing as I adored that maze. Agree with the X10 thing, felt like a mash up of the two but took out when of the best bits, the closets that everyone can come out of

Front Row Swarm? Oh yes baby. In the dark, absolutely loved it. Totally agree with you (Again... getting worrying nowadays that ;D ).

What day did you go?

 

[joelpagett]

Re: Thorpe Park

Hi guys,

Went to Fright Nights yesterday and wanted to share my thoughts with you! First off I have to say starting the event so early is awesome because at 8pm last night nothing had a queue over 5 mins it was awesome! Firstly I loved the idea behind it, the music at the park with this creepy film director talking over it was amazing, really gave me the chills. There wasn't much park theme apart from at the entrance and at the dome. I will list of my thoughts on each maze below;

Asylum

This was usually my favourite maze and it did not disappoint. It was noisy, chaotic and jumpy, very good and the ending was even better than I remember. Really great and the actors were great! We got emergency evac nearly at the end of the first run so we went through again!
9/10 - Awesome job.

Cabin in the Woods

I don't know if it is because I haven't watched the film but WTF? What an earth was going on? It was chaos going through all these doors banging into people and the actors didn't seem to know either. It was very disjointed and no coherent story although the first room looked awesome. Okay but if it has more than a 1/2 queue dont bother.

3/10 - Maybe one of the worst mazes I have ever been on.

Saw: Alive
Saw: Alive was clearly on steroids. Maybe its because I haven't been in for so many years but it was awesome. Really gritty actors were amazing that night and there were a few new scenes including the final scene with the guns which was amazing.

8/10

My Bloody Valentine
Very disappointed by this one. It was just X10 with some branches and twigs and you don't even get locked into cupboards. The ending was utter rubbish really bad, nothing was good about it apart from the first scene in the hospital.

4/10

Blair Witch
This was the biggest surprise. We went in about 8:45pm so it was pitch black. You start off at the Canada Creek Railway where you walk down a pitch black pathway and there are campers throwing themselves at you, one was even led on the floor and grabbed me as I walked past not even realising! Should eat more carrots! The ending was a bit naff but all in all it was awesome for no wait!

7/10

Thorpe's new ticket attractions seem to need some work but they may get improved over time. It was a good event and I really enjoyed it. Good effort from the park this year just need to improve park theme and also tweaking some maze elements.

Here are a few photos, the rest can be found on my Facebook or Flickr

 

[DiogoJ42]

Re: Thorpe Park

Interesting that your best and worst mazes are exactly the oposite of mine. Just shows how different people's opinions of scare mazes can be, I guess.