Attraction Source Forum

Posted: **Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:04 pm**

The site doesn't really give much away, barely any pictures from inside the mazes, and the ones that are show bugger all anyway.

Posted: **Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:47 pm**

Went to fright nights last year and it was great.

just wondering if its worth booking, we have annual passes but it says to book at £3 each to guarantee entry, we are visiting on sunday the 22nd, is it likely to reach capacity then?

we didnt book last year and got in but that was the first weekend i think, probably busier second and third weekend i expect.

Posted: **Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:20 pm**

It probably will reach capacity, but if you arrive in the first few hours you won't need to book

Posted: **Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:22 pm**

I am hoping there will be some fastrack to buy on the day because its going to be busy, i assume they leave a certain allocation of fast track to on the day purchases rather than internet booked?

can you still turn up on the day for fright nights and pay full price to get in? as long as they have not reached capacity?

Posted: **Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:10 pm**

Fastrack will be availible to buy on the day, however it will probably be limited. Aslong as the park has not reached capacity you can turn up and pay full price.

Posted: **Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:18 pm**

I thought i would like this topic to just discuss the mazes at Thorpe Park for this Fright Night event. Hellgate, The Asylum and Se7en are the mazes for this year and i was looking for some advice from some people as well.

I have only ever been in the 3D Freakshow and The Freezer but never any of the present mazes and i would really like to know which order to do them in and which one is the scariest etc.

Does anyone know what they are like and could anyone put up a small review if you have been in one please.

Thanks

Posted: **Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:38 pm**

In my opinion from scariest to least scariest (in 2006):
The Asylum
Se7en
Hellgate.

2006:
Asylum is pretty scary due to the strobes, mirrors and the laundery scene with just hanging sheets you cant see anything literally. The actors aren't bad but I think the actors in the 2 others interact a lot more. It is scary when they climb over the fences and stuff though! 7/10

Se7en is scary because some parts are pitch black and you can hear but not see the actor. The actors interact very well here and the themeing is top notch. 9/10

Hellgate is only scary thanks to the actors and the fact the maze is zig zag meaning you can see round each corner. The first scene is fairly scary as well. Watch out for the hissy bang machines. I like the final bedroom scene however. 6/10

Posted: **Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:25 pm**

It depends...

Last year Se7en was the scariest due to the darkness and the actors really going to town. I got grabbed and one guy dipped his hand in a toilet and put it really near my face. Our group actually ended up getting chased out of a fire exit.

Hellgate was amazing in its first year especailly when we went round in a group of three. The actors went crazy. Last year it wasn't so good there was huge parts without actors and we ended up running into other groups.

Asylum actually disapoints me every year for some reason. I think it's mainly due to the crap ending sounds like they've sorted that out this year though. It has an advantage over the other mazes because the strobes make it crazy even when actors aren't going for you. It is also the only maze where the queue moves at a decent pace. I think it needs more gore though.

Posted: **Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:15 pm**

Hellgate is my personal favourite - it still racks the nerves but seems to have a more fun element to it. You laugh with the scares.

Asylum, without the strobes would be crap. But the stobes actually make too intense - not scary intense though just messes with your head.

Seven... I dunno I just got a bit bored in there. The toilet scene is great as is the final cell but in between those two it just lacked something.

They're great fun though.

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:24 am**

Last year it wasn't so good there was huge parts without actors and we ended up running into other groups

People often mark down the mazes because One or Two scenes have no actors in. I keep reminding people that it'll be different everytime you go in! yes one space may be empty, but you might find Two actors instead of One on another section. I can't see how people can complain at this, they would be boring if you knew where abouts you were going to find an actor.

Anyway... :P

Asylum is my fave. I love the lighting and the sirens, it seems to go on for ages and this years Chainsaw effect is spot on

Hellgate second, I love the way the actors could be just about anywhere in here and the long corridor before the spinning drum is one I always find scary because your looking over your shoulder waiting for someone to come up behind you while still trying to keep an eye in front.

Seven... This one is my least favorite. The theming is great its just theres less of a jump factor and more of an Ewww factor which is not really something i'm looking for.

They are all very good anyway

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:11 am**

[quote=""Crofty""]

Asylum is my fave. I love the lighting and the sirens, it seems to go on for ages and this years Chainsaw effect is spot on

[/quote]

Chainsaw effect? What's this? No sign of anything like that yesterday.

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:22 am**

[quote=""smeg_head""][quote=""Crofty""]

Asylum is my fave. I love the lighting and the sirens, it seems to go on for ages and this years Chainsaw effect is spot on

[/quote]

Chainsaw effect? What's this? No sign of anything like that yesterday.[/quote]

In the final corridor there is a guy with a chainsaw that chases you out of the Asylum, but he is not in there that much, you'll find that he's not in there most of the time and re-appears every now and then.

Might be something to do with re-fuelling but who knows...

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:03 pm**

Like Crofty said, the chainsaw guy is absolutely spot on. I'd heard about him, but had actually forgotten about him until we began shuffling towards the final corridor (a tad disappointed with the maze up until then).

So he was standing at the end of the last wire fence, concealing this petrol-smelling chainsaw and revving it very lightly... I had wondered how they'd possibly get away with a chainsaw-wielding member of staff chasing guests out the maze, but when I saw him huddled over by the wire fence, I assumed it was something crap like the chainsaw was wedged in the wire and couldn't move or something.

So like I say, we shuffled past him and started walking towards the exit down that corridor... and suddenly this thing just revved up so loud and started coming right towards us - well, that was it for me and I broke the line and legged it out of the maze. Everyone was laughing and a bit shaken up, even the hardcore among us!

It was really very effective, and I really enjoyed standing at the exit just watching people come out crapping themselves - he didn't do it every time, but when he did it made a massive difference to the state of the people coming out lol!

So I was very reluctant to go back in and didn't go back in for the rest of the weekend lol! (This was last weekend.)

OK, overall, I was a bit disappointed with the mazes this year. There could be a variety of reasons for this, and certainly Sunday night last week was much better than Saturday night last week, which had left me a bit cold. Maybe it was because the mazes were all the same and I didn't feel that tension and apprehension before going in like I did last year (I was terrified last year)... but also I felt like there were less actors than normal, and despite what Crofty says, when there's two or three rooms in Se7en missing actors (no where to be seen elsewhere), then you can be shuffling through for a while and not really having many scares.

I also felt especially on the Saturday night that there was less actor/guest interaction, the actors were a little less imaginative and often they would just jump out at you, then be gone almost straight away. Certainly in Se7en, actors would often just stand in a corner of the room and look menacing/say something menacing - but that'd be it. Last year in all three mazes I felt like the actors really pushed the boat out - climbing over the walls in Hellgate, all over the fences in Asylum, refusing to let you through and scaring each of you in turn and the great actors in Se7en who would tie themselves in knots or pretend to throw up, or switch the light off and push the table across the room - you get the picture.

Certainly on Saturday I felt there was a lot less of the above, but Sunday was MUCH better in Hellgate and Se7en. It seems a shame that the mazes can fluctuate so much in quality, especially if you're only going for one night and you catch the actors at a bad time.

Obviously no doubt the actors get tired, and I think they're all brilliant, but compared to last year there just seemed to be something lacking, and like I say, this may be down to not feeling the same fear and tension as I did last year.

This post probably makes no sense lol. :P

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:32 pm**

asylum was definitely my fave - hellgate has some really scary bits.

Loved them all though - I think it's better to go with a grloup you know though, sometimes you might end up with strangers who move to quickly, or split the chain...

Posted: **Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:25 pm**

Ok, last year I went to Fright Nights, and have never experienced Alton's Scarefest. All I can say is Fright Nights is f**king brilliant! Does Alton's Scarefest match up to the standards of Fright Nights as far as themeing, extra attractions and music goes?

Thanks for your views.

Posted: **Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:27 pm**

I would say that Thorpe Park's event is better in terms of the atmosphere, as there are more people around. In addition, Thorpe's use of lighting is vastly beyond that of Alton's. The same goes for music. Theming-wise, well there isn't a great lot at either park really.

Alton's event is fledgling, and last year was the first year for it. Thorpe have had a number of years to get FN right, so with time, Alton's event will progress and improve I hope.

Mazes wise, Thorpe's are good for being in your face and Alton's are great for a storyline/plot. Field of 1000 Screams and Terror of the Towers I prefer both over Thorpe's mazes (although have never done Seven). This could be because the Alton setting is so eerie in the first place, it really adds to the spookiness at night.

Overall though, Thorpe's event is more perfected and rounded, something which I am sure Alton aspire to have for the Scarefest event.

Obviously in terms of families, Alton Towers is much better.

I added a "can't decide" option as, whilst I think FN is a better "event", i prefer than Alton mazes. Odd one.

Posted: **Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:35 pm**

Well i cant decide because i have not been to either. I will go to Alton towers scarefest this year i hope its good. By the way whats Field of 1000 Screams and Terror of the Towers

:

Posted: **Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:57 pm**

Fright Nights. My favourite meet remains the Fright Nights one back in 2006, last years was also great. The atmosphere around park is brilliant, you forget that chavvy nature of Thorpe when it turns dark. The lighting is awesome, music great and mazes just seem to get better each year.

The Scarefest was also good, ToTT was awesome, I really liked that. The field was good but I think there was a lack of actors, something they could add to for next season. The settins are good for Towers though as they had the advantage of a cornfield and historic building. Shame they closed Room 13 before the event had actually finished though

.

Both are awesome events, but I do prefer Fright Nights - Inferno and Stealth in the dark

.

Dan

Posted: **Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:07 am**

[quote=""Danzaw*nk""]
Shame they closed Room 13 before the event had actually finished though

.
[/quote]

Yeah, I think this was an oversight on their part last time. This year, I would envisage all three mazes (and indeed, other attractions) being available for the entire period.

I hope that there is a little more "new" theming added for 2008, along with better lighting! Get Nemesis bathed in red, Air bathed in blue/green etc.

I think as Scarefest was new last year, they have plenty of room for gradual improvments to it.

I can't wait though

Posted: **Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:26 am**

Scarefest had the better atmosphere for me. For its first year, I found it pretty impressive, particularly Haunted Hollow which prior to Scarefest had no function at all save it being a path. With the characters there, at night, with the mist and the low level lights, it was really effective. I dont recall Fright Nights having anything like that. The soundtracks of creepy crows etc were nice, but aside from that, I didnt see any atmosphere other than waiting for the mazes.

The mazes themselves, well I only found Asylum to be worth the wait. The rest were a bit of the same, particularly se7en which I found dull. Scarefest had much better usage of mazes, by incorporating Towers into it, and the maize maze behind the hotels was particularl inspired - felt like a 1950's B-horror movie

Attraction Source Forum

Thorpe Park - Fright Nights

Fright Night Mazes

Fright Nights vs. Scarefest