Photo TR: Halloween with the Brit Crew

[Divv3k]

HALLOWEEN WITH THE BRIT CREW 2010!

Updates:

Thorpe Park Fright Nights & Paulton's Park (below)

Alton Towers Scarefest

---

 

Hello!

 

As the years go by Halloween seems to become a bigger and bigger deal for parks in the UK. Good news for people like me who just love Halloween events and haunts! Thorpe Park have been doing their annual Fright Nights event since 2002 and it's certainly the most popular halloween event in the country.

 

Despite me having visited the park during Fright Nights a few years ago I had never done any of the mazes. This year I was visiting the park specifically to do them and quite happily spent the extra money on the Fast Track tickets for the mazes due to the notoriously long lines that they tend to get.

 

I'm not one for going into a play-by-play of each maze but I will say they were mostly good. Hellgate was a little disappointing but Seven, The Asylum and The Curse were all pretty good.

 

The only problem with Fright Nights is the popularity of the event causes the park to get absolutely rammed which makes it pretty difficult to get on many rides due to the horribly long lines. Fortunately we found a way to combat this - visit another park in the afternoon which doesn't have so many people in it!

 

All in all it was a good day despite the crowds. Thorpe Park puts on a good halloween event but it's not as good as Alton's Scarefest in my view (but I'll get onto that later!)

 

Here's the photos...

Hey look, Thorpe Park! Why on earth are we here?

It’s Fright Nights! Where Thorpe Park gets transformed into something gruesome and scary! (More than usual!)

Before we get to the other stuff here’s some art for the relocated raft ride that’s coming over from Cypress Gardens next year – Storm Surge!

Say goodbye to any kid-friendly rides in Thorpe and hello to piles of dirt!

We started out the day with a nice ride on Nemesis Inferno. I think this was the only coaster we rode at the park today!

Just what Mike wants - a calculator that will let him do sums by throwing rocks at the buttons from afar.

Whilst none of the Fright Nights mazes open until later in the day you can still get an early fix of scares from Saw: Alive! I liked this maze a lot, it seems that the actors in here have really gotten their act down over the season. I hope more parks bring in year-round haunts!

Thorpe’s okay and all, but do we really want to wait in long linea for these coasters whilst we wait for the mazes to open?

Hello Paulton’s Park!

Mike’s got the whole world in his hand.

New Gerstlauer Bobsled credit for us!

I really liked Cobra! Maybe not quite as good as Tripsdrill’s Bobsled but still a lot of fun! I wish more parks had these!

The Fudges can’t get enough of their Disk’os!

Paulton’s has one of those big extended Disk'os! Take that Blackpool!

That's not our dino!

The first thing that you encounter in the dinosaur land is an elephant… Okay.

"DON'T LOOK AT MY TINY USELESS ARMS!!!"

Enough dinosaurs, there’s more credits to be had here!

The Stinger is one of those Zierer Tivoli things with the humongously long trains that I can never decide if it’s a kiddie or not.

Those Fudges are pretty crazy when it comes to golf. Me, not so much.

Anyone seen Mongo?

Mike is so awesome at crazy golf. So, so awesome. He won a badge. A badge!!!

Why am I holding my hands out in such an awkward pose in front of the kiddie coaster?

Because that’s me hitting 500! I had to make sure I hit something really appropriate for such a landmark credit!

So that was our brief detour to Paulton’s Park. Overall a very nice park that caters for families well. I hope this park continues to flourish and grow!

Now, back to the scary business at Thorpe Park!

Ah look, there’s Russ and Stacey right where we left them!

The first of the Fright Nights mazes that we checked out was 7. A maze based on the seven deadly sins. I couldn’t really tell what sin was what apart from one or two but it was still pretty cool.

There’s no way that we’re waiting in hour-long lines for the mazes when Thorpe offer Fast Track options for sale! Screw you, line-waiters!

Vines = theming.

And now, the number one highlight of the day – Chocolicious Shakes! These are awesome, even in October!

The Asylum is probably the best maze in Thorpe Park. It’s really long and there’s some great sections. Although I would say that it gets a bit repetitive in the middle. Still pretty cool though!

Pretty much everything had at least a 30 minute wait. There’s no way I’m not buying Fast Tracks when I visit Thorpe Park at this time of year!

The rapids as usual had no line, and as usual you didn’t get wet at all. Which is pretty much the reason why we decided to ride whilst we waited for our next Fast Track time to come up!

Mike demonstrates the absolute best way to experience Time Voyagers. Bring back Captain Lucky!

It may look like Saw has no line but it was actually 80 minutes by 7pm. I like the ride but not that much. Good thing I got loads of rides in June!

The new addition to Fright Nights this year is Thorpe’s interpretation of a scare zone called Dead End. We preferred to call it Path: The Ride.

I think kind of got this a bit wrong. Queuing up to walk through a bit of path that’s been blocked off with some props scattered around just felt more like a really lame maze than a scare zone.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re trying new things but hopefully they’ll work on this concept a bit more for next year.

The last maze we checked out was The Curse which is themed to a ship which is well, you guessed it, cursed.

Free massages for everyone before the maze!

This was my first visit to Fright Nights in a few years and my first time actually doing the mazes. The mazes are mostly pretty good, but do be prepared to spend some money on Fast Tracks if you visit during Fright Nights. I can’t imagine what kind of a day people must have if they’re queuing up for everything.

 

 

 

Still we didn’t have to queue and had a fun time!

 

Alton Towers’ Scarefest is up next!

Edited October 22, 2010 by Divv3k

[Porsmond]

As you've seen, Thorpe does get rammed at Fright Nights, Its worse in the last week of October as its half term week, and it really does get busy, The last weekend of October is now always strictly advance booking, I don't think you can go to the park on that weekend anymore to buy a day ticket, Its crazy. I've found in the past its best to go on a Friday(if you can) Or the FIRST weekend of Fright Nights which isn't too bad, I went on the first weekend and the crowds were fine, got to do everything I wanted,didn't queue long for anything and did all the mazes in 1hr 30 mins and no use of fastcrap, errr fastrack

 

Its nice you visited Paultons Park which is my local park its a great little park with a few good rides and I enjoy going from time to time.Paultons is adding Peppa Pig World in 2011 which sounds exciting,No more roller coasters, but 8 new rides,A new Play area and restaurant I think, I'm then hoping that if Paultons stick to their 3 year rule for a new BIG ride, then 2012 should be a good year for the park too.

[Fran1962]

Always fun to see the Brit Crew out enjoying yourselves.

And your commentary is well worth the read.

Thanks Divv

[Hilltopper39]

Saw Alive seems like a great concept and Ive been saying for years I wish a park would have a year round haunt open for regular operation hours. I mean a place like Universal that has tons of props and set pieces laying around could reinvent the house every year and have a brand new attraction with the new house. If done right a haunt only needs a handful of actors to really pull off, the scariest house I ever went through only had 2 actors in it working together to time out the scares perfectly. Minimal staffing, almost no operating costs, high capacity, and a new attraction every year.

[kenshinmac]

Hey Divv for those of us an ocean away can you describe where in the park they put up the mazes? I am just curious because Thorpe doesn't seem like a park well setup for these kind of events.

 

Also did they do the whole hands on shoulders thing for all of the mazes? Is this some british thing?

 

Anyways looks like a ton of fun and I look forward to the Alton report.

[tiger01]

I went to a thorpe park fright night and got on the Rapids about 15 times. My Dad and my sister went and did all the coasters when me and my mum did rather nothing. A waste but it was the day our vouchers ran out so yeah. They didn't do the mazes but they got a night ride on Nemesis. If I go now I will ride anything. Typical Me!

[Divv3k]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

 

Hey Divv for those of us an ocean away can you describe where in the park they put up the mazes? I am just curious because Thorpe doesn't seem like a park well setup for these kind of events.

 

Also did they do the whole hands on shoulders thing for all of the mazes? Is this some british thing?

 

Anyways looks like a ton of fun and I look forward to the Alton report.

 

Sure!

- Seven is placed in the outdoor auditorium next to Nemesis Inferno's drop. That was actually the first time I ever set foot in that auditorium!

- Hellgate is at the back of the X:\ No Way Out building.

- Asylum is close to the Nemesis Inferno exit. I don't really know how the squeeze it in there but they do a great job!

- The Curse is placed on one of the two "beaches" right at the front of the park. It was nice to see one of those beaches used for something useful rather than the usual waste of space they tend to be!

 

The hands on the shoulder thing is pretty standard for most mazes over here. From my experience of US mazes guests go through as one continuously moving long line which is not how they work in the UK. Usually you are sent around in groups of about ten. It tends to make for a creepier and more intimate experience but isn't so good for getting lots of people through!

[CoasterNERD502]

^Its not a continuous line everywhere. At the haunts I've been to in Maryland, one was groups of no more than 10, and the other was groups of no more than 6.

 

Anyways, I really enjoy seeing halloween trip reports from parks outside of America! I'm always so curious to see how the other countries do things.

[cobra_roll06]

Great TR Divv!

 

Incase you didn't know I'm not a fan of the halloween mazes, but Saw in the dark would be a pretty cool experience. Glad you guys had fun!

[Divv3k]

^ Thanks Steve! I truly think you might have died had you visited Thorpe that day!

 

Alton on the other hand, you would have loved! FIVE PUMPKINS OF FUN!

[Divv3k]

The next day we visited Alton Towers Scarefest. This was my fourth year in a row visiting the park for the event and it definitely delivered a great day again!

 

I would say that this year's event was on a par with last year. Some things were improved like Terror of the Towers (which is a real achievement as it was fantastic last year too!) and The Boiler House, which has been made a lot longer and just seems to work a lot better than it did a year ago.

 

I expected the Duel overlay to be a disappointment this year being that it's called "Skelvin's Haunted Adventure" but amazingly the Skelvin involvement (he's the mascot for the younger skewing parts of Scarefest) is limited to the pre-show video only. Apart from that it's very similar to Duel: Live with the added enhancement of the Beetlejuice theme song! I counted seven scare actors in there which might have been a bit much for kids going in expecting to see their favourite cartoon skeleton.

 

The disappointments of the event were very few. I'm sad that the park doesn't have any actors at all in Haunted Hollow any more as that always used to be a good laugh to walk through and was certainly the closest to a "scare zone" that the UK has seen.

 

One of the things that Alton has been shouting quite loudly about in advertising Scarefest is that Thirteen would have actors haunting the queueline after dark. Sounded good to me but we only had a couple of actors run past us in the line once in 30 minutes and they didn't really do anything. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I expected more than that. Maybe we were just unlucky.

 

Speaking of Thirteen it was interesting to see some who non-enthusiasts were quite happy to ride Air but wouldn't go near Thirteen because they were too intimidated. Just shows how the ride really has been mis-marketed to the general public. It's a shame because I really do like the ride, especially in the dark!

 

The other sad thing for me was that this would be my first year visiting Scarefest without the Field of 1000 Screams. A real shame in my view because I absolutely loved that corn maze. The good thing is that it's replacement, the Carnival of Screams is pretty damned good! A bit more random and jokey than The Boiler of House or Terror of the Towers but still plenty creepy. This maze did some really cool and inventive stuff. I imagine they'll probably tweak it for next year and make it even better too.

 

All in all Scarefest was a fantastic event and really cemented my thoughts on Alton as it compares to Thorpe. I would rather be at Alton any day, they really do put a great event and can manage the crowds!

 

Here are the photos...

In what’s now definitely a Halloween tradition for many of us, we’re at Scarefest at Alton Towers!

Looks like Dave’s been on just another typical Brit Crew night out!

Terror of the Towers is so good... FIVE PUMPKINS OF FUN good!!!

Erm, Zombie Dave… What are you doing with your left hand?

Terror of the Towers was REALLY good this year! Not much different from last year but the few changes they did make definitely improved it. My favourite Halloween maze of the year so far!

There are coasters to ride at Alton Towers too! And unlike Thorpe the lines at Alton were actually reasonable!

Awesome Scarefest theming on Oblivion’s hole.

Speaking of holes... Most awesome ride specific merchandise ever!

Hey hey, we found a TPR friend operating Spinball today! Hi Rob!

Enough monkeying around, Sonic wants to spin!

After 24 years Mike FINALLY popped his Squirrel Nutty cherry! Well done to Mike for finally plucking up the courage to ride!

The Flume in October. At Alton Towers. Weirdos.

Even Zombie Dave wants to take a break from eating flesh and brains to hit up the awesome Pizza and Pasta Buffet!!!

When I heard that Duel was getting a makeover called “Skelvin’s Haunted Adventure” this year I was pretty disappointed. I figured they were making the whole thing Scottish Steve friendly and adding all the cartoon characters. Thankfully that was NOT the case, the ride is pretty much identical to last year’s “Duel: Live”, actors and all! The only difference is the old “Haunted House” theme doesn’t play any more. Don’t be sad because it’s been replaced with the even-more-awesome Beetlejuice theme!

Zombie Dave can’t eat Skelvin’s brains. This upsets Zombie Dave.

If Alton Towers wasn’t Dave Thomas approved already surely it must be now!

These guys are just dying to get off the ride.

Anth was with us, which automatically means we’re hitting every water ride in the park!

And now for a major highlight of the day – the Runaway MIKE Train!!!

Playing the role of Lou today will be ZOMBIE DAVE!

Exclusive, never before seen photo!

Nemesis. Still awesome. Still super smooth. Still my favourite coaster in the country!

Mike just loves assuming the position on Air.

OMG, the zombies are terrorising Air!!!

Alton do have a few kid-friendly Halloween attractions at Scarefest. The Trick or Treat doors seemed to be a big hit. Especially with Mike!

This is the extent of the haunting that went on in the Thirteen queue during the half hour we waited in it after dark. A bit disappointing after it was advertised as being a huge deal. Typical Thirteen advertising I guess!

At least we had Zombie Dave to haunt the guests!

Thirteen in the dark was pretty cool. I do really like the ride still but I found it interesting that some people who would ride Air refused to ride Thirteen. Just shows you how Alton have mismarketed this ride.

Sorry I’m not quite front and centre in this group photo. I won't mess it up next time!

Ooh, what’s going on here?! Kinky!

Runaway Mike wanted to ride his train again in the dark but it broke down. Runaway Mike FAIL!

Another reason why Scarefest rocks - short lines to do all the rides in the dark!

Okay, so we’re leaving the park but the fun doesn’t end just yet!

Once again, next to the resort hotel are a couple of upcharge Halloween mazes. The Boiler House returns from last year with some marked improvements!

Anth gets the lowdown on the murderous Hamble twins in the queue for the Boiler House.

The new maze for this year is the very creepy, Carnival of Screams!

Fans of Alton Towers’ past might recognise these guys!

FIVE ZOMBIE PUMPKINS OF FUN!!!

The maze itself was pretty cool. Not so much of a gore maze but one more to creep you out. There were some really cool effects in here, pretty much all involving clowns that you weren’t sure were real or not. It made Zombie Dave scream like a girl many times, which makes it great in my book!

So that’s it from Scarefest. Once again it was such a fantastic day. I really do recommend visiting Alton during this time if you can!

 

Thanks to everyone there for a great weekend!

 

Hope you enjoyed the TR, thanks for reading!

 

(Please note that Zombie Dave bears no relation to Zombie Divv, who made his one and only appearance at Movie Park Germany in 2008)

[larrygator]

Zombie Dave = attacks innocent people

 

Zombie Divv = attacks unsuspecting luggage

[fudgey]

I love this trip report. It was a great weekend. I love Zombie Dave - he will be making a return at some point! Great TR as always my friend!!!

[Ooch to the smooch]

Went to the Scarefest Thursday and it was officially dead. Hardly any queues to speak of apart from Spinball of course. The Thirteen queue had about 4 or 5 actors roaming around which was pretty cool, pity there was no queue actually.

 

Definitely gets better every year and thought the extra lighting effects throughout the park worked well. The nemesis red lights and mist made the ride even better especially on the front row.

 

Terror of the Towers was awesome especially the strobe finish. Pity the haunted hollow had no extras this year.

[cfc]

Thanks for the report, Divv--I love Halloween events, and Alton's looks like fun. Must be nice to have an actual "haunted castle."

[Rob.Lloyd]

Hope you had a good day on park. Perfect timing when you came to see me on Spinball as I was just going on break. Hope the gypsy invasion didn't spoil your day

Rob

[broomy]

You were lucky with 2 actors on thirteen. Wasn't any to be seen on sunday and the park was rammed.

[mousch]

The park was heaving yesterday(29/10),the parking was using the grass overflow by the two haunts!

I have to agree,the Terror of the Towers was superb

[ukool]

Great report. We loved Scarefest this year, missed the field though, i think i would have preferred the Boiler House to go. Terror of the towers was better then last year, but i still liked it the first year i went when it was the other way round - their seemed to be more of a story.