Our Slasher Review
Thorpe Park Fright Nights returned a with a bang to celebrate its 20th birthday. With three mazes, three shows, threes scare zones and many rides there really is something for everyone. The strongest maze is Trailers with Platform 15 being the weakest. The scare zones are all great in their own way. Tips for the event - Fright Nights is a busy event so if you Cana Ford fastrack for the rides than do and also book early time slots for the mazes as the queues will be less busy.
Things that bite - Thorpes car park at the end of the event can sometimes be chaos to leave with up to an hours queue to leave. Food at the park isn’t that great. Mazes are slightly expensive.
Value for Money - With a Merlin Pass yes, as a full paying guest no.
Scare Rating- 4/5
Do we recommend - Yes and No in equal measure
FOR A MORE IN DEPTH REVIEW AND PICS THAN READ BELOW!
Our Stalker Review
Thorpe Park Fright Nights was were my scare journey started a few years ago and I was the resort for its 15 years celebration so of course I was there for its 20th. This year the resort offers three mazes, three shows and three scare zones. This was the first year I paid full price to get in at £42.00 and £10.00 per maze on top as the maze combo ticket had sold out. As a full paying guest I got on 4 rides throughout the entire day. It was a very busy day and having checked the queue times on other Saturdays and Sundays, it seems like this is a regular occurrence for Fright Nights, so be prepared to queue and not get on much. If you want to do everything than you really need two days or unlimited fastrack. Let’s jump into the scare side of things shall we.
The Swarm Invasion has grown quite a bit since 2020. With more roaming actors and more sets it feels like Thorpe Park actually made an effort this year with this scare zone. The actor interaction in this area is actually quite intense with some guests even getting interrogated inside a tent. Elsewhere in the area there is a missing persons board and an elevated platform area which actors use. There is actually quite a lot going on in this area but it also feels like it’s the area that’s been loved the least when compared to the rest of the event, but we can’t fault the actors in this area one bit as they were really working the area well.
The second scare zone on offer is also new for 2021 and that is The Crows of Mawkin Meadow. The incredibly popular roaming characters from 2020 have been given there own zone and my god is it stunning. The amount of detail throughout the attraction is stunning. It’s beautiful. Walking through during the day you really get a chance to absorb all the little details but it is as the sun sets that this zone really comes alive. The actors seem to come to life more the darker it gets and they really use the atmosphere to their advantage. They stalk, they stare, they flick. It’s eerie but it just works and it’s just the perfect scare zone the park have ever made.
Amity High V Lycanthorpe Love Bites has become such a staple of the Fright Nights line that I think I will actually be quite sad when it does go. Every year it’s got better better and this year the two schools have merged and it’s got even better. The show side is a Romeo & Juliet inspired love story. The awesome thing is that there have also been various versions include LGBTQ+ love stories that it’s become iconic in more than just being a good show. The show itself is a fabulous celebration of love with up beat dance numbers, each with a different hint depending on the school dancing, all culminating to an acceptance of each other finale. It’s such a wonderful show with an exceptionally talented cast
The Birthday Bash is the events new show. From the vocal performances to the dancing to the roaming characters, everything about Birthday Bash hits the right notes. The show starts of light hearted with some fabulous performances all leading to its very dark finale. The cast of Birthday Bash really get into it and seem to absolutely love performing. Hugo and Hattie have the potential to become some really dark and twisted future characters, even mascots, to the event so we hope they aren’t characters that leave any time soon. The last show the resort had was Legacy but on both my visits it was not running.
Let’s get onto the mazes. Returning for its final year is Platform 15 and, honestly, it’s about time they retired it. It’s never been the strongest maze Thorpe ever created but it’s got a vibe to it. This year they have given the maze a slightly creepier story but that’s about it. The actors you meet throughout seem to have 1 of two types of scares. It’s either move slowly and mumble so quietly or run into the metal fencing and whack it. The scares become quickly repetitive and whilst the maze is a wonderful walkthrough with some really nice sets, it just has never quite hit the right mark. Add to that batching issues, it all just kind of comes together to underwhelm.
Creek Freak Massacre returns after a year hiatus with a bang. Before you even reach the queue you have to wander through the Creek Freaks Unchained scare zone. The scare zone, as always, has a great mix of lively and hilarious characters who help convince you to meet the rest of the family in the maze. The maze itself Is only very slightly weaker than it’s 2019 version and I think it’s purely because this year there is a no touching rule. That being said it was still as intense and as chaotic as it previously was with the scares coming thick and fast. The actors inside were having a great time scaring everyone and it showed that they really enjoyed it. The maze just has this energy about it and you can’t help but have a good and terrifying time inside.
Last and certainly not least is the new maze for 2021, Trailers. A homage to previous Fright Nights attractions, Trailers delivers on every front. It’s stunningly beautiful, a clever story and has scares galore. It really is the perfect maze to celebrate Fright Nights 20th year. From the moment you enter until the moment you are chased out, this maze just engulfs the senses and gives any Fright Nights fan an onslaught of references. So much attention to detail has been given and it really shows. The scares are very well timed with one in particular (the doll) being absolutely terrifying. Every scene was you passed through just worked and none of it ever felt out of place. It all just worked.
Fright Nights has been on a roller coaster ride over the past few years but I think it’s safe to say they have finally found there feet again and are recognising what works and doesn’t work for them. Trailers is a fantastic love letter to Fright Nights gone by and the whole event just had this great vibe about it and we really are quite excited to see what they do next year!
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