2011 was Thorpe Park's 10th year of running Fright Nights and the event has defiantly kicked off with a bang! This year we saw the edition of a brand new horror maze called "Experiment 10" added to the line up. This new maze brings a new method of scaring people to practice, rather than putting your hands on the shoulders of the person in-front of you, you no longer need to hold onto anyone. Overall this years Fright Nights event is the best we have ever been to.
Experiment 10 New For 2011
Experiment 10 is new for 2011. Theme park guide and towers nerd were the first public group to go though the maze. We started to queue at 3:30pm and whilst we were waiting we heard sound effects like, "the area is not safe please leave the area..." and "please remember to use sanitizer when entering the building..." However after waiting for 30 minuets and after a long rain shower the park started to empty meaning that latter on that day we could do the other horror mazes with just a walk on.
When you enter the maze you are briefed by a man and are told to watch the tv's in-front of you. The tv's display CCTV footage of empty rooms waiting for the next victims guests. After being told the rules off the maze the door opens and your group is split up to the sides of the room called the decontamination chamber. The room is filed with smoke and the lights turn themselves off and the actors in the room start to walk around. After being plunged into darkness you are then shouted at to get out where you then get put left and right, left and right to be split up into a cell by your self. Once in your own little chamber you then hear loud music in darkness which makes you think that there's someone in the cell with you however its just you.
After spending what feels like a life time in a locker by your self you then go into one of two places the mirror maze type room or a tunnel where you just go though and exit. However in the mirror maze room you have people jumping out at you and you have to make your way though the maze. When you get to the other side you go though the human testing room where we see a man on a bed being tested with blood coming out his mouth. After you have this scene you then come to the exit where you hear loud noises and see a circular tube with water I think as you cant really see what it is, overall this maze really is fantastic.
Thrill Rating, 10/10 & Theming, 10/10
The Asylum
The Asylum is one of the few mazes which the park hosts that is hosted inside a building unlike the other mazes which are temporarily hosted in marques or shipping containers. The maze is based around a old asylum which has been closed for years when you enter the maze you go down a long corridor where you constantly hear a alarm going off. When you enter the main section off the maze you have mirrors all around you and wire mesh where actors can interact with you. The maze lasts for around 10 minutes and when you enter the final section you are walking down another corridor where a sound of a chainsaw is heard. A actor then comes from behind your group running at you with a chainsaw telling you to run!
Thrill Rating, 7/10 & Theming, 6/10
Se7en
Se7en is based on the seven deadly sins which are Lust, Greed, Envy and others. This is one of the two mazes which are hosted on the beach in marquee tents. Se7en this year had to be re-located due to the location being taken by Experiment 10 however this year Thorpe Park have proved that location doesn't matter. By the time we went to ride Se7en there was no queue due to it being the preview day, however when we first entered there was just two off us meaning the group was small and the actors could target our group better. The first 4 scenes the actors were great but when we entered the next rooms we got greeted by two actors just standing there. We think the maze has potential however it needed more actors.
Thrill Rating, 4/10 & Theming, 5/10
The Curse
The Curse is a horror maze themed around a old shipwreck ship that has been washed up onto the beach, the group for the curse was just two people so we has all of the actors on us again. The rules are explained to you and you start walking through the maze hands on the person inferno off you. Within seconds of the maze starting actors were already flooding in on us with people coming up and screaming in our faces. However just like the other maze none of this maze managed to scare us or make us jump like experiment 10 did.
Thrill Rating, 2/10 & Theming, 7/10
