9 October 2023
Thorpe Park Fright Nights returns as the home as fear for 2023, as you prepare to enter a new nightmare with the toymaker & all the other surprises. With thrilling rides, breathtaking mazes, bone chilling scare zones and heart pounding shows, Fright Nights covers all the bases for the ultimate Halloween celebration.
Thorpe Park Fright Nights has been running successfully year upon year and 2023 makes no exception in providing a full lineup to keep fan favourites returning, and the new blood interested. This year we see returning to the lineup Trailers & Survival Games, with both of them having updates to make them stronger than ever before. You also have the Crows returning as a scare zone, which has seen a nice refresh for this year and Death Doors, which have some brand new characters hiding behind the doors.
To keep the event fresh, they have created a new scare maze, Stiches, which is based inside the toy emporium and hosted by the toy maker. New scare zones include Lucifer’s Lair with a whole host of entertainment throughout the evening & Creatures Campus, a dance show with returning favourites and even some new students.
The event runs from the 6th – 8th October and then daily from Friday 13th October through to Halloween on the 31st. Opening times for the theme park is from 10am through to 9pm and mazes open from 3pm along with the scare zones and shows. Whilst the scare zones and shows are included in your park ticket, all mazes are now upcharge costing £24 for the 3 maze bundle in the afternoon, and £30 for the evening bundle.
Our thoughts for 2023…
Thorpe Park Fright Nights is always a favourite in our calender each year and we are fortunate enough to always check out the event during the press previews, right before the event starts the following day. This year, all eyes were on the new maze Stiches, taking centre stage with a lot of hype solely on this. On our evening, we got to meet the new sisterhood that you see at the Creature Campus show and the cast of AmityHigh & LycanThorpe. We got to see some of the toys & crows also roaming around too. The highlight goes to the minions however, which you will find in the Lucifer’s Lair area, as the intensity they brought was terrifying.
The event feels so much bigger this year with just so much to see and do. Each year we always try to cover everything to share in this review however, it was a real struggle for 2023. You can certainly make a whole evening of experiencing the Fright Night parts and ignoring the rides. It did feel premium and very enjoyable during our experience and below, we have covered that in more detail of what we got to experience during our night.
So do read below if you wish to know more on each attraction at Fright Nights…
To know more about the ratings before you read below, do click here!
Stitches – New for 2023
Theming 95% | Storyline 95% | Screams 80% | Laughs 65% | Actors 85%
Brand new for 2023 is the highly anticipated Stitches. Based within a toy emporium, the toymaker has deranged toys from your childhood that fill the eerie corridors with torments and screams. As we entered the attraction, we stepped into the toy shop and met with the toymaker herself, who provided an excellent introduction to this new maze. We were soon sent on our way and it wasn’t long before we came across deformed teddy bears and Barbara, a knock off Barbie doll. The maze definitely got more intense the further in you went with such a range of highly detailed scenes, creepy actors and cool effects used. The overall toy theme worked really well and as a brand new, original themed attraction, we are super impressed with the details. The team did a great job and ultimately the end scene is something conjured up from a nightmare… utterly terrifying!
Survival Games
Theming 70% | Storyline 80% | Screams 85% | Laughs 35% | Actors 95%
Survival Games returns for its second season and comes with many updated scenes and other improvements in theming & lighting. We could see these changes from the very start with a much more intense introduction, with actors grabbing you and splitting you straight away. Heading into the main arena, for those who have been in this last year then don’t think you know the route this year. It’s much darker and much more intense. The actors had no problem getting super close up and moving you into whatever direction they wanted you to go. Think you might find your friends inside? Then they’ll split you up time & time again. We were terrified more than ever all the way through and with new additions such as the darker scenes, more theming and cool lighting sequences, this maze was super strong and will be a favourite for many this Fright Nights.
Trailers
Theming 80% | Storyline 80% | Screams 60% | Laughs 50% | Actors 65%
Returning for another year, SuperSpark Cinema opens its doors once more with a reputation of an out-of-the-screen experience. From killer clowns to other chaotic creatures around every corner, they still know how to make you jump, scream and run through all of the films as they come to life. There have been some minimal changes to the story and introduction which made it flow much better into the maze, creating a better atmosphere overall. The whole maze still remains pretty solid with the team inside doing a great job. For those who haven’t been through Trailers, the themes inside are based on adaptations of films and each room is very different all the way through. Overall, a strong attraction for the Fright Nights lineup.
Lucifer’s Lair – New for 2023
Theming 65% | Storyline 75% | Screams 60% | Laughs 60% | Actors 80%
A new scare zone for 2023 filled with wicked entertainment put on by Lucifer’s minions. Situated outside the Ghost Train, you can find a stage setup amongst the demonic winged creatures as they swarm the area. You can catch Lucifer watching from up high in his flaming throne and has the prime viewing spot for all the heart pulsating entertainment on offer. Throughout the night you can find a range of shows from the hell raising fire show, accompanied by heavy, devilish music and dancers. You can find a live band playing songs, the deadly sins dance show and also the hells angels show. With such a jam packed lineup, this is one of the better scare zone areas Fright Nights have produced and we cannot wait to spend more time here on a returning visit.
Crows of Mawkin Meadow
Theming 80% | Storyline 90% | Screams 75% | Laughs 40% | Actors 85%
Time to venture back to the cursed village of Mawkin Meadow. A new and improved outdoor scare zone with the fan favourite crows still roam the darkened paths. For this year, we’ve seen a route change with new theming, more crows and also a more detailed story which is perfect to see the attraction develop. The new characters now add a lot more depth to the storyline and build up the anticipation needed before the bombardment from the crows. The scares were terrifying and the theming all combined together to create a real complete experience.
Creatures Campus – New for 2023
Theming 60% | Storyline 75% | Screams 35% | Laughs 45% | Actors 80%
A new show for the Fright Night season incorporating some returning favourites in the Amity area of the park. The werewolves from LycanThorpe and the vampires from AmityHigh team up during freshers week as the new students plan to put a spell on you. The wicked sisterhood makes an igniting introduction to the story as the freshers week celebration starts. The show always features incredible song selections, powerful stage presence and an incredible setting with Stealth in the background. We loved the changes made and think this is one of the best versions of this upbeat, atmospheric show.
Death Doors
Theming 60% | Storyline 60% | Screams 60% | Laughs 70% | Actors 70%
Returning for its 2nd year, Death Doors promises to provide a unique experience that you won’t see elsewhere. As you enter the locksmith’s labyrinth, you will have endless opportunities to knock on the doors to see what may come out. Compared to last year, we have a character which sets a small story to the experience, before you are unleashed & can knock away. We got to see a range of creatures, from a teddy bear to Mrs Claus, each door was different from the last and they all had a different way to creep you out or scare you away. We found this attraction is great when it’s quiet as you can have a more personalised and alone experience, so would highly recommend you visit this scare zone when it’s quiet. Overall, we still love its style and it’s very unique.
To sum up, Thorpe Park Fright Nights is the home of fear once more for 2023, with a selection of new brilliant shows, scare zones and mazes alongside the returning few. Each attraction provides screams, excitement and thrilling sensations which all help create a night you won’t forget for a very long time. Our favourites for this year would have to be Stiches, the maze really did step up from everything else Thorpe Park have created in the past. The level of detail that has gone into it hasn’t been missed and we are sure if you go through more than once, you will continue to see new hidden details in every corner. Survival Games was also a huge shock to us, with the level of intensity the team are creating this year with it. We hope to see this continue throughout the season. Finally, Lucifer’s Lair was truly terrifying and was an area we could see ourselves spending more time in when visiting the event to just soak up the Fright Nights atmosphere.
A huge thank you to the team at Thorpe Park for inviting us to experience and preview all of these attractions during the press preview night. We were provided with free entry, food & drink and unlimited access to the attractions.
We even got a sneak preview into the new name of the rollercoaster coming to the resort in 2024, with it being called Hyperia. This brand-new coaster will be situated at the back of the park and is set to the be the tallest and fastest coaster in the UK!
Until then, we recommend you check out the Fright Nights event for 2023 and let us know over on our socials, what do you think of this year’s lineup?
Attractions 85%
Entertainment 75%
Atmosphere 80%
value for money 65%
uniqueness 60%
@thrillnation 🎃 FRIGHT NIGHTS 📍 @ThorpeParkOfficial #frightnights #thorpepark #themepark #halloween #event #show #pyro #fireshow #scareactor #scary #horror #fun #london #chertsey ♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs - Skittlegirl Sound
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