With the main theme park and scare seasons coming to a close it got us thinking about what our personal highlights of the year are. Obviously there were just so many to pick from for all of us so it was super hard but we eventually managed to work them out and here they are……
Pagan
My highlight was Fear Factory Live. Not knowing what to expect from a brand new attraction was a very exciting feeling and I was not disappointed. A few tricks and a few very well choreographed scenes later and here we are. It was definitely an immersive run that used it's location and its actors to its full potential. An unexpected treat to add to an evening out.
Owen
My highlight of the year is hands down Thorpe Park Resorts Fright Nights and headline attraction Trailers. Not only was Fright Nights arguably the best Merlin event this year (and the best Fright Nights, period) but Trailers saw a new era of mazes for Fright Nights. Trailers had the campy, story driven energy of the mazes of the past blended with the intense manic action we’re used to with modern mazes. What an absolute triumph this year was and I cannot wait to visit SuperSpark cinemas again soon…
Oh PS. If anyone from the events team is reading this PLEASE bring back Birthday Bash!!!
Dan
So my favourite moment from the 2021 season is one from the scare season. After many years of waiting, I finally visited Screamfest nr Burton on Trent. Now, Screamfest, although it was a great night, is not my choice but rather the experience of one maze and that maze is Love Hurts.
Love Hurts was a maze that intrigued me for many reasons. I’d heard various spoilers, not that it impacted my run. I knew of the sewer, the dark and twisted theme and the nightclub/speed dating narrative. It was ticking a lot of boxes, however, id never managed to get to the park to experience it for myself. The run on the night was near perfection, although we batched in a large group of 16, somehow and I don't know when we managed to get split down to just the 3 we went in as. The sets were just as good as I imagined and the scares came from all angles. There was no bad actor, everyone was on point and living their best dark life within. The smells in the maze were vile in all the best ways and the story was well driven. Then the finale hit and it was one of the most intense chainsaw moments id experienced and did that rare thing of having the entire group running from the room. Love Hurts was the maze I had waited for and it lived up to all my expectations and more and will stay with me for a long time to come, now it's just a case of waiting another year for my next trip to the Diced Heart.
Dane
My highlight of 2021 is from my time at Notts Maze this Halloween season. Working with the new "Cornevil" Carnival/Freakshow theme we had to create new characters and with a little guidance from Dan we came up with the idea for a dirty jester or his full title "Jester The Molester" (But his friends call him Colin). Little did I know in creating this character just how popular he would be. It started with cheeky guest interactions but soon exploded with them walking around the maze shouting Colin's name. Colin was a stand out character at Notts Maze and was being heavily recognised to the point the management were getting personal comments about him! This is my second year as a scare actor so it was so validating that I was doing a good job especially after having such a challenging year for personal reasons. Having guests screaming your name one moment, then asking for selfies only to have them run off screaming minutes later has been an amazing experience
Rachel
My favourite memory from this year has to be Oktoberfest, not only visiting every Wednesday for a whole month, but just going to soak up the atmosphere and enjoying the live shows. The park had a real vibe during And it made me feel so welcome and chilled out. I can't wait till next season to see what Alton Towers pulls off!
Dom
I’m actually really torn between two experiences. Both were incredible for entirely different reasons but I think I’m going to have to follow my heart and say that Scream Camp was my highlight. It made me push myself in so many different ways and it’s just stuck with me. I’ve never really done anything like it before, yes I’ve dabbled a toe into the slightly more hands on horror experiences, but this was different. It forces you to work as a team but also as an individual and it puts you in some unique situations that without the support from your fellow camp mates and the team involved I probably would have safeworded on. It was a 10 hour experience that I will never forget and one that I actually want to go back too!
And there we have it. Our highlights of the 2021 season. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as we had fun reminiscing about them. Here’s to making more memories in 2022!
Comments