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So, taking all the limitations into account, where next for Fright Nights? While the status quo is fine, how could Thorpe Park set their standards higher?

Ideally, next year should herald the first marked change in direction for Fright Nights. Have opening hours the same (10am to 10pm) and introduce a reduced-price (say, £15) ticket for those arriving after lunchtime to bolster the idea that Fright Nights is worth a special visit for on its own merits.

Most importantly, though, introduce a charge for those wishing to do the extra Fright Night attractions. I hate the idea of having to pay per attraction, as this completely goes against the ethos of a pay-one-price theme park, where-as a single charge for a wristband or ticket that gives you unlimited access to the Fright Nights attractions perfectly compliments this philosophy, while giving the ticketholder a smug sense of satisfaction that they’re getting extra for their money; which they are.

The obvious problem with charging is the risk of alienating those who don’t want to pay for bolt-ons on top of their £30 admission. But, it is a sad fact of life that for Fright Nights to evolve, and that money needs to come from somewhere.

Of course, the solution for this is to arrive in the afternoon, pay a reduced £15 for admission, and then the £10-15 for Fright Nights, meaning that while they get a few less hours in the park, they still get all the attractions for the same amount of money. If Johny and Sally Comelately were to arrive at 2pm, for example, they would be paying £30 for eight hours on park, including all the mazes and shows, which - for a Tussauds park - isn't bad value for what you get.

So, that’s the infrastructure in place. What about the night itself?

Thorpe Park clearly have a winning formula in place with their mazes, so expansion in this area is vital, especially if you are to coerce people into paying for them.

Two shows are fine for the time being, but Thorpe need at least one more maze to show that people’s money is being re-invested into the event. A scarezone would also be a highly marketable addition, and easily possible with Thorpe’s labyrinth of pathways.

One area that springs to mind as being perfect is the pathway that runs from between Amity and Ranger County underneath Nemesis Inferno’s lift. Those without a ticket can use at least two nearby alternative routes to get around the park (through Amity or Ranger County), and those with tickets can enjoy the elements that make the mazes so popular (smoke, ghouls, disorientation) without having to queue for the privilege. 

Of course, by having a scarezone, it means the event is more than just queues into doorways. Few people I suspect are willing to queue for more than two hours for an attraction they can’t even see. A scarezone is high impact, effective and far easier to implement than a maze, despite having a similar effect.

This would also be a good opportunity to add an overlay to at least one ride. Canada Creek Railway lends itself well to this idea, with the idea of the train being able to go into the wooded section behind Logger’s Leap enshrouded in smoke and ambushed by tens of ghouls brandishing chainsaws.

So, assuming you spend all day at the park, and assuming you have no discounts, you could look forward to the prospect of £45 going towards 12 hours in the park, three mazes, one scare zone, two shows and at least one overlay.

That’s a lot of money, but let’s consider the alternatives.

As discussed earlier, there is a very real prospect that you could be paying per attraction (rumoured £3). Let’s assume you do Asylum and Freakshow once, and each show once; that’s a potential £12, if you want to do Asylum, for example, a second time, that’s £15.

Digging into your pockets every time you want to do an attraction makes it feel extremely poor value, too (whether it is or is not) and leaves you subconsciously judging each attraction on the merits of whether it was good value or not. Chances are, if the event is good (which Fright Nights has proved itself to be), and you have only paid once, such an outgoing will have been forgotten about by the end of the night.

A surcharge for at least seven attractions may seem like a bold step, but it is a tentative litmus test to see how people react to the prospect of paying for the event alone. With the half-day ticket, too, it would show fairly accurately how much of a draw the Fright Nights actually are, as opposed to the park in general throughout Half Term.

Where the event heads after this is academic, as the infrastructure is in place and the park is better poised for the future. Whether or not the park ever decides to have separate openings for Fright Nights alone is a moot point, but if they take steps towards making the event feel more special by laying on more attractions and allow it to expand as quickly as public interest, then the park will be in a better position to judge.

If they decide against the audacious step of opening twice in one day, the charge for Fright Nights on top of normal ticket prices can be adjusted accordingly; hopefully as the event grows and matures.  

Of course, this isn’t to pooh-pooh Thorpe’s effort to date. They have shown far more dedication to the cause than Alton Towers, and while it lacks the eye candy of Chessington’s Halloween Hocus Pocus, the robust backbone of extra attractions have proved themselves year after year.

It would just be nice to see Tussauds not content with a successful event and build on the momentum it has already gathered.

One thing to remember, though, before you bemoan the prospect of having to pay for Fright Nights; it is unlikely to be able to grow until such a time, and when it does, let’s remember that those poor, poor souls at the best theme park in the world have to pay $60 for their Halloween celebrations.

I know one thing, though. If they have sleepless nights, it certainly won’t be down to the cost of the event.  

Author: MS Saturday, October 01, 2005 | Post a Comment