2023 Seasonal Event: The Haunted Manor

I wonder why the effects were working yesterday but not today?
Not too sure , we thought it was really good. Took us by surprise when the chairs moved completely back. I’m sure they moved further backwards in a tilt than when being used in bubbling boilers.
 
What time did u watch the show? As I was in the 3pm showing and all the effects were working.
The Drayton Manor ride op has a script and he stands by the panel on the wall and presses the buttons to activate the effects.
 
Yeah the effects for the Rory show have to be operated manually. Maybe there was staffing issues which prevented the effects on your visit?
 
Castle of Shadows
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We joined from by the lake area and it was roughly a 45 min wait.
We went thought some doors and was greeted by the headmaster and was read out the rules. I liked that the owl was out of his hole.
We was then lend to where the station control room was and where the Santa’s rooms are but was to different classrooms. Everyone went into this room and the lights went out and the UV light came on and there was symbols written on the walls and the door was opened and told to get to the classroom and there was some big cloak actors with masks and they just looked at us. In the next scene was my 1st jump scare where some students were hiding behind a counter. They jumped up shouting get out of here before it’s to late and then you get into the library where there was a table and lots of them actors with masks and 1 lad saying what u doing here get out before it’s to late then we walked down this path and my 2nd jump scare with a girl popping her head out and self harming and then you exited. I was very disappointed and felt after yesterday horror show they wanted to keep the queue moving.
 
The Haunted Express
I loved this and the headphones were excellent and the scare scenes were excellent with the use of smoke machines and lighting with actors around the course.
The scare zones were ok
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Castle of Shadows
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We joined from by the lake area and it was roughly a 45 min wait.
We went thought some doors and was greeted by the headmaster and was read out the rules. I liked that the owl was out of his hole.
We was then lend to where the station control room was and where the Santa’s rooms are but was to different classrooms. Everyone went into this room and the lights went out and the UV light came on and there was symbols written on the walls and the door was opened and told to get to the classroom and there was some big cloak actors with masks and they just looked at us. In the next scene was my 1st jump scare where some students were hiding behind a counter. They jumped up shouting get out of here before it’s to late and then you get into the library where there was a table and lots of them actors with masks and 1 lad saying what u doing here get out before it’s to late then we walked down this path and my 2nd jump scare with a girl popping her head out and self harming and then you exited. I was very disappointed and felt after yesterday horror show they wanted to keep the queue moving.
We had a very different experience last night in the castle of shadows. We joined the queue at 4.45 and it took 15 mins to get through the line to the castle. We joined when it was by project doughnuts. We liked that the head mistress read out the warnings such as the usual strobe lights etc but also emphasised that if you’re scared of the dark the attraction really wasn’t for you. The group we was in all speed vanished as they walked very quickly where as I was with my disabled mother who wanted to explore the castle of shadows we had a more tailored experience. We had multiple jump scares especially with actors popping out of no where and screaming in your face. For us it was a great experience, well worth the up charge for what we experienced.

I agree the haunted express was amazing. After hearing the negative reviews about Saturday we was very hesitant about the wait but we joined the queue at 4.20 for the 4.30 express and we left the station on time. The set up is amazing and we liked it was more of a slow scare so you could see the actors from a distance instead of someone hiding and then popping up. The use of the headphones made it that much more amazing and really added to the atmosphere. The music at the end also was great.

Our let down was the haunting. We joined the queue at 5.15 and didn’t get in the attraction until 6.20 which was no bother as for us this in probably our favourite attraction at park so we will happily wait in line. The attraction was advertised as having live actors but we only saw the actor at the end of the line by the ice cream parlour who was amazing. Loved the story line of him looking out for himself and 1 night for him resulted in being trapped for 25 years in the library itself. The music and lighting in the dark really added to the atmosphere though it was very slow output.

I really feel sorry for the attendant that was working the attraction, he had been their from 10.30 in the morning (earlier if you consider getting to work and pre testing etc) and didn’t leave the attraction until it closed at the end of the night. Whilst we was in the queue they only loaded one group at a time and then once that group had finished and had exited , then and only then was they loading the next group. We didn’t see any actors in the ride itself so for us there wasn’t any change in the ride experience from the day time. Due to us sitting in the chapel from the left door, we was unable to see the figure that rose from the coffin so we was confused as to what it was. Was it a lady ? We felt that it didn’t make sense from our angle However we loved the over all sequence. We did learn an interesting fact and those of you who rose the original 90s version will probably remember this. We got into conversation with the ride op about missing the bats that used to bite you on the back of the ankle. He told us that the system and little wires of the effect is still built into the haunting it’s just simple turned off. We wish this was brought back as it really did add to the over all scare factor but I wouldn’t be surprised if health and safety have said that’s a big no.
 
I was on park yesterday briefly to check out some of the stuff I missed on my earlier visit - Rory's Boo Bash and The Haunting Reclaimed

Didn't do the scare zones or mazes because I only stayed for like 2 hours due to getting home at 5am the previous night (And having to travel home sunday)

Rory's Boo Bash -
What a fun little halloween show! We really enjoyed watching this one and love how they've included the 4D cinema effects (caught us off guard thats for sure)A nice break from the park and a chance to rest your legs (until you're up dancing!)

Definitely think this is a better place for the Rory shows and would like to see them use this space for them more going forward. Think of the possibilities!!!

The Haunting Reclaimed -
This is awesome! I actually prefer this to the Dr Ghostman storyline we have had for the last however long. Its a great mix of old and new.
Particularly loved the amount of fog used in the attraction, its been ramped up a lot for halloween and it really gets atmospheric.
Was great to hear DR X again and really fond of how the chapel scene runs for this. Got some great creepy vibes going on and it generally works a lot better than the "current" version for the last few years.

Didn't do the version with the actor however I really liked it this way. If I had to choose between the version all year and this? Definately this! Really enjoyed it

Also, huge welcome back Agatha :D
 
I did the normal version but spoke to the actor who was just outside in the queue line and he was warning guests not to enter the house as he was 1 of the lucky 1’s who managed to get out 27 years ago
 
Castle of Shadows
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We joined from by the lake area and it was roughly a 45 min wait.
We went thought some doors and was greeted by the headmaster and was read out the rules. I liked that the owl was out of his hole.
We was then lend to where the station control room was and where the Santa’s rooms are but was to different classrooms. Everyone went into this room and the lights went out and the UV light came on and there was symbols written on the walls and the door was opened and told to get to the classroom and there was some big cloak actors with masks and they just looked at us. In the next scene was my 1st jump scare where some students were hiding behind a counter. They jumped up shouting get out of here before it’s to late and then you get into the library where there was a table and lots of them actors with masks and 1 lad saying what u doing here get out before it’s to late then we walked down this path and my 2nd jump scare with a girl popping her head out and self harming and then you exited. I was very disappointed and felt after yesterday horror show they wanted to keep the queue moving.
Looks amazing
 
Storm Force 10
Maelstrom
Rapids
Shockwave all down in adventure cove today. Only air race and wave swinger open
 
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