Movie World Fright Nights 2016

[Reanimated35]

Most, if not all, of the feedback we provided has been actioned on and improvements made. Last night was so much better than night one. 

Looking forward to see what they do with White Xmas, then Carnivale and Fright Nights next year. 

[Reanimated35]

Just to illustrate my earlier point re the lighting for Fright Nights, this is why I don't like purple lights.

 

Managed to salvage it to a reasonably decent shot though so it's not the end of the world, just a bit annoying. 

 

[Gilberty]

Review for Fright Nights October 7/10/16 - warning - spoilers!!!

Hey there, this is super long, but if you’re interested this was our trip last week. Side note, we used Uber for the first time as we stayed near by….how awesome is Uber!! Way heaps better than a taxi, although the driver was a bit creeped out about our costumes and makeup…anyway, arrived in time for 1630 and the hosts were bang on time too in organising small groups to go through from the front gates to the Terror Lounge.

Lounge is way heaps better than the last 2 years, better position, size and accessibility. The pictures and set up, all the furniture was fantastic and there was more than enough room for everyone. One alcoholic beverage per adult (had a wrist band to allow drinks to be bought).

I was disappointed that there was not as much themed food as in previous years – no jelly syringes, specimen jars with chocolate mousse or lemon meringue, jam donuts with syringes etc. The rest of the food was awesome in the lounge though, just wish there had been more dessert rather than lollies. Fantastic return of the grave cheese cake and chocolate fountain though, deeelish!!

Lanyards and pendant awesome this year, as I keep them for souvenirs I try to keep it in good nick but last years was a poor lanyard and the paper UTT sign tore half way through the night. This year's lanyard had Fright Nights on it!!!!….I know, I know, small things that impress me!!

Was good to see the makeup team doing their thing for staff in the lounge. It was cool that the staff came to life and got in character once they had the makeup on too.

I loved the behind the scenes pre-opening pep talk. Like last year, the staff came and sat in the stands with us so ‘selfies’ could be taken and the staff were cool. Some of the staff stayed in character the whole time (this is MY HOUSE!!) while others were happy to have a chat and compare make-up tips (my partner and I dressed up and used latex makeup for gashes on our faces and neck). This opening felt a lot more relaxed than in the last 2 years, not as rushed and panicky.

We were escorted to the VIP viewing area for the opening, and this was a huge disappointment – we were off to the side, right in front of the entrance to the Hollywood Stunt Driver show, only able to view the whole thing on the screen, so there was no point in having an exclusive viewing spot. Last year was on the corner and able to see the whole show, whether it was in front of the big screen or moving down the street.

After the opening it was off to the lounge to dump excess baggage in the free lockers – another awesome addition this year having it right at the lounge.

We thought we would do rides first, but unfortunately there was a power surge or something just as we were on the first curve of Scooby Doo. I have to say, the staff and announcements were really great in evacuating the ride, assisting us down from the ride safely and instructions to the tee – obviously they run safety drills often as there was no problems at all.

The new Doomsdayer ride was great! I love Superman everytime, and went on the Green Lantern too which was super.

Then we thought it was time for the mazes. Did Friday the 13^th first, it was less than last year, but still great. Forgot to go back to the secret room though! Whoops! Conjuring 2 was next, the first go through I was so impressed by the décor, setup and atmosphere, but the scare actors were a bit lacking. We went through again later in the night and it was intense and fantastic. The girl in the bedroom took a liking to my LED shoes and totally creeped me out! The scare actor in the roof was pretty cool too, although I’ve since read that this has been taken away? Secret room was cool, those water bottles sure do a good job!!

From Dusk Til Dawn looked great, loved the music and stuff, but was just not scary, very entertaining though. The most ‘roomy’ out of the mazes. Our trip through might have been diminished a bit by some idiot teenage girls screaming out ‘don’t effing touch me’ to every one of the scare actors. Lord, but that’s so annoying! Wyrmwood was my favourite maze last year, so I was really looking forward to it. I think it was actually better last year, but it was still the best overall on the night we went. Best parts: the guy at the fridge darting towards you at the start, and obviously the chemsuit dancing guy who changed his position and routine on each trip through the maze which was cool. I wish they had had the room set up like last year (and in the movie…) with guys hung up on the wall and the experiment table, but oh well. The secret room was cool, you could see the chemsuit guy reset for each pass through and stayed in character the whole time, sometimes waving at the camera and generally being creepy.

The VIP tour was next for us…..well, the less said the better. Very disappointing compared to the last 2 years. It really felt like a late addition to the tour and just added because they have done this aspect of the tour on the last 2 years. People in our group immediately strayed out of the pentagram to wander around the museum and lost interest in the guide straight away. Best part was (spoilers, obviously) the actor who played a part of the group who turned into a zombie, but it happened so quickly and it was hard to see in such a large group what was happening. Pretty much ushered out the door and sent on our way after that, just a bit of let down! People around us were saying ‘is that it?’ and that it was lame. The first year on the UTT was the best, but it was large scale and off the beaten track, so I get that it needs to be down scaled, but one room in Scooby Doo? I dunno. Underwhelming.

Anyway, dinner, more rides, more trips through the mazes, photos in Day of the Dead precinct, the Apparitions alley way was awesome since they couldn’t have the Zombie Alley it was a good substitution. I loved the DJ’s and bands, music and scare actors for the queues.

Oh yeah, we went back to go on Scooby just before it closed. There was 6 young fellas about to get on the ride, and the 2 attendants asked them if they’d pushed in. The adamantly denied this, so they were asked again, a bit more firmly this time – still denied. The attendants then advised the group that they had had at least 4 complaints from other patrons in the queue that descriptions of them revealed they had queue jumped. They then gave them an option of being escorted to the end of the line, or out of the ride but they were not going to be allowed on the ride straight away. The guys left and everyone in the queue was stoked! Well done staff at approx. 2130 – you were calm, efficient, respectful and firm! If any admins managed to plow through this review, please thank them!

The finale was ok, but not in theme I didn’t feel with the rest of the night. Everyone seemed up for a dance, but the music was not quite there. Overall, it was an awesome night, however need another night to appreciate some other stuff. I think even with the UTT with fastrack, you still run out of time!

We had decided to walk out of the park this year to avoid the hold up, but I see they had traffic control set up and haven’t seen any one with concerns this year about getting out of the car park.

TL;DR – UTT lounge awesome, food great but need more themed food back please! Mazes rated by me best to worst – Conjuring 2, Wyrmwood, Dusk til Dawn and Friday 13^th. Precincts best to worst – Day of the Dead, Apparaitions, Gothic Hall and Halloween. Wish there was more smoke and there seemed to be much less scare actors. Ooh, also, the slidey guys didn’t get their sparks on this year, that was cool last year! Everything was clean and safe, it didn’t feel over crowded even on a sell out night. The enthusiasm of the staff didn’t wane the whole night. Will be back again next year!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

19 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Apparently a lot of people felt that using the theme of an asylum, or a VR experience in which you are 'committed' was poking fun or minimising the seriousness of mental illness... The social commentary increased and it seems as though the park bowed to the 'vocal' minority 

Yet it's ok to have a rollercoaster themed to an Asylum?

#IDon'tWantToLiveInThisWorldAnymore.

[downunder]

Great review, and thanks for the tip offs. I'll know what to do when I go this Saturday.

[Brad2912]

13 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Yet it's ok to have a rollercoaster themed to an Asylum?

#IDon'tWantToLiveInThisWorldAnymore.

Shh.. They haven't noticed yet.

"Arkham Factory launches Nov 2016!!" Haha

[downunder]

Lol I was lucky I got to Fear VR (and Insnitarium maze) at California's Great America before the shut them, such a ridiculous situation, there were no grounds for complaint - just standard horror presentations.

What if factory workers get offended and complain. Maybe they'll re-theme Arkham Asylum as a Vegan Restaurant.

[rappa]

I'll complain then!

One thing we don't need more of is friken Vegans!

[downunder]

Lol, and while we're at it the new area of Movieworld vilifies villains, close it immediately. 

[j_m-kelly]

15 hours ago, Gilberty said:

I think even with the UTT with fastrack, you still run out of time!

I 100% agree! I really think they should extend the hours just a bit, maybe open it until 10:30 or even 11:00 if possible, that way you can get more bang for you buck.

[Brad2912]

13 minutes ago, j_m-kelly said:

I 100% agree! I really think they should extend the hours just a bit, maybe open it until 10:30 or even 11:00 if possible, that way you can get more bang for you buck.

That choice isn't MW's, it's council noise regulations that stripulate when outdoor noise limits apply. 

[MaxxTheMonster]

18 hours ago, Gilberty said:

I think even with the UTT with fastrack, you still run out of time!

Got C2, FDTD and F13 done twice, Wyrmwood 3 times, also spent 20 mins listening to the live music at Gotham Hall...  Spent 30 mins sitting around chatting and eating dinner, did the extra UTT experience, the Terror Rooms multiple times and also got to wander around the park a bit watching the scare actors in their precincts, as well as multiple smoke breaks during the evening...

Pretty sure I read here that on opening night some of the group got all the mazes done 3 times and C2 5 times...  As well as a few rides...

Just trying to understand how when you got to do all the mazes, the UTT stuff and a couple of rides you are saying you still ran out of time...

Edited October 17, 2016 by MaxxTheMonster

[Reanimated35]

Alright, I was holding off on posting a review after the first night I went (1 Oct) and did the UTT. I figured, it's night one, not everything is going to go to plan, and it didn't but it's not 100% fair to judge them on that. However I've now been on the UTT twice, and to the event 3 times so I feel more comfortable in assessing it. 

As I'm sitting here tonight deciding which images I might edit and post, I started looking at photos from 2015. I really shouldn't have. The more I look at the photos from last year, the more I'm let down by this years' event. 

It really does seem like there was a lot of budget cuts to the event this year. 

So, in my opinion:

The Negative:

> There's no actors anywhere other than main street. 

> There's less actors this year on main street (or at least there seems to be)

> I know it's never going to change, but I'll say it again like I did in 2014 and 2015, the dance music IMO doesn't suit the event.

> The event was oversold

> The UTT was oversold

> Fast track was oversold

> The "tour" on the UTT was, well......weak. Think back to last year. A walk through WB Kids with multiple 'scenes' to stop and watch, with the tour then culminating in a ride on the merry go round while being attacked by zombies. This year? Enter a room, hear a story, get ushered out of a room by 3 or 4 actors. Last years tour would have taken around 10+ actors (at a guess) and worked really well. This years' tour took 5, was shorter, and left people going "that's it? oh". I agree with them. 

> The behind the scenes rooms in the mazes. These are both a positive and negative. They're good fun, but this year, you've done one, you've done them all. It is fun squirting water at people though.

> No fire show

> The actors in main street were mostly repeats of previous years

> It felt like it was trying to be more "family-friendly". IMO they should make FN 18+ only and make it really scary and gory. Leave Carnivale for the families and Xmas for the kids. 

 

 

The Positive:

> The terror lounge was bigger and a nicer venue

> The food on offer was great quality and there was plenty to go around

> The mazes - F13, and WW, even though they were recycled mazes they were done really well as usual and still felt new enough to be enjoyed. FDTD, having never seen the show, the maze seemed pretty good. It was a 'fun' maze. C2 - this is the big name as we all know, and it was really well done. Having seen it with the lights on really showed the amount of detail that went in to it and I really enjoyed it. 

> The behind the scenes areas of the mazes are fun but repetitive. Trying to scare people is fun and it was also nice to see the commercial set behind FDTD.

> The performers did well to stay in character when approached by guests. I only saw one break character and that was to provide directions to a guest, which IMO would have been rude of them not to, but it was also rude of the guest to approach a performer rather than a staff member. 

> Make up was great

 

Overall:

The tour felt lacking and there was not enough actors in main street. I'll admit there were massive improvements between the 1st and the 15th, but even with the changes for the better, it was still lacking. I just hope that whatever sapped their budget this year (I'm looking at you DD, coaster, expansion plans & WnWS) doesn't have as much of an impact next year and 2017 can be just as kick ass as 2015 was. We'll just pass 2016 off as a glitch in the matrix.

 

Last year I gave FN 8.5/10. 

This year, if I'm being generous I'd give it a 5.8/10. I just couldn't get into it this year which is sad since I'm usually a huge advocate for Fright Nights. 

 

 

For reference:

[Zanstabar]

Now that it's towards the end of the event, I'll share my thoughts

Conjuring 2:

Most inconsistent of the year. I've had runs through this maze where I've had heart palpations by the end. I've also had runs where I haven't seen a single actor. It could've been the best of the year if it was just a bit more consistent. 

The lack of detail in some sections is starting to get noticeable. Bumping into an undecorated wall reminds me that I'm still in a maze. Some hallways also aren't that detailed. Now that the facade is in the spotlight as you enter, the painted brick is starting to look a little bad. I noticed it straight away on the first night but threw that opinion away as it was a dark environment. It's a lot less passable when it's basking in a bright light. All this aside, the new props are great, and I hope they make an appearance in future mazes. They could be a little scarier, but that's just me being an absolute perfectionist. 

From Dusk til Dawn

On the first night, I only had great things to say about this maze. As a fan, I noticed all the references and scenes straight away. Now that I've been through it more times than I care to admit, I'm picking up on a lot of criticisms. 

Santanico Pandemonium's Snake Dance could be a lot better if she had an actual snake with her. I'm not suggesting that they bring a live reptile into a maze. Spending $20 at Australian Geographic would be all it would need. The two main bar scenes are starting to not look like the source material. This could just be my inner perfectionist coming out, or it could just be that I've been through the maze enough to notice.

Friday the 13th

Hands down the most visually appealing of all the mazes. The outdoor scenes are much improved over last year. The cabin scenes are also the most convincing of the whole event this year. If every single scene in every maze be as nice as these, then I'd be a happy chap. 

I didn't find it as scary as last year. While I did flinch every now and again, it's definitely not up to the same level as other mazes have been. 

Wyrmwood

From what was my least favourite maze last year, this has been much improved. Just like Friday the 13th, the outdoor scenes are a lot better. That's not to say it's the best maze of the year. I actually don't have any other thoughts about this one. Maybe it's just not that big of a standout?

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

Let's face it; this is just a glorified photo opportunity. This area felt like dead space. Zombieland felt alive and vibrant. This is comparable to a pathway between two scare actors. 

Day of the Dead

I'm not a fan of how the main precinct seems to just be a massive show/party space. It would be nice to see them utilise this space in a similar manner to the Psychoscarepy:  Unleashed scare zone. Keep the actors scaring people, but have little creepy vignettes scattered about. Just like Halloween, this feels like a photo opportunity. At least the makeup is nice.

Gothic Hall

I can't give my thoughts on something that I haven't experienced. It may be neglectful of me to not go and see the performances, but it also hasn't grabbed my attention and made me want to see the performances. Maybe that's an issue?

Apparations

The claustrophobic alleyway is a great addition, but the crowd flow is a horrible because of it. It would've been nice to see something a little more creative, but it's still great to see them utilise an idea from some fans. 

Overall

I gotta agree with @reanimated35; the party atmosphere isn't that great. It's nice at the end of the night during the closing show, but I don't go to Fright Nights to have the same experiences I could have by going out clubbing. Just like last year, the event seems like it's trying to form a Frankenstein's monster out of both Carnivale and Fright Nights. Don't try and combine the two. Leave Fright Nights for actual frights and not a spooky themed party.

Not as close to last year, or even to some previous years. It felt a little stale in my opinion. Let's hope this isn't the new trend for future Fright Nights

[Brad2912]

Hard to disagree with any of that Reanimated

i agree with being a strict policy on age to allow the scares to ramp up. Making it 18+ probably cuts out too much of their market, but I'd certainly make it 15 or 16+, strictly. At that age they can see MA15+ movies at the cinema and that should be the level of offering for FN

[New display name]

You nailed it @reanimated35.  Fast passes were over sold and at 9pm they were still trying to sell them everywhere.  I went on the second night and at one point for Wyrmwood, the Fast pass line was longer then the beggars line.

I did have a good night.  A wise man told me “Once you have salt on chips you never go back” This year Fright Nights was the chips without the salt. Or fish without the lemon.

Edited October 19, 2016 by YLFATEEKS

[jaginator18]

Hey guys! I'm to Fright Nights this Saturday and I'm taking my two friends who have never gone to Movieworld before as they've moved from interstate. We decided we should get Fast Track for the rides so that we don't have to worry about managing our time while trying to conquer all 4 mazes and a few rides but when we tried to book the the fast tracks we can't select a date? Does anyone know if all the fast tracks are sold out for the rest of the month? Is it possible to buy the fast tracks inside the park and if so are they the same price?

[themagician]

It is possible to purchase in pack, but believe, and I could be wrong, but do think they are a bit more expensive in park.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

$30 online

$35 in park

[Park Addict 93]

Looks like Friday the 13th in 4D is being added to the remaining dates with the removal of Catatonic. (link currently does not work/lead anywhere).

Anybody know what is happening with the Reel Horror Film festival?

Edited October 19, 2016 by Jordan M.

[downunder]

I also note the Silverwood thing on the 29th is back.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

Janine already mentioned that ?

[downunder]

^Oops missed that.

I presume Friday the 13th 4D is that really lame one from last year? 

[JaggedJanine]

19 hours ago, Jordan M. said:

Looks like Friday the 13th in 4D is being added to the remaining dates with the removal of Catatonic. (link currently does not work/lead anywhere).

Anybody know what is happening with the Reel Horror Film festival?

That has been a dead link on the site since before they announced FN this year. It just hasn't been removed yet since last years event.

[themagician]

The finalists for the Reel Horror Film Festival have been uploaded online:

Edited October 21, 2016 by themagician