Once again the most spookiest time of year is upon us and I am so ready to get my scare on across some incredible 2023 UK Halloween events! As we treated ourselves to a spooky little jaunt to Orlando a few weeks ago I sadly won't be travelling to Europe for any spooky fun over there this season, but I'll instead be focussing my efforts on experiencing as much of what the UK has to offer as my calendar (and bank balance) will allow! Between Halloween season staples, revisiting attractions I've neglected over the past few years and trying out some new-for-me haunts I cannot wait to see what this spooky season has in store.
As per usual I'll be kicking off my spooky season with a visit to the iconic Thorpe Park Fright Nights! I feel like I've neglected Thorpe a bit this year so I'm pumped to be back on the island like no other and we all know nobody does Halloween like Thorpe do. Fright Nights seems to have gone through a bit of a level up over the past few years, with scare zones really coming into their own last year so I'm very intrigued to check out how they've outdone themselves ever further for 2023. Of course, the new maze Stitches intrigues me most - it's one of the most elaborate facades we've ever seen for a Fright Nights maze so if that's anything to go by I feel like we're in for a real treat with this one!
Given the family-friendly nature of this event I've never actually made it to Legoland for Halloween before, but I'm excited to say that 2023 will be my first ever visit to Brick or Treat! There's no scare mazes as this one is aimed at younger Halloween fans, but there is a very cute looking trick or treat trail, LEGO Halloween theming AND a LEGO monster street party with tons of LEGO monster meet & greets, so obviously I couldn't pass that up. I'll be visiting with my family including my young nephew who is obsessed with monsters currently so I'm sure he'll be a massive fan.
Dr.Frights has always been and remains one of my favourite indie Halloween events in the UK, and for 2023 they're introducing Route 666 - a brand new award-winning concept from the unhinged creative minds behind this awesome event. The thing I've always loved about Dr.Frights is their creativity - the way they present their concepts and scares is always so simply yet so effective and they have me screaming every single time. As a self-confessed obsessive with all things USA, I'm very intrigued by the Route 666 concept and I know the team are going to absolutely kill it (pun intended) with whatever madness they have in store for 2023.
One I was gutted to miss out on last year, we made it a priority to head over to FEAR at Avon Valley for our 2023 spooky season tour. I haven't visited since 2021 so I'm very intrigued to try out the critically aclaimed The Exorcism as well as getting back inside the award winning Malefica. One of my favourite things about FEAR as an event in general though is the atmosphere around the park. Chilling with a beer with the whiff of flames in the air and a backdrop of screams is Halloween perfection.
Another one I haven't visited for a few years now, there's a bunch of new-for-me mazes that I can't wait to have my pants scared off inside. Xtreme by name, extreme by nature, this scream park has always been up there for me as being home to some of the most intense scare mazes in the country, couple with excellent set design and detail oozing from every scene. Warehouse of the Weird, The Witches of Hard Luck Wood and Uncle Enos's Open Acres are all on my hit list for this year, as well as getting back inside the legendary Xtreme Scream Park staples like the unhinged Ash Hell Penitentiary, still to this day one of the most terrying mazes I've ever experienced.
A rendezvous with the iconic Miss Fannie Burns has long been on my spooky season agenda so this year I'll be making a point of ensuring I head south to check out Scream Aloud. Boasting six scare mazes, including two yet-to-be announced attractions, plus a scare zone, fun fair and more, Scream Aloud is located in Lymington within the New Forest, a location famous for its history of witches and dark magic. Such a naturally spooky setting for a scream park! This is an event I'm essentially going into blind, which is my favourite way to experience these things and I'm very intrigued to see what Miss Fannie Burns has in store for us!
Another long-awaited Halloween event for me, this year will finally see me darken the doors of Blackpool Pleasure Beach's spooky season offering: Journey to Hell - Freak Nights. One of the most exciting parts about this event is the way the park integrate their iconic attractions into the event itself including haunts built around the legendary River Caves, the Ghost Train, the Dodgems and more, as well as one attraction that takes guests through the actual tunnels beneath the Pleasure Beach itself! Plus, I get to ride Icon in the dark which I've never actually done before. Come to think of it I don't actually think I've ever been in the Pleasure Beach after dark before in general so that will be cool.
It's been a long time since I've visited North East England so what better excuse to rectify that than with an award-winning scare event! Another event I'm going into fairly naive, from what I can gather this is a 'follow one path' type setup where you enter at a set time and make your way through the event as opposed to a freeflow setup with separate mazes? Seems this year there are 18 'rooms of terror' including three new for 2023 scenes which sounds absolutely massive. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this event, especially the spooky themed bar at the end and I'm equal parts terrified and excited to finally experience it for myself.
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I'll also be swinging by Scarefest at Alton Towers, Howl'O'Ween at Chessington World of Adventures and potentially a few others that we haven't quite settled on yet. Let spooky season commence!
Talk later xoxo,
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