Despite a barrage of mixed reviews at the time, Journey to Hell: Freak Nights at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Oct 2019) turned out to be worth the trip up on a work night.
Similar to Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights”, BPB’s Freak Nights event spanned across the park, incorporating multiple scare mazes & scare ‘zones’.
We were kindly upgraded by the Big Blue Hotel where I’d booked to stay overnight. Our room had an amazing view of the Big One! While we didn’t get chance to enjoy the room fully (we had an early morning train), thank you so much Big Blue Hotel!
Here are some photos of the hotel & the view from the balcony.
When we’d had chance to put our rucksacks down (😂), we headed to the park under cover of night. Our event start time was 9pm, with the total event time spanning about 2.5/3 hours.
Once we were greeted at the Box Office & went to wait in the bar area, the atmosphere had… something of a holiday club vibe. Lots of people milling about, a DJ/compère type person speaking to people coming in. Friendly, but odd for a horror event.
We had chance to get a drink before we were moved into the queuing area. Upon entering the park en masse, we were segregated into large groups (20-30 people), and led by a ‘guide’ to each different maze. There was a little bit of waiting between mazes to stagger the groups, but nothing excessive.
Was the event frightening overall?
Somewhat, but not really. This was mainly down to group size. To be fair, I did jump at least once (thanks to a well camouflaged monster.) 😁
Was the event fun?
Absolutely!
While the majority of the time I wasn’t scared, the acting overall was still fantastic. From both the guide, and the actors in all of the mazes. Everything ran smoothly for the duration of the event.
The sets & park locations utilised were great. Particularly the “Tunnels” area and the “Theatre” area.
Part of the experience included a blindfolded ride on Icon, the newest rollercoaster addition to the park. As I had never been on the coaster before – I ended up going on the ride without a blindfold on. It was still a fantastic experience, and I far prefer Icon to Infusion.
Was it overpriced?
Arguably a little. Considering that £29 per ticket is just under the cost of a day entrance ticket to the park. While I enjoyed it, there were numerous teething issues with this event. If we’d missed out on Icon as many others had, the price would seem unreasonable. Getting to go on Icon was definitely a highlight for me.
That being said, there were 4-5 zones/mazes to the event with a good amount of actors & impressive sets, a (non-guaranteed) ride on Icon, and entry to Pasaje del Terror included.
Pasaje del Terror was & always is a fantastic scare attraction. Even as a separate attraction it is well worth the entry cost, and provided a solid ending to the night. Pasaje del Terror are a year-round scare maze & have still been operating throughout 2020, so make sure to pay them a visit once attractions are able to reopen.
What could have been improved?
BPB could have done a little more refinement with the overall narrative. The acting quality & costumes were all great, but the ‘story’ progression seemed to get lost as we moved between mazes.
It would have been better to have thrown at least one photo in with the ticket price, rather than having to pay for them separately. Ditch the S&M themed photo opportunities, though. That part of the event felt disjointed & cringey.
Arriving at the front entrance of the park, there was no signage to indicate where the event began. While this didn’t impact my evening, it’s an oversight to not have clear signs/directions from the entrance of the park near Pasaje Del Terror – especially when the main gates are shut.
The fact that the event only happened for a limited run of nights during the week presented difficulties. We could not take advantage of the horror bar at the exit of Pasaje del Terror, as we had to leave very early the following day for work.
All in all, it would be cool for BPB to revisit this type of Halloween event. Given this was BPB’s first venture into a Halloween event of this kind, there is definitely potential for it to be even better.
Moving forward with scare attractions, I have tickets for an event with Zombie Uprising. Hopefully we will be able to attend this year, should it be safe to do so.
Zombie Uprising will be my first airsoft zombie themed event, so I’m really looking forward to it! (& will be posting a review on my experience) ☠
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