Walk down an abandoned railway line in search of the missing Sleeper Express to discover the fate of its ghostly passengers and crew...
Theme Park | Thorpe Park |
---|---|
Park Area | Old Town |
Type | Scare Maze |
Audience | Thrillseekers |
Season | Fright Nights |
Debuted | 2016 |
Location | Old Canada Creek Railway line |
Platform 15
Platform 15 premiered at Fright Nights 2016, and was billed as the longest Fright Nights scare maze to date - a 450 metre walk down an abandoned overgrown railway line.
Visitors begin their trek at the old railway station, where they hear about the missing Sleeper Express. Walking along the track, they eventually come across the train ... and her ghostly passengers and crew. Deeper into the forest, they have the chance to explore a small town in the woodland, before entering a long dark railway tunnel...
Upon opening, the maze received widespread criticism. It follows the route of the old Canada Creek Railway behind the former Logger's Leap log flume, which is a lot of land to cover. This means the majority of the maze is sparsely themed and devoid of actors. Before dark, it's mostly a boring walk through the woodland (apart from the chance to reminisce about the former rides), and after nightfall it's a walk through empty blackness.
The maze's highlight happens when guests encounter the Sleeper Express - a genuine full sized train which used to run as Thorpe's Canada Creek Railway. Unfortunately it comes halfway through the maze: the second half is an overly long walk through a smoke filled black tunnel. Up until 2019 visitors would just exit at the end of the tunnel, meaning Platform 15 lacked any real big punchy conclusion.
It was at least partially fixed in 2019 with the addition of a short ending scene set in a ticket office. Here, a Creek Tours guide would thank the group for taking part in the tour, before he is interupted by the missing goulish train conductor banging on the window. The group are ushed out of a doorway, coming face to face with the conductor before running out of the exit. It's not perfect, but a much better conclusion than the previous version.
The maze's entrance in 2019
Queuing on the station platform
Creek Tours advertising posters
The maze begins with a walk down the abandoned railway line
A tour group being taken down the tracks
Actors exiting the tunnel
Two of the tour guides
A Creek Tours guide awaits his tour group
Take a tour from Platform 15
Visitors emerge from their experience
The maze exits into almost total darkness
Platform 15's entrance is by the old Loggers Leap bridge
This way to Platform 15
The scare maze begins at the old Canada Creek Railway station
The maze ends in a smoke filled tunnel
The maze runs around the back of Canada Creek and beside Saw: The Ride
2016 advertising poster advertising the new maze