What schemes are going on inside the Toymaker's toy factory?
What schemes are going on inside the Toymaker's toy factory?
| Theme Park | Thorpe Park |
|---|---|
| Type | Scare Maze |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Season | Fright Nights |
| Debuted | 2023 (replaced The Walking Dead: Do or Die) |
| Location | Lakeside opposite Zodiac |
Entering through the toyshop doors
Set within Howell's Toy Emporium and its adjoining toy factory, Stitches premiered at Thorpe Park's Fright Nights as the new scare maze experience for 2023.
The maze introduced The Toymaker, a new character to the Fright Nights lineup. She's an elderly lady who owns the toy factory, but her work is much more sinister than it first appears.
The experience begins with a preshow inside the small toy shop. An actor, who reveals herself as the Toymaker's granddaughter, explains a little about the backstory. After that, visitors soon find themselves navigating through the corridors and rooms of the toy factory to discover exactly what is going on inside.
Stitches is housed within a large marquee which sits next to the lake near to Zodiac and Vortex. The level of theming within the preshow is fantastic and, although it trails off a little bit within the maze itself, the low lighting levels and general murkiness manages to hide the less immersive parts well. The maze is also very long, but with enough variety of rooms that it doesn't feel too repetitive.
There are actors scattered throughout who either lurk within the corridors or jump out from behind windows and other props. However, most people will not find anything particularly terrifying within the maze - unless they are particularly scared of creepy toys and lifesize dolls.
Stitches has gone for a slightly more creepy feel rather than out-and-out full on intense frights common to Thorpe's previous Fright Nights scare attractions, but never quite seems to hit the mark. There's a decent setup and backstory, but the trip through the factory itself fails to continue the immersive storytelling. It leaves much unexplained, and while the visual elements and sets are there, it doesn't really deliver on the preshow promise of explaining the full inner workings of the Toymaker's devious scheme.
The maze is housed in a marquee next to the lake
Stitches entrance
Giant toy blocks form the entrance
A message in the blocks
The outside of the marquee is decorated as a toy factory
Service entrance
Howell's Toy Emporium sits at one end of the factory
The Toymaker in the window
Entering the maze through the shop
Making their way inside
Maze exit
Did you enjoy the tour?
