We were honoured to be invited to a press night for the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Journey to Hell 2021 Halloween experience!
My first invite to a Blackpool Pleasure Beach event after experiencing the first incarnation of the Journey to Hell experience when it debuted at the UK theme park back in 2019.
Taking place after the park closes to the public Journey to Hell is much different to that of the 2019 Journey to Hell show.
Back in 2019, the highlights of the experience were the actor-led walkthrough around the park and the incredible ride on Icon blindfolded after we were kidnapped and put on the ride.
The event wasn’t particularly scary at any point (unless you jump at the slightest things) but it ended in the incredible Pasaje Del Terror and you were able to sit in the wonderful horror bar until the early hours and soak up the Halloween atmosphere that the venue delivers in spades.
Fast forward to 2021 and Blackpool Pleasure Beach have improved in some areas of their Halloween event but for me, have still missed a glorious opportunity to provide a unique and truly spectacular occassion.
Journey to Hell 2021 at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Now that the actor-led experience has been cast aside you now head to The Hub to start your journey throughout the 9 scare zones on offer.
Kitted out with wonderful lights and a beautifully decorated stage along with a giant screen showcasing superb graphics of the upcoming event I was getting excited.
A burger and vodka slushie was provided free of charge and instantly the atmosphere felt better than that of the 2019 event.
As you walk towards the Hub you pass by some fire effects and an overturned burned-out car.
This provided a nice apocalyptic introduction to the experience but I was puzzled as to why it wasn’t utilised within the experience thereafter as it was a huge space that certainly looked the part. It was the first (and last) time seeing it all night!
The introduction to the event told the story of a clown and Cloggy, a ghost that is said to haunt the Ghost Train at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (a true story if you believe in that kind of thing) and the experience begins.
So much for a story-led experience this year as neither the big scary Clown or Cloggy was mentioned, hinted at or even discussed for the remainder of the event which I found very strange indeed.
Stage, Hub and surrounding area all looked the part and I certainly think it was a better introduction than the 2019 event. A more relaxed area to anticipate the night’s events and an area to return to after the event has concluded.
A lovely space indeed.
On with the show!
Review MAY contain spoilers. Keep reading at your own risk.
The Legend Of The Cursed River Caves
With every one of the following ‘zone’ reviews, I’ll be providing an overview of the experience in addition to the positives, negatives and my opinion on how this particular experience could be improved.
Once you enter these cursed caves, your journey has only one terrifying destination.
This evil sorceress has demons everywhere to curse your souls.
Our Journey to Hell experience started with The River Caves and I was so excited about the free range of creativity that Pleasure Beach could have with this incredible dark ride.
We were greeted by a gentleman in a nice costume, given a helmet with a torch on and into the river caves we went.
Four actors (that I saw) shouted at us at various intervals but most of the ride was just a nice little journey in the dark with nothing happening.
River Caves is quite a long dark ride and it was the standard experience but in the darkness with a new soundtrack and a few actors here and there.
I was so underwhelmed with this as people in the queue were reeling off ideas of what could be inside which was getting me so excited for what we were about to witness.
The second we turned the corner and saw the ‘Tunnel of Love’ sign still over the top of the ride with no changes made to the boat, ride exterior or anything else that excitement quickly dissipated.
All they needed to do was use lighting on the water to make it red, put a sign over the ‘Love’ in ‘Tunnel of Love’ to say terror or similar but none of these small touches were added to this ride experience.
I had this idea in my head of a ferryman sitting in the front (or back) of the boat and he’s telling you the story of the cursed river caves. This actor-led journey would distract you from the child-friendly animatronics that are still operating within the ride.
Seeing a giant elephant, a few dinosaurs and other pieces from the day ride completely detached me from any horror. An actor on the boat would have served as a great distraction.
They also missed the boat (get it?) by not adding smoke machines to flow above the water creating a misty fog to lead you on your journey. This coupled with a lantern or light source on the front of the boat that could mysteriously cut off at intervals on the ride would have increased the quality of the experience tenfold.
This introduction to the event felt so bloody lazy that I was genuinely disappointed.
Hell Tunnels
As we hopped off River Caves we headed through a side door and into the tunnels of Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
This off-limits experience always gets me excited as you get to walk through these mysterious tunnels that the majority of the public don’t even realise exist.
There were a good few stand-out sets but this wasn’t a jump scare experience, it was more a walk into a scene, stop, listen to the dialogue and then be on your way.
I do like the more story-led experiences but only if you mix them up with jump scares. For me, there were no jump scares whatsoever but a few guys at the back certainly jumped as the pillars holding up the tunnels provide nice cover for actors to hide in but it posed a risk.
The corridors are narrow and the pillars were solid metal, one jumpy person in that particular part of the walkthrough could leave someone with a nasty headache!
As we ventured through the tunnels we stumbled into a Santa’s grotto, yes the very same Santa’s grotto from the Pleasure Beach Christmas event.
Snow, Christmas Trees and even Winter Wonderland signs were still hanging up in this horror experience…
This certainly reinforced the laziness in places that I described previously.
The location is already perfect, so much so that it doesn’t need much theming but just leaving old event props lying around without so much as even clearing them out was ridiculous.
Standout scenes were the butcher scene although making everyone bite down on a prop and passing it around for everyone else to do the same in this current climate is certainly ill-advised.
The acting in Hell Tunnels was wonderful and that certainly made up for the other areas which lacked theming but were absolutely not short on atmosphere!
The Pledge Dark Magic
Greeted by a very strange seamstress who was adamant about turning our intestines into various pieces of jewellery we scurried on by and headed to see a magic show.
The set pieces on stage were actually rather beautifully designed but sadly the performance didn’t live up to the same quality.
A rather classic trick was performed in front of our eyes but the magician on stage seemed a little nervous in his delivery.
The show as a whole wasn’t scary and this particular interlude between zones felt unnecessary.
If you walked in and the circus of horrors were in the building or acts of similar nature you’d have a great time.
A mini-show of that calibre would have been superb but opening night nerves and quite a questionable show in terms of script and delivery just created a lull in an already slow starting experience with two of the opening three experiences falling way short of my own expectations.
Blind Faith
Blind Faith really launched us into the unknown with a blindfolded ride on ICON.
Exactly the same as the 2019 event we were given blindfolds, took our seats and catapulted into this beautiful Mack Rides coaster layout.
With some audio on the first launch that reminded me of being on The Mummy at Universal Hollywood Studios all over again the ride was absolutely flying!
Warmed up all day the ride left me a little discombobulated as I hopped off and before we knew it we were thrown into the next ride experience.
Please do keep this feature Pleasure Beach, it’ll never get old!
The Big Dark Abyss
With zombies on the poster (see above), I was expecting some character actors in zombie makeup roaming around the ride or even on the ride itself sitting behind each group of two groaning and providing an even more uncomfortable experience than the climb to the top of the Big One lift hill already is.
Instead, we were greeted with zero theming, no new lighting, and the fog machine that was in the tunnel before the lift hill was turned off by the time we arrived at it!
The Big Dark Abyss consisted of a dark ascension to the top of the lift hill instead of the normally well-lit ride.
With great views of the Blackpool Tower and the illuminations that lined the streets, it was more of a sightseeing opportunity than a scary experience.
No actors, no effort in the station, no zombies of any kind, just a ride on Big One in the dark.
An incredible ride, my first ever ride in the dark but as far as horror goes, there was nothing of the sort outside of the already daunting Big One rollercoaster experience.
With that said though however adding extra rides to the Journey to Hell 2021 line-up is certainly not a bad thing and gives the experience more value for money.
The carousel next to the big one was going around with spooky music that gave me The Lost Boys vibes but there were no actors in this area.
The emptiness of a carousel going around on its own and creepy music playing was beautifully haunting and that was a nice touch. That was one particular opportunity that certainly wasn’t missed.
Scare Maze
Into the Chinese hedge maze we go as plague doctors pointed the way.
We navigated the maze that had a few sheets hanging up and some cotton wool over the hedges and within 5 minutes we were out the other side.
I couldn’t quite believe that there was no fog or disorientation of any kind so you’d get lost within the maze.
The sheets that were hanging up were actually taking you through the route to escape and there was no challenge of any kind.
If you’re going to shop at The Range for Halloween decorations at least pump enough fog in there to hide the tackiness.
What I will say though however is that the costumes were wonderful throughout not just this experience but the entire Journey to Hell production.
But it was once again another missed opportunity for me and I wasn’t the only one to share such thoughts.
Although 99% of people who shared those thoughts said they absolutely loved it when a camera was pointed in their faces…
Dear oh dear.
Valley Of Carnevil Freaks
Never be foolish enough to travel through the Valley of Carnevil Freaks alone. Strange and bizarre is our normal, the ringmaster is always enlisting new talent for his CARNEVIL.
The synopsis had me excited about this particular experience as the clown maze that took place in the Chinese hedge maze last year was actually rather good and had a great photo-op by the entrance.
This year it was a little scare zone as a few clowns came up said their thing and moved on.
Beautiful lights lit the way along with some carnival music but the space was just far too big for it to have that scare effect.
With it being a press night I think this particular zone and others for that matter suffered from a lack of actors and it really showed as the open space of the Carnevil maze felt somewhat bare and we walked through without being as close as 5 metres to any actor at any given time.
Put those actors into a more claustrophobic space, maybe a little clown crawl through a tunnel or even a strobe-lit mini big-top and it would have been a more intimate experience.
Day Of The Dead Ghost Train
Celebrate all that is living….and all that is DEAD.
Tickets please for your journey on the Ghost Train and reunite with the dead.
Easily one of my ride highlights of the night as for some reason the Ghost Train was left off the 2019 ride line-up for Journey to Hell.
This event saw the ride exterior have some Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) theming and some character actors along with Mexican festival music.
Lit up so beautifully the Ghost Train looks stunning at night and the character actors certainly created that festive atmosphere.
The Ghost Train itself hadn’t been changed on the inside which was yet again another missed opportunity but the exterior was wonderful.
Another ride added to the experience but actors inside the Ghost Train, mexican theming or just anything to continue the theme of the zone inside would have been nice but once again any extra effort of any kind for this experience was glossed over when it came to the ride itself and not the beautifully festive exterior.
Devil’s Gate
Devil’s Gate wasn’t a part of our press night preview but we did see the fire breathers that were a part of this last zone instalment.
They put on a great show and they’re very talented but these guys along with the stiltwalkers dotted around shouldn’t be classed as a ‘zone’.
They’re street theatre entertainment and should have been roaming around the park or performing in certain spaces in-between zones.
Adding to the atmosphere with their firey display this fire show brought our Journey to Hell 2021 review experience to an end.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach Journey to Hell Overall
Journey to Hell 2021 in a nutshell. They’ve done a lot with a little but there’s still much more room to improve.
The acting (for the most part), costumes and a few sets were absolutely on point but the rest felt a little lazy in comparison.
As a whole Blackpool Pleasure Beach Journey to Hell was a very hit and miss experience.
The event relied on its already superb line-up of rides and didn’t spare any expense to improve the ride experiences.
Simply turning some lights off or adding a few bits of cardboard onto the entrance just doesn’t cut it for me when it comes to a park as prestigious as Pleasure Beach.
Aside from Hell Tunnels, every zone had some serious room for improvement.
It feels as though the budget was incredibly small for this years event and that’s understandable given the situation in the world right now but other independent companies out there still put on a more detailed event with handmade sets and more.
The limited sets on display were great don’t get me wrong but everything else felt like something you’d experience at an independent budget-restricted event and not a park like Pleasure Beach.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is a park I adore with all my heart and seeing an event like this so half-assed across the park was sad to see.
The team work so hard to plan these events but it feels as though the execution just wasn’t there this year.
With influencers and vloggers praising this particular event on camera to then say completely contrasting things off it just further reinforced the honesty-is-best policy I’ve adapted in all my written and video work.
If you want to experience the rides in the dark, have an epic Hub to chill out in and a few scare (I use that term lightly) experiences then I’d suggest you go and check it out.
When the events are usually a little more underwhelming than you first think the people around you make the events what they are. A good group of friends, a few drinks and a few laughs could make a grotty toilet in Stoke city centre feel like the best event of your life so having the right people around you certainly amps these other blogger/vlogger reviews that’s for sure.
Journey to Hell 2021 felt like an event where if you’re new to scare events or quite apprehensive would be the perfect chance to dip your toe into the world of scare mazes and scare events but when I say there’s better out there, I absolutely mean it.
Check out our Blackpool Pleasure Beach Journey to Hell vlog over on Lift Hills and Thrills below:
