Taking place after the park closes, Face it Alone was a simple concept: You go through a maze by yourself. But if you’re expecting a normal runthrough, you’re in for the biggest surprise of your life.

Do you want to read the experiences of Face it Alone from our forum members? Or share your own? Check out our dedicated thread here!

When Face it Alone was first announced for Fright Nights 2013, there was a significant amount of sceptism about the experience. An upcharge, after-hours experience, at £15 per person (at a time when mazes were otherwise free), it was marketed as an extreme experience, but nothing else was said. With mazes like Experiment 10 splitting groups up in the past, and you even being able to get solo runthroughs on quiet nights at Fright Nights, that scepticism was justified. But fears were completely unfounded; Face it Alone was extreme.

What exactly happened during Face it Alone varied maze-to-maze, year-t0-year, person-to-person. As such, it makes it hard to describe exactly what it was. In short, though, Face it Alone was a ‘no-holds-barred’, anything goes type experience. Actors would be hands-on and very physical. They could swear at you. Restraint you. Carry you. Whatever they wanted basically. There was the potential for you to get messy, coming into contact with (amongst other things) water, make up, face paint and more. Some experiences could be quite explicit too. Naturally, this was an 18+ only experience.

For some, this will shock and raise eyebrows. Prior to the experience, guests were to sign a waiver agreeing to the fact anything could happen. Of course, everything was perfectly safe – this wasn’t like other extreme attractions which exist where you may end up hurt, or have your appearance changed. Indeed, even a bruise would be a concern for the park. But this was still an extreme experience all round.

The mazes which offered Face it Alone were:

2013: The Asylum, Saw Alive, Cabin in the Woods, My Bloody Valentine

2014: Saw Alive, Cabin in the Woods, My Bloody Valentine, Studio 13

2015: Saw Alive, Cabin in the Woods, My Bloody Valentine, The Big Top

2016: Saw Alive, Cabin in the Woods, The Big Top, Platform 15

There were also difference each year to how Face it Alone operated. Some of these were obvious, others less so.

2013

Price: £15

Choose what maze you wanted

The first edition of Face it Alone saw guests head to the Calypso BBQ (next to Slammer). Guests were signed in, and also greeted by The Director and his assitant, and treated to a champagne reception. It was here that the experience begun, even if you didn’t realise it.

This was a lot more psychological, with The Director and his assitant trying to ‘pysch you out’, taunt and tease you, make you think this was the scariest thing ever. This was done whilst the final normal runs for the maze were finished. After the waiver was read and signed, The Director or his assistant would take (or potentially drag!) you to your maze. Depending on what maze you chose, this could take some time, and itself would be intense.

From here, you were at the mercy of the actors. They could do whatever they wanted to you; they had no script to follow. This meant your experience would be completely different and unique!

2014

Price: £15

Choose your own maze

Again, Face it Alone started the same, going to the BBQ for a champagne reception, and then being taken back to your maze.

2014 was different once your entered the maze though, as the actors followed a set routine. This meant that, by-and-large, the Face it Alone experience for a maze was the same each time (so, for example, everyone who did Cabin in the Woods would have gotten a very similar experience, but it would still be completely different to anyone who did Studio 13). In a way, this meant the level of extreme dropped a little bit compared to 2013, as actors were a little less reactive, however it was still very extreme.

2015

Price: £15

Maze selected by the park

2015 was perhaps the most extreme and daring version of Face it Alone.

Unlike previous incarnations, Face it Alone featured a ‘selection ceremony’ at 2.45pm (just before mazes opened). This happened at The Big Top, in the outside area, and was turned into a little show for spectators too. Here, a wheel would be spun, determining what maze everyone would do (this was presented at random, but was in fact rigged and pre-determined). This meant guests would go straight to the selected maze at the end of the night.

The in-maze experience was more fluid, with actors being given free-reign, and as such, each experience was unique. Unlike other years too, ‘Face it Aloners’ would sometimes be made to interact with each other in the maze too. This was particularly prevalent in The Big Top, which had lots of space to allow this. This was unlike other mazes where you’re split up and can meet others again (like Survival Games), as actors completely controlled who and when you interacted with others.

This year was also a bit more explicit sexually, which was perhaps a slightly cheaper shock-tactic, but also effectively and common for extreme experiences.

2016

Price: £20

Mazes advertised prior

For 2016, the park did-away with the ‘random’ selection of the maze, instead advertising in advance which maze would be the ‘Face it Alone maze’ before you bought tickets. This meant that you choose once again what maze you did, but each maze only ran on selected nights.

Though still very extreme, it was toned-down slightly compared to 2015, and also went back to 2014’s ‘carbon-copy’ design, meaning that every run through in The Big Top, for example, was the same.

The Future

Face it Alone did not return in 2017, for several reasons. With The Walking Dead mazes coming to the park, the owners of the IP – AMC – have strict guidelines for how their mazes run, and they don’t align with Face it Alone / extreme experiences. Moreover, Face it Alone was becoming more difficult to plan and manage, and there were unfortunately instances of guests acting inappropriately during the experiences.

There are currently no plans for Face it Alone to return, but we would welcome the return of another extreme experience if the park can offer it!

Do you want to read the experiences of Face it Alone from our forum members? Or share your own? Check out our dedicated thread here!