The Sleeper Express departed Platform 15 many years ago, but never reached its final destination. You’ve joined Creek Tours on a 7 hour long tour to tour the last known whereabouts of the train, but your guide abandons you and leaves you to wander alone along the old train route. 

Across the entirity of Fright Nights, Platform 15 is one of the longer-running mazes the event has ever had, running for 6 years. It was predominantly an outdoor experience, and saw a variety of tweaks and changes throughout its run. These changes ranged from slight changes to the story line, to the addition of completely new scenes and scenery, to the extreme change of reversing its route.

Throughout its changes though, it kept the same basic premise. You went on a tour to find the Sleeper Express, but you also find the souls of those who died when the train crashed: ghostly figures known as Sleepers. And you also come face to face with the train conductor.

The maze took place along the back of Old Town / Canada Creek, along the old Canada Creek Train route. When the maze opened in 2016, a lot of the large budget (about £100,000, the most expensive maze at the time at Thorpe!) for the maze was spent on removing the old train tracks and making the route safe, meaning there was little money for theming. Whilst this meant the maze had a legitimate, and rich history, surrounded by densely forested land creating a secluded and spooky atmosphere, it had little theming and was very open.

This was rectified in 2017, with the introduction of “the village” section. This middle third of the maze created some small buildings, as well as a weaving in-and-out section which was narrow and well-themed, allowing for lots of scares.

From 2016-2019, the maze ended with a long walk down a pitch black tunnel. The tunnel was a H&S necessity, as it went directly underneath Saw – The Ride, meaning there was a need for guests to have a roof over them. Guests could not see in this tunnel, but it did feature actors and things hanging from the ceiling. The ending went through various changes, but some years included ouija boards, planted actors and more.

In 2020, the Covid pandemic forced the park to create lots of changes. For Platform 15, this meant the park had to reverse the route, as the tunnel was not suitable for a maze. Instead, the tunnel had lighting installed and was used as a queue line, and the previous start of the maze (which was the old train station for Canada Creek Railway) was transformed into a chaotic finale. This did shorten the length of the maze, but given the maze’s extreme length, this wasn’t an issue.

Platform 15 was also notable for being the first maze at the park to feature fire within the attraction. One of the old Canada Creek Railway trains was themed as ‘the’ Sleeper Express, with a fire effect that was triggered whenever guests walked past.

In its final year, Platform 15 had the “End of the Line” tagline included. This made it the first time a Thorpe Park maze was heavily advertised to be having its final year. This was to make way for preparations for Hyperia.

Platform 15 had a varied history, and its quality was sometimes mixed. Certainly in its first year, everyone will admit it was not the strongest maze, but it was a solid starting point. The maze improved and settled in nicely to the line up, with the tweaks and changes always being welcomed. The tunnel as a finale was very long, perhaps a bit too long, but was a necessary evil for the maze to operate. But it also created an unnerving atmosphere, which wasn’t created in any other maze at the park. Because of its extreme length, the maze could always have benefitted from more actors, but it was always well-staffed.

Platform 15 certainly left its mark on Fright Nights, and its natural landscape and atmosphere is hard to recreate!