Thorpe Park Takes Fright Nights Beyond the Park Gates With New Blackout Bus

Thorpe Park is taking Fright Nights beyond the theme park gates for the first time with a terrifying new experience designed to begin the horror before guests even arrive at the park.

The Nova Lux Express is a special blackout bus experience connected to Tenement, Thorpe Park’s brand-new scare maze for Fright Nights 2026.

The one-night-only experience takes place on Saturday 3 October 2026, transporting selected Fright Nights visitors from Staines Railway Station towards Thorpe Park on a journey in near darkness.

What Is The Nova Lux Express?

The Nova Lux Express is no ordinary bus journey.

Passengers will board at Staines Railway Station before being plunged into an almost pitch-black journey lasting around 15 minutes.

The experience forms part of the story surrounding Tenement, Thorpe Park’s new fully immersive scare maze set inside the abandoned Nova Lux Senior Living.

Guests taking the bus become the latest group of electricians sent to investigate persistent power problems at the abandoned care home.

There’s just one problem — the previous team sent to investigate has disappeared.

As the bus travels towards Thorpe Park, passengers will learn more about what happened at Nova Lux Senior Living before continuing their experience inside Tenement.

When Can You Ride The Blackout Bus?

The Nova Lux Express is operating for one day only on Saturday 3 October 2026.

There are four scheduled departures from Staines Railway Station:

• 2:00pm
• 3:00pm
• 4:00pm
• 5:00pm

Each journey has space for just 14 passengers, with boarding operating on a first come, first served basis.

To be eligible to board, guests need to have purchased both a Thorpe Park Fright Nights entry ticket and a Tenement maze ticket.

Guests must show proof of their tickets before boarding.

The experience is recommended for visitors aged 13 and over, while guests under 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over.

The Story Starts Before You Reach Thorpe Park

The Blackout Bus is part of a wider idea behind this year’s Fright Nights — extending the experience beyond the traditional boundaries of the theme park.

Thorpe Park Vice President Ruth Storey said the story of Fright Nights normally begins when visitors enter the park, but the Nova Lux Express changes that by beginning the Tenement story at Staines Railway Station.

That means guests can already be part of the Tenement storyline before they have even arrived at Thorpe Park.

The concept also fits directly into the storyline of Tenement.

Tenement: Thorpe Park’s New Pitch-Black Scare Maze

Tenement is one of the major new additions to Thorpe Park’s 25th anniversary Fright Nights celebrations.

The scare maze is set inside the abandoned Nova Lux Senior Living building.

Rather than simply walking through a traditionally lit scare maze, guests have to navigate the attraction in almost complete darkness using a shared handheld light.

The power has failed, the residents have disappeared and something appears to be lurking in the darkness.

The Nova Lux Express therefore acts as an introduction to the world of Tenement before visitors even reach the maze itself.

Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2026

The Nova Lux Express arrives as Thorpe Park celebrates 25 years of Fright Nights.

This year’s event features Tenement alongside returning scare mazes including Trailers, Stitches, Survival Games and DeadBeat.

There are also scare zones, live entertainment and the opportunity to experience some of Thorpe Park’s major rollercoasters after dark.

Fright Nights 2026 is running on selected dates from 2 October until 1 November 2026, with the event operating from 3pm until 9pm.

A Fright Nights Experience With A Difference

The Nova Lux Express is a relatively small addition to this year’s Fright Nights programme, but it represents a different approach to Halloween entertainment at Thorpe Park.

Rather than waiting until guests enter a scare maze to begin the story, the experience starts at the railway station and continues during the journey towards the park.

With only 14 passengers able to travel on each departure and the experience operating for one day, the Blackout Bus is also a particularly limited part of this year’s Fright Nights.

For those with tickets for both Fright Nights and Tenement, Saturday 3 October could offer an unusual way to begin an evening at Thorpe Park — by entering the story before even reaching the theme park gates.