The Crystal Maze set to open at Old Granada Studios
The highly-anticipated Crystal Maze Experience is set to open in Manchester this weekend.
The live experience, inspired by the successful TV show which graced screens from 1990-1995, has taken over the iconic Old Granada Studios, which were once home to the likes of Coronation Street and The Royal Family.
Created by Little Lion Entertainment, the experience is the second in the UK, with a London location being open for over a year. For CEO Tom Lionetti-Maguire, Manchester was the perfect location for the venue. He said: “We had been considering where our second venue would be for a while and every time we came to Manchester, it just made sense, and then we found this space at Old Granada Studios and we have working on it since September.
“Every time I’m in the city I fall in love with it a bit more. The people are great and the place is always buzzing.”
The Crystal Maze Manchester experience is set to be jam-packed full of 24 entirely new games, alongside new iterations of old favourites. Once in The Crystal Maze, groups of eight contestants are guided through four zones Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Future by a personal Maze Master.
As they make their way through, contestants compete in a variety of games in four categories; Physical, Mental, Skill or Mystery. Each is designed to test their strength under pressure. The more games they win, the more crystals they get and at the end of their time in the maze, the crystals will be converted into precious time in the Crystal Dome.
Tom is excited to hear what visitors to the experience think. He said: “It is absolutely gigantic and looks incredible. It is Quite different to our venue in London thanks to more space and height. There is everything from a mini rollercoaster to a giant ball pit to a life size version of space invaders.
“The Crystal Maze was a very British TV show. It is a very tongue and cheek and a different world that you enter, so we have lovingly created that. I think there is a real movement of people who want to get involved and do things and be active and that’s what we enable people to do.
“The big thing here is that it is your turn to be the star of the show. There is no need to shout at the TV saying ‘I could do that!’ because now you actually can.”
The Crystal Maze opens Saturday April 1.
