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Scarefest 2014

Not just TT, members on here have posted as they have probably been told by the park themselves, staff for example may have been told ;)
 
It's probably true, but I'm not believing anything until a full official public announcement.
 
It also matches with what we saw in that newspaper article. It sounds spot on to me although I will admit that I didn't see the new scare zone coming.

:)
 
I did think a brand new maze would be a little too much to ask given the last minute nature of this announcement. A scarezone will be a fraction of the cost or a maze. No free maze is bad news though.

@Tom.B - Why would people post lies? Especially VERY well established members?
 
Love the idea behind Scary Tales, it's just a shame that it's being used for a Scare Zone rather than a full maze. Scare Zones don't tend to lend themselves to developed storylines, something that Scary Tales concept could really benefit from. The rest of the line up is incredibly dissapointing, it's such a shame that Scarefest suffers from heavy cuts every year, it's squandering the obvious talent of the Entertainments team.
 
I guess this is a step backwards, but at least it is only a small step backwards, and they have replaced the maze with a scare zone, which I am guessing will be a lot cheaper to run. With the budget not been increased, and money not going as far this year as last, it was inevitable that something was going to have to be cut or reduced.

In General, if there was a year to spend the cash on events at Alton Towers, this was the year. With the influx of families who might not have visited for several years, or just their first time, this was the year to have had several events through out the year. Even if guests had not come back this year for those events, they might have thought about next years trip or told friends about them.

I just think that it is one of those things that we are going to have to learn to live with, and the best way is to treat Towers Scarefest event as the starter, and then look further abroad for the main course.

Ian
 
Actually IMO we savage Merlin for inflicting such ludicrous budgetary constraints on a so obviously talented Entertainments team!

Merlin, you should be ashamed of yourselves! Whoever instigated this decision, has taken total leave of their senses!

New for 2014:
THE STOCK EXCHANGE: Makes all your nightmarish dreams of budget cuts and ever decreasing entertainments at the UKs leading park a horrendous nightmare!

Battle through rotten themeing, tired cliches, worn out story lines until you discover a frustrated entertainments team locked away in a basement without food or water until they come up with the next way to save more money!

Can you find your way to the "Boss" and defeat this evil fiend?
 
I am surprised how cheap the mazes are. £9.60 with both with Annual Pass discount is a great deal.

Would be great to get a insight in to how quickly these are selling.

Ian
 
I am surprised how cheap the mazes are. £9.60 with both with Annual Pass discount is a great deal.

Would be great to get a insight in to how quickly these are selling.

Ian

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not? I would say it's an OK deal for 2 mazes that are already built and will no doubt have less actors in this year. That has been a year on year trend also.

Incidentally, consider the queues now there are only 2 mazes.

Just to reiterate in case anyone gets the wrong impression, I will no doubt again be impressed by what the team do with a constricted budget, it's Merlin I am steaming furious with, not Towers who I hope it is understood I am actually in support of here. That team is sensational.
 
What on earth would those in charge of developing Scarefest in 2007 make of this debacle now?

Far from growing, developing into a renowned event, Scarefest is seeing yet more severe slashes to its budget for yet another year.

Another year with no new maze and instead, a Scare Zone which, if Zombies is anything to go by, will be pleasant and passable but in no way a substitute for a maze.

Those that allocate budgets clearly have no idea that in order for the event to happen, it actually needs cash to do so.

What a joke. Paulding, Barnes, Wardley and the rest must be quietly gutted to see Scarefest reduced to this.
 
Paulding, Barnes, Wardley and the rest must be quietly gutted to see Scarefest reduced to this.

It would be nice if they would come out and be a bit less quiet - understand why not, but surely it's about time everyone got together and absolutely slammed Merlin for this utter rubbish!
 
It would be nice if they would come out and be a bit less quiet - understand why not, but surely it's about time everyone got together and absolutely slammed Merlin for this utter rubbish!

What would be the point? They are a part of Towers past and no longer relevant to what goes on there.

Merlin couldn't care less what we think. They barely care about what the good-hearted and passionate managers/staff at their parks think! As long as Merlin see the £££s coming in and they can get away with minimising budgets every year then that's that. They will only react now if profits start to fall. Which I doubt will happen at all.
 
I am looking forward to doing Zombies this year, as I haven't before! I will also be willing to try Scary Tales if it's a 3 pumpkin rating, which I assume it will be!
 
Poor.

Considering the actual scaremazes Towers make are usually cited as some of the best in the business, it's shocking to see budgets cut further and the event stretched more.

We may see some improvements on parkwide atmosphere but it won't make up for slashing a maze. The new scarezone idea is interesting enough but it won't make up for a maze going!

Also there's the fact that the event is stagnant. The same two mazes and zone from last year. No doubt the same family attractions too.

This event should evolve and grow every year - by now it should be MASSIVE. Instead it now shrinks yet still pretends to maintain the same pull in its advertising.
 
Visiting last year, I personally thought Carnival of Screams was the best maze there. I personally find both Sanctuary and Tower of the terrors completely awful (especially the latter). The fact that CoS has now gone and not being replaced with another maze is nothing short of abysmal.
 
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