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ℹ️ Heads up...
This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.
I'm glad to hear the mazes are looking better this year. Also, I hope The Smiler will last throughout Scarefest with it's downtime record, especially after the recent re-concreting.
Is the lighting better than last year? Where are the best areas and such? I hope this year will be a good one.
It's too early to assess the lighting overall, as only part of the park was open tonight. The main difference was the addition of a green filter to one of the lights in Dark Forest, which has improved things slightly there - if they do the whole tower the area could actually look pretty decent for once.
Having done the preview last night they have definitely brought all 3 mazes up to standard, I'm not going to go into any detail but will put a few little bits in the following spoiler box, read only if you want to be spoiled.
Terror- similar to last year but a few small changes to most scenes (looking up in the rubble room is impressive), banqueting hall is the big change here and much improved. It was really well acted too.
Sanctuary - same as March
Carnival - much improved, more substantial, scenes are better constructed, few new scenes and finale is completely new and very theatrical. Definitely a vast improvement.
Fountain square was looking quite good with the fun zone stuff in it.
So, grouping the first two days together, the event so far has been ok. Nothing special, but ok.
The mazes on the first part of the first day were, well, shockingly bad. I really was not impressed at all. The Sanctuary was just the same old, but it seemed as if the audio at the end was much quieter. This maze needs a refresh for next year. The hospital theme works well, but needs to kind of drop its big link to The Smiler and just be The Sanctuary with some new effects etc.
ToTT was really poor and it just lacked any guest interaction. We were told that they had problems with staff numbers, but even still, the maze is getting old and in need of a big refresh. Its effectively been the same maze since 2003. On the second day we managed to get a better run and the actors really were going for us like mad. I actually jumped a few times. Batching on the second run was a problem with 3 groups trying to go up the stairs and into the pre-show video room all at once. Think clearer instructions need to given at the start to ensure people go around in their groups and don't try to join up with others. The attraction wasn't even busy so there was no need to send everyone through so quickly.
Carnival was a let down and I was REALLY, seriously not impressed with the staff. They were excessively rude and although I agree with keeping in character, this was damn right rude and unacceptable. Stealing guests property, throwing it around, nicking guests food and drinks. I mean ok its meant to be funny, but it still is theft! We didn't get on the maze at first, but managed to get a another try later. This time I actually enjoyed the maze and love the added new scene, but it was spoiled by the earlier farce!
Park was moderately busy, Smiler was 2 hours at peak, Air Nemesis 60 mins, most other rides around half an hour. There was a power cut mid afternoon around 3pm which meant from Duel across to the right was out of action. So, in effect, for an hour and a half the only rides running were in Forbidden Valley and Duel. You can imagine the queues this created.
Anyway, Scarefest. Towers street looks nice with lots of characters, pumpkins, halloween music playing etc. An effort has been made throughout the park with gel covers on most of the lighting, though to my sadness, the green writing along the wall by Hex wasnt there. Towers looked nice all lit up in changing colours (no Smiler logo this year). The Smiler only had the marmilizer for lighting effect, and i dont recall seeing anything on Oblivion.
The day was however, a disaster. Whether the power cut screwed things up, or whether tickets had been over sold for the mazes I am unsure, but we managed ZERO rides in the dark.
Yep, zero. First stop was Carnival of Screams. We bought fastpass for this, and while the queue wasnt that big, people we spoke to in the normal queue said they had been waiting an hour, so I dread to think what it would be like at halloween. Staff around the queue line looked miserable, though not sure if this was part of the act or not. The usual ride photo at the start, but with an added element of surprise with a clown jumping out behind you as the flash goes off.
Anyway, the maze. Started with the old gag which was the doll inside the machine with the glass front which jumps out when the lights go out and comes right up to your face. This was pretty good, though because the group was so big, not everyone could squeeze around him to get full effect of the gag.
You then go outside into the courtyard bit and meet the fat owner? He was pretty good and you walk through into the main "tent". The scenes were the same as before, squeeze through the inflatable walls, spotty room with clown, clown puppets, a new bit where you crouch down low and have to crawl through a small corridor with "nobbly bits" hanging down, and the finale being the knife thrower. Again, as the group was so big we couldnt fully get everyone in to appreciate it. He throws 2 knives, on the 3rd he aims at the group, someone outside opens the curtain and you have to exit before he throws the knife.
Overall, short, felt a bit old and stale, 4/10
We then walked over to Zombie Scare Zone at 7pm as it was now dark, small queue for this. Pretty much the same as previous years, about 8 "zombies" inside walking around, though to be fair to them, they acted very well and really got some girls screaming their lungs off. The old bus looked good with the red light inside, though no attempt was made to conceal the large smoke machine poking out of the doors on the bus. Overall, fun, though they could do a lot more with the hospital "tent" which had no actors in it whatsoever. 7/10
Next up was ToTT. Our timeslot was 7.15 and we got there on the dot. To say the queue was a joke would be an understatement. Both Sanctuary and ToTT share the same queue area around her ladyships garden (where the queue usually is) but with a divide between them. Both queues started at the stairs at the top of the gardens, by the entrance to the tours ruins. From here the queue went all the way around the garden and back to where we entered.
Loads of people left the queues, complaining, and people entering ToTT I asked had waited nearly 2 hours. Usual red ambient lighting around the area with music, pity the fountain isnt working though in the middle of the lawn as this looks like blood flowing down when it is on. Anyway, we queued 1hr 20 minutes in the end. Not happy.
So the maze itself. Starts with urban explorer video and talk. We were batched again in a large group of 12. The urban explorer theme has NOTHING to do with the maze whatsoever. Usual scenes, but felt a lot shorter this year. Walking past the boxes in the corridors, maze bit with windows where people jump out, the two maids inside shouting "they're going downstairs" were hilarious, again, the staff were very good. Body bag scene was poor, you could see the planks of wood inside the body bags quite easily. Ending was the same as before with the strobe maze and two vampires. Offered nothing new, no story to it whatsoever, and for the wait, felt very poor compared to how good it has been in the past. 5/10
So now it was 8:35 and we had to go back around to the entrance again and now queue in the same queue line but on the other side for the Sanctuary. Luckily the queue had gone down and we waited 45 mins. Inside, the rocks with "dont trust him", "dont go downstairs" etc were no longer there, the tv's kept playing the same short look of just Dr Kelman and got repetitive, while due to the time, the batching saw us put in a group of 15!!!!
We met the excellent Dr Kelman at the entrance, but due to the group size we couldnt all fit in to hear him speak to us. Exactly the same as previous years however, same scenes, marmalisation a let down due to the fact not everyone could fit inside the corridor properly, and the white sheets along the bottom didnt hide the leg ticklers very well. Infact, due to the amount of people in there, many didnt get to feel the leg ticklers.
Ending was very poor, just 1 guy in the maze at the end, and the audio wasnt as intense as previously. To be honest, when I went inside during the start of this year it felt much much more intense. This was the best of the mazes though, but even then I would only say 8/10 at the most.
By now after finishing the mazes it was 9:45. We were staying in ATH and had a table for Secret Garden booked for 9.30. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 10:20. The restaurant staff said they were closed. We had just 10 minutes of the entertainment left to watch and had to resort to a horrible pizza over in Splash. We managed no rides in the dark due to the queues for the mazes. Really was not impressed. To be honest, the entire weekend wasnt too great. The entertainment in ATH on the Friday night was absolutely diabolical - a young chap trying to sing. I say trying and thats being kind. He was god awful.
We spoke to a lot of disgruntled guests over the weekend. One group had travelled up for Southampton and got on just 3 rides ALL DAY!!!! 3 rides!!! Our ride count was equally as pathetic but this was also part of our own doing. The hotels had their usual pumpkins, green lights etc and looked nice inside, but again, Splash landings has no atmosphere and no decent entertainment in the evenings. Its soulless.
Finally, other Scarefest things on the park, well, the trick or treat doors looked good by Hex, Franklin looked good. Unfortunately, we didnt get to see many areas after dark. Last night to say I was totally fed up as our evening had been wrecked would be an understatement. We should of at least been able to get in 2 or 3 rides in the dark before heading back to the hotel, and still be able to sit for our reservation in the hotel afterwards.
Whether the power cut had screwed everything up for them I dont know, but while effort had been made with the lighting and scenery in parts of the park, the mazes and in particular the numbers being batched through, was just not up to standard. ToTT needs a decent story again with scenes which follow the story, or failing that scrap it and start over with something new. Sanctuary could have worked better with smaller groups going through, while Carnival should be scrapped - maybe bring back the Boiler house (could be the morgue for the Sanctuary?)
I may go back up next weekend and see if anything has improved, but this weekend has really left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Im only considering going up because this weekend I took up work colleagues who hadnt been before whereas next weekend friends I usually meet in AT are going up, so its more of a social get together . Yeah i'll be looking to see if things have improved but its more of a social thing.
In short the event is an improvement from last year. Fountain Square does look fantastic and there's lots for kids to do. There is a small improvement in park lighting which is positive, including a colour changing light at the end of the Rapids waterfalls, meaning they look absolutely brilliant!
The theming in Zombies this year is much better than previous years also. I might do a more detailed review later in the week.
Scarefest is still far superior to Fright Nights in my opinion having done both events this year.
Well this weekend will go down as my worse weekend at towers ever! It was just problem after problem all weekend. Some were towers fault, some were not.
I was very lucky to attend the staff preview on Thursday night and did all three mazes, TOTT and Carnival were both really good on the preview and the Sanctuary was lacking something. However on Saturday and Sunday all three mazes were pretty crap. TOTT on Saturday afternoon was the worse I have ever seen it, we walked through room after room with no actors and no scares. The same can be said about the Carnival on Sunday afternoon. It's a real shame as the mazes were so good on Thursday.
Another issue on all three mazes on both days was the batching. On TOTT we caught up with the group in front of us a couple of times, and the group behind us caught up with us. The same happened in the Sanctuary (which I have never seen before). And of course the same in the Carnival. When this happens you just done get actors or scares as they are too busy with the group in front of you.
I will most likely be back on Friday or Saturday to do the mazes, so I will see if they improve.
Never had chance to do Zombies.
Of course the major issue on the Saturday was the power cut, we were in the queue for Carnival when it happened. Once again towers lack any kind of communication with their staff and customers. During the hour or so we waited in the queue not one member of staff told us anything, there was no sorry, no explanation, nothing! In the end one of the staff members opened up the queue and just told us to leave as it wouldn't be opening, no sorry and nothing what so ever! It's safe to say the whole group (all 60 of us on the meet!) were pretty pissed off. Customer service was zero.
Also the Fastrack entrance on Carnival this year is not fastrack what so ever. We timed it and waited about 40 minutes on both days. Last year for TOTT you joined the queue right at the entrance, not half was through the queue.
Hmmm, Scarefest. Saturday was only my third Scarefest and my second doing all the mazes. I'm not as "seasoned" as some of the other members in attendance, so my opinion of the mazes will always be slightly higher.
Saturday will, as others have already said, probably live on as one of the worst days possible at the resort. Rain, power cut, no communication, 2 rides all day, poor customer service, you name it and it probably went wrong!
Now, onto the mazes, I won't rate them because I'm not very good with ratings: Terror of The Towers
(I wonder if Terror In The Towers was considered as a name, before they realised the connotations? )
On Saturday, I found it scary but only because I'm a wuss that finds quiet, dark places scary. I understand that essentially a quarter of the actors were off for one reason or another, but frankly that's unacceptable. There should always be staff on hand to step in if something like this happens, but due to a lack of budget this just isn't possible at Towers and as a result the mazes, and my opinion of them, suffered dramatically. 2 actors in the finale just isn't enough to effectively cover the entire maze.
On a positive note, I quite liked some of the changes that I noticed. The monk corridor and section afterwards particularly put me on edge.
The Sanctuary
Just like earlier in the year. Still a fantastic maze. Got my first real scream as well, in the ward scene!
Doctor Kelman seemed much more menacing this time, especially with his updated rant.
The mechanical machine. It doesn't work! They don't know the meaning of "Get Corrected!"
Carnival of Screams
Personally, I think this might be my favourite! This might just be because the run through ToTT was so poor and The Sanctuary is the same as before. The photo point is a nice cheap scare.
I'm not a fan of having the photo point so far back from the entrance to the maze though. It's a solid half hour from having your photo taken to actually getting batched and there really isn't anything to catch your attention or develop the story.
Once in, Zoltar is again a nice cheap scare. Leading onto the fat ringmaster, who all the time, if only a little bit faster, talks in rhyme. I got to smell his fingers. It was not pleasant.
I was disappointed that they've dropped the "welcome to the carnival of dreams, that fell on bad times and even worse rhymes" line from his opening spiel.
Once inside properly, it was similar to last year but it seemed more..."polished" and just generally better. The trommel tunnel is FAN-bleeding-TASTIC, only the second to actually make me lose my balance!
Now the finale. Non-spoiler version: Very good. Much better than last years damp squib, in that something actually happens! It is a very theatrical ending, in fact the whole maze has a nice story that comes together well in the finale. If you listened to the characters in between your screams
Spoiler version:
We enter the room with Jack the ThrKiller, a knife throwing act. First, big bang and lights dim and Jack appears in the middle of the group, providing a nice, effective scare. Lights go down again and Jack returns to the stage.
We are told that in his last performance he missed and killed his female target. He throws one knife into a big target next to the group. He throws a second into the target and then the tension rises as we find out that the third is for us and we need to RUN before he throws it. At this point, Jack charges from the stage towards the group.
And this is where my problem with the finale appears: there is nowhere to run. You are stood next to the exit, so as soon as the narrator yells at you to run, you just turn and leave. Up to this point, I found the finale to be AMAZING, it really set the scene and put me in the mood and on edge. But then this is ruined by being able to just saunter out the door.
If they had moved the scene a little further away from exit, using some of the dead space on the way there, they could have had a nice corridor for you to actually run away from Jack and burst into the outdoors.
Didn't get a chance to do the scare zone due to the Q&A and Carnival
Overall
Damp squib. I'm very glad that I live so close so I have the opportunity to get back and try things again. I feel very sorry for people that had travelled a long way for that to be their only trip to the park.
The only bright spot on the day was The Smiler in the dark. It makes what is already a very good ride for me, into an astonishingly good one. The marmaliser screens are so bright that there is just one other floodlight for the whole of X-Sector. The marmaliser and the queue line screens provide plenty of light for the whole queue as well.
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