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Alton Towers Oktoberfest 2020

Just got back from Towers and have to say the event setup is pretty good. Events Team patrolling the area as well.

Didn't try any if the food as wasn't really feeling it but the merch stand was good. Got the pin badge and also was thinking about the Stein (both priced at £5 but they are £4 with MAP discount.)

Also picked up the pins that I was missing for 2020 out of Towers Trading. Just looked up over at the tills and noticed the CD Soundtra k in stock so happy days finally managed to get one.

Did email alton towers about 30 days ago and got the usual "we will reply in 10 days" about stock coming in again. Didn't get no answer so well impressed.

Queue times were overexagerated. Nemesis 30 mins (waited 15) Galatica 45 mins (waited 20mins)

All in all a very good day and credit to towers for trying the event.

Social distancing being observed all through park as well all day
 
The Cardinal said:
Went today and there was an excellent atmosphere on park. Really fun entertainment running all day, actors walking round and it's lovely overlooking the Towers with a beer. It was pricey especially the German sausages where it was £9 for a glorified hot dog. Had the hog roast though and it was delicious. The event created a great buzz and definitely worth a visit imo.
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Might've missed it somewhere, but how much is the hog roast? I may have it next Saturday if it's a reasonable price.
 
Rob said:
Oh don't worry, you can get it on draught in the UK! Spoons used to do it in some of their pubs, but then got rid of it because it is brewed in that evil place known as the EU. I've had it on draught at Winter Wonderland, but know other pubs do also have it.
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I know since you go away days with Leicester you might have gone to the station pub in Huddersfield and there's another pub that does it on tap in Burnley (who's name I can't remember).
 
Visited yesterday and really enjoyed it. They should really be using the lawn for more things like that in the future.

Was just a nice atmosphere in the area, especially when the entertainment started. £8 was a bit much for a bratwurst though. Especially compared to other dining options around the park and a MAP discount.

Nice collection of merch for the event as well, picked up a ceramic tankard.
 
I too was there yesterday, and this event puts Thorpe's attempt to shame. There was a great atmosphere on park, with just the right amount of themed oompah music being played in certain locations around the park, and the vibe in the main Oktoberfest area on the lawns from dusk onwards was great! It was rather quiet on park yesterday and I'd estimate less than a quarter of the available tables and benches were occupied at any one time, though hopefully it picks up on weekends. They deserve it to. :)
 
Ive seen a few snippets here and there and thought it looked great, until I came here and saw the food prices. Ouch.

Shame to let it be tarnished by that though. Im still heading down soon and will just not eat there.
 
If it's not busy enough that will teach them for not letting enough passholders in whilst keeping the empty slots open for potential day ticket buyers. Hope it hits them in the pocket a bit.
 
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Error said:
Sod off with them prices. Atmosphere can be all well and good but jeez Louise no thank you.
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Don't forget the Scarefest diary was reduced to accommodate this event. Personally I would rather see an extension of Scarefest offering diary dates as oppose to this event, which looks no different to the Alton Fireworks set up where you have outside catering vans come on site.
 
RoyJess said:
Don't forget the Scarefest diary was reduced to accommodate this event. Personally I would rather see an extension of Scarefest offering diary dates as oppose to this event, which looks no different to the Alton Fireworks set up where you have outside catering vans come on site.
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Scarefest runs over 20 days this year, versus 21 last year. So it is only a reduction of one day.

A new event spanning 23 days with later opening hours, entertainment and new food and drink seems a good replacement for that one day of lost Scarefest :).
 
RoyJess said:
Don't forget the Scarefest diary was reduced to accommodate this event. Personally I would rather see an extension of Scarefest offering diary dates as oppose to this event, which looks no different to the Alton Fireworks set up where you have outside catering vans come on site.
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As already mentioned Scarefest has not really had a reduction, for me Scarefest is as long as it needs to be, you don’t want the stupid situation you get at Disney where Halloween starts in August!

variety is the spice of life, and not every event has to appeal to every guest. I hope it’s a success and leads to them getting a few more events through the year.

Outsourcing isn’t that unusual when they run new events as its low risk, the first few years of Scarefest the mazes where run by external providers. So with any luck the success will lead to them bringing the food in house and cheaper.
 
I was there on Friday and spent most of the afternoon on the lawns watching the event. Overall they’ve got a great set up, they are very lucky they have such a massive open space available to use and it’s nice to have a bit of atmosphere around towers street and the lawns, usually only seen for fireworks.

There was a good mix of entertainment, from costume characters, traditional German entertainment, the band and standard towers hotel singers.

The only thing I felt was a little pointless was the second stage, the acts flipped between the main stage and the second stage. I just felt they should just have the one stage and have all acts on there, or even less acts and just play music when there isn’t an act on. As the second stage was almost so hidden you wouldn’t even notice it there at the other side of the lawns.

Also loved all the ents around the area, hopefully that’s not just for day one and continues all the time.

I didn’t try any of the food as it was pricey, but nice to see a selection of different options and also good to see they weren’t just standard towers burger vans, each outlet was individual and even had towers branding. Just a shame there is no annual pass discount. I would say the beer and cider prices were what you pay at towers anyway.
 
AT86 said:
Scarefest runs over 20 days this year, versus 21 last year. So it is only a reduction of one day.

A new event spanning 23 days with later opening hours, entertainment and new food and drink seems a good replacement for that one day of lost Scarefest :).
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Dave said:
As already mentioned Scarefest has not really had a reduction, for me Scarefest is as long as it needs to be, you don’t want the stupid situation you get at Disney where Halloween starts in August!

variety is the spice of life, and not every event has to appeal to every guest. I hope it’s a success and leads to them getting a few more events through the year.

Outsourcing isn’t that unusual when they run new events as its low risk, the first few years of Scarefest the mazes where run by external providers. So with any luck the success will lead to them bringing the food in house and cheaper.
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For me, it wasn't about the quantity of dates, but the quality of dates for Scarefest.

Going back a good few seasons, Scarefest ran for only two weeks (less dates than now). One of those weeks were during the Scottish half term which was brilliant, as that week you could visit two consecutive days during the week and it wasn't at all busy.

The Scarefest for Scottish half term got abolished and was only available weekends and during the English half term,. Then Scarefest was brought back for two weeks when the English half term became staggered, so it was now pot luck whether you got a quiet day or busy day to visit.

There was one day in particular that was a good day to visit, but that has now gone and been replaced with Oktoberfest :( It was this date that I was referring to, not the amount of dates.

For me, it doesn't matter this year as I'm shielding. But for me I'm not a drinker and food is not my main concern when visiting a themepark, so this event is of no interest to me :)
 
As Dave has said - Variety is the Spice of Life. They have been running Scarefest long enough now to know which dates are/aren't profitable.

Oktoberfest looks great. The entertainment, set-up and beer prices are all tolerable or good. I won't be eating much there, though - if at all. The prices are shocking.

:)
 
Only heard positive things about this event besides food prices (rightly so!!) remember a few weeks back when we had name callers of the event before it had even started? Glad Alton have proved the doubters wrong! Will definitely be doing a review from my upcoming visit.
 
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