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Fastrack passes for Scarefest 2014.

nikfonso

nikfonso

TS Member
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Firstly, this is site is bloody ace! Honestly, i hope the offical AT people give the owers/admin of this site free tickets because what you do is fantastic and probably more helpful than altontowers.com. Keep up the excellent work guys.

Secondly, i'm nearly 32 years old and i've been coming to AT for what must be nearly 13 years and I love the place. There's no other place like it in the UK. Thorpe Park is very good and has great rides but for me AT has a magical feel to it (similar to the feel which you get when you go to Disneyland) which Thorpe Park or Chessington cannot rival. I was introduced to AT by an ex GF of mine (my first trip to AT was eerely on the 11th Sept 2001) and now that i'm older I take my daughter with me who loves the place just as much as me! The staff are great, the food is generally good and the place is actually quite pictureque for a theme park.I hope to come back many more years into the future.

So the point of my post.....fastrack passes!

So this will be my 3rd trip to AT with my daughter, we first went in 2011 for our birthdays (we are born on the same day) for a 2 day stay over at Splash Landings but as she was only 6 we couldn't go on all big thrill rides. We went again the following year for a 2 night stay for the 2012 end of season Firework Spectacular which was brilliant but again she was just a few inches too small for the big rides although Thirteen was new and we were able to go on that. Last year we went to Euro Disney for Xmas but this year i've booked up AT for the Scarefest weekend!

Now last year we did a day trip to Thorpe Park for Scarefest which was really good BUT the queue times were just crazy, for Saw we queued for practically 2 hours which wasn't fun at all and the other main rides weren't much better. Now i was wondering if AT is just as busy during scarefest? We're staying from Friday (31st Oct which is Halloween) to the Sunday so i guessing it's going to be pretty busy? When booking the hotel (Splash) and all the tickets etc i managed to save £200 using the 'SUN14' code so i splashed out on 2 x gold fastracks. Now these cost a pretty steep £52 each but i thought i'd get them with savings i made from the 'SUN14' code and it would combat against a lot of queuing.

Now we've got 2 day theme park tickets so we have to use these on 2 of the 3 days we are staying over so does anyone know if am i able to use these fastrack passes over the 2 days we're in the park? Does anyone know If its possible, could i actually upgrade them to platinum? Would anyone recommend paying the extra for the platinum fastrack (they are £92 each!!!!)??

Any other info on Fastracks and Scarefest at AT would be much appreciated!

Thanks for reading guys,
Nik
 
Hi & welcome @nikfonso

Scarefest is the busiest time of the year, especially at weekends, although it is not unheard of to have walk-on rides early in the day or late at night in the week. (I realise that point is completely unhelpful.)

The last few years AT have offered a 'Freedom Pass*' for Scarefest which offers you unlimited fastrack to the 'free' maze and unlimited access to the 2 'paid' mazes (for the WHOLE of scarefest) which might be worth considering instead of upgrading to the platinum. They are approx £50 IIRC. I believe the Gold & Platinum packages alone do not include any scarefest attractions (and you can't miss the mazes - they have won numerous awards.) Going back the the platinum option, it really depends what you want from your day... I have splashed out on platinum once before & ended up whoring The Smiler for at least half the day so it was worth it (when you think a one off is £10 alone), then I still got onto EVERYTHING else too. If though, you have no intentions of 'whoring' a particular ride, Gold would be a better option as it allows a single fastrack entrance to every ride that has a fastrack que (all main rides,) not to mention its nearly half the price.

Don't forget there are other ways of 'beating the ques' - for example the SIngle Rider Que on nemesis is perfect for re-rides, and it's not by the entrance so 95% of people don't even know it exists...

Anyway, congrats on saving some cash on the hotels, it certainly makes the whole experience more, shall we say, pleasant. :)

*The 'Freedom Pass' is limited, so if you do think this an option, keep an eye on the forums for when it is released and purchase ASAP.
 
Welcome to the forums @nikfonso, we're sure you'll have a fantastic time with us!

I am personally against "Fastrack", for many a reason, but that's a story for another time. I don't think you'll need "Fastrack", considering you'll have a good 3 days on park. Yes, it WILL be busy, but 3 days is more than enough. Water rides are likely to be very quiet so you'll have no problem with those, and the park is open until 9:00PM every night, meaning an extra 4 hours of ride time you wouldn't normally get.

If I were you, I'd save the money, and spend it on something else!
 
smudge said:
Hi & welcome @nikfonso

Scarefest is the busiest time of the year, especially at weekends, although it is not unheard of to have walk-on rides early in the day or late at night in the week. (I realise that point is completely unhelpful.)

The last few years AT have offered a 'Freedom Pass*' for Scarefest which offers you unlimited fastrack to the 'free' maze and unlimited access to the 2 'paid' mazes (for the WHOLE of scarefest) which might be worth considering instead of upgrading to the platinum. They are approx £50 IIRC. I believe the Gold & Platinum packages alone do not include any scarefest attractions (and you can't miss the mazes - they have won numerous awards.) Going back the the platinum option, it really depends what you want from your day... I have splashed out on platinum once before & ended up whoring The Smiler for at least half the day so it was worth it (when you think a one off is £10 alone), then I still got onto EVERYTHING else too. If though, you have no intentions of 'whoring' a particular ride, Gold would be a better option as it allows a single fastrack entrance to every ride that has a fastrack que (all main rides,) not to mention its nearly half the price.

Don't forget there are other ways of 'beating the ques' - for example the SIngle Rider Que on nemesis is perfect for re-rides, and it's not by the entrance so 95% of people don't even know it exists...

Anyway, congrats on saving some cash on the hotels, it certainly makes the whole experience more, shall we say, pleasant. :)

*The 'Freedom Pass' is limited, so if you do think this an option, keep an eye on the forums for when it is released and purchase ASAP.
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Tom.B said:
Welcome to the forums @nikfonso, we're sure you'll have a fantastic time with us!

I am personally against "Fastrack", for many a reason, but that's a story for another time. I don't think you'll need "Fastrack", considering you'll have a good 3 days on park. Yes, it WILL be busy, but 3 days is more than enough. Water rides are likely to be very quiet so you'll have no problem with those, and the park is open until 9:00PM every night, meaning an extra 4 hours of ride time you wouldn't normally get.

If I were you, I'd save the money, and spend it on something else!
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Thanks for the response guys, very much appreciated and of course very helpful.

Unfortuntately we have 2 day park tickets (and 2 days water park tickets) so we have to think of little strategy to maximise both options!

Saturday we usually spend the entire day in the park (apart from popping back to the hotel for dinner at Flambo's and would probably be the best day to use the fastrack) and Sunday I usually try and stay in the water park and play a little golf as walking around the main park tires me out too much for the drive home back to Essex! I think my best option would be to leave as early as possible Friday morning and aim to get to AT by 10am, then head straight for the water park to spend a few hours in there and then aim to be in the main park by midday (after we've checked in). Saturday we'll get up nice and early to get on the early rides and make a full day of it like we have done in previous years. :)

Ah yes the maze's, i've heard about those and have only just realised that you have to pay for them! Maybe i'm being a bit hopeful but would hotel guests get a discount do you think!? But thanks for the heads up on the freedoms passes. i will certaintly keep an eye out for them!

As for the platinum fastracks i'm still unsure what to do due to my experiences at Thorpe Park. Honestly, we just managed to get on all the rides by closing time but the experience wasn't as great because keeping a 9 year old child amused for 2 hours is rather tough! I guess it depends on my funds nearer the time as well because i've already spent a lot of money on this trip (although it's worth every penny at AT).
 
Glad our advice has become of some use! You seem to have planned this out really well re: water park and golf on the last day before a tiresome drive back.

Regarding early ride time, I am 99% sure that there isn't ERT at ScareFest, due to the late opening at night. I know that happened last year.

Also, as you only have 2 days on park, I would recommend getting gold farce-track for 1 day. That should see you through. :)
 
Tom.B said:
Glad our advice has become of some use! You seem to have planned this out really well re: water park and golf on the last day before a tiresome drive back.

Regarding early ride time, I am 99% sure that there isn't ERT at ScareFest, due to the late opening at night. I know that happened last year.

Also, as you only have 2 days on park, I would recommend getting gold farce-track for 1 day. That should see you through. :)
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Thanks Tom! The gold fastracks i have already purchased when i booked up my trip on the AT website i was just contemplating on going platinim that's all but i think the gold one will suffice!

So please tell me about your 'farce-track' horror story!
 
It's rather boring and involves a certain other alton towers fan website/forum which we're not overly fond of talking about on here!

If we do ever meet, I will tell you then! Not so much of a horror story, just lots of things I dislike about how M£rlin run the system.
 
nikfonso said:
Ah yes the maze's, i've heard about those and have only just realised that you have to pay for them! Maybe i'm being a bit hopeful but would hotel guests get a discount do you think!? But thanks for the heads up on the freedoms passes. i will certaintly keep an eye out for them!
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Certainly not unfortunately. The mazes are not too expensive tbh. (There is no discount for MAP holders either.)

The maze tickets do sell out quickly, especially at the weekends so if you not going for the freedom pass, book the tickets online in advance, it will save a lot of faff on the day, not to mention the chance they may be sold out. YOu have to pick a time slot, which again can be done online. Like I mentioned there has also been a 'free' maze and a scare-zone too that doesn't involve an surcharge.

Because there is no ERT during scarefest, (a hotel guest perk,) a single fastrack is issued instead, last year it was Oblivion IIRC, so don't forget to inquire at check-in if you don't receive them automatically.

Certain people are against fastrack (it slows the main que drastically in certain circumstances - especially at TP), not myself personally, I think the time saved (and the better time you have) is relative to the cost (especially when money is saved else-where ;) .) But saying that, I go enough that I'm not over fussed about getting on everything anymore and if there is 20+minute wait, just won't ride.
 
Last year was hotel guests using fastrack queues on any ride until 11am.

You cant upgrade Fastrack, so regardless of if you think Platinum is a good idea or not, you would need to stay with your already bought Gold tickets!
 
smudge said:
Certainly not unfortunately. The mazes are not too expensive tbh. (There is no discount for MAP holders either.)

The maze tickets do sell out quickly, especially at the weekends so if you not going for the freedom pass, book the tickets online in advance, it will save a lot of faff on the day, not to mention the chance they may be sold out. YOu have to pick a time slot, which again can be done online. Like I mentioned there has also been a 'free' maze and a scare-zone too that doesn't involve an surcharge.

Because there is no ERT during scarefest, (a hotel guest perk,) a single fastrack is issued instead, last year it was Oblivion IIRC, so don't forget to inquire at check-in if you don't receive them automatically.

Certain people are against fastrack (it slows the main que drastically in certain circumstances - especially at TP), not myself personally, I think the time saved (and the better time you have) is relative to the cost (especially when money is saved else-where ;) .) But saying that, I go enough that I'm not over fussed about getting on everything anymore and if there is 20+minute wait, just won't ride.
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Thanks @smudge !

Do you know roughly (from past releases) when the maze passes will be released?

And yes i will most defo ask for a fastrack ticket at reception if the ERT is not happening. At least i'll get a bit of extra rest in the morning without having to rush breakkie and leg it to the park at 9am!
 
thefatone said:
Last year was hotel guests using fastrack queues on any ride until 11am.

You cant upgrade Fastrack, so regardless of if you think Platinum is a good idea or not, you would need to stay with your already bought Gold tickets!
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Oh really? Was that just the 1 ride or was it litterally like 'happy hour' and you could go on anything you wanted!!?

Fair point on the Fastrack upgrade, i think a Gold one should suffice anyways tbh.
 
It's happy hour - you show your room key information thingy to any host via the Fastrack entrance between 10-11am.

Not sure if it'll be the same this year, but based on last years success compared to the awful system they had before then I imagine it'll stay that way.
 
If I remember rightly the hour fastrack was limited to certain rides, the same ones that, at the time, were usually in ERT.
 
Not last year, it was definitely any Fastrack ride as all you had to do was show your passes.

Before last year you got a card which allowed up to 6 people onto 4 attractions (charlie, nemesis, oblivion and... something). But that changed last year.
 
Yeah last year was any ride, we stayed during fireworks and I remember doing TH13TEEN and Rita a few times during the hour. A much better system than the year before.

Anyway back to your questions, firstly welcome to the forum (we don't get free tickets unfortunately :( ). Like the others have said Scarefest can be busy, but it isn't usually as bad as Thorpe (Thorpe oversell Fastrack which just makes the queues so much longer, towers doesn't usually have that problem). If you get there first thing you can usually get on a few rides before it gets busy, and again by 9pm the park is often much quieter.

As you have gold fastrack already you won't need to worry too much about queues, as at least you will get on pretty much every major ride without much of a queue. But some advice, it might be worth saving fastrack for later in the day for some rides. Nemesis is usually quiet in the morning and so is Rita and TH13TEEN, so it might be better to use the normal queue and then go back later when its busy and use the fastrack. I see no end of people with fastrack use a fastrack queue when there is no one in the main queue.

In terms of scarefest mazes, no information has been released yet. Neither has any information about the prices, but its usually cheaper to do the mazes early in the afternoon rather than the evening. As they are in door it doesn't matter if its dark or not outside!
 
djtruefitt said:
Yeah last year was any ride, we stayed during fireworks and I remember doing TH13TEEN and Rita a few times during the hour. A much better system than the year before.

Anyway back to your questions, firstly welcome to the forum (we don't get free tickets unfortunately :( ). Like the others have said Scarefest can be busy, but it isn't usually as bad as Thorpe (Thorpe oversell Fastrack which just makes the queues so much longer, towers doesn't usually have that problem). If you get there first thing you can usually get on a few rides before it gets busy, and again by 9pm the park is often much quieter.

As you have gold fastrack already you won't need to worry too much about queues, as at least you will get on pretty much every major ride without much of a queue. But some advice, it might be worth saving fastrack for later in the day for some rides. Nemesis is usually quiet in the morning and so is Rita and TH13TEEN, so it might be better to use the normal queue and then go back later when its busy and use the fastrack. I see no end of people with fastrack use a fastrack queue when there is no one in the main queue.

In terms of scarefest mazes, no information has been released yet. Neither has any information about the prices, but its usually cheaper to do the mazes early in the afternoon rather than the evening. As they are in door it doesn't matter if its dark or not outside!
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Thanks buddy it's a cracking site!

Before i go ahead and purchase the fastrack passes for the mazes (presuming they sell them this year) are these mazes suitable for a 9 y/o girl!? She was bloody scared of Hex a few years back!
 
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