Scarefest 2012 :: Reviews

[Ben]

Quick bedtime review, will post full review tomorrow.

ToTT - generic tott tbh, a hint of story back and the actors spoke, hurrah. But pretty much identical ro last year, not that its a bad maze just in my eyes very stale now.

CoS - the batcher, ring master and dummy are great, the rest pretty poor. Random scenes, random actors, no scares, oh and dot man the effect might work if you were stood still when we enter the room.
But lets not forget the finale, oh wait towers did anyway. Worst maze i think ive been in.

Sanctuary - bloody brilliant. A story, great sets, you can tell where the energy has gone. It was defgo a 2 half maze with the first stronger, but the second had some stand out scenes too. Loved the doctor he was ace.

Zombies - what the hell? Just people stood around breathing heavy, it was like being in an asthma clinic. The zombies seemed more interested in their green room than guests. It was alright last year, this year exceptionally poor.

Park - lighting fail. Atmosphere wasnt like scarefest either, where are the ride and area touches? Its all very bland. It didnt have the atmosphere of years gone by.

Lovely day with tst tho, cheers guys.

 

[Dave]

Few thoughts, will do something more thorough when I have time.

TotT - Same as last year but the lighting and pacing us mostly better, the acting is better this year too. It needs a change next year (though the likes of Thorpe have had mazes stay the same for 7+ years, suppose we just expect more from Towers). The finale works better not having the long corridor to take the pace away at the end and the strobes are great.

Carnival - The sets are better, it's much longer and more atmospheric but the actors are not working it as well as they could and the finale is a bit naff. Definitely wait until night to ride.

Sanctuary - see my previous review, it's a great maze just needs a few tweaks which I think is the benefit of having a preview weekend.

Lighting - non existent, clearly Merlin chopping the budgets again. They need to recognise that the event needs to include the whole park. Once your away from TowersStreet and the ruins you wouldn't know it was Scarefest. As for park decoration again TowersStreet is fine but the rest of the park is meh. They do have more roaming actors around the park though which is great!

Overall maze quality 8.5/10 (the team behind that should be proud)
Overall park quality 4/10 (who ever cut the budgets doesn't understand theme parks

Overall rating 6.5/10 great mazes and street theatre let down by poor overall park effort.

 

[Ben]

Bens Scarefest Review

all spoiler filled...

Spoiler

Park Theming
Towers Street is its usual hive of activity, pumpkins and hay bales galore with the scarecrows back again, the music has changed too - not all of it seems to be Scarefet-y but is nice. In the evening it has a nice lighting package, just slowly changing colours, its nothing spectacular but better than nothing!

RMT had a smoke machine and light in the tunnel, Nemesis had red led lights in the station and red light on the lifthill, Rapids its usual skeletons, lots of the bars and cafes had scarefest pictures around.

But quite simply that was it. The least investment and effort in any park wide theming I think I've ever seen. It was completely devoid of any atmosphere, and its a shame, as once its gone its hard to get back. An interesting anecdote from the night, a guest asked one of our members if they 'knew where the scarefest was' - which in my eyes says it all.
I heard rumours of staff having to pay themselves to decorate the park, if this is true management should be ashamed!
You cannot expect your staff to have to put their hard earned money into providing your experience because you cannot be bothered. I was really annoyed when I found this out, if true I hope all these staff get some recognition for showing more interest in the event than senior management.

Lighting was DIRE. Wheres the projections, coloured gels and atmosphere of years gone by? Oh yes, still in Merlins bank account.

Entertainment
The Trick or Treat Doors (Or whatever guise they are going under now) greets you at the bottom of towers street, sadly it was really failing to pull in any decent audience due to the audio.
I was stood very close and trying to listen and it wasn't loud enough, the quality of the audio was poor with the music jumping frequently - I felt sorry for the staff trying to dance to something frequently missing beats.
Ideally this should pull people in from Towers Street as they enter the park, but it simply didnt work because of the low audio, if it were synced with all of Towers Street (or just the bottom half) it would interest more people. I cant really comment on the content as I couldnt hear it to judge.

Roaming Actors - HURRAH! They were there and they were good! They were mostly on Towers Street in the morning to meet guests but during the day wandered around. I particularly liked the mimes around Circus who occasionally kept getting involved with the Circus briefing - brilliant.
Also the usual pirates were out and about too, I was very pleased by this effort.

Mazes:

Terror of The Towers
Firstly can someone help the staff batching? It was a really poor start - just cram everyone in for a photo them push them out to meander around by a confused batching person until you get in.
We were then greeted by 2 people, not sure why only one would suffice. We went up the stairs to find a video fail - the blue screen of death. We shouted for attention to the staff, nothing happened. After the music stopped we just assumed we should go in, this needs looking at.
ToTT was pretty unremarkable, its not a bad maze dont get me wrong. But its become stale and boring, you know what to expect around the corner and the strobe maze has lost its impact after many repeat years.
I know it sounds like Im criticising the maze, and Im not it was a solid scaremaze. I loved the fact they tried to bring in abit of story again, and the actors did some acting not just 'boo' as it was last year, but it still didnt give the maze an actual story.
ToTT is just ToTT now, its like a comfy autumnal jumper, its nice and you know what to expect of it.
I just hope that next year it gets some investment and something new, otherwise I doubt i'll bother anymore.

Circus of Screams
Location wise, excellent. A nice little nod to the staff in themed uniforms (like working in a 90s gay club) which was extended to the game stalls at the exit too. Impressive use of a shipping container (groan) and the goal striker unit, you wouldn't have known - the decoration of the maze was good, but severely let down by the rest.
Our batcher, a short man, was hilarious and really set the scene.
We then went in and met the 'ringmaster' I think he was, playing with his bellybutton, he was disgustingly good - very fast witted and in character.
The 'dummy' character was good, its a shame his set piece visibly gave away the surprise but nicely done all the same. Sadly this is where my positive points stop, what followed was a mish mash of scenes, under-utilised, not scary and the staff poor.
The inflatable 'vagine' was good, but how it fitted in, I dont know. Speaking of which most random object of the year award goes to the trommel, randomly placed with no context and not effective - just because you have it doesnt mean you have to use it.
Oh and failure of the day to the dot man, the scene is good, lighting good, but if you run around before we enter the room it ruins the effect. Grr.
Now my big bug bare of the maze, the finale - or lack of. I think we had left the puppet clown scene and walked into an empty room and out. But considering the sub standard story it almost seems appropriate.
If I had only paid for that 1 maze I would have asked for a refund.

The Sanctuary
The conservatory was a good starting point, the pre videos were great, and the stamp on hand was a nice touch.
To then meet the Doctor from the videos was a wonderful touch, he is my stand out performer of the entire event, especially when we were evac'd from the maze he remained in character and was so so good.
The first scenes of successful experiments watching TV and in the kitchen were superbly decorated and a really high standard, also fire - WOO!
I cant remember all the scenes but the standout one of the first half (the clinic) side of the maze has to be the marmalisation / brain washing scene, goodness me, what a clever well executed scene. The initial white spice becoming flooded with colour, being physically washed and having your feet attacked - just a brilliant, unique scene, and the video again was great quality.
After this you descended down the stairs into the surgery side of the maze, a little weaker than upstairs, but still of great quality. Again alot of good props, great acting and storytelling - it did get a little confusing as to what happened with the story but when its this high quality all round I can't moan at all.
The finale, again a little weak, what did a strobe maze have to do with the clinic and the surgery? It was a little too reliant on ToTTs finale history, sadly not as unique as the rest of the maze.

Zombies
Had such a great possibility for its new location. Sadly a shadow of its former self, very sparse actors, doing very little, even moving seemed hard work. I know I said it before, but it was just heavy breathing, like an asthma clinic.
What was very infuriating was the staff green room that seemed to be having much more entertainment than Zombies itself had.
Also again, no finale, last year we had the tent as an isolation place to end it, this year the tent was in the middle providing nothing and we just strolled out the end. Either sort it or scrap it.

Overall
Entertainment 6/10
Park themeing 2/10
Terror of the Towers 7/10
Circus of Screams 3/10
Sanctuary 9/10
Zombies 3/10

To say the sanctuary is so right, how has the park got it so very wrong?

I just hope feedback is taken and this preview weekend is used as that, a preview for the park to amend some of the failures we encountered yesterday and build on its other strengths.

 

[CupCakeMonster]

I did my Scarefest visit yesterday and I didn't find it overly bad. This was my first year doing the Scare mazes because I always woosed out before. So glad I didn't this time though.
I found the Sanctuary very confusing, I didn't know what was going on and the actors didn't seem quite in character, but I did go in the 12-12:30 spot so maybe they warmed up more as the day went on. The theming of the rooms was great though and the Marmalisation room was probably my favourite bit (as well as the hand stamp). But I felt like something was always going to happen from the atmosphere being built up, then we just ended up outside and it was the end of the maze.
I actually found Carnival of Screams really good. Sorry to disagree guys. It wasn't scary, but the rooms were good and so were the actors (especially when we continually went the wrong way and we were all in fits of laughter). The dummy at the start was good, but it was pretty obvious what was going to happen. But yeah, I liked CoS.
The park in general was okay, I know what people mean by the lights being too bright, but as they've said it is just the preview weekend, which in my mind means they will add more to it. I loved the Towers Street music being played at points, and also actually the Toyland music (slowed down to make it spooky) was played outside CoS which I loved too . That's pretty much my review... Sorry if it's not very informative or helpful

 

[Voke]

Just came back from todays Preview meet, and I must say. I loved it! The park was looking great, and the actors walking around Towers Street were also fantastic. I can't really comment on how the lighting was, as I had to leave at 6pm due to having to the catch the bus home, but like last year. There was an awful lot of floodlights. Which is a disappointing.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Terror Of The Towers:- I liked it, but it just seemed a little bit too familiar. Although the Urban Exploring introduction was a nice change, it just didn't seem to fit in. There also seemed like there was a lack of actors throughout the first half. The ending was good, but yet again; We've seen it before. It seems like this is the first year where ToTT isn't the strongest maze.

Carnival Of Screams:- Wasn't really a fan to be honest. The scenes just seemed a little bit randomly placed, and the outdoor sections didn't really have any meaning whatsoever, but it was a nice plot to make the maze that little bit longer. The lack of a finale/scares really did make this the weakest maze for me. Hopefully improvements are made for opening weekend.

The Sanctuary:- I loved this. A great idea that doesn't follow the generics, and boy was it good. The queue-line video and actor was fantastic and genuinely creepy at times. Great scenes with some great actors that really used their surroundings well. Also, seeing a fire effect in a scare maze really was something else, but who can Marmalisation? That was a great idea. Whoever thought of putting leg-ticklers in a maze eh?

With little tweaks here and there to all the mazes and maybe a cut down on the floodlights, I really think this years Scarefest could be the best ever. Really looking forward to opening weekend and seeing what changes have been made!

 

[Ian]

Well I didn't do the mazes yesterday, but I do still have some opinions on the event.

Firstly, the roaming actors around Towers Street, The Towers, and CoS are brilliant! There's one guy in particular playing a doctor, who just walks around wide eyed, with a huge grin muttering to himself. It's great to see! He walked past us going down Towers Street and I'm sure he was singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow under his breath as he went The clowns are also very good, and amusing.

Towers Street looked rather good, with its usual assortment of Scarefest features dotted around. It was also nice to hear the Haunted House audio being used again. A nice little nod to the history of the park.

However, after Towers Street it feels like little more than a normal day at Towers, with generators plonked all over and very cheap looking tripod lamps cable tied to every available tree and fence post. It looked nothing short of a mess. Just to add insult to injury too what little permanent lighting there is wasn't even turned on! Seriously?! It's a joke! The LEDs in Katanga are the only decent adition if you ask me. Very disappointing.

The general atmosphere of the event once out of Towers Street is just nonexistent. It's a massive let down. Especially with people saying this year's mazes are some of the best yet ???

Sort it out for the main event Towers!

 

[Sazzle]

Okay, so here goes my bit of a review from the Preview weekend just gone. Sorry in advance, this could end up fairly long...! I'll pop spoiler tags on the maze reviews .

Towers Street
Looking fantastic during the day, with the plentiful amount of pumpkins, bunting, hay stacks and scarecrows! The SW7/Sanctuary swirls give that extra splash of mystery and colour, with some of the pumpkins having been integrated into the eyes! As always, it was wonderful to hear the old Towers Street music interspersed with the Halloween music.
My gripe? The place looks absolutely DIRE at night! What happened to the beautiful lighting that has so gracefully covered the area in previous years? A theme I'm afraid I'll moan about in every section of this post.

Franklyn's Freaky Farm
Less of an effort than previous years, I feel? The rat (was there more than one?) was in a box on a wall, and hiding in a tube. I was really looking forward to seeing some 'freaky' animals... I know the guinea pigs make strange noises, but they're not freaky! Did I miss something?
Also, the theming wasn't exactly as abundant as I had hoped for - a few haystacks and a single scarecrow? I didn't get to see the storytime show, but I like the extra addition of pumpkins in the Squirrel Nutty hut.

Trick or Treat doors
Wow, bright! The paintwork looks fantastic . I was busy collecting my Freedom Pass from Box Office on Saturday morning when the show was on, but I caught glimpses at other points in the weekend and it seemed to be fairly lively, and had kids dancing around. Not sure on whether there was actually any Trick or Treating going on?

Terror of the Towers
* As a non-spoiler, WHERE'S THE DECENT LIGHTING? Sorry. I couldn't spot a single coloured light anywhere (unless my memory is really, really poor, and today I've obliterated any recollection from my mind), and that really creates an atmosphere when you're stood queueing with the music bouncing around the place. No lighting, but a SHOP, ladies and gentleman. What a swap.
* My other niggle is that there's no WiFi coverage in Her Ladyship's Gardens. ToTT is going to attract huge queues in the coming weeks, and if there's one thing for certain, guests are going to get bored. Where's WiFi Wednesday? Nowhere near ToTT, that's for sure.
* Perhaps to raise money for the lighting, Towers could introduce a congestion charge? I noticed on a number of occassions that there was a large crowd of people around the entrances to ToTT and The Sanctuary (where the queues split just after the archway), who were presumably confused/deliberating buying tickets for The Sanctuary. I'm unsure how this could possibly be solved, but it can create the wrong impression when trying to enter the area - people are put off by such messy crowds. I appreciate the hosts are under incredible pressure when in this service position, as there are literally hundreds of people needing to be filtered!

Maze notes:

Spoiler

Positives:
+ The hosts now fully explain the fact that guests are Urban Explorers, and it sets the scene much better than the first run I had on Saturday when I wasn't really sure why we were there, or why the hosts (both inside and outside) were in hoodies and jeans!
+ The actors seemed to be INCREDIBLY interactive. Lots of dialogue, a lot of loud noises, and generally having fun with it. The difference between a 'good run' and a 'bad run' has been massively reduced for me.
+ The actual amount of actors seems to have increased rather a lot? Either that or they're just really fast at moving around! Much better, and barely any dead spots, even when it's clear actors are on break.
+ The strobe lighting sequence is FAB, as its truly disorientating. The actors really know how to manipulate the timing, and can scary you to within an inch of your life by moving fast in the dark. Excellent work in the finale .

Negatives
- Batching host on Sunday didn't seem to understand the 'timing'? I saw the green light flash at least three times during the brief, yet we were sent to the video room towards the end of the sequence and ended up catching the last twenty seconds of the video before going through? Odd!
- PicSolve fail. Having the photo by the batching area might work wonders for their revenue, but it does nothing for the other side of the box when fifty people are squashed into a tiny space! They need to be a little more mindful of this when moving people through from the main queue.
- Where did that horrible little tiny step come from between the box room and the Monk corridor?? I stubbed my toe every single time needs a cover/ramp on it!

General:
I can't really pick at ToTT in all fairness - it's a consistently strong maze, and the finale can be terrifying (I was split from the group with Russell and pushed into a dead end before being mauled for a good thirty seconds before I got back out!). No massive hang ups with lighting/sound.

Part two (and even maybe three?) will have to come later... my lunch break doesn't last forever, and I'm hungry!

 

[Lottie.]

After a great weekend for the Scarefest Preview, here are my thoughts on the mazes at the moment:

The Sanctuary:
I really love the concept of this maze, and it has got me more excited for the theme of SW7 Some of the actors really got into character, and even one run through on Saturday they took a liking to me, saying 'hello blondie'. I won't say too much into the details of the scenes but all I can say is this is my favourite out of all the scare mazes this year.

Terror of the Towers
This is my second favourite maze but I have to admit, the first run through on Saturday was the best it has been during the whole weekend for me. That run through had the right amount of actors in each section and they aimed at the whole group rather than 'just the front' or 'just the back.' For me though, favourite part of the whole maze is the strobe section! The fact that one minute an actor is in your face and then the next minute they're gone is brilliant.

Carnival of Screams
The weakest of them all. I understand that the finale is yet to be finished but I found this maze to be inconsistent. Plus it's much better in the dark than during the day. I don't really have much to say on this maze, just hope it improves next weekend.

Zombies Scare Zone
What I found interesting was before our group went in to this, it was 7pm so the Zombies are 'feeling hungry' so it would get a bit scarier. But this really was a walk through with a bunch of zombies wandering around and not really 'scaring' anyone. No hiding and jumping out in front of people. I need to have another go at this for a better run through but really, it was a bit meh.

I have to admit, Saturday run through of the mazes were generally much better than Sunday. The timing of batching was a pain for Sunday - especially for TOTT!

 

[GAGrathea]

Right, I have a free moment (though still exhausted from the weekend, here's a mismatch bunch of my thoughts from the weekend.

Obviously none of us can properly judge the event until next week, given that this was a 'preview', but still. Lighting on Towers Street was similar to last year with the permanent LEDs they bought, which also work well on the Trick Or Treat show. I feel like the hay/pumpkins have been ramped up a little this year and it looks good

Having the music loop extend into Freaky Farm was a nice move, and the decoration around is pleasant but overall, I do miss the big variety of attractions available in the farm last year - this was a great shame.

However, the increase of shows is a great thing, and Ents in general is something I'd like to rave about. There are two teams of walkabout actors, doctors and nurses and clowns, who are fantastic! A good number of actors and a great addition combined with all the actors involved in the show!

However, the best thing and biggest improvement for me this year? Subtlety! Gone is anyone in an Ents uniform: all staff around Carnival (including Sales and Info and even HB Leisure staff) have leather jackets, vests, jeans, boots, grubby faces - they're proper gritty carnies and it looks amazing! A major improvement on the colourful trousers. Similarly, all staff around TOTT are dressed as UrbExers in hoodies etc, and naturally Sanctuary staff are all medical.

Especially in the case of the TOTT and Carnival hosts this is superb: there's no patronising big colours, it's properly realistic and really adds sophistication, especially given that they're all in character.

This brings me nicely on to TOTT:

Oh TOTT, Reliable TOTT! There's such a beautiful feeling of familiarity. But of course, that's not a way to rate it

It is a solidly good maze, with an amazing finale (which was even better this year!); the new beginning location is actually great as it feels like the group are actually sneaking down into the Towers. The maze itself plays out pretty similar to previous years, with only two points I'd like to mention: Firstly, our hosts were massively varied; at first, they were taking the subtlety a bit TOO far, and it felt like they were just bored, before later in the day the "We're all urban explorers!" was too patronising. On Sunday batching was appalling, the guy was clearly stalling for time and then sent us up out of time with the video.

This will no doubt be sorted but what I feel is needed is more ensuring the group all knows 'the code of Urban Exploring' when explaining maze rules, with less of a patronising "I'm an Ents Host!" tone when explaining. As a starting plot it has a potential to be really good, and then the subsequent hosts inside the maze would feel far more natural. (Again, a GREAT example of subtlety - gone are the Rides staff in cloaks, all hosts midway through all of the mazes are in costume, so in the need to hold a group or hurry them along they can act, and this is brilliant! As a result of this advantage, it's important that none of them try and hide in dark (Looking at you, Carnival trommel staff!)

My other TOTT point, a massive positive, is that every actor is really talking a lot; there was always a tendency for the scares to be almost purely RARRGH/*snort* But now a lot of actors spoke and added almost a touch of narrative! MUCH better, especially in the family dining room
'house' section.

Have written far too much, will go lie down somewhere and mention the other SF attractions a bit later on!

 

[Sazzle]

Part Two...!

Carnival of Screams
* The entrance is very imposing in its current location, and it makes a big impact! Putting roaming entertainers in the area is a massive positive for me, as they attract attention from passing guests and are generally a bit of something special that we don't always have.
* Putting the HB Leisure staff in carnie outfits and rebranding their signage? Genius. Wish it was permanent!
* Why oh why are there not a few little bits of red and yellow tent draped over the end/side of the Goalstriker building understandably budget don't allow for the dressing of an oversized shipping container, but it'd look FABulous. Especially when the map says its a tent...!

Maze notes:

Spoiler

Positives
+ Much improved in length! I actually felt like I was getting a decent experience, particularly on our first run through when the actors were playing with us and had us going round in circles in the mirror and spot room.
+ Lighting is a *million* times better than last year. No interference from outside means that all the colour shifting/black out effects work much better.
+ The trommel is a plus, I just can't work out why... maybe just because it's different?! I don't feel it added a whole lot to the experience, but it was very disorientating with the speed of its spinning and the strobe lighting coming through.
+ The hosts being in Carnival jackets was a huge bonus! That and the fact they're very much in character even when doing the batching briefs.

Negatives
- The weakest of the mazes, but I always say that because the Carnival/clown theme doesn't appeal to me and I'm not in the least scared of them. I guess for others, that could be a defining and terrifying factor!
- The beginning outdoor section, though a welcome addition, doesn't really add that much to the maze apart from having a fat guy pick at his belly button and gross you out. I feel there's more potential for scares out there... I just don't have a creative cap on today (tired!).
- On our final run through, the 'living dummy' wasn't very dummy, and appeared very much human! He was blinking, moving much more fluidly and even moved his hand at one point. This needs to be consistent, though I'm not so sure whether a standard guest would notice this.
- The puppet clown scene was very hit and miss. It could have just been a batching/group fail, but the clown was at one point just strolling through the corridor and didn't look to have been on the plinth!
- I can see the spotty man because his face isn't covered in a 'morph-suit' type of material, I spotted him a mile off the first few times. The third time he wasn't so easy to spot because he had dots on his face, but he was still pretty obvious.
- The glaring change of moving from the Goalstriker building to the shipping container; paving stones! Potentially not so noticeable at night, but certainly during the day, daylight pours through the material and the crazy paving is ultra visible. Black rubber mat(s)?
- WHEEEEEERE's the finale? There was an odd looking plastic mask being worn in there that was presumably a last minute addition on my final run, but... nothing happens? The room looks to have clear potential and it may well be tweaked, but its seriously lacking.

The Sanctuary
* My absolute favourite of the event! The scale of the maze blew my mind on my first run through, even though I was missing a key effect - I didn't even notice!
* One particularly memorable scene that's been carried out to perfection, even down to the disgusting smell pot being used.
* Fantastic queueline and batching areas. Deals well with guest volumes, is very practical (I welcome the benches with aching feet!), and feels very authentic.
* Great casting. The key figure is as sinister as he is welcoming. I daren't say to his face that he's mad... he already recognises me :-\.

Maze notes:

Spoiler

Positives
+ Great host speeches during the briefing. Their uniforms, their condescending and polite yet clinical nature, the wording of the briefs - fantastic. Touch the patients? Have you seen the state of them?! NO chance!
+ Doctor Kelman. He's sane. Right? What a legend! Plays his part so well.
+ The opening scene has such a sense of grandeur that my eyes nearly popped straight out of my head - I was seriously not expecting the room to span from floor to ceiling! The fireball effect wasn't working on my first run through, and so I missed the 'key' element and following acting scene, but it didn't matter. The actors improvised (as they must do often as it didn't work a second time either) and I was too busy gawping at the room!
+ The absolutely unpredictable nature of the actors. They were throwing pots and pans (some of the pots were actually bubbling on the stove - detail, fab!), banging plates and cups, diving in guests faces, dragging things down walls... actually believable *shudder*
+ The ward. Oh my. I got stereo-actored once when the lights came back on! Scaaaary.
+ MARMALISATION. No idea what it means (Urban Dictionary wasn't the kindest), but its a recurring theme and the marmalisation room is fantastic. It's blindingly white, head-screwingly noisy, and nose-pinchingly stinky. Everything a brainwashing facility should be - overhwelming. Dislike the rotting pig in the video... I nearly threw up.
+ "Don't go downstairs" "why?" Oh.. that's why. Crazed surgeons, experiments gone wrong, patients in strait jackets. Uch. Gives me the creeps.
+ The finale (on my final run) was excellent. The lighting was set to perfection, the smoke generated enough haze to disorentate, and the music was loud enough to invoke panic. I hate the split, I hate it!! I ended up narly surgically attached to Lottie once, hehe. However, see negatives re: drawbacks.

Negatives
- Something, and I don't know what, is missing. I think there are too many dead spots in the corridors where there are no scares. There's an optimal time to be left without a scare, and I think The Sanctuary *just* passes it in a few places. I just think there perhaps need to be a loud noise/air cannon/something?? I really can't put my finger on how to break it up, but there's a change from anticipating the next scare to just being tense and uneasy.
- The first two downstairs rooms are a little lacklustre for me. I only had one run where the doctor was experimenting on a living patient, and thus everything was a little too quiet for me. There's like, one actor in each room? Needs a bit more... I noticed the audio was a little loud in the freezer room and I could barely hear the nurse asking me if she could break my jaw (that's probably a good thing?) and whether I wanted a smile like hers (no, love, I don't).
- The finale is hit and miss. Dependant on the number of actors in the room and the number of screamers and squealers in your group, you get a very different experience. The actors, as they tend to, will go towards the screamers, and if you've got none in your group but there are five in the other split, the actors will head away from you!
+ Finalise wise, until later on in the Sunday evening, the lighting was far too bright and you could clearly see the actors passing points, and the smoke wasn't thick enough to obscure vision. This does seem to have been fixed, though!

So overall, Scarefest has shown its strengths in the mazes. They feel more solid, and more consistent. The massive downfall is the rest of the park! You go to Forbidden Valley and you'd be forgiven for thinking there was even a Halloween event on - it looks bare. Park lighting is atrocious, as Light Forest and Towers Street show, and there's a serious lack of general effort. I'm just glad the Skeletons are back on The Rapids in boat 13!

The Hotels look great, however, with their lovely looking Scarefest touches and changes to drinks/menus etc. Loving Margs with its bunting!

I think I'm done... *sore fingers*

 

[BigDave]

I want to add my review, but before you read further, this is just my opinions and I also want to point out that Im don't get overly scared in most mazes. There might be a few spoilers, but I will try and keep them to a minimum and use the spoiler tag where appropriate. Its a very brief opinion and info on the mazes

TOTT
Well what can I say? Yet again its a great maze with some good scares. The queueline layout is slightly different than last years and I felt like it was a bit too rammed in that area in order to build up tension. That said, I do like the way The Sanctuary queue goes around the edges, but more on that later.

Once at the photo point, you get ushered in a mock scene from the maze and it actually works well. It didn't turn out too good for us as our group was too large, but after seeing other guests photos, its clear it does work well with smaller groups. From here you head to the waiting/batching area. At first I didn't understand why staff members were in plan clothes, but kinda got it after a while. Maybe this area could do with literally something small explaining whats going on. Just a poster would work? From here on its pretty much all spoilers, but Im going to try and avoid putting everything in a spoiler tag as some people might just want bits of information without having the whole lot ruined.

You get grouped up into groups of around 10-12 and walk down the steps. You are held here, but after talking to others, this only seemed to happen on the Sunday and not all the time. From their you enter into the briefing room. Im really sorry to have to say this, but this part ruined pretty much all the first part of the maze. At no point did I feel like anything being said was true and the timing was really poor.

Spoiler

In this room you get told that a group of urban explorers have entered the ruins, but only one seems to have survived. The others are still missing and possibly dead. You get asked to enter and find them. As a member said, this doesn't work. Members of the public are not going to say yeah ok I might die, but yeah I will willing go in there and find your friends. I think a better introduction to the maze is needed.

As mentioned the timing in the briefing room is really bad and when we set off upstairs, we missed the entire first scene which explained what happened. Apparently this is a problem with the briefer not pressing the show start button to restart the first room.

From that point on though things did pick up and I have to say the maze is great. A lot of it is parts from previous years, but that's not a bad thing. The non English speaking lads that were at the front of our group certainly found the experience scary and jumped at everything. I did find some parts very predictable and that kinda spoilt it but there was a bit when...

Spoiler

...a member of staff ran down the stairs and into the middle of our group. That was completely unpredictable and really scared me.

The ending was great and I found it really worked well this year. The actors moved around much more and targeted both the front and back of the groups instead of just the front. A little niggle would be that staff members were hiding around the end of the maze and it just ruined it. I know they need to stop people coming up the exit of the maze, but they can do that further down. And a staff member should be stopping people from coming up the tunnel to the exit of the mazes.

The Sanctuary
A truly amazing maze with some good scares. Its kinda a shame it had problems just before we went in, but the actual maze itself is really good.

The queueline takes you all the way around the edge of Her Ladyships Garden and up to the conservatory. In here you hear an introduction video and see an actor. This part actually looks really good and works well. I think the audio here is a tad loud and other sites have mentioned that the volume sometimes drowns out the people trying to brief you. Once its your turn its the same as all the mazes a group of about 10 people enter with hands on shoulders.

Spoiler

One thing that kinda also worked was how we almost instantly went from being in the open conservatory to small corridors. We were greeted by the doctor who actually played the part fairly well and kinda creeped me out a bit. Also, I don't know if other felt it, but as I stood next to the fence, I could feel someone breathing on me! I did kinda expect something more to happen in this room though and simply having the door open was an anticlimax. The kitchen scene was good and the big flame was not expected. The use of sound in there is great too the screeching of the plate warmer and the actors whacking the metal plates worked well and was intimidating. From here it actually got a bit boring (sorry guys but to me it did). Nothing much happens until the Marmalisation scene. This scene was good and I love the use of smell, water and leg ticklers. I did, however, find myself getting bored towards the end. It needed to probably go pitch black and just have the televisions on for light. Saying that I enjoyed it and its certainly different. There was a long spell of nothing happening, but it was so dark you felt very uneasy and it worked well. There was an actor in one of the rooms that was going mad shaking is head about and jumping on the bed. That really freaked me out and worked well. The ending though wasn't great and I left thinking that it was a bit of an anticlimax again. The actors in the last scene really need to ramp it up.

Carnival of screams
The entrance looks great and we were lucky to be able to walk straight on. Its the same idea as the others with a group of about 10 walking through with hands on shoulders. The queueline needs a bit of work as those fences are a bit of a trip hazard and were pushed close together in places. The beginning is actually not bad and you walk around outside. The actor outside is actually quiet freaky and worked well.

Spoiler

The inside, however was a bit naff. It was funny, but really didn't work as a scare maze as I didn't fell that any of the actors actually jumped out at us, but instead just brushed past. The claustrophobia bit was good and its nice too see it as tight as ever. The trommel didn't work at all as we walked too quickly through it and it was far too light. The ending was also poor and we just walked out thinking was that it? There is a fair bit of room and loads they could do to make it work better, but so far it just doesn't scare me.

 

[EuroSatch]

I imagine some people are dreading my review, as it's well known I get quite cynical about the event. However, this never used to be the case, and I miss the hey-day of 2007/2008, when there was real atmosphere around the park.

I'll discuss the mazes in a moment. I would first like to discuss how Scarefest is meant to be a park wide event. It's becoming more and more apparent that the budget is entirely focused these days, and the rest of the park relies on rides in the dark, and nothing more. When i worked at Towers in 2009, we were told we could decorate the ride station, but we would have to pay for this ourselves. It seems this is still the case, and this is absolutely terrible. As Ben pointed out, the staff are paid little for long hours as it is, and whilst yes they play a large part in guest experience, they should be expected to invest their own money into enhancing this. The park need to realise that a theme park needs to invest to pull off the intended theme. This includes decoration, theming, lighting, music and other effects. When I go to a theme park at halloween, I like to feel that the park knows it is halloween. Apart from the scaremazes, it apparently didn't know this at all.

The lighting has been discussed no end, but what saddens me is the complete lack of thought of placing of floodlights. Dark Forest is Illuminated Forest; Battle Galleons - which has built in ambient lighting, looks more like a search and rescue; and apparently the built in floodlight on the entrance to Nemesis is not enough, and another floodlight was needed to be placed right next to it and illuminate the exact same spot of ground already lit.

Then there is music and other effects - a simple change to ambient music a la Towers Street would work wonders in most areas of the park. Combine this with mist effects and such, and the park will feel amazing. It's the little touches that count, and this includes decorating the park and all rides, to pull off the effect. Orange bunting and scarecrows on hay bales does not cut it for me, I'm afraid.

The event is getting worse and worse each year in respect to the above. And it's a shame that the event is supposed to be evolving, and also the premier event of the year. Recognise this fact, Towers!.

The mazes - well, ToTT was ToTT. Nothing new, tired theme, lacking in scares, but a generally nice atmosphere whilst going around. I miss entering through the conservatory, but it's understandable that this is now part of The Sanctuary. However, I was a bit perturbed that we were left standing following the photo for the best part of half an hour due to an effect fault, but with no communication from staff as to what had happened.

The Sanctuary - great theme, great idea. Could do with some more cohesion to tie up loose ends, and the second half needs work. On the whole, it worked well.

Carnival - absolutely appalling. There was no story, no cohesion, no attempt by actors to stay in character, and no attempt to scare. It felt like a walkthrough a series of rooms with flourescent colours, nothing more. Some people remarked that we must have had a bad run through, but this should never be the case in a scaremaze!. If I had paid solely for that maze, then I would be demanding a refund straight away. I wouldn't chose to go in again, but because I have already bought next weeks ticket, I shall be.

The whole maze was amateurish, and made absolutely no sense. Nevermind the lack of finale - how about the lack of content in the middle too? I can think of three effects from the whole maze - the trommel, the dot room, and the decreasing doorways. None of these were used by the actors. The dot actor was just wandering around looking bored, we walked straight through the doorway room, and the trommel - what is the point? I'll be glad to see the end of Carnival this year, although my understanding is it has another year ahead of it.

Now, a gripe from last year - why are we charged to go into the mazes? If it's the scarefest event, and the mazes are the only scarefest activities bar the scarezone (oh dear) and the show on Towers St, then the mazes need to be free if they are on park. You are attracting people to the event, therefore everything should be included in gate prices. Secondly, if they insist on charging, then how about charging for ToTT and Sanctuary instead, the two mazes that actually have some investment in them. Carnival clearly doesn't

 

[Dave]

I don't dread your review Satch I agree with some points and strongly disagree with others.

- I agree with the park wide theming and lighting being terrible.
- I agree Carnival was the weakest, it wasn't as bad as you suggest but it wasn't amazing either and was better than last year
- Thorpe increase the ticket price for Frightnights, should Towers do that and penalise those who don't do mazes, I'm in favour of that idea but most seem not to be.
-TotT needs a refresh but its a great maze, again Thorpe have 2 mazes they haven't changed in 7 years. I think TotT should change because Towers has the better event but TotT won't feel tired to most guests.


Obviously this year isn't as good a park wide event but the mazes are great and the roaming actors are an improvement.

 

[AstroDan]

I am happy with the 3 mazes but agree that parkwide, it's worse than it has been for at least 5 years.

 

[Rob]

I'm not going to post a massive review so just a few points from me.

First, lighting. It is appalling to be honest, but also being honest, I was fully expecting it to be appalling. On the positive side, the new LED lights they've got are great. And the new permanent lighting in Haunted Hollow means that you can see where you are going which makes a nice change. I'd imagine these two things are where most of the lighting budget went this year as there is nothing else apart from the lighting of the Towers which is perfectly fine. The lighting in the TOTT/Sanctuary queue seems to be pretty good as well though I only saw the queue area in the dark once. There looked to be a lot of lights in the daylight though.

The mazes overall are better than last year. TOTT flows better than it did last year. It is the same maze again and it is becoming a tad predictable because of this, however it remains a brilliant top class maze in my opinion. The strobe section is brilliant this year, they've really got the timings of the strobes and the amount of smoke spot on, unlike at times last year.

Sanctuary is good, especially when it is full with actors. I had a couple of run throughs where there weren't as many actors in some scenes and it did impact upon those scenes. The marmalisation is brilliant though, as is Dr Kelman. Really looking forward to seeing all the links with SW7 once it is open. The ending of this maze still needs work for me though. It got better as the weekend went on and by the end of the day on Sunday they had speeded up the strobes which was much better. I am adamant that they need at least one of the actors to have some sort of surgical equipment. You keep being told not to go downstairs, you'll be cut/made to smile etc, but this never really materialises in my opinion.

Carnival is better than last year but still not as good as 2010 where it was uniquely brilliant. Speculation on my part here but we know John Wardley had an input to the maze in 2010 and you could tell when going through the maze. Last year his "effect" had completely gone, I feel they've tried to bring it back this year but haven't quite managed it. In the scene where they can make you walk round in circles (I think it's just after the part where the doors get smaller and smaller) they need to actually make you walk round more so you don't know where you are going. They only did this on one of my runs. In 2010 a clown would often guide you through the room, making you stop then go then stop again; making fun of you for going the wrong way etc. This was brilliant and very different, it needs to return. I do love the outdoor intro to Carnival this year, and some of the rooms inside are very good. It's also longer than it has been before. Hopefully the finale will be there come the weekend. It apparently wasn't built for the preview weekend hence it was so poor.

I only did Zombies once so can't really comment but I thought it was ok. One of the actors stopped me from leaving as I was at the back which was quite good.

One final point. I love how all the staff/hosts on the mazes have themed uniforms and are acting in character. This really is brilliant and does add a lot to the whole experience. Also the gardener in the Sanctuary batching area is fantastic!

Well that turned into more of a review than I was expecting!

 

[Sazzle]

Just to let you know I've split the Reviews from the Scarefest topic as best I can, as its easier for everyone to find the information they need (both people planning to go, and those looking for feedback).

Some posts may not make sense as they are replies to posts that have moved!

Any questions, drop me a message

 

[GAGrathea]

The second bit of mine didn't manage to split with this topic, so here it is!

Right, seems I'm tag teaming Saz with this!

Let's talk other lighting briefly: the Towers are uplit in the same way as last year and look fine. Special mention to the new BALLS - lovely LED string lights in farm, Katanga and Gloomy which look fantastically eerie at night in the latter two - a brilliant investment. This aside, while I understand the reasoning behind losing it, I seriously miss the Barbican lighting... Nemesis I think is alright, especially once it's had a few more floods gelled, and oblivion's total lack of love this year is perhaps more concerning. The 2010 lights I most missed this year, however, we're the Rapids ones, which always looked beautiful and would have really complimented the balls.

Right, those other two mazes! (Hidden in spoilers )

Carnival

Spoiler

Great to see the return of Toyland Tours music, though would've loved to have heard the other music somewhere in the maze - it's a great track (I realise it's played outside but wasn't very audible).

New entrance location = superb, imposing, will really attract passing trade and should thus increase maze sales overall. In-Character briefing was fabulous ("No bloody swearing!"), and then on to the Belly Button Scene. This for me really set the tone for new Carnival - a bit greaser, a bit more sleazy travelling fair, a bit more...large? (No offence to the wonderful man in charge of it ). The shame in this is the poem recited, which I really liked, is narrated up and down the group, causing everyone to only catch a few lines. I suppose this could be rectified by the actor standing away a little and projecting, but then this would lose something... Unsure how this can be improved.

The Living Dummy scene now feels a little too intimate, and sadly in the daytime the scare often feels lost... At night it's far more effective because the tent can go fully dark but it's somehow not at its 2010 standard!

Hmm, what else to say... Acting is generally very good, though where TOTT's improved, I found there to less vocal teasing, which was always a Carnival highlight (with notable hilarious exceptions of course ) The trommel needs to have some kind of blackout curtain all around it - going in and out of the building is fine but having to see the roof and everything in that room kinda spoils it.

The dot room is again suffering from last year's issue of just being too small to hide the person, but I feel half the battle this year are the actors. On multiple occasions I saw the dot actor doing scares outside of the space prior to the room, and almost consistently scaring the decor everyone entered the room, rendering most of the costume's purpose pointless!

As Saz has mentioned, this misunderstanding seemed to continue into the Puppet room - usually a highlight, has the actor even got strings to hold this time? Again, there's no point in the scene unless the actor makes a conscious effort to blend initially, this is perhaps something that'll be ironed out this week. Lighting was very good, the birdies in the corridor after this room were rather effective at just making it scary - random, but the moments of dark moving around the area combined with an actor following had us cowering!

Now, I don't feel like I can comment on the finale because I'm hoping and praying that what's currently there isn't it... I feel like something's still in the process of being devised/made...

Overall: if the actor issues mentioned were sorted and the 2010 amazing finale was there, it would easily be the best Carnival ever (if that costume didn't have an unfortunate habit of breaking actors... Waiting to see the finale next Saturday to make a final judgement!

 

[djtruefitt]

After the preview weekend im really looking forward to next weekend to see any changes and also to do the mazes once again.

I really enjoyed the preview weekend and all three mazes are so much better this year.

TOTT:
Pretty much the same as last year apart from a slightly different way in, which I quite liked going down the stairs and then back up into a much bigger video room, the start of the maze again lacks any actors or scares but the rest of it remains the same. Most of the actors seemed on top form this year and the strobe maze at the end was the best I have ever been through on both of my trips on Saturday, the actors really knew how to use the space and the strobes, certainly scaring me a few times. Overall I just wish they would add something to the first room.

One thing I didnt like was the whole urban explorer theme, the video worked well at the start, but having the staff in the maze dressed in hoodies and jeans just looked like they were on "dress down friday" or just hadnt been issued any uniform. When one of them stopped us in the maze I just thought it was someone from the group in front of us until I spotted his name badge. I think I prefer the hooded figures, they add a bit more mystery to the maze.

Carnival:
Last year I quite liked this maze but I always left feeling like I had been robbed, and each time I went through I spotted something new that wasnt there the time before (usually because the actor wasnt in that particular room).

But this year it was so much better, overall the maze is much longer and seems to have double the amount of actors around, it also has more carnival staff than in the past years, all of which looked the part. I liked the outdoor bits near the start and these worked well at night, the actor introducing the maze was also great. There are a few sections that could do with some work, the first room with the dummy is too light after the lights turn off, you therefore notice him move which spoilers the effect. There were also a few blank spots during the maze, such as the bit after you leave the building and enter the shipping container, it would be better to make it a coridoor or just add something else in there.

And finally it needs an ending! It has a great themed room with so many different props, but apart from that it has nothing. If you are lucky you might get a clown jump out at you, but in some cases you just walk through a empty room and then out the exit.

The other issue with Carnival (and was the same issue last year), if a particular actor is not in a room then it makes that room pointless, eg if the spot guy isnt in the spot room its just a blank room, same with the clown puppet, etc.

The Sanctuary:
This is by far my favourite maze, the setting works really well and the attention to detail in the enterance works really well, it smells perfect and the curtains and lighting also work well. I really like the gardener actor, hes slightly weird and sets a good start to the maze. The nurse staff were also very good and consistant (something TOTT didnt have). The really old TV screens and very creapy videos were also a good start to the maze.

My favourite actor by far from all three mazes was the wonderful Dr.Kelman, he seems slighty creppy, yet friendly at the same time, it also worked well that he was the same actor in the queue line videos and posters. But all the actors were very good inside the sanctuary and played their parts well. The first half of the maze is good and using the towers works very well for this maze, it gives it a much more real maze than a purpose built building like the Boiler house had. There were a few issues on the Saturday but by Sunday night most of these were sorted, the downstairs section was much darker and smokey on Sunday night and certainly felt scary.

The main issue with the maze is the ending, even with a few changes over the weekend its still a bit crap. In the day time its too light, and even at night you can see all the gaps in the fences and where the actors are coming from. I think less lighting and maybe more of the twirly logo are needed. Im also not sure about splitting the group, as it seems one half gets all the scares where as the other half doesnt get much and has a much shorter ending. I would rather you stay together and have a longer ending with more actors.

I really cant wait till next weekend to see what changes have happened to all three mazes.

As for the rest of the park, in most areas you wouldnt even know it was scarefest, apart from Towers Street and the Farm the rest of the park is as normal with many bright generator lights.

 

[Sku]

Hey there my first time at scarefest since 2009 so thought I would share my views. As can be expected in a review topic there might be spoilers. I have been going scare mazes for 10 years so I don't scare any more but still enjoy them for entertainment value.

In 2009 all three mazes were great the only downside was the awkward and obscure location of two mazes in the car park area miles away from the park gates. Really helps with the atmosphere in the park to have all the mazes close together inside and not have the long journey to the car park/'resort'.

First up was the carnival of screams. The toyland tours remix really set the scene and was a great little reference for towers fans to pick up on. The entrance looks great and is in a good location which surely will help to shift tickets. We visited in day light which I was afraid would spoil it but the outdoor scenes really did work in daylight. It was well set up with the 'carnival gone wrong' style back story which is cliche but does the job. The masked man who jumps out the cabinet was a great touch and surprised everyone in my group. Indeed I only noticed it was a real person and that he was going to jump out at us in the last second but I think the vast majority of guests will not think this fast. Once inside my personal favourite actor who jumps out at you from about 5 different positions was amazing and just kept hitting us again and again, even though you knew he was going to jump out again and again it still worked. Overall this maze seem to have the best and most effective actors who really seemed to know how to use the maze layout and props to their advantage. They focused on front middle and back of group evenly not forgetting anyone. We were the first group let in after a 10 minute break so this may have helped our experience, but for me this was the best scaremaze of the 3. In the long black and white room with the hanging bags an actor actually made me jump which is the first time in a few years I went flying backwards! I'm surprised to hear people didn't like this maze on this board it seems like a lot of time and effort went in to the sets it was well paced and about the right length. Not sure why people are bemoaning the lack of finale as it kept the same intensity throughout and worked fine as it was. The guy at the exit chasing people outside and scaring passers by seemed like an appropriate end. This was my favourite of the scare mazes based on the experience on the day but compared to others here we maybe had a good run. I would imagine this maze scoring the best of the 3 on guest surveys as it seemed like the best all rounder to me.

Next was The Sanctuary. I had very high hopes for this and the queue line area further built my excitement. The video was great as were all the posters and I really felt like I was about to experience my best scare maze ever. Seriously great set up. The waiting room concept was also brilliant but this is actually where our run started to go very wrong. We were a group of 4 and none of us could fit on the benches and had to awkwardly stand up to the side. I have no idea why so many of us were batched into one group but we ended up at the back which caused problems for us all the way through. First of all we had to stand out in the corridor in the first scene with the doctor talking to you and couldn't hear a word due to the oversized chain. We missed the flame effect because it went off before we got into the room. All the actors throughout focused on the front of the group and forgot about us far at the back and some even gave up doing anything at all by the time we passed them. The marmalisation room was just awful, there was no sound at all the whole time (I did catch the beginning of the speech which started playing as we were leaving the room for some reason). I had to stop walking in a huge puddle at the turnaround with a faulty sprinkler just pouring water on to my head the whole time like a running tap. I pinned myself up to the wall to try and avoid getting soaked so I didn't really enjoy the room or even pay attention to the screens. The whips were a nice touch but at the time I was just to busy avoiding a soaking. After this room the maze was uneventful especially the final room which only had one actor who focused on the front of the group the whole time. The only time I actually saw him was right at the end when we were told to turn around and leave. This in itself was very confusing as there were 3 directions to walk and no one to gell us we had reached the end so we all continued into the exit of terror of the towers until we bumped into a group coming towards us and turned back. This felt like it should have been the best scaremaze but on the day the run was just so bad and such a shambles that it was just terrible. I appreciate we likely had a bad run but it's not on when you pay premium for an attraction. This was the worst scare which is a shame because there is so much potential.

Terror of the towers seemed almost exactly the same as 2009 when it was really good. However in the last 3 years halloween events have upped there game so much that it just seems dated now. Compared to the very expensive and prop filled sets of the other two mazes it just doesn't seem to stand out any more. Also actors seemed very sparse throughout. Not a lot more to say about this one likely needs to be renewed or replaced with something new.

Last up was zombies which to be fair was good for what it is. A great taster attraction for those looking to avoid a long queue or paying a addon fee. A good enough attraction to cater for 'everyone else'.

Overall my experience was ok. I wanted sanctuary to be good but we had a bad run. Carnival was surprisingly good as it has the best actors of the 3. Towers was just meh. Annoyed we didn't have time for a second sanctuary run as I really wanted to give it a chance.

 

[joelpagett]

Re: Scarefest 2012

Hey guys,

Went to my first Scarefest this weekend. All I can say is AMAZING! really really enjoyed it.

The park looked fantastic, a nice effort to theme the park but they are also blessed with the creepiest Gothic architecture in any theme park known! The park looked good in some areas at night, but some did lack in atmosphere.

The Mazes were incredible... here is my reviews

The Carnival Of Screams.

I loved this maze, the actors were amazing, one guy was even fingering his belly button whilst snorting at me! The themeing was great and the maze lasted for ages which was great for such a small space! I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't visited yet but the start of the maze with the fortune telling doll really did it for me! A very physiologic experience that plays on the fear of clowns that is certainly not worth missing!

The Tower of Terror
This maze was joint first place for me at the park. Not having done it before I have to say it was the scariest attraction I have ever had the displeasure to experience. As you start walking through the abandoned towers you can't help but having the feeling of being watched. The themeing is incredible and you really feel like you are a group of Urban Explorers making your way through the ruins. The deeper you get into the maze the more intense it starts to become with some fantastic actors and genuinely terrifying scenery. The end has to be one of the scariest finales ever and again is well worth the 60 minute queue it usually pulls in!

The Sanctuary
If this maze has anything to do with it, SW7 will be incredible. The story line and theme are second to none and it is a genuinely harrowing experience. You start by working your way through The Sanctuary like the mess halls and bedroom. This was very good where one actor was screaming at me to eat my dinner! You then descend into the Marmalisation room which is fantastic and you then enter the Mortuary. Very good actors and a real tesitment to the creativity of Alton Towers.

On a whole I had a fantastic day. I arrived at 2pm (intending to get there for 10 but unfortunately crashed my car :-() and the queues were pretty hideous but had a fantastic day!

Next time I think I may give Fright Nights a miss at Thorpe Park and enjoy 2 days at Alton Towers!!