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Scarefest 2012 :: Reviews

Towers is a place that is very dear to my heart, and that has given me so much joy in the past. But, I am not blinkered nor naive and have also been sadend by the bureaucracy and lack of vision that seemed to become prevalent, whether due to finacial constraints or conflicting ideas. Yet something wonderful has inspired me to write down these thoughts. Small at first, just tiny changes that were s
ometimes difficult to understand.Then some grand gestures, one of which missed the mark and needed to be added to. More recently, something that is inspired and has given me optomism for the future,and that is where you come in. TOTT and Carnival stand as reliable, if sometimes predictable family favourites. Delivering quick scares and nervous giggles in equal measures. Sanctuary is something refreashingly different. Bizzar and distubing. Something that entices you in and carries you through. Leaving you mingling with the squealers from tott, yet making you feel superior to them, as if you know that your experience was so much better than theirs. So, thank you Pete Cliff and all of your amazing crew. I am greatful for the experience that you have given me and look forward to the future at Alton Towers. A vision of which you have teased us with.
 
We did terror of the towers yesterday with fast track tickets and thank goodness we did because i would have been very disapointed if i had wait all that time in the normal queue. We did this mase way back in 2001 and it was great proper actors with a good storys great scenery red hot floor lights that you had to walk over. And then to meet the master at his dinning table. Then walk down a corridor full of red velvet curtains which a zombie passed over head on a rope.
Not this year all it was a quick intro with a few words on a screen then into ripped curtains followed by wire meshing wall after wire meshing in which you could see the same actors running behind to scare you again and not that good at it. Then we caught up the group in front and the group behind caught up with us. And if the ending was meant to be good because of slow strobe lighting well they must be easy pleased.
Towers street again dressed the same and all new this year was the new blue led lights by Duel and the green led lights by the rapids as other years they were just blue and green house hold bulbs which half were nearly missing. So i thats 1 step forward. But Alton really need to change things its tired. We also stayed in the hotel and the shows again this year apart from the great costumes the songs had no relevance to Halloween at all. And the green lights around all the stairs are also getting less each year 'for the price of a stay they should add not get less.
No scarefest mugs left but did get the 2012 firework mugs they had just put out.
We and other people take so much time with our Halloween outfits i should think Alton Towers are a shamed what they put the scarefest actors in and the make up its just not up to par.And the park was not half as busy. After all that we did have a decent day but i don't think they will pull this of much longer. Money needs to be spent on such events. Not take it away
 
Most people love the Strobe maze at the end of TotT, generally considered one of the best finales of any Scaremaze. But each to their own.

Yesterday when we visited the actors in the strobe maze where amazing, really worked it well and the strobe sequence is spot on.
 
I visited on Halloween itself, here's a few comments:

Lighting and atmosphere
Virtually no effort around any of the rides, in fact there was no sensation of speed on Oblivion because it was in darkness. Least thrilling go on that ride ever. We didn't actually go to Forbidden Valley due to my guests' fear of inversions, so I didn't see Nemesis or Air.

Mazes
In general I was quite satisfied. TOTT remains the centrepiece and worth an hour's queue (we paid for Fastrack since not arriving until 3:30pm). The strobe ending is the best element of any scare maze I've been in. It is disorientating and unsettling, excellent work.

Carnival of Screams was OK but is becoming a little tired now. It needs major new ideas or replacing with a new concept.

The Sanctuary is a great concept, had great theming uniforms but did not scare to the extent of TOTT - although the no contact rule went out of the window when once of the actors recognised me was fun. I found the mud on the entrance to be too much and combined with the poor lighting made for some ruined shoes. This needs to be addressed for next year with grating or whatever.

Zombies - did not do this last year, was very short and not much to it but for free it is an OK addition.
 
Well it's been a while since I did a trip report of any type really so I'll do a Scarefest review.

Carnival Of Screams

The first year this maze arrived it stole the show, it was imaginative, scary and well thought out. Sadly it hasn't aged well for me. Last year it was the same but with less actors & no real scary ending (Gorilla) this year it's the same yet again only smaller and lacklustre. Apart from the trommel it was the same yet again. It wasn't all bad the guy at the beginning was good but it all felt 'half-arsed'

It wasn't worth the money the first day (31st) but it was worth it just the following day at £2.50. 4/10


The Sanctuary

The reviews of this maze were positive as a whole and so I had high hopes for it, I tried not to get too sucked in on the hype so as not to be disappointed if It wasn't for me.

It was good, it was definitely the best themed maze there and made use of the Ruins very well. The story was inspired and well thought out. It had it's moments of pure genius like 'Stage 2' I was unfortunate on both runs to be standing under one of the sprays and so got soaked each time. Stage 2 was well thought out and definably took the mazes into a more modern direction.

We had two runs on this on two different days, both days we were at the back so really did miss out on all the commotion up-front which let it down a bit sadly. The second days run was definitely better than the first as we saw more effects. The actors in the maze were also good as well.

The only thing missing - I feel - was the ending. It tried to compete with ToTTs which it sadly failed at. There was so much potential to make a really twisted and really mental in keeping with the theme but it just seemed an anti-climax. The only level of panic was trying to get out when the two groups met and it was more confusion than anything.

Nice addition but for me it needed a better ending. 6/10

Terror Of The Towers

This is where my review becomes slightly hypocritical.

It was pretty much the same as last year, but last year I loved it! The thing with me and mazes is I love atmosphere and I love it when Alton are clever. I don't often get 'scared' in a maze - although it has been known - I love the ambience, guest reaction & theming. I especially love loud noises and music, THAT gets my blood pumping, hence why I love the video at the start for the bass it produces and of course the crème de la crème of ToTT - The strobe maze! It is has been year-upon-year the best part of any maze. I cannot express how much I love it. The combination of strobes, Ruby Quest being belted in all its bassey glory, whipped up with actors who really know how to make genuine fear, their manipulation of the strobe breaks is just fantastic every year.

Always strong and always great (mainly for the maze) 7/10

Terror Of The Towers - The Gloves Are Off

On the final night (1st November) we joined a few regulars to experience my first ever 'final run-through' and boy was it EXTREME! I have never felt violated before in my life. It was out-friggin-standing! The actors started out quit in your face but all the actors from all of the scenes carried on with us throughout and the tension built and built. There was water thrown at us, I had my glasses stolen from me and she ran off with them and then we got close to the maze.

Well, it took us all about 5 mins to get into the maze because of all the smoke leaking into previous scenes so we couldn't see a damn thing. When in the maze you could not see in front of you, they'd pumped it FULL of smoke and ALL the actors came in the maze and pretty much raped us all! the screams from guys and girls was deafening and disorientating combined with ZERO visibility was truly frightening. I was with a maze noob and she was stolen from me and split up - as were the whole group - and all the actors just went nuts with us. I was grabbed, tickled, licked the whole nine-yards. It was the most memorable experience I've ever had at Alton. Even at the end when we'd all left, the whole acting crew came out for one final scare before running out into the park to scare the stragglers left in the park. I cannot express into words just how amazing it was.

I feel a sense of sadness though because I have a feeling I will never experience a run-through like that again which may be the basis for comparison for future maze experiences. But at least I will have the memory. 1.6billion/10

Zombie Scarezone

Meh!

The Park

Well, there wasn't really much effort to be honest. As mentioned before atmosphere for me is high priority. The lighting is the worst it's ever been, it was non-existent, they didn't even try.

I found it hilarious that they stopped Nemesis for 5mins whilst the ride-ops climbed the lift to turn on 2 red lights which made NO difference. It was like lighting a candle in pure daylight. It was like them making a joke and proving a point.

I understand lighting can cost quite a bit, but in the right places it can add a great deal. The health & safety 'nanny state' approach of Alton is too extreme. They light up every morsel of the park and rides 'just in case' it's a real mood killer and there's no advantage to riding the rides in the dark, because they're NOT. Scarefest is the only time of year I'll queue for Air because it's great in the dark, Th13teen also is good. But everything else is just flood lit!

I would be forgiving if they'd put the yearly budget towards something spectacular, but this years Sanctuary was not enough to excuse the poor effort around park. 2 years ago they tried and it made a big difference, Oblivion looked brilliant and so did other rides.

Year-after-year they get a budget and year-after-year the event gets more popular increasing revenue. I feel that Scarefest is now coming under the latest Merlin greed - Offering as little as they can get away with whilst making as much profit as possible.

Exhibit A - Chessington
Chessy.jpg

(Courtesy of Crofty) Shows just what lighting can do :(

The ONLY saving grace is that next year they're building something fantastic, but I don't see how the rest of the event calender needs to suffer because of it.

Speaking of which...

'Ultimate' Fireworks

I had high hopes this year, mainly because of the sentimental value the fireworks hold to me as of last year. But they were very disappointing this year. The audio was a mess, the fireworks lazy & soundtrack was not as good as other years. It was a real let down to the 3 days.

As a firework enthusiast it was - again - oozing the 'Merlin way' as much effect with minimal cost. The fireworks were repetitive, not timed well, uninspiring & they missed a perfect opportunity to tease about SW7 having plastered the park & the Towers with logos. Thorpe Blast they dragged a fire truck over the lake and made wonders with lights and audio before blowing up said firetrack in homage to what was to come next year. I loved the Th13teen section a few years back and it shows what they really can do when they put their minds to it. The display was off the shelf yawns.

As the countries 'Number 1' Theme park they should be trying to out-do themselves year after year, instead of churning out the same old stuff each year.

As a whole I was disappointed with the event because it could have been so much better if they had put their minds too it. But, as annoying as it is to say I still enjoyed it because of ToTT extreme and other various factors.

One last comment: If you're going to charge for mazes they should be the best of the bunch and for me they weren't. I was happy to go through once had I not seen the reduced price November 1st (£5 for both) I don't mind paying for premium if it is indeed premium, but when their free maze stands up and beats the others, there's no incentive to really pay the extra.

Now, I'm going to close my eyes and listen to Ruby Quest (The strobe maze music in ToTT) and reminisce of that experience and draw a line under 2012 and start a fresh for 2013 and SW7.

;D
 
Alton Towers Scarefest 2012:

Apart from Towers Street and the mazes there wasn't really much else showing that it was Halloween, I dont expect the whole park to be themed, but surely a bit more effort could be made?

Carnival of Screams:

I do love this maze, it's not so much of a scare, more of a fun attraction. The theming as always was brilliant, I love the outdoor sections this year, they put it in a brilliant place. I love the old Toyland Tours music too, very creative. One problem I did find, whether this was because of the illness, was that there were not many actors, they seemed to be running from scene to scene to scare us. I know they do this normally, but it seemed more than usual.

Overall a good maze, great location, but I didn't think it was as good as last years.

Theming 9/10
Acting 7/10
Overall 7/10

The Sanctuary:

The theming for this was brilliant, and the idea was also very refreshing. I love the doctor at the beginning and all the old posters giving you hints on what to expect. It really did feel like an old hospital! However apart from that, I really did not enjoy it. When I went, there were hardly any scares, you saw the actors before they managed to make you jump, they seemed to chuck everything at you to make up for this. What was with the pillow being chucked at your face? I did find it funny, but not scary. My main annoyance was when we entered the really bright area, it gave you hints that you were going to be split up which really excited me, but you didn't. Huge potential here. This was a really good scene with the water and leg ticklers but it would have been nice to be split up. Finally the finale. What is it with finale's and strobes? This was similar to TOTT, now I don't know if I went on a bad run, but there were no actors at the end, in fact throughout there were very little.

Theming 10/10
Actors 5/10
Overall 6/10

Terror of The Towers:

By far my favourite. This is a good old fashioned scare maze, plenty of actors, plenty of scares and plenty of theming! It does need a refresh but it's still brilliant! There were many scares and brilliant acting by some of the actors. One thing I do miss is the loud bang when you exit that scares you, but overall I did enjoy it!

Theming 9/10
Actors 9/10
Overall 9/10

Zombie Scarezone:

Make sure you're the last members of the group! We were at the back and pretty much on our own as we walked through. One thing that did surprise me is that the actors didn't appear until we got through 2/3rds of the maze. I'm being serious! I do not know where they had gone. However when we did finally reach the actors, it was brilliant! As one Zombie scared me I bumped into another and then ran into another, really good fun! I also loved how they still followed us out of the maze!

Theming 7/10
Actors 9/10
Overall 8/10 - Good fun!

Scarefest this year wasn't the best, and I don't think it will be next year. I think this will be how it is from now on, I could see the hard work that had gone in the mazes which was really good to see! But I think Duel and gloomy wood could be so much more! Also, like all of us here on Towers Street... Gels ;)
 
Spike said:
I found it hilarious that they stopped Nemesis for 5mins whilst the ride-ops climbed the lift to turn on 2 red lights which made NO difference. It was like lighting a candle in pure daylight. It was like them making a joke and proving a point.
Click to expand...
Have to add those lights are literally there for the lifthill cameras - not to create atmosphere. That's just a byproduct.

Lighting isn't that expensive, you could deck out the entire park quite easily for the same cost that useless trommel did in carnival. It's just that they need some creative director for these events to take sole responsibility for onpark theming. Something they obviously don't have, and desperately need, to create that atmosphere and memorability an event like this desperately needs.
 
thefatone said:
Have to add those lights are literally there for the lifthill cameras - not to create atmosphere. That's just a byproduct.
Click to expand...

From queue line extension 3 there was ample amount of light covering the lift and also 2 spot lights on the lift without red gels covering the cameras on the lift. It was pointless them turning them on, not to mention this was 6pm and it had been dark for over an hour ;)
 
Spike said:
thefatone said:
Have to add those lights are literally there for the lifthill cameras - not to create atmosphere. That's just a byproduct.
Click to expand...

From queue line extension 3 there was ample amount of light covering the lift and also 2 spot lights on the lift without red gels covering the cameras on the lift. It was pointless them turning them on, not to mention this was 6pm and it had been dark for over an hour ;)
Click to expand...

As said by thefatone, these lights are required for hosts and operators to be able to see the lifthill cameras clearly. The same goes with the break-run lights/cameras. Without them you cannot see the guests clearly, the lights from area three do not illuminate enough to see the guests, and actually create silhouettes.

Whilst all the lights weren't red, having the lifthill/break-run coloured red makes a massive difference to having a bright flood in your face? I'de have thought having some coloured lights is better than the whole ride being bathed in white floods.
 
THE HIGHLIGHT for me...being at the front of the conga line for The Sanctuary, and actually being greeted by Dr Kelman.

Like. Didn't see that coming. At all. And seeing him just stood at the end of the corridor with his hands palm in palm. Creepiest thing I have ever experienced in scare attraction. Brilliant...simple, but brilliant.
 
I visited 26th October. It was brilliant.
It was my first Scarefest, so I really didn't know what to expect.
I was greeted by some lovely mimes, I'm guessing from CoS. As we travelled down the right hand side of the park, we stopped outside CoS exit.
Dear guy standing outside the exit - there's a thing called ACTING!?! We went up to him and had a nice little conversation about CoS. Wasn't in character at all. Although it was nice to have conversation with him, he was funny. Walked away and put us 'in charge'. We stood outside the exit as people flooded out, followed by the clowns. Scary stuff.
Lighting was kind of rubbish. Especially around X-Sector. Blivvy's queue at night was hurrendously dark. That wasn't a big issue, though.
Actors at night were amazingly funny. I was chased by 2 Carnie Clowns, 1 of which was the dwarf clown. Scary as hell. Dissapointed there were no actors in the Dark Forest. I wanted to hug a wraith =(.
Ride experiences at night were amazing. TH13TEEN in the dark was great. Music was turned up, the poor lighting actually set the scene, the dummies in the forest were exceptionally creepy. Blivvy in the dark was just unbelievably amazing. Cold, but amazing.

I will definetely do 2013 Scarefest. Loved the actors, park atmosphere, and coasters. Well done, Towers.
 
It was my first scarefest so I cannot compare to others and will probably overrate everything :p

Park Lighting

Okay, I'll start with the worst, with the exception of FV-Mutiny and the smiler logo, the lighting was just awful! They should really invest in some coloured lighting for next year.

4/10

Carnival

Well, this was just a bit of a laugh really. The ringmaster (or whoever he is) was quite good, I was glad I wasn't picked to sniff his bellybutton though! Moving into the maze the living dummy scene is amazing! I knew it was going to happen, through forums and just logic, but the longer it went on for I just assumed that it was real and then boom :p This was then followed by some average clown scenes just a bit slow really. The mirror maze and finding Mr Dot were again great! But the maze just seemed to lack intensity it was predictable, the majorly redeeming factor was that my mate in-front was in the prime position for actor's jumping at him, I think everyone went at him!

6.5/10

The Sanctuary

This was a much better experience! We were greeted by the gardener who refused to let us past initially, brilliant actor! We then wandered in (no queue) and I just by chance noticed the 'Don't go downstairs' warning, brilliant attention to detail! We were then briefed by the nurse (after a staring competition with a silent nurse) and proceeded in to meet Dr Kelmen, who was just amazing! I was amazed by how creepy he was! We then entered and the flame ball was a great little touch, however on our go there was no interaction in this scene, as we followed through into the 'ward' the beds were used brilliantly as a scare tool! Moving on, similar bits but the marmalisation room was great! The leg ticklers got some great scares, the room was flooded with smoke and the room just stunk! We then 'Went Downstairs' and the standout moment in this was when the guy with the hammer, slammed it down and charged at the youngest member of our group, who jumped out of his skin. We then entered the 'maze' section which was again well done, if a little out of place.

9.5/10

Unfortunately I didn't do TOT, should have though grrr. But I will defiantly be back next year!
 
As several weeks have no passed since the end of Scarefest 2012, this topic is no longer stickied.

:)
 
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