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Scarefest 2014

DiogoJ42 said:
Then don't allow children in to an event that isn't suitable for them.
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This is the difference between Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights and ScareFest. Universal close the park, then re-open as a Halloween only event, ensuring there are no young children in the park. Alton Towers run scare zones all afternoon, therefore they need to have clearly defined entrances and exits so that younger guests don't have to or can't enter.

I don't think that AT could close the park and run an even only Halloween event, Thorpe have done summer evening events that haven't been popular and AT is even harder to get to/from. Many people won't want to stay in the park past 9pm due to long journeys home.
 
PeteB said:
I don't see how children have anything to do with the major difference between Alton's version of a scare zone and the real world versions of a Scare Zone. Proper scare zones still have alternative/escape routes so wimps and children can avoid them.
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I don't think that's the issue, the problem Towers have for the traditional Scarezone is where to put it. As Towers isn't a hub and spoke park it pretty much depends on all of its paths for guests to use. For a scarezone you need an area that is easily bypassed.

There are a few options and they could go into the back-stage areas but it is a complicating factor. Most Scarezones are limited on thrills anyway.

@TheMan you went to Scarefest on a very specific day with unique guest dynamics (how very PC of me). On the Saturday they didn't batch into the scarezones, only held back if it was getting too busy.
 
I don't think closing the park then reopening it will work, nor would it be a good idea. Imagine on a busy day, 15,000 people having to make their way out of the park at 5 - then lets say 12,000 of them lingering around by the entrance waiting to go back in? Nah, just wouldn't work.

I think the other issue is that Alton is a "family" resort. The majority of their guests are families with children. They are not going to have a extreme horror maze at a family resort as much as some people would like them. Thorpe park run these sorts of mazes to cater for this market.

What Alton do offer is a family friendly package, with more scarier mazes for some, but at the same time, with them still be acceptable to some of the daring younger ones. The issue is more to do with the repetitive nature of the same mazes year upon year.

However, while this may be noticeable to us and cause us to grumble, it will probably satisfy the needs of the general public, and more importantly, families which visit.
 
In terms of bags, on Saturday we were not allowed to take them into the mazes at all. This meant that after doing the mazes we had to barge through the queue, through the little gardeny bit inside the conservatory, through the batching area, get our bags and walk all the way out again. Wasn't exactly ideal!

It's a pity that they are not allowing filming of the sleepover. I have always enjoyed watching the videos of the scare rooms in the past, great bit of free marketing for future years!

:)
 
Quite! There was lots of staff there last night and it appears that staff have been offered big discounts for some nights also. It's probably sold well at busy weekends but I can't imagine too many are prepared to fork out the huge amounts of money during the nornally quieter spells.

:)
 
GaryH said:
Sounds like the majority of people attending the Ultimate Sleepover have been the staff!!!
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Think they had a staff event last night,

To be fair Scarefest as a whole doesn't exactly get the crowds this week, the park is dead. From what i can gather the Sleep-over is selling well on weekends and half term. Fairly sure a few of the weekend dates have sold out.
 
I wonder whether The Sleepover would have been better just as a weekend experience. Only offered on Friday - Sunday, then for half term week. Saves staffing costs and low guest numbers.

Shame filming is not allowed. But I guess they want the experience to be exclusive, and with such a large amount of guests in one space having people filming could detract from the experience.
 
Half term is also this week for Leicestershire, and I assume a few other places too.
 
Dave said:
@TheMan you went to Scarefest on a very specific day with unique guest dynamics (how very PC of me). On the Saturday they didn't batch into the scarezones, only held back if it was getting too busy.
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This made me :D I didn't go at the weekend LOL! I went to the mini-meet on Tuesday night, so I guess you have a point, we all know what a rabble you are here. I'll bare that in mind to ensure I don't get "special" treatment next time attending with a "unique guest dynamic".

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Dave said:
could have sworn you said you went on Sunday.

Bloody TSTers are a nasty lot though!
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I know mate, they had extra security on the gates when I got there, then I remembered why. They even tried to get the SDS Helicopter up to add security, but alas, CBeebies land was too quiet and Ted Glen had lost his spanner again...
 
These guys really do add a wonderful presence to the place. Definitely one of the best additions.

I liked the Doctors wandering around last year for The Sanctuary as well, didn't see any of those this time.
 
Loving the audience interaction, 'tis great how they get audience members up to dance, while still staying in character!
 
I like the fan friendly detail of one of Alton's 'ancestors' wearing an Ug Land costume. Of course, that show is a little corny, but it's fun and the makeup and costume work is fantastic.
 
This news on Screamscape about the mother of 13 year old girls being offended by them being called sluts in a scare zone show reminded me of the discussion on Alton Towers offering a more open scare zone. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal is a separately ticketed 7pm to 2am event so daytime guests are excluded and it is clearly marketed as a mature audience adult event, so the parent should have attended and paid closer attention to what her daughters were doing!

http://screamscape.com/html/universal_studios_hollywood.htm#General
 
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