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Scarefest 2017
- Thread starter ScareAttractions
- Start date
onair
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
For anyone that went yesterday just wondered what the park lighting was like this year ? Are there any lights in Forbidden Valley now there is no maze. Reading some of the social media comments its seems the atmosphere is lacking outside the mazes ?
After visiting Fright Nights really liked the additional projection lights and smoke machines but in all there seemed less lights lighting up the coasters themselves.
After visiting Fright Nights really liked the additional projection lights and smoke machines but in all there seemed less lights lighting up the coasters themselves.
Craig
TS Administrator
No lighting changes whatsoever away from the maze areas or Towers Street sadly
. Forbidden Valley and particularly Nemesis was bathed in white light aside from one single red gel on the lift hill flood which had presumably been left from previous years.Generator lights around X Sector's entrance, the lawns and by The Welcoming have had purple and green bulbs installed. This was only being completed over the course of the day yesterday, so there's perhaps a potential for a few more changes over the course of this week.
bluesonichd
TS Member
With Scarefest now being the biggest money maker for Towers. Is it just me that feels they are not putting as much effort in to it all.
Yes I welcome the addition of a new maze but at the price of loosing a scare zone. Meh !
I spoke to a number of people on park yesterday and overheard a few people saying it just didn’t feel scarefesty
I have to agree.
There’s just something missing. Some spark
It’s lost it’s muchness
Maybe it’s just me being an old grump.
Yes I welcome the addition of a new maze but at the price of loosing a scare zone. Meh !
I spoke to a number of people on park yesterday and overheard a few people saying it just didn’t feel scarefesty
I have to agree.
There’s just something missing. Some spark
It’s lost it’s muchness
Maybe it’s just me being an old grump.
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
No no orange Oblivion and Red bathed Nemesis, Ohhh, But they looked so good. At least we still have The Towers and Galactica(Not including the scare attractions) still lit up nicely and from what I've seen The Smiler has been bathed in Purple and Yellow and Battle Galleons in Green, So that's a plus I guess!
bluesonichd
TS Member
Flume Tap reimagined
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
It's also worth noting the old CoS entrance is now in Freak Show as well.Flume Tap reimagined
Craig
TS Administrator
So after visiting Scarefest yesterday, I thought I’d add a few thoughts. There are some fairly mild spoilers in here, especially for the mazes which aren’t new. Towers Street itself looks great as always. Lots of music, bunting everywhere, pumpkins, hay bales and characters right down the street. It was nice to see a bit of a buzz about the place in comparison to my last few visits!
Box Office had it’s traditional excessive queue. It’s a shame they didn’t push print at home a little bit more considering the new ticketing system. From what I’ve read from others booking tickets wasn’t available from the word go, and it would be nice to really push the benefits a bit more such as having it on your mobile etc. That said, wifi dying around the entrance to Mine Tours really showed the flaws to the system, as it meant guests couldn’t get their tickets up. More importantly the host couldn’t validate the tickets either! Hopefully it’s fixed and sorted in time for today/next weekend.
Lighting, as mentioned above is..ok at least in the event area this year. They were still changing bulbs in the generators around the lawns/X Sector over the course of the day, so maybe they’ll extend it out to other areas in the coming week. Overall I felt there was still a decent atmosphere around the event area, with costume characters out and then the Alton Ancestors doing a great job of getting guests in the mood for Halloween. It is a shame that the event is so contained though, and the likes of Forbidden Valley have now been forgotten about in terms of theming.
As for the mazes, overall, they were great and I felt most were an improvement on my runs last year:
Terror of the Towers
Oh this one’s not a good one to say the least. It’s hard to believe this was once the jewel in the crown of the Scarefest line up. A new entrance just means a walk up the steps and down into the old queue area, which makes it more prominent I guess but that’s it. Inside though, it’s the same old ToT. A predictable layout, predictable scares and just the same old aimless walk through with very little actor interaction. And you might say I just had a bad run through, but even reading social media and chatting to others who went yesterday who weren't with our group, the consensus was pretty much the same.
This maze was iffy when it was free, and the fact it’s now £6 a pop with little to no redevelopment is scandalous. The end maze felt shorter than previous years, but I’m not sure if it is or it’s just a case of being that damn used to it these days! These REALLY needs to go next year. I fear the damage will be done to the name this year. Even infrequent visitors will feel any maze with the name in future whether redeveloped or not will have the perception of it being poor value for money.
Sub Species
Now considered the most ‘extreme’ out of the mazes at Alton Towers, this started off great with great actor interaction in the doors at the start, and some great fun in the multiple route maze section that followed. Unfortunately, the latter part of our run through was somewhat spoiled by guests - one who decided to have their phone torch on in the rope maze looking for his girlfriend (le sigh!), and another girl who freaked out in the tunnel, dived out, burst into tears and inexplicably decided to phone her boyfriend who she got lost from (different couple!) whilst in the maze. Still, I found the second incident hilarious as hell, so there is that! The guy with his phone out did annoy me, as at no point did the actor who was in there say a single thing to him, something which they really should be addressing quickly on a paid maze where it spoils things for other guests! Unfortunately, the chainsaw wasn’t working in the finale due to technical issues, so the ending felt a tad flat, But, overall I still really enjoyed the run through, especially considering the long time we spent in there - and in general an improvement on what I experienced last year. Hopefully they’ll iron out some teething problems in time for next week.
Altonville Mine Tours
Oh I loved this much more than last year, to the point where I’d say it’s VERY close to rivalling Sub Species - and it had the biggest queue of the day! Brilliant acting, and more smoke than I’ve seen in a long long time during the initial part of the maze made for a very very disorientating experience. Whether that level of smoke sticks around remains to be seen, but it was certainly a welcome change compared to last year. The amount of smoke quickly clears for the latter part of the maze though, enabling you to see the amazing theming throughout the maze. The actors really made this maze, with my only complaint being (again) the finale - or lack of one! I’m not a huge one for running out of mazes though, I prefer a better overall experience, so still enjoyed it immensely and felt it was a massive improvement to last year.
The Welcoming
Now I won’t lie in that I set my expectations low for this maze. When hearing from those who did preview that it ‘wasn’t scary’, I was expecting the worst. However, the level of immersion after heading through the curtain into the archway in this maze is superb, and I completely forgot that I was in the courtyard. It’s an extremely long maze, and the sheer amount of stuff they’ve managed to cram in there is astounding. When hearing about the blindfolded section, I was a tad worried as Molly Crow meant there was a lot of wandering aimlessly and very little happening, but the actors worked this section of the maze brilliantly. They weren’t afraid of getting really up close to freak you out, and the length of that section was just long enough to get you wondering when it was going to end but not long enough to get bored.
If you’re a lighting fan, there’s also some really nice stuff going on, with gorgeous streams of blue light in one section of the maze. Acting wise, there were still some good jump scares considering my low expectations, and lots of moments of actors blocking your path and getting in your face. Sadly, as was the pattern throughout our day, the finale was flat thanks to some technical problems, but we all came out thoroughly enjoying the run through. Yes this is a far more theatrical maze in comparison to the others, but with a decent amount of scares, the level of immersion and the sheer length of the maze it’s definitely one that I can’t wait to do again next weekend.
Scarefest's Future
So onto my gripes, some of which I seem to repeat every single year! The sheer amount of space that they have at Alton Towers means they have the opportunity to go all out with Halloween, more so than pretty much any other theme park in the UK. However, yet again we seen the event focussed in the tiny bubble around the lawns. Whilst the mazes are immersive, and the theming on Towers Street is great, there’s a real lack of anything else in other sections of the park. Lighting on some of the rides would have been great to see, even better custom audio on some of them too!
Maze wise, Terror of the Towers just seems to be the old dog that everyone is scared to put down. They desperately need some investment to get some real innovation across the whole maze lineup. They’ve shown they can do it with the new generation of mazes, yet nothing ever seems to be done with ToT. A new story, all new theming and get rid of the damn conga line, and give that amazing historical space the maze is deserves again.
Whilst four mazes is great to see, to see the loss of scare zones is a huge disappointment. It kills the atmosphere in the parts of the park that previously had them, and leaves guests feeling short changed either once they’ve done the mazes or if they choose not to do them. Freak Show is great, but again it’s sat in the Scarefest bubble around the park. To see the likes of the old zombies scare zone in Forest while on the Skyride really brings home what opportunities they have that are now laid to waste.
This year’s Merlin results really showed what a huge money spinner Halloween is to the theme parks division - a relatively poor main season recovered to an extent thanks to October. To say Alton has not had the best few years would be an understatement, but every year they have prime opportunity to make this a huge event that’s the envy of every other theme park and scare attraction operator in the business. Take a gamble Merlin, get a decent amount of money put in for a quality **whole park** lineup, and guests will fork out the cash! We should be comparing Alton’s even to the likes of Horror Nights in Florida and Hollywood - step up to the plate and take on the big boys!
Box Office had it’s traditional excessive queue. It’s a shame they didn’t push print at home a little bit more considering the new ticketing system. From what I’ve read from others booking tickets wasn’t available from the word go, and it would be nice to really push the benefits a bit more such as having it on your mobile etc. That said, wifi dying around the entrance to Mine Tours really showed the flaws to the system, as it meant guests couldn’t get their tickets up. More importantly the host couldn’t validate the tickets either! Hopefully it’s fixed and sorted in time for today/next weekend.
Lighting, as mentioned above is..ok at least in the event area this year. They were still changing bulbs in the generators around the lawns/X Sector over the course of the day, so maybe they’ll extend it out to other areas in the coming week. Overall I felt there was still a decent atmosphere around the event area, with costume characters out and then the Alton Ancestors doing a great job of getting guests in the mood for Halloween. It is a shame that the event is so contained though, and the likes of Forbidden Valley have now been forgotten about in terms of theming.
As for the mazes, overall, they were great and I felt most were an improvement on my runs last year:
Terror of the Towers
Oh this one’s not a good one to say the least. It’s hard to believe this was once the jewel in the crown of the Scarefest line up. A new entrance just means a walk up the steps and down into the old queue area, which makes it more prominent I guess but that’s it. Inside though, it’s the same old ToT. A predictable layout, predictable scares and just the same old aimless walk through with very little actor interaction. And you might say I just had a bad run through, but even reading social media and chatting to others who went yesterday who weren't with our group, the consensus was pretty much the same.
This maze was iffy when it was free, and the fact it’s now £6 a pop with little to no redevelopment is scandalous. The end maze felt shorter than previous years, but I’m not sure if it is or it’s just a case of being that damn used to it these days! These REALLY needs to go next year. I fear the damage will be done to the name this year. Even infrequent visitors will feel any maze with the name in future whether redeveloped or not will have the perception of it being poor value for money.
Sub Species
Now considered the most ‘extreme’ out of the mazes at Alton Towers, this started off great with great actor interaction in the doors at the start, and some great fun in the multiple route maze section that followed. Unfortunately, the latter part of our run through was somewhat spoiled by guests - one who decided to have their phone torch on in the rope maze looking for his girlfriend (le sigh!), and another girl who freaked out in the tunnel, dived out, burst into tears and inexplicably decided to phone her boyfriend who she got lost from (different couple!) whilst in the maze. Still, I found the second incident hilarious as hell, so there is that! The guy with his phone out did annoy me, as at no point did the actor who was in there say a single thing to him, something which they really should be addressing quickly on a paid maze where it spoils things for other guests! Unfortunately, the chainsaw wasn’t working in the finale due to technical issues, so the ending felt a tad flat, But, overall I still really enjoyed the run through, especially considering the long time we spent in there - and in general an improvement on what I experienced last year. Hopefully they’ll iron out some teething problems in time for next week.
Altonville Mine Tours
Oh I loved this much more than last year, to the point where I’d say it’s VERY close to rivalling Sub Species - and it had the biggest queue of the day! Brilliant acting, and more smoke than I’ve seen in a long long time during the initial part of the maze made for a very very disorientating experience. Whether that level of smoke sticks around remains to be seen, but it was certainly a welcome change compared to last year. The amount of smoke quickly clears for the latter part of the maze though, enabling you to see the amazing theming throughout the maze. The actors really made this maze, with my only complaint being (again) the finale - or lack of one! I’m not a huge one for running out of mazes though, I prefer a better overall experience, so still enjoyed it immensely and felt it was a massive improvement to last year.
The Welcoming
Now I won’t lie in that I set my expectations low for this maze. When hearing from those who did preview that it ‘wasn’t scary’, I was expecting the worst. However, the level of immersion after heading through the curtain into the archway in this maze is superb, and I completely forgot that I was in the courtyard. It’s an extremely long maze, and the sheer amount of stuff they’ve managed to cram in there is astounding. When hearing about the blindfolded section, I was a tad worried as Molly Crow meant there was a lot of wandering aimlessly and very little happening, but the actors worked this section of the maze brilliantly. They weren’t afraid of getting really up close to freak you out, and the length of that section was just long enough to get you wondering when it was going to end but not long enough to get bored.
If you’re a lighting fan, there’s also some really nice stuff going on, with gorgeous streams of blue light in one section of the maze. Acting wise, there were still some good jump scares considering my low expectations, and lots of moments of actors blocking your path and getting in your face. Sadly, as was the pattern throughout our day, the finale was flat thanks to some technical problems, but we all came out thoroughly enjoying the run through. Yes this is a far more theatrical maze in comparison to the others, but with a decent amount of scares, the level of immersion and the sheer length of the maze it’s definitely one that I can’t wait to do again next weekend.
Scarefest's Future
So onto my gripes, some of which I seem to repeat every single year! The sheer amount of space that they have at Alton Towers means they have the opportunity to go all out with Halloween, more so than pretty much any other theme park in the UK. However, yet again we seen the event focussed in the tiny bubble around the lawns. Whilst the mazes are immersive, and the theming on Towers Street is great, there’s a real lack of anything else in other sections of the park. Lighting on some of the rides would have been great to see, even better custom audio on some of them too!
Maze wise, Terror of the Towers just seems to be the old dog that everyone is scared to put down. They desperately need some investment to get some real innovation across the whole maze lineup. They’ve shown they can do it with the new generation of mazes, yet nothing ever seems to be done with ToT. A new story, all new theming and get rid of the damn conga line, and give that amazing historical space the maze is deserves again.
Whilst four mazes is great to see, to see the loss of scare zones is a huge disappointment. It kills the atmosphere in the parts of the park that previously had them, and leaves guests feeling short changed either once they’ve done the mazes or if they choose not to do them. Freak Show is great, but again it’s sat in the Scarefest bubble around the park. To see the likes of the old zombies scare zone in Forest while on the Skyride really brings home what opportunities they have that are now laid to waste.
This year’s Merlin results really showed what a huge money spinner Halloween is to the theme parks division - a relatively poor main season recovered to an extent thanks to October. To say Alton has not had the best few years would be an understatement, but every year they have prime opportunity to make this a huge event that’s the envy of every other theme park and scare attraction operator in the business. Take a gamble Merlin, get a decent amount of money put in for a quality **whole park** lineup, and guests will fork out the cash! We should be comparing Alton’s even to the likes of Horror Nights in Florida and Hollywood - step up to the plate and take on the big boys!
AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
I am pretty much in agreement with Craig.
The mazes, Towers Street and ruins look/are great.
Everything else is the same, or poorer.
There is no Halloween at all in Fountain Square, Dark Forest or Forbidden Valley. These areas have had some element of Halloween at stages in recent years.
Lighting is the worst it has been. Ever.
I reckon the Ents division are stretched so spend 95% of the time on maze duty, neglecting the rest of the park.
The mazes, Towers Street and ruins look/are great.
Everything else is the same, or poorer.
There is no Halloween at all in Fountain Square, Dark Forest or Forbidden Valley. These areas have had some element of Halloween at stages in recent years.
Lighting is the worst it has been. Ever.
- Rapids/Katanga has had some in previous years. Now there is none.
- Nemesis has none.
- Galactica has the blue lights but they don't work properly.
- Fountain Square has had lighting in the past - now there's none.
- Oblivion/X Sector has none at the moment at all.
I reckon the Ents division are stretched so spend 95% of the time on maze duty, neglecting the rest of the park.
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onair
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
That is really disappointing to here about the lighting
What annoys me for 2 nights of the fireworks show there will probably be loads of lights setup in front of the towers grounds. I really cannot see why they cannot just leave some of the fireworks lights for the scarefest period.
Forbidden Valley could just have a few red lights and smoke machines. It does not need the maze there if cost is an issue. Lighting really adds to the experience. I think i am going to really miss the scare zones, that Freak Show was not a patch on Scary Tales.
The difference with those new lights at thorpe and the smoke machines this year is a major boost to the spooky atmosphere.
What annoys me for 2 nights of the fireworks show there will probably be loads of lights setup in front of the towers grounds. I really cannot see why they cannot just leave some of the fireworks lights for the scarefest period.
Forbidden Valley could just have a few red lights and smoke machines. It does not need the maze there if cost is an issue. Lighting really adds to the experience. I think i am going to really miss the scare zones, that Freak Show was not a patch on Scary Tales.
The difference with those new lights at thorpe and the smoke machines this year is a major boost to the spooky atmosphere.
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danni87
TS Member
We were behind a family in the queue for the welcoming and they had a kid with them who looked about 13 who got in ok. I guess it depends on the member of staff on the entrance though!
Jammy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis/Oblivion
Thank you! Do you reckon it would be fine for an average teenager or too scary?
Jammy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis/Oblivion
I'm confused about them splitting you up. Do they literally drag you?
AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
Craig
TS Administrator
Well it depends how the actors are on your run through to be honest as well as where you happen to be stood in relation to them. If you want a spoiler laden explanation:
There are a number of places where you could be split up. At the start, there's a number of doors. Sometimes an actor will spring out of the doors and drag one or two people in (nothing overly physical - if you don't want to move they won't tend to!), other times they'll just allow you to choose a door and walk through. In the maze itself, it's often the case where an actor will let one person go one way, then block the other and direct the other another way. There's no set rule for how or when this occurs. I've had run throughs where I'm not dragged anywhere, I've had others where I'm split off with a couple of others, and others where I'm split off on my own.
So dragging and blocking your route to make you go another way is basically the norm on Sub Species, but the frequency of that happening is really difficult to say!
So dragging and blocking your route to make you go another way is basically the norm on Sub Species, but the frequency of that happening is really difficult to say!
Matt.GC
TS Member
So to sum up what everyone is saying. Over the years, roaming actors, free scare zones and now it appears lighting have all been scaled back - you know, all the stuff included in the gate price. At the same time the amount of additionally charged scare mazes has increased to 5.
