Don’t get the point in not having the devil at the end? I could get if it was later in the day and it he was on his break, but not having it at 1pm seems… odd?
Good reviews though. I’ve not heard any negatives from the mazes this year so far
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Scarefest 2021
Don’t get the point in not having the devil at the end? I could get if it was later in the day and it he was on his break, but not having it at 1pm seems… odd?
Good reviews though. I’ve not heard any negatives from the mazes this year so far
Skyscraper
TS Member
Unless the actor was running late?
StajBeetle
TS Member
Just had 2 days on park, did each maze twice. First time our slot started at 5.30, second day 2pm. Here's my review of Scarefest, bearing in mind last year was the first year I did a scare maze.
Ride availability was a bit of a mess but I'll save that for the general discussion thread. Overall I enjoyed Scarefest, but I do think it's lacking a few things. If you combined Thorpe and Towers' mazes, with Thorpe's scare zones and Chessington's theming/atmosphere and lighting, I think you'd have the perfect Halloween event.
The Attic
This was my favourite maze last year and honestly one of my favourite things I've ever done in a theme park. This year is just as good as I remembered, I honestly think this maze is almost perfect, I think it's a bit more subtle (if that's the right word) than other mazes like Toxic Junkyard or Creek Freak Massacre which I absolutely love, it's not too intense but there's still plenty of good scares. What really makes The Attic for me is the theming and storytelling, the way the audio builds up, the way they use colour and temperature (although in our first run through the heaters weren't on). Bit of a shame that the ghost above the bed didn't seem to be working as that's a nice effect, although I'm not sure if we just got unlucky. 9/10.
Altonville Mine Tours
I gained a whole new appreciation for Altonville Mine Tours this year. Last year I liked it and thought it was very intense, but I wouldn't say I loved it. But oh my word, this maze is up there with the scariest things I've ever done. It's so dark, foggy, and claustrophobic in there it's hard to even see your own hand in front of you, and the actors don't even really need to do a whole lot other than just poke their heads out of their hiding spots to absolutely terrify me. This is the only maze I've ever done that I'm always hesitant to do again because of how terrifying I find it. That scene with the miner's costumes is absolutely horrifying and I always find myself speeding through it just because I want to get out of there. 8/10
Darkest Depths
Once again, the theming is phenomenal in this maze, but you already knew that. I was very intrigued by Darkest Depths this year, and it's a little bit more intense than last year, but I'm not sure it quite warrants being on the same level as The Attic or AMT in terms of it being a 15+ thrill maze. Got a few good scares, but it's not as creepy and atmospheric as The Attic and not as anxiety-inducing and intense as AMT. I still very much enjoyed this maze though. 6/10 as a 15+ thrill maze, 8/10 as a family maze.
Freak Show: Toxic Junkyard
This maze has to go next year. It just doesn't work. I've had I think 5 run throughs of it now, one of which last year was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in a theme park and the other two were kinda average at best, bad at worse. To be fair, yesterday in the dark it was decent, couple of good scares although it fell a little bit flat in the middle. But today it was poor. This maze just doesn't work, it's utterly pointless doing it in the day. I don't think I got a single scare. You can see the actors coming from a mile away, the theming is alright but could be better, the long mirror section is just odd, and the chainsaw finale doesn't do anything when the actors don't come anywhere near you. It's between Toxic Junkyard and Roots of Evil for the worst maze I've ever done for me, 3/10.
Didn't do Trick or Treat Town or the Garden Lights Walk.
The Event
Pretty much the same as last year, majorly lacking some scare zones and parkwide theming. Glad they weren't playing any metal music, and lighting is better than last year but still a long way to go with Nemesis and the (major quotation marks) ""Dark"" Forest being the parts that stick out the most. I also think the event lacks a proper family maze now that Darkest Depths is a 15+ for some reason.
Next Year
If I was in charge of Scarefest next year I'd get rid of Toxic Junkyard straight away, I don't think outdoor mazes have a place at Towers. Definitely keep The Attic for as long as possible, but I'd get rid one of the other two aswell. Altonville still feels fairly fresh to me as I first did it last year, but it has been around for a long time so that would be the obvious choice, but I think Darkest Depths should either be reverted to a 10+ family maze or removed entirely. In an ideal world next year I'd like four thrill mazes and one family maze, be that Darkest Depths or a new maze, plus a scare zone or two. If you absolutely have to keep FSTJ, then I'd like to see it moved into the Games Bunker.
This was my favourite maze last year and honestly one of my favourite things I've ever done in a theme park. This year is just as good as I remembered, I honestly think this maze is almost perfect, I think it's a bit more subtle (if that's the right word) than other mazes like Toxic Junkyard or Creek Freak Massacre which I absolutely love, it's not too intense but there's still plenty of good scares. What really makes The Attic for me is the theming and storytelling, the way the audio builds up, the way they use colour and temperature (although in our first run through the heaters weren't on). Bit of a shame that the ghost above the bed didn't seem to be working as that's a nice effect, although I'm not sure if we just got unlucky. 9/10.
Altonville Mine Tours
I gained a whole new appreciation for Altonville Mine Tours this year. Last year I liked it and thought it was very intense, but I wouldn't say I loved it. But oh my word, this maze is up there with the scariest things I've ever done. It's so dark, foggy, and claustrophobic in there it's hard to even see your own hand in front of you, and the actors don't even really need to do a whole lot other than just poke their heads out of their hiding spots to absolutely terrify me. This is the only maze I've ever done that I'm always hesitant to do again because of how terrifying I find it. That scene with the miner's costumes is absolutely horrifying and I always find myself speeding through it just because I want to get out of there. 8/10
Darkest Depths
Once again, the theming is phenomenal in this maze, but you already knew that. I was very intrigued by Darkest Depths this year, and it's a little bit more intense than last year, but I'm not sure it quite warrants being on the same level as The Attic or AMT in terms of it being a 15+ thrill maze. Got a few good scares, but it's not as creepy and atmospheric as The Attic and not as anxiety-inducing and intense as AMT. I still very much enjoyed this maze though. 6/10 as a 15+ thrill maze, 8/10 as a family maze.
Freak Show: Toxic Junkyard
This maze has to go next year. It just doesn't work. I've had I think 5 run throughs of it now, one of which last year was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in a theme park and the other two were kinda average at best, bad at worse. To be fair, yesterday in the dark it was decent, couple of good scares although it fell a little bit flat in the middle. But today it was poor. This maze just doesn't work, it's utterly pointless doing it in the day. I don't think I got a single scare. You can see the actors coming from a mile away, the theming is alright but could be better, the long mirror section is just odd, and the chainsaw finale doesn't do anything when the actors don't come anywhere near you. It's between Toxic Junkyard and Roots of Evil for the worst maze I've ever done for me, 3/10.
Didn't do Trick or Treat Town or the Garden Lights Walk.
The Event
Pretty much the same as last year, majorly lacking some scare zones and parkwide theming. Glad they weren't playing any metal music, and lighting is better than last year but still a long way to go with Nemesis and the (major quotation marks) ""Dark"" Forest being the parts that stick out the most. I also think the event lacks a proper family maze now that Darkest Depths is a 15+ for some reason.
Next Year
If I was in charge of Scarefest next year I'd get rid of Toxic Junkyard straight away, I don't think outdoor mazes have a place at Towers. Definitely keep The Attic for as long as possible, but I'd get rid one of the other two aswell. Altonville still feels fairly fresh to me as I first did it last year, but it has been around for a long time so that would be the obvious choice, but I think Darkest Depths should either be reverted to a 10+ family maze or removed entirely. In an ideal world next year I'd like four thrill mazes and one family maze, be that Darkest Depths or a new maze, plus a scare zone or two. If you absolutely have to keep FSTJ, then I'd like to see it moved into the Games Bunker.
Ride availability was a bit of a mess but I'll save that for the general discussion thread. Overall I enjoyed Scarefest, but I do think it's lacking a few things. If you combined Thorpe and Towers' mazes, with Thorpe's scare zones and Chessington's theming/atmosphere and lighting, I think you'd have the perfect Halloween event.
Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
I won’t put a link or anything to spoilt it for everyone else but just seen ladbaby video inside Freak Show Toxic Junkyard and going on what I saw if that’s the weakest of all 4 mazes the other 3 must be very scary.
Danscott22
TS Member
This about sums up my thoughts from Saturday - Toxic Junkyard is better than last year and a very well done maze but it the weakest of the four. The other three are on point this year scares wise, better than they’ve ever been.
Danny
TS Contributor
For me, Mine Tours was the weakest maze on the run throughs this year. It's had its day now, and they really could do with a replacement next year, or at least a major revamp.
Toxic Junkyard was far better than last year with much more interaction and more confined feeling moments. Three chainsaw actors breaking the norm, one of which brushed the side of my head with the chainsaw. A genuine moment of terror.
Been a while since I last did Darkest Depths, although the actors hadn't really got into it with it being one of the first run through of the day. Not entirely sure what Bill Nighy was doing in there, I feel as if the tension is lost compared to the first year they did it.
The Attic seemed to benefit from far more actors this year, although the pre-show actor was 1/4 of the way through the speech before the back of the group was even in the room.
Toxic Junkyard was far better than last year with much more interaction and more confined feeling moments. Three chainsaw actors breaking the norm, one of which brushed the side of my head with the chainsaw. A genuine moment of terror.
Been a while since I last did Darkest Depths, although the actors hadn't really got into it with it being one of the first run through of the day. Not entirely sure what Bill Nighy was doing in there, I feel as if the tension is lost compared to the first year they did it.
The Attic seemed to benefit from far more actors this year, although the pre-show actor was 1/4 of the way through the speech before the back of the group was even in the room.
deanW
TS Member
I did all of the mazes at the weekend and I can honestly say that Altonville Mine Tours is my favourite! Such a great maze every time!
Another Scarefest attraction that deserves a special mention IMO is Trick O’ Treat Town. That was excellent and a really fun family attraction; I hope it stays next year!
Another Scarefest attraction that deserves a special mention IMO is Trick O’ Treat Town. That was excellent and a really fun family attraction; I hope it stays next year!
I did Darkest depths last night and it was honestly the worst run I have ever had in there!
The first part of the maze was really good...but
I really think the root cause of this mazes issues is its story. Its too obsessed with the kraken despite not having neither the space or the budget to do a kraken, and
I should say that I was in the last run of the night, so that might be why but the whole maze also felt...artificially tame if that makes sense, I was the only one in there (and an adult) so I see no reason why they would...but it felt like the actors were deliberately holding back.
Sorry if this is poorly written, I wrote it in a rush.
The first part of the maze was really good...but
after the prison room the maze (despite still being amazingly themed) took a nose dive, it had the same problems as last year where, the actors just stop trying to scare you (or rather, stop being hostile) around the halfway point, and everything after the prison room just feels rushed
you shouldn't get to join the mazes antagonist faction that are going to be the exclusive sauce of scares for the rest of the maze
Sorry if this is poorly written, I wrote it in a rush.
Skyscraper
TS Member
They are indeed! 
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pluk
TS Member
All tickets suddenly sold out for the whole of the remainder of the event? I'd guess this a reaction to an expected ride availability problem limiting overall capacity than all the tickets suddenly selling out for a number of days all at once.
No smiler, no rapids, weather taking out 13, limited Duel capacity, Galactica seems limited too. It all adds up.
No smiler, no rapids, weather taking out 13, limited Duel capacity, Galactica seems limited too. It all adds up.
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Skyscraper
TS Member
I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason actually. Would make sense given the ride issues you've listed above.
Skyscraper
TS Member
Sorry for the double post, but this is too funny not to share
Danscott22
TS Member
Ride availability has to be affecting overall capacity they're letting in, I agree with everyone else. If Galactica still has seats blocked off, and Duel has whole cars removed and rows/seats blocked on Funk'n'Fly and Mixtape, as well as The Smiler and CRR downtime and TH13TEEN being about as useful as a chocolate teapot, plus general recent unreliability of rides like Rita and Hex, then I'm not surprised they're sold out.
Matt.GC
TS Member
Yeah, I can't believe that female African Elephants are evolving to become tuskless. Interesting stuffSorry for the double post, but this is too funny not to share
I fell for that too. You click on the date and it says item sold out
Ahh - so it does!