After visiting this weekend I honestly don't have very many positive things to say regarding Scarefest, there's not really much you can elaborate on an event which has done almost nothing to change from the previous year.
Mine Tours: Very good as always, despite that, this is its' 6th year of operation. Nothing gets changed, it needs to move on.
Darkest Depths: Nice to see effects were working properly this time, very immersive and they definitely ramped up scares, however this is also due a change soon too.
The Attic: I have attempted The Attic several times now, desperately hoping for a good run, it just hasn't happened. I personally do not think the layout works well for any meaningful scares and I also do not think the overall direction of it is very scary until the finale section, and what good is the finale when the main scare actor of the scene isn't even there? I understand that actors need breaks but £8 per stagnant attraction is heavy. Sets are great at least.
Toxic Junkyard: What happened? For a budget maze it was excellent last year, but this year felt like a massive step back. The actors are fun, and some of them I can see are giving it their all, one person who I'm pretty sure is the guy you see in all the promotional shots, he was able to work 3 rooms in a very short manner of time, very seamlessly too. Perhaps we just got unlucky but it felt very short on actors as there were more empty areas than live ones. The finale is now pathetic, they just stand behind windows and lazily aim chainsaws at you, and do absolutely nothing with them. They will have one person who will free roam but they don't even try to chase you they just sort of vacantly march besides you with the trigger held. I should be wanting to run out of that finale out of fear, not out of boredom! Needs some serious reworking.
Trick o' Treat Town: I still think this attraction is extortionate, but it's a quality family attraction. Music is excellent, actors are fun and interactive, it has the perfect Scarefest atmosphere. My problem is I just don't think people should have to spend at least £10 to get this level of atmosphere and fun when they have already paid to get into the park, because it's really nowhere else to be found.
Whispering Souls: It's good, and should never be phased out. But why did they remove the ferryman? Also felt like it could have been expanded to a scale comparable to the Christmas version, with some sets and actors.
Resort-Wide Theming: Over at the hotels, Splash Landings has the same theming it has had since 2010, Alton Towers Hotel has surprisingly lost all of its' exterior theming, and at the Enchanted Village they seem to have stolen the cauldron that used to be at the ATH, although they did have pumpkins and hay stacks at least (which were then smashed by some very charming people).
In the park every zone has absolutely no extra flavour added for the event, and it is extremely disappointing, if it weren't for the music I'd have no idea it was Scarefest. Would it kill them to add at least some pumpkins?
Lighting has improved a little at least, with the return of the Wickerman lighting set, the Towers Complex has been given a lot more love, and more gels have been applied to generators. Other than that, nothing that I can recall.
At the end of the day, Scarefest has remained the exact same as last year pretty much, which just makes the issues ever more glaring. Most of the mazes, if not all, need to be majorly shaken up! We need scare zones to return, we need less upcharge attractions, and we need way more resort wide theming.
there's a real chance I might've made it up in my head
