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Scarefest 2023

The timing of announcing the line-up is a difficult one. On the one hand, I understand the philosophy behind announcing it relatively close to October because it means the other events get the airtime (Oktoberfest).

On the other hand, those of us who are booking for a few people to go somewhere need more concrete plans, and with the choice available at halloween now, I think Towers need to be setting their setting out their stall a couple of months earlier (Universal start anoucning their line-up in June/July). I'm booking Scare Kingdom for seven people as they had trains and hotels to book, so Towers' announcment will be too late for us. And to be honest, why not announce the line-up in June so people can decide, and then intensify the marketing campaign as you get closer. Maybe there are other logistical reasons too, but I'd have thought maze line-ups, naming and basic visual identity could be decided by May/June.

It was a very poor event last year, and unless two very strong mazes come in, it's not going to be where it needs to be. One new great maze would make it an average event so it's not enough. If there are not two new mazes, I genuinely won't even go at all (despite being a pass holder).

Finally, personally, I don't think I'd support a Nemeis maze, they'd have to get it spot on to ensure it isn't tack. They did The Welcoming very well to be fair, but Wickerman's theme lent itself more to an immersive scare maze than Nemesis' does. A Nemesis scare maze could very easily enter naff territory.
 
I’ll be surprised if there isn’t roaming actors around Curse and Nemesis. It would also be sensible to redirect some of the ents team for WodW into a third “zone”, ideally around Wickerman or Dark Forest.

In an ideal world they should really be looking at some props to define scare zones as well as the mazes, as this really helps the event feel more bang for your buck
 
In an ideal world they would reintroduce scare zones and replace Altonville and The Invitation with one new Sub-Species level maze. That would inject a new life into the event: 3 adult mazes, 1 family maze (Trick O' Treat Town) and at least 1 scare zone outside of the main hub area (Gloomy wood, Dark forest, Forbidden valley, X-sector). It would feel bigger than in past years just by adding a scare zone.
 
I don’t think they’ll be a new maze personally. The Attic, Invitation and Mine Tours will stay.

They’ve tried and tested a lot of themes now and i really can’t see them bringing something new, until they decide to do a full refresh one year.

Maybe some scare zones and some kind of ramped up version of Sub Terra to hype up Nemesis, but I also don’t see there being a nemesis maze.

I loved to be proven wrong, the quality of their mazes have always been more hit than miss.
 
OButler said:
I don’t think they’ll be a new maze personally. The Attic, Invitation and Mine Tours will stay.

They’ve tried and tested a lot of themes now and i really can’t see them bringing something new, until they decide to do a full refresh one year.

Maybe some scare zones and some kind of ramped up version of Sub Terra to hype up Nemesis, but I also don’t see there being a nemesis maze.

I loved to be proven wrong, the quality of their mazes have always been more hit than miss.
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I heard six mazes and two scare zones somewhere but that doesn't sound realistic to me at all (and I dread to think how much the multi-maze ticket would be for 6 mazes). Would be a nice surprise though.
 
At the very least, I think we'll see a Nemesis/Phalanax-themed maze. It would follow the trends of The Sanctuary (The Smiler) and The Welcoming (Wicker Man). I can see Mine Tours being scrapped for the Nemesis Maze. The Attic: I wouldn't be surprised if it stays another year. The Invitation was awful. I would be shocked if that came back.

Darkest Depths... maybe scrap that and bring back Sub-Species (or something that occupies the same space). Most of the Sub-Species sets are still in place (rumoured), so I imagine it wouldn't be too complicated to get that area operational. Having a multi-route maze back would be very welcome, and I think we're all over covid now, so will not worry about actors getting up close.

Whatever they do, less is more. I would rather see three high-quality maze experiences and 1 or 2 scare zones over six mediocre mazes.

The issue with Scarefest is that it has been left stale for many years. It is not an event that will improve within one season. I think it will take a few seasons to get it back up to scratch. At the moment, Oktoberfest is the best event at Alton Towers.
 
James said:
The issue with Scarefest is that it has been left stale for many years. It is not an event that will improve within one season. I think it will take a few seasons to get it back up to scratch. At the moment, Oktoberfest is the best event at Alton Towers.
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With Thorpe having better Fright Nights in recent years (so I understand as I've never been to the event), Scarefest being quite weak the last couple of years and Oktoberfest being a huge hit, I'm wondering if they'll be ploughing more into Oktoberfest than Scarefest this year, taking the view that they can't necessarily compete with the popularity of Fright Nights. Part of what makes me think that is that Towers have advertised Oktoberfest but not Scarefest and Thorpe has advertised Fright Nights but not Oktoberfest.

Although having said that, from what I've seen of Fright Nights on YouTube, I prefer Scarefest mainly because it is more spooky than horror and the overall quality seems better at Towers with the stage shows, mazes and of course the setting - even if the event isn't as good as previous years.
 
With the focus on mazes from most guests and forum participants, I for one am hoping for the return of Sin Bin the show on the Lawns, It's an excellent piece of entertainment for adults and families and I compare it loosely to the main dance shows at Universal Orlando HHN, I say loosely because as much as I love Sin Bin, it's hardly a scratch on Nightmare Fuel or the previous Academy of Villains.

Last year was not as good as its opening year however still a tremendous amount of fun and something really fun and worth watching at the resort, I'd personally love to see Scarefest become more of an all rounder Scare Park experience akin to HHN than be the barren wasteland it currently is of either SCARE MAZE OR FAMILY FUN SHOW that it currently is. Sin Bin is an excellent example of Adult fun for all the family to enjoy without going so far into the realms of Fiends at Howl O Scream at Busch Gardens, Sin Bin is a little bit sexy and a lot a bit great entertainment.
 
OButler said:
I don’t think they’ll be a new maze personally. The Attic, Invitation and Mine Tours will stay.

They’ve tried and tested a lot of themes now and i really can’t see them bringing something new, until they decide to do a full refresh one year.

Maybe some scare zones and some kind of ramped up version of Sub Terra to hype up Nemesis, but I also don’t see there being a nemesis maze.

I loved to be proven wrong, the quality of their mazes have always been more hit than miss.
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Altonville Mine Tours has looked increasingly likely to be replaced, there were skips outside of it not too long back.
 
As ive said beforw i liked the invitation. Got soaked on there by the staff as we were the only ones for our timeslot. It wasnt as scary ae the mazes but still alot of fun

For me id add some flashes of light where you see the actors inside the cage in front of you.
 
Make of this what you will , especially when you see the 2021 dates on it, yet could this really be true ?

Source MAP Facebook group where the poster says he opened a old email and this was attached to it ?

Makes no sense to me yet if its true im dissapointed to see the Invitation back..

Infact suddenly less interested in any of it now
 

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Not regretting making 0 scarefest plans for this year, I was told the invitation would likely be returning by someone who works on the mazes last year, but look at the close 0 change the line up from last year 🤦‍♂️.

You never know this could always be incorrect but they did update it to 2023 and the mine tours seems to be getting a slight twist but no way would I pay to do those mazes again as much as the attic is amazing.

I'd still take this with a pinch of salt in case of the other 3 are getting changed besides mine tours that makes it obvious that it's back but I can't say the list surprises me at all if it were to be true unfortunately.
 
Burner said:
The thing is though, Scarefest has become like Groundhog Day. Every year we expect something different, every year the same mazes are announced, Then come the first weekend, the same complaints. Stale mazes, lackluster entertainment, non existent decorations as soon as you walk past Corner Coffee.

The event has been on the decline since 2015 which arguably was the last great year for Scarefest. It desperately needs another hard reset.
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Told you.
 
Mattie boy said:
Make of this what you will , especially when you see the 2021 dates on it, yet could this really be true ?

Source MAP Facebook group where the poster says he opened a old email and this was attached to it ?

Makes no sense to me yet if its true im dissapointed to see the Invitation back..

Infact suddenly less interested in any of it now
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Ever heard of inspect element?
 
I mean if it’s true I’m not surprised as they need to cut budgets wherever they can to invest in there upcoming rides and areas. Controversial opinion but I would much rather they invest in a long term strategy, rather than to accommodate to us enthusiasts for 1 month a year.

Scarefest and late riding will always be extremely popular, they do have solid scare attractions, one of a kind “garden lights walk” which in itself is just beautiful. Honestly the public won’t care!

I think rather than moan and be disheartened, we just need to look at the bigger picture here and all the incredible things on the “horizon” also for all we know there may be scare zones or curse updates?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
God I hope that’s not true. The event is crying for a refresh. When was the last time there was a new maze now?

Seems like Thorpe is the focus of the Halloween events for Merlin now

To be fair though, we don’t know if there changes to the others, how big of a scale it is, and wether there are any scare zones. So i’ll wait for the full reveal
 
Face it. They're just going to leave pretty much the same set-ups gathering dust in the Towers every year as it costs pretty much zero to construct/deconstruct. Then just hire some actors in on minimum wage and watch the money flow in. Cheap as chips (that saying has seen better days). Then just leave the Towers closed forever to other visitors. Another fine mess.
 
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