Scarefest 2024

[Leigh]

I’ll be honest, I’m unsure if I’ll bother going this year. Compound looks… okay… but the rest is all just yet another rehash of the last however many number of years (except for definitely-not-coco which they couldn’t have made look more unappealing if they tried). And Daz Games 2: Electric Boogaloo can just do one.

 

[GaryH]

Is it just me, or did the mazes used to have so much more personality? Take Carnival of Screams or The Sanctuary, they were simple themes but Alton Towers ran away with them and made them their own. The carnival had the trommel tunnel, the big squeeze and the dotty room, The Sanctuary had you waiting for Dr Kelman in the beautifully illuminated conservatory to the sound of Mantovani.

So much better than the likes of Project 42 (when they first seemed to have run out of ideas I'd say) where it's just soldiers blah blah experiments blah blah. And Compound looks like more of that to me. Surely nobody cares about all this seek the truth waffle. Can't we just have something fun, something that feels like you're at Alton Towers? Where's the imagination gone?

And that Coco thing looks very poor. Nothing against family attractions but I imagine anyone over the age of 6 would find that advert as cringe as I do!

They did, but they were also lower capacity and going back to the earlier days of Scarefest in hey also ran much later into the night. Who remembers doing field of 1000 screams at 10 o clock at night or the Banquet with the storyline in each room?

Now it’s more about getting as many guests through the maze as quickly as possible. I still like Scarefest for the atmosphere and mazes like The Attic and Mine Tours are well themed , but get repetitive year after year.

And wasn’t burial grounds free last year?! If that’s the one I’m thinking of next to Wickerman outside and which was very good. Any free mazes this year?

This year’s line up I have to admit is making me reluctant to part with £50 for a combo ticket.

 

[jon81uk]

What actually is a scare maze? Happy for spoilers.

You walk through a themed location and actors jump out? Are you guided or make your own way? In designated groups? How long does it last? Is there a story element?

Are there any permanent attractions for comparison I might know?

I've not done one since Terror of the Towers was still free, hopefully someone else has more recent knowledge.

It is sort of comparable to the Dungeons-ish.

For the old ToT you were batched as a group and generally kept hands on shoulders of person in front of you when moving. There were show scenes with an actor talking at the group, often then followed by being released into a confined space section or a maze with a strobe, then you might see actors in another room.

But in general a mix of actor scenes, mazes, disorientation and confined spaces with people jumping out. Lasts around 15 minutes, usually a story.

 

[The_bup]

What actually is a scare maze? Happy for spoilers.

You walk through a themed location and actors jump out? Are you guided or make your own way? In designated groups? How long does it last? Is there a story element?

Are there any permanent attractions for comparison I might know?

Over here, at least, its where you walk through a usually linear (but sometimes non-linear) route. Some can be actor escorted, but mostly you just walk which way seems forward. You are batched in groups usually, but getting split up once inside is not out of the question. Its decorated with many props, and has many spots for actors to jump out, but they are usually set loose, where they can hide behind corners or follow you, the works. This makes it different from Halloween horror nights, runthroughs are never the same.

Its hard to describe (like what does qualify as a coaster) but i like to think of it like the US general test of obscenity: 'I know it when i see it'

And after a few, you will know too.

 

[Skyscraper]

And wasn’t burial grounds free last year?! If that’s the one I’m thinking of next to Wickerman outside and which was very good. Any free mazes this year?

Burial Grounds was free last year and is free this year as well, it's a scare zone as opposed to a maze. There are rumors of another free scare zone coming this year (themed around Thirteen), but that's not confirmed.

 

[sillyrooster]

I quite liked the older TotT, having the scenes with actors was quite cool. FoaTS also had an amazing scene where you were hold up in a farm house at the zombies attacked. Much more immersive than the more modern approach of jump scares. I kind of want to explore an environment more than having a dude run at me with a chainsaw (although the adrenaline rush from that is still fun).

Curious about this Nemesis themed maze though, I never did Sub species.

 

[venny]

Whether it’s rose tinted glasses or not, we’ll never know, but I too preferred the mazes in the initial years of Scarefest. They were the days when we bemoaned that any of the mazes were an upcharge, despite them not even being in the park, having gotten used to Terror of the Towers being free.

Terror of the Towers in its return year, especially its initial few days run, was a tension-building, intriguing, story driven maze. Its recognition and use of the Towers as integral to the story was ideal and its use of actors to properly tell the story carefully escalated the tension to a pretty unique (if slightly flat) crescendo.

Similarly, the atmosphere of Fo1kS had an eery atmosphere of isolation given its location. A story that developed in intensity and scale and a finale that was visually very effective.

I just don’t see any of the current mazes using storytelling, place, atmosphere and innovation in the same way as some of those early Scarefest mazes. It’s a real shame, as Scarefest is often a lot of people’s introduction to scare attractions.

 

[Britford]

Having looked at the website, apparently, Amigos in the Afterlife is rated as ages 6+ (House of Monsters was 8+ for comparison)...

In other news, I suspect that maze throughput will be a complete disaster this year as when booking a ticket, it says that passholder discount is only available on "early" timeslots, which on Saturdays is listed as 1:00-2:45PM but on Monday-Friday and Sundays, its listed as 3:00-4:45PM and the last "late" timeslot for all days is at 7:00PM. Add the ability to buy unlimited walk up maze entry and the lessend maze hours (not to mention the 8PM park close inflating attendance on the busiest days) and you have a recipe for disaster!

 

[Dave]

I would assume users of this forum are not typical visitors and many people don't go to Scarefest every year or even go to Alton Towers every year.

Forum users are not typical guests but I haven’t visited scarefest since 2019. If you only go every other year you have still done most of the mazes so it is pushing it a bit.

To be clear I don’t think every maze needs to be renewed every year, if I had the perfect Scarefest there would be 4 or 5 scare mazes (not including family mazes) and once a year there would be a brand new maze and the remaining returners would have a rejig to freshen it up (bit like ToTT which had a few iterations).

 

[Dave]

Whether it’s rose tinted glasses or not, we’ll never know, but I too preferred the mazes in the initial years of Scarefest. They were the days when we bemoaned that any of the mazes were an upcharge, despite them not even being in the park, having gotten used to Terror of the Towers being free.

Terror of the Towers in its return year, especially its initial few days run, was a tension-building, intriguing, story driven maze. Its recognition and use of the Towers as integral to the story was ideal and its use of actors to properly tell the story carefully escalated the tension to a pretty unique (if slightly flat) crescendo.

Similarly, the atmosphere of Fo1kS had an eery atmosphere of isolation given its location. A story that developed in intensity and scale and a finale that was visually very effective.

I just don’t see any of the current mazes using storytelling, place, atmosphere and innovation in the same way as some of those early Scarefest mazes. It’s a real shame, as Scarefest is often a lot of people’s introduction to scare attractions.

Original TotT was great but it was getting around 200 guests per hour which I can fully understand was just not tenable even when it was free, you get more complaints about the wait then praise about the product. To my mind the original version of TotT what lies within and the Sanctuary proved you could make story drive mazes with some thoughput. Even the later mazes like Attic and Minetours did this well, they have just become stale. It’s one of those changes that strictly speaking is a downgrade but one I can see the logic. It’s rare you get the scene by scene story driven mazes even in the smaller dedicated scare attractions.

As for Field, it had atmosphere but it was truly a boring scare maze. Never had a scary run through and it was running back when I was quite scared of scare mazes.

 

[Excalibur]

Maybe it’s time for them to take a close look at Universals Horror Nights. Forgetting about the IP mazes the universal original mazes are rated some of the best themed out there! And it’s all down to creativity! I don’t understand how Alton are literally pondering or to scared to approach it from a different angle.

 

[Dave]

Maybe it’s time for them to take a close look at Universals Horror Nights. Forgetting about the IP mazes the universal original mazes are rated some of the best themed out there! And it’s all down to creativity! I don’t understand how Alton are literally pondering or to scared to approach it from a different angle.

They are mostly themed well but the conga line operations mean you can have truly terrible runs, plus the non-headline mazes are actually a bit naff when it comes to theming.

 

[GaryH]

As for Field, it had atmosphere but it was truly a boring scare maze. Never had a scary run through and it was running back when I was quite scared of scare mazes.

Perhaps you had a poor run through but I remember it being very atmospheric, walking through the corn late at night with the moon beaming down and people in the corn jumping out/rustling the corn. The crashed car scene, running into the shed with zombies banging the walls all around you, and the finale of the bus and having to all try and jump out the tiny rear emergency door. I doubt from a H&S point of view they could ever do such a scene again.

 

[Skyscraper]

New info about Amigos in the Afterlife;

Amigos in the Afterlife​

This Scarefest, step foot into a vibrant world where the gap between this life and the next is at its thinnest! Be captivated by Dia de los Muertos celebrations, the bright colours, and festive spirits, but be careful, you've accidentally crossed through a portal into the afterlife...

Guided by friendly spirits, you must find your way back to the world of the living. Journey through this magical realm of spooktacular effects, encountering mischievous characters along the way who will challenge you and your family with tasks to earn your passage back to the living realm!

(Interactive walkthrough recommended for those aged 6+)

Looks like guests will have to complete "tasks" as part of the experience.

 

[Ash]

Forum users are not typical guests but I haven’t visited scarefest since 2019. If you only go every other year you have still done most of the mazes so it is pushing it a bit.

To be clear I don’t think every maze needs to be renewed every year, if I had the perfect Scarefest there would be 4 or 5 scare mazes (not including family mazes) and once a year there would be a brand new maze and the remaining returners would have a rejig to freshen it up (bit like ToTT which had a few iterations).

Completely agree.

It seems such bad planning that if they installed another 2 maze buildings they could have mazes on rotation every 3 or 4 years and put old ones into storage.

Keeping them away and bringing them back with enhancements just seems a missed opportunity. Build another 2 mazes, one on the car park behind mutiny bay. One behind smiler service building.

A rotation group of

Within container mazes (3 of):
- wraiths
- phalanx
- Emily Alton
- x sector/smiler
- daz games
- Altonville mine tours
- Pirates/Darkest depths
- Katanga
- Burial grounds

Within the towers (1 of):
- TOTT
- The Sanctuary
- Alton Dungeons

Family attractions (2 of):
- trick or treat doors
- Dungeons overlay
- CBeebies Halloween attraction (conference tent)
- 4D cinema film

Constant:
- Stage shows
- Garden Walk
- Night time show

Perhaps that’s too much like common sense

 

[Dave]

Completely agree.

It seems such bad planning that if they installed another 2 maze buildings they could have mazes on rotation every 3 or 4 years and put old ones into storage.

Keeping them away and bringing them back with enhancements just seems a missed opportunity. Build another 2 mazes, one on the car park behind mutiny bay. One behind smiler service building.

A rotation group of

Within container mazes (3 of):
- wraiths
- phalanx
- Emily Alton
- x sector/smiler
- daz games
- Altonville mine tours
- Pirates/Darkest depths
- Katanga
- Burial grounds

Within the towers (1 of):
- TOTT
- The Sanctuary
- Alton Dungeons

Family attractions (2 of):
- trick or treat doors
- Dungeons overlay
- CBeebies Halloween attraction (conference tent)
- 4D cinema film

Constant:
- Stage shows
- Garden Walk
- Night time show

Perhaps that’s too much like common sense

I mean that might be the long term plan but until it is I ain’t interested in visiting.

 

[s_g_k]

New info about Amigos in the Afterlife;


Looks like guests will have to complete "tasks" as part of the experience.

So I guess the reference to this being a “walkthrough attraction” pretty much confirms the boat ride will not feature in this attraction.

What a shame. It sounds more like an escape room.

 

[Skyscraper]

So I guess the reference to this being a “walkthrough attraction” pretty much confirms the boat ride will not feature in this attraction.

What a shame. It sounds more like an escape room.

Yeah it's beginning to sound like a family version of Panic.

 

[Bowser]

New info about Amigos in the Afterlife;


Looks like guests will have to complete "tasks" as part of the experience.

Perhaps a cunning new initiative to resolve the ride maintenance shortfall.

 

[Excalibur]

I thought the dungeon boat ride was reliable? Or am I missing something?