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Scarefest 2024

Yesterday, we had a shaky start.

After walking through the main gates at 10.50, we headed to Rita, which was showing 30 mins queue time, only for that to have jolted to 70 by the time we got there, so pivoted to Smiler (showing 35).

When we were literally 5 yards from the building entrance, it went down for 20 mins, but we actually only waited 50 in all.

After that the gods seemed to be on our side. Every single queue time afterwards was less than stated.

From Smiler, we did Oblivion. Quite the ride combo to shake off the cobwebs as the starters! Queue time said 40, we were getting on within 25.

Then Spinball. Again, app and entrance said 40; this time we were at the front in 20. The AT staff were strangely regimented in organising so every car was full, and the chap explained to us that they were trying for the record of riders per hour. Odd - but we were very thankful to be part of that!!

Rita was still showing 50 with Th13teen still closed but we decided to do that next. Then Th13teen opened. The Rita queue dwindled a bit and we only queued 35.

It was 2.45 when we got off, so we'd done 4 major rides in 4 hours.

We retired to Woodcutters for a bite and a pint (was actually pretty good!)

After then, headed to FV, via The Curse (literally walked on). Nemmy was still down (there was still a queue of perhaps a hundred people at the ride entrance, and a helpful 'Phallanx Operative' told us they had no idea why, and there was no news on when Nemmy would reopen). We went to Galactica (queued 22 mins against app's 35)

In that time, Nemmy reopened - but the queue initially went daft, and we had The Compound booked for half-4 and we were already running a few mins late. Leaving Mrs W at the cafe, the three of us headed over.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. It wasn't bad, and perhaps I'd built up expectations, but it seemed to fizzle out toward the end. However, each run will be unique and dependent on your involvement with the actors. My eldest was separated from us before we'd even entered and said it was amazing; my youngest had a similar experience to me with more limited interaction (I was grabbed and redirected and had one of the 'Demagorgons' (as the girls dubbed them) grab me briefly, but that was it). Curiously, none of us found a tunnel so no crawling on hands and knees.

Back to Nemmy, and the queue was down to 45 so we entered. In reality, we queued for 22 mins. Love the new queue lines and theming, by the way.

It was gone half-5 by now and still light but I calculated that, by the time walked to Wicker and queued, it would be dark. We walked through KC (great lighting) and into the queue. Queued just under 40 mins before the baggage drop; by the time we got on the train, it was full dark.

Burial Grounds was fun (I found it better than Compound - but maybe that was because I'd not paid £36 for the pleasure! 😄)

Then a stroll to Th13teen. The girls went on ahead (me and Mrs W stopped for a couple of bottles of coke). The stroll became a scurry around the 'archway' when the girls rang to inform us Rita had closed and half the queue would be heading for Th13teen.

It was our only piece of bad luck in the afternoon, as the queue did increase from 30 to 50 on the app (once more, though, we beat that, only queuing for around 35)

Wasn't even quarter to eight and we'd ticked off all 9 main rides, including Wicker and Th13teen in the dark (we weren't bothered about Sub-Terra after doing it last year). Plus two scare mazes and an hour out for a meal and couple of drinks.

Very satisfied, we walked back to FV. Queues for Nemmy and Galactica at 25 and 20. In fact, queues for everything bar Wicker and Smiler were right down. Nemmy and Galactica were done by half 8 (Nemmy's theming at night was amazing). Me and the missus had had enough but the girls then went on Sub-Terra and one last nighttime ride on Nemmy.

Final tally was 11 major rides for me, 13 for the girls.

The universal opinion was that it was one of our favourite 3 Scarefests (think we've done 11).... and we'd deffo avoid weekends going forwards.
 
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We visited back in may and the actors around forbidden valley really made the experience. With the updated scenery / theme and effects, they really made it an immersive exeprience. Fast forward to scarfest yesterday and we didn't encounter one person in this area. The park had a bad day with respect to ride operations and availability but it's these little things which can help keep a positive and good vibe around the place. Other than towers street and the mazes, the street entertainment around the park was non existent. :( such a shame for a busy Saturday scarefest.
 
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peterski88 said:
We visited back in may and the actors around forbidden valley really made the experience. With the updated scenery / theme and effects, they really made it an immersive exeprience. Fast forward to scarfest yesterday and we didn't encounter one person in this area. The park had a bad day with respect to ride operations and availabitly but it's these little things which can help keep a positive and gun vibe around the place. Other than towers street and the mazes, the street entertainment around the park was non existent. :( such a shame for a busy Saturday scarefest.
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I think it’s likely that they’ll have redirected the actors towards the mazes for Scarefest. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have difficulty hiring enough entertainments staff to maintain both roaming actors and scare mazes at the same time.
 
The_bup said:

From: https://youtu.be/msacYiH61a4?si=zCN6R-_rQETxOiNN


Anything but a press night.

Because these D list’s mugs are apparently more entertaining than the maze itself!
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Hannah Lowther has over a million followers on tik tok. It doesn’t matter if she’s not an everyday celebrity. She’s relateable and hits the demographic they’re trying to reach.

Why pay for someone A-list who might be a household name but you don’t follow on social media, when you could pay for someone who your demographic actually follows and engages with.

Their content goes directly to who they want to visit.
 
AltonLover123 said:
Hannah Lowther has over a million followers on tik tok. It doesn’t matter if she’s not an everyday celebrity. She’s relateable and hits the demographic they’re trying to reach.

Why pay for someone A-list who might be a household name but you don’t follow on social media, when you could pay for someone who your demographic actually follows and engages with.

Their content goes directly to who they want to visit.
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Relatable to the visitors who don’t control the purse strings yes.
 
Blackhole_Sun said:
Relatable to the visitors who don’t control the purse strings yes.
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Ah yes, those kids who famously have absolutely zero influence over the purse strings of their parents….;)

Like it or lump it, press nights have and always will have a place in the marketing of any event - particularly short lived Halloween stuff. Tulley’s, Thorpe, Alton - they all do it. Prior to social media, it was a way of getting a mention in the tabloids by them publishing a picture of the latest flavour of the month in front of your logo along with a probable mention in the copy. These days, you get that plus exposure to thousands of their followers along with the additional reach from the engagements those followers have with the post.

Sure, for us geeks it’s not the “classiest” of marketing, but the die hard fans are going to visit repeatedly anyway - and spend less money as we’re wise to doing these events on the “cheap”. The park needs newbie/infrequent visitors who will turn up, have a blowout and spend a fortune. The sort of people who see these posts and go just because their favourite celeb is going. It’s an essential part of the marketing strategy for the park, after all if they didn’t see a noticeable reaction to them, they wouldn’t bother.
 
Craig said:
Ah yes, those kids who famously have absolutely zero influence over the purse strings of their parents….;)
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If the parents of those kids will happily pay for thier sprogs and drop upwards of £500 for a day out to see Hannah Lowther in Six on the west end, they’ll equally have no qualms paying the same at Towers.

And of course, those sprogs will also want to buy the same merch they’ve seen Hannah wear in those videos and the parents will oblige.

They may not be repeat visitors but they’ll spend more than the regular visitor and multiply that by x amount of influenced kids and it’s more than paid for the marketing.
 
Wow I absolutely loved compound…I got two goes on this and was blown away! The actors were fab and the set design is next level. I preferred starting off in the left hand booths, which had the crawling space and the tanks to walk over.

I think it was a shame towers couldn’t get the second new maze site ready in time as I love the size of the rooms in there.

I haven’t been to scarefest in about 10 years so was fun to experience everything first hand.

Mine tours - was so poor, felt empty and nothing which stood out.

The attic - beautiful set design but lacked…scares! The devil at the end wasn’t used well, just stood there then let you by?

I enjoyed taking in all the atmosphere yesterday
 
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Craig said:
Like it or lump it, press nights have and always will have a place in the marketing of any event
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I know and that’s the thing - Towers seem to neglect that. Other than these guys, they make hardly any press stuff. I mean, I remember last year Thorpe got some football team to do Stitches, but they also had a full press night as well. Neither do they really have a big lineup announcement or anything of the sort really.
 
tayspru said:
Not to mention they’ve gone for influencers who also work in entertainment in their own right, so they’re actually entertaining to watch ! Hannah was likely also invited as she’s mates with Tom who acts in the Nemesis pre show video
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Tom Scanlon, who, it should be noted, was almost certainly only used for the Nemesis preshow vid because he too is an influencer, and it generated more buzz.

All the fun of marketing 🙃
 
Halloween as a whole is my favourite time of year, and growing up, Scarefest was the ultimate combination of my interests. Horror and rollercoasters at the same place? Count me in. Even in its weak moments, Scarefest was great fun, and was always eagerly anticipated. I sat out the 2022/23 editions due to a combination of rising costs and a lack of big new mazes, but after leaving it a couple years, it was time to return - and what I got was a watered down version.

Starting with - for me at least - something brand new, Daz Games: Panic. I had heard a lot of slander towards it, and I was equally perplexed by the initial announcement: Scarefest has always had original themes (bar a brief Twilight overlay many moons ago), so why cheapen the lineup with something so tacky? It felt very much like something Thorpe Park would do rather than the more premium-feeling Towers mazes. But I was optimistic given the interesting tech involved - but I was hugely let down, and would go as far as saying it is not only the weakest maze the Resort have ever produced, but perhaps one of the single worst I've ever experienced.

After being ushered into a container and held for a seemingly-endless amount of time, the preshow starts with some Z-Lister blaring out all his tacky "down with the kids" stuff (montage of him screaming at various things that allegedly constitute as entertainment included. What a value!), before a ridiculously generic "help my good thing turned bad" twist comes - and of course, thinks it's being clever by shoehorning in AI and computers. Because, after all, you've got to stay relevant to the youngsters! Thrown in some even more predictable jumpscares from actors bursting through a door and going "bleugh", and told for the umpteenth time that it's a treasure hunt, it's in we go to the maze itself...

In the past, the Towers mazes have excelled with 360 theming. Take The Attic for example - look up, and you'll noticed coving and arches; down, and it's a creaky set of floorboards. Daz eschews this entirely - in fact, it forgets to include any theming at all. We're met with wired cages, and nothing but. But what is even more unforgivable is the total lack of discretion when it comes to ratruns - I immediately wondered down one, and indeed several times throughout the experience - whereas in the past you could expect them to be slightly hidden and blended in with the set, Daz just has elastic black sheets that stick out like a sore thumb, and are placed where it's implied they are guest obstacles.

The layout itself is a genuine maze, and you're given but six minutes to complete tasks and/or tap your wristband on two pre-determined symbols to unlock your "escape". Whilst I found one within 30s, my other wasn't located at all. Truth be told, there was no initiative or stake to find the other one, and I found myself getting very bored just roaming an empty, strobey tent for ages, with the occasional actor (what the character was, I still have no idea) snarling at you.

I do think the technology involved is interesting, and the concept of an escape room/scare maze hybrid an interesting one, but Daz Games is nothing but a tech demo that really should only exist somewhere like ScareCON or IAPPA to sell companies the idea. With a proper story and set, it could genuinely be an exciting and tense attraction - but it isn't one in the slightest. Maybe somewhere else will liase with Conductr (the company behind the wristbands) and apply it to their own original, themed attraction - until then, we're stuck with the emptiness of a Youtube maze. Yep, standards have really sunk that low.

Oh well, onto Altonville Mine Tours: Tinys Revenge it is. I will admit - I think the original's the finest thing they've made for Scarefest. The theming was immaculate; atmosphere disgustingly tense; route disorienting and cramped. It had overstayed its welcome, and sure it had a few years where the cast weren't quite up to scratch, but the Skin Snatcher version always made me feel uncomfortable. On one of my final runs in 2021 - despite having done it several times every year since opening - I was left genuinely breathless and shaken up.

Naturally I was skeptical when they announced a new version that seemed to carry on a storyline that wasn't there in the first place, but I gave it a go and they've essentially homogeonised the attraction; what it had that was unique and charming, it has no longer.

The biggest change is the preshow - the tour has been shut down by the local police due to disturbances in the area (sound familiar?); a group of teenagers have allegedly been into the mines and were brutally murdered. It's a decent start for the most part, and has some of the humour of the original with its double entendres - but then we enter the building itself and is where it simultaneously changes too much and too little.

As for the layout, set decoration - bar the odd prop being changed, it's basically the same. The major change is with the characters you encounter on the journey. The Skin Snatchers and their creepy compliments are nowhere to be seen. Much of the horror of the original came from them; their costumes were disgusting, they shuffled you around and flattered you about how perfect your skin would look on them. Their inclusion was utterly gross, which was completely fitting for the style they were going for. Now, all we have are silent boiler-suited men and the occasional victim screaming a generic "help, get out!". It is devoid of charm, humour, and squeam.

Herein lies the ultimate dilema of the attraction: if you remove the Skin Snatchers from the Skin Snatcher maze, what do you have left? The design of the attraction itself is flawless, but it clearly lacks the tension that it once had. Confusingly it keeps the jar scene, complete with the Charlie Rich song - which without context, looses its edge entirely. In fact, the new version can be summed up perfectly by the tacked-on finale; when you thought it was over, here's an easy, cheap scare to see you home.

I remember when Terror of the Towers: What Lies Within became a running joke about a lack of ideas due to it's immense run from 2009-2017. Despite my affinity for the original, I would've been happy to see Mine Tours go in 2019 - but alas, it will likely overtake Terror.

Speaking of Terror, the next maze was another returner - The Attic: Terror of the Towers. When it opened, it had easily been my most anticipated maze of all time - me and my friends would often speculate what the next "Terror of the Towers" would entail, and The Attic went in a direction none of us expected, but all adored.

I won't go into as much detail as I have the other mazes as not much has changed, with the exception of the bed projection being replaced by a new scene (perhaps a year or two old, I'm unsure) and a few little tweaks. Whilst this maze has also served its time, and is due retirement, this was my favourite of the seasonal attractions on offer this year. It is a shame however that the audio loop issue in the finale - which has been there since day one and could easily be fixed in a matter of minutes - persists.

The big new thrill for 2024 is, of course, Compound. The exploits of the Phalanx aren't to my taste (I'll share my full review of Nemesis Reborn at some point during the closed season and spoilers, it ain't exactly glowing), but it wasn't a surprise to see that this years maze would utilise them. Being in a new, purpose built zone meant that - theoretically - anything could happen inside. There were rumours that it would be a Survival Games clone, or maybe a spiritual successor to Sub-Species; regardless, anticipation was incredibly high, and the praise has been as well. I certainly think it's a fine maze - but not quite the masterpiece that some are claiming it to be.

Upon seeing the containers for the first time, my friend (a fellow enthusiast) exclaimed that it was just Survival Games, but I held out hopes for what awaited. He entered first, and again, claimed it was Survival Games - and the first room basically was. The concept here is exactly the same, which itself is a deviation from the traps in Sub-Species. The group is split and forced into cells, before a preshow video lets us know that we've been detained for believing a conspiracy, and are about to be subjected to the spawn of the Nemesis creature - and then a wall moves, and we're into the maze itself.

And it is, indeed, a real maze; there are a good amount of rooms, each with their own clear identities. There are kitchens, decontamination zones, solitary cells, poisonous waste vats - there's a lot to unpack here. And any time you encounter a character, they're directing you in the opposite direction. I spent the vast majority of time seperated from my group - with two brief exceptions where I found myself passing my friends and entering the room they had just left.

It very much does harken back to Sub-Species - perhaps a little too much. Whilst the Phalanx were involved in The End Games, they were kept minimal, and references were tucked away for the lore junkies. But not only did Sub also have an alien species that developed from Nemesis - but the costumes were the exact same. And so was the labyrinthian style. It is an exceptionally similar attraction - but, much like the new version of Mine Tours, lacks the tension of the original.

Whilst you are directed in different ways and handled, it is incredibly watered down compared to Sub, where you were aggresively grabbed and pushed around constantly, and where being seen with anyone else felt like a direct violation of the characters intentions (in Compound it feels much more 'suggested' by the cast as and when you should split rather than forced). Much of this will be due to the lower 12+ recommendation rather than a mandatory 15+. And I can see why they've done this - but after years of a more touchy and scary approach, it feels regressive and lazy to have to water it down, even if it does mean a wider spectrum of visitors can pay to enter.

Compound is likely the closest we'll ever get to Sub-Species II, but it just made me miss the far superior, far scarier original - much like Tinys Revenge. For a new generation it will be incredible however.

Throw in a decent scare-zone in the form of Burial Grounds, and the family mazes and shows (which we didn't experience), and that's Scarefest 2024. Much like the rest of the park - it's the same, but with the magic removed because, change. It's a more expensive version of an event which has been muted and watered down; it is, in my opinion, the weakest the event has ever been. It's a painful thing to admit - much like the state of the wider park - because I inherently want to adore the event. 2015-2019s Scarefests were some of the best days I've ever had at the Resort because of the high quality mazes - quality which just isn't there anymore. It needed a complete overhaul about five years ago - we're still waiting.
 
Had a great day yesterday. Operations were generally pretty good. No queue reached over 60mins and longest I queued was about 45 for Nemmy (even though it was running 1 train all day)

Scarefest will always hold a special place in my heart. Yesterday was one of the more enjoyable days i’ve had in recent years. With that said I recognise and echo a lot of opinions on here.

My reviews on the mazes:

I thought this was excellent. The comparisons to Sub Species are fair, this is the closest we have come to it yet.

The intro is great, but simple. You are split up instantly and put in your own pod and have to watch a video explaining the backstory. The story itself is very simple, and the theme is something we have seen many times before at the park, not that is a major issue as it fits well.

From there you enter a chaotic, intense, well themed ‘burst’ of a maze. The sets were great and up to standard, acting was on point and there seemed to be a really heavy amount of them.

I had two run throughs both in different sections but saw similar rooms.

Was I scared? Not really. The scares in this maze come from splitting you up and isolating you, as opposed to usual jump scares. This will be scary for some groups and not so for others, but in the whole I think most people will feel leaving scared, and this was evidenced by everyone else I actually saw leaving.

I overheard one person after say they were put in some ‘isolation pod’ by themself after the initial intro? There seems to be a lot to it, certainly an attraction that will be here for a while, like that or hate it.

In terms of the comparison to Sub Species, I think there are many similarities. But Sub Species was a master piece in tension building, darkness, theming, isolation, scares and atmosphere. The way this maze was approached after its initial opening was one of the biggest scarefest failures, so I hope Compound isn’t watered down in anyway next year as well.

With that said I don’t think Compound was anywhere near the levels of physicality as Sub Species was, which is a shame. But begs the question will we ever see that level again? I doubt it.

A maze which I was convinced would be axed this year.
Similar to Sub Species, it never was able to get back to its highs from the initial opening year or two. I felt hope that its refresh last year would change that, but I think the changes and direction it’s took is quite simply - wrong.

As echoed on here many times, the whole feature of this maze was the Skin Snatchers. The masks and costumes originally used were some of the best in any scare attraction ever.

So why replace that with some gas masks and cheerleaders? The character of the maze instantly evaporates into something so inferior.

With that said though, I actually had a really good run through and probably the scariest since the initial opening! It helped I was batched in a group of 4(!) and was at the front. The actors were superb and had great energy throughout, and were more physical than I have seen in there before.

To sum up, this maze is arguably the most beautiful thematically created scare attraction in the UK ever. The attention to detail and immersion is second to none.

But as a certain member of AFTV once said… It’s time to go!

I am a huge fan of the iconic gothic style maze Towers have had since Scarefest started. I won’t go through the history as everyone knows it, but ToTT is so iconic to everyone who loves the event.

The Attic is the one of the best incarnations without a doubt. It creates an incredible theatrical experience and tells a story in such a way that you actually feel invested despite being on edge.

The scares are delivered simply, via scares from behind curtains and furniture, but yet really effectively.

As you can probably tell, I am a big fan of this maze, and always have been. But like Mine Tours, it is long past its sell by date. It has remained the same since opening, and I would be incredibly surprised (or probably not) if it remained next year

First of all I want to say that I had absolutely no idea who Daz Games is, up until last year, and have no interest in watching his videos. The partnership is certainly odd, and should have been given to Thorpe with Alton getting Stitches instead.

However I am certainly in the minority of people from this forum, that actually really enjoy it. It is a very unique concept that combines ‘escape room’ elements and a scare maze.

This year the changes made are minimal but do improve the experience. The intro is cut a bit shorter and has some a scare (albeit the most obvious scare). The ‘aunti virus’ character is odd, but funny. And the circle start had a fair few people in my group bricking themselves

Look I get it; the technology was likely provided at a reduced cost as a show demo for Conductr. No theming is included and the story is cringe worthy at best.

But there is something I really appreciate about the creativity and risk of making new ideas. I just wish it was executed in a way that blended the technology with a better and more immersive storyline and a good set.

If you take it for what it is, and not what it could be, it’s fun, enjoyable, different and I can imagine being an actor in there must be great fun?

What next?
The event is going through a very weird patch. There seems to be a gradual refresh ongoing but yet a lot of open goals being missed…
The direction the event is taking, worries me.

Is there seriously the demand or need for 2 family friendly attractions? Is this the step the event is going now?

I get it. Clearly there is a market for it. But if resources are being transferred into the family market now as opposed to creating more scare attractions, it’s a big shame.

Let’s bin off Trick or Treat and use that budget in getting back roaming actors in FV or DF like 2015.

Next year HAS to be the last year for Attic and Mine Tours. Revert to the original ToTT similar theme and create a longer, more fleshed out maze in the towers.

Use the other purpose built area when it’s ready, and have a Daz Games style ‘Scare Maze/Escape Game’ that is fully themed and cared for.

I fear the event has lost its touch. But like or loathe it attractions like Daz Games and Compound are a step forward - providing something unique and different to your average one route walkthrough attraction.

In my opinion halloween events in general now are at the point where they will either suffer or thrive, depending on the bravery to take risky decisions and create something new and unique.
Alton are going to suffer if they keep going in the direction of staying on the fence. It’s time for a revamp
 
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The park needs to cater for all ages, because the restrict the focus of their offering dilutes the customer base. Like it or not, Alton Towers is pitched as much to families as it is to teenagers and young adults and coaster enthusiasts

For our early Scarefests, my wife would take our youngest to the more child-friendly scare attraction whilst me and our oldest would do a full-on scare maze.

It allowed us all to partake in the atmosphere and event.

These days, we only do the thrill rides plus Curse and maybe Hex (although the dominant feeling me and the missus are left with after riding this is ongoing nausea!). But it seems like yesterday when I was folding myself into a seat on the kids rides with my little ones, and the Runaway Mine Train was giving them a lifelong coaster love. I wouldn't want AT to pivot away from also catering to families.
 
Weby72 said:
The park needs to cater for all ages, because the restrict the focus of their offering dilutes the customer base. Like it or not, Alton Towers is pitched as much to families as it is to teenagers and young adults and coaster enthusiasts

For our early Scarefests, my wife would take our youngest to the more child-friendly scare attraction whilst me and our oldest would do a full-on scare maze.

It allowed us all to partake in the atmosphere and event.

These days, we only do the thrill rides plus Curse and maybe Hex (although the dominant feeling me and the missus are left with after riding this is ongoing nausea!). But it seems like yesterday when I was folding myself into a seat on the kids rides with my little ones, and the Runaway Mine Train was giving them a lifelong coaster love. I wouldn't want AT to pivot away from also catering to families.
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Not until Darkest Depths did Alton have a family scare attraction at Scarefest.

We have had 2 more since then.

Absolutely it’s common sense that Alton have to appeal to the family market. I’m just not sure they are doing it in the most effective way.

Also there is a clear pivot further to that market in recent years imo. Take 2015 for example, the offering then was 4 adult scare mazes, 2 of which had a 15+ rating. As well as 2 large scare zones and an after hours adult scare attraction. That isn’t a family appealing lineup.

The family appeal has only really accelerated in recent years in my opinion.

I think the park atmosphere is suffering due to it. You can argue it’s due to cuts, of course that’s a major factor. But that atmosphere of old isn’t replicated anymore, and coincides with the larger appeal to the family market. They are struggling to find the correct balance
 
Whilst there’s some clamour for reducing the offering and looking at a higher quality experience, e.g. sacking off Attic and Mine Tours and just having one new scaremaze, allowing for more actors, higher quality etc it would in all likelihood actually bring in less income - people would rightfully be outraged if the prices were increased so a 3 scare ticket cost the same as a current 4 scare ticket does. And ultimately that’s what guides the parks decisions - £££s.
 
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