Danny
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I visited on Friday and Sunday with two very different groups and two very different experiences. Friday was more about the rides and less about the mazes, with the park considerably full of school trips. Yesterday was very much about the mazes and Scarefest atmosphere whilst on the family-friendly day.
Maze count:
Daz x2
Compound x7
Attic x1
Mine Tours x1
Burial Grounds x3
Considering the increased capacity on Daz this year, it didn't feel too detrimental to the overall experience. The Aunty Vi character on Friday was doing a great job of helping guests find their symbols and was very much in character. A handful of the RFID symbols weren't functioning, with only one seemingly out of action on Sunday. I suspect we'll probably get at least one more year out of Daz with another different spin on the pre-show.
Compound was great. Even after 7 run-throughs, I still wasn't able to find the crawl space area. As others have said, it is very reminiscent of Sub Species and a great use of a permanent new maze space. The separation chambers at the start feel quite effective until you all merge quite quickly - I'd like to see the merges be scattered out a little in next year's incarnation. The actors leading into the maze varied in quality over the two days, with some really going for it and others manifesting closing time so they could get home ASAP.
Mine Tours: The change in story has certainly helped prolong its presence, but I'd love to see a new maze now in its place rather than let it make it to a 10-year anniversary. Did this yesterday and despite presumptions given the nature of the day, we seemed to get a run through that had a good number of actors who were giving it their all.
Attic: Also done yesterday so had the same presumptions that there would be less actors who would steer clear of touching. Wrong. We were at the front of the group and managed to break away, given the slow pace of those behind us, meaning we had actors left, right and centre, making for a great experience. Very much value for money on this run through.
Burial Grounds - Three very mixed run-throughs across the two days. There ought to be a good, powerful jumpscare on the indoor section as it feels very lacking here. Also appeared to be a misplaced member of The Smiler team screaming Join Us as an actor.
Caught a show of the Sin Bin as well. Needs more fire.
We snuck off to the hotels mid-yesterday to get a drink away from the dry park. It feels as though the effort here has stagnated with theming compared to previous years. ATH's vibe is mostly draped with fake vines, and a few larger prop pieces rolled out of storage and plonked down. Splash equally bare. Overall across the resort, it just lacks some of the passion that's been put in over the years. The talking ghost heads at the bottom of Towers Street. Nothing really going on in Fountain Square. Even the lighting on the bridge from Mutiny Bay to the Towers seems downplayed.
There's still a long way to go to bring Scarefest up to the high quality it should sit at, especially in such a competitive scare scene market. The main positive for me (which really shouldn't be one) is that the event didn't feel as stale as last year.
Maze count:
Daz x2
Compound x7
Attic x1
Mine Tours x1
Burial Grounds x3
Considering the increased capacity on Daz this year, it didn't feel too detrimental to the overall experience. The Aunty Vi character on Friday was doing a great job of helping guests find their symbols and was very much in character. A handful of the RFID symbols weren't functioning, with only one seemingly out of action on Sunday. I suspect we'll probably get at least one more year out of Daz with another different spin on the pre-show.
Compound was great. Even after 7 run-throughs, I still wasn't able to find the crawl space area. As others have said, it is very reminiscent of Sub Species and a great use of a permanent new maze space. The separation chambers at the start feel quite effective until you all merge quite quickly - I'd like to see the merges be scattered out a little in next year's incarnation. The actors leading into the maze varied in quality over the two days, with some really going for it and others manifesting closing time so they could get home ASAP.
Mine Tours: The change in story has certainly helped prolong its presence, but I'd love to see a new maze now in its place rather than let it make it to a 10-year anniversary. Did this yesterday and despite presumptions given the nature of the day, we seemed to get a run through that had a good number of actors who were giving it their all.
Attic: Also done yesterday so had the same presumptions that there would be less actors who would steer clear of touching. Wrong. We were at the front of the group and managed to break away, given the slow pace of those behind us, meaning we had actors left, right and centre, making for a great experience. Very much value for money on this run through.
Burial Grounds - Three very mixed run-throughs across the two days. There ought to be a good, powerful jumpscare on the indoor section as it feels very lacking here. Also appeared to be a misplaced member of The Smiler team screaming Join Us as an actor.
Caught a show of the Sin Bin as well. Needs more fire.
We snuck off to the hotels mid-yesterday to get a drink away from the dry park. It feels as though the effort here has stagnated with theming compared to previous years. ATH's vibe is mostly draped with fake vines, and a few larger prop pieces rolled out of storage and plonked down. Splash equally bare. Overall across the resort, it just lacks some of the passion that's been put in over the years. The talking ghost heads at the bottom of Towers Street. Nothing really going on in Fountain Square. Even the lighting on the bridge from Mutiny Bay to the Towers seems downplayed.
There's still a long way to go to bring Scarefest up to the high quality it should sit at, especially in such a competitive scare scene market. The main positive for me (which really shouldn't be one) is that the event didn't feel as stale as last year.