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What made The Sanctuary so special?

Ripsaw97 said:
My best experience was through the extreme runs of The Sanctuary, a full account room by room of the experience can be found here.
www.parksscaresandglitter.co.uk

Revisted: Extreme The Sanctuary 22/10/13

For today’s first ever Throwback review we revisit Dan’s experience of The Sanctuary Extreme at Alton Towers in 2013. Entrance Ok so after my last ride of the day which was Hex, With only 4 others-great experience- I headed to the archway to be met by a small crowd, The rain was coming down...
www.parksscaresandglitter.co.uk www.parksscaresandglitter.co.uk
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Did guests have to formally consent/sign anything for this experience? It sounds like my idea of hell and I would probably have broken down in a cowering mess in some of these scenes!

Kudos to those who like this sort of thing though. There’s clearly a market for it and I can appreciate the desire to bring these ultra intense experiences back.
 
s_g_k said:
Did guests have to formally consent/sign anything for this experience? It sounds like my idea of hell and I would probably have broken down in a cowering mess in some of these scenes!

Kudos to those who like this sort of thing though. There’s clearly a market for it and I can appreciate the desire to bring these ultra intense experiences back.
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If I remember correctly it was after park close, you had to be over 18 and sign a disclaimer.

These ‘extreme’ mazes are not my cup of tea, but I loved Sub-Species and would love to see a multi route maze like that return which is a bit more intense (but not to the levels of the previous extreme experiences).
 
James said:
If I remember correctly it was after park close, you had to be over 18 and sign a disclaimer.

These ‘extreme’ mazes are not my cup of tea, but I loved Sub-Species and would love to see a multi route maze like that return which is a bit more intense (but not to the levels of the previous extreme experiences).
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Can confirm. I did the extreme version of the Sanctuary back in 2014, and despite not usually being a fan of intense scare mazes, I kinda enjoyed it in a weird way.
 
It was special because let’s be honest - how many horror films are made about psychiatric hospitals!

The music from One flew over the cuckoos nest as you were queuing and the flickering lights in the gardens really started the build up.

All the staff in uniform and character and even the smell of hospital. Dr Kelman at the start was great. The insides were well themed with lots to look at. The crazy patients and the staff saying “don’t go downstairs” just really added to the build up.

The marmiliser really did mess up your head with the weird sounds, video footage and bright white lights in the narrow white corridor with the keg ticklers.

Yes the ending was a bit weak but I think the rest of the maze made up for it.

However, for me it still doesn’t come close to Field of 1000 Screams in the cornfield next to Alton towers hotel the year they had the bus finale, nor some incarnations of The Boiler House next to it. I guess you could also say the first year of Sub Species which introduced the actors actually grabbing you and pulling you through the tubes was also more an intense experience than The Sancutary.

The Sanctuary was special because of the music, the build up and the fact we are all a bit afraid of going in to a hospital.
 
GaryH said:
It was special because let’s be honest - how many horror films are made about psychiatric hospitals!

The music from One flew over the cuckoos nest as you were queuing and the flickering lights in the gardens really started the build up.

All the staff in uniform and character and even the smell of hospital. Dr Kelman at the start was great. The insides were well themed with lots to look at. The crazy patients and the staff saying “don’t go downstairs” just really added to the build up.

The marmiliser really did mess up your head with the weird sounds, video footage and bright white lights in the narrow white corridor with the keg ticklers.

Yes the ending was a bit weak but I think the rest of the maze made up for it.

However, for me it still doesn’t come close to Field of 1000 Screams in the cornfield next to Alton towers hotel the year they had the bus finale, nor some incarnations of The Boiler House next to it. I guess you could also say the first year of Sub Species which introduced the actors actually grabbing you and pulling you through the tubes was also more an intense experience than The Sancutary.

The Sanctuary was special because of the music, the build up and the fact we are all a bit afraid of going in to a hospital.
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I still haven't forgotten the iconic smell of the place all these years later! I remember hearing the soundtrack (I think entitled 'Charmaine' but don't quote me) and literally getting goosebumps - one of the only attractions I was genuinely frightened to experience as a teenager. I remember having a good chat with Gerry outside The Smiler entrance in the 2013 early season too. Great guy. I prefer The Sanctuary to Sub Species even though the latter was more intense. As others have stated, the theming and overall ambience set such a high bar that every scare maze I've done since has proven underwhelming in comparison.
 
AdamWebb said:
I still haven't forgotten the iconic smell of the place all these years later! I remember hearing the soundtrack (I think entitled 'Charmaine' but don't quote me) and literally getting goosebumps - one of the only attractions I was genuinely frightened to experience as a teenager. I remember having a good chat with Gerry outside The Smiler entrance in the 2013 early season too. Great guy. I prefer The Sanctuary to Sub Species even though the latter was more intense. As others have stated, the theming and overall ambience set such a high bar that every scare maze I've done since has proven underwhelming in comparison.
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From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8mauVYVFeA

It such a hunting tune that I put it on every Halloween!
 
Sometimes I wish for a single Scarefest, they'd do an event where they'd bring back the older scare mazes like Sancuray, but as someone has pointed out before, whilst sad... AT probably won't bring Sanctuary due to the 2015 Smiler accident, and if the media got news that AT brought something back related to Smiler, they'd probably have a field day trying to make it look like AT are making fun almost of the victims of the crash.

But personally, I wasn't able to go to AT during Scarefest during the operational period for Sanctuary, so it's a bummer I'll never get my own experience within it.
 
I’m sure that The Sanctuary came during a golden era of Scarefest, the lineup of attractions and activities was so well diverse that I’m not sure it’s the sanctuary alone that really holds the title.

It was an incredibly well thought out attraction that was complimented by the other attractions that all had different themes.

It also brought along the first foray into extreme attractions within the resort with the after park close version.

I’m not sure it’s the attraction itself or the overwhelming rose tinted glasses that came afterwards with how the event was viewed at that time, it certainly helped that there was the unlimited maze ticket that could be purchased too so I think most people went through the attraction an abundance of times.
 
No reason why towers couldn’t do another hospital themed scare maze though which has no association with the Smiler
 
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