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ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:23 pm
by lewis97
Thank you to everyone who attended ScareMazing 2018 at Alton Towers Resort, our final event of the year!

We'd love to hear your thoughts about the day, whether there are things you particularly enjoyed or any suggestions that we could consider for future events, do let us know.

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 2:16 am
by BigAxeDave
Again the team at TTSP have all worked together to make SCAREMAZING 2018 a fantastic event. From starting at the conferences centre to the last scare maze team TTSP and forum members as always made us feel welcome. The day was perfectly structured and even with the massive public turnout at AT today the itinerary kept to plan. The talk gave us all insights about the back lot, the thoughts behind the mazes and developing the season year upon year as they said “ watch this space “.
The fancy dress competition with the added twist of tell us the back story was great. Well done to all that made the effort.
All in all a nice day in general unfortunately we couldn’t stay for the social event but I’m sure many drinks will have been drunk and merriment was had.
My son has filmed throughout the day and will be Putting it onto his channel ROGMISTER is once he is ready.
Well done TowersTimes on a grand day out!
Many thanks to all concerned.

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 10:21 am
by JC13
Thanks to the team for such a good event. Everything was great. Nemesis ert was a great way to start the day and the ride takeovers in the morning were really fun. The mazes were running really well, and I even screamed once in Sub Species, which hasn’t happened to me in any run through of any maze. The talk in the afternoon was really interesting and i didn’t realise how much effort went into scarefest. The Welcoming was really good, and then wicker man in the dark was so fun, and it was probably my best ever ride on it. I wish I could have stayed for the social, but the day was so great that it made up for it. This honestly was probably my favourite visit ever to towers, and I can’t wait for the next event.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the event and made it run as smoothly as it did

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:13 pm
by Luce
I had a fantastic day yesterday and would like to thank everyone for making it such a memorable and enjoyable event.

The Nemesis ERT was a fab way to start the day and the sight of everyone running round for more goes is always entertaining!

Loved the ride takeovers, especially Blade of course and the mazes were fab and was good to try the new one Project 42 - also was fascinating to hear about how it came about during the talk and how Scarefest is planned. Shame I couldn't make the social as I had to get a bus back to Stoke but I'm sure it was a good night!

I also loved being Negan for the day and also seeing everyone's costumes too :)

It was such a great day and was made special by seeing everyone and a big thanks to the team for organising a wonderful day :)

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 9:15 pm
by Stan.H
Was my first ever TT Event, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. First of all thanks to all the team who put so much effort and planning into the event to allow it to run as smooth as possible and secondly thanks to all the people who made it a great day despite the laughably long queues!

The Nemesis ERT was a great start to the day and managed 5 rides on it. Then our first maze of the day was Sub-Species which was great as always, although it still genuinely scares me. After, we had a great run-through of AMT which has had one of the funniest moments ever in a maze during the liftshaft scene :lol . Project 42 surprised me and we did also have a good run-though with lots of jumps and some good theming. And finally, The Welcoming was good as always but did lack in scares. 

The Scarefest talk and Q+A was very interesting and gave a nice insight into the work that goes into scarefest each year and the backstory and thought that went into Project 42.

Despite not managing to get in many rides, due to the number of activities we had and it also being one of the busiest days this season on park, I loved the ride takeovers and also Wicker Man in the dark was something else - and was well worth the very long queue.

Again, thanks to all the team and everyone I was with - even the people who just chatted to me for a bit! Can't wait to do more events next year and see you all again soon!

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:32 am
by DeadJack5
ScareMazing has been fantastic this year and I cannot express how great it was to see everyone again and those who dressed up. Everyone looked amazing and it was great to see some new faces as well as those who I haven't seen since the Chessington event!

Nemmy ERT was fantastic. Surprisingly quick in the morning with the cold, made for some great front and back row rides. Obvious highlight was everyone running back round for re-reides; brings me back to my first event at TTSP@15 with Nemesis end of day ERT!

Ride takeovers of Rapids, Blade and Galatica in the morning were well worth it for breaking rides, waving at other rides and trying not to get wet in costume...

The maze runs were all pretty good! Some interesting runs and trying to avoid getting harassed when wearing a cloak was something new for me! Project 42 was probably the strongest run I had and it really did impress me when we went through.

The Scarefest talk as always was insightful into the technical and of course imaginative side of the industry and when talking about scare mazes, park audio and little maze Easter eggs you may have never picked up on. The costume contest was great and so many great costumes/ideas and everyone looked fantastic (especially baby Jeff)

The Welcoming run was as good as ever and the actors were certainly ready for it when we ventured through. I can honestly say it was my favourite run of this maze on that weekend.

Other ride takeovers were smaller this year due to the popularity of the park on the day. It was nice to just talk and say hi to people I had never seen before and those who I hadn't seen in months! It's certainly the highlight of these events just speaking and seeing those who we don't always get to see.

The social provided a lot of fun with Superhero Dances, Cha Cha Slides and general fun after a jam packed day. Congratulations again to Sarah and Jason again on the engagement! It was great to end the day on such a great note and the end of season for events!

I shall see you all in 2019 and can't wait for the new year's events when me and a certain BubbleBoi shall return...

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:34 pm
by Luce
I forgot to mention the takeover of Pizza Pasta which was awesome! :)

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:45 pm
by Justin
The Pizza Pasta takeover was brilliant. I don't think they were expecting so many!

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:33 pm
by Cobby
It was another great event and I really enjoyed meeting everyone again, I especially enjoyed breaking the Blade and the mazes. Our run through of Sub was particularly intense and perhaps one of the best run through's I've ever had on it.  I had to dash off after The Welcoming as I had booked House of Monsters, but a big thank you to all the team I really enjoyed it and I can't wait for the events next year I may have already decided what to wear for Scarefest...  :lol

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:03 pm
by Dom
I know you guys value honesty and constructive comments so I want this review to be as open and as honest as I can be.

It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone again. Having last seen people at Chessington, it really was THE highlight to see so many wonderful people again. I met some new people and saw some people I hadn't seen in years too which was awesome! Getting to spend the whole weekend or 5 minutes with people who genuinely mean the world to me is always such a glorious thing and it is because of TTSP and the events that I got to meet so many wonderful people.

The Nemesis ERT and maze access went down well and we got what we paid for. The Q&A was a nice chance to sit down and chat all things scary and it was nice and so was the costume contest. All that being said, I can't help but feel that out of all the Scaremazing's that there have been, this one may have been the weakest of the lot. I'm not saying it was a bad event. Yes it was nice to finally have a coaster on ERT for Scarefest, but I feel that it came at the cost of what makes Scaremazing, well, Scaremazing. To me, Scaremazing has always been, to me, the exclusive runs on the mazes meaning smaller, more intimate groups that created a scarier experience in the mazes. The behind the scenes tours of the mazes gave each attraction a bit more substance and made the runs that much better. Its always been the defining event for TT for me and this year it just felt a bit flat compared to previous years. 

The costumes this year were incredible and everyone should be so proud of their creations and congrats to Sarah and Jay on winning the costume contest. And I hope these will be just as big next year as they are this year. This little touch made the whole thing feel a bit more interactive and offered something slightly different. It was a nice little touch. 

I think I would very much prefer TTSP concentrate on holding 1 event at each park and making them spectacular. Like really going all out to make the events totally memorable and having things planned through the entire day as opposed to first thing and after park close. I know Scaremazing works slightly different given the later opening times, but even so, I think encouraging people to stay with the main group is something the team could work better at. I need a reason to want to stay with the main group, especially when its at a park i hardly ever visit. 

All this being said, I've been attending events since Scaremazing 1 and as far as I'm aware I've never had anything 'constructive' to say about the events. I've seen the events expand and become bigger and bigger and I think its only right that the events continue to expand to be bigger and better than ever before. This event was the first time I really noticed that it wasn't what it used to be and it was just a wee bit disappointing and I would much rather tell you honestly how I felt than bottle it up. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings. 

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 11:19 pm
by Justin
Hi all,

Thank you for your company on Saturday. It was great to see old friends whilst getting to know others too. Sorry if I didn't get to speak to you for as long as I would have liked, but I am sure some of you saw me head counting to make sure we all survived the mazes :D It was a very busy day, but hopefully it paid off and you enjoyed your day. If you are at Fireworks then hopefully I will be able to chat for longer :)

As Lucy said, the Pizza and Pasta takeover was a particular highlight. We must have had around 30 to 40 people at one table which was great fun, but what made this special was a mix of members were chatting with each other like we have known each other for years and years. For me, this is what it is all about!

What a great day it was. It is really nice to read your feedback (good and bad) as this really helps.

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 11:52 pm
by Chris
Dom wrote:I know you guys value honesty and constructive comments so I want this review to be as open and as honest as I can be.

It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone again. Having last seen people at Chessington, it really was THE highlight to see so many wonderful people again. I met some new people and saw some people I hadn't seen in years too which was awesome! Getting to spend the whole weekend or 5 minutes with people who genuinely mean the world to me is always such a glorious thing and it is because of TTSP and the events that I got to meet so many wonderful people.

The Nemesis ERT and maze access went down well and we got what we paid for. The Q&A was a nice chance to sit down and chat all things scary and it was nice and so was the costume contest. All that being said, I can't help but feel that out of all the Scaremazing's that there have been, this one may have been the weakest of the lot. I'm not saying it was a bad event. Yes it was nice to finally have a coaster on ERT for Scarefest, but I feel that it came at the cost of what makes Scaremazing, well, Scaremazing. To me, Scaremazing has always been, to me, the exclusive runs on the mazes meaning smaller, more intimate groups that created a scarier experience in the mazes. The behind the scenes tours of the mazes gave each attraction a bit more substance and made the runs that much better. Its always been the defining event for TT for me and this year it just felt a bit flat compared to previous years. 

The costumes this year were incredible and everyone should be so proud of their creations and congrats to Sarah and Jay on winning the costume contest. And I hope these will be just as big next year as they are this year. This little touch made the whole thing feel a bit more interactive and offered something slightly different. It was a nice little touch. 

I think I would very much prefer TTSP concentrate on holding 1 event at each park and making them spectacular. Like really going all out to make the events totally memorable and having things planned through the entire day as opposed to first thing and after park close. I know Scaremazing works slightly different given the later opening times, but even so, I think encouraging people to stay with the main group is something the team could work better at. I need a reason to want to stay with the main group, especially when its at a park i hardly ever visit. 

All this being said, I've been attending events since Scaremazing 1 and as far as I'm aware I've never had anything 'constructive' to say about the events. I've seen the events expand and become bigger and bigger and I think its only right that the events continue to expand to be bigger and better than ever before. This event was the first time I really noticed that it wasn't what it used to be and it was just a wee bit disappointing and I would much rather tell you honestly how I felt than bottle it up. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings. 
Dom, your feedback is always welcome - let me make that clear.

Being quite honest, the Resort would not offer any behind the scenes tours or exclusive run-throughs this year. The park forecast a huge gate figure that day, so operationally, things were really tight as is.

As a team, this was not a challenge we expected, so had to figure out what would still work for us.

The last thing we wanted to do was cancel it as we know how many of you had already made plans, including hotel stays etc. The Nemesis ERT hopefully compensated some of the loss, but we appreciate that we can have ERT any time of the year.

We made the best it could be considering what we had to work with. Hopefully everyone who attended experienced that. :)

Re: ScareMazing 2018 - Reviews & Feedback

Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 7:02 pm
by Dom
I'm not saying it was a bad event. I just want to make that clear. I'm merely saying that it was weaker than previous years. I guessed it was due to reasons outside the teams control (Remember, I've been there with you guys when you've planned events). I just felt that it wouldn't be fair to the team to not be entirely honest with you guys about how I saw the event. I still had a fun weekend catching up with everyone and having a laugh with people and that's the main thing about the events to me. :)