Scarefest 2012: General Discussion (Spoiler Warning)

[emk]

Personally, I was a bit disappointed in the mazes this year. It seems year upon year they get diluted. ToTT just seems to be a throughput machine, get em in and out as quick as you can now. Boiler house just isnt scary in the slightest and Carnival had nowhere near enough scares.
Remember back in the day when you had the chefs talk in the towers? Or on 1000S when you were stopped by the little girl and then stopped in the house? Id like to see alot more story, and alot more acting next year.

I think the idea of a nemesis maze would be great, just to boost the profile of the area for an obviously big year (and possibly another big year the year afterwords). As for a location of this maze. Im really not sure, but im certain someone on here could find a large enough piece of land to erect a tent. Itd be nice to have some kind of mutants wondering around the area too, really hype the place up.

Dark Forrest is definitively missing a trick being a scary themed area but having no real scares. Id love to see a small maze (perhaps a walk through at the pathway that leads behind dark Forrest (the one you walk down to get through to the valley walk through)

The mazes in the black hole did help x-sector and it would be good if there was a perm attraction inside there where boiler house. An experiment lab would fit quite well with the area.

These three mazes, alongside a revamped, well acted ToTT with cut scenes and stops would be fantastic.

And then for the adults, a final maze back at the hotel, only open from late which is marketed as the extreme maze would be amazing. Having it themed around Field of 1000 Screams for the old school, but really push the boat out for effects and make it really really scary.

Now costing wise, I dont mind paying extra for the mazes. The 13 walkthrough maze I would keep free (like zombies this year) Nemesis and Black Hole mazes could be the extra 10 pounds for the two, and then an extra couple of quid for the final maze. Try to make the final maze a bit exclusive with it being at the hotel and open later, so the extra cost might throw a few people but people who are really into this kind of thing wouldnt mind paying.

Thoughts?

[cmpunk771]

Just confirmed on the Alton Towers twitter that the Boiler House will NOT be returning next year.

[Moley]

Central character to build the event around and as the focus of the marketing.

[/broken_record]

[cmpunk771]

[quote=""Moley""]Central character to build the event around and as the focus of the marketing.

[/broken_record][/quote]

Totally agree, like HHN a different theme each year.

[Spike]

My wish list:

The two pay mazes to be worth the money, they are the weakest of the three mazes & you have to pay for them. They are also ridiculously expensive for what you get, considering ToTT is free & world class.

I would like to see an extra maze on park themed around the 2012 investment, similar to Experiment 10 I would happily pay for this as well if it were worth the money.

Lighting, I don't think I need to ramble on again about how let down I was this year with it. There is NO need to floodlight everything.

The scare zone could do with being moved to the Haunted Hollow & made the full length. You could still keep it Zombies but longer & better.

What I would like to see more than anything is the event being finished by opening weekend. I cannot begin to portray my anger & upset to find the event was improved as the two weeks went on. Not everyone has the luxury of visiting a few times during the event & I expect it to be brilliant from the get-go. Not increase the lighting, sorting the pay mazes out & adding things like What Lies Beneath actors a week later. It's ridiculous & down right lazy to your customers.

[Randomizer462]

Hopefully:
Lighting- Get Rid of the White Lights, They make the Park Ugly and they are just Plain Ugly, Buy the Lights then leave the lights they can up! Alton did it amazing in 2010, They Should be able to it better in 2012, plus this is the Year what is important due to Olympics

Mazes- Boiler House has had its Time! Get Rid! Carnival could move to area just by the Lake? A New Maze in BH Tent, These 2 included in Price, Another 2 on Park Pay for, Nemesis Maze and a Saw Type of Maze.

Children- Keep Franklin's Freaky Farm, It has had some Amazing Feedback! Bring Back Skelvin’s Haunted Adventure, so the Kids have 2 Fantastic Areas of the park and still have an amazing Time!

Scare Zones- Keep ZOMBIES! Create another 2, One down Haunted Hollow and One for THI3TEEN
Hotels- Keep Scarerooms, If they Can bring Back FO10S, Bring a New Maze the Best one in the in the whole Resort!

Theme park- Have Actors walking around! Maybe some Friendly clowns around the Carnival before Opening, Maybe Scarefest should open a week early? So they would know what they would have to do before the Proper Opening, Maybe 10am-10pm, Most Kids Rides close at 9pm and Theme park Mazes Close at 10pm, Opening Times 3pm-10pm, Maybe at 12 have a Halloween Actor walk on the lawns in front of the Towers, So All together, So Really there 10 Halloween Attractions on the Resort for Thrill Seekers
All This probably won’t happen but it would great if it did happen!

[anorman]

Put the mazes back by the hotels! there was no atmosphere around the mazes this year, there was too much noise before hand and they looked a total mess with too much going on in xsector. Zombie scare zone should have no uniformed alton staff in it which really spoiled it. This year should have been great, instead it was cast into oblivion quite literally. The scare room featured some very talented actors and was set to be commended, but a sudden end at 12 instead of 2am utterly destroyed the experience for us and ended our weekend with a sense of satusfaction from the rides alone without any scarefest contribution. Im still a fan but i expected more from Alton given their increased experience of running this event.

[TowersJake]

Ok, here are my thoughts upon what Scarefest 2012 needs to have improving.

First of all i think that Skelvins Haunted Adventure NEEDS to be brought back. I feel it is a great free attraction which is an alternative free attraction. I feel at scarefest 2011 the atmosphere in Gloomy Wood was really dull and well NOT SCAREFEST really. It will also use the over fill queue line which didnt really seem to be used much this year (its great to queue around the graveyards. I feel it wouldn't take much for skelvins to return it completes the area for scarefest, it only takes adding signs, lighting graveyard, actors, turning blasters off, changing audio, tampering with effects and maybe few addititon actors in queue line to entertain audience.

The atmosphere around some areas of the park this year i found awful, probably from the floodlit lights which totally wrecked Gloomy wood, Dark Forest (we all know off) I dont really get why Alton name an area by the words of Dark Forest and light the whole area up. Isnt it supposed to be dark and mysterious with the actors roaming. Gloomy wood looked terrible it only needs a few small alternative different coloured lights which could be reflected onto Duel (skelvins) In the Dark Forest a few spot lights need to be reflected onto th13teen's building and a few odd green ones dotted around the shrubbery.

I also think that Th13teen after dark was a disappointment this year (really unprofessional setup) with hardly any lighting effects on and no actors roaming the queue line i just was disappointed to be honest. I mean its a big drop from what the experience was to last year.

From past years i was also dissapointed by no actors roaming the park this year, all they need is in the various areas such as haunted hollow (maybe bring back haunted hollow live) the dark forest could maybe do with a few more wraiths which roamed in the day light to up the atmosphere a bit more. The actors roaming could just make the guests day not necessarily scare them but just entertain and make it feel a bit more like scarefest and small touches have been added.

I feel that a scare zone could be addec again for 2012 if its zombies then a few improvements could be made especially with the actors such as their acting skills and maybe add a few more actors into it. (i think its a great free addition look on the bright side if we didn't have it)

I would like to see Boiler House stay in the black hole tent on its own as it would first of all have much more space to play around with so it isnt cramped in with Carnival. It really blends in nicely with the Black Hole tent and keeps the theme well not looking out of place like Carnival. It actually also looks quite like a boiler house, it just needs to be more like 2010 and maybe have a chase scene at the end.

If the space is freed up for Boiler in BH tent then Carnival could be added to the hotel fields, i feel there isnt enough space for it on park and it just isnt right in X Sector. I feel having it set on the fields makes it feel much more Carnival like (travelling) I think a better storyline could be thought up maybe a mysterious travelling carnival has dumped itself onto the grounds of Alton Towers, you need to investigate whats inside. I also dont think scarefest is scarefest without a maze on the hotel field.

Last of all i think that the towers street audio could do with turning up as i didnt think it set much atmosphere this year it felt to me it was a bit , well dull to be honest.

[fearaddict66]

2012 Scarefest lineup:

The Terror of the Towers
The Boiler House and a maze that is not the Carnival of Screams off park at the resort
ZOMBIES! zone
'Unleashed from the crypt' zone at the dark forest to replace godawful 13 after dark
Nemesis what lies beneath live
Duel live
Good lighting for better effect overall
not saying it will happen because it wont, but hey. My opinion right there.

[SIMR]

Not necessarily about the mazes, but this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlyEiT4I ... re=related , is an amazing effect and Six Flags impressed me with it, and it should definitely be done to the rapids next year, perhaps Flume too - imagine riding through Katanga in blood red waves!

[roary01]

the only problem i can think of, is the water from flume/rapids goes back into the small reservoir in Katanga, so if they dye the water, when they are drained, the dye would mix into the reservoir and pollute all the water...

only reason i can think would be a problem

[SIMR]

Even if it's not possible because of the water all being connected etc., you gotta admit, it's a brilliant idea!

[roary01]

yeah would look amazing the water would actually match the scarefest maps then! haha

[cmpunk771]

Just want to get across the Boiler House is NOT returning next year. This has been confirmed by AT.

So 2012 Carnival of Screams, Same ToTT and a new maze. Alton won't do a new Maze and a new Terror Of the towers. The Ents team have enough on there plate

[Dar]

I think the park needs more ambient music, like they have in Towers Street, all over the park. I'm sure a number of you have heard the Apocalyptica version of "In The Hall of The Mountain King" before (link if you haven't: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2aIVKp1OY) and I really think that it has just the right level of sinister-ness to work well around the Towers themselves. I'm not entirely fussed about the music fitting the area's themes, after all it is halloween and everything has been taken over by dark and sinister forces, I just want something to really hammer home that fact. I should be scared at Scarefest, and I should be scared as I walk round the park, or at least feel ill-at-ease but in the fun way!

[starbugger1303]

2010 LIGHITNG!

That is all...

And some new scare attractions

[fearaddict66]

No Boiler House? Shame that. I think they should have a Hamble Twins scarezone, I really do. I was debating that today.

[Magrathea]

[quote=""cmpunk771""]Just want to get across the Boiler House is NOT returning next year. This has been confirmed by AT.

So 2012 Carnival of Screams, Same ToTT and a new maze. Alton won't do a new Maze and a new Terror Of the towers. The Ents team have enough on there plate[/quote]

I reckon we'll be seeing a new ToTT too: What Lies Within's time is up, so whether or not it's even called ToTT, I think there'll be a new maze in the Towers, as well as a Boiler House replacement .

What are people's opinions on the non-Towers mazes staying on park, or moving back to the resort?

[thefatone]

I imagine they will stay on park. However, it'd be nice if carnival could use the hospitality tent!

[Stelios7]

As much as I liked the idea, I would move the CoS back. But keep the Boiler Houses replacement on the BH tent. And bring back the Field of 1000 Screams of course.