Scarefest - General Discussion

[Aidan Lowe]

 Just a FYI Zach from my end I can only read ToTT in the spoiler tag and none of the others.

General views of The Welcoming from the media event is that it's intense/terrifying. Couple of images below in a spoiler tag taken from Twitter, videos likely to follow throughout the early morning hours.

Spoiler

[lewis97]

This article features a fairly complete walkthrough of The Welcoming, excluding the hooded section - obviously don’t watch if you don’t wish to have it spoilt. 

[Liam.W]

Below is my review of the four mazes on offer at Alton Towers - (I have put the reviews in spoiler tags as I'm not sure what some people may consider spoilers so read with caution)

Spoiler

Terror of the Towers -
As already seen the entrance enters from the front of the Towers and you go up a tight narrow set of stairs and across the top of the original TotT entrance with everything pretty much the same as line year including the conga line however the maze itself is a lot more claustrophobic and the strobe maze at end is more impactful with a new LED type of strobe which has allowed Towers tech team to adjust how the strobes...strobe haha

Sub Species -
As TotT it is mostly the same for the first half of the maze which free flow returning, in the first scene you as a group can now see yourselves in the room on a night vision "CCTV" camera which adds to the realism that you are in the end games. The end of the maze where you exit the Towers is where the new stuff comes in with the return of the multiple exit routes, which I'm not afraid to admit got me rather disorientated until I realised I could go either left or right, left is a new experience however right although the most well known exit has a few subtle changes. Left for me is a new favourite as the theming in the monsters egg room is truly amazing and looks nothing like a shipping container.

Skin Snatchers -
The story remains the same although I was a little confused regarding Towers wording of further/deeper into the mine as most of the scenes look the same to last year the route felt like it took a few different turns which will even confuse the maze experts amongst you. The Mine shaft/lift scene has had a few additions which help solidify the feel of you actually entering a mine as it now genuinely looks like a lift to go down into the mine. Half naked man in the tidy whiteys returns much to most of your delight I'm sure. The ending to skin is where most will notice the change, I believe it is one which is sure to divide you all, as it comes in the form of gift shop however that is all I will say.

The Welcoming:Be Chosen -
The one I'm sure you will all be interested in, now this maze is 100% marmite you will either love it or hate it, depending on your expectations or desire of what you expect it to be. I will disappoint some of you now it's not a traditional horror maze, although it comes with jump scares and impact scares, it is a theatrical experience with amazing scenery which is just awe inspiring. What the crew have achieved in what was just the courtyard is phenomenal so when you are going through the maze take the time to look up, look down & look all around you'll notice something new even after doing it 2/3 times. The use of fire effects throughout makes this maze an experience not to be missed this year, the hoods although most of us had low expectations are explained very well as you are not to know the way to get to the festival and there is 2 routes through the forest you can take depending on whether you have the rope on your left or on your right. All the village signage throughout the maze is written in the runes that we have come to learn from SW8 and the SW8 logo is hidden within the maze hence why it was released this passed week so look out for that. Lastly listen to the actors they speak in riddles throughout and I have come to understand some of what they say has meaning and some is rubbish. Overall it is what you make of it however after two goes through I loved it and it's a brilliant addition to the resorts Halloween offering.

General Scarefest updates this year see's the mazes within the Towers have baggage holds for you to store your bags with a band system in place for all 3 mazes. Scarefest this year has something that is sure to either scare or unnerve all of us but not all of the time. The line-up is strong with something for everyone, I haven't experienced the kiddies offerings however I am to understand House of Monsters has a few changes to it's scenes and the normal Skelvin and gang performances returning at the bottom of Towers Street. For me this year Towers wins the battle of the Halloween events within Merlin.

Is welcoming a free flow maze or a conga?

[Zach]

 Just a FYI Zach from my end I can only read ToTT in the spoiler tag and none of the others.

This should be fixed now.

Is welcoming a free flow maze or a conga?

It is a free flow maze and should you not keep up with your group, because of the length of the maze it is easy to find yourself alone.

[krug]

Hi everyone. I am booking tickets for next Saturday.  I understand why you have to choose times for the scare mazes but how come there is only one time to select when booking the 3 mazes ticket.  Surely there should be 3 times to choose, one for each maze.  I ask this because you have to select a separate time for the welcoming maze.  How does this system work?

[Justin]

Time slots are allocated to control the flow of guests and so the resort will know roughly how many people they have around or in the Towers at any one time.  This year, you have 2 hours to complete the mazes, however, mazes can usually be completed in any order. If there is a delay or queue on any maze, then guests usually disperse themselves across the other two.

[krug]

Thanks Justin.  Ah, so you have 2 hours from the time you select to visit the mazes.  Thanks for clearing that up.

[Justin]

Yes, all mazes need to be completed within 2 hours of your chosen time slot

[JC13]

I was in the first public group in the Welcoming, and was disappointed.

Spoiler

The maze seemed to be mostly blindfolded and the maze wasn’t scary at all compared to Sub Species or Altonville Mine Tours

[Dan]

I was in the first public group in the Welcoming, and was disappointed.

Spoiler

The maze seemed to be mostly blindfolded and the maze wasn’t scary at all compared to Sub Species or Altonville Mine Tours

I've been told by numerous people that the hooded section of The Welcoming: Be Chosen is a very, very small portion of the maze so I'm curious as to how you come to the conclusion that it is "mostly blindfolded"?

[Zach]

I was in the first public group in the Welcoming, and was disappointed.

Spoiler

The maze seemed to be mostly blindfolded and the maze wasn’t scary at all compared to Sub Species or Altonville Mine Tours

I've been told by numerous people that the hooded section of The Welcoming: Be Chosen is a very, very small portion of the maze so I'm curious as to how you come to the conclusion that it is "mostly blindfolded"?

Having done it twice already I can assure it is not mostly at it is a small part which works very well and adds some needed jumps scares as well hesitation.

[Jcoaster]

Would you recommend the welcoming for someone who's only ever done tott and hom?

[Bert]

Would you recommend the welcoming for someone who's only ever done tott and hom?

Same with me but I've only done the Blackpool Dungeons, DBGT, Dark Apocalypse and Freak Show. 

[lewis97]

If you’re not already, keep an eye on the TowersTimes Facebook page for updates from Scarefest throughout the course of the day!

[Zach]

Would you recommend the welcoming for someone who's only ever done tott and hom?

Yes, it’s not overly scary and probably on par with TotT it terms of scares

[JC13]

I was in the first public group in the Welcoming, and was disappointed.

Spoiler

The maze seemed to be mostly blindfolded and the maze wasn’t scary at all compared to Sub Species or Altonville Mine Tours

I've been told by numerous people that the hooded section of The Welcoming: Be Chosen is a very, very small portion of the maze so I'm curious as to how you come to the conclusion that it is "mostly blindfolded"?

It might just be my slow walking, but I think I did overexaggerate how much of it was blindfolded, I was just disappointed by the maze at that time. It still seemed to be a long time with the blindfold on, it might be that it was my first maze with a blindfold, but still, the maze didn’t have many scares, the indside portion was good and the theming was great but the scares weren’t. I unfortunately felt that way about the other 3, especially Altonville Mine Tours because we had an emergency stop halfway through and had to leave the maze, when I went back in I still thought it didn’t have enough scares

[Jcoaster]

Would you recommend the welcoming for someone who's only ever done tott and hom?

Yes, it’s not overly scary and probably on par with TotT it terms of scares

Thank you, I can't wait to try it out in two weeks exactly!

[Aidan Lowe]

For those who perhaps can't make it this year to Scarefest here is a video blog from one of the run-throughs on preview night of The Welcoming: Be Chosen by Kip Hakes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ovb4Y4mUUg

[Sawboss]

Some of those actors were really going for it. So sad I'm not going this year, hoping they bring The Welcoming back next year in some form in a different location.

[Stan.H]

Despite not having a full day at scarefest, I am just leaving the park in the queue for the monorail as I type this... Managed to ride Th13teen, The Smiler, Oblivion and Nemesis... As well as that I did all 5 scare mazes as well as freak show, and to say the least, I am impressed with all of them!  TotT this year felt much much shorter compared to previous years, and it also doesn't have the stair scene any longer, however, the new entrance and (I'd say) new route is really good, and still very strong. Would defo recommend this as a 'first' maze for newbies, and I also had many more scares than usual in today's run through. Next was HoM which was pretty much identical to last years, but had a few set changes and new set pieces in the scare-section at the end - overall very impressed, and hope to see some new scenes added for next years event! Next was Sub-Species, which did feel weaker compared to previous years, but still very very strong. Also, adding to that, the maze does feature two endings like before, so next time I'm on the park I hope to go through it again! The theming at the exits are also great, and do add to the experience, especially for people watching their mates run out!! The actors, however, we're still putting there all into it, and the baby in me came out several times!! After that we went straight onto AMT, and was genuinely impressed by it, Alton has definitely made it feel more complete and this year I got many more scares, and it wasn't as physical as last year, which was a plus for me - as I'm not too keep on having my hair grabbed, giving people piggybacks etc... There also appeared to be more theming than last year, or maybe I just didn't see it, as all my run-throughs last year were VERY VERY smokey. Also, the ending was much better and wasn't as abrupt as last years, overall, thumbs up from me!! Finally, The Welcoming!!!! This, to say the least, blew my socks off and I definitely feel "chosen". I don't want to give much away, but the theming is incredible and very immersive and is more like a theatrical experience yet really scary at the same time (think the Dungeons, but many many more jumps) also, the costumes were absolutely fantastic as well - some of which very gruesome. The flame effects were also great, and definitely make me believe they will be used in some way, shape or form on SW8. I went through this maze twice this evening and had multiple jumps both times, and this may be due to the fact that they have nailed the timings on this maze, unlike some of the other mazes! I also do feel that £8 is expensive per run-through, but it is actually worth it, if you do enjoy theming, scares and a theatrical experience. This maze makes me very excited for SW8, and also to add, the hooded section of the maze doesn't last too long, so it doesn't take from the entire experience, overall, a very solid experience and look forward to (hopefully) seeing it again next year! Then for Freak Show... It was a very solid scare-zone as per usual and I also loved the fact that there were many more scare actors, as well as some new theming from The Flume and CoS! Would like to see some more scare-zones next year, but overall a very very strong event, and probably the strongest scarefest to date! Looking forward to returning in a few weeks time!