Scarefest 2020- Alton Towers Trip Report

Scarefest runs until November 1st with four Scare Mazes

From now until the 1st of November, Scarefest at Alton Towers returns with 4 scare mazes and some socially distanced Halloween fun.

We took the trip up to Alton Towers on Monday the 19th October and have a full trip report and photo update of our day below. This would be our first time visiting during Scarefest for at least 7 years so all the haunted mazes would be new to us.

First up though, lets look at what Alton Towers Scarefest offers this year. There will be no scare zones but there will be other entertainment offerings to make up for the lack of them.

Scarefest Mazes

3 for 1 on Mazes

The mazes are not included with the park entry ticket and can be booked in advance. Darkest Depths is not included in the ticket bundle and is separately ticketed.

The mazes open from 3pm and you can book any time after this. We recommend, as always, doing them in the dark if you can. You have 90 minutes when you enter the first maze to do all three of them.

All mazes suggested ages are 15+ apart from darkest depths at 10+.

Social Distancing Guidelines

The Scare Mazes will follow the rest of the rules within the park. Masks must be worn throughout the attraction and there will be no touching from the actors. As well as this, each party will be entering the maze section of the house on their own.

Rides in the dark

As well as the Scarefest mazes you are able to stay later in the park until 9pm and ride all the parks rides in the dark. Be advised though Alton Towers is required to be clear of all visitors by 10pm in line with Government instruction. The attraction queue lines will begin to close from 8.30pm.  This time may change depending on demand for individual rides.  Latest information will be posted on the Alton Towers App and digital signage around the Park.

Garden Lights Walk: Whispering Souls – New

New for this year you can witness the gardens like never before and in a whole new light.

With luscious stretching lawns, vibrant beds and conservatory areas, Alton Towers Resort Gardens are well worth a visit in the daylight but wait till darkness falls and get ready to take the most otherworldly stroll of your life, but beware! A mysterious energy runs through the Gardens’ water; around here people say it brings lost souls back from the dead for all Hallows’ Eve… hear that whisper? Who knows you might have phant…astical company on the way!

Spooktacular Family Fun at Scarefest

If the scares and thrills aren’t what you are after Alton Towers offers some more spooky fun for all the family. CBeebies land features a Monster Ball with games, dancing and more. A Freaky Fun Zone has been added to the front lawns featuring Patch’s Halloween Party and ghostly tales from Skelvin. As well as this the stage on the lawn features singers and dancing from the Alton Ancestors.

Scarefest Trip Report

Now with the what out of the way, its time to look at our trip report. For a more general Alton Towers trip report check out our last visit from August.

As with our other trip reports click on the image to see them in full size!

We arrived at around 2pm so we could explore the park before our maze times of 6 and 6:30pm. We parked in the premium car park for the passholder price of 12 pound booked in advance and with the monorail closed this was a very welcome short walk to the front of the park.

There was no queue for temperature check or bag check and we walked straight in.

Entrance

Towers Street was suitably themed for the Halloween Season complete with a spooky new name for the Alton Towers Shop. Event merchandise was available here with the returning scare mazes having their own tee.

The rest of Towers Street was covered in a plethora of pumpkins and a Skelvin was hanging out of a vehicle. A well themed entrance for all the family.

Towards the end of Towers Street towards the lawn are some photo opportunities with the Scarefest sign and pumpkins themed to the major rollercoasters at the park. See if you can guess which one is themed to which ride, answers on our Instagram here.

Freaky Fun Zone

On the lawns is the Freaky Fun Zone. Complete with socially distanced tables, a stage for performances, halloween themed food stalls and the Oozy Boozy Bar this area was a great addition to the park.

Here dance shows would occur, singing and storytelling from the parks Halloween mascot Skelvin. We mainly stuck around for the bar though. Here you would sit down at a table and your order would be taken and delivered to you. Card only.

This would be where we would start our day and plan the evenings activities. Grabbing a beer in the process.

We would see the Alton Ancestors dancing and the singers. The stage shows were a good length and featured impressive dancing.

The kids shows seemed to keep the kids moving and dancing with enough of a crowd most of the day.

We sat here a couple of times throughout the day and even grabbed some food from the stalls later on. More on that later though.

Wandering Around to Wickerman

Queue times throughout the day varied between 20-60 minutes for the major rides with The Smiler hitting capacity twice throughout the day. We decided we would head to Wickerman first but not before a trip on the cable car over to the Dark Forest for a general browse around the park.

Below is a look at the Gangsta Granny Ride coming next year and a look at some of the entrances to the Scare Mazes.

Wickerman During the Day

Wickerman was posted at a 45 minute wait so we decided to jump into the queue. We waited around 50 minutes before we got to ride. The queue moved quickly with the ride being wiped down by the operators in-between each new guest. Riders were still spaced apart from other groups too and no pre-show was operating.

We sat front row this time and while still fun, it doesn’t pack quite as much thrill as the back.

Freaky Fries….

With the time approaching 5pm we headed back to the front lawn to grab some food before the scare mazes. Alton have joined in on the themed fries craze sweeping the haunt world so we decided to grab their version of them. As well as this we would grab some chainsaw fries and a couple of hot dogs from monster grill.

We would of course grab another drink from Oozy Boozy while waiting for the sun to go down. The firepits get lit as it gets darker offering a very nice spot to wait for your scare maze times.

On the food front the hot dog was good but the pizza fries left a lot to be desired…. at 7 pound for the hot dog and any of the fries it’s a bit pricey.

Scare Mazes

It was approaching 6 pm and time to head over to our first Scare Maze. Darkest Depths. On the way over though there is a neat little projection ghost show hanging from the trees near to Mutiny Bay and the Cable Car which tells spooky jokes. During the day these just look like hanging sheets but really ‘come alive’ at night.

Darkest Depths

First up for the Scarefest Scare Mazes was Darkest Depths. This is a separately ticketed attraction suitable for 10 years plus. The maze had been previously located in Mutiny Bay but has moved to somewhere with a little more space.

We arrived at around 6:10pm and there was no line. Each of the mazes start with a small pre show (except Toxic Junkyard) explaining the storyline. In Darkest Depths you enter the Smugglers Inn bar to be told the story of The Mutiny ghost ship. Our group of 4 entered the preshow with another family of 3 as there was enough space to remain socially distant inside.

The barman told the story well with added special effects in the room. Each actor does wear a mask and it is integrated well into their costumes. Following on from the preshow each group enters the maze on their own with enough time in-between each guest so that you remain socially distant at all times. The barman in this first room remained in character and acted well. This was consistent with all the scare acting throughout the event which was a great standard.

As for the maze itself it is incredibly detailed and well themed to a pirate ship. Featuring water leaks, projections and a kraken attack, this was a brilliant start for the mazes at Scarefest. Though not particularly scary, it would be a great first maze for the younger Halloween fans. We all enjoyed it immensely and even got a good scare from what can only be described as Davy Jones himself.

4 out of 5 pumpkin rating from all of us.

The Attic: Terror of the Towers

Next up was the short trip around the corner to The Attic: Terror of the Towers. Having not been to Scarefest for several years the main memory I have is how good the mazes inside the towers have been. This would be our most anticipated maze of the night and it did not disappoint.

With the queue entrance located at the exit of Hex, the setting for this maze could not be more picturesque for Halloween. Winding through a part of the gardens filled with statues it then enters the conservatory before entering a great hallway filled with dust covered antiques.

We queued for around 25 minutes before entering the pre show. Here three smalls groups would enter and be told the story of the Governess and how her ghost haunts the attic. Her young had been killed and she wanted revenge. This again was another great show involving special effects, wind, lighting and slamming of window shutters. The actor was also fully convincing in his role.

The Governess Will See You Now….

Each group would then enter the maze on their own with a big gap in-between each party. The first challenge of the maze is climbing sets of stairs to reach the attic! One you reach the top though is a well themed, tight, intense house with great scenery and special effects. It’s also quite long. You step into the attic complete with creaky floorboards and tight spaces, heading into fireplaces where you can really feel the heat.

The actors are able to stalk and torment you knowing you are the only party coming through. They seem to disappear and reappear at different points offering a great and intense maze. The maze is filled with smoke and lights that often make it disorientating on which direction to go in.

The maze is well themed but has the advantage of actually being inside the towers, so you go past real old fireplaces and stone columns in a great combination of real and fake theming.

This is a great maze and up there with scare houses I’ve been in in central Florida.

5 out of 5 pumpkins from all of us.

Freak Show: Toxic Junkyard

As we came out of the Attic it had begun to light rain. This of course meant we should do the only outside maze. Freak Show: Toxic Junkyard. The queue is off to the side by the old golf driving area before crossing over to the arcade near to X Sector.

This attraction is mainly all outdoor featuring a massive amount of props and some impressive sets. You enter the old junkyard where psycho clowns are turning people into evil carnies. The theme had been present before in a scare zone but had never been part of a maze.

We waited around 30 minutes before it was our turn to enter. This scare maze does not have a pre show and is predominantly outside so plan accordingly. The first part of the house was light on actors (possibly due to the light rain) but really ramped up in the second half. Actors had multiple points where they could attempt to scare you and were doing a great job conveying their evil plot.

The final part of the maze features several chainsaw actors that get uncomfortably close to you….

A good concept that is a little hamstrung by being all outside. Themeing and props were still very impressive though. Look out for the tap that used to sit on top of The Flumes station inside the maze.

3 out of 5 pumpkins.

Altonville Mine Tours

After finishing Junk Yard it was approaching 8pm. Time to head over to Altonville Mine Tours. We were hoping to get in and out so we would have time to ride 13 or Wickerman in the dark before the 9pm closing time.

We waited around 30 minutes before entering the maze. The queue line takes you into a very dark and quite narrow tunnel before starting the maze. As before the pre show is outside and performed by a very well acted tour guide who sets up the story of the Skin Snatchers.

This is a returning maze and is at the bottom of the towers. The maze is very well themed also, complete with tight areas where it does feel as if you were down a mine. It gives off a Texas Chainsaw vibe with the family of Skin Snatchers scaring you throughout. Keep an eye out for Grandpa wandering around in his pants with his pickaxe, he certainly gave us quite a fright.

Another solid maze that is good in length and themeing.

4 out of 5 pumpkins.

Scarefest Maze Thoughts

The mazes at Scarefest all very well done. They are themed to a great standard, acted well and due to social distancing you nearly get/see every scare. Considering the limitations of the current climate, the houses are still top quality and excellent value for money when compared to other offerings…. (looking at you Fright Nights)

It had been many years since we last attended but we wont wait as long again before visiting. It really is an excellent Halloween offering. There is something for the entire family from young children to the most seasoned of haunt veteran.

After our last maze we had just enough time to enter the gardens and take a look at the lit up area.

Garden Lights Walk

With time approaching 8:30pm we rushed into the Gardens to see the area lit up for the first time. The area is spooky and moody even at the best of times. If you have time, take the short walk to the eerie gardens and you may spot something spooky lurking in the waters too. Some of the statues make you a little uneasy in the dark too….

Wickerman at Night

With time approaching 8:45pm we hoped we would have a chance to ride Wickerman in the dark. The app said the ride was closed due to Alton needing the park empty by 10pm. We headed over to grab some photos anyway.

We actually were able to join the queue though as they had cleared the queue line before the 9pm closure. This time we were able to get the back row.

The ride at night feels much more intense. Going through the Wickerman at night with flames being more pronounced is a way more fun and thrilling experience. If you get the chance, try to ride this ride at night. It almost seems made to be viewed and ridden during darkness. Just look at the photos below at how great it looks.

Final Thoughts

With the park now closed it was time to head out. The entrance way was lit up well on the way out.

We really enjoyed our time at Scarefest. It had been a long time since we experienced Alton Towers at night and it really is a park that oozes atmosphere during the Halloween season. I do wish there were more opportunities to experience the Towers in the dark.

The mazes were all excellently themed, acted and a decent length providing excellent value for money. If the mazes aren’t your thing you can still experience the atmosphere and rides at night adding to the Halloween fun.

There are plenty of offerings for children also if you are looking for a safe and socially distant experience.

We will hopefully be back to attend Scarefest next year.

Thanks for reading, we will see you next time.