Family Outing Review: Scarefest at Alton Towers*

[Ad-gifted] Well, well, well we have a corker of a review for you!  We have been asked (for the first time ever, I might add) to review – dah dah dah – Scarefest at Alton Towers.

We will be giving you the lowdown on all the extra scary things Alton Towers have on offer during one of its most popular times of year. Alton Towers is busy all year round and draws in a crowd from around the nation. But its Scarefest is a truly sought-after event and one not to miss.

In our latest family outing blog post, we will cover each of the Scarefest attractions, what extra things there are to see, tips on getting around the park and which things are family-friendly are more adult-based scars. We will also be letting you know which things we liked best, bearing in mind that we will be reviewing through the eyes of teens, tweens and two adults. Keep reading to see how it went…

What we thought of Scarefest and the low down on the Scarefest Attractions

What makes Alton Towers a great place to visit? Well, a few things actually. Although it is the go-to park for people living in our area of Staffordshire, it doesn’t make it a make-do place to visit. For me, it is one of the most well-thought-out parks. It does involve a lot of walking as Alton Towers is quite big but each area has its own unique theme and is perfectly suited to the rides within it. Plus, the amazing castle (previously owned and lived in by the Earls’ of Shrewsbury, lastly by the 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, who died in 1921) and gardens that are also situated within its grounds. This, therefore, lends itself well to how they theme their Scarefest event each year – which involves loads of decor changes to give it its ultimate scary vibe for 24 solid days before the park closes for the winter.

Just so you know how much fun we had at Alton Towers Scarefest Event – Yesterday, as we were about to leave, my husband asked our youngest whether he’d had fun and his answer was, “yes, I’ve had the best time – the best time, ever!” We did a good selection of scare activities alongside rides in the dark and a walk through the gardens.

I was thinking on the way home from the day last night, how best to tell people the top tips. Well, I actually couldn’t pinpoint the best things to do how and in which order as we kind of went with the feel of the day yesterday and I think before you go you perhaps need to work out what you want to do more than everything else.

We wanted our day to be a mix of Scare activities alongside a good mix of rides. Which is exactly what we achieved. We managed to get to four Scare events, although I will talk you through all of them and note which ones appeared more scary than the rest – although it’s pretty subjective as it totally depends on what you are scared of! In my case, Zombie’esk scares are my absolute worst fear, so I avoided Altonville Mine Tours – Tiny’s Revenge – but thoroughly enjoyed Daz Games: Panic Reloaded and The Attic: Terror of the Towers.

The scare zones were so great – the themes were amazing and the actors were of such great quality it’s hard to fault them! We especially loved how you were able to get access to the tower for a few of the scare activities. Being able to get up close to Alton Towers Castle not only added to the eeriness of the event but meant you could get a closer look at something that you can only ever really see in the distance on a normal visit.

There are a few free events that you can experience on the days of the Scarefest at Alton Towers – which means if you can’t cope with the super frights – you can still make a trip and enjoy the Scarefest Theme. Also, it might be good for those on a budget who would still like to immerse themselves in the scares – it shows you how Alton Towers caters for most budgets and shares out the fun.

The scariest of the scare events at Scarefest (wow, that’s a mouthful) are all payable in addition to your theme park entry but a few things are complimentary, including; Alton Ancestors – a show that takes place close to the park entrance at different times during the day, which features deadly dancers performing to classic reworked tunes; Sin Bin, a stage show that also has show times dotted about so you can plan your day around them – the performers at this show are of great quality and won’t disappoint those who love bit of scary-pop to break up some of the adrenaline from the rides; finally Burial Grounds a maze close to the Wicca Man Ride, that is scary and aptly themed around the legend of the Wicca Man!

If you have younger children, don’t worry either as there are loads and loads for them to be involved in. The Amigos in the Afterlife – a Day of Dead-themed walkthrough is absolutely brilliant – we have kids aged between 15 and 10 and two adults in our group, and we all loved it, plus the fact that you can ride in the dark means you get to experience a selection of rides in a way you will have never experienced before – this was a real plus and something our whole group found brilliant.

Another tip for the day is we took sandwiches so we could have a snack at any point during our time at the park, and because we were staying so long, we knew we’d want to eat out. Well, the food we bought was amazing. We had some Scarefest-themed goodies along with a meal later in the day – the meal we chose were chicken strips with fries – it easily matched what you could get in any good bistro/bar style restaurant and was delicious – on top of that, it wasn’t overpriced. So, just know when you are at Alton Towers, you can get yourself some affordable and well-portioned meals and snacks.

So getting down to the Scarefest lowdown. Yesterday Scarefest activities were open from 3pm – 9pm – we got to the park super early, so we could make the most of rides first and this is something I would totally recommend doing if you don’t want to miss out on some rides whilst still fitting in the Scarefest offerings.

Here is the walk-through of each of the Scarefest Activities

Amigos in the Afterlife (6+) 
This is a walk-through ride near to David Walliams Land – there you will enter the Day of the Dead where you dance through a neon walkthrough surrounded by Mexican souls – this is a fun family attraction suitable for everyone and we very much recommend this with or without children (especially if you don’t want a fright and more ghoulish fun)

Scare Maze: COMPOUND (12+ recommended) 
This is a scary walkthrough Maze where the actors are allowed to touch you (you aren’t them)

Daz Games: Panic Reloaded (12+ rec) (escape room)
This is a quick maze-style escape room – it’s absolutely chaotic and lots of fun – you have to find your two chosen symbols to be able to escape within 6 minutes or you will be followed by all the crazy scary people that try to get in your way and stop you from your mission! This is fun and quite scary – I would definitely say it’s for 12+ – some children might be ok but you can be the judge!

Altonville Mine tours – Tiny’s Revenge (12+ rec) Maze
My worst fear of some kind of zombie-style walk-through – not sure if it’s the scariest but if you love Shaun of the Dead or that kind of film you might just love this!

The Attic: Terror of the Towers (12+) Maze 
If you love Evil Dead (Sam Raimi’s classic 80s horror) combined with The Others you will love this one. But if you don’t like dolls avoid it! I was made to walk at the back of this and at one point thought I’d lost my group! It was hauntingly and hilariously scary. And what’s more, is you were in the Castle it made it all the more special.

Burial Grounds (12+) Maze 
This maze themed around the Wicca Man is cult’esk and will have you running from people in creepy animal-style masks much like you see in the Wicca Man ride. You will have fun and frights rolled into one.

Alton Ancestors (show)
This was great fun and something nice to see on your way around the park. We wanted a snack in the mid-afternoon and headed back towards the entrance where we got to watch the talented yet slightly dead dancers do their show.

Sin Bin 
Performers take to the main stage that is close to the lake leading to Mutiny Bay – the quality of the singing was amazing and could be heard from around the park. This is great if you need a sit-down between rides and scares and is situated where you can get some snacks and treats, including a crafty pint in the pumpkin-lined zone where the show took place.

Trick O’ Treat Town with HARIBO
This was a great little walk-through with actors dressed up representing the odd fairy tale characters and a few made-up dead-funny-looking folks who would answer the doors as you knocked on. This was fun, and along the way, you got to collect bags full of Haribo!! We all enjoyed this, and it was so interactive, allowing us to feel completely immersed in the experience.

How can you get your ticket and when is Scarefest on?

Tickets are available directly from Alton Towers Resort’s website.

Scarefest takes place between 11th October and 3rd November and the opening times for each day are below.

Openings 
* 1-9pm – 12th, 19th, 26th October & 2nd November
* 3-9pm – 11th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 25th, 27th October – 1st November, 3rd November
* 2-8pm – 14th-17th, 21st-24th October

How much are Scarefest Fright Pass tickets?

The combination we were able to access at the Scarefest Event would cost a family of five £445 – this includes your theme park entry, 2 Spooks and 4 Mazes for each person.

Another option our group could have done was to get the theme park tickets, 3 Spooks & Frights Combi and 2 Duo Spooks, which comes to £327 – you can work your combinations to suit who you are taking along.

However, we had two members of the party who didn’t want to go to the mazes, so what’s great about the add-ons is you can mix and match to suit your group. Say if you have a few children under the age of 12 and several adults – you could buy the spooks and frights for the adults and just get the duo spooks for the kids – then when some adults are in the mazes, the others can wait with the children and go on another ride or hang around at the exit – and then swap over. The mazes last between 7-15 minutes at a time, so no one is waiting too long and this way you can make the most of all the attractions available. Then when it’s time for the children’s attractions, everyone can go together – making the most of everything.

When buying your Fright Pass make sure you already have purchased your Park Entry. All the combinations available are below. Go to their website to book on the main page.

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♬ Halloween – Lux-Inspira

Frights Combi – Late
Save when you purchase a combi
£38.00
4 mazes

Duo Spooks
Save and experience all attractions
£15
2 spooks

Spooks & Frights Combi
Save and experience all attractions
£50.00
2 spooks and 4 mazes

Spooks & Frights Combi – Passholder
Save and experience all attractions
£40.00

£120 – unlimited Frights Pass (only for yearly pass holders and only 100 available)

About Alton Towers

Alton Towers and its grounds have been entertaining visitors for nearly 200 years and has been a theme park for the last 44 years. It was inspired by Disneyland and situated within English Heritage grounds with its fabulous castle that sits in the centre of the park.

When it opened it all started with the Corkscrew roller coaster, Birtain’s first double-loop rollercoaster. It also had a pirate ship which has been updated over the years and a wildlife museum.

Today, it features a huge range of rides, including the dare-dropping Oblivion, the record-breaking Smiler (with 14 loops) and other jaw-dropping rides like Nemisis and the classic style coaster that is the Wicca Man.

Throughout the Scarefest Event, there are lots of scary attractions designed to give you jumps and frights suitable for the whole family be sure to visit Alton Towers over the next 24 days of scarfest’astic fun!!

*We were invited to experience Scarefest in return for a blog feature. All opinions are our own. Some photos have been provided to us by Alton Towers/F Stop Press