A firm favourite and one that’s always pencilled into our diary each scare season, of course, it’s Alton Towers Scarefest. We have been visiting since 2016 and not missed a year since. So, let’s have a chat about whether the 2024 season is actually worth a visit.
You enter the park to the ravishing sound of the Scarefest audio which is rather homely. Of course, Tower Street is decorated from post to post and there have gradually been more features of the year that make an appearance each year. New for 2024 is the hearse makeover which has returned with some fresh faces and the traditional freaky characters just looking much pristine to how they left. Pumpkins, hay bales, and the Scarefest sign it all so homely and autumnal.
Heading to the lawns it seems to emerge somewhat comparable to Oktoberfest set up with the tent in the middle taken away. Of course, there’s a whole heap of spooky treats and options to grab a drink too. The smell of log fires burning away is something that sums up this spooky season beautifully. We managed to catch some of the shows including Sin Bin. This show is really fun to watch I feel as if the fire breathers could be new for this year but I’m not too sure. Next up was The Alton Ancestors which I’m very glad we managed to catch. Although it did seem a tad short in comparison to previous years. The soundtrack was fresh as it usually is there’s always a combination of classic songs but also what’s new for the year. I love these they are just brilliant and Scarefest would never be the same without them. We then caught the Freaky Friends show afterwards and again I adore these characters. The entertainment is always brilliant during Scarefest and a strong reason for visiting each year. There are always tweaks made to keep it as fresh as possible too.
Leaving the core of Scarefest (Tower Street & The Lawns) the atmosphere very quickly disappears. Elsewhere in the park, it is very much your average day with little to no inkling that there’s a Scare event. But that’s always been a problem with Scarefest the park’s spooky vibes abruptly end once you pass the lawns with pops of spooks near the scare mazes that’s just signing unless you enter. Of course, this years line-up saw the likes of The Attic & Altonville Mine Tours return alongside the new for 2023 Daz Games and new for 2024 Compound. We opted against doing the mazes this year purely as both of the newest mazes aren’t our cup of tea and the two returning we have done many times prior. The pricing for the scare attractions has increased and singular entries cost £12 alone. For us, it wasn’t worth the risk of spending the money in case the run-through was poor. Of course, there were bundles which again wasn’t worth the price given we weren’t going to experience two of the four on offer. There is family offerings too but again Liara is too young for them and why would we take up space when it’s not aimed at us adults?
However, it was delightful to see a scare zone return to Scarefest. This was our first season experiencing Burial Grounds and that’s a really great expansion to the line-up. Burial Grounds was brilliant. It’s so atmospheric, it’s FREE, there are a few decent jumps and it simply looks stunning. I found it so exceptional the level of thought that went into creating this attraction. It’s something I really hope the park builds on for future scare events but in other areas as well across the park.
Overall, Scarefest is what you make it. For me, I always found Scarefest’s heart is the entertainment side of the event. That’s the lawns with the stage that’s the body of the event. The mazes are an additional perk admittedly the increase in prices is a massive put-off for doing them for us this year. We originally wanted to do The Attic & Mine Tours but £12 each for a single run-through is not profitable for us given how many times we’ve experienced both previously. I miss the line-up from 2019 / 2020 as those mazes at that time and the bundle option for mazes were completely valuable. However, the park has really created something special with Burial Grounds and the entertainment never fails to deliver too. Scarefest is absolutely THE family event to visit.
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Have you checked out Scarefest this year? 