It’s that time of year when we make our annual visit to Alton Towers Scarefest & this year has been our favourite so far! So, let’s have a chat about the offering & each individual maze.

Please be aware this blog post will contain spoilers from the mazes.

Roaming Actors:

Well, I wasn’t expecting to see any sort of roaming actors at all. It was a marvellous surprise to see a fair few of them. Each of them had some aspect of connection to each of the mazes except for the alien ones. Could those alien oriented roamers be a clue as to what is to come for the future Scarefest or even a future ride? All of the crew looked fantastic & we caught them quite regularly roaming in various locations.

Entertainment & Other Attractions:

Alton Towers always provides high-quality entertainment across the park, this year was no exception for that neither. The main stage was crammed with various acts & they were all excellent. We only encountered the Alton Ancestors on the way in and never managed to catch their flash mob, unfortunately, it is usually a highlight for us watching their show. We anticipated their appearance on the main stage and them to make use of it for their flash mob, however, that did not occur. It’s a delightful way to have all ages involved in the event without the desire to join in on the scare mazes.

There are a few other attractions which again we never got a chance to experience. One of those was the brand new for 2021 Trick or Treat Town which is aimed for families. I’ve heard nothing but remarkable things about this attraction & it is £10 per adult but that does mean two children aged 11 & under are included in that price. Another additional attraction which is free is the gardens whispering souls walk through. Finally, Alton Towers Dungeons which is open all year-round.

Scare Mazes:

The Attic:

Rating: 3.5/5:

This maze is constantly so visually stunning. It has a gripping story as well. I found this year before you even entered the room where the story begins, the actor had already begun telling the story. Heading up the stairs and through the doorway to be welcomed by one of the biggest scares we’ve ever had in this maze. The scares came isolated throughout until the finale where it ended with a huge scare. It seemed that due to the size of the group getting batched it meant we saw the actors about to rest for the next scares & some of which did not see us until we were up close. It wasn’t necessarily an actor issue I’m sure it came down to the number of people at once going through. I found in comparison to last year it lacked a reasonable amount of scares & some of the more known characters didn’t make an appearance, unfortunately. But that’s not to say it is by any means the worst maze we have done this season. It will permanently be satisfying with how elegant the theming is.

Darkest Depths:

Rating: 4/5:

Wow, leading this maze was quite literally terrifying. Whilst being stood in the first room with the story being told and the lights going off we had a huge scare at this point. Heading into the maze it was delightful as always. The scares came thick & fast in this maze and I never screamed the way I did. The finale did not differ from last year and it still had me frightened. This year was one of the best years I have ever seen this maze. The actors were extraordinary with their scare tactics and the difficulty visually was alone intense.

Freakshow Toxic Junkyard:

Rating: 4.5/5:

I loved this maze last season and was so hyped to see it back onto the lineup again. It’s safe to say it did not disappoint at all. Upon entering the maze we, unfortunately, saw the first few scares due to the group ahead being fairly close to us. However, the actors did remain in character & tried their best to match the scares across the group ahead & us. Once we managed to lose that group the maze began for us. The scares were coming from the least anticipated areas and they were huge as well. One scare within the mirrored section got me so bad I fell backwards and caught a glance of my face in the mirror, that was equally as scary! I found a single actor managed to scare me & Ant at least 6 times within seconds. The finale was an entire world stronger than last year and those chainsaws were on us. Again the same actor managed to scare the lights out of us numerous times. It’s one of those mazes which we can’t get enough of. The theming and set pieces are so impressive & the route this season felt somewhat foreign & a tad varied to last year which made it even scarier.

Altonville Mine Tours:

Rating: 5/5:

So, in previous years I have never found this maze to do all that much for me. I was thrilled to see it return in utter hope I could get a satisfactory run-through once and for all. My wish came true. I have always found the theming of this maze to be a little bit of a weak point for me, especially the terrifying actors make up & masks. This was another maze which I basically led. Visually it was so difficult to steer us around and the actors did a beautiful job at isolating the group into each party. The scares were so brutal in this maze and again it nearly had me on my ass. In one part of the maze I could have sworn the actors, the curtain was our route and as we’ve pulled it back the actor got us a gooden. It was the best I have ever seen this maze & the scares were harsh. It’s easily in my top 5 best scare mazes for this season. The theming never saw any changes in comparison to previous years. It’s always worth mentioning the fact that this maze had Ant running out & I promise you, that never occurs haha!

Overall:

Heading into this years Scarefest I was always enthusiastic but I never predicted coming away with it being the best year we have done since 2016. The scare mazes were consistent with their theming, audio, smells & actors. We had some of the best scares we’ve ever had from each of the mazes. I’m super chuffed to the fact I have walked away from Scarefest in love with Altonville Mine Tours for once. I can’t try to express how extraordinary each actor was in all of the mazes & the entire entertainment crew were fab as well. I’m so sad that is the end of Scarefest for the year but I really cannot wait to see what next season has in store. It was striking to see the introduction of considerable more roaming teams and I hope it’s the start of greater things & even the re-introduction to Scare Zones.

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Are you heading or headed to Scarefest this year? If so, which is your most anticipated scare maze or your favourite? I’d love to hear them!

Thank you so much for reading & I hope you all have a lovely visit if you are planning to go this season!