Divv3k Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Hello! This past weekend the Brit Crew got together for our annual pilgrimage to Alton Towers to check out their Halloween festivities! This was my third consecutive year attending the event and I have to say this was the best yet! For starters, there was hardly any lines for the rides! Even though the park looked busy I think the longest we waited all day was 20 minutes for Air! Then once night fell pretty much everything was a walk on, which meant such goodness as Nemesis in the dark! The Halloween offerings were very impressive for the most part. Terror of the Towers has been totally reworked. It's no longer about different actors directing you through. It's now more like a Horror Nights maze in that you keep walking through and scare actors try and scare the bejesus out of you at every turn! Somehow we managed to convince Scottish Steve to partake and I can say I've never seen someone shake in fear as much in my life! Very amusing! The upcharge mazes were good for the most part too. The Field of 1000 Screams was fantastic, although a bit less about the scares and more about telling a bit of a story. I love walking through that corn and hearing and seeing things shake. It's a great maze. The Boiler House was good for what was there, unfortunately it was just a bit too short. Compared to the other mazes this one seemed about half the length. Still, what was there was good (and pretty creepy if you don't like knife wielding or freaky masks!), hopefully they'll develop it a bit more in years to come. Duel also had the lasers switched off and had live actors situated throughout, which for me is a million times better than the shooting version! The only downer was that there didn't seem to be any actors walking around the park like there were last year in Haunted Hollow and the Duel queueline. The new coaster seems to be coming along too. It looks very similar to Mine Train Ulven at Bakken so far, which is what I expected it to be like. Looking forward to getting back and riding it next year! All in all we had a fantastic day and can't wait for next year! Seeing as it’s Halloween I’ll leave you with this creepy photo of Southern Steve and I. Hope you enjoyed reading! Thanks to everyone who came along! Scarefest is just an awesome Halloween event that just gets better every year. If you can get to Alton Towers in October then I suggest you do it! After the mazes we headed back into the park for some night rides. Can you blame us?! The Boiler House was great while it lasted. Sadly it just didn’t last very long. A bit disappointing for an upcharge attraction. Still, hopefully it’ll evolve like the Field has over the years. Word of Scottish Steve assaulting 27 scare actors sure caught the local news’ attention! The Field of 1000 Screams is amazing! Getting chased by Zombies in a 6 foot tall corn maze is something I look forward to every October! Darkness has fallen, time to check out more Scarefest additions! Get the right configuration of people and this thing really throws you around! Whilst not quite up there with Winjas and Dragon’s Fury, Spinball Whizzer is a great spinner. The Brit Crew would like to take this opportunity to say “Hi Erik!” Corkscrew wasn’t the only ride to leave Ug Land after last year. Ug Swinger lives on in Cloud Cuckoo Land as Twirling Toadstools. Sadly there were no Oompa Loompas available to create Charlie and the Chocolate Factory LIVE. This pleased Steve greatly. The new area for 2009 is the kiddie themed Cloud Cuckoo Land. The Sky Ride station has certainly seen better days. Hope they get this sorted soon, it’s a lot of walking without it! But still, we didn’t have to wait long, which is quite a rarity with this! Air, as expected, was still it’s usual mediocre self. Think it’s good now, Scott? Just wait til it gets dark! I can’t believe this thing is 15 years old already and it still it runs better than any other B&M invert I’ve rode! Still, it’s the best coaster in the country and it was running great today! Unfortunately, Nemesis Live wasn’t quite ready for this year. This may be why! Why does Steve look so worried? Best Halloween decoration yet! This was awesome! And great value too at £6.36 for all you can eat and drink! BUFFET! The imaginatively named "Pizza and Pasta Buffet" takes the place of the Pizza Hut this year. Anything with “Buffet” in the name works for us! The real reason why Alton Towers is Divv-approved! Would you like a Medium Russ? Only eight quid. But more than all I like SHARKS!!! This is reason enough to visit Alton! I also like face hugging crabs. I like fish. A recent addition at the park is, as Brad calls it, Sharkrape Beef! Steve’s new best friend says “I’m watching you!” He did! Though he’ll never quite be the same again. Neither will Stacey’s shoulders from Steve’s vice like grip! This is where it all begins. Will Steve make it through alive? Try and contain your excitement Steve! OMG, can you believe that Scottish Steve is in line for this?! Onto some Scarefest fun now! Terror of the Towers is a maze that winds through Towers themselves! And Brad says he’s not a credit whore!!! Amazingly there was some people in our group who still needed this credit! Hi Larry! I think you need this! Is that water under that piece of track? OMG – AQUATRAX!!! ALERT – CONSTRUCTION UPDATE!!! Could it be something to do with this? Wonder why all the Rita merchandise is getting sold off cheap? Rita was running like it’s usual self, i.e. fun, but nothing out of this world! The Brit Crew wants to “Hi!" To Southern Steve! Hope you’re enjoying sitting behind a desk while we’re riding Rita! We figured that Rita should be our first port of call seeing as the queue is usually well over an hour. Amazingly I don't think it went over 25 minutes all day! Don’t expect to see anything like this here next year! For what is sure to be the last time ever, we set foot in Ug Land! Here is the crowd of non-educated delinquents who were allowed out for the day to check out the park! Can you believe it? Another year has passed and it’s time for Scarefest once again! The BEST time of the year to visit Alton Towers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Assassin Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Great report Divv, well done for getting this up so quick. Those pumpkin photos are brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Does Anth insist on doing the water rides in this type of weather? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I am astonished that Steve did a maze and am very glad he survived it without having a heart attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 ^ We had to stretch the truth a *little* bit to get him to go in willingly, at the cost of him never trusting us ever again. Dave "Well worth it!" Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Scottish Steve, I salute you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woogle Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Very nice report! Like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Thanks people! I think Anth was too spooked by the skeletons on the rapids to ask to do any water rides! I can't believe Steve bought our story that the only people he'd encounter were "guides" who would give him a historical tour through the Towers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 ^I knew that sounded to good to be true! Honestly, I hated every second I was in there, but I am slightly proud of myself for doing it. So I have you evil B@$7@%DS to thank for that! Just don't ever expect me to trust you guys ever again! You guys got to see a once in a lifetime show! And I gotta admit, the final scene with the cages and strobe lighting was pretty damn cool, even if it was the most terrifying part! Anyway, great report Divv. Absolute top notch weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy T. Koepp Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Awesome TR Divv! It looks like you all had a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster_dude2002 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Just don't ever expect me to trust you guys ever again! You guys got to see a once in a lifetime show! Steve, this is exactly why I'm coming over in the new year. Would I ever lie about something being terrifying? Alien war will only be a behind the scenes look at the how the film was made, honest. Sounds like you all had a great weekend at Alton. It looks like they really put on quite the show for the mazes at halloween. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
window Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Great TR. I went last Saturday (17/10) and had a fantastic time. It was the first time I'd been to any Halloween event. Was very impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercub Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Looks like you guys had a great time.. wish I'd have known I'd have popped along too show support for the us southern Brits !! Great report !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolkid Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Brilliant report! I'm heading to Alton Towers Scarefest on Tuesday, and this has really got me excited about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I am slightly proud of myself for doing it. AHA!!! You said you weren't! You just need to do more mazes, the sense of accomplishment grows every time you do one We'll take you through Alien Wars at christmas, it'll be a laugh! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterkid Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Just don't ever expect me to trust you guys ever again! You guys got to see a once in a lifetime show! Steve, this is exactly why I'm coming over in the new year. Would I ever lie about something being terrifying? Alien war will only be a behind the scenes look at the how the film was made, honest. Sounds like you all had a great weekend at Alton. It looks like they really put on quite the show for the mazes at halloween. Here's a tip for all TPR members, never...trust...Andrew. I seem to have a memory of him telling me "Oh come on, it doesn't spin THAT much!" Yeahhhhh, 10 minutes later and I was headed for the closest bathroom. On another note, great TR Divv! I love your reports, can't wait to be in one again! I'm putting a special request in for the entire Brit Crew to come to Toronto, it's much cheaper that way than me flying over there. Trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmpunk771 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I went yesterday and wow i had a good time. Didn't like field of 1000 screams, no zombies and i was back of the bus so i saw nothing, just people screaming Boiler house was the best i was so scared and those masks creep me out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 Dude, that's a shame you missed out on the bus, that was my favourite part of the whole thing! Did you not have any zombies in the corn jumping out at you? Glad to hear you liked the Boiler House! Those masks were really creepy, it's just a shame that the whole thing was over so quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmpunk771 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Nope, no zombies in the corn! we where the first group through so maybe it was because of that but i was very disappointed with it. The onely zombie i saw was the actors going into the maze. BH was great they kept picking on me and even when we went the wrong way the actor directed us back without breaking character. What did you guys think of duel:Live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 I really liked Duel: Live! Note that I really am NOT a big fan of regular Duel since I think the lasers ruin it all. So yeah, Duel: Live works for me since it's back to being a ghost train (and boy, do they make it REALLY dark in there!). Last year there wasn't much of a "Live" aspect to it with one actor in the whole thing but this year they really ramped it up with actors at just about every turn. (Plus, we had Scottish Steve with us which instantly makes any attraction like this amazing!). I read that on select days this year they were trialling "Hex: Live", I'm curious to see how that works and if it's successful hopefully they'll fully roll it out next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmpunk771 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Yes they are doing Hex:Live today and Tomorrow. Its run by the staff of rita. Duel:Live was good, i knew an actor was coming because the car slowed down. The smell in the BH was awful! I dont know how the actors stay in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Don't forget Nemesis: Live! That's pretty good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmpunk771 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Lol Nemisis live would be great! Or Air Live! Wonder what the monsters would look like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antmcmullen Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Does Anth insist on doing the water rides in this type of weather? Anth got his water credits the following day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needs_a_nickname_96 Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 Wow this is a cool report I'm hoping of going this year, although seeing the website and am slightly upset that Field of 1000 Screams is going to be scrapped for "Carnival of Screams" or something like that. I love zombies and that massive climatic ending everyone keeps mentioning in all reviews would be something to look forward to, although clowns creep me out quite a bit The Boiler House looks a bit Saw-ish so it could be fun. And the special effects and environment of Hex freak me out enough so not sure how my reaction to Terror of The Towers will be. What is the theme of it this year anyway? One was plain, one about cannibals, and one random seeming one about monsters unleashed from the underbelly of the Towers Sorry for it being such a big post, I just want to go so bad and am so curious since I've never been to ScareFest before, and Alton Towers is my fave UK theme park so I know I won't be disappointed for high standards Thanks, Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts