With summer nearing its end and the Scarfest Hearse appearing at the bottom of Towers Street, it can only mean one thing – the Halloween season is nearly upon us. With Alton Towers Resort recently unveiling the line-up for 2017’s event, promising it to be its biggest yet, we take a look at all the details for Scarefest 2017.
New for this year is a 4th maze – The Welcoming: Be Chosen. Based around a mysterious group who worship the woods and animals which live within, guests are invited to join them as they celebrate their own interpretation of Halloween – the crossing of the worlds of the living and the dead. However, just what part guests play in this ritual is unclear – could it really be an initiation? Tickets for this new maze have been set at £8 with slots available between 5:30pm-9pm. At the moment it has not been revealed where this new maze will be located, however the later opening time suggests that it may be located at least partially outside. The maze is also set to have a link to the Resort’s new wooden rollercoaster, SW8, currently under construction by Mutiny Bay – could this maze give us the back story to the Resort’s newest ride, just as the Sanctuary did with the Smiler back in October 2012?
Returning for another year are all three mazes featured on the 2016 line-up. Altonville Mine Tours: Uncover the Legend of the Skin Snatchers, winner of ‘Best Halloween Scare Atttraction’ at this year’s ScareCON Scar Awards, promises an ‘extended tour of newly discovered depths of the mine’, suggesting that there will be some changes to the maze for 2017. Also returning will be Sub Species: The End Games, which is due to feature new routes, and Alton Towers Resort signature maze, Terror of the Towers: What Lies Within. Whilst the Resort aren’t dropping any hints as to whether there will be any changes to Terror of the Towers, there has been speculation that this may also see a change of route for the 2017 event. Tickets for these three mazes can be purchased for £20 (£16 for annual pass holders), with slots available from 1pm.
2017 will also see the circus return to Alton Towers as the Freak Show Scarezone will once again take up residence in the pathway between Spinball Whizzer and X-Sector. From 5:30pm, a host of fascinating circus characters will interact with guests as they make their way through the zone. However, it would seem that this year there will be no Scarezone in Forbidden Valley with Dark Apocalypse not included on 2017’s line-up, something which will disappoint some fans of the event.
Of course, Scarefest is not just about the frights and thrills, there is also set to be plenty of spooky fun as the Resort provides a whole range of spooktacular family fun. Returning for its second year, House of Monsters will once again see guests join an online vlogger who is on a quest to prove that monsters really do exist. At this stage it is not known if House of Monsters will require a separate ticket, or if it will be a free maze for 2017.
No Scarefest would be complete without the Alton Ancestors who will be bringing their unique dance moves to the Resort once more with flash mobs each morning on Towers Street before later moving to Gloomy Wood. The Freaky Four, Franklyn, Patch, Phil, and Skelvin will also be back with three different shows for families to enjoy throughout the day.
This year’s event runs on 7th-8th; 14th-15th, and 20th-31st October with the Resort open from 10am-9pm each day. Whilst there is no Early Ride Time during the event, the later opening times offer the ideal opportunity to experience some of the Resort’s most thrilling attractions in the dark.
What are your thoughts on the line-up for Scarefest 2017? Are you excited for The Welcoming: Be Chosen? Make sure you share your thoughts over on the Attraction Source Forum.
