Alton Towers is the largest theme park in the UK and arguably the most known, it’s full of rides for all ages and is part of the merlin group of attractions which means you can use your Merlin Pass. It’s Halloween time and scarefest and Alton Towers is one of those attractions that go all out, it’s very popular every year and will often sell out quickly which tells you how in-demand it is, even this year with Covid precautions still in place.
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Merlin Passes
We have Merlin passes so we often take advantage of attractions and resorts etc, Alton Towers is no different however due to its location for us it’s one of the longest day-out adventures we have so we don’t get to visit that often. We’ve only been there at Halloween a couple of times over the years and we haven’t been there for a while at this time of year. This review will not be too detailed to spoil the fun of some of the activities and in reality, we have young kids, so some of the more mature activities are not suitable.
Whats on
The big positive is almost all of the rides are on, so at the very least it will feel like a normal day, but the park itself is also open much longer which really adds to the fun at the night time, which for the older kids/teens adults is great. For the long queue times this will also give you more of a chance, ultimately its always better first thing or last thing in the day as queues rocket down, especially for those really big rides so this gives you that extra chance however if you choose busy days like weekends or half-term etc it will be busy for most of the day!.
The Scarefest though for me is directed towards those teens and upwards, so even though there are younger kids there, Cbeebies land is nowhere near as busy as it can be, even during Halfterm as queues were very low, there were a couple of rides that took closer to 45 minutes, but in reality, these are always an hour plus on busy days.
There’s plenty of decorations when you first enter the park, Alton Towers tends to focus a lot of these events in the opening moments of the park, largely no doubt this is to hit you straight away, but also as the park goes this is the largest open area and most space, every other area is pretty packed in so they tend to use there area for these decorations and events.
This is no different as an assortment of stands and Stage sits on the grass by the lake, now comes this time of year with Octoberfest, Halloween, Fireworks and then Xmas this area is multi used so it’s an easy transition. The only knock on all of this is that around the park you could argue it doesn’t look very Halloweeny, take out the people dressing up it could be like any time of the year, this was surprising due to the effort they have put in the opening area of the park.
The Extra’s
In reality, the extra Halloween events are more teen to adult, the scare mazes in particular and of course the Dungeons have always been a more mature area to do, there are 4 main mazes offering something different.
There are shows within the park entrance area that is more than suitable for kids and offers a nice break to sit and chill and watch a show, likewise for the kids there’s a trick or treat town in which you can do some trick or treating in a fictional town and get some great treats! However, this is an extra paid attraction along with the mazes etc, so please bear this in mind. Much like the Fastpass in which you can book on your entry you can also pay and book these extras.
Overall
Personally, this is a good day out anyway for the whole family, and if you go fairly regularly then Halloween makes a refreshing change, opening later and the extra Halloween events are great. The additional cost for some would-be frustrating but like Xmas and other parks, this isn’t anything new, having young kids here is fine but if you only brought them then you may feel a little limited in what is extra but the flip to this is those young kids rides are quieter, but if you have a multi-age family then its great to offer them something as well.
Alton Towers in parts goes all out to celebrate Scarefest so it can really help get the atmosphere going, however, if your someone that’s just going out normally for the day, then you will still be fine.
