bad...
after actually queuing to park...in a boggy overflow field, we went to the Halloween converted duel ( the only exciting ride for my under 120cm youngest) and all we got was the same ride but no fun with lazer guns...there was a few people scattered in costume trying to look menacing but neither of my kids were scared or impressed.

then heading to terror in the towers we found the wait to be nearly 2 hours!

we managed 4 rides the whole time we were there because of wait times...last of all being thirteen where we found absoluteness no scare characters haunting the queue as promised despite the hour and a half wait in the cold, then on reaching the ride got shouted at by very rude staff over the parent exchange we were taking advantage of, causing humiliation and further wait after already receiving contradictory instructions.

finally we could not get out of the boggy overflow car park as it was so boggy our car got stuck and were just lucky it didnt skid into another car...
bad.

In reply to by dollydaydream (not verified)

What is parent exchange meant to be? I am also shocked that you only got on 4 rides I managed to do all rides (some twice)

Parent exchange allows one parent to wait with a child while the other one rides an attraction. They can then swap so that the other parent can ride.

The key to experiencing more ride is to arrive at the park early, and to avoid the actual Halloween weekend if at all possible.

WENT TO ALTON TOWERS SCAREFEST ON SUNDAY STAYED OVER TILL MONDAY NIGHT , Was not what we had been told as we were taking 3 boys one 7, 2, 12yold not what you see on the fliers , saw only one guy dressed up as skelvins friend , several pumpkins placed around the park , On thirteen well very dispointing for my 12yolds boys the waited 40mins on the night and saw 2 guys dressed up one at the end and one at the beginning in the cue not much diffarence to normal day ,There was nothing for my 7yold that was any diffarent to the normal day there or for the older 2 as you had to pay for the boiler house and circus of screams and on the signs it said it was not advisable for under 12yold on one and 14yold on other signs for these two my two were not scared and loved the boiler house as the guys had rubber masks on i was more scared then them as be prepared for some frights as people jump out in mask from all corners the circus of screams was good and ok for youngers 11 up as long as they like been supriced with people popping out in all directions we went on twice on this and they did diffarent things to suprise you , However not a thing for younger children skelvins haunted house is similar actors dressed up do pop out here and there and my 7yold did some screaming this was the only thing to do with haloween for his age , we did not get to the tower of terrors it was 1hr 10 mins on the first day second not much better and supost to be more scary than boiler and circus , However over all if your taking younger kids they will be dispointed theres no inbetween and not much to do baring cue for the rides hardly any characters dressed up walking about over the two full days and we where there from sunday morning till monday night, if you like just going to alton towers choose another time if staying in there hotel you will save alot as nothing much diffarent , if you have older kids and want to see the scary stuff may as just pay after 4pm and for the boiler house and circus of screams , as they only other thing for this so called scarefest is the tower of terrors and be prepared to cue for at least 50mins to a hour, also note if you book the hotel as package , you do not get a hour in the park before hand as usual and they dont tell you this most were disapointed as up at 7am for breakfast and the cue was so big we gave up as alot did wanting to get that early hour in the park before hand all thinking the same to be disapointed missing breakfast and dashing to the park to have to cue for an hour
Other thing is the hotel splashlanding well all there is is a few pumpkins outside there lights and the usual pirate show only this time as halloween theme nothing to rave about , no shows parades in the park or fireworks
just normal rides with pastic skeletons and zomblies placed here and there
the boiler house and circus are worth a vist on there own and think all the actors were great and hats goes of to all the young students working the long hours they do there , But in all they need a inbetween for younger children as when booking they tell you oh you children should dress up in costume but once there thats all there is for little ones and if they have been before very dispointing for them and the problem is if you have diffarent ages theres more halloween feel for teenagers than the younger ones and thats when the tears flow as you find the younger onces asking how come they get to go on this and we have waited ages for them to go on this and that
on a last note boiler house is scarey fun and circus of screams still gets you jumping and screaming when they pop out here and there and after gives you a buzz , so if you want halloween fun book after 4pm cue for tower of terrors and do circus of screams and bolier house although its £10 entry after 4pm but you still have to pay for circus and boiler house so around £30 intotal

I thought the Scarefst this year was great and really scary especially the Terror of Towers that made my shiver and it made my friend cry all the way through! (She did say one accidently stepped on her foot.) I thought you did a great job this year you really did scare us and make our day fantastic! Thank You.

Amazing day out, couldn't have asked for more from the park staff the weather behaved it self and we were really happy with the ticket prices.
Nothing but raving reviews for the scary modifications made to existing rides, skelvin's haunted house, skeleton's added to the rapids and oblivion and off course the creepy figures wandering around the queue's.
The terror of the towers walk through live action horror maze couldn't have been better the strobe lighting and residents made it more than i could have ever expected which is a shame because it made my expectations for the boiler house and carnival of screams so high they could never have met them.
After such a good day i truly expected to be scared witless by the 2 further attractions which were not included in the normal ticket price but were an extra added cost. However i could only be disappointed at the comedy factor that seemed to be a theme here with cartoon type costumes especially the masks.

A lot of people have commented on the masks in The Boiler House. Personally I didn't think they were that big a deal (it's certainly not unusual for criminals to wear masks...), but I wonder if Alton Towers will reconsider next year. Possibly not, as after 3 consecutive years it might be time for an all-new maze to replace The Boiler House.

The scarefest in itself was a really good day out, massively enjoyed, especially the actors in the thirteen queue, superb, really creepy,the girl in the forest upped the ante for a scary night in the boiler house and the carnival of screams.
What a letdown!!! The googly eyed mask, chasing us in the boiler house, aka, the serial killer on the loose, was like a scene out of scooby doo! Running around in a maze of strobe lighting and smoke. Thinking how silly, pathetic and not at all scary, or worth the entry fee, this was, our expectations for the carnival of screams MUST be better,...not so.....instead of the googly eyed killer, we got coco the clown, in his not so scary maze. YAWN! Again another waste of an entry fee and alot of queing in the freezing cold. Pure disappointment! For real scares, characters from original horror movies we can all associate with, would be a real appetiser, and seriously scary...until 2011 then.

In reply to by The Hanging To… (not verified)

Hmm...I guess we read the Boiler House a little differently - the masks were a little cheesy, but I just took them as being a disguise. Can't argue with the assessment of Carnival of Screams though, without any kind of setup or plot it was a big disappointment.

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