Normally my eyes are screwed up tight but this time, I wanted to take it all in. Even when things got really spooky.
Alton Towers Scarefest has a new horror maze, The Final Exhibit(Image: Alton Towers)
As a history nerd, there’s nothing I like more than a curated exhibition where some specialist has carefully selected items that tell the story of a place.
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So when I heard that the new scare maze at Alton Towers was called ‘Final Exhibit’, put together by ‘archivists’ and a ‘curator’, I thought I’d put aside my apprehension, dig deep for courage, and go to see it for myself.
Each year, Alton Towers pulls out the stops for Scarefest, decorating the park for Halloween and welcoming visitors into sinister corners to be creeped out.
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Alton Towers has always celebrated its history. Stories of the old Earls of Shrewsbury have made it into permanent attractions like Hex, while the pretty old gardens are still a source of sanctuary in the heart of the resort.
The Final Exhibit, therefore, is a perfect new addition for spooky season.
A scaremaze in the shadow of the Spinball Whizzer, not too far from the entrance that’s been decked out beautifully with giant pumpkins and even a hearse, it looks like a temporary facility set up to house old artifacts from the park.
Scarefest 2026(Image: Kirsty Bosley)
Inside, you quickly learn that there’s room for more permanent exhibits in the old archive and, if luck isn’t on your side, you could go down in dusty Alton Towers history too.
My normal MO in horror mazes is thus: Close my eyes, pray to the lord, grab the shoulders of the person in front and rush through at pace to get out of dodge.
This time, I stopped in the flashing lights and frenetic rushing to look out for the exhibits. Everything felt eerily familiar.
Even when frightening characters rushed over to scream in my face or bump past me on their frenzied journeys, I’d take second looks at things that reminded me of Alton Towers past.
Was that one of the ducks from the log flume before Wickerman moved in I saw?! Or a trick of the strobe light?!
As I progressed, I became disoriented, hanging clothes brushing my cheeks and obscuring my vision.
I had to guess whether every humanoid shape was a statue, a memory or someone about to jump in front of me to scare the living daylights out of me.
I was scared, but I was intrigued.
I wanted to go back inside, start asking questions, really snoop around for Easter eggs that hearkened back to my old days in the park.
Perhaps the Final Exhibit is nothing more than another scare maze. Or maybe, as I suspect, it something deeper – one of the fans for sure.
My favourite maze of them all this year was the Amigos in the Afterlife attraction, a family one that teeters just on the right side of spooky and that fans of Disney’s Coco will adore.
We ventured into the spirit realm, led by neon spirits that explained more about the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos.
Amigos in the Afterlife was our favourite maze(Image: Alton Towers)
I might have ended up in a bost-up with a luchador in a wrestling ring, but I’m not going to comment any further on that in case he’s reading and isn’t so easy on me next time!
I find Alton Towers is awesome for those who love a big rollercoaster, and it’s lovely for smaller kids who just want to pootle around CBeebies Land.
But Amigos in the Afterlife was that perfect middle ground for us, with a 10-year-old in tow who isn’t yet feeling the Smiler’s 14 loops but that is ready for something more than the Go Jetters ride.
That said, we had a scream in Justin’s House Pie-o-Matic Factory shooting balls around and letting loose; we could have stayed in there for most of the day.
Any of the guilt I felt running off to do the ‘big rides’ by myself, or lurking in the horror mazes, was alleviated in the Alton Towers Waterpark.
It was my first time in the waterpark and I was amazed by just how much there was to do, especially for that ten-year-old.
Just like the park, there’s big thrills for those who want the thrills of a fast-paced water coaster, and there little splash pools for smaller pals.
But there’s also loads of room for adventuring and creative play for those in the middle.
We bobbed along the lazy river on giant rubber rings before playing mermaids in the warm outdoor pool, washing the few cold rain drops off our faces in the Bubbly Wubbly.
We had no clue the giant bucket of water overhead unloaded at intervals, so after getting absolutely blindsided by it, we skirted around the outskirts, turning cranks and pulling levers to splash other unexpecting passers-by.
It was the best fun we’d had all weekend.
Alton Towers Scarefest is always wicked, but this year we really felt like we were part of something special that was just for us fans.
If you haven’t been in a while, I can’t help but feel the Last Exhibit will be the one that pulls you back in to Alton Towers.
Well, if you dare, that is…
Scarefest runs from now until November 1 and tickets can be purchased here.
This review is the opinion of the journalist. We were invited by Alton Towers Scarefest and tickets were gifted.
