Event Busch Gardens Tampa Howl-O-Scream 2026
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Called it.
House was stacked to shit. At least the last 1/3rd of the house was just standing in place because of the stupid airbags placed right at the end. Awful, awful, awful design. Literally house-ruining.
It's a real shame too because the house is really strong. Gorgeous set work, really solid story telling, reasonably good effects. I put it below SWO's I Know What You Did Last Summer, but it's still very strong. If they fix the airbags (hence, fixing the stacking), I'll have no complaints.
The design of the snake doesn’t look like the head of an anacond. It looks like the head of an Eastern Hognose, which if you know anything about snakes, is top three adorable snakes.
Can only speak to tonight, but we have seen zero access control employed anywhere thus far. They're just letting anyone who walks up walk straight into the houses (to the detriment of the experience sometimes, unfortunately). Zero issue re: lines tonight though.
Okay, I’m not sure if anyone else shares this sentiment but this year is REALLY good. Ravens Mill is GORGEOUS, that whole open area with the windmill??
The staffing is decent
And to me, all the original houses are finally the same quality
Edit: Just left for the night and whoever they have in charge of entertainment clearly knows and loves this events history. As previously mentioned ravens mill is suddenly a favorite for me. It’s a gritty slaughterhouse that’s been done over and over (even in this same location lol) but this is done in such a unique way.
Mr Gleams is a properly done B-Movie scarezone, it’s short but really silly
The staffing is decent
And to me, all the original houses are finally the same quality
Edit: Just left for the night and whoever they have in charge of entertainment clearly knows and loves this events history. As previously mentioned ravens mill is suddenly a favorite for me. It’s a gritty slaughterhouse that’s been done over and over (even in this same location lol) but this is done in such a unique way.
Mr Gleams is a properly done B-Movie scarezone, it’s short but really silly
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Anaconda is great, surely never seen something like the snake mouth scene in a house.
Glad Fiends is back. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but wasn't the biggest fan of it but an absolute improvement over the abomination going on in Dragon Fire last year.
All the zones are definitely an improvement over previous years. Using that tunnel near SheiKra as a car wash is a great idea I'm surprised no one has thought of sooner. But would it kill them to keep cast out for another hour? All the zones had maybe 2 actors out by 11PM which is kinda annoying for a separate ticket event that has already dropped to 5 hours of operation on peak nights. Rides also closed an hour before park closed too last night besides Cheetah which didn't open until 11:20 PM.
Wish they'd quit with the AI logos though, noticed them at a few of the bars and if people aren't talking about them now they'll only become more of a main stay at future events.
Overall the best event since pre-COVID, just held back by notorious BGT ops and lack of actors
Glad Fiends is back. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but wasn't the biggest fan of it but an absolute improvement over the abomination going on in Dragon Fire last year.
All the zones are definitely an improvement over previous years. Using that tunnel near SheiKra as a car wash is a great idea I'm surprised no one has thought of sooner. But would it kill them to keep cast out for another hour? All the zones had maybe 2 actors out by 11PM which is kinda annoying for a separate ticket event that has already dropped to 5 hours of operation on peak nights. Rides also closed an hour before park closed too last night besides Cheetah which didn't open until 11:20 PM.
Wish they'd quit with the AI logos though, noticed them at a few of the bars and if people aren't talking about them now they'll only become more of a main stay at future events.
Overall the best event since pre-COVID, just held back by notorious BGT ops and lack of actors
I'd love to know what data they're using to come to that conclusion. I still don't believe that the IP inclusion has likely resulted in any visits specifically for the IP in question, but maybe just having an IP broadly has contributed to a perception of quality for BGT's event and has lead to increased consumer interest in the event? Feels like a game of diminishing returns, but if it's actually working for now, I can't be opposed.
If they're only looking at satisfaction scores for BGT's Anaconda house specifically, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that those are glowing as the house really is, just in a vacuum ignoring the IP entirely, VERY good.
I still tend to think this IP specifically was stupid (and out of line with the mission statement of the chain), but if it results in the chain approving more really high quality house builds, I won't complain too much. You can make a great house out of almost anything with enough effort and cash.
If they're only looking at satisfaction scores for BGT's Anaconda house specifically, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that those are glowing as the house really is, just in a vacuum ignoring the IP entirely, VERY good.
I still tend to think this IP specifically was stupid (and out of line with the mission statement of the chain), but if it results in the chain approving more really high quality house builds, I won't complain too much. You can make a great house out of almost anything with enough effort and cash.
Both of the IPs I was hearing before this years event started, but were still up in the air depending on how this years event went, but seems they now are really trying to push for them. Unsure how they came to the conclusion though. I will say the new rumored IPs are a lot farther off from the parks theme unlike Anaconda and IKWYDLS