Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream 2023

Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!
Status
The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.

Attraction Lineup​

Haunted Houses​

  1. Death Water Bayou: Full Moon
    • Located in Festa Field behind Roman Rapids
    • Updated version of the new-for-2022 house, Death Water Bayou
  2. KILLarney DIEner: Infested
    • Located in the Killarney simulator building
    • Updated version of the new-for-2021 house, KILLarney Diner
  3. Lost Mines: The Descent
    • Located below Escape from Pompeii
    • New house for 2023 (replacing 2022's Inferno)
  4. Nevermore: Chapter 3
    • Located in Drachen Fire's station building
    • Third iteration of the new-for-2021 house, Nevermore; replaces 2022's Nevermore: Chapter 2
  5. Witch of the Woods: Scorched
    • Located in the woods behind Festhaus Park
    • Technically the second iteration of the new-for-2021 house, Witch of the Woods though Witch of the Woods was reversed in its second season without a name change

Terror-Tories​

  1. Fest-Evil [New] (Festa Italia)
  2. Gorgon Gardens [Returning] (Da Vinci's Garden of Inventions)
  3. Meat Market [Returning] (New France)
  4. Scary Tale Road [Returning] (Rhinefield)
  5. Ripper Row [Returning] (Banbury Cross)

Other Scares​

  1. Hack Pack [Returning] (Roaming)

Shows​

  1. Jack is Back [Returning] (Killarney)
  2. Monster Stomp on Ripper Row [Returning] (Globe Theatre)
  3. Phantoms of the Festhaus [Returning] (Das Festhaus)
  4. Skeletones [Returning] (Il Teatro di San Marco)

BOOze Bars & Bites​

  1. OktoberTaps [New] (Oktoberfest)
  2. Stone-Cold Spirits [Returning] (San Marco)
  3. Pete's Provisions [Returning] (New France)
  4. Jack's Nightcap [Returning] (Killarney)
  5. Frost Bar [Returning] (Oktoberfest)
  6. BarKastle Spirits [Returning] (Oktoberfest)

Official Website​

Howl-O-Scream: Virginia Halloween Event | Busch Gardens Williamsburg

The spirit of Halloween is unleashed at Howl-O-Scream! Find haunted houses, escape rooms, scare zones, live shows & roller coasters if you dare.
buschgardens.com buschgardens.com
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Click to expand...
Does anyone know what happened to the crows in England this year? I loved seeing them and it is a shame they are not here this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mwe BGW
cricket said:
Does anyone know what happened to the crows in England this year? I loved seeing them and it is a shame they are not here this year.
Click to expand...
Not positive but they likely are the same ones at the exit to Nevermore.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zachary
Aidansn07 said:
I was thinking an Edgar Allen Poe themed scare zone
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be surprised if they recycle a lot of Nevermore stuff for this, just so they don't have to buy much new stuff. But I would much rather see plague doctors around.
 
Based on what I hear I will just be pleased if we get something new rather then just losing stuff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: deacfan31
I think it would be cool if they pulled Monster Stomp from Orlando or San Antonio and call the zone Slasher Alley if the rumors are true.
 
My trip last night was…fine? As someone who will never give the scare actors the reaction they want, I got to witness some pretty solid efforts, but there were a lot of dead spaces in the mazes and zones. Did everything but Bayou, which we kind of skipped accidentally, but didn’t find that the staffing levels in the houses we had gone through was worth trekking back there after having done the loop.

Might take a group of first-timers next week, but definitely didn’t feel like anything about the event stood out as a return visitor. The idea that they’d be losing shows and not replacing them doesn’t bode well for next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Coasternerd, Zachary and Coolguy15
Memles said:
My trip last night was…fine? As someone who will never give the scare actors the reaction they want, I got to witness some pretty solid efforts, but there were a lot of dead spaces in the mazes and zones. Did everything but Bayou, which we kind of skipped accidentally, but didn’t find that the staffing levels in the houses we had gone through was worth trekking back there after having done the loop.

Might take a group of first-timers next week, but definitely didn’t feel like anything about the event stood out as a return visitor. The idea that they’d be losing shows and not replacing them doesn’t bode well for next year.
Click to expand...
Comments from my friends that live very near the park have said that the during the week experiences haven’t been as good, I guess due to lighter staffing, I have only made it on the weekends and I didn’t feel any of that imo. So that might be something to consider? Maybe try to catch a Friday, hopefully lighter on the crowds then a Saturday but more heavily staffed ?
 
Bigskinny said:
Whatever the single day attendance record is for HOS, it’s a pretty good chance it’s broken tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Counterpoint: HOS hasn't hit capacity a single day so far this year and BGW keeps shoveling more free bonus tickets onto members. Seems to me like HOS attendance is likely down this year vs pre-COVID given those indicators.

On the other hand though, the weather tomorrow looks incredibly nice and it is the Saturday before Halloween. The conditions are very much in place for a capacity hitter/record breaker. If it doesn't happen—especially with all of the free admission currently available out there—that'd be an interesting data point IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CoasterAuditor, Bigskinny, Mwe BGW and 4 others
Zachary said:
Counterpoint: HOS hasn't hit capacity a single day so far this year and BGW keeps shoveling more free bonus tickets onto members. Seems to me like HOS attendance is likely down this year vs pre-COVID given those indicators.
Click to expand...
Ahh, hopefully the lower attendance overall wakes them up for 2024. We talked about the new guy overseeing HOS, hopefully this gives him the reigns to pu,po some much needed energy into the event, guess we’ll see in about 300 days lol.

Zachary said:
On the other hand though, the weather tomorrow looks incredibly nice and it is the Saturday before Halloween. The conditions are very much in place for a capacity hitter/record breaker. If it doesn't happen—especially with all of the free admission currently available out there—that'd be an interesting data point IMO.
Click to expand...
Yeah hopefully they’re prepared for that possibility haha
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zachary
You must log in or register to reply here.
Status
The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad