Frostbite
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Reports from team member night haven't exactly been stellar. Hearing a lot about the house really lacking immersion due to wildly inconsistent atmospherics. Hopefully it'll deliver on scares at least? Fingers crossed!
Well we toured through frostbite and while the scare actors weren't quite up to par the design and immersion on the other hand was stellar and I would consider Frostbite to be the best designed house of the event. The set pieces and effects just really impressed me with my favorite being how the ride was reworked in general, we stopped several times just to look at everything.
I personally thought the set was great. The actors were putting their heart into their work and while there is definitely some fine tuning to be done on them I think there is lots of roim for them to grow and apdapt in the roles. One of the things that I like was that the large groups quickly broke down and spaced out both times I eent through and it wasn't just follow the leadr of the line like most houses. This added to the atmosphere as it was almost like tge monsters were pucking people off. It also gives the actors more time to consintrate on a goid scare. My feeling is its the best one I have ever seen at the park.
I saw some set pieces laying there which seemed to me were just waiting to be put up. Hopefully this means next week the gaps will be fixed providing a complete experience.
This is also one of those nitpicky things regarding the theme, but some of the props were clearly just vampires in a maze that didn't make sense to have them. I also feel the pre-show was just trying too hard to justify the story of the maze. Maybe if they had the some of the castle residents begging for help instead, it would have made more sense and come off as more natural.
This is also one of those nitpicky things regarding the theme, but some of the props were clearly just vampires in a maze that didn't make sense to have them. I also feel the pre-show was just trying too hard to justify the story of the maze. Maybe if they had the some of the castle residents begging for help instead, it would have made more sense and come off as more natural.
This maze is just awful. As others said, there are holes that are breaking the theme and immersion. Not to mention there is a theme, but no real story. I couldn't really tell what kind of creatures their going for. Vampires? Goblins? Vampire goblins? Knock-off Night King?
They were clearly extremely unprepared for this weekend. The house is also a startle-scares house which doesn't help. If your timing is unlucky, you can miss a lot of scares.
They were clearly extremely unprepared for this weekend. The house is also a startle-scares house which doesn't help. If your timing is unlucky, you can miss a lot of scares.
Honestly, a winter overlay on Bitten would have made for a great house. Frostbite is not near Bitten quality in my honest opinion. Heading to Haunt tonight, but I'll have more in-depth Frostbite thoughts soon.
There were some typical first-night issues, and some places where warehouse scenery was exposed, but Frostbite continued to keep me in a realm separate from the rest of the park, filled with creepy magical creatures. This maze is something that I have wanted for a long time, with both mythical creatures and a wintry grave theme. Considering it was a preview night, they went above and beyond all of my expectations (which were set pretty low, for what it’s worth).
The scare actors seemed like they were just starting to learn how to scare people in the space that they were given to work with. All of the ones that I saw seemed very energetic, however, sometimes the timing was off. I had heard about actors beating the existing set with their props. I didn’t see any of that, thank goodness. To me, that is more horrifying than anything.
I think the house was strongest at the beginning and again at the end. There was only one section in the middle of the house that seemed a little bit lazy to me, and it looked a little bit too much like something from Christmas Town. In that area, I also didn’t see any spaces for the actors to actually scare people, aside from moving their hands behind the translucent wall material.
One thing that I also enjoyed was that much of the set of Bitten lives on in this maze. They also had the gargoyles from The Enchanted Laboratory/Secrets of Castle O’Sullivan at the end, as well as what I am fairly certain was a modified T Rex skeleton from Dig it Up. I am waiting on confirmation as to whether or not that is the case.
Overall, I think this maze has a great story which was told well through the sets. Aside from the set in the middle portion, the characters are what I believe needs the most refinement. I think the cheap preshow sells it all short of what it’s supposed to be. The mask that they use in the preshow isn’t even custom. To be honest, I kind of tried to forget about the preshow, and that made my entire experience much more enjoyable.
I say what we saw were opening night jitters, and nothing more. That’s not bad considering how big this maze is, from the special effects, to the space itself.
The scare actors seemed like they were just starting to learn how to scare people in the space that they were given to work with. All of the ones that I saw seemed very energetic, however, sometimes the timing was off. I had heard about actors beating the existing set with their props. I didn’t see any of that, thank goodness. To me, that is more horrifying than anything.
I think the house was strongest at the beginning and again at the end. There was only one section in the middle of the house that seemed a little bit lazy to me, and it looked a little bit too much like something from Christmas Town. In that area, I also didn’t see any spaces for the actors to actually scare people, aside from moving their hands behind the translucent wall material.
One thing that I also enjoyed was that much of the set of Bitten lives on in this maze. They also had the gargoyles from The Enchanted Laboratory/Secrets of Castle O’Sullivan at the end, as well as what I am fairly certain was a modified T Rex skeleton from Dig it Up. I am waiting on confirmation as to whether or not that is the case.
Overall, I think this maze has a great story which was told well through the sets. Aside from the set in the middle portion, the characters are what I believe needs the most refinement. I think the cheap preshow sells it all short of what it’s supposed to be. The mask that they use in the preshow isn’t even custom. To be honest, I kind of tried to forget about the preshow, and that made my entire experience much more enjoyable.
I say what we saw were opening night jitters, and nothing more. That’s not bad considering how big this maze is, from the special effects, to the space itself.
I agree there was definitely an 'unfinished' feel to the whole thing. Maybe it wasn't fully ready, or maybe it was who knows. I DO feel like it has a lot of potential though (although I thought the same for Unearthed, and it continues to disappoint year after year). The actors I thought did a good job, or at least were enthusiastic, and the new projections looked great. Hopefully they're still dialing it all in.
Oh, yeah, the guy in the pre-show. Man, they should just turn that screen off and skip it altogether. Groot really looks like he has let himself go...
Oh, yeah, the guy in the pre-show. Man, they should just turn that screen off and skip it altogether. Groot really looks like he has let himself go...
It's the skeleton on the ground at the end. I don't know if there were further dragon plans originally, but that is all I noticed.
I guess it’s disappointing if you were expecting more dragons, but it fits. In the story, the dragon that once protected the castle and is dead. To me, the story is a no-brainer, and the house portrayed just that. However, people do seem to be confused about what these frost bite characters are. They.. bite.. and keep the castle literally frozen in Winter.
Maybe they could have played up the magical theme a bit more? I don’t know. Sadly, I think Busch Gardens Williamsburg keeps proving that most audiences don’t have the kind of imagination to appreciate immersive storytelling. That’s one reason why so many people like HHN. They literally have the story for their most popular attractions already spelled out in many ways for their guests. I don’t agree with Scott Gasparich blaming park guests for their failures during that one employee night, but to a certain degree I think he’s right.
They keep trying to break it down, but that’s not enough. Kings Dominion sometimes succeeds by not creating any story at all, and therefore, some people enjoy it more because they can create their own story, or not give any importance to the story. That's easier for some people than following an existing story. I personally love BGW's theatrical storytelling method but I think it’s too much for most guests, sadly. Deadline is a golden exception only because the theme is as strong as the story or vice-versa.
Edit: Just to be clear, this is not meant to be an attack on anyone's opinion of this maze, it's just my opinion on BGW's story vs. theme dilemma.
Maybe they could have played up the magical theme a bit more? I don’t know. Sadly, I think Busch Gardens Williamsburg keeps proving that most audiences don’t have the kind of imagination to appreciate immersive storytelling. That’s one reason why so many people like HHN. They literally have the story for their most popular attractions already spelled out in many ways for their guests. I don’t agree with Scott Gasparich blaming park guests for their failures during that one employee night, but to a certain degree I think he’s right.
They keep trying to break it down, but that’s not enough. Kings Dominion sometimes succeeds by not creating any story at all, and therefore, some people enjoy it more because they can create their own story, or not give any importance to the story. That's easier for some people than following an existing story. I personally love BGW's theatrical storytelling method but I think it’s too much for most guests, sadly. Deadline is a golden exception only because the theme is as strong as the story or vice-versa.
Edit: Just to be clear, this is not meant to be an attack on anyone's opinion of this maze, it's just my opinion on BGW's story vs. theme dilemma.
Youhow2 said:
Many of which also came from Masquerage, which was before Bitten. Masquerage allegedly was what happened with the plans of a CoDK themed maze.
Also, just for fun: the weakest scene in my opinion. I think the animatronic is funny.
Lol groot. I know this isn't a popular opinion but I really liked this maze more than the others. Maybe because I'm not as easily startled, I laugh through pretty much the whole maze and enjoy watching and hearing my wife and others get scared. This maze was the most immersive or will be once the set is cleaned up a little.
Oh gosh, I really wish there were some good photos of the inside of the maze.
