So, as I said, I want to give some initial impressions of Haunt. I also want to clear, however, that I fully expect everything to change (hopefully improve) over the next few weeks. I also want to say upfront that I personally have no interest in comparing Haunt and HOS. To me it is apples and oranges: yes they are both fruit, but completely diverge from there. Whether you prefer one over the other is mostly a matter of personal tastes; I tend to look for entirely different experiences in each.
Overall, as with last year, I love that the entire park is given over to the Haunt. Even Planet Snoopy is dark and creepy at night. As I have mentioned before, KD's scare actors are clearly trained to interact with and intimidate guests, which can create a lot of amazing anxiety. That said, not everything is working well (yet), and there are some components, which I will probably never enjoy.
The Good
There were two houses and one scare zone that were already fantastic last night: Outbreak, Doll Factory, and Feary Tails. My anxiety level was incredibly high throughout both houses, and my adrenaline was still pumping after I exited. Zombie High also created some tension in me, which made it a distant third in my initial ranking. The actors were performing incredibly well in Feary Tales, as well. I watched them play off each other, as they surrounded and stalked my friend.
I also loved the Mob. We saw them quite by accident, and I was really impressed with how well they performed blindfolded. I really recommend everyone make an effort to watch them. Just look for the faceless dancers in the creepy white costumes.
The Bad
Maze of Madness was simply terrible. Some of the actors were doing amazing things -- the contortionists particularly stood out for me -- but there were no discernible scares. The hallway of mirrors was particularly confusing. I was not in the least bit disoriented, because I could clearly see my own reflection in the mirrors. I would mention Slaughterhouse here, but for reasons that I will get to later, I don't entirely trust my own judgement on that house.
Overall, the scare zones suffered again this year from under-staffing. I really hope as the event matures next month, the performers will be able to compensate better for the poor ratio of space to actors.
The Ugly
The Skeleton Key was poorly executed and literally ruined some of the houses for me. I am not a fan of "gross-out" experiences to begin with, but the placement and process were so bad that I wouldn't have "enjoyed" the rooms, regardless. In my opinion all of the Skeleton Key rooms need to be at the end of the houses, so they do not disrupt the tension and flow. In fact, the heightened anxiety that I feel leaving a good house might improve the Skeleton Key experience, as well. The problem with the Skeleton Key is typified by my experience in Slaughterhouse. Admittedly, I was not a fan of this house last year either, but the Skeleton Key room annoyed me so much, I was unable to relax and allow myself to be scared in the rest of the house. I just walked through, slightly pissed off and generally bored. Club Blood, which I really liked last year, was ruined by the Skeleton Key room as well. The placement was disruptive and the activities distracted me for the rest of the house. It is worth noting that neither Outbreak nor Doll Factory, which were both significantly better for me than every other house, had Skeleton Key rooms to distract guests and break up the development of tension and anxiety.
The other really disappointing thing last night was the use of sound and light throughout the park. For context, I usually think KD does a brilliant job creating and enhancing atmosphere year-round with lighting effects and music choice. I was particularly impressed by both at Haunt 2013. Last night, however, the park was simply too bright, except in the Lair, which was so dark that you couldn't see that actors or decor at all. Cornstalkers also suffered significantly, because we could see all of the dead ends in the relatively bright light. I defer to lighting experts on what exactly needs to be changed. Similarly, the only music I noticed all night were the songs coming from the various stages around the park. I see the lack of noticeable, creepy carnival music in Cleaver Brothers to be a huge missed opportunity, for example.
As I said at the outset, these are only initial impressions. I generally love Haunt, and I fully expect the event and the actors to mature and improve on the next few weeks.
Overall, as with last year, I love that the entire park is given over to the Haunt. Even Planet Snoopy is dark and creepy at night. As I have mentioned before, KD's scare actors are clearly trained to interact with and intimidate guests, which can create a lot of amazing anxiety. That said, not everything is working well (yet), and there are some components, which I will probably never enjoy.
The Good
There were two houses and one scare zone that were already fantastic last night: Outbreak, Doll Factory, and Feary Tails. My anxiety level was incredibly high throughout both houses, and my adrenaline was still pumping after I exited. Zombie High also created some tension in me, which made it a distant third in my initial ranking. The actors were performing incredibly well in Feary Tales, as well. I watched them play off each other, as they surrounded and stalked my friend.
I also loved the Mob. We saw them quite by accident, and I was really impressed with how well they performed blindfolded. I really recommend everyone make an effort to watch them. Just look for the faceless dancers in the creepy white costumes.
The Bad
Maze of Madness was simply terrible. Some of the actors were doing amazing things -- the contortionists particularly stood out for me -- but there were no discernible scares. The hallway of mirrors was particularly confusing. I was not in the least bit disoriented, because I could clearly see my own reflection in the mirrors. I would mention Slaughterhouse here, but for reasons that I will get to later, I don't entirely trust my own judgement on that house.
Overall, the scare zones suffered again this year from under-staffing. I really hope as the event matures next month, the performers will be able to compensate better for the poor ratio of space to actors.
The Ugly
The Skeleton Key was poorly executed and literally ruined some of the houses for me. I am not a fan of "gross-out" experiences to begin with, but the placement and process were so bad that I wouldn't have "enjoyed" the rooms, regardless. In my opinion all of the Skeleton Key rooms need to be at the end of the houses, so they do not disrupt the tension and flow. In fact, the heightened anxiety that I feel leaving a good house might improve the Skeleton Key experience, as well. The problem with the Skeleton Key is typified by my experience in Slaughterhouse. Admittedly, I was not a fan of this house last year either, but the Skeleton Key room annoyed me so much, I was unable to relax and allow myself to be scared in the rest of the house. I just walked through, slightly pissed off and generally bored. Club Blood, which I really liked last year, was ruined by the Skeleton Key room as well. The placement was disruptive and the activities distracted me for the rest of the house. It is worth noting that neither Outbreak nor Doll Factory, which were both significantly better for me than every other house, had Skeleton Key rooms to distract guests and break up the development of tension and anxiety.
The other really disappointing thing last night was the use of sound and light throughout the park. For context, I usually think KD does a brilliant job creating and enhancing atmosphere year-round with lighting effects and music choice. I was particularly impressed by both at Haunt 2013. Last night, however, the park was simply too bright, except in the Lair, which was so dark that you couldn't see that actors or decor at all. Cornstalkers also suffered significantly, because we could see all of the dead ends in the relatively bright light. I defer to lighting experts on what exactly needs to be changed. Similarly, the only music I noticed all night were the songs coming from the various stages around the park. I see the lack of noticeable, creepy carnival music in Cleaver Brothers to be a huge missed opportunity, for example.
As I said at the outset, these are only initial impressions. I generally love Haunt, and I fully expect the event and the actors to mature and improve on the next few weeks.
