I couldn't get out for the last weekend of Haunt, but I made it out Sunday for their last operating day and had a great time. I had some great night rides too with the time change the night before. Everything from 305 to Flying Eagles! Crowds were non existent. volcano was 7 minutes for front seat, and everything else was walk on. It was really nice to get in my last KD rides for the year on such a warm day. Everything on the ride side was operating except dodgem and water rides. Even Crypt was going. Super fun afternoon there.
Halloween Haunt 2015
- Thread starter buckler89
- Start date
We went to King Dominion’s Haunt the first and last Saturdays. You can read my initial review here.
Before getting into the details, I have a few general thoughts about the event:
1. By the final weekend, the paths were much darker than my first visit, and it improved the ambiance immeasurably. Similarly, I didn’t feel that the music detracted from the event anymore. While I wouldn’t say the park was as scary as in past years, it was certainly much spookier than the first week.
2. My prediction about the No Boo lanyards appears to have been spot-on. As I feared, there were children and strollers everywhere. Rather than write something new, I’m just going to quote what I said the first time. “Even if KD decides to make the paths spooky again, as long as they sell the No Boo lanyards, there will be very young children flooding the event. I personally think these experimental protection devices are a terrible idea. There are many things at Haunt that are much scarier than a clown jumping out at you. The images of bloody body parts and demonic faces are just as likely to cause nightmares as an interaction with a scare actor. In my opinion, the only way to protect your child from things that might give him or her nightmares is not to bring him or her to an adult Halloween event in the first place.”
3. The fact that there were park guests in full costumes, who looked like the scare actors, was disturbing to us. We were never sure if someone on a path actually represented KD. I have to think it was a huge liability issue. I’m not sure why the park allows guests to wear masks to be honest.
As you would expect, my experiences in the houses varied from visit to visit. Here are my individual rankings from each day:
26 October
No Vacancy
Zombie High
Club Blood
Lockdown
CornStalkers
Slaughterhouse
Doll Factory
Maze of Madness
Tollway Terror
31 October
Zombie High
No Vacancy
Slaughterhouse
Club Blood
Lockdown
CornStalkers
Maze of Madness
Doll Factory
Tollway Terror
Here is my composite review of the houses. I apologize, because I am saying many of the same things again. I guess that means the event was fairly consistent this year.
1. Zombie High. This house has been a favorite of mine in the past, and was consistently one of the strongest this year. There were actors everywhere, and the scares were varied and creative. They were working really effectively in pairs, and they stalked and blocked us throughout the maze. The house felt dangerous, but had a lot of energy, if that makes sense.
2. No Vacancy. In the past I was not a fan of this house. While it was beautifully decorated, it never really scared me. This year, however, I had a completely different experience. The maze was fully staffed and those actors were performing really intelligently. They used the hiding places for the startles; they took advantage of the distractions to surprise me; and they stalked us and interacted with us effectively. The first weekend entrance scare got me, and I was incredibly anxious throughout the rest of the maze. My impression is that the actors really loved what they were doing.
3. Club Blood. As much as I have always loved the atmosphere and theming in Club Blood, this year’s house wasn't as brilliant as in the past. There were a lot of actors, but I think it could have used more. I also think the scares were less sophisticated than other houses, which probably made it feel less frightening. The mirror maze, however, was fantastic, and I got lost several times in it. Maybe I just like the idea of this house, and my bias is improving my experience?
4. Slaughterhouse. As much as it kills me to rank this gross-out house this high on my list, Slaughterhouse was pretty good this year. By the last week the maze was well staffed, and the actors were very effective. A couple completely blocked my way, glaring at me as I skirted past them. For the first time ever, I really enjoyed my journey through these halls strewn with bloody body parts.
5. Lockdown. KD's newest maze changed the most between the first and last weekends. The house, itself, was improved, with better rooms and layout. The actors performed really well both weekends: They were working in pairs and interacting with guests all of the way through. By my final visit, however, they really seemed into their roles, and provided additional scares.
6. CornStalkers. I have always heard how much potential CornStalkers has, but I have honestly never experienced it. I was happy that the park reduced the ambient light, but it still wasn't very scary to me. There were not enough actors, and the ones who there were not doing a lot. I was never lost or disoriented, because I could still easily see down the paths. Really, I want to be scared by this maze the way others have.
7. Maze of Madness. My understanding was that MoM had been significantly overhauled this year. I was hopeful, because it certainly needed it. As far as we could tell, however, there was only a small modification: the previously inferior mirror maze was rearranged and slightly improved. And admittedly, the last weekend the house seemed fully staffed, and the actors were fairly creepy. Unfortunately, these improvements could not save this maze for me.
8. Doll Factory. The fact that I have to rate this house this low quite frankly infuriates me. It used to be, in my opinion, the best maze in the park. The scares were sophisticated; the actors were creative and interacted with guests on an incredibly creepy way; the house design was very disorienting; and the theming was detailed and added significantly to the guest experience. Both nights, however, Doll Factory was practically empty and left me merely bored and annoyed. What happened to this house?
9. Tollway Terror. This year KD tried to solve the perennial problem with the antique car maze by removing the scare actors completely. It seemed like a good idea to me. I have driven through Blue Ridge Bloodbath at night, when the actors had been rained out, and it was super creepy. Unfortunately, the new maze wasn’t particularly scary, because the area was too bright and loud, and the decorations were more funny than frightening. The park did add two actors to the path, which proved effective, but the ride was still less creepy than my drive through alone in the dark.
A few additional thoughts about the rest of the event.
We got the Skeleton Keys for both visits, and I really wasn’t impressed. I preferred the rooms in the scare zones to those in the mazes, but none were fantastic. The final Saturday there were incredibly long lines for each room, and because of the nature of the experience the capacity was incredibly low and the wait times were huge. The extended FrightLane lines could not be justified for me by the Skeleton Key experience. Overall, although I think they were improved from last year, and the acting was fairly good, the experiences really didn’t scare me or enhance the event for me.
The scare zones seemed much better staffed the last weekend than the first. In addition, with the improved lighting and the addition of more actors, these path scares were probably the biggest improvement between my two trips.
I really enjoyed Clever Brothers on the first weekend. I wasn't as impressed the last Saturday, but that might have been the larger crowds and prevalence of children and babies in the area. I still think this scare zone suffers from a overly large and ill-defined location. Putting Clever Brothers inside Candy Apple Grove makes sense thematically, but also means the regular midway can reduce the effectiveness of the theming.
By the last weekend Ironworx was my favorite scare zone. I have always loved the decorations and the concept. The staffing and acting skills were really up to par with the props the final weekend in my opinion. The actors were interacting with guests and providing a really disturbing experience.
Necropolis, itself, was good, but the massive crowds in the area and the proximity of Unstrung detracted from its effectiveness. I was startled a few times, but it was mostly just a chaotic obstacle course for me.
The Lair improved dramatically, when KD finally turned off the lights. The strobes in that space worked really well for me. They allowed me to see where I was going, without ruining the effect or intent of the scare zone.
As clever as Feary Tales is in theory, for me it didn't really live up to its potential this year. I don't think I was approached by a single scare actor on either visit.
Primevil was practically empty both weekends. The props were the only real evidence for me that there was even a scare zone there.
Overall, I think KD made some important changes over the course of Haunt and improved the guest experience. The biggest problems for me in the end were the abundance of children and No Boo lanyards.
Before getting into the details, I have a few general thoughts about the event:
1. By the final weekend, the paths were much darker than my first visit, and it improved the ambiance immeasurably. Similarly, I didn’t feel that the music detracted from the event anymore. While I wouldn’t say the park was as scary as in past years, it was certainly much spookier than the first week.
2. My prediction about the No Boo lanyards appears to have been spot-on. As I feared, there were children and strollers everywhere. Rather than write something new, I’m just going to quote what I said the first time. “Even if KD decides to make the paths spooky again, as long as they sell the No Boo lanyards, there will be very young children flooding the event. I personally think these experimental protection devices are a terrible idea. There are many things at Haunt that are much scarier than a clown jumping out at you. The images of bloody body parts and demonic faces are just as likely to cause nightmares as an interaction with a scare actor. In my opinion, the only way to protect your child from things that might give him or her nightmares is not to bring him or her to an adult Halloween event in the first place.”
3. The fact that there were park guests in full costumes, who looked like the scare actors, was disturbing to us. We were never sure if someone on a path actually represented KD. I have to think it was a huge liability issue. I’m not sure why the park allows guests to wear masks to be honest.
As you would expect, my experiences in the houses varied from visit to visit. Here are my individual rankings from each day:
26 October
No Vacancy
Zombie High
Club Blood
Lockdown
CornStalkers
Slaughterhouse
Doll Factory
Maze of Madness
Tollway Terror
31 October
Zombie High
No Vacancy
Slaughterhouse
Club Blood
Lockdown
CornStalkers
Maze of Madness
Doll Factory
Tollway Terror
Here is my composite review of the houses. I apologize, because I am saying many of the same things again. I guess that means the event was fairly consistent this year.
1. Zombie High. This house has been a favorite of mine in the past, and was consistently one of the strongest this year. There were actors everywhere, and the scares were varied and creative. They were working really effectively in pairs, and they stalked and blocked us throughout the maze. The house felt dangerous, but had a lot of energy, if that makes sense.
2. No Vacancy. In the past I was not a fan of this house. While it was beautifully decorated, it never really scared me. This year, however, I had a completely different experience. The maze was fully staffed and those actors were performing really intelligently. They used the hiding places for the startles; they took advantage of the distractions to surprise me; and they stalked us and interacted with us effectively. The first weekend entrance scare got me, and I was incredibly anxious throughout the rest of the maze. My impression is that the actors really loved what they were doing.
3. Club Blood. As much as I have always loved the atmosphere and theming in Club Blood, this year’s house wasn't as brilliant as in the past. There were a lot of actors, but I think it could have used more. I also think the scares were less sophisticated than other houses, which probably made it feel less frightening. The mirror maze, however, was fantastic, and I got lost several times in it. Maybe I just like the idea of this house, and my bias is improving my experience?
4. Slaughterhouse. As much as it kills me to rank this gross-out house this high on my list, Slaughterhouse was pretty good this year. By the last week the maze was well staffed, and the actors were very effective. A couple completely blocked my way, glaring at me as I skirted past them. For the first time ever, I really enjoyed my journey through these halls strewn with bloody body parts.
5. Lockdown. KD's newest maze changed the most between the first and last weekends. The house, itself, was improved, with better rooms and layout. The actors performed really well both weekends: They were working in pairs and interacting with guests all of the way through. By my final visit, however, they really seemed into their roles, and provided additional scares.
6. CornStalkers. I have always heard how much potential CornStalkers has, but I have honestly never experienced it. I was happy that the park reduced the ambient light, but it still wasn't very scary to me. There were not enough actors, and the ones who there were not doing a lot. I was never lost or disoriented, because I could still easily see down the paths. Really, I want to be scared by this maze the way others have.
7. Maze of Madness. My understanding was that MoM had been significantly overhauled this year. I was hopeful, because it certainly needed it. As far as we could tell, however, there was only a small modification: the previously inferior mirror maze was rearranged and slightly improved. And admittedly, the last weekend the house seemed fully staffed, and the actors were fairly creepy. Unfortunately, these improvements could not save this maze for me.
8. Doll Factory. The fact that I have to rate this house this low quite frankly infuriates me. It used to be, in my opinion, the best maze in the park. The scares were sophisticated; the actors were creative and interacted with guests on an incredibly creepy way; the house design was very disorienting; and the theming was detailed and added significantly to the guest experience. Both nights, however, Doll Factory was practically empty and left me merely bored and annoyed. What happened to this house?
9. Tollway Terror. This year KD tried to solve the perennial problem with the antique car maze by removing the scare actors completely. It seemed like a good idea to me. I have driven through Blue Ridge Bloodbath at night, when the actors had been rained out, and it was super creepy. Unfortunately, the new maze wasn’t particularly scary, because the area was too bright and loud, and the decorations were more funny than frightening. The park did add two actors to the path, which proved effective, but the ride was still less creepy than my drive through alone in the dark.
A few additional thoughts about the rest of the event.
We got the Skeleton Keys for both visits, and I really wasn’t impressed. I preferred the rooms in the scare zones to those in the mazes, but none were fantastic. The final Saturday there were incredibly long lines for each room, and because of the nature of the experience the capacity was incredibly low and the wait times were huge. The extended FrightLane lines could not be justified for me by the Skeleton Key experience. Overall, although I think they were improved from last year, and the acting was fairly good, the experiences really didn’t scare me or enhance the event for me.
The scare zones seemed much better staffed the last weekend than the first. In addition, with the improved lighting and the addition of more actors, these path scares were probably the biggest improvement between my two trips.
I really enjoyed Clever Brothers on the first weekend. I wasn't as impressed the last Saturday, but that might have been the larger crowds and prevalence of children and babies in the area. I still think this scare zone suffers from a overly large and ill-defined location. Putting Clever Brothers inside Candy Apple Grove makes sense thematically, but also means the regular midway can reduce the effectiveness of the theming.
By the last weekend Ironworx was my favorite scare zone. I have always loved the decorations and the concept. The staffing and acting skills were really up to par with the props the final weekend in my opinion. The actors were interacting with guests and providing a really disturbing experience.
Necropolis, itself, was good, but the massive crowds in the area and the proximity of Unstrung detracted from its effectiveness. I was startled a few times, but it was mostly just a chaotic obstacle course for me.
The Lair improved dramatically, when KD finally turned off the lights. The strobes in that space worked really well for me. They allowed me to see where I was going, without ruining the effect or intent of the scare zone.
As clever as Feary Tales is in theory, for me it didn't really live up to its potential this year. I don't think I was approached by a single scare actor on either visit.
Primevil was practically empty both weekends. The props were the only real evidence for me that there was even a scare zone there.
Overall, I think KD made some important changes over the course of Haunt and improved the guest experience. The biggest problems for me in the end were the abundance of children and No Boo lanyards.
Sorry to post twice, but I wanted to let people know that my OCD forced me to update my review with more details on the Skeleton Key rooms and the scare zones. See my post above.
Stacking was a huge issues for me and my group when we went Saturday the 10th.
Zombie High was letting people go straight through. Absolutely NO breaks in between to let groups through. I was very disappointed.
Outside of the stacking not issues, I loved the event as a whole. The new sets in the scare zones were great, and the actors were really into it.
Just to touch on some little things:
The mazes all delivered in one way or another, only complaint is Maze of Madness. The whole thing was basically a mirror maze. Sure it was cool, but it seemed like a rather half-assed attempt at a "redesign" if you ask me.
Lockdown's set was very cool, the actors were energetic, and the lighting was great. Certainly not the best maze, but a HUGE step forward in the right direction for that location.
Skeleton Key rooms were cool, really enjoyed MoM's. Although it was gross, the actor inside during our visit was a delight and very entertaining.
Clever brother's room was kind of pointless, cool set nonetheless.
Necropolis was a neat concept, would've been better if the animatronic was replaced with a live actor. I can see where that would pose a problem, though.
All in all, I enjoyed it.
Zombie High was letting people go straight through. Absolutely NO breaks in between to let groups through. I was very disappointed.
Outside of the stacking not issues, I loved the event as a whole. The new sets in the scare zones were great, and the actors were really into it.
Just to touch on some little things:
The mazes all delivered in one way or another, only complaint is Maze of Madness. The whole thing was basically a mirror maze. Sure it was cool, but it seemed like a rather half-assed attempt at a "redesign" if you ask me.
Lockdown's set was very cool, the actors were energetic, and the lighting was great. Certainly not the best maze, but a HUGE step forward in the right direction for that location.
Skeleton Key rooms were cool, really enjoyed MoM's. Although it was gross, the actor inside during our visit was a delight and very entertaining.
Clever brother's room was kind of pointless, cool set nonetheless.
Necropolis was a neat concept, would've been better if the animatronic was replaced with a live actor. I can see where that would pose a problem, though.
All in all, I enjoyed it.
I did not get a chance to go this year, however I have heard from several people that some of the mazes performed at differing levels on different days, and that it was more and less spooky then last year.
Last year was great because it had the mob, and I think this year really suffered from having a different mob and a show outside. Also it was not really cold enough for a good haunt. Over all I am not really pleased with Haunt this year. 4/5
Last year was great because it had the mob, and I think this year really suffered from having a different mob and a show outside. Also it was not really cold enough for a good haunt. Over all I am not really pleased with Haunt this year. 4/5
Wait a minute....how can you 'overall I'm not pleased this year' if you didn't have a chance to go this year?
