Halloween Haunt 2015

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Sooo... umm... this is happening.
[Instagram=https://instagram.com/p/7n6JGOkQHW/]

In case you can't tell from the photo, the stage for the new Unstrung show will not be inside the Kings Dominion Theater, but outside it. Frankly, I'm very confused as to why the park is building a stage outside a vacant and usable theater.

I'll save judgement until I see the final product, but I do worry about this harming the dark and creepy vibe in this corner of the park. We shall see.
 
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Very confused by this too. Although, I still don't think I get how the show is going to work. Is it mostly puppets or all live actors playing the marionettes? It doesn't look like a very big stage, so maybe they're doing it to allow people to actually see what's going on by being able to get closer? I don't know, just speculating. It may make sense after we get a better idea of the nature of the show.
 
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We spoke with Chef Paul yesterday at the Tower Tastings event and asked him about his plans for Haunt. He told us about three separate culinary initiatives:

1. The Haunt VIP Meals will be back. He is using props from Outbreak and theming it to Zombie Aliens. Given how meticulously detailed the event was last year, I expect it to look and taste great again this time.

2. There will be a Haunt Buffet outside Victoria's. Chef Paul says that there will be a carnival tent and everything will match the evil clown theme of the surrounding scare zone, Cleaver Brother's Carnival. Although it sounds a bit like BGW's Blood Banquet, it will be contained within the tent, and shouldn't spill out into the path.

3. Chef Paul is also thinking about adding specialty dishes to the regular eateries. He mentioned a Fall-flavored funnel cake, and we suggested hot beverages, like cider.

We will hopefully have more details soon.
 
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Joe said:
Sooo... umm... this is happening.
[Instagram=https://instagram.com/p/7n6JGOkQHW/]

In case you can't tell from the photo, the stage for the new Unstrung show will not be inside the Kings Dominion Theater, but outside it. Frankly, I'm very confused as to why the park is building a stage outside a vacant and usable theater.

I'll save judgement until I see the final product, but I do worry about this harming the dark and creepy vibe in this corner of the park. We shall see.
Click to expand...

Well, I did not say anything earlier because I questioned the source of the info; but, a young lady was conversing with me before a Cirque Imagine show started. This was the Saturday of Labor day weekend.

She was telling me that her mom ushered the "All Wheel Sports" show during the summer. I asked her if her mom knew what type of show was going to be IN the KD theater for Haunt. She stated that the park was not using the theater this fall. The reason given to her, by her mom, was that it was too difficult to dismantle and store the huge set pieces for Cirque Imagine in such a short period of time. Since the Cirque show was coming back for 2016, KD decided to leave the set pieces alone and move the Haunt show outside, in front of the theater.

I am a little bummed, as for me, the KD theater was a place to warm up during the colder days of Haunt. This also means that this show will be susceptible to the weather. Plus, I am a little concerned that the pathway is going to be clogged up with people trying to watch the show and people trying push their way to get through.

To be honest, I don't see why KD did not go ahead and put the show in the Snoopy's Showplace arena. Since "All Wheel Sports" left in mid-August, the park had plenty of time to remove the ramps and trampolines and set up for the show there. Especially, since that show is not coming back. Maybe the Shockwave dismantling stopped the park from setting the Haunt show there.
 
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Nicole said:
We spoke with Chef Paul yesterday at the Tower Tastings event and asked him about his plans for Haunt.  He told us about three separate culinary initiatives:

1. The Haunt VIP Meals will be back.  He is using props from Outbreak and theming it to Zombie Aliens.  Given how meticulously detailed the event was last year, I expect it to look and taste great again this time.

2. There will be a Haunt Buffet outside Victoria's.  Chef Paul says that there will be a carnival tent and everything will match the evil clown theme of the surrounding scare zone, Cleaver Brother's Carnival.  Although it sounds a bit like BGW's Blood Banquet, it will be contained within the tent, and shouldn't spill out into the path.

3. Chef Paul is also thinking about adding specialty dishes to the regular eateries.  He mentioned a Fall-flavored funnel cake, and we suggested hot beverages, like cider.

We will hopefully have more details soon.
Click to expand...
Hmm zombie alien food... I can get behind that. I am beginning to think that this maybe an add on that i would like to try at haunt this year.
 
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Peej1212 said:
Hmm zombie alien food... I can get behind that. I am beginning to think that this maybe an add on that i would like to try at haunt this year.
Click to expand...

You should it was really good last year!
 
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We talked to some park executives about Haunt and got some interesting information about Tollway Terror, the new haunted overlay for Blue Ridge Tollway.

According to the executive, Tollway Terror will use far fewer live actors than Blue Ridge Bloodbath. This is partly due to safety concerns, since having people run around moving vehicles could be problematic. However, the main reason is that the live actors simply were not scary. Just like the train at BGW, you can only be so scared of people running up to you while you roll by in a vehicle. Plus, you could see the actors coming from a mile away.

Instead, it sounds like Tollway Terror will try to focus more on storytelling than actually trying to be frightening. I took this as sounding like Legend of Sleepy Hollow at BGW, which told a story instead of trying to scare riders.

So how will KD accomplish this with fewer actors? According to the executive: animatronics. That's right. It sounds as if a handful of animatronics will be present throughout the Tollway this year.

As for the decrease in actors, the actors who would be staffing Blue Ridge will instead be dispersed throughout the rest of the haunt. Sounds like win to me.
 
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Joe said:
Instead, it sounds like Tollway Terror will try to focus more on storytelling than actually trying to be frightening. I took this as sounding like Legend of Sleepy Hollow at BGW, which told a story instead of trying to scare riders.
Click to expand...

I like the haunts who try to give you a little story with your scares. I just hope that neither side suffers due to it.
 
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Honestly, I didn't think Blue Ridge Bloodbath worked very well with scare actors anyway. It had the same problem as BGW's train: it is hard to be stalked or startled, when you are in a moving vehicle. It is generally difficult for them to get close enough to be threatening or remain hidden. Not impossible, but not easy either.

That said, the antique cars are creepy at night, in my opinion. You are essentially alone out in the middle of nowhere. The atmosphere is good; they just need to find a way to exploit it effectively. Maybe story telling is a good solution.
 
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Or a fake train in the woods that turns its headlight on and rolls toward you at just the right moment. Although this could cause collisions if people let off the gas because of a fake train headed straight for them.
 
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I was thinking like a hayride I once went on where they told a story while riding through the woods about some guy who was killed by a train and forever haunted the stretch of track that 'we' were about to cross. Well needless to say, mid story, a 1000 decibel train whistle went off and a 1000 watt headlight turned on about 20 feet from the hayride trailer we were on. To this day, nothing has startled me like that did.
 
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MAZ said:
I was thinking like a hayride I once went on where they told a story while riding through the woods about some guy who was killed by a train and forever haunted the stretch of track that 'we' were about to cross. Well needless to say, mid story, a 1000 decibel train whistle went off and a 1000 watt headlight turned on about 20 feet from the hayride trailer we were on. To this day, nothing has startled me like that did.
Click to expand...

Sounds like that was a very well planned startle! :) It must have taken them a bit to get the timing right on it. Good for them!
 
That's cool that they are doing that. I have to wait until the 26th to go because I have student teaching until 5pm everyday of the week and I live 2+ hours away. Oh well. I look forward to pictures though!
 
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