On Saturday we went to KD's Haunt. While we know that the event will change and improve over the course of the season, but I wanted to share my initial impressions.
I have rank ordered the houses from best to worst.
1. No Vacancy. In the past I was not a fan of this house. While is was beautifully decorated, it never really scared me. This week, however, it seemed nearly perfect. 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 entrance scare got me, and I was incredibly anxious throughout the rest of the maze. I simply loved this house.
2. Zombie High. The grouper at the door told us Zombie High was House of the Night on Friday, and I can see why. It was nearly as good as No Vacancy. It is always an excellent house, and last night was no exception. There were actors everywhere. In fact all of the major roles were filled, including the Principal, who was fantastic over the loud speaker. They were working really effectively in pairs, and they stalked and blocked us throughout the maze. I exited the building thinking that I hoped every house was as scary and fun as Zombie High.
3. Club Blood. As much as I have always loved the atmosphere and theming in Club Blood, it wasn't as brilliant as in previous years. 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. I really believe this house will become even better by Halloween, as the actors settle into their roles.
4. Lockdown. KD's newest maze wasn't bad, but wasn't fantastic either. The actors were already performing brilliantly. They were working in pairs and interacting with guests all of the way through. As they develop their characters I believe this house will improve. My concern, however, is that regardless of how well the staff performs, the house, itself, was poorly themed and simply too short. Unless the park adds elements to the maze, especially new sounds and better decorations, I'm not sure how much better the house can be.
5. 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. We went in right after the maze had been closed, so it wasn't full of guests, but several of the actors completely ignored all six of the people in my party. I was never lost or disoriented, because I could still easily see down the paths. The exit scare actor, however, was fantastic, and got me twice.
6. Slaughterhouse. Before I start, I need to say that I really don't like gross-out houses. I have always particularly disliked Slaughterhouse, in fact. But I have also tried to keep an open mind about it, because I know other people enjoy it. At this point, however, I really think KD needs to revamp or replace this maze. Honestly, Slaughterhouse is fairly old, and it doesn't seem worthwhile to try to continue to keep it in its current form. To make matters worse, when we went through it, the house was very poorly staffed, and the actors who were there seemed unenthusiastic. I recall just being relieved when I reached the exit, because I really didn't enjoy the attraction at all.
7. 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. Last night, however, Doll Factory was practically empty. While I agree that the design itself can create fear and anxiety, after several empty rooms, I completely stopped being tense, and just became puzzled and slightly annoyed. Where were the actors pretending to be mannequins? Where was the girl on the swing? Why didn't the men with knifes threaten me? Why was I able to cross the final room without being approached by anyone at all? What happened to this house?
8. 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. Overall, however, this house still bored me. The few actors in the seemed to be trying to be creepy, but there were so few of them there that it barely made a difference. Furthermore, people rolling around on the floor in fully-lit corridors, really are not scary. Basically, KD didn't do enough to this previously bad house to make it any better.
9. Tollway Terror. This year KD tried to solve the perennial problem with the antique car maze by removing the scare actors completely. It seems 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 addition of the loud, modern Country music, the bright, colored lights, and the random animatronics made the ride funny, rather than spooky. My group discussed it, and we thought that if they had turned off the lights; used creepy music; and played ghost stories, it could have been a really spooky attraction. Regardless, there was nothing really "haunted" about this attraction, and it certainly isn't worth waiting in the inevitable line to experience.
My group tried the Skeleton Keys again this year. I prefer the rooms in the scare zones to those in the mazes. Overall, I think they were improved from last year, but a few left me a bit puzzled. I think (hope) that the effects simply weren't working properly. In the end, unless you want the FrightLane, I wouldn't recommend paying for this up charge.
I really don't know what precisely to say about the scare zones. Most of them were incredibly understaffed. Oddly, a Clever Brothers had more actors than I think I have seen in all of my past Haunt visits combined. It was really the best scare zone I have ever experienced at KD. I love how Ironworx is decorated, but the effect is completely lost at night. Feary Tales was fairly entertaining, as it has been in the past. It was impossible to judge Necropolis, because the music and crowds from Unstrung completely destroyed the mood in that area. I only saw one actor in Primevil, and someone inexplicably turned the lights on in the Lair. My overall impression, however, was that the scare zones simply didn't add much to the event.
What completely detracted from the event, however, was the new atmosphere that seemed to permeate every corner of the park. I remember as recently as 2013 that Haunt was a dark and frightening experience. KD played creepy music, and it was fairly easy to get lost on the paths. Guests were never given a chance to relax between houses, because the entire park seemed slightly threatening. Last year the event started to lose some of that feel. There were more strollers and paths were better lit. This weekend, however, it was nearly impossible to tell that there was an adult Halloween event going on at all. Everywhere we went, the lights were on and the music was loud and upbeat. There were young children all over the paths. It was simply impossible to escape the noise and lights. The atmosphere was closer to a party than a haunt.
One final thought: 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.
I have rank ordered the houses from best to worst.
1. No Vacancy. In the past I was not a fan of this house. While is was beautifully decorated, it never really scared me. This week, however, it seemed nearly perfect. 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 entrance scare got me, and I was incredibly anxious throughout the rest of the maze. I simply loved this house.
2. Zombie High. The grouper at the door told us Zombie High was House of the Night on Friday, and I can see why. It was nearly as good as No Vacancy. It is always an excellent house, and last night was no exception. There were actors everywhere. In fact all of the major roles were filled, including the Principal, who was fantastic over the loud speaker. They were working really effectively in pairs, and they stalked and blocked us throughout the maze. I exited the building thinking that I hoped every house was as scary and fun as Zombie High.
3. Club Blood. As much as I have always loved the atmosphere and theming in Club Blood, it wasn't as brilliant as in previous years. 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. I really believe this house will become even better by Halloween, as the actors settle into their roles.
4. Lockdown. KD's newest maze wasn't bad, but wasn't fantastic either. The actors were already performing brilliantly. They were working in pairs and interacting with guests all of the way through. As they develop their characters I believe this house will improve. My concern, however, is that regardless of how well the staff performs, the house, itself, was poorly themed and simply too short. Unless the park adds elements to the maze, especially new sounds and better decorations, I'm not sure how much better the house can be.
5. 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. We went in right after the maze had been closed, so it wasn't full of guests, but several of the actors completely ignored all six of the people in my party. I was never lost or disoriented, because I could still easily see down the paths. The exit scare actor, however, was fantastic, and got me twice.
6. Slaughterhouse. Before I start, I need to say that I really don't like gross-out houses. I have always particularly disliked Slaughterhouse, in fact. But I have also tried to keep an open mind about it, because I know other people enjoy it. At this point, however, I really think KD needs to revamp or replace this maze. Honestly, Slaughterhouse is fairly old, and it doesn't seem worthwhile to try to continue to keep it in its current form. To make matters worse, when we went through it, the house was very poorly staffed, and the actors who were there seemed unenthusiastic. I recall just being relieved when I reached the exit, because I really didn't enjoy the attraction at all.
7. 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. Last night, however, Doll Factory was practically empty. While I agree that the design itself can create fear and anxiety, after several empty rooms, I completely stopped being tense, and just became puzzled and slightly annoyed. Where were the actors pretending to be mannequins? Where was the girl on the swing? Why didn't the men with knifes threaten me? Why was I able to cross the final room without being approached by anyone at all? What happened to this house?
8. 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. Overall, however, this house still bored me. The few actors in the seemed to be trying to be creepy, but there were so few of them there that it barely made a difference. Furthermore, people rolling around on the floor in fully-lit corridors, really are not scary. Basically, KD didn't do enough to this previously bad house to make it any better.
9. Tollway Terror. This year KD tried to solve the perennial problem with the antique car maze by removing the scare actors completely. It seems 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 addition of the loud, modern Country music, the bright, colored lights, and the random animatronics made the ride funny, rather than spooky. My group discussed it, and we thought that if they had turned off the lights; used creepy music; and played ghost stories, it could have been a really spooky attraction. Regardless, there was nothing really "haunted" about this attraction, and it certainly isn't worth waiting in the inevitable line to experience.
My group tried the Skeleton Keys again this year. I prefer the rooms in the scare zones to those in the mazes. Overall, I think they were improved from last year, but a few left me a bit puzzled. I think (hope) that the effects simply weren't working properly. In the end, unless you want the FrightLane, I wouldn't recommend paying for this up charge.
I really don't know what precisely to say about the scare zones. Most of them were incredibly understaffed. Oddly, a Clever Brothers had more actors than I think I have seen in all of my past Haunt visits combined. It was really the best scare zone I have ever experienced at KD. I love how Ironworx is decorated, but the effect is completely lost at night. Feary Tales was fairly entertaining, as it has been in the past. It was impossible to judge Necropolis, because the music and crowds from Unstrung completely destroyed the mood in that area. I only saw one actor in Primevil, and someone inexplicably turned the lights on in the Lair. My overall impression, however, was that the scare zones simply didn't add much to the event.
What completely detracted from the event, however, was the new atmosphere that seemed to permeate every corner of the park. I remember as recently as 2013 that Haunt was a dark and frightening experience. KD played creepy music, and it was fairly easy to get lost on the paths. Guests were never given a chance to relax between houses, because the entire park seemed slightly threatening. Last year the event started to lose some of that feel. There were more strollers and paths were better lit. This weekend, however, it was nearly impossible to tell that there was an adult Halloween event going on at all. Everywhere we went, the lights were on and the music was loud and upbeat. There were young children all over the paths. It was simply impossible to escape the noise and lights. The atmosphere was closer to a party than a haunt.
One final thought: 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.
