Halloween Haunt 2016
- Thread starter mtorange
- Start date
I thought the scare zones were better staffed last week than I have seen previously.
I had a few lackluster scare zones on Sunday. Lair was blah. Ironworks was blah. Cleaver brothers was beyond awesome. The one by Volcano was blah. All of the mazes we went in were really well staffed and very fun! Cornstalkers, trick or treat, no vacancy, and lockdown. Cornstalkers was surprisingly performing the best out of our choices. TaTa.
Scare zones were slightly understaffed Sunday night. Actors who were staffed were very energetic, even until close.
It's weird how drastically the staffing differs from day to day. On Friday, all of the scare zones felt better staffed than they have in years. They were all brimming with monsters. Even Primevil, which usually feels empty, was packed.
That said, the only changes to the scare zones were Primevil's relocation to the path near Scrambler and that the Lair has darker lighting and more strobes this year.
That said, the only changes to the scare zones were Primevil's relocation to the path near Scrambler and that the Lair has darker lighting and more strobes this year.
We did them all last weekend. There was essentially one new one, and we think it was incomplete. I'm glad they moved all of them out of the mazes, but they still need to be improved across the board.
To me the Skeleton Key rooms defeat the purpose of getting the Fright Lane passes. I pay money to skip lines and then get stuck in even slower queues waiting for the privilege of eating, drinking, or touching something disgusting.
To me the Skeleton Key rooms defeat the purpose of getting the Fright Lane passes. I pay money to skip lines and then get stuck in even slower queues waiting for the privilege of eating, drinking, or touching something disgusting.
Yea, I've never been one to bother with the skeleton keys since they're just a shameless upcharge in my opinion. But I'm always interested in what they do in the rooms and whether it's executed well.
Saw a video of the new version of the Overlord's Resurrection. Much better than the one from last year. Cool to have a "representative" for each scare zone up on the stage and the voice is ten times better than last year. Probably still prefer the voice from a few years ago, but big improvement from 2015 and the actual speech is pretty good.
Saw a video of the new version of the Overlord's Resurrection. Much better than the one from last year. Cool to have a "representative" for each scare zone up on the stage and the voice is ten times better than last year. Probably still prefer the voice from a few years ago, but big improvement from 2015 and the actual speech is pretty good.
RollyCoaster said:
I'll be there Saturday and maybe Sunday too since Monday is Holiday.
When we went last Friday night, Blackout was definitely the longest line -- and Saturdays are normally far busier than Fridays anyway, so they will probably all have long lines.
We had an interesting time at Haunt last night. It was my daughters 15th birthday, and she wanted the whole family to go to Haunt. My wife is awaiting surgery for a torn meniscus, but decided to go anyway. We rented a wheelchair for her and got a Boarding Pass for being assigned ride times. For the most part, things went quite well. Many of the ride and maze operators didn't even bother assigning ride times and let us on as though we had a Fast Lane pass. The ones that did give us ride times were pretty reasonable with their assignments. My wife was happy to park the chair and use a crutch to get through the first few mazes, but as the evening went on, she opted to take the wheelchair through. She had a great time, but I'll tell you, there's nothing that will take you out of the experience like trying to push a wheelchair through those mazes 
They're all ADA compliant, but a couple were more than a little tight, especially Cornstalkers, where I accidentally ran over one of the actors feet. Overall, the experience was very positive, and even our car breaking down on Tollway Terror didn't dampen the evening. The scare actors were great, and one of the cannibals in Primevil even took over pushing the wheelchair for me to scare her. I've never considered how the experience might differ for someone in a wheelchair, but for the most part, I'd give a big thumbs up.
They're all ADA compliant, but a couple were more than a little tight, especially Cornstalkers, where I accidentally ran over one of the actors feet. Overall, the experience was very positive, and even our car breaking down on Tollway Terror didn't dampen the evening. The scare actors were great, and one of the cannibals in Primevil even took over pushing the wheelchair for me to scare her. I've never considered how the experience might differ for someone in a wheelchair, but for the most part, I'd give a big thumbs up.
I do think those guys at Primeval were probably the best actors there. They really were into their characters. It was especially foggy in that section too and dark. Really a nice section to pass through. I liked the guy on the stilts with the springs. He was really having fun.
So I went to KD last night, had an interesting experience.
This next part has nothing to with Haunt just some things I noticed around the park. I ate at Borders for the first time around 6:00 and the line started at the door, took 25 minutes before the actual ordering process and I had made my transaction a little after 30 minutes. Intimadator, Backlot, Windseeker, and Drop Tower down all night and opened close to 8. Due to the large crowds all of the houses were stack city a with each house resembling a conga line. The power also kept going out as even at the end of the night my group was escorted out of Safari Village by park security with a flashlight.
Trick or Treat contained more actors than my last visit. The house is extremely detailed and really festive it's just not that scary. 7/10
Blackout was different. I didn't feel the same sensations that I get in the other houses. It was just a complete sensory overload and that's a good thing. The house isn't completely shrouded in darkness as one could look up and see the light from other rooms which helped navigation wise. Some fun scares that truly caught me off guard and also the puppet at the end was a surprise. 8/10
No Vacancy is the pinnacle of Haunt in my opinion. I love the house, it's so perfect. On a side note look up in the laundry room, never realized how high the ceiling is! 8/10
Cornstalkers was doing simply phenomenal. The actors were on point and startled me several times. 9/10
Doll Factory is starting to show it's age. The entire time it was a conga line and the actors were kind of just standing around. 4/10
Always interesting to see how the houses change over time and I think the event is improving night by night.
This next part has nothing to with Haunt just some things I noticed around the park. I ate at Borders for the first time around 6:00 and the line started at the door, took 25 minutes before the actual ordering process and I had made my transaction a little after 30 minutes. Intimadator, Backlot, Windseeker, and Drop Tower down all night and opened close to 8. Due to the large crowds all of the houses were stack city a with each house resembling a conga line. The power also kept going out as even at the end of the night my group was escorted out of Safari Village by park security with a flashlight.
Trick or Treat contained more actors than my last visit. The house is extremely detailed and really festive it's just not that scary. 7/10
Blackout was different. I didn't feel the same sensations that I get in the other houses. It was just a complete sensory overload and that's a good thing. The house isn't completely shrouded in darkness as one could look up and see the light from other rooms which helped navigation wise. Some fun scares that truly caught me off guard and also the puppet at the end was a surprise. 8/10
No Vacancy is the pinnacle of Haunt in my opinion. I love the house, it's so perfect. On a side note look up in the laundry room, never realized how high the ceiling is! 8/10
Cornstalkers was doing simply phenomenal. The actors were on point and startled me several times. 9/10
Doll Factory is starting to show it's age. The entire time it was a conga line and the actors were kind of just standing around. 4/10
Always interesting to see how the houses change over time and I think the event is improving night by night.
8 Amusement Parks That Do Halloween Right
Halloween Haunt is number 3 on this list. Since a food and drink site knows all about haunts.
Halloween Haunt is number 3 on this list. Since a food and drink site knows all about haunts.
So I went to Haunt with a group of friends Friday night and we had a great time, as always. It was a pretty standard Haunt trip where a couple of houses stood above the rest, some were decent, and a couple were just duds. We hit every maze, but only did a few of the scare zones (missed Feary Tales, PrimEvil and IronWorx) and hit Intimidator and Dominator. Didn't do any shows, but we did see the Mob, which was pretty cool. I've got my review of each maze and scare zone we hit below in the order we hit them and then a ranking of the mazes at the end.
Mazes
Cornstalkers - This was actually the most improved maze for me over previous years. The year it debuted, it was my favorite maze, but had been a bit of a letdown the last few years. This time though, it was fantastic. There seemed to be actors around every corner and they blended in extremely well with the cornstalks. This was the first maze of the night and it was an awesome way to start things off. It was also my girlfriend's first experience with a haunted house in like 10 years and the actors could tell. She was an extremely easy target, which made it hilarious for the rest of us. 8/10
No Vacancy - It seems pretty well agreed upon that this is the most popular maze at Haunt and it never disappoints. Amazing detail that I really took more time to appreciate this time around (which led to some great distraction scares) and it's always a good time. The actors were on top of their game and it was a great time. 9/10.
Zombie High - I agree with what most people say about Zombie High. It isn't so much scary as it is kind of goofy, but in a good way. My group wasn't wild about this one because we didn't get many good scares, but I enjoyed it. I see it as a B-Horror movie, where you have to appreciate it for what it is and I do. Yeah, there weren't too many scares, but the actors were having a good time, the Principal on the PA was fantastic, and the whole thing is just fun in a very goofy way. 6/10.
Blackout - I had a few great scares in Blackout and I can truly say I never saw any of the actors who scared me. No clue if they were behind me, in front, or to the side, so credit to them. Some parts of the maze were pitch black and I ran straight into a wall at one point, but other parts were definitely lighter. They should make some parts of the maze darker, but there were a few times that I had trouble finding my way through when I lost track of the people in front of me, so it did achieve its goal for the most part. I think this maze has serious potential for being unique in the park and I just hope that they darken it a little bit next year. 7/10
Tollway Terror - I honestly put up a small fight to not bother with Tollway Terror, but my group wanted to do it, so I was outnumbered and didn't want to be "that guy." I expected to hate it, but we ended up having a decent time on it. I think we only saw like 4 actors out there, but 3 of them - including one with a chainsaw that came up from behind the car - legitimately got me. This one is a little hard to judge because we split up the group, so the guys went in one car and the girls went in another. The 3 of us in my car had a blast just screwing around (so much Fast & Furious shtick), but the "maze" itself is still rather lackluster, despite a few good scares. I actually like the lighting, the music is much better being just the classic spooky halloween-type music, but the animatronics don't really do anything to scare you, and they need more actors. The actors we did see did a great job, so I really think if they could have a handful more out there, it would actually be a quality "maze." For the experience with my group, it was one of the most fun of the night, but for the "maze" itself, I'd say 4/10.
Trick or Treat - This bad boy is freaking awesome inside. Even more detailed than No Vacancy and is hopefully the future of Haunt mazes. When you walk through, you really do feel like you're walking through a house, not a maze made of plywood. The sets are freaking incredible and design-wise it is a step above everything else in the park. When it comes to scares though, it was lacking a bit, but that was probably due to us being the middle of the pack. Not much you can do there. Still, the atmosphere alone is enough to make it one of the best of the night. 8/10.
Urgent Scare- This one is just odd. Not much else to say that others haven't already said. Most of the actors were into it and having a good time with it, which was great, but the theme is just strange. Like, some of it is very clearly a hospital, but then others are just confusing. Why are there people melting on the ground? Why are board games nailed to the wall? We also had 3 guys in front of us who were just the worst to be behind. Scared around every turn, which is great, but then they wouldn't move and would be overly dramatic, falling back, moving slow. It was extremely irritating. Sad part is, I said to my group, "Watch, these guys are gonna suck and ruin the whole thing." Sure enough, they did. Back on the maze though, two actors seriously impressed me. One was on top of a tub that I swore wasn't real and she jumped out and got me. Hard to explain, but the position she was in was freaking ridiculous and I have no idea how she holds still in that position, but she was awesome. There was a second girl walking around who could contort her body in some crazy ways to bend waaaaay back like something out of an exorcism movie. She was extremely cool. There were a couple decent scares, but the theme is just all over the place and needs a revamp next year. 4/10.
Lockdown - This was one of only two times that I was in the front of the line and it was a blast. I expected Lockdown to fall in the middle of the pack for the night, but it was one of the best. Actors were awesome, the set is pretty good, and there were just a ton of scares. What made it even better was that they were allowing a ton of time between groups. We seriously got to the front of the line and waited for a solid 3 to 5 minutes before they let us in, which was perfect since we never caught the group in front of us and the actors were just ready and waiting for us. Had a great time. 8/10.
Doll Factory - This was the other one where I was in the front. We also hit it like 15 minutes before closing, so were able to walk right in. While the sets could use some updating, it's still a great time. Dolls will always be creepy and the mannequin room is still probably the creepiest room of any part of the park. 7/10.
Scare Zones
I won't break these up since this is a long enough post as it is. We only hit Necropolis, The Lair, and Cleaver Brothers. Necropolis was pretty good and very well staffed when we went through with some pretty decent scares. The Lair had a pretty small number of actors, but the fog and strobe lights were fantastic. Cleaver Brothers was the best of the 3 by far though, especially the sliders. We saw one of them come sliding into the middle of a group of like 5 girls and it was just an explosion of fear. They scattered like cockroaches when a light is turned on. It was fantastic. There were also plenty of scares all around in our group. One of the actors got all 3 of the girls in our group in the span of about a minute while we were standing around and after the third one she starts laughing and goes, "Three for three!!!" It was probably the funniest moment of the night. Definitely the best scare zone we hit.
Overall, Haunt was a great time. As I said, there were some mazes that were fantastic, a couple duds, and some that were decent. I may try to go a second time, but not sure if it will happen. If not, this was a pretty great Haunt experience for me. Interested to hear what others think of my rankings.
1. No Vacancy - Still the most fun maze and is the face of Haunt for me
2. Lockdown - Huge benefit from being in the front of the line and plenty of scares all around
3. Cornstalkers - Easily the most improved for me from previous years with tons of actors throughout the maze
4. Trick or Treat - Not too many scares, but the sets are the best in the park
5. Doll Factory - Dolls are just creepy to me and this is always one of my favorites. Bonus points for the mannequin room.
6. Blackout - More disorienting in certain parts of the maze than others with a handful of great scares. Just needs to be darkened a bit more in other sections to really raise it up.
7. Zombie High - More fun than scary. Despite its low ranking here, I had a good time.
8. Tollway Terror - While there were a few good scares and the 3 of us in my car had a fun time doing our own shtick, the "maze" itself is pretty lackluster. Throw in a handful of more actors and it could actually be pretty decent.
9. Urgent Scare- Just a weird maze with an inconsistent theme throughout. The actors were good, with a couple really standing out, but it's just a very inconsistent maze that needs to be revamped next year.
Mazes
Cornstalkers - This was actually the most improved maze for me over previous years. The year it debuted, it was my favorite maze, but had been a bit of a letdown the last few years. This time though, it was fantastic. There seemed to be actors around every corner and they blended in extremely well with the cornstalks. This was the first maze of the night and it was an awesome way to start things off. It was also my girlfriend's first experience with a haunted house in like 10 years and the actors could tell. She was an extremely easy target, which made it hilarious for the rest of us. 8/10
No Vacancy - It seems pretty well agreed upon that this is the most popular maze at Haunt and it never disappoints. Amazing detail that I really took more time to appreciate this time around (which led to some great distraction scares) and it's always a good time. The actors were on top of their game and it was a great time. 9/10.
Zombie High - I agree with what most people say about Zombie High. It isn't so much scary as it is kind of goofy, but in a good way. My group wasn't wild about this one because we didn't get many good scares, but I enjoyed it. I see it as a B-Horror movie, where you have to appreciate it for what it is and I do. Yeah, there weren't too many scares, but the actors were having a good time, the Principal on the PA was fantastic, and the whole thing is just fun in a very goofy way. 6/10.
Blackout - I had a few great scares in Blackout and I can truly say I never saw any of the actors who scared me. No clue if they were behind me, in front, or to the side, so credit to them. Some parts of the maze were pitch black and I ran straight into a wall at one point, but other parts were definitely lighter. They should make some parts of the maze darker, but there were a few times that I had trouble finding my way through when I lost track of the people in front of me, so it did achieve its goal for the most part. I think this maze has serious potential for being unique in the park and I just hope that they darken it a little bit next year. 7/10
Tollway Terror - I honestly put up a small fight to not bother with Tollway Terror, but my group wanted to do it, so I was outnumbered and didn't want to be "that guy." I expected to hate it, but we ended up having a decent time on it. I think we only saw like 4 actors out there, but 3 of them - including one with a chainsaw that came up from behind the car - legitimately got me. This one is a little hard to judge because we split up the group, so the guys went in one car and the girls went in another. The 3 of us in my car had a blast just screwing around (so much Fast & Furious shtick), but the "maze" itself is still rather lackluster, despite a few good scares. I actually like the lighting, the music is much better being just the classic spooky halloween-type music, but the animatronics don't really do anything to scare you, and they need more actors. The actors we did see did a great job, so I really think if they could have a handful more out there, it would actually be a quality "maze." For the experience with my group, it was one of the most fun of the night, but for the "maze" itself, I'd say 4/10.
Trick or Treat - This bad boy is freaking awesome inside. Even more detailed than No Vacancy and is hopefully the future of Haunt mazes. When you walk through, you really do feel like you're walking through a house, not a maze made of plywood. The sets are freaking incredible and design-wise it is a step above everything else in the park. When it comes to scares though, it was lacking a bit, but that was probably due to us being the middle of the pack. Not much you can do there. Still, the atmosphere alone is enough to make it one of the best of the night. 8/10.
Urgent Scare- This one is just odd. Not much else to say that others haven't already said. Most of the actors were into it and having a good time with it, which was great, but the theme is just strange. Like, some of it is very clearly a hospital, but then others are just confusing. Why are there people melting on the ground? Why are board games nailed to the wall? We also had 3 guys in front of us who were just the worst to be behind. Scared around every turn, which is great, but then they wouldn't move and would be overly dramatic, falling back, moving slow. It was extremely irritating. Sad part is, I said to my group, "Watch, these guys are gonna suck and ruin the whole thing." Sure enough, they did. Back on the maze though, two actors seriously impressed me. One was on top of a tub that I swore wasn't real and she jumped out and got me. Hard to explain, but the position she was in was freaking ridiculous and I have no idea how she holds still in that position, but she was awesome. There was a second girl walking around who could contort her body in some crazy ways to bend waaaaay back like something out of an exorcism movie. She was extremely cool. There were a couple decent scares, but the theme is just all over the place and needs a revamp next year. 4/10.
Lockdown - This was one of only two times that I was in the front of the line and it was a blast. I expected Lockdown to fall in the middle of the pack for the night, but it was one of the best. Actors were awesome, the set is pretty good, and there were just a ton of scares. What made it even better was that they were allowing a ton of time between groups. We seriously got to the front of the line and waited for a solid 3 to 5 minutes before they let us in, which was perfect since we never caught the group in front of us and the actors were just ready and waiting for us. Had a great time. 8/10.
Doll Factory - This was the other one where I was in the front. We also hit it like 15 minutes before closing, so were able to walk right in. While the sets could use some updating, it's still a great time. Dolls will always be creepy and the mannequin room is still probably the creepiest room of any part of the park. 7/10.
Scare Zones
I won't break these up since this is a long enough post as it is. We only hit Necropolis, The Lair, and Cleaver Brothers. Necropolis was pretty good and very well staffed when we went through with some pretty decent scares. The Lair had a pretty small number of actors, but the fog and strobe lights were fantastic. Cleaver Brothers was the best of the 3 by far though, especially the sliders. We saw one of them come sliding into the middle of a group of like 5 girls and it was just an explosion of fear. They scattered like cockroaches when a light is turned on. It was fantastic. There were also plenty of scares all around in our group. One of the actors got all 3 of the girls in our group in the span of about a minute while we were standing around and after the third one she starts laughing and goes, "Three for three!!!" It was probably the funniest moment of the night. Definitely the best scare zone we hit.
Overall, Haunt was a great time. As I said, there were some mazes that were fantastic, a couple duds, and some that were decent. I may try to go a second time, but not sure if it will happen. If not, this was a pretty great Haunt experience for me. Interested to hear what others think of my rankings.
1. No Vacancy - Still the most fun maze and is the face of Haunt for me
2. Lockdown - Huge benefit from being in the front of the line and plenty of scares all around
3. Cornstalkers - Easily the most improved for me from previous years with tons of actors throughout the maze
4. Trick or Treat - Not too many scares, but the sets are the best in the park
5. Doll Factory - Dolls are just creepy to me and this is always one of my favorites. Bonus points for the mannequin room.
6. Blackout - More disorienting in certain parts of the maze than others with a handful of great scares. Just needs to be darkened a bit more in other sections to really raise it up.
7. Zombie High - More fun than scary. Despite its low ranking here, I had a good time.
8. Tollway Terror - While there were a few good scares and the 3 of us in my car had a fun time doing our own shtick, the "maze" itself is pretty lackluster. Throw in a handful of more actors and it could actually be pretty decent.
9. Urgent Scare- Just a weird maze with an inconsistent theme throughout. The actors were good, with a couple really standing out, but it's just a very inconsistent maze that needs to be revamped next year.
At KD again. I don't get why they open the front plaza before 7, but don't bother to have the two best restaurants in the park open. Fucking fail...
Also, they now have proper maps. Not sure about the previous weekend, but opening they had no maps due to the rather suggest name change.
Also, they now have proper maps. Not sure about the previous weekend, but opening they had no maps due to the rather suggest name change.