Halloween Haunt 2020

[mtorange]

The 20th year of Halloween Haunt is going to be a big one, so I thought I would once again jumpstart the speculation as early as possible (though I could've started the thread after midnight on November 2nd, 2019, but I digress...)!

2019 was a HUGE year for Kings Dominion. With the addition of Grand Carnivale and the removal of Volcano, some were worried that Haunt would be overlooked again like in 2018. We were proven wrong as the park poured a TON of much-needed attention into Halloween Haunt. To recap, 2019 brought the demise of Zombie High, The Lair, and the Overlord's Resurrection. On the flip side, 2019 brought us a LOT of stuff. Blood Reign and Heads Will Roll were met with fantastic reviews as Queen Majesty's beheadings shocked audiences and the Queen's Court sang and danced unlike anything the park has ever seen before. With that being said, while the Masquerade dancers were a fantastic part of Heads Will Roll, their scare zone was met with mostly negative reviews as there were more pictures than scares. Pumpkin Eater was the exact opposite as the atmospherics accompanied some fantastic scares in the Arbor once again. The scarecrows in Old Virginia and the graveyard setting in the Windseeker Plaza were just a couple examples of the Halloween and fall decor used to spruce up the neglected portions of the park (which I hope we see more of in the future). Most of all, we cannot forget that Queen Majesty herself has to be the biggest Haunt addition in years! Queen Majesty had a lot to prove if she wanted to fill the fan-favorite Overlord's shoes, and boy, she delivered!

What do I think will change in 2020? Here's what I want to see. Regarding shows, I don't think we've seen the last of the Overlord... Blood Reign's close-to-midnight showing kept the Overlord/Queen Majesty storyline wide open when the Overlord's head suddenly vanished... but will it actually mean anything? I think he's going to try to come back and a power struggle will take place each night, though I am unsure if this would take place under the current Blood Reign show or if this would be a new show entirely. Regarding mazes, my fingers are still crossed that we will see a fan-favorite return for the 20th anniversary. Doll Factory? Club Blood? I would love to see one of these redone with the quality of Blood on the Bayou or Trick or Treat. Either way, the park really does need a new maze as we have not had a fully-new maze since 2017's Blood on the Bayou. Regarding scare zones, I would like to see Ironworx fizzle out and be replaced with something else, and I would also like to see something fill Feary Tales' old spot; even though there was some decor placed here, a scare zone would still be better (both of these things I predicted last year and neither happened, so we'll see.).

Do you think the park will be able to beat the stellar lineup that happened in 2019? What do you want to see? What do you think the future of Halloween Haunt at Kings Queens Dominion will look like? Speculate away!

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

20th anniversary of Haunt this year. Announcements later.

 

[Zachary]

Pulling this from the BGW HOS thread to respond here...

However, Park President, Tony Johnson told ACE Mid-Atlantic at Thrillfest 2019: “We will not abandon the maze business.” So, maybe there is some hope.

All the whispers I’ve heard say that this will finally be a BIG year for Haunt. Fingers crossed! Hopefully I’ll get something more concrete to share as we get closer.

 

[mtorange]

All the whispers I’ve heard say that this will finally be a BIG year for Haunt. Fingers crossed! Hopefully I’ll get something more concrete to share as we get closer.

I’m so excited for this year, too! I won’t go into detail cuz I did it in my original post on this thread, but I thought last year was a pretty big year for Haunt because of the storyline change. If 2019 was really just a warm-up, then I’m not sure I can prepare myself for what’s coming in 2020!

 

[mtorange]

According to the Haunt website, Kings Dominion’s 20th Haunt season is scheduled to begin on September 19th, 2020.

 

[mtorange]

Extremely bored and thought I would throw this out there.

This is purely speculation, but I guess it’s safe to say that we won’t see any attractions having to do with sickness, viruses, or plagues this year due to the coronavirus?

IronWorX is a scare zone that has been at the park for a long while and rumors of its demise have proven to be untrue for a couple of seasons now. Could we finally see this one leave due to the evolution of the storyline where plague doctors have unleashed a plague on the steampunk villagers? If the pandemic isn’t the perfect excuse to get rid of IronWorx, I’m not sure if it’ll ever leave!

 

[Pantheon]

I know one thing we will definitely see this year:

A tombstone saying "RIP The Crypt (2005-2020)".

 

[mtorange]

I know one thing we will definitely see this year:

A tombstone saying "RIP The Crypt (2005-2020)".

The park actually redecorated International Street last season and removed the attraction graveyard, so we won’t be seeing that this year. I was hoping to see a Volcano tombstone last season!

 

[jeffh]

This is purely speculation, but I guess it’s safe to say that we won’t see any attractions having to do with sickness, viruses, or plagues this year due to the coronavirus?

Well we had Miner's Revenge in 2013 and that got some people riled up, they can take the Zombie High building (artist formerly known as Toxic Plague) and turn that into "Covid's Revenge" and have the chance to rile up a larger group.

 

[mtorange]

I LOVE the new Halloween Haunt logo that’s in the 2020 Guest Assistance Guide! 20 Years of Fear!

Let’s hope we can still celebrate it in its full horrific glory!

 

[Mushroom]

I’m praying that at least SOME of the plans for Haunt’s 20th anniversary still make it. From what I’ve heard, KD had some big plans for the event this season. It just couldn’t have come at a worse year

 

[mtorange]

I’m praying that at least SOME of the plans for Haunt’s 20th anniversary still make it. From what I’ve heard, KD had some big plans for the event this season. It just couldn’t have come at a worse year

As silly as this sounds, if they can’t do everything that they planned this year, maybe they could consider making it a two-year event similar to the 40th Anniversary celebration? I think people will understand due to the circumstances.

With that being said, let’s hope everything can still go on as planned! ?

 

[Mushroom]

I like it. Plus, the event’s 21st birthday next year is a milestone too because Haunt will be legally allowed to drink.

Seriously though, I wonder what marketing spin they could use to really extend the celebration into two years. Hmm...

 

[mtorange]

I like it. Plus, the event’s 21st birthday next year is a milestone too because Haunt will be legally allowed to drink.

As if Haunt doesn’t have enough alcohol already...

Seriously though, I wonder what marketing spin they could use to really extend the celebration into two years. Hmm...

Does anyone remember how they justified the two-year 40th Anniversary?

Anyhow, it would definitely be a hard sell. It would be easier to make the argument that 2019’s new attractions (specifically Masquerade/Heads Will Roll/Blood Reign) were setting the stage for something HUGE this season, therefore making 2019 and 2020 into an unofficial two-season celebration.

Like I said when I started this thread, I’m convinced that the Overlord isn’t gone just yet. They didn’t end the final beheading in Blood Reign like that for nothing...

 

[Mushroom]

Does anyone remember how they justified the two-year 40th Anniversary?

It's because KD had that unique two-year opening. First the preview center with Lion Country Safari opened in 1974, then the rest of the park opened in 1975.

But I think I figured out how the park could spin this: 2020 is the twentieth anniversary of a Halloween event at Kings Dominion, but it was known as Fear Fest from 2001 to 2006. The event became known as Halloween Haunt when Cedar Fair took over in 2007, so technically... 2021 will be Haunt's 15th season. Boom! Two-year celebration.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

I'm not sure about this; which is why I'm asking. Does KD still close FoF in evening for a HAUNT maze? I know that Outbreak: The Evolution was themed to something, which in turn still resulted in FoF not operating during HAUNT evenings. But has the park come to it sense that using FoF's queue for a tight maze does not receive the best reviews?

Also; now that Volcano's spot is empty; is it possible that the park could use it's spot to set up a big tent to house an alien themed maze? I'd like to hear everyone's honest opinion. A return of Alien Outpost would be rather cool. A big tent leaves a lot of room for it to easily be one of the scariest mazes in the park. Here is why I believe it can work.

If we go way back in time to SFA's glory years; we will all remember how cool Brutal Planet was. This maze would remain victorious in the DMV area clean up until the SFA's parent company was acquired by Redskins owner; Dan Snyder. ESPN's Mark Shapiro was put in as CEO and went to each park decided what attractions got the boot. 2006 would be the beginning of SFA's decline which resulted in the removal of Brutal Planet and Hall Manor. After that; nobody really cared anymore for SFA's Fright Fest. For those who remember Brutal Planet; the fear started as soon as entered the fenced area inside the tent. Aggressive scare actors would literally bang against the fence startling guests. Shortly after that, scare actors approached groups with baseball and aggressively banged them against the wall. The scariest part of the maze was the hallway that consisted of nothing but dense fog. Anything could pop out at you and you wouldn't see it to save your life. The experience to a younger person was definitely one you would remember. And the wait time for this maze was a little over 45 minutes to an hour.

When considering all the above, one could assume a longer version of the favorable 2012 Outbreak: The Evolution. What was so special about this version of Outbreak. No offense to anyone else; but it wasn't handicap accessible. Once you entered FoF's door; you turned to the left and was greeted by a dark wall. As usual you'd begin through the plastic curtains to be greeted by with a shocking drop panel. The crew did a very good job at making that small maze fun. The very next year; it was made handicap accessible, which resulted in a reverse course. Not as many drop panels and for some reason the theme music had changed. But the park could redeem itself with a much more aggressive alien maze. A tent could be made handicap accessible and intense at the same time, because it does not feature FoF's steps to exit through the flying saucer.

 

[mtorange]

I'm not sure about this; which is why I'm asking. Does KD still close FoF in evening for a HAUNT maze? I know that Outbreak: The Evolution was themed to something, which in turn still resulted in FoF not operating during HAUNT evenings. But has the park come to it sense that using FoF's queue for a tight maze does not receive the best reviews?

Yes, unless it gets taken out in 2020 (or 2021... ?), the Flight of Fear building houses the prison-themed maze Lockdown. I believe it’s been there since 2015, which might make it the longest a maze has lasted in that spot.

I think it would be cool for the park to bring back some sort of alien maze. I don’t remember Outbreak being that memorable; the only thing I remember was the snake popping out of that one prop, which I believe they moved to Blood on the Bayou when that debuted in 2017. I wish I had seen Alien Outpost before it left, though I heard rough reviews about that one, also.

I doubt we’ll see another tent maze anytime soon, as the park seems to nowadays prefer building mazes in permanent structures that stay up year-round. The last time we saw a temporary maze was Maze of Madness (Urgent Scare) when it was housed in Dodgem. Also, hopefully Volcano‘s empty lot won’t be empty for too long!

 

[MikeLovesKD]

Yes, unless it gets taken out in 2020 (or 2021... ?), the Flight of Fear building houses the prison-themed maze Lockdown. I believe it’s been there since 2015, which might make it the longest a maze has lasted in that spot.

I think it would be cool for the park to bring back some sort of alien maze. I don’t remember Outbreak being that memorable; the only thing I remember was the snake popping out of that one prop, which I believe they moved to Blood on the Bayou when that debuted in 2017. I wish I had seen Alien Outpost before it left, though I heard rough reviews about that one, also.

I doubt we’ll see another tent maze anytime soon, as the park seems to nowadays prefer building mazes in permanent structures that stay up year-round. The last time we saw a temporary maze was Maze of Madness (Urgent Scare) when it was housed in Dodgem. Also, hopefully Volcano‘s empty lot won’t be empty for too long!

Maze of Madness was also inside of a tent, back in 2009. It sat in the same spot that Cornstalkers was in.

I did Alien Outpost in HAUNT of 2009. It was okay. All it did was take you through Flight of Fear's existing queue. It was a little less intense than what Outbreak was. Once you went through the double doors, you entered the hanger area and took a left. There was a scare actor that popped out of the box in the first corridor that lead to the actual maze. Once you turned to the right; the maze experience began. The best part about it was the hallway with all the skeleton bodies.

As for setting up a tent in Volcano's spot; I think it would create an intense experience. I wouldn't do Outbreak's virus theme; for the simple reason of the current pandemic that out country is in. So this calls for the return of an alien themed maze.

Lore): Reports of seismic activity, have surfaced from the decommissioned Fort Zimmerman. Only the honorable stripes; can speak on what they have witnessed during their service. The Bureau of Paranormal Activity has opened a ripple in space; to a dark outer worldly presence. These ominous beings are in no rush to leave and welcome those brave enough enough to greet them. All base personnel are warning lower rank participants to reconsider their commitment in response to this threat. SURVIVAL IS UNLIKELY

 

[mtorange]

Halloween Haunt 2020 has officially been cancelled at all Cedar Fair parks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s to celebrating “20 Years of Fear” next year!

 

[Thomas]