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 atKings Queens Dominion will look like? Speculate away!
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