AmyUD06
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Honestly, $79 is an absolutely steal for all-season skip-the-line for houses, when in the past it had been up to $75 for a single night, if you're going more than once.
Halloween Haunt 2026
- Thread starter mtorange
- Start date
This is such a double edged sword because I really want to go to haunt this year for their 25th anniversary (pretty sure it is), and experience the mazes, but I don't want to pay and give them money for something that SHOULD be free.
May be a hot take, but I don't think the upcharge is the problem, I think the park getting cold feet halfway through the event last year and then, once again, utterly and completely failing at effective communication with their guests, is the problem.
The transition to an upcharge for the event was always going to be rocky, but as is so often the fact with KD, they really picked just about the worst options possible at every turn. By attempting the transition initially last year, a year with minimal improvements, and then bailing halfway through, and now attempting it again in a year where we may only see a single new house (...?) while still dealing with the poor consumer sentiment around what happened last year, they've picked the hardest battle possible.
Long-term this is good for the park, it's good for the event, it's good for the chain, and I could even argue it isn't bad for consumers, but goddamn, this park despises competent communications and the park's propensity for getting cold feet at the first sign of difficulty when attempting to execute long-term, transformative plans really makes this whole thing pretty spooky as a pass member attempting to make purchasing decisions.
The transition to an upcharge for the event was always going to be rocky, but as is so often the fact with KD, they really picked just about the worst options possible at every turn. By attempting the transition initially last year, a year with minimal improvements, and then bailing halfway through, and now attempting it again in a year where we may only see a single new house (...?) while still dealing with the poor consumer sentiment around what happened last year, they've picked the hardest battle possible.
Long-term this is good for the park, it's good for the event, it's good for the chain, and I could even argue it isn't bad for consumers, but goddamn, this park despises competent communications and the park's propensity for getting cold feet at the first sign of difficulty when attempting to execute long-term, transformative plans really makes this whole thing pretty spooky as a pass member attempting to make purchasing decisions.
To change the topic slightly… Kings Dominion’s IP maze will be announced tomorrow at 12pm! The park has just shared the teaser on all of their social media. What do you think it is?
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Double posting but to get back on the upcharge conversation, I think it still sucks that we have to buy a separate pass to get into mazes, but I think the pricing is a LOT better this season. $30 for the whole Haunt season is really not much at all. And the new maze in particular looks very promising.
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The Hanover County Permits site already spoiled the surprise, for anyone who couldn’t wait, but I didn’t want to draw attention to it here.
I’m excited for it, and I hope it turns into something spectacular. I’m curious if this is an IP maze that will be at multiple locations or (I hope) exclusive to KD.
Actually the trademark at the bottom of the teaser just spoiled it too! Just noticed it after watching it again.
VERY interesting IP. I’ll let y’all find it.
Posting a teaser where the contractually obligated copyright information in the teaser spoils what it’s teasing is hilarious.
AmyUD06
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Then you will be adequately surprised by tomorrow's announcement.
Off to a great start re: value of the IP to KD's audience I guess?
I will say the IP at face value seems WORLDS better than Anaconda at BGW…
Yeah, if Anaconda didn't exist, I'd say this is a near-bottom-of-the-barrel IP... but Anaconda is so horrendous that I struggle to imagine a worse possibility so, somehow, KD's looks like a win.
True, this IP does seem underwhelming when surrounding Six Flags parks are getting Blair Witch Project, SAW, and Jason.
I wish that Luigi’s Mansion had been the choice instead; at least that video game is widely recognized. (I know this was never gonna happen, let me dream!!!
)New Maze coming to KD in 2027… Drachen Fire!
I think I’m quite impressed with the IP acquisition actually. I think those films are more widely recognized by the mainstream absolutely, but this (spoiler IP) has a huge following in the video game industry. Might not intersect with coaster enthusiasts too much, but it could draw much more interest from people that otherwise wouldn’t be drawn to a park. Remains to be seen if it works out though.
I have to imagine SF did their research based on those long haunt surveys last year and this is so different from the rest it can’t just be a throw away IP. As one of the last announcements they must consider this a pretty big deal.
That was so out of left field and impossible on those surveys last year that I was hoping for this too. Maybe 2027 replace Fear with Luigi’s Mansion and then it actually makes sense in a kids area.I wish that Luigi’s Mansion had been the choice instead; at least that video game is widely recognized. (I know this was never gonna happen, let me dream!!!
AmyUD06
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There is only one thing Luigi's Mansion should be applied to at KD, and that's Boo Blasters.
Puzzled as to how they are they going to make this one work... Can't wait to see it.
I’d agree during the era of the previous two installments, but…
Diablo 4 lost a LOT of goodwill from longtime fans of the series. Predatory microtransactions (not shocking from Blizzard, but still) and the fact that it is solely a live service game did not sit well with people at all. Critics gobbled it up, but they also liked Concord, so they really don’t have any room to speak.
The only other time I ever saw such a 180 in terms of demand from launch day to a week later was Cyberpunk, and unlike Diablo, that game righted its wrongs as time went on. I went from sold out in 2 days to not being able to get rid of 5 copies very quickly, and most GameStops are still packed with new copies from that first replenishment. The live service aspect is what really hurt it for a lot of people, because one day the game will simply not exist, and anyone with subpar internet already can’t really play it.
Bit of a long rant, but as someone completely neutral to the IP who has seen demand tank, I have to wonder if this is fueled by Activision-Blizzard trying to rejuvenate interest, and therefore pump up the microtransaction sales.
The only other time I ever saw such a 180 in terms of demand from launch day to a week later was Cyberpunk, and unlike Diablo, that game righted its wrongs as time went on. I went from sold out in 2 days to not being able to get rid of 5 copies very quickly, and most GameStops are still packed with new copies from that first replenishment. The live service aspect is what really hurt it for a lot of people, because one day the game will simply not exist, and anyone with subpar internet already can’t really play it.
Bit of a long rant, but as someone completely neutral to the IP who has seen demand tank, I have to wonder if this is fueled by Activision-Blizzard trying to rejuvenate interest, and therefore pump up the microtransaction sales.