I went to Haunt for the first time on Saturday night. It’s still early in the season, but here are my initial thoughts.
Diablo: 6/5
Some say the scares are more canned (less interactive) but in the end it is absolutely terrifying and astonishing. The animatronics and props are spectacular, and one character in particular I couldn’t truly figure out if it was a human or the most incredible animatronic I’ve ever seen. I was surprised there was no theming outside the maze itself, and the posters advertising it are really hard to read. I kind of thought they might have painted the yellow building supports red, too, but they did not. I’d take a full investment inside the maze any day though. My only real complaint is I wish they would turn the volume down just one notch. The soundscape is a HUGE part of this Maze (as it is with Ghost in the Machine) but it is on the verge of being dangerous to your ears, and I really hope the scare actors in some of these rooms are given ear protection. I hope the park offers a SCREAM BREAK next spring with this open.
Trick or Treat: 5/5
This maze was elevated this year. A number of effects that had stopped were fixed, and underutilized scare tactics in recent years were being used again (windows, wall of bells). I also saw a couple new characters I had never seen before, including a menacing scarecrow actor which was really cool to see.
I know this maze is old, but I hope it sticks around. It does need a better finale though and placing the bird man from MonsterCon in a new finale room in the future would be pretty perfect!
Blood on the Bayou: 4.5/5
Some new lighting effects were implemented over the water (so it looked like water even without the fog). The VooDoo room was much darker than I remembered, and an actor had to yell at me to keep going straight just to find my way. The random mannequins in swamp always seems out of place and cheap to me. Dorney Park’s BotB is way better, and has a real finale with the animatronic alligator. I’m not saying we need to have a huge animatronic at the end, but I’ve only ever once encountered an actor in the final room one time in all these years. Seems like a strange letdown, especially since KD thinks so highly of the maze that it has its own FunPix picture area every year.
GrimmWoods: First half: 5/5 Second half: 3/5
Loved the new entrance/racetrack walk. The first half of GrimmWoods was really spectacular. I counted 4 aggressive wolf actors in the opening scenes, when I had never seen any before. Are they new this year? The wolf figures on the ground that used to lunge forward were rethemed into tableau scenery, which makes them look way better than the “abdandoned prop status” they had become before now.
The second half still has great scenery pieces over the bridges and through the castles, but it’s never well-staffed. I miss seeing someone pop out of the oven for a good scare (it looks like they walled off the back now). They really should have more medieval actors in the castle area. The dragon that never works is disappointing, especially given how it used to be. My suggestion would be to raise the whole apparatus higher off the ground for more menacing height and/or use a synchronized flashing light feature to make the dragon pop more, not just a constant strobe light. It’s not fair to compare this park creation animatronic to Diablo, but there are some relatively cheap things the park could do to fix up this finale.
As a whole, most characters in this maze focus on the storytelling over the scares (constantly chanting story dialogue). Maybe they are told to do this, and attract younger audiences as a first-step haunt maze?
Grimm Provisions (Grizzly Gulch Store): 6/5
Not only does it have amazing merchandise but the park really invested in the theming in this store. The cottage façade, the trailer, and GrimmWoods sign are all new, and show that this maze must be sticking around for a while. Might seem weird I'm giving a grade to a store, but if you've seen the new theming coupled with the ability to ride Grizzly at night with one of the Floodlights off then you'd understand.
Cornstalkers: Closed due to rain
F.E.A.R 2/5
This house has had great potential but has never been fully fleshed out. My favorite room in this maze is the hanging character room, and the best room theme for me is the hurricane room, but I never seem to encounter actors in there. I think more snakes might have been added this year, but once again the finale animatronic is not working.
If we must continue to have this concept, move it to a new building, perhaps the former Jungle Market Eatery? One of the biggest downfalls of this maze is how light bleeds from room to room through the ceiling, and even from the outside. The best way to hide a budget maze is to keep it as dark as possible, and the former skyride building just can’t do that. Move it to Jungle X, switch up some rooms, and the order, and put the hanging character room at the end.
Sink the Jerk: 1.5/5
I only saw this in passing, but being charged $20 for five balls is kind of ridiculous. There was a crowd standing around when I was there, but nobody was willing to fork over that money, and we all just awkwardly left. Meanwhile, putting a staff member in a position to try to make us mad, especially in a world where everyone gets so upset easily, is just in poor taste. The “Jerk” was obviously uncomfortable, and resorted to spewing out a history of Cedar Fair owning the rights to Snoopy, rather than actually trying to upset anyone. Maybe it would be more enticing if it was $10, but I had heard that this was rather unsuccessful at Dorney last year, so to bring it here just seemed like a strange decision. Maybe more teens later in the season will change the dynamic of this weird upcharge.
Overall Haunt Experience: 5/5
So far, this is the best Haunt I’ve seen at the park in many years. My visit Saturday night was hampered with constant rain, but despite the poor weather and early season crowds, I was surprised how many people stayed in the park until closing (equally surprised the park didn’t close early but so glad they didn’t). It doesn’t hurt that the best maze KD has ever had is debuting this year, but even the park decorations are elevated. Istreet and the entryway plaza are decked out with new or reused props. The merchandise and clothing is some of the best (and KD specific) I have seen in a long time too.
With the entertainment also elevated (didn’t get to see many shows myself yet) this year is definitely special. I know being charged for mazes stinks, and the all-digital maze pass is less desirable, but I really hope the returns on this event is worth it, as there are so many great things about Haunt this year.
, we'll find out. Line length isn't actually core to my argument though. Let's look at this upcoming weekend.
