Halloween Haunt 2019

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mtorange

mtorange

Grand Carnivale, Haunt, and WinterFest X-Pert
Jul 26, 2014
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I can't help myself after reading all of the Howl-O-Scream speculation...

I know Halloween Haunt isn't happening for a LONG while, but I wanted to jumpstart the thread because it's a really dry time at the moment with Kings Dominion news and speculation.

To recap, 2018 was certainly an interesting year for Halloween Haunt. It brought The Yard and No Vacancy: Condemned. The Yard was the park's first new scare zone since 2012 and it did a great job in regards to atmospherics and character talent, even though the costumes didn't quite stand out all that much and the soundtrack was the exact same as Lockdown's loud sirens. No Vacancy: Condemned was a unique re-working of a classic Haunt maze which shone bright (no pun intended) due to the flashlight aspect. 2018 also brought the demise of fan-favorites Feary Tales and the original version of The Inn at Darkside Manor: No Vacancy. Many expected the event to not be as good as in 2017 due to the arrival of WinterFest, but it actually performed very well... if you don't consider the crazy crowds on certain nights, where the guests were sometimes scarier than the monsters! The event also performed well in the annual USA Today Theme Park Halloween Event contest, where it placed 2nd for the second year in a row!

How to jumpstart 2019 speculation? Well, for those who attended WinterFest, you probably noticed that Jack Frost's Zone was filled with repurposed IronWorx props. Does this foreshadow the end of IronWorx as a scare zone? I hope so, as I've never found it scary and it is the oldest scare zone in the park. Removing it and adding a new scare zone in its place would make a lot of sense. I also hope that a new scare zone is put in the place of Feary Tales because it felt odd not having a Haunt attraction in that spot for the first time since the event began.

Do you think the park will use some of their extra revenue from WinterFest to spruce up Haunt? Or do you think Haunt will have smaller changes in anticipation for Haunt's 20th Anniversary in 2020 (crossing my fingers for a Doll Factory comeback... I think it would be insanely cool to have what is arguably the most popular Haunt maze of all time return for the 20th celebration, ESPECIALLY if the maze hits the top-quality mark that the recent mazes have brought to the park)? I'm interested in seeing what people think!
 
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Haunt leadership made it clear at last year's Fall ThrillFest that they wanted to do at least one new, high-budget house every year moving forward. After "taking last year off," I'd be shocked if Kings Dominion doesn't bring a Trick or Treat/Blood on the Bayou-caliber house to the table. In my mind, it's more a question of where than if.

As much as I used to love the house, I do suspect that Zombie High may have performed its last in 2018. No sourcing on that for the record—just a hunch as to where things might be heading.
 
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Zachary said:
As much as I used to love the house, I do suspect that Zombie High may have performed its last in 2018. No sourcing on that for the record—just a hunch as to where things might be heading.
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This made me sad to think about, but then again, I don't know what other house I would rather remove—There's not exactly a Frostbite at HH. I think maybe it would be Blackout for me, but that's a big attraction for them I know.
 
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The issue with Cornstalkers is it’s outdoors yet tightly packed into a small, open rectangle of a parking lot. I’m all for replacing it, but I have no idea what type of house could go into that space other than a corn maze.
 
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Does anyone remember there being a maze in the pavilion area back in 2010 or 2011? If there was, why not use the space for something big and scary? I've mentioned this before about a year or so ago; but I've always felt that the maze inside FOF's queue was a waste of space. Move it to the pavilion area and keep FOF open for Haunt operation. I kind of miss the whole Outbreak theme. They executed it well in 2012, but after that it lacked suspense.
 
MikeLovesKD said:
Does anyone remember there being a maze in the pavilion area back in 2010 or 2011? If there was, why not use the space for something big and scary? I've mentioned this before about a year or so ago; but I've always felt that the maze inside FOF's queue was a waste of space. Move it to the pavilion area and keep FOF open for Haunt operation. I kind of miss the whole Outbreak theme. They executed it well in 2012, but after that it lacked suspense.
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To my knowledge, there has never been a Haunt maze in the Pavilion area.

Regardless, I guess it’s now safe to say we know at least ONE new thing in 2019: A tombstone that says Volcano: The Blast Coaster (1998-2018).

Too soon?
 
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A mountain like structure that will likely be a demotion (and construction?) zone, no?
 
Joe said:
A mountain like structure that will likely be a demotion (and construction?) zone, no?
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I find it unlikely to happen before Haunt I can easily see it being there for this year at least.
 
The cost to remove Volcano has got to be fairly significant as it will be a feat of demolition if they decide to save the structure or if they just tear it all down. Considering Son of Beast sat SBNO for years as a massive structure dominating the skyline, it should be proof that Cedar Fair is in no rush to remove this attraction.
 
It would be rather cool to see them keep the mountain. And yes, to see it used for an annual Haunt Maze would be pretty decent. Again, get rid of the one in FOF's queue so that the ride would stay open during Haunt operation. Then introduce a new one in the Volcano's mountain. It would be a big maze.Think of the entrance starting where the queue is as you work your way inside the mountain. The deeper you go, the scarier it gets.

Thoughts?
 
It would be cool to have a Haunt maze inside of the Volcano, but the only thing that worries me is that guests and monsters alike often complain about how hot the mazes get (Blood on the Bayou and No Vacancy stand out in particular), so I could only imagine that whatever maze put inside the mountain would have that same complaint. Cool idea though! As for a theme, I could see them implementing something similar to PrimEvil, which would be really awesome!

I highly doubt we’ll see this in 2019, though, due to the fact that Volcano’s closing seems to be a last minute decision and 2019’s Haunt plans are likely already set.

EDIT: Just wanted to point out that ADA standards would likely not allow a maze to be built here because of the uneven ground and lack of wheelchair access in the entrance. But still, cool idea!
 
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I'd stay say they'd be better off using the pavilion area to create a big maze. I don't know why theme parks have such a hard time considering this. It's like they're stuck in conservative/non-creative mode. It was years before SFA decided to do something with the pavilion area for Fright Fest.

But here's how I'd so an alien theme maze for the pavilion area. Right near the pavilion area you'd see a sign for the maze over top the pavilion area sign. I'd theme the queue as some sort of military/science compound. This is getting back to the Alien Outpost/Outbreak(2012) theme that we all loved. The entire maze would be a half indoor and half outdoor maze. As you get further inside the maze, you encounter more of the aggresive alien virus that has taken over the military compound. So it kinds of gets scarier and darker as you progress through the maze.
 
The Dinos Alive area would make a good spot for a Haunt Maze. It always looked dark a suspicious back there when I would ride Grizzly during Haunt and look back there and see it all dark. Remember the mine themed maze Miners Revenge? I heard the theme offended people, which is why it only got one year. Captain Black Beard I always thought was fun because it matched the surrounding area theme for the water ride. Why not add some sort of revamp theme for that.
 
The reason you don’t see KD doing this is because all of their maxes are now designed to be (mostly) permanent. All of the mazes requiring temporary setup have been phased out, allowing the park to focus on higher-quality sets.
 
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Well, with Dinos now being extinct, they could have a maze in that space permanently, unless they have already earmarked that area for something else. I've always thought it would be a great space for Haunt.

+1 on the end of Iron Worx, since the props were recycled for Winter Fest. No big loss as far as I'm concerned, though I dug the NIN soundtrack.
 
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I have searched and cannot find the answer so forgive me for posting this here. Is haunt a separate ticketed event? If so, what do the prices normally run? Looking to work in a trip up to haunt when we are at BGW for HOS.
 
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