Howl-O-Scream 2011
- Thread starter Zachary
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Did anyone else notice that the monsters out front of Das Festhaus were named after the BGW executives? I went ahead and tagged them in the photos they posted to facebook. 
Very clever of them; also makes the descriptions attached make more sense.
Very clever of them; also makes the descriptions attached make more sense.
Älpënghöst said:Did anyone else notice that the monsters out front of Das Festhaus were named after the BGW executives? I went ahead and tagged them in the photos they posted to facebook.
I had thought that was the case, and I was wondering who tagged them. Made me laugh. A+
I thought twice about not getting qq for tomorrow. Might as well make my one trip up for Howl-O-Scream enjoyable, so I bought some. I'm assuming i'd be ok getting into the park by 2? They usually hit capacity around 5 right?
So yesterday was my first night ever to Howl O Scream. It was amazing to say the least. The whole park was so eriee. The lighting was amazing throughout the park. Everything was top notch. Here is some of my reviews.
Bitten- this was my first HOS house ever so I was defenitly scared. The whole place was set up amazing, the actors were great. I did like the touch of having sand in the floor to slow you down. 4 out of 5
Catacombs- I did like the theme but the actors were lacking. They all looked alike and not one scared me, all they did was hit the walls.
This was my least favorite house. 2 out of 5
13: your numbers up- I HATED the entrance it was way way way to sketchy. It looked horrible for Busch Gardens standards. Also the queue line was sketchy through the parking lot. I did enjoy the detail In this maze and how well they hid the actors. The ending really scared me, tight spaces! 3 out of 5
Deadline - WOW! That's about all I can say is WOW! What a house! This was amazing. The attention to detail and everything. The queue was perfect with the story of the news broadcast. The house was so great inside, I thought I was in a real subway system. The actors got me every time. This was a world class house. 5 out of 5
Fear Fair - While standing in line an accident occurred and the ambulance came, the music stopped, and everyone was evacuated. After it was all clear they started going through again and the detail was great in this maze to. I liked how every tent had a new theme. The chicken room was great with the scent! It was very thought our and a great house. The bee room they should have had little fake bees tied to fishing line so with the strobe lights it looked like they were flying around going to sting you. 4 out of 5
Bitten- this was my first HOS house ever so I was defenitly scared. The whole place was set up amazing, the actors were great. I did like the touch of having sand in the floor to slow you down. 4 out of 5
Catacombs- I did like the theme but the actors were lacking. They all looked alike and not one scared me, all they did was hit the walls.
This was my least favorite house. 2 out of 5
13: your numbers up- I HATED the entrance it was way way way to sketchy. It looked horrible for Busch Gardens standards. Also the queue line was sketchy through the parking lot. I did enjoy the detail In this maze and how well they hid the actors. The ending really scared me, tight spaces! 3 out of 5
Deadline - WOW! That's about all I can say is WOW! What a house! This was amazing. The attention to detail and everything. The queue was perfect with the story of the news broadcast. The house was so great inside, I thought I was in a real subway system. The actors got me every time. This was a world class house. 5 out of 5
Fear Fair - While standing in line an accident occurred and the ambulance came, the music stopped, and everyone was evacuated. After it was all clear they started going through again and the detail was great in this maze to. I liked how every tent had a new theme. The chicken room was great with the scent! It was very thought our and a great house. The bee room they should have had little fake bees tied to fishing line so with the strobe lights it looked like they were flying around going to sting you. 4 out of 5
13 is very empty. The best themed portion of it is by far the first room. The rest of it was no more than "uh how does this relate to X fear."
Deadline needs help in the first half but the second half is outstanding…. I mean AMAZING
Fear Fair is the best maze there.. hands down. Long, plenty of actors, props, fog, atmosphere. Can't get much better.
I keep looking for those Twilight fools in Bitten. That theme is tired, get it outta heya!
Catacombs is hit or miss. I miss the vocals a lot of the actors in there had last year.
Deadline needs help in the first half but the second half is outstanding…. I mean AMAZING
Fear Fair is the best maze there.. hands down. Long, plenty of actors, props, fog, atmosphere. Can't get much better.
I keep looking for those Twilight fools in Bitten. That theme is tired, get it outta heya!
Catacombs is hit or miss. I miss the vocals a lot of the actors in there had last year.
My notes from last night:
Catacombs: I was quite impressed with Catacombs last night. Actors were on their game and I really noticed the difference in length. And let me repeat what I said on the first night again: Put the bass back into this house! It created an amazing atmosphere.
Deadline: The actors were much better than they were on opening night. Actually got me once or twice. Theme is still amazing. A few parts need to have the lights turned down a bit though and the stacking through the whole first half of the house was abundantly annoying.
Fear Fair: There seems to be some changes from what I remember on opening night and they're all for the better. The actors were "meh" but the house's setup was top notch.
Scarezones in general: Where's the fog? Why are they so bright? Why were there only 2 or 3 actors in Scavengers on a Saturday night? Props are good, but the park seems to think that's all that they need to do. Fog, lights, sounds, workers, etc. Make it happen Busch Gardens!
Catacombs: I was quite impressed with Catacombs last night. Actors were on their game and I really noticed the difference in length. And let me repeat what I said on the first night again: Put the bass back into this house! It created an amazing atmosphere.
Deadline: The actors were much better than they were on opening night. Actually got me once or twice. Theme is still amazing. A few parts need to have the lights turned down a bit though and the stacking through the whole first half of the house was abundantly annoying.
Fear Fair: There seems to be some changes from what I remember on opening night and they're all for the better. The actors were "meh" but the house's setup was top notch.
Scarezones in general: Where's the fog? Why are they so bright? Why were there only 2 or 3 actors in Scavengers on a Saturday night? Props are good, but the park seems to think that's all that they need to do. Fog, lights, sounds, workers, etc. Make it happen Busch Gardens!
My girlfriend and I went last night, Oct. 15th. Bought qq passes and I must say, it was the best overall night i've had at BGW. I didn't have to coordinate a plan to get everything done. We just did what we wanted when we wanted and took our time to enjoy everything the park offered for the event. Really well rounded this year.
Started at Deadline: I was highly impressed. The detail was amazing, actors were great. The length seemed perfect. Though I would say there was too much light at times. Like scout said, it does start out slow, but it really does turn around later on. so 8/10 but detail and theme would get a 10/10
13: Also impressed with this one. One of the actors got us good right at the beginning. The "fear of heights" was a good effect, but it just didn't play out right to me. I don't know how you could do that any better though. So it was good regardless. It seemed almost too long at times though. The sections where you are just walking through an empty hallway kinda kills it. The only real nag would be at the very end. It was more annoying than anything. 7/10
Catacombs: It was great for the first 1/4 of the house. Then we caught up to a security guard walking the maze with a flashlight on, so it ruined the experience. Tried going again but they wouldn't let us. So I won't rate this one.
Bitten: This house practically ruined my night. But not because of the park. There was some line issues with the qq people. Then randomly a woman comes running up to the person sending guest through and says her kids have autism and they can't stand in line too long or they will become "overstimulated". Before I go on, I have no issues with disabled guest going through, but if your kids can't even stand in line, what is the sense in sending them through a haunted maze? Anyway, So the worker directing flow sends them through, then some more guest waiting in line without qq. And I will add, I was rather impressed with the way she was handling everyone. Then we get sent through. Some how we catch up to the disabled guest who are yelling at actors to not scare their kids... I tried asking if they could stop so we could go around, and then they yell at me... Just sad. So again, I wont rate this one either.
Finally went to Fear Fair: We got in line and we were told there was a "Medical Services issue" and of course rumors were spreading through the line of someone throwing up to someone died. So we went a hit Apollo and noticed an ambulance and fire truck drive down the service road. We went back an hour later and went through no problem. The actors here seemed to be into their roles the most. It was a great experience. The actors really used the fog to their advantage, good to see. Scare wise, 10/10. Sure it was detailed at times, but other sections seemed more of a gimmick than anything with no actors in sight. So that gets a 7/10.
Scarezones: The only one I have an issue with was Stitchin' time. A few actors shaking things at me is not very scary. No fog, no real theme to be noticed either. I was impressed with every other one though. Scavengers got my girlfriend good multiple times. Alot of the scarezone actors were planning scares and it worked great. One person acting as a decoy, another jumps out. Good to see. Plus every scarezone I went through (minus stitchin' time) had plenty of fog. If stitchin' time is revamped somehow, the scarezones would be perfect. until then 8/10.
Overall, the feel of the park was amazing. We got there around 2:30 and did random things we usually don't get to do(stables, watched the sheep/heard dog practice, took boat ride, and watch some shows). The park completely transforms at 6 and it was great to see. We also ate at the Smoke House around 7 and I also bought platinum meal passes and we feasted. You cannot miss the Pumpkin pie cheesecake.
Though I know this year, they are allowing more drinking than usual, but people of course take advantage of it. I watch plenty of occasions when people were drinking before a ride, then they just through the bottle on the ground. I think maybe limiting the amount of drinks per person may be a good idea, though even then that still isn't very hard to get around.
I was also more than disappointed by the amounts of little kids I saw in the park. We watched Pirates 4d earlier in the day and some kid broke out crying in this, then their parents yelled at them and said "we are staying for howl-o-scream, you need to grow up". The kids was only 5 years old tops... People blocking the pathways because their kid is spazzing out over a scarezone, not wanting to go in, also got extremely annoying. I can't blame this park for this, but I do wish parent's would wise up a bit more before bringing their kids to an event like this. I do think putting a recommended age for the event would be a good idea. People wont listen anyway, but it could help.
Started at Deadline: I was highly impressed. The detail was amazing, actors were great. The length seemed perfect. Though I would say there was too much light at times. Like scout said, it does start out slow, but it really does turn around later on. so 8/10 but detail and theme would get a 10/10
13: Also impressed with this one. One of the actors got us good right at the beginning. The "fear of heights" was a good effect, but it just didn't play out right to me. I don't know how you could do that any better though. So it was good regardless. It seemed almost too long at times though. The sections where you are just walking through an empty hallway kinda kills it. The only real nag would be at the very end. It was more annoying than anything. 7/10
Catacombs: It was great for the first 1/4 of the house. Then we caught up to a security guard walking the maze with a flashlight on, so it ruined the experience. Tried going again but they wouldn't let us. So I won't rate this one.
Bitten: This house practically ruined my night. But not because of the park. There was some line issues with the qq people. Then randomly a woman comes running up to the person sending guest through and says her kids have autism and they can't stand in line too long or they will become "overstimulated". Before I go on, I have no issues with disabled guest going through, but if your kids can't even stand in line, what is the sense in sending them through a haunted maze? Anyway, So the worker directing flow sends them through, then some more guest waiting in line without qq. And I will add, I was rather impressed with the way she was handling everyone. Then we get sent through. Some how we catch up to the disabled guest who are yelling at actors to not scare their kids... I tried asking if they could stop so we could go around, and then they yell at me... Just sad. So again, I wont rate this one either.
Finally went to Fear Fair: We got in line and we were told there was a "Medical Services issue" and of course rumors were spreading through the line of someone throwing up to someone died. So we went a hit Apollo and noticed an ambulance and fire truck drive down the service road. We went back an hour later and went through no problem. The actors here seemed to be into their roles the most. It was a great experience. The actors really used the fog to their advantage, good to see. Scare wise, 10/10. Sure it was detailed at times, but other sections seemed more of a gimmick than anything with no actors in sight. So that gets a 7/10.
Scarezones: The only one I have an issue with was Stitchin' time. A few actors shaking things at me is not very scary. No fog, no real theme to be noticed either. I was impressed with every other one though. Scavengers got my girlfriend good multiple times. Alot of the scarezone actors were planning scares and it worked great. One person acting as a decoy, another jumps out. Good to see. Plus every scarezone I went through (minus stitchin' time) had plenty of fog. If stitchin' time is revamped somehow, the scarezones would be perfect. until then 8/10.
Overall, the feel of the park was amazing. We got there around 2:30 and did random things we usually don't get to do(stables, watched the sheep/heard dog practice, took boat ride, and watch some shows). The park completely transforms at 6 and it was great to see. We also ate at the Smoke House around 7 and I also bought platinum meal passes and we feasted. You cannot miss the Pumpkin pie cheesecake.
Though I know this year, they are allowing more drinking than usual, but people of course take advantage of it. I watch plenty of occasions when people were drinking before a ride, then they just through the bottle on the ground. I think maybe limiting the amount of drinks per person may be a good idea, though even then that still isn't very hard to get around.
I was also more than disappointed by the amounts of little kids I saw in the park. We watched Pirates 4d earlier in the day and some kid broke out crying in this, then their parents yelled at them and said "we are staying for howl-o-scream, you need to grow up". The kids was only 5 years old tops... People blocking the pathways because their kid is spazzing out over a scarezone, not wanting to go in, also got extremely annoying. I can't blame this park for this, but I do wish parent's would wise up a bit more before bringing their kids to an event like this. I do think putting a recommended age for the event would be a good idea. People wont listen anyway, but it could help.
ktmdavid229 said:
Yeah, I've always said the real issues with "kids at HOS" isn't the parents complaining that their kids gettin scared, it's the opposite: parents who drag their scared children through the scarezones and houses. I see it every time. It makes it really uncomfortable for everyone around them. I've tried to talk people out of taking their kids through stuff before when I see the kid is obviously scared. But the response is always something to the effect of "He'll be fine." So what can you do? There's really nothing the park can do about it.
I really wish they would. The reality is though, it's not going to happen. Unless it moves in the same direction of the Tampa event.Swiftman said:
Also, not to sound like a dick. I just don't think Saturday nights are the best night for disabled guest. I mean, I really am still mind blown by what I witnessed at Bitten. Bet she's on facebook complaining as I speak.
Swiftman said:
What age? How do you enforce it? My 9 year old could pass for 12. Are they going to argue that with me? 16? Many 16 year olds don't have photo ID. If you set the limit at age 12 for example, you could prevent kids obviously younger than that, but you'd also have 14 years olds that look young having to argue with the line employees. It'd be a nightmare.
Age suggestions might help, somewhat. But the reality is, that there are parents who will insist on bringing their kids, BUT also don't want to miss out on anything themselves, so they drag the kids through things they shouldn't. Age suggestions won't curb a lot of that.
ktmdavid229 said:
I have an autistic kid who can't deal with the lines. BUT he also can't deal with the crowd and the haunted houses. So problem solved.
Just curious, did you notice if they had the blue RAP wristbands and a timesheet? Or did they just go up to the front of the line and ask to get in? If they didn't have the RAP bands, the employees should not have let them through the QQ line.
See that's kind of my point, if you can't stand in line, how can you go through a house?Shafor said:ktmdavid229 said:
I have an autistic kid who can't deal with the lines. BUT he also can't deal with the crowd and the haunted houses. So problem solved.
Just curious, did you notice if they had the blue RAP wristbands and a timesheet? Or did they just go up to the front of the line and ask to get in? If they didn't have the RAP bands, the employees should not have let them through the QQ line.
And I did not. I noticed others with that, but not her. She might have gotten it checked earlier while waiting, then got fed up with waiting? I don't know. She really needs to evaluate herself. She came running and I mean running up, pushed me out of the way and started yelling at the attendant directing flow. I understand you have special needs, but if your kids notice you are spazzing out, it's going to make it worse on them. And the kids kept saying "get me out of here" yet the parents kept pushing them through.
Again, the person handling flow did an amazing job handling her. I personally would have gone off.
Do the time sheets designate a good time for disabled people to go through? If so that's a great idea. Gather alot of guest together at once and send them all through, to avoid the scare and make sure other guest aren't affected.
If not, they should do what I just stated.
Also on the age limit thing. Maybe it should be noted that "X" age is recommended/advised/required, and if you bring someone younger than that and they cause backups (ex. backing up main walkways by not wanting to go through, or not continuously moving through a house) then you are subject to removal from the park. Sure people will get upset, but then it will keep those that shouldn't be in the park from being there anyway. I say this because I saw quite a few young kids taking the scares in stride and enjoying it. I wouldn't want them to be affected. But parents seem to have a hard time differentiating that.
Shafor said:
This, this is the single reason why an age limit will not work. Case in point, I'm 19 but I'm told I look like a 15 year old. I've had to argue with cashiers, job recrutiers, even the freakin post office about my age. It's no fun, and showing my ID doesn't always work. If BGW ever did such a thing, it would only end in a PR nightmare.
ktmdavid229 said:
No. The way it works is you have to go to guest relations and get an blue disabled wristband and a timesheet that has all the rides you are eligible for (excluding any that may be restricted for height or mobility reasons). You must have both with you. You go to the ride exit or QQ line and show the wristband and timesheet to the attendant. They will give you a time to come back based on how long the wait currently is. If the wait is 30 mins, they'll give you a time for 30 minutes later. You come back at the designated time and they put you through. That way, you still have to wait like everyone else, but not actually in the line. They call it a "virtual line."
It's a godsend for us. We wouldn't be able to do BG without it. A ride op clued us onto the program after we waited in line for Alpengeist for an hour once and it shut down right when it was our turn. My son had a level 10 freak out and the ride op came over, helped talk him down, and then let me know about the RAP program.
Oh Ok. Well that seems like a pretty good idea then. I noticed people with those through out the night in qq lines, but everyone was calm and in good moods.Shafor said:
I can also assure you, this lady had a level 11 melt down. I wish I would have thought to grab my phone.
Quick Question:
Going to be in Williamsburg this week on a golf trip. A buddy and I are wanting to hit up BG for one day.
I'm thinking Friday instead of Saturday (nice little window from school kids 10-2?). Anyone frequent enough to know if Friday is really any different than Saturday crowd.
I'm usually up there in the summer. Just curious.
Thanks
Going to be in Williamsburg this week on a golf trip. A buddy and I are wanting to hit up BG for one day.
I'm thinking Friday instead of Saturday (nice little window from school kids 10-2?). Anyone frequent enough to know if Friday is really any different than Saturday crowd.
I'm usually up there in the summer. Just curious.
Thanks