Howl-O-Scream 2012
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
In Fear Fair the doll room was way too smoky. My mom was reaching out because she couldn't see and my aunt was grabbing onto me because she couldn't see either. You really didn't miss much.
The only horde I saw was in New France with chainsaws, saws and, knives. When we were leaving both of the hordes were in England. The clowns and the other guys. We were getting a drink and popcorn for the ride home and the lady serving us was complaining that they weren't supposed to be at the front. But I think she was misinformed because Party Rocker said the they would be at the front. Oh well.
In Fear Fair the doll room was way too smoky. My mom was reaching out because she couldn't see and my aunt was grabbing onto me because she couldn't see either. You really didn't miss much.
The only horde I saw was in New France with chainsaws, saws and, knives. When we were leaving both of the hordes were in England. The clowns and the other guys. We were getting a drink and popcorn for the ride home and the lady serving us was complaining that they weren't supposed to be at the front. But I think she was misinformed because Party Rocker said the they would be at the front. Oh well.
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
^ Ok, now I'm starting to feel like I'm in la-la land because Fear Fair was the best I've experienced at and I thought RoAE was the second strongest house of the night overall (Deadline of course beats it in theming). I'll do a more complete write up after my 2nd visit tomorrow.
(Didn't get time to see Night Beats or all of Dig It Up, but I'll try to tomorrow).
Parked around 2. Did a lap around the park and took some photos- glow stands actually work with the decor as they have them now (even though the grape buckets better return at some point). Love how the park did Ireland and the Scotland pumpkins actually work much better the way they are now vs in Ireland, especially lit up.
Dig It Up: disclaimer: I have not seen the first half of this show and therefore will not give any sort of grade on it. What I did see was just odd though and I can't imagine how anything ties it all together. Rating: NA
Fiends: saw the 4:00 showing, so the vocals were still somewhat fresh. Thought both leads and the monsters were good, not excellent. The reformatting of the show turned out really, really well. Few first night mistakes, but nothing really major. I am surprised at the guy they chose though considering the lengths they went to find someone. A-
Catacombs: Somewhat disappointed
and that makes me sad because this is one of my all time favorite houses. The actors just seemed off to me. Also felt they were understaffed. Wait time: 3 minutes. Score: B-
(13 was down at this point so we went to Deadline)
Deadline: I appreciate Deadline for what it is: a very well themed haunted house. It just doesn't scare me that much. Only times I was remotely startled was due to the blasts of air in the electric room. Wait time: 5 minutes. Score: B
13: -_- Somehow worse? Yes, they took out the bat (or else I blocked it from memory). They took away claustrophobia (or that may have been the malfunction- I swear I saw it still listed). Room 2 was empty. They added fear of mirrors to the end though which was just weird. It's still hard to tell which fears are which after a few. Wait time: 10 minutes. Score: C-
Root of All Evil: Buy the quick que. IMHO, no house is ever worth waiting 1+ hours. I waited about 45 minutes as the sun was setting, so by the time I got into the house it was dark. The picture at the begging: not sure how I feel. On the one hand, it slows the line down more. On the other hand, it actually spaced out the people so you weren't on top of everyone (looking at you Deadline). Lady of the Gardens got me good due to fog and the path switch-up is awesome (as is the man who is at that station). The parts that actually are the worst are inside the greenhouses they spent time building. Even so, the house was very good IMHO. Wait tim: 45 mins. Score: B+
Bitten: Skipped.
Fear Fair: was pleasantly surprised. The clowns were on point with their scares tonight. To be fair, I am comparing this to opening weekend last year, and not towards the end of the season. Wait time: 30 seconds. Score: A-
Hordes: saw a zombie? group as they went though France WAY to quickly. Perhaps they were on their way to Ireland, but it seemed rushed. End of the night was great though with 20 or so of them in England. Solid, but could definitely improve. Score: B
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Overall, not a bad for an opening night. I've heard great things about Night Beats from a number of people so I'm excited to see that tomorrow. I HOPE they are able to fix room 2/whatever was wrong with 13 and have more staff on hand in the houses, especially since it is a Saturday. Score for FRIDAY: B
^ Ok, now I'm starting to feel like I'm in la-la land because Fear Fair was the best I've experienced at and I thought RoAE was the second strongest house of the night overall (Deadline of course beats it in theming). I'll do a more complete write up after my 2nd visit tomorrow.
(Didn't get time to see Night Beats or all of Dig It Up, but I'll try to tomorrow).
Parked around 2. Did a lap around the park and took some photos- glow stands actually work with the decor as they have them now (even though the grape buckets better return at some point). Love how the park did Ireland and the Scotland pumpkins actually work much better the way they are now vs in Ireland, especially lit up.
Dig It Up: disclaimer: I have not seen the first half of this show and therefore will not give any sort of grade on it. What I did see was just odd though and I can't imagine how anything ties it all together. Rating: NA
Fiends: saw the 4:00 showing, so the vocals were still somewhat fresh. Thought both leads and the monsters were good, not excellent. The reformatting of the show turned out really, really well. Few first night mistakes, but nothing really major. I am surprised at the guy they chose though considering the lengths they went to find someone. A-
Catacombs: Somewhat disappointed
and that makes me sad because this is one of my all time favorite houses. The actors just seemed off to me. Also felt they were understaffed. Wait time: 3 minutes. Score: B-(13 was down at this point so we went to Deadline)
Deadline: I appreciate Deadline for what it is: a very well themed haunted house. It just doesn't scare me that much. Only times I was remotely startled was due to the blasts of air in the electric room. Wait time: 5 minutes. Score: B
13: -_- Somehow worse? Yes, they took out the bat (or else I blocked it from memory). They took away claustrophobia (or that may have been the malfunction- I swear I saw it still listed). Room 2 was empty. They added fear of mirrors to the end though which was just weird. It's still hard to tell which fears are which after a few. Wait time: 10 minutes. Score: C-
Root of All Evil: Buy the quick que. IMHO, no house is ever worth waiting 1+ hours. I waited about 45 minutes as the sun was setting, so by the time I got into the house it was dark. The picture at the begging: not sure how I feel. On the one hand, it slows the line down more. On the other hand, it actually spaced out the people so you weren't on top of everyone (looking at you Deadline). Lady of the Gardens got me good due to fog and the path switch-up is awesome (as is the man who is at that station). The parts that actually are the worst are inside the greenhouses they spent time building. Even so, the house was very good IMHO. Wait tim: 45 mins. Score: B+
Bitten: Skipped.
Fear Fair: was pleasantly surprised. The clowns were on point with their scares tonight. To be fair, I am comparing this to opening weekend last year, and not towards the end of the season. Wait time: 30 seconds. Score: A-
Hordes: saw a zombie? group as they went though France WAY to quickly. Perhaps they were on their way to Ireland, but it seemed rushed. End of the night was great though with 20 or so of them in England. Solid, but could definitely improve. Score: B
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Overall, not a bad for an opening night. I've heard great things about Night Beats from a number of people so I'm excited to see that tomorrow. I HOPE they are able to fix room 2/whatever was wrong with 13 and have more staff on hand in the houses, especially since it is a Saturday. Score for FRIDAY: B
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
The removal of the scarezones has reduced the overall atmosphere for the event. I think it was a mistake to go with the roaming hordes. My wife commented that while walking through San Marco she forgot it was Howl-O-Scream. I found it really disappointing that the level of theming has fallen so drastically in just one year.
And I concur with everyone else, Root of All Evil is terrible. The park has a lot of work to do.
The removal of the scarezones has reduced the overall atmosphere for the event. I think it was a mistake to go with the roaming hordes. My wife commented that while walking through San Marco she forgot it was Howl-O-Scream. I found it really disappointing that the level of theming has fallen so drastically in just one year.
And I concur with everyone else, Root of All Evil is terrible. The park has a lot of work to do.
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
Well I'll go ahead and tell y'all about my night. I didn't see any of the shows, I will next time though. Here's my thoughts on the mazes.
Bitten: same exact thing as every other year, quite boring. 4/10
Catacombs: Much darker than last year, and it seemed alot longer, wasn't to bad. 6/10
Deadline: Once again, the best maze. It really didn't change any from last year, but I still love how real it feels. I also got wet from the toilet 8/10
Fear Fair: it was a pretty decent maze this year, once again nothing was too different about it. 7/10
13: Skipped
Root of all evil: Worst maze at the park, even bitten was better. I stood in line for an hour to walk through the plant section at the home depot. I was so disappointed in it. All that hype for nothing. 3/10
And the roaming hordes were terrible, and like Chris said, I didn't even feel like I was at hos half the night, the main thing I liked about hos was the atmosphere, that was totally lost. I give the night a 5/10. Wasn't to impressed
Well I'll go ahead and tell y'all about my night. I didn't see any of the shows, I will next time though. Here's my thoughts on the mazes.
Bitten: same exact thing as every other year, quite boring. 4/10
Catacombs: Much darker than last year, and it seemed alot longer, wasn't to bad. 6/10
Deadline: Once again, the best maze. It really didn't change any from last year, but I still love how real it feels. I also got wet from the toilet
8/10Fear Fair: it was a pretty decent maze this year, once again nothing was too different about it. 7/10
13: Skipped
Root of all evil: Worst maze at the park, even bitten was better. I stood in line for an hour to walk through the plant section at the home depot. I was so disappointed in it. All that hype for nothing. 3/10
And the roaming hordes were terrible, and like Chris said, I didn't even feel like I was at hos half the night, the main thing I liked about hos was the atmosphere, that was totally lost. I give the night a 5/10. Wasn't to impressed
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
Alot of comments of BGW's Facebook page mirror what you guys said. If I continue to see more negative feedback, I will probably not go this year. Disappointed with what I've read so far. I thought BGW was going with a more adult, scarier direction. It sounds more like a family friendly harvest festival.
Alot of comments of BGW's Facebook page mirror what you guys said. If I continue to see more negative feedback, I will probably not go this year. Disappointed with what I've read so far. I thought BGW was going with a more adult, scarier direction. It sounds more like a family friendly harvest festival.
Don't judge the event on the opening night. Things will improve. The question is, how much.
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
Saw all 3, (only 3) shows and did 13 and deadline. I thought 13 was a little better than last year and deadline was essentially the same as last year.
Dig it Up I thought was very entertaining, and fun. It's a lot like Mix it Up, different songs but a lot of the same type of show.
Night Beats was also much much better than I expected, not to say it's the greatest show but my expectations were really low for this and they were exceeded. All the performers are good with lots of costume changes and such. The sound is still bad, you would think they would have that figured out after an entire season.
Fiends I thought was the worst show, it's not terrible but it was so much better in the festhaus. The first song, Thriller is absolutely terrible. The performer playing Igor is great, he saves the show imo. The rendition of People are Strange is great.
The roaming hordes are a joke, the one time we came across it, it was just as I imagined. A group of people dressed as scary clowns tooting their horns spread out talking and basically hanging out with each other. We left a little before 10 and they were in England causing chaos as people were trying to leave.
I do agree with the overall atmosphere, it just isn't there. My girlfriend who is startles very easily said she wasn't even on edge as we walked around. Normally she's half out of her mind worrying about what's around the next corner.
I did like the pumpkins hanging in Scotland, are they new this year? I don't remember those anywhere.
Saw all 3, (only 3) shows and did 13 and deadline. I thought 13 was a little better than last year and deadline was essentially the same as last year.
Dig it Up I thought was very entertaining, and fun. It's a lot like Mix it Up, different songs but a lot of the same type of show.
Night Beats was also much much better than I expected, not to say it's the greatest show but my expectations were really low for this and they were exceeded. All the performers are good with lots of costume changes and such. The sound is still bad, you would think they would have that figured out after an entire season.
Fiends I thought was the worst show, it's not terrible but it was so much better in the festhaus. The first song, Thriller is absolutely terrible. The performer playing Igor is great, he saves the show imo. The rendition of People are Strange is great.
The roaming hordes are a joke, the one time we came across it, it was just as I imagined. A group of people dressed as scary clowns tooting their horns spread out talking and basically hanging out with each other. We left a little before 10 and they were in England causing chaos as people were trying to leave.
I do agree with the overall atmosphere, it just isn't there. My girlfriend who is startles very easily said she wasn't even on edge as we walked around. Normally she's half out of her mind worrying about what's around the next corner.
I did like the pumpkins hanging in Scotland, are they new this year? I don't remember those anywhere.
RE: Howl O Scream 2012
Arrived with some friends at about 430. Lines were short at first, but got longer thru the night. Did Verbolten followed by Apollo.
Deadline (530pm)
This was my favorite house. Actors were all pretty good, line moved quickly. There was a Tony bit of stacking near the middle, but overall not bad. They needed more actors, though.
Wait Time: 5 min
Grade: B+
Bitten (7pm)
This was also pretty good. The Adventure Photo people made everyone get a picture, but other than that we basically walked on. This house has been there for at least three years, and it is starting to get stale. However, the actors were still pretty good, and there only some stacking.
Wait Time: 5 min
Grade: B
Root of All Evil (8pm)
I didn't find this as bad as Zachary did, but it wasn't worth the wait. We waited in line for about 55 minutes, and I wasn't impressed. The only relationship that this had to the "story" was that it was in a garden. I didn't see the Lady of the Gardens once in the maze. The actors were also off. I think the maze separates near the middle, because I found myself on a different path from my friends. Stacking wasn't an issue though.
Wait Time: 55 min
Grade: D
Fear Fair (9pm)
Can't really give a fair review of this one, because it was way understaffed.
Wait Time: 0 min
Grade: N/A
13 (940pm)
This house was atrocious. I waited a little less than 10 minutes, and it still felt too long. Stacking was awful, some parts (mainly through fears #5,6,&7) felt like you were standing in line. They also took out several OK fears and replaced them with just off-the-wall stupid ones. ( Fear of Mirrors? What the hell?) It certainly didn't help that right behind me there was a complete d******** who decided he needed to A) try to get out of the house a quickly as possible by going around everyone, B) Try to scare the people in front of him as much as possible (me), and C) Make fun of anyone who got scared in the house. He was lucky I didn't punch him in the face.
Wait Time: 10 min
Grade: F
We left at closing, but didn,t get home until about 1130.
Grade for the night: C
Arrived with some friends at about 430. Lines were short at first, but got longer thru the night. Did Verbolten followed by Apollo.
Deadline (530pm)
This was my favorite house. Actors were all pretty good, line moved quickly. There was a Tony bit of stacking near the middle, but overall not bad. They needed more actors, though.
Wait Time: 5 min
Grade: B+
Bitten (7pm)
This was also pretty good. The Adventure Photo people made everyone get a picture, but other than that we basically walked on. This house has been there for at least three years, and it is starting to get stale. However, the actors were still pretty good, and there only some stacking.
Wait Time: 5 min
Grade: B
Root of All Evil (8pm)
I didn't find this as bad as Zachary did, but it wasn't worth the wait. We waited in line for about 55 minutes, and I wasn't impressed. The only relationship that this had to the "story" was that it was in a garden. I didn't see the Lady of the Gardens once in the maze. The actors were also off. I think the maze separates near the middle, because I found myself on a different path from my friends. Stacking wasn't an issue though.
Wait Time: 55 min
Grade: D
Fear Fair (9pm)
Can't really give a fair review of this one, because it was way understaffed.
Wait Time: 0 min
Grade: N/A
13 (940pm)
This house was atrocious. I waited a little less than 10 minutes, and it still felt too long. Stacking was awful, some parts (mainly through fears #5,6,&7) felt like you were standing in line. They also took out several OK fears and replaced them with just off-the-wall stupid ones. ( Fear of Mirrors? What the hell?) It certainly didn't help that right behind me there was a complete d******** who decided he needed to A) try to get out of the house a quickly as possible by going around everyone, B) Try to scare the people in front of him as much as possible (me), and C) Make fun of anyone who got scared in the house. He was lucky I didn't punch him in the face.
Wait Time: 10 min
Grade: F
We left at closing, but didn,t get home until about 1130.
Grade for the night: C
A lot of fun to be had opening night. Crowds were minimal until around 6 when the park was swarmed with people. I didn't see any shows yet so I won't comment on those.
Mazes
Bitten: 20 minute wait: I really liked this maze. Even though it was just like last year's, it was still really fun to walk through. Got some good scares out of it, plus it helped to be behind a few chickens. Rating: 5/5
Root of all Evil: 30 minute wait: This maze had some really cool surprises. They guy in the pool, the Lady of the Gardens, the alternate path, all awesome. Unfortunately, this maze has a lot of missed opportunities as well. Too many people standing around, not enough props to hide behind so everyone is in plain sight. Plus the makeup looked really cheap. Some people got into the act, which I appreciate, but it left a lot to be desired. Rating 2/5
Fear Fair 10 minute wait: Another disappointment, there weren't enough people and not enough hiding spots. I got some good scares, but I was walking through too many empty rooms and too many missed opportunities. One of the sections was just a long hallway with too much fog and no scares whatsoever. I miss seeing the chainsaw clowns, but their replacement was pretty decent. Rating 2/5
Deadline 10 minute wait: This maze was probably one of the best. Tons of scares, tons of surprises, plus I got hit with a bit of that toilet water. There definitely were more actors than last year, which is a plus. I miss the guy with the firecrackers at the end of the maze. Oh and did the subway car get worse? I only saw one actor in there, even though I remember there being more actors in there last year. Rating 5/5
Catacombs: Walk on: This was one of the better mazes last year and it seems to have stayed the same. It even felt a bit longer than it did last year with plenty of scares to go around. I got a few jumps here and there plus I had the liberty of being between two groups of chickens that freaked out. Rating 5/5
13 was closed due to some sort of technical difficulty so I missed it.
Roaming hoardes were few and far between. I saw a group of clowns walking through Oktoberfest and a few zombies with chainsaws around Festa after getting off Apollo. I also found a zombie hiding behind Festa bridge, which was pretty awesome.Their makeup seemed rather cheap too. Rating 1.5/5
Hoardes are a good idea, but there are too few actors around to make it fully effective. Perhaps bringing back the scare zones and combining them with roamers would make the experience better.
Overall for a first night, it was good. Compared to last year's, it's pretty much on par with it's pros and cons. Let's hope that BGW improves the event throughout the season.
Mazes
Bitten: 20 minute wait: I really liked this maze. Even though it was just like last year's, it was still really fun to walk through. Got some good scares out of it, plus it helped to be behind a few chickens. Rating: 5/5
Root of all Evil: 30 minute wait: This maze had some really cool surprises. They guy in the pool, the Lady of the Gardens, the alternate path, all awesome. Unfortunately, this maze has a lot of missed opportunities as well. Too many people standing around, not enough props to hide behind so everyone is in plain sight. Plus the makeup looked really cheap. Some people got into the act, which I appreciate, but it left a lot to be desired. Rating 2/5
Fear Fair 10 minute wait: Another disappointment, there weren't enough people and not enough hiding spots. I got some good scares, but I was walking through too many empty rooms and too many missed opportunities. One of the sections was just a long hallway with too much fog and no scares whatsoever. I miss seeing the chainsaw clowns, but their replacement was pretty decent. Rating 2/5
Deadline 10 minute wait: This maze was probably one of the best. Tons of scares, tons of surprises, plus I got hit with a bit of that toilet water. There definitely were more actors than last year, which is a plus. I miss the guy with the firecrackers at the end of the maze. Oh and did the subway car get worse? I only saw one actor in there, even though I remember there being more actors in there last year. Rating 5/5
Catacombs: Walk on: This was one of the better mazes last year and it seems to have stayed the same. It even felt a bit longer than it did last year with plenty of scares to go around. I got a few jumps here and there plus I had the liberty of being between two groups of chickens that freaked out. Rating 5/5
13 was closed due to some sort of technical difficulty so I missed it.
Roaming hoardes were few and far between. I saw a group of clowns walking through Oktoberfest and a few zombies with chainsaws around Festa after getting off Apollo. I also found a zombie hiding behind Festa bridge, which was pretty awesome.Their makeup seemed rather cheap too. Rating 1.5/5
Hoardes are a good idea, but there are too few actors around to make it fully effective. Perhaps bringing back the scare zones and combining them with roamers would make the experience better.
Overall for a first night, it was good. Compared to last year's, it's pretty much on par with it's pros and cons. Let's hope that BGW improves the event throughout the season.
@Thing 342- gave Thanks simply because you find fear of mirrors as crazy as I do. I did see the Lady though- crazy woman was the one who gave me a good scare!
Looking at the comments (here and FB), so far the main concerns seem to be:
-Hordes vs. Scarezones and the effect on atmosphere.
-Root of All Evil
-Decor? (on Facebook- which can probably be included as part of scare zones. Otherwise I have no idea what the hell they're talking about [San marco as en exception] )
-Understaffing (primarily in Fear Fair, though I would contend that most areas were probably understaffed in comparison to later weeks).
- Predictable Monster Stomp/jack are gone/ Fiends is bad for my child
Just trying to think of plausible suggestions for improvement (except the last one)
Looking at the comments (here and FB), so far the main concerns seem to be:
-Hordes vs. Scarezones and the effect on atmosphere.
-Root of All Evil
-Decor? (on Facebook- which can probably be included as part of scare zones. Otherwise I have no idea what the hell they're talking about [San marco as en exception] )
-Understaffing (primarily in Fear Fair, though I would contend that most areas were probably understaffed in comparison to later weeks).
- Predictable Monster Stomp/jack are gone/ Fiends is bad for my child
Just trying to think of plausible suggestions for improvement (except the last one)
I was da*n happy to see scarezones gone. They were the biggest wasted of space and budget I think possible. I had three horde viewings total and by far preferred the clowns. Every one of them looking the same and they fact they are clowns. That's a very good change. Overly please so far. I am considering heading back Sunday and want to get a good hard second look at mazes before weighing in.
Houses:
Deadline- As always very impressive theming and realism. As last year this house easily seems to be the best again. 8.5/10
Fear Fair- Id have to say this one is about the same as last year. Today it was somewhat weak but there is much potential for improvement. It also seem slightly understaffed compared to last year. 7/10
ROAE- I cant really judge this because it went through it during the day but it seems to have potential and a unique theme. Much like fear fair I belive this one can improve. Deff not the scariest house ever but much better than Bitten or 13. From my daylight experince of it you could see every scare coming. All though this house isnt nesesarially bad i wouldnt say its worth the wait and somewhat dissaptointing for the "big new scare" 6/10
Catacombs- May be getting close to time to put this one on the same list as bitten. While its not a bad house, just dosent seem to be to scary. Seems a little longer this year, but had a extream lack of scares for me, hopefully will improve as the season goes on. 5.5/ 10
Bitten- Overall. not a bad house but after several years of the same thing gets kind of boring and old. 5/10
13- Yikes :shocked: Assuming they would have learned from last year you would think it would be better, NOPE. The second fear room had NOTHING in it. To many of the rooms had absolutely no scareactors in it also. There was also a hallway you walk down after the dentist fear that wasnt even attempted to be converted to fit into the house, felt very out of place. It also seemed the the scareactors in this house made very little effort to scare. 2.5/10
Themeing-
England- As always the crows in England look great and fit in very well. 9/10
New France- They actually did a pretty great job with the spiders this year, especially on the bridge even though it already appears the webs are getting wear and tear from people pulling on them. Still they exectued the theme here very well. 8.5/ 10
Wild Reserve- Would much rather have wearwolfs back but not to bad of a replacement. During the day the area looks somewhat tacky in spots with to many different types of ghosts all scattered around but actually looks pretty neat at night. 8.5/10
Ireland- Overall the theming here was pretty good. I just didnt like the signs on the monsters necks. Made it feel sorta tacky and unreal. Made it look more like a display of costumes vs a scarezone props, but overall this area looked pretty good! 8/10
Scotland- With the suprising move of the pumpkins to this area it actaully turned out much better than i expected (something i cant say much tonight) 8/10
France- Not to much here just the usual rats and bones but still looks pretty good! 7/10
Rhine Feild- With root of all evil dont see why the did vampires in this area but they did pull it of pretty well exept the twighlight looking vampire on the fountian -_- but still not a bad area just sort of boring 6/10
Festa Italy- Suprising to hear this area way down here but having been while "Festia Dementia" was there, the theming now is horrid compared to that. The clowns they had were to small and were all hanging off of trees, ect. Not much other than that, where before they had larg clowns and all sorts of props and theming all over the place. Its a shame to see this area so underthemed. 5/5
Oktoberfest- What the hell is this? Half vampire/red theme spilling over from rhinefeild and half white lights and pumpkings torwards verboltent. Seems like two lackidasical zones in one. 2/10
San Maraco- There was theming here??? lol .5/10
Roaming Hordes
What a shame this is. After having a year of the most impressive scarezones ive ever seen we get these crappy roaming hordes I only saw 1 time and didnt even get slightly scared by. Zombies constumes werent very impressive either. BAD BAD BAD MOVE! 2/10
Overall: Not a "bad" event but very dissapointing. 6/10
Deadline- As always very impressive theming and realism. As last year this house easily seems to be the best again. 8.5/10
Fear Fair- Id have to say this one is about the same as last year. Today it was somewhat weak but there is much potential for improvement. It also seem slightly understaffed compared to last year. 7/10
ROAE- I cant really judge this because it went through it during the day but it seems to have potential and a unique theme. Much like fear fair I belive this one can improve. Deff not the scariest house ever but much better than Bitten or 13. From my daylight experince of it you could see every scare coming. All though this house isnt nesesarially bad i wouldnt say its worth the wait and somewhat dissaptointing for the "big new scare" 6/10
Catacombs- May be getting close to time to put this one on the same list as bitten. While its not a bad house, just dosent seem to be to scary. Seems a little longer this year, but had a extream lack of scares for me, hopefully will improve as the season goes on. 5.5/ 10
Bitten- Overall. not a bad house but after several years of the same thing gets kind of boring and old. 5/10
13- Yikes :shocked: Assuming they would have learned from last year you would think it would be better, NOPE. The second fear room had NOTHING in it. To many of the rooms had absolutely no scareactors in it also. There was also a hallway you walk down after the dentist fear that wasnt even attempted to be converted to fit into the house, felt very out of place. It also seemed the the scareactors in this house made very little effort to scare. 2.5/10
Themeing-
England- As always the crows in England look great and fit in very well. 9/10
New France- They actually did a pretty great job with the spiders this year, especially on the bridge even though it already appears the webs are getting wear and tear from people pulling on them. Still they exectued the theme here very well. 8.5/ 10
Wild Reserve- Would much rather have wearwolfs back but not to bad of a replacement. During the day the area looks somewhat tacky in spots with to many different types of ghosts all scattered around but actually looks pretty neat at night. 8.5/10
Ireland- Overall the theming here was pretty good. I just didnt like the signs on the monsters necks. Made it feel sorta tacky and unreal. Made it look more like a display of costumes vs a scarezone props, but overall this area looked pretty good! 8/10
Scotland- With the suprising move of the pumpkins to this area it actaully turned out much better than i expected (something i cant say much tonight) 8/10
France- Not to much here just the usual rats and bones but still looks pretty good! 7/10
Rhine Feild- With root of all evil dont see why the did vampires in this area but they did pull it of pretty well exept the twighlight looking vampire on the fountian -_- but still not a bad area just sort of boring 6/10
Festa Italy- Suprising to hear this area way down here but having been while "Festia Dementia" was there, the theming now is horrid compared to that. The clowns they had were to small and were all hanging off of trees, ect. Not much other than that, where before they had larg clowns and all sorts of props and theming all over the place. Its a shame to see this area so underthemed. 5/5
Oktoberfest- What the hell is this? Half vampire/red theme spilling over from rhinefeild and half white lights and pumpkings torwards verboltent. Seems like two lackidasical zones in one. 2/10
San Maraco- There was theming here??? lol .5/10
Roaming Hordes
What a shame this is. After having a year of the most impressive scarezones ive ever seen we get these crappy roaming hordes I only saw 1 time and didnt even get slightly scared by. Zombies constumes werent very impressive either. BAD BAD BAD MOVE! 2/10
Overall: Not a "bad" event but very dissapointing. 6/10
More 2 cents
Hoardes vs. Scare Zones
Hoardes are a good concept, but BGW really skimped out on them. I wish there were more roaming around or maybe larger groups of people. Scare zones last year were either really good or bad early in the season. The park should expand the scare zone concept and add roaming hoardes to the mix to make things really scary again. Later in the season, the scare zones did get better I'll admit though. Hopefully we'll see the same changes with the roaming hoardes.
Root of all Evil
This maze had tons of potential to be great, but like the hoardes, I feel it's all wasted on too much open space, not enough places for actors to pop out or not enough props around for them to utilize. I expected a few monster plants to attack, a few chainsaws, and some makeup that doesn't involve fake-looking leaves attached to your face. Unlike the other mazes though, there are a few unique scares and a few cool scenes that really stand out.
Theming-wise, the park actually did a solid job with the theming. Some parts of the park looked amazing (England, Scotland, Ireland, New France). Other parts were forgettable (Festa - which didn't have much last year either, San Marco, Oktoberfest). Honestly I didn't let that bother me. Oh and the San Marco glow stand actually looks good.
I think opening HOS early was a mistake on the park's fault. It's been stated before that the park was still short staffed on scare actors, which explained the short staffing in some of the mazes. I also feel that a lot of the park's atmosphere may have been lost in trying to open a week early and rushing to get all the theming in place. Give them another week to add a bit more theming and a few more actors around the area and you'll probably have a better event.
Oh and fog on Verbolten is awesome. They really should keep that year round instead of just for HOS.
Hoardes vs. Scare Zones
Hoardes are a good concept, but BGW really skimped out on them. I wish there were more roaming around or maybe larger groups of people. Scare zones last year were either really good or bad early in the season. The park should expand the scare zone concept and add roaming hoardes to the mix to make things really scary again. Later in the season, the scare zones did get better I'll admit though. Hopefully we'll see the same changes with the roaming hoardes.
Root of all Evil
This maze had tons of potential to be great, but like the hoardes, I feel it's all wasted on too much open space, not enough places for actors to pop out or not enough props around for them to utilize. I expected a few monster plants to attack, a few chainsaws, and some makeup that doesn't involve fake-looking leaves attached to your face. Unlike the other mazes though, there are a few unique scares and a few cool scenes that really stand out.
Theming-wise, the park actually did a solid job with the theming. Some parts of the park looked amazing (England, Scotland, Ireland, New France). Other parts were forgettable (Festa - which didn't have much last year either, San Marco, Oktoberfest). Honestly I didn't let that bother me. Oh and the San Marco glow stand actually looks good.
I think opening HOS early was a mistake on the park's fault. It's been stated before that the park was still short staffed on scare actors, which explained the short staffing in some of the mazes. I also feel that a lot of the park's atmosphere may have been lost in trying to open a week early and rushing to get all the theming in place. Give them another week to add a bit more theming and a few more actors around the area and you'll probably have a better event.
Oh and fog on Verbolten is awesome. They really should keep that year round instead of just for HOS.