Howl-O-Scream 2012

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I also went to HOS today and had a pretty great time. I will preface my experience by saying that I went on the last possible day last year so that is what I am comparing tonight's HOS experience to. This is also only the second year I have gone since I was very young, so a lot of things are still pretty novel to me.

I hit every maze and show, and will echo a lot of what people have been saying.

Fear Fair: As one of my favorite mazes last year (it was fantastic on the last day), it was understaffed, and I think it will be brought back up to where it was soon enough. Not much else to say.

Catacombs: Liked the maze last year; I think it was my second favorite. I will agree there weren't quite as many scare opportunities but still solid.

Deadline: The favorite maze of both me and my friend. I love the concept and execution. Perhaps a little understaffed, but definitely the best. They just need to space the people out a bit more.

Bitten: Can't really say a lot because we did it still in the light, thinking it wouldn't matter because it was in a building. Much the same a last year from what I remember. Not fantastic but still a lot of fun.

13: The middle of this maze is really good. The beginning and end are weird and weak. I don't know what's up with the beginning of the maze but they need to add something. This maze had some serious back-up issues too because of the water room (which was actually cool this year; the effect was lost on me last year, I like saw right through it, if that makes sense.) The end is really just like, "I'm confused. Am I supposed to be scared of broken mirrors?"

Root of All Evil: I think it was probably the weakest house, but honestly I think that's to be expected. It's the very first night of a new maze. They will figure out what's going on. I think it has the potential to be fantastic though. It was too open, and you could see through the maze and all the scares. A ton of fog would fix that and make it a really good maze, IMO. They also need to close the wall that is currently a John Deere tractor and perhaps dim the light on the side of the Festhaus. It ruins the atmosphere. With ROAE though, I think obscurity is the key.

Dig It Up: I really liked this show. In fact I probably liked it the best. I have never seen Mix It Up to compare but loved how there was not one spoken word the entire show. I thought it flowed really well, and the song choices fit well.

Fiends: It was...interesting. It was good; of course, it could be better, but it's the first night. I think they just need to tighten the dances up and with that will come a bit more crispness that the show needs to be on the high level they want it.

Night Beats: Really good show. Opposite problem from Fiends. Thought the dancing was spot on (70's segment...awesome), it was the pace of the show that was lagging a bit sometimes. They just need to tighten up the dead space and keep it moving. But the singing and dancing were great, and I loved how long it was.

Roaming Hordes: McKayla Maroney on this one. As I understood it, I thought that they were still going to put up the props for each of the scarezones (without the signage of course), and the hordes were just going to rotate from zone to zone using the props to scare people. Apparently not... I liked the scarezones because it meant there were places to get scared without waiting in line.

Overall, I think HOS is looking up. It was the first night, so I think to say right off the bat that it is terrible is a bit myopic. Everything will get better: shows will get changed, scareactors will get more experience, mazes will get tweaked. I'll be back in a week, so I will have to see how it all goes!

Also Verbolten in the dark does look awesome...I'm sad I didn't get to ride it but, like I said, back in a week.
 
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I saw Fiends and I thought it was amazing. It could have just been the nurses but, I really did enjoy it a lot so much that instead of seeing other shows, I saw this one twice. The story hasn't changed too much like I was expecting but it has the right pyro, the right special effects, the right jokes, and the right costumes. I honestly think this show is a perfect replacement for Monster Stomp. Just give it another weekend and things will run smoother.

Roaming hordes are the biggest disappointment ever. Scott said that they hired all the people they wanted to, I sure hope he was lying. I think the sizes aren't bad, its the missing props and the frequency of visiting an area. On the schedule they have now, 2 hordes will pass by one spot. 1 horde in the beginning, and 1 horde in the end. If they didn't stop for so long, or if they have more hordes. I saw them pass by me giving great scares on the move, so if they moved slowly instead of stop for so long, they could do really well and visit more areas repeatedly. I also believe the props issue was overall disappointing. At least have awesome decor if your hordes are only going to stop by twice. I think, if they coud balance scare zones and hordes, an all in one special. If you have set scare zones, people can always go there to get scared whenever, plus mix in the roaming hordes, you have every area of the park covered and you have more scares in each area. Definitely giving Scott a piece of my mind next time I see him!
 
I hate to say it, but I was FAR from impressed. I know a lot hasn't gone the parks way this year regarding HOS, but ROAE was unacceptable, especially considering the wait. Also, I didn't see the hoards a single time tonight.
 
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I'll probably be the lone person going today, hopefully they will improve but how much can you do in one night. just remember, if you look at the HOS 2011 thread. everyone said Fear Fair was awful, but now some say it was their favorite. Based on the webcam ROAE does look awful, but that is only one scene
 
Are you guys sure most of this isn't just first week bugs?

Also, if people are going to haunted houses in the daylight...I mean...what can really be expected?

As far as the hordes, I guess it didn't register to me that there weren't going to be scarezones because there are hordes. Who's idea was that? So, instead of having areas all over the park where you can be startled and scared and creeped out...you hve to walk around hoping you run into a group of guys who will scare you? That sounds like a bad idea. Hopefully we'l get some reports that it has been improved over the next few weeks.
 
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It sounds to me like they should split the hordes up into 4-5 small groups of 10. That way people can see them more.

What did you guys think of the "Open Casket" bar? I already found one complaint on BGW's Facebook... "It was such a disappointment. Jack is Back GONE. Monster Stomp GONE; Werewolves roaming the park GONE; Hard to find the chain saw dudes and clowns. Hate the fact that BG felt the need to start selling more then beer this year by putting an outdoor bar near the fest house offering 5 dollar jello shots and 8 dollar vampire martinis and then walking to Ireland to see Hooker like nurses selling hypodermic filled jello shooters......Is it necessary to try to get people drunk at a family theme park.....What the hell happened to BG...."
 
Well let me tell you my experience. While eating at the Ireland restaurant we saw one hoard go by. I didn't think they were all that scary but funny. They went over to where the clown was laying on the table and started crying and moaning and getting upset. The horns need to go if they truly want to scare bring in some air horns not all but at least 3 they'll get some jumps then. While waiting for the train to go in Italy we saw the chainsaw one but we needed a closer look I have pretty bad vision. We saw the Fiends show and it was good but I was a little disappointed. I mean I had my dollars all ready for the male nurses and this little boy came running out in a green whatever. Come on now can you give us women something to look at? Is there 2 nurses somewhere? I though the male nurse was going to look like the ones in Tampa and have 2 of them. We rode a couple rides but that was all we were able to get to.
 
Call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed Root of all Evil. Was it worth an hour plus wait? No. But I thought it did have some redeeming factors. The line itself was a little awkward, and the flash from the photo op was annoying. Once the attendant sends your group in, you're presented with a photo op in front of a rally weird set up (I thought it would've been a Lotg statue, not a pile of dirt). I honestly was expecting the little blast of air they use to try and startle you, but I would love to see some of the pics of those who weren't. The greenhouses themselves were rather underwhelming. They kept yelling at you to stop touching their plants, while forcing you to touch them, but the plants didn't do anything! It would've been cool to have at least one mechanical plant freaking out. The other two greenhouses were essentially the same. There are a couple people hidden in a corner or between tables that are hard to see, but you have to time it right, because it seems like they'll not pop out once for each group because once one person sees it, no one else is scared by it. The pathways got to be confusing but I kind of liked that. The set up with thepool of water and the Lotg was cool. My sister was scared by the guy popping out of the water, but it was the Lotg that got me because I was going the wrong way. There's no marker saying "Go this way," so I kept following the pool but the Lady got me good, directingme in the right diection. There is a place where an actor changes up the path on you. I thought this was cool, because it separated you from everyone else, and again it didn't tell you which way to go, adding to th illusion for me, on the paths themselves, there were some actors that had awesome hiding spots and got a startle out of me each time. They kids behind the planters against the fence, so in the dark, they're essentially invisible. There were some actors that just seemed to be there and not doing anything, but most of the, were very involved in what they were doing. There was a line to view your pictures so we didn't look, but we weren't concerned because they sent up two QQ guests into our picture. Overall, I like Root. There are some areas that need improvement, but this was a very unique maze that can end up being one of the best of the season.
 
Willis: there was a blast of air at your legs. I was expecting a person to pop out, but I guess not. The flash was blinding though.

Pzp: I rather liked Root. I just think a lot of people expected MORE than what was offered.
 
Let me be clear, I haven't been in root yet. However people haven't complained about a house this much in a while. That's why I'm curious about Oak Island or not.
 
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