Howl-O-Scream 2012
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
I was reading some reviews of HHN's opening weekend. They are doing a "street experience" similar to what BGW is doing with the Hordes. However, HHN's "hordes" not only roam the streets terrifying people but they have permission to go into restaurants and shops scaring people. Do you think BGW would allow their scareactors to run around in restaurants and gift shops?
The clown horde came into the San Marco dining area last weekend and yesterday they came into the restroom at the stables....
^ This. We were sitting in Ristorante della Piazza after seeing Dig it Up and 3 or 4 clowns came right though the place.
That is not what I would want to see coming out of a stall. The only bright side is that I wouldn't pee myself 
Not a fan of this idea. I'm trying to eat. That's like a time-out.
Glad to hear your impression of the park, but perhaps I should elaborate. Btw, I didn't bother going opening weekend, I went this past Sat. as stated in my OP, Sept 22nd.
MSR on hiatus is disappointing, just my opinion though. I'm sure there are some who feel it's time for a new show and I can somewhat agree. So why not re-tool the format rather than scrap it all together? Fiends is not as dynamic as MSR. Fiends is not a BAD show per se, but MSR sets the bar very high and IMO, Fiends is not a worthy replacement.
And I will have to agree with you that with the Jack show being gone, there is less congestion in Ireland in front of Grogan's Pub. It did though add a nice flair that I find fleeting with the current park's "trend".
Clearly I must be making this all up. Of course I went to the park. I'm glad they made a great impression on you, but in my interactions with them, they didn't met not my standards necessarily, but the ones BGW HoS set in years past. I'll be going again this Sunday for a 2nd round to give the park another chance.
BGW HoS 2010
Clearly you can see during the beginning of the film England has a lot more than "10 crows" missing. The overhead wire, especially connected to Big Ben, was not present last weekend. Heck, I'm pretty sure Big Ben wasn't even "veiled" with the black fabric, but maybe I overlooked it.
Scottland had plenty of ghosts in 2010. I know now it's pumpkin lanterns and they look fantastic, but the ghosts they placed between the troll bridge and Festa is sadly lacking. The grassy clearing with the gypsy wagon had nothing as well. I remember this being decorated nicely once with witches. Currently, fog is as good as it gets.
And speaking of Festa, the bridge going into it is also less decorated. Boxes and clown props are down from last year.
In the vid @2:42 this building in Germany for 2012 lacked decor as well as the fountain in front of it as well as that entire square.
@2:47 you can see what Ireland used to look like with the Jack decor. Imo, I felt it made more of an impact than the current Fiends setup. Sure the hot nurses are great eye candy but it took me a minute to even figure out what the heck the yellow "cables" were, draped over-head where the pumpkins used to hang. Ireland 2012 just feels like an afterthought.
@3:37, the vid displays a nice density of ghosts, again that I just didn't see in 2012, anywhere in the park.
You mentioned Pompeii... and what decor are you speaking of? Remember when they decorated the area with mummies? THAT was decor. For 2012, the perimeter walkway has NOTHING. Deadline is fantastic and if they were to continue with the zombie theme OUTSIDE as well, it would definitely add to the atmosphere. I had to explain to the people behind me what they were getting into 'cause they had no idea. Perhaps it was from the lack of theme-ing, perhaps they were half-baked. IDK. Probably both.
Anyhow, points you mentioned about the Wild Reserve as well as the Alpengeist bridge, yes both great. I agree. But they are lacking the random scream that used to be on the bridge that would freak the @#!% out of guests. I'm sure it annoyed the hell out of park employees though. lol.
Well, if BGW continues with the decor, I'm sure it will get better because yes, I overlooked the statement that decor is still a work in progress.
LMAO. Sorry to disappoint you with my disappointing points in my disappointing post.
Yes, I misspoke and crossed my Ireland/Scotland references. Red herring fallacies won't work here and rest assured while I haven't likely frequented HoS this year as much as some posting here (including yourself), my impressions are genuine and while subjective, are based on 8 + years of experience in attendance & observation, while not much, still gives me a good perspective.
Perhaps I'm "hard" on BGW, but ONLY because generally every year, they put on such a GREAT Halloween experience.
With that said, I can't say I've ever attended HoS in Sept. So perhaps they're just not finished yet.
Party Rocker said:
MSR on hiatus is disappointing, just my opinion though. I'm sure there are some who feel it's time for a new show and I can somewhat agree. So why not re-tool the format rather than scrap it all together? Fiends is not as dynamic as MSR. Fiends is not a BAD show per se, but MSR sets the bar very high and IMO, Fiends is not a worthy replacement.
And I will have to agree with you that with the Jack show being gone, there is less congestion in Ireland in front of Grogan's Pub. It did though add a nice flair that I find fleeting with the current park's "trend".
Party Rocker said:
In that case it was about as unexpected and startling as it was scary. This guy in a wet suit chillin' in a garden pond is just... awkward. It's not the idea that's bad, it's the execution of said idea and that's all I mean.Party Rocker said:
I guess both were on smoke breaks or perhaps they were watering the plants. IDK. The only person "directing traffic" was Santa Clause in a set a of green overalls.Party Rocker said:
Party Rocker said:
Clearly I must be making this all up. Of course I went to the park. I'm glad they made a great impression on you, but in my interactions with them, they didn't met not my standards necessarily, but the ones BGW HoS set in years past. I'll be going again this Sunday for a 2nd round to give the park another chance.
Maybe we should recap what the park looked like in the past. I just did a quick search on youtube and this person shot some vid showcasing a few of my aforementioned points.Party Rocker said:
BGW HoS 2010
Clearly you can see during the beginning of the film England has a lot more than "10 crows" missing. The overhead wire, especially connected to Big Ben, was not present last weekend. Heck, I'm pretty sure Big Ben wasn't even "veiled" with the black fabric, but maybe I overlooked it.
Scottland had plenty of ghosts in 2010. I know now it's pumpkin lanterns and they look fantastic, but the ghosts they placed between the troll bridge and Festa is sadly lacking. The grassy clearing with the gypsy wagon had nothing as well. I remember this being decorated nicely once with witches. Currently, fog is as good as it gets.
And speaking of Festa, the bridge going into it is also less decorated. Boxes and clown props are down from last year.
In the vid @2:42 this building in Germany for 2012 lacked decor as well as the fountain in front of it as well as that entire square.
@2:47 you can see what Ireland used to look like with the Jack decor. Imo, I felt it made more of an impact than the current Fiends setup. Sure the hot nurses are great eye candy but it took me a minute to even figure out what the heck the yellow "cables" were, draped over-head where the pumpkins used to hang. Ireland 2012 just feels like an afterthought.
@3:37, the vid displays a nice density of ghosts, again that I just didn't see in 2012, anywhere in the park.
You mentioned Pompeii... and what decor are you speaking of? Remember when they decorated the area with mummies? THAT was decor. For 2012, the perimeter walkway has NOTHING. Deadline is fantastic and if they were to continue with the zombie theme OUTSIDE as well, it would definitely add to the atmosphere. I had to explain to the people behind me what they were getting into 'cause they had no idea. Perhaps it was from the lack of theme-ing, perhaps they were half-baked. IDK. Probably both.
Anyhow, points you mentioned about the Wild Reserve as well as the Alpengeist bridge, yes both great. I agree. But they are lacking the random scream that used to be on the bridge that would freak the @#!% out of guests. I'm sure it annoyed the hell out of park employees though. lol.
Well, if BGW continues with the decor, I'm sure it will get better because yes, I overlooked the statement that decor is still a work in progress.
Party Rocker said:
LMAO. Sorry to disappoint you with my disappointing points in my disappointing post.
Yes, I misspoke and crossed my Ireland/Scotland references. Red herring fallacies won't work here and rest assured while I haven't likely frequented HoS this year as much as some posting here (including yourself), my impressions are genuine and while subjective, are based on 8 + years of experience in attendance & observation, while not much, still gives me a good perspective.
Perhaps I'm "hard" on BGW, but ONLY because generally every year, they put on such a GREAT Halloween experience.
With that said, I can't say I've ever attended HoS in Sept. So perhaps they're just not finished yet.
Party Rocker said:
I had forgotten that - 2 years in Banbury, final year (Wicked Woods: Ripper Row) in Festa...
I was sitting in the Dig It Up area about 15 minutes before the show when a zombie or two came in and walked through the area very creepily. I thought it worked well and was a good example of "nowhere is safe" in the park. My daughter was genuinely scared and hid under the bench. It was funny, but I felt bad for her at the same time. Also, the clowns went by two or more times while we were in this area. I was surprised at how effective they were as a group and in ones & twos. Just glad they stayed out of the show area during the show.
Someone mentioned about hordes going into shops a few posts back; yeah that is probably not a good idea. While it might be amusing to watch scaredy-cats' reactions, merchandise may get broken, walk off, or people may drop their food or whatever. It would be a mess for sure.
Someone mentioned about hordes going into shops a few posts back; yeah that is probably not a good idea. While it might be amusing to watch scaredy-cats' reactions, merchandise may get broken, walk off, or people may drop their food or whatever. It would be a mess for sure.
Great information/reports on this thread! Personally, I like decor a lot (as in, it's as important to me as good houses/mazes/scare actors) and am glad they have ramped it up since opening weekend, but was very interested in koreandude's observations that it still might not be up to snuff compared to previous years. Even so, it's still great they put a lot more into HOS since opening weekend.
I think roving hordes going into even the restrooms is sick. Truly inspired. Also the eating areas and such. NOWHERE is safe. Great job!
I think roving hordes going into even the restrooms is sick. Truly inspired. Also the eating areas and such. NOWHERE is safe. Great job!
BBW said:
I actually find it supremely annoying. I mean, I enjoy the haunted stuff but there are other things going on at the park. If I'm just trying to carry a tray of food through a crowd to find a seat, or coming off a ride, or in the restroom, or watching a show, or shopping in a gift shop, or even mundanely trying to wade my way through a narrow, jam packed path between countries, I'm not really looking for a bunch of performers to be jumping in my face (and the ensuing chaos that it causes).
I'm fascinated that this is apparently what people seem to "want." But I guess it is, so there you go... :dodgy:
murph said:
Quality over Quantity?
The only thing that is "quantity over quality" at The Haunt nowadays is the shows. Scares are set up the same exact way they are at Busch, only thing that could use additional tweaking at the haunt is their lighting.
Go this year and tell me more about the level of detail of everything. Mind you, I don't have pictures of the additions this year and have to steal them off the internet. But, Needless to say I'm extremely impressed. The new facade for Slaughter House looks amazing. As far as I'm concerned When I judge a Haunt, It's not the amount of money they spend, It's about what they try to do with it. And I'm sorry, Comparing KD to something like HHN isnt a stretch. HHN's sets look more authentic, they use "Real" whenever possible, Money almost is no problem. KD doesnt have that budget (nor does Busch). It's like comparing Knott's Berry Farm to HHN. They Both are amazing. Knotts Definitely doesnt throw around the $$$ for the sets that Universal can, but they don't look like the absolute shit you guys would say it is if Knotts was down the street and not KD.
BTW, KD basically gets a slightly redesigned version of Knotts Haunts. Knotts is one of the few highly regarded Theme Park Haunts in the world. My only qualm ever with KD is some of the lackluster actors. Even Busch has those.
Yall need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Shafor said:
Not to mention some folks might wet themselves. Bad form!
Someone mentioned the crows in England earlier. Instead of worrying about the numbers (which are many by the way) how about covering the ground in the immediate area with fake crow poo. Then have some areas where water drops randomly on people's heads while walking under the crows. You know, the same trick that is used in the Pirates 4D movie. :idea:
Best 2 mazes!!Haberdasher1973 said:Party Rocker said:
I had forgotten that - 2 years in Banbury, final year in Festa...
chickenking said:
The toilet in deadline grossed me out enough