Howl-O-Scream 2012
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
LipService, can we please keep the cursing at zero. Use a replacement word or symbol instead. I'm sure it would make the forums look a little more professional and friendly.
Continuing forward, here is my report of the first two weekends, being that I have been there every single day to date, but it seems I just never get to experience it all. I guess it all overwhelms me so much.
Now onward with the IMO's!
This year, is supposed to be the best yet, after all isn't that how the most recent of anything is supposed to go? iPhone 5 better than iPhone 4, you know things like that. Mostly because we grow, learn from our mistakes, and become better. Well, for years the park has dedicated itself to being kidsiderate which is nice and is one of the reasons why we all love the park so much.
Just recently the park had dumped the "Jack is Back" theme and changed the theme to "The Scare is Everywhere" which I am guessing was Scott's vision of a Halloween event that is not kidsiderate. Yes of course this is a backlash for the park, after all they try to be kidsiderate and then reject the idea after 6PM during the fall. The many parents that may play ignorant and stay in the park to a rude awakening has not helped with the direction Howl-o-Scream is going in.
In any case, as that year went on in 2010, it also left a lot to be desired. The theme, idea, and concept were all amazing; sadly the execution failed as the park tried to jump two stones across the stream and ended up getting a tad wet with complaints from parents. Realizing they were trying to move to fast, they instead went with the theme "The Dark Side of the Gardens" in 2011 which was their second best year by record.
That year they had designated zones that would be avoidable, stroller parking, and other things that seemed to be sending out very mixed messages. Naturally, the park gave out warnings but due to the conflict between giving "escape routes" to families with young children and providing a more adult or mature (whichever you prefer to use) event the year was great, but could of highly used tweaking to make it better. It still was the second best year and was very well done for what the park has had to deal with.
Three years later in 2012 we stand looking at the reoccurring theme, "The Dark Side of the Gardens" and the park still trying to maintain the effort of a childless Halloween event. So from previous years past each year getting better than the next, my expectations were naturally set high. In fact, not only was it each year getting better but the park trying to provide scares outside of designated zones had returned along with adult or mature entertainment. It proved the park was trying to cater to a more edgier Halloween event. This was a year to look forward to from me.
However I would be lying if I should have guessed that if the last time the park tried to scare everywhere and it failed, why should it succeed this time. I solely had hoped the park had learned from their mistakes and that they were indeed going to hire more employees, unlike the previous 2010 lack of scare actors to make the event and method successful.
So upon arriving at the park that afternoon I was greatly disappointed in the lack of decorations. I must admit at first, I didn't pay much attention to the decor and I was too excited for the hordes and the scares to come. However, that was when the event really went drowned in the Rhine River. 6PM had struck across the park and my anticipation increased, and then I saw the horde before me. It was clowns, yet they were much different than I could have expected. Matching costumes? How could this be scary? Then taking a step back and thinking about it, being identical, for clowns at least, was unexpected and terrifying, seeing the same clown everywhere you turned.
As they passed, my excitement grew greater as I had hoped for my hordes to pass by sooner than the had. Only one other horde passed me that night, and it was chainsaw wielding zombies. They were definitely impressive and I enjoyed the fear they invoked in all that came in contact with yet, something seemed to be lacking. Moments later the park was closing and disappointment was really starting. Only if I knew the next two days would follow suit as the scares were lacking just as before in 2010.
However, I was excited that day, as I originally planned to see, Fiends, then Dig It Up, and finally Night Beats. Yet, Fiends was so good and I was so impressed, it was the only show I could watch that day or the weekend in general, and I had to see it multiple times a day. In fact, I probably spent most of my time either at Grogan's Grille or Abbeystone Theater.
Moving on, my disappointment that weekend seemed to take over my feelings and was so great, I did the one things I just never thought I would ever do. I prejudged the event based on an opening weekend. I had condemned it before it really had any chance to become great. So the following Friday, I went to the park once again for the weekend. Man was I in for the largest surprise yet. During the week, I had heard rumors of the park changing the event drastically in regards to decorations, scares, and even Root of All Evil, which I didn't get to experience in its original form.
Root of All Evil was amazing, and seemed to be on par with Fear Fair. The set ups seemed to be so similar, going in and out of rooms outside of any building. I must say, even while expecting the picture, I was extremely startled. The house had provided more scares than I could have guessed. From earlier reviews, it seemed that this house would have been a failure. Clearly things had to of gotten taken care of because I was impressed.
The overall decor had gotten me excited, seeing the park putting more work into really adding to the atmosphere was amazing, Everything has seemed to be getting better. Then the hordes had started. I must admit this weekend I was excited to see werewolves. I also found out the park decided to try to add for sure scares unmarked throughout the park, so if you wanted to get scared, you coud find a place to be all night.
The hordes seemed to be much more larger and comfortable with their routes this weekend. It seemed as if instead of being guided around the park by some entertainment supervisor, they were left to wander on their own with said supervisor merely walking around viewing from afar, to ensure they don't wander to late. This freedom the hordes have, makes it seem like things have become much more unplanned and no so expecting, providing more startling scares.
I also noticed, there were a few actors that would linger behind the main horde, providing the best most unexpected scares. Of course I was pleased how the scare actors were not holding back and scaring kids as well. I know the rule of scaring kids has been a controversial one, and one the park seems undecided upon but this year, it looks as if the park has decided to have no policy about it, giving actors free to judge who to scare and how to scare.
Yes my in total my main goal visiting those two weekends was to judge and observe how these hordes will work out and how the park has adapted to make them better. I must say, opening weekend really was just a rough preview.
For all those interested, I know MANY of YOU like to skip and skim a few things instead of reading every post or every last word in a post. In general, the event has become different and better this past weekend and we can only expect more. I have been assured the park had planned to open with little decor and roughly, and that they planned to add a lot more for the second weekend, and even way more during the third weekend, so be on the look out this weekend for more good stuff!
Continuing forward, here is my report of the first two weekends, being that I have been there every single day to date, but it seems I just never get to experience it all. I guess it all overwhelms me so much.
Now onward with the IMO's!
This year, is supposed to be the best yet, after all isn't that how the most recent of anything is supposed to go? iPhone 5 better than iPhone 4, you know things like that. Mostly because we grow, learn from our mistakes, and become better. Well, for years the park has dedicated itself to being kidsiderate which is nice and is one of the reasons why we all love the park so much.
Just recently the park had dumped the "Jack is Back" theme and changed the theme to "The Scare is Everywhere" which I am guessing was Scott's vision of a Halloween event that is not kidsiderate. Yes of course this is a backlash for the park, after all they try to be kidsiderate and then reject the idea after 6PM during the fall. The many parents that may play ignorant and stay in the park to a rude awakening has not helped with the direction Howl-o-Scream is going in.
In any case, as that year went on in 2010, it also left a lot to be desired. The theme, idea, and concept were all amazing; sadly the execution failed as the park tried to jump two stones across the stream and ended up getting a tad wet with complaints from parents. Realizing they were trying to move to fast, they instead went with the theme "The Dark Side of the Gardens" in 2011 which was their second best year by record.
That year they had designated zones that would be avoidable, stroller parking, and other things that seemed to be sending out very mixed messages. Naturally, the park gave out warnings but due to the conflict between giving "escape routes" to families with young children and providing a more adult or mature (whichever you prefer to use) event the year was great, but could of highly used tweaking to make it better. It still was the second best year and was very well done for what the park has had to deal with.
Three years later in 2012 we stand looking at the reoccurring theme, "The Dark Side of the Gardens" and the park still trying to maintain the effort of a childless Halloween event. So from previous years past each year getting better than the next, my expectations were naturally set high. In fact, not only was it each year getting better but the park trying to provide scares outside of designated zones had returned along with adult or mature entertainment. It proved the park was trying to cater to a more edgier Halloween event. This was a year to look forward to from me.
However I would be lying if I should have guessed that if the last time the park tried to scare everywhere and it failed, why should it succeed this time. I solely had hoped the park had learned from their mistakes and that they were indeed going to hire more employees, unlike the previous 2010 lack of scare actors to make the event and method successful.
So upon arriving at the park that afternoon I was greatly disappointed in the lack of decorations. I must admit at first, I didn't pay much attention to the decor and I was too excited for the hordes and the scares to come. However, that was when the event really went drowned in the Rhine River. 6PM had struck across the park and my anticipation increased, and then I saw the horde before me. It was clowns, yet they were much different than I could have expected. Matching costumes? How could this be scary? Then taking a step back and thinking about it, being identical, for clowns at least, was unexpected and terrifying, seeing the same clown everywhere you turned.
As they passed, my excitement grew greater as I had hoped for my hordes to pass by sooner than the had. Only one other horde passed me that night, and it was chainsaw wielding zombies. They were definitely impressive and I enjoyed the fear they invoked in all that came in contact with yet, something seemed to be lacking. Moments later the park was closing and disappointment was really starting. Only if I knew the next two days would follow suit as the scares were lacking just as before in 2010.
However, I was excited that day, as I originally planned to see, Fiends, then Dig It Up, and finally Night Beats. Yet, Fiends was so good and I was so impressed, it was the only show I could watch that day or the weekend in general, and I had to see it multiple times a day. In fact, I probably spent most of my time either at Grogan's Grille or Abbeystone Theater.
Moving on, my disappointment that weekend seemed to take over my feelings and was so great, I did the one things I just never thought I would ever do. I prejudged the event based on an opening weekend. I had condemned it before it really had any chance to become great. So the following Friday, I went to the park once again for the weekend. Man was I in for the largest surprise yet. During the week, I had heard rumors of the park changing the event drastically in regards to decorations, scares, and even Root of All Evil, which I didn't get to experience in its original form.
Root of All Evil was amazing, and seemed to be on par with Fear Fair. The set ups seemed to be so similar, going in and out of rooms outside of any building. I must say, even while expecting the picture, I was extremely startled. The house had provided more scares than I could have guessed. From earlier reviews, it seemed that this house would have been a failure. Clearly things had to of gotten taken care of because I was impressed.
The overall decor had gotten me excited, seeing the park putting more work into really adding to the atmosphere was amazing, Everything has seemed to be getting better. Then the hordes had started. I must admit this weekend I was excited to see werewolves. I also found out the park decided to try to add for sure scares unmarked throughout the park, so if you wanted to get scared, you coud find a place to be all night.
The hordes seemed to be much more larger and comfortable with their routes this weekend. It seemed as if instead of being guided around the park by some entertainment supervisor, they were left to wander on their own with said supervisor merely walking around viewing from afar, to ensure they don't wander to late. This freedom the hordes have, makes it seem like things have become much more unplanned and no so expecting, providing more startling scares.
I also noticed, there were a few actors that would linger behind the main horde, providing the best most unexpected scares. Of course I was pleased how the scare actors were not holding back and scaring kids as well. I know the rule of scaring kids has been a controversial one, and one the park seems undecided upon but this year, it looks as if the park has decided to have no policy about it, giving actors free to judge who to scare and how to scare.
Yes my in total my main goal visiting those two weekends was to judge and observe how these hordes will work out and how the park has adapted to make them better. I must say, opening weekend really was just a rough preview.
For all those interested, I know MANY of YOU like to skip and skim a few things instead of reading every post or every last word in a post. In general, the event has become different and better this past weekend and we can only expect more. I have been assured the park had planned to open with little decor and roughly, and that they planned to add a lot more for the second weekend, and even way more during the third weekend, so be on the look out this weekend for more good stuff!
Official BGW NUMBERS:
http://howloscream.com/Williamsburg/homepage/infographic.aspx
Compare numbers again next year.
http://howloscream.com/Williamsburg/homepage/infographic.aspx
Compare numbers again next year.
I'm glad they felt the need to specifically say how many clowns they have this year, versus any other scary creature/person/thing. lol
On the small subject that is the scare-actors walking around in shops/eating areas. You guys are sort of acting like they haven't done this before. Years ago, probably around 02/03/04 time frame, they did the same thing. I remember the clowns walking around Festa (The entire area of Festa. Not just the bridge or inbetween Pompeii and San Marco) had free reign on where they wandered. They wandered into the store next to Apollo, they wandered into the ice cream shop, they went into the arcade, they even queued up for the Trade Winds and Apollo, to give people in line a scare. The only place I didn't see them go into was the restrooms. (Although that could be, because I was more focused on the women's room than the men's. And considering the clowns/freaks walking around were almost all male, that could be why.)
Festa was probably the only place I saw any amount of scare-actors wandering all over. Festa was probably the only place I really saw scare-actors to begin with, that weren't inside houses, or didn't have chainsaws.
On the small subject that is the scare-actors walking around in shops/eating areas. You guys are sort of acting like they haven't done this before. Years ago, probably around 02/03/04 time frame, they did the same thing. I remember the clowns walking around Festa (The entire area of Festa. Not just the bridge or inbetween Pompeii and San Marco) had free reign on where they wandered. They wandered into the store next to Apollo, they wandered into the ice cream shop, they went into the arcade, they even queued up for the Trade Winds and Apollo, to give people in line a scare. The only place I didn't see them go into was the restrooms. (Although that could be, because I was more focused on the women's room than the men's. And considering the clowns/freaks walking around were almost all male, that could be why.)
Festa was probably the only place I saw any amount of scare-actors wandering all over. Festa was probably the only place I really saw scare-actors to begin with, that weren't inside houses, or didn't have chainsaws.
Applesauce said:
This is actually something I HAD forgotten about and happened to me in England. Pre-giant candy store (when the Muffin Man had the muffin counter) I....well, I bought a muffin [This is probably the most time's I'll ever use the word "muffin" in a sentence]....anyway I sat outside and about 30 seconds later had a scare actor sit down next to me-- probably one of the best scares I've had at the park.
Hoopla said:
Other than the entrances to the haunts, not much in Festa... This was the amazing first year of Monster Stomp: Revamped (after which it steadily went downhill), the last year of a Halloween show in the Royal Palace (Rockin' Eve's Wrath), the last year of The Starfright Orchestra and year two of the bar-setting Neverafter area of Oktoberfest... so I can forgive them for the sparse decor in Festa
More photos from 2008 can be found here...
^ 2007 was actually my first Howl-O-Scream. It was so great then. I've only been then, 2008 and last year.
For some reason I thought HoS was in it's 3rd weekend when I went on the 22nd of Sept. But according to the calendar it was only the 2nd weekend.
If thats the case, then heck, I will definitely have to go back (duh, regardless) and make sure I soak in HoS 2012 in full force.
I believe this year they did open a littler earlier than in previous years. I generally go in mid Oct so I'm hoping I just jumped the gun and BGW has more to offer (I'm sure they do being this early in the HoS run). I'll reserve full judgement until all the decor, props, and haunted house fine tuning is mostly finished.
Maybe they'll add more nurses. Nurses with chainsaws. Yeah...
If thats the case, then heck, I will definitely have to go back (duh, regardless) and make sure I soak in HoS 2012 in full force.
I believe this year they did open a littler earlier than in previous years. I generally go in mid Oct so I'm hoping I just jumped the gun and BGW has more to offer (I'm sure they do being this early in the HoS run). I'll reserve full judgement until all the decor, props, and haunted house fine tuning is mostly finished.
Maybe they'll add more nurses. Nurses with chainsaws. Yeah...
^ I think their will be more decorations out and improvements to the houses as October approaches.
chickenking said:Also, on the subject of eyeball roses, has anyone else noticed that there are far fewer eyeballs in the roses for HOS 2012? I guess too many sticky fingers snatched them away. Tip for that...take the whole eyeball rose! What good is a ping-pong ball with an eye painted on it? In case you forgot what they looked like, I did find some decent ones around:
I can't believe the marketing/merchandise people don't sell these things. Even make some blinky toy versions for the GLOW stands (even if it is just LEDs inside plastic).
Yup I did notice fewer eyeballs in said roses as well as fewer roses on my last trip.
I'd totally buy a blinky toy version! Heck, i can probably make my own for a fraction of the price.
Someone did inform me that they did indeed have some kind of glow version last year. I guess I didn't notice because I was running around catching shows and scares. But it would still be cool to have one.
redsoxfan787 said:
He was at Scare-ibou Station telling Halloween-related jokes between snoring, then he went into one of the Neverafter haunts (Tormented Tales, I believe) then, yes, I believe Cavern of Darkness.
Haberdasher1973 said:
Aha! So are you saying that at some point the troll was actually animated. Now I know why his eyes are closed in some of my nighttime pics.