Howl-O-Scream 2013: Rumors Have a Way of Spreading

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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

There is a huge difference between an 8 year old who can handle houses fine and children in strollers that we see though. I think the park should start by giving more to the stroller kids first and then try to find a balance.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

^
I have seen some BIG kids in strollers; like 10 years old. My baby has been pounding the pavement since she was 3. So proud. :)



To PK's suggestion, whatever they do, it should be at the front of the park. Like when they finish the Globe in England or something else to keep them from going DEEP into the Dark Side of the Gardens. :p
It's a shame that LOTD stage is in the middle.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

I think this is now turning into a game of semantics; I think we're pretty much in agreement that the park should do more festive things in the day for the less thrill-seeking, keeping it separate from a nighttime event tailored to the more mature.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Pretzel Kaiser said:
Well it doesn't matter where in the park kiddy stuff takes place, add long as it all ends half an hour prior to the scary stuff.
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I'm finally gonna disagree here a bit. I think the location is pertinent. Some activities could be going on in the front of the park without entering the scarier, "mature" HOS stuff. No reason a child should get the boot at the chime of 6. Families can still do things together and enjoy some nighttime stuff that is "safer".
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

I don't bsee any reason not to have something like a corn maze in festhaus park open at noon for the kiddies. The point here is not to keep kids safe in the park while scary stuff is happening. It's to take away all reason for kids to stay in the park at all during scare time. Think of it like this, "Your kids can stay, but there will be nothing for them to do.".
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

If you want that, you may want to take a road trip to Detroit. :p
As for me and mine, we will enjoy HOS, the rides and shows to the fullest of our ability. Everything else is speculation. If you have kids, try to know their limits. If you're a big kid/adult without kids, try and have a good time. And if you can't, that's what the rum is for.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Haberdasher1973 said:
Zachary said:
Plans exist, but I think Busch Gardens wants to get their current cash cow (Howl-O-Scream) right before they go through with anything.
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Well, until we see another VP of Entertainment, it's just a pipe dream.
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I hate to play devil's advocate here but a KIDsiderate Halloween event seems like it would be the perfect project for Scott to take a stab at. Honestly, I think BGW has the potential to make a fairly notable splash in the family-friendly Halloween market that, for years, has been left basically untouched by the industry. Seriously, who else has really tried building an event around Halloween for families outside of Mickey's Not So Scary? Sure, Kings Dominion does something, but you can tell they're not serious about it. I truly do believe there's a formidable family-friendly Halloween market just waiting to be tapped into- someone just has to jump in with both feet and see what happens. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has always been a testbed for things like this and I wouldn't be surprised to see it utilized for that purpose again in the foreseeable future.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Zachary said:
I hate to play devil's advocate here but a KIDsiderate Halloween event seems like it would be the perfect project for Scott to take a stab at.
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Oh I agree completely - I just hope it would be more like CT and less like Entwined...

I was just saying that I don't see him getting HOS "right" any time soon.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Think about it, keeps the kids away so the park can focus on the entire point of HoS as opposed to having to keep things watered down. I'm sure everybody had had a house experience ruined by a little Billy who's parents wanted to see how he would handle it...
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

PK, I totally get that. When I'm not with my baby, I don't want my experience ruined in a house like that either. But I think we are making separate points. For those type of activities, maybe there should be some discretion limits set by the park; maybe a ratings system of some kind...I don't know. But let's not forget, there are a lot of rides and other things going on regardless of HOS activities that we still want to enjoy together. Unless that changes, booting kids isn't gonna happen.



EDIT:
Also, I think someone described the 3 HOS shows as such:

Dig It Up - Kid Friendly
Night Beats - Family Friendly
Fiends - Not Kid Friendly

These are really good shows and we love all three of them. It is rather difficult to catch them before 6pm.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

but is it JUST kids?

I myself am guilty of bringing a date to HOS that had NO business being there.

She's a grown woman that told you she could handle it--What do you do?
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Zachary said:
Haberdasher1973 said:
Zachary said:
Plans exist, but I think Busch Gardens wants to get their current cash cow (Howl-O-Scream) right before they go through with anything.
Click to expand...

Well, until we see another VP of Entertainment, it's just a pipe dream.
Click to expand...

I hate to play devil's advocate here but a KIDsiderate Halloween event seems like it would be the perfect project for Scott to take a stab at. Honestly, I think BGW has the potential to make a fairly notable splash in the family-friendly Halloween market that, for years, has been left basically untouched by the industry. Seriously, who else has really tried building an event around Halloween for families outside of Mickey's Not So Scary? Sure, Kings Dominion does something, but you can tell they're not serious about it. I truly do believe there's a formidable family-friendly Halloween market just waiting to be tapped into- someone just has to jump in with both feet and see what happens. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has always been a testbed for things like this and I wouldn't be surprised to see it utilized for that purpose again in the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

I think Sea World does a kid-friendly Halloween event. So, there is corporate knowledge there somewhere.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Pretzel Kaiser said:
Rating systems used to be in place and utterly failed. I'm going to write up a concept in a bit about how to address kids.
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You may right in general, but the Pumpkin ratings worked for me with my daughter. We only took her to the lower- rated attractions (like the old Pompeii maze), and we gauged what she could handle perfectly.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2013: Fear Has a Way of Spreading

Nic said:
You may right in general, but the Pumpkin ratings worked fr me with my daughter. We only took her to the lower- rated attractions (like the old Pompeii maze), and we gauged what she could handle perfectly.
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First of all, let me applaud you for actually using them. However, in the end I don't think the ratings even matters when it comes to most children. The ratings were really only good when it comes to actual content in the house and not actually scariness. Let's look at something like Revenge of Pompeii which had mostly animals, a few bodies, and no gore. Then lets look at 13 which has lots of bodies and gore. While yes, the pumpkins might tell you that 13 has more intense content, the fact of the matter is that the core of a haunted house has actors doing everything they can to flat out scare you and I think that's the important bit when it comes to kids in a haunted house.

Could there be a marginal difference between a skeleton popping out and a person with their intestines hanging from the ceieling coming to life? Sure. However every house is still designed to put the guest under stress so they freak out.
 
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