http://forum.parkfans.net/thread-3598-post-115436.html#pid115436
I liked the show, but the food left much to be desired.
I liked the show, but the food left much to be desired.
Howl-O-Scream 2014
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Did all 5 mazes last night and a second Bitten walkthrough. Ranking from first to worst.
Bitten (5/5) - the maze everyone loves to hate comes out on top Sunday night. Consistent scares and the atmosphere is still great. Did a solo run before close and everyone pretty much wanted a piece of me. It was awesome. Some of the actors were a little off but not bad for opening weekend. This was pretty much the only maze that didn't seem to suffer from any major staffing issues both times I walked through.
Cut Throat Cove (4/5) - maze still screams Cutback Cove, but the actors did a pretty good job overall (aside from a few scenes here and there). Just wish they'd drop the hanging things and actually focus on making the maze look legit instead of a backyard haunt or a repurposed Fear Fair. Also a lot of dead room where the actors were supposed to be.
Root of All Evil (2/5) - Ehh. Some of the actors were decent enough, but didn't get as many scares as I expected. Wish the rest of the guille suit guys and chainsaw guys were back since there was only one of each in the entire maze. My friends loved it though. If they brought back the living statues, the alternate paths, and the pond guys, it would be so much better. Some areas felt really short staffed.
Deadline (2/5) - Still lots of dead room and bleh lighting (luckily I went through at night so my eyes adjusted). At least the maze looks nice. Subway car was cool as always though and firecracker guy always gets a jump out of me. You could tell most of the actors were pretty new at this.
Catacombs (1/5) - My friend said it best. This maze is staffed with 15-year olds. There were a few good scares and as usual, the change in layout is always nice, but the actors mostly weren't that great. The whispering at the start of the maze was pretty much the best scare in the entire maze and that's pretty much just an audio track. One of the employees had to light the way for us because the maze ended up getting conga-lined a few times. Huge disappointment since this maze has been VERY consistent the past few years (aside from opening weekend last year). I just hope this whole lack of scares is just the maze going through first weekend growing pains.
13 (1/5) - Went through the maze as the sun was going down. Should be renamed Fear of Empty Rooms. A good scare every once in a while, but not enough to really do much for me. The first few rooms should be called "Fear of getting lost to the point where you accidentally wander into the employee break area" and the room right after the bedroom should be called "Fear of bathroom/locker room smells". I felt so bad for the actress having to sit there all night. Her clothes probably reeked at the end of that. Did I forget to mention the half-themed rooms? Even the waiting room was missing the chairs and table.
Overall opening weekend thoughts.
- Short staffing as usual (or everyone's just on break)
- Half-themed rooms in some of the mazes. Seriously Busch, you got a head start on the whole HOS decor. There's NO excuse for half-themed rooms.
- Allow current employees to hire for HOS. A lot of the actors from previous years are gone because they can't work HOS so its all new talent. That usually leads to weaker mazes and scare zones.
- Fix the lighting in some of the mazes or staff them to guide people, especially after sundown when its still bright outside. I've run into enough walls, people's ankles, and accidentally wandered into a few break rooms by mistake simply because its so hard to see.
Bitten (5/5) - the maze everyone loves to hate comes out on top Sunday night. Consistent scares and the atmosphere is still great. Did a solo run before close and everyone pretty much wanted a piece of me. It was awesome. Some of the actors were a little off but not bad for opening weekend. This was pretty much the only maze that didn't seem to suffer from any major staffing issues both times I walked through.
Cut Throat Cove (4/5) - maze still screams Cutback Cove, but the actors did a pretty good job overall (aside from a few scenes here and there). Just wish they'd drop the hanging things and actually focus on making the maze look legit instead of a backyard haunt or a repurposed Fear Fair. Also a lot of dead room where the actors were supposed to be.
Root of All Evil (2/5) - Ehh. Some of the actors were decent enough, but didn't get as many scares as I expected. Wish the rest of the guille suit guys and chainsaw guys were back since there was only one of each in the entire maze. My friends loved it though. If they brought back the living statues, the alternate paths, and the pond guys, it would be so much better. Some areas felt really short staffed.
Deadline (2/5) - Still lots of dead room and bleh lighting (luckily I went through at night so my eyes adjusted). At least the maze looks nice. Subway car was cool as always though and firecracker guy always gets a jump out of me. You could tell most of the actors were pretty new at this.
Catacombs (1/5) - My friend said it best. This maze is staffed with 15-year olds. There were a few good scares and as usual, the change in layout is always nice, but the actors mostly weren't that great. The whispering at the start of the maze was pretty much the best scare in the entire maze and that's pretty much just an audio track. One of the employees had to light the way for us because the maze ended up getting conga-lined a few times. Huge disappointment since this maze has been VERY consistent the past few years (aside from opening weekend last year). I just hope this whole lack of scares is just the maze going through first weekend growing pains.
13 (1/5) - Went through the maze as the sun was going down. Should be renamed Fear of Empty Rooms. A good scare every once in a while, but not enough to really do much for me. The first few rooms should be called "Fear of getting lost to the point where you accidentally wander into the employee break area" and the room right after the bedroom should be called "Fear of bathroom/locker room smells". I felt so bad for the actress having to sit there all night. Her clothes probably reeked at the end of that. Did I forget to mention the half-themed rooms? Even the waiting room was missing the chairs and table.
Overall opening weekend thoughts.
- Short staffing as usual (or everyone's just on break)
- Half-themed rooms in some of the mazes. Seriously Busch, you got a head start on the whole HOS decor. There's NO excuse for half-themed rooms.
- Allow current employees to hire for HOS. A lot of the actors from previous years are gone because they can't work HOS so its all new talent. That usually leads to weaker mazes and scare zones.
- Fix the lighting in some of the mazes or staff them to guide people, especially after sundown when its still bright outside. I've run into enough walls, people's ankles, and accidentally wandered into a few break rooms by mistake simply because its so hard to see.
I totally agree with your point! From the descriptions I have heard, I would not allow a child to watch it.
netdvn said:
With the current employment status issues, current team members will never work HOS. I know people think it should just be as simple as pressing a different button on a time clock, but no it is not that simple.
Many team members are considered variable. Scare actors are seasonal. You can't switch to the other without taking 6 months off. There is no bypassing that rule.
All they can do is hire a lot more people sooner and train them a lot better. Other than that, it is what it is.
I don't think the issue is how easy it is to do. I think people want the underlying policy changed.
In other words, I don't think anyone is trying to say that it should be simple to let current employees work HOS. I believe they want the park to change the basic rules and allow them to do so.
In other words, I don't think anyone is trying to say that it should be simple to let current employees work HOS. I believe they want the park to change the basic rules and allow them to do so.
Unless the park is Union, they could have %s. 15% varible 85% seasonal. However there are certain tax and legal advantages to not doint that. Much of it has to do with benifits.
Or they could give better training and give the actors better areas for scaring to work in...
Didn't the employment thing boil down to the park avoiding paying health insurance? Or am I imagining that?
Recognizing that it is probably far too early in the HOS season to judge the event accurately, I wanted to provide some initial impression of the houses this year. Since it was drizzling most of the evening on Saturday, I will not bother commenting on the Terror-tories.
For context, I enjoy letting myself relax and allowing myself to be scared. I scream and run a lot. I also seem to be a huge target for the scare actors in ever house. So, this review is based on how frightened or anxious I felt, not based on an analytic assessment of the quality of the house. I should also note that I always use QQs, so I can generally avoid some of the worst conga lines inside the houses.
Ranking the houses from my most to least favorite (so far):
Root of All Evil: This house was far and away my favorite. There were a lot of scares, and they have once again improved the theming. I think there were more alien eggs? I also liked that the path split in two, reducing stacking, and offering more variety for those of us who visit more than once.
Cut Throat Cove: I know it is an unpopular opinion, but I liked CTC last year, and I like it even better now. They have improved the staffing, and the décor is very cool. I enjoy the disorientation, and now there are more startle scares to amplify my experience. It still isn't a "scary" house like Catacombs or Bitten, but it generates anxiety in me in a different way. I hope to try it at dusk next time (it was raining Saturday, so we had to wait), as I feel it is best in an eerie half-light.
Bitten: I always like Bitten, but it wasn't performing completely up to par. Hopefully the actors will become more comfortable in their roles, and the tension I usually feel in this time-tested maze will return.
Catacombs: I love that they changed the maze, and it seemed to be longer this year, which is something it really needed. Unfortunately, they raised the lighting and there weren't enough actors, so the impact was largely reduced. Last year it was the scariest maze for me, but it was too short to be fully effective. If they can increase the scares to last year's level, with the extended length this could be really great...again...still...whatever.
Deadline: This house remains for me a beautifully decorated museum. It has tons of completely untapped potential. While I suppose it might improve, it was just as lackluster last year, so my hopes are not too high. The subway car is still my favorite part, but for the first time ever, I walked through and no one attempted to scare me at all.
13: Your Number's Up: Ugh. Just give up on this maze, please. The Fear of Heights room is amazing every year. I suggest making it a Walk the Plank scare in CTC. Other than that, you can see my comments from last year. Nothing has changed. The staffing remains painfully small, and the concept, while cool, simply doesn't work. I really want to like this house, but phobias are all mental. Unless they can put you in the situation, I fail to see how they can make you afraid. Seeing someone else in a dentist's chair for a few seconds isn't scary; going to the dentist YOURSELF might be. I believe this is why the Fear of Heights actually works: you are the one crossing the chasm; you aren't watching some scare actor fall off a cliff.
Anyway, I will provide a more comprehensive assessment after my next trip. Hopefully, it won't be raining and the scare actors will be fully up to speed.
For context, I enjoy letting myself relax and allowing myself to be scared. I scream and run a lot. I also seem to be a huge target for the scare actors in ever house. So, this review is based on how frightened or anxious I felt, not based on an analytic assessment of the quality of the house. I should also note that I always use QQs, so I can generally avoid some of the worst conga lines inside the houses.
Ranking the houses from my most to least favorite (so far):
Root of All Evil: This house was far and away my favorite. There were a lot of scares, and they have once again improved the theming. I think there were more alien eggs? I also liked that the path split in two, reducing stacking, and offering more variety for those of us who visit more than once.
Cut Throat Cove: I know it is an unpopular opinion, but I liked CTC last year, and I like it even better now. They have improved the staffing, and the décor is very cool. I enjoy the disorientation, and now there are more startle scares to amplify my experience. It still isn't a "scary" house like Catacombs or Bitten, but it generates anxiety in me in a different way. I hope to try it at dusk next time (it was raining Saturday, so we had to wait), as I feel it is best in an eerie half-light.
Bitten: I always like Bitten, but it wasn't performing completely up to par. Hopefully the actors will become more comfortable in their roles, and the tension I usually feel in this time-tested maze will return.
Catacombs: I love that they changed the maze, and it seemed to be longer this year, which is something it really needed. Unfortunately, they raised the lighting and there weren't enough actors, so the impact was largely reduced. Last year it was the scariest maze for me, but it was too short to be fully effective. If they can increase the scares to last year's level, with the extended length this could be really great...again...still...whatever.
Deadline: This house remains for me a beautifully decorated museum. It has tons of completely untapped potential. While I suppose it might improve, it was just as lackluster last year, so my hopes are not too high. The subway car is still my favorite part, but for the first time ever, I walked through and no one attempted to scare me at all.
13: Your Number's Up: Ugh. Just give up on this maze, please. The Fear of Heights room is amazing every year. I suggest making it a Walk the Plank scare in CTC. Other than that, you can see my comments from last year. Nothing has changed. The staffing remains painfully small, and the concept, while cool, simply doesn't work. I really want to like this house, but phobias are all mental. Unless they can put you in the situation, I fail to see how they can make you afraid. Seeing someone else in a dentist's chair for a few seconds isn't scary; going to the dentist YOURSELF might be. I believe this is why the Fear of Heights actually works: you are the one crossing the chasm; you aren't watching some scare actor fall off a cliff.
Anyway, I will provide a more comprehensive assessment after my next trip. Hopefully, it won't be raining and the scare actors will be fully up to speed.
Pretzel Kaiser said:
I know for a fact a few terror-tories had zero dress rehearsals.
I think we can look forward to continuing improvements throughout the event, as the actors become more comfortable with their parts, stage mangers identify the best ways deploy their people, and the park identifies and fixes problems.
I have noticed in years past the first couple weekends are much different than what they are in October. They do tweaking and that's understandable.
deacfan31 said:
Better tweaking than twerking. I'm not sure I could handle a twerking nurse and buffet dinner. XP
Ha ... that's coming but Scott G will want to add plenty of "sparkle" with it.
For those that didn't notice, the troll is being worked on. An eye still needs fixed.
Troll 2014
Looking a little different than in 2006. But, at least an attempt to restoration.
Troll 2014
Looking a little different than in 2006. But, at least an attempt to restoration.
