Rumor Howl-O-Scream 2015 Rumors & Discussion

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Viktor

Viktor

Nov 18, 2013
106
384
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Naples, FL
bgtbuzz.blogspot.com
With Friday The 13th just passing by, I thought this would be a good time to start up a thread regarding HOS 2015 at BGT. Rumors, discussion, questions, you name it, this is the place!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what this years' event may look like with the recent changes in the HOS department and SeaWorld Parks in general.

Also, I'd love to hear your speculations on what houses are staying, and which must go?

~Happy Howl-O-Scream~ :D

 

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Joe said:
Okay, I officially nominate Viktor as our new BGTFans guy.
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Thanks, Joe!

I've been registered to the forums for quite a bit now, but haven't gotten a chance to come on this often. With the upcoming 2016 attraction at BGT, I figured why not see what others have to say on the forums, and the rest is history. :)
 
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Nicole said:
Any ideas about which houses might be up for replacement this year?
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That's a tough one...

Personally, I think it's time to see Circus Of Superstition go. Yes, it's a cool house with lots of neat elements, but the scares are really weak. The scareactors basically recite comical poetry in the creepiest fashion ever...

Moving on. As much as I hate to say it, but I'm almost positive they wont be bringing back Zombie Mortuary, regardless of the fact that it was one of the most popular houses last year, and even since the "Dark Side Of The Gardens" era.

Mortuary was a lengthy house, lots of good scares, and the costumes & makeup were BY FAR some of the best I've seen at the event.

Also, I wouldn't be too surprised if Zombie Containment Unit 15 doesn't make a comeback. The general consensus amongst fellow bloggers was that the house was lackluster. Mediocre scareactors, and the laser gun technology failed to work during the duration of our walkthrough. Lots of issues with that house in general, unfortunately.
 
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Clown Houses usually range from mediocre to excellent and since COS has been here for a couple of years now that I wouldn't be suprised if it left the line-up. Also, if I remember correctly Gwazi had a decent amount of queue, probably enough room for a haunted house, could we see it replace the Tomb Tut's location assuming it will be under construction for the 2016 attraction?
 
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If you recall, last year's upcharge house was titled "The Experiment : The Final Test". While it's purely speculation, I think last year was the final year for The Experiment house, and that a new upcharge experience/house will make its debut this year, particularly in the Nairobi Plaza (ZCU15 Location).

Although an interesting idea, the Gwazi Queue is a bit hard to transform into a haunted house. Due to the gradual incline and looping nature of the queue, I wouldn't expect to see a house there, but you never know!
 
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I would like to see a combination of zones and hordes, but I think the days of scare-zones as we knew them are over. The overall atmosphere and balance between scares seems to have taken over for the most part.

If they create a scare-zone, it needs to be "terror-tory" level as far as atmosphere. Every time I see a traditional scare-zone now, it just seems cheap. However, if you take the boxes,barrels,and other traditional props; you can blend them in with the surrounding area. I feel like both Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa have made their impact on the industry as a whole. Tampa especially has made it harder for other parks to compete with scares. They just need to keep on the same track and continue to learn from Williamsburg.
 
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Joe said:
Okay, I officially nominate Viktor as our new BGTFans guy.
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:( Whadda bout me?

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Anyway, I recommend they severly revamp Dead Fall. That house was the tackiest out of all of them, with little to no scare whatsoever.

Since the  upcharge house is in need of a new location, I recommend using the employee parking lot in front of Gwazi. Make it a mystery theme and have it revealed opening day.
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Also, just to add:
-Circus of Superstition: The Final Act
This house is most likely to be retired but elements of clowns may appear along scare zones

-The Experiment: The Final Test
This house is getting replaced with the 2016 attraction

-Zombie Mortuary
Needs to be revamped or retired. House is pretty old.
 
They actually utilize that particular parking lot for staff parking during the event as well as a makeup "Touch Up" station hooked onto the Marrakesh Theater if I'm not mistaken.

It is a very big space, no doubt about that, but I don't see them building a separate enclosed structure to make way for a house.

I'd rather them get rid of ZCU15 and but a brand new traditional style house in its place, or potentially relocate an existing house and put it in that location to make way for a new house, wherever it may get built.
 
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Any insight into the difference in planning with Scott gone? I understood that they usually start planning around this time of the year. I hope the event won't take a nosedive in terms of creativity.
 
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pandorazboxx said:
Any insight into the difference in planning with Scott gone? I understood that they usually start planning around this time of the year. I hope the event won't take a nosedive in terms of creativity.
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In all honesty, I've heard two rumors.

1) BGT & BGW will partner up and issue the exact same HOS event at both parks. That would mean same houses, scare zones, etc..

Personally, I don't see that happening at all, but it has been a popular rumor that some of my sources have been hearing.

2) With Scott's leave, you have to remember that he's not the only person behind HOS. While he may be the face of the event, a team of roughly 30+ people worked with him collaborating ideas, designing houses, scare zones, etc.... Just because he's gone, I don't think it will change how things work. While the levels of creativity may decrease slightly, I undoubtedly believe that HOS will still rank as one of the best attractions in the haunt industry.
 
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Well my thoughts have been very mixed about the idea that the parks would share the same event, but honestly I see things working towards this idea. The few signs that I see that make this rumor seem true is that Williamsburg, Tampa, and SeaWorld in San Antonio all have the same Howl-o-Scream theme. Williamsburg and San Antonio also share the concept of Terror-tories, Ports of Skull, Vampire Point, Demon Street, Fright Feast, Blood Thirsty (Open Casket variation) as well as San Antonio has a bunch of pictures of Williamsburg's event on their site.

So I don't think the rumor is too far fetched. However, I think it is interesting to see if they all do merge the same concepts, what would the execution be like. If we look at San Antonio versus Williamsburg, even though they have the same names and same concepts, the execution is done differently. I am pretty sure Demon Street in San Antonio is not a carbon copy of the one in Williamsburg. It has the same name, but Demon Street in San Antonio is based on a New Orleans cemetery. So how far will sharing actually extend? Will it just be names and general concepts or will it be full prop by prop design? I'm thinking more of the just names and general concepts.

So how does everyone else feel?
 
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I personally would like the event to stay the way it currently is.

I enjoy the individuality of each parks' event and would like to see that tradition continue.

That being said, I think merging the HOS brand into one large scale nationwide project is a bad choice.
 
The biggest issue I see is the parks trying to coordinate together. Unless there is a corporate Howl-o-Scream team that develops the concepts and plans and issues those plans to the individual parks, I just don't see it ending well.
 
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