Howl-O-Scream 2016

[stoney]

Just got back. Circo Sinistro had a great setup; I liked adding an introductory scene as it gave the maze more personality and set it from the others. My biggest complaint in the past was that there were too many similar mazes. I feel like Circo Sinistro will get better into the season; there were several rooms which didn't seem to do much and it didn't seem like there were many actors inside but I could have just been walking through the off timings.

Cornered and Catacombs were awful for me tonight... I genuinely only saw maybe 3 actors jump out at Catacombs, everything felt very minimal tonight. The actors in the Festa Italia area were good and there were a good amount of them in that area, it was really effective.

I finally got to the Brauhaus for the first time and got a sick IPA, i was a little pissed that the higher ABV brews are only 10oz! Was it always like this??

 

[The Hessian]

I'm not sure but then again I really didn't check the size of the cups since I was there to drink the beer in the first place. Maybe its because I just 21 a few months ago but as long as the beer is good I could care less about the amount but again that's just me.

 

[TheMostHappy]

I also am surprised at all the praise for Catacombs- while it wasn't BAD for sure it was very similar to how it's been for the past million years to me... the layout was a bit different but just overall nothing can revitalize a maze this old. It wasn't especially well staffed or energized when I went through Friday either. I guess it just goes to show the quality of the mazes can vary a ton from person to person.

I disagree though that the event overall was lackluster. I found it about on par with, if not better than, how it's been the past few years, and I think the past few years have been largely an improvement over the event I grew up with. I've never been to another theme park's Halloween event so I can't compare it in that sense but I think BGW Howl-o-Scream has been pretty consistently improving from year to year.

 

[horsesboy]

I stopped by for a few hours tonight after doing kd during the day. I liked what they have done with Lumber Hack. The changes made it feel bigger to me. I do hope that they figure out a better idea for a path to it as that long walk takes away from it some. I also did Cornerd which I also really liked but we had the advantage there as it was just the 4 of us in the maze and therefore we were given lots of attention by the scare actors. Biten was the let down of the night ot just plain old and boring at this point.

 

[jornor]

Just got back.  Circo Sinistro had a great setup; I liked adding an introductory scene as it gave the maze more personality and set it from the others.  My biggest complaint in the past was that there were too many similar mazes.  I feel like Circo Sinistro will get better into the season; there were several rooms which didn't seem to do much and it didn't seem like there were many actors inside but I could have just been walking through the off timings.

Cornered and Catacombs were awful for me tonight... I genuinely only saw maybe 3 actors jump out at Catacombs, everything felt very minimal tonight.  The actors in the Festa Italia area were good and there were a good amount of them in that area, it was really effective.

I finally got to the Brauhaus for the first time and got a sick IPA, i was a little pissed that the higher ABV brews are only 10oz!  Was it always like this??

I think so maybe they started doing that the second or third month of Brauhaus looking back... - not 100%

 

[angelicurrr]

Went Friday and Saturday night. We got in about 4:00 both days, and missed the long lines to get into the parking lots. I'll rank each house/terror-tory based on the best to worst:

Houses

Circo Sinistro - VERY well done. Friday it was less staffed, but Saturday it was perfectly staffed. The only room I dislike is the knife throwers. The effect just didn't work for me. Best rooms are the Dollhouse and Ringmaster room (holy cow!)

Catacombs - Always been a favorite. Was staffed pretty well both nights. On top of the numerous opportunities for scare actors to startle, some of them had incredibly creepy screams/noises that amped up the experience. It almost felt a little shorter?

Unearthed - I went in with low expectations. Friday left me feeling 'meh' but Saturday's scare actors were great and plentiful. No Trickster either night sadly. On Saturday, there was a man alone in front of our group, and he tried to walk into Scarlett at the very end... he ended up on his bum

Cornered - Really enjoyed this one. Actors went for it, and the mirrors/corn maze at the end made the whole thing for me!

Lumberhack - It was alright... First time going through this year and was mildly impressed. The actor on the saw/sparks barely did anything... Projected ghost in the woods was very effective! Last bit was very disorienting.

Deadline - I used to really like Deadline. Just because there are like 12 new tv/projector "scares" doesn't mean you don't have to put actors in the maze! I felt bad for the actors in there because most of the screens were VERY bright, making them instantly noticeable. Get rid of some of the screens, and it'll be better.

Bitten - What's there to say? Nothing new, boring, and about 5 actors the whole time.

Escape Room

We only did the Ripper Room but oh my goodness, it was fantastic. I've done about 4 different escape rooms, and this took top place. The effects were on point, actors were great, and the puzzles were tricky, but not impossible. Once we got on a roll, we got out with plenty of time to spare. Just two of us managed to get out, 6 people would have been a little cramped.

Terror-tories

Firstly, can we stop calling them that? I'm not going to comment on any of the old zones, they're all the same... Sideshow Square was only enjoyable because of the actors in it. The space and decor sucked. The wind-up doll was PERFECT, and I'm glad the clowns got the noisemakers on Saturday. Give the actors a better space, and it will be the best thing about HOS.

In closing, I was thoroughly surprised at how much I enjoyed everything. I didn't leave disappointed as I have in some years past. My only big let down is that besides the puppet at the entrance, there was NOTHING else pertaining to the Evil Encore theme. Nothing. At. All.

Overall event score: 7/10

 

[BenWilkerson]

I realize that you all have done bitten numerous times...but I did it for the first time on Saturday night and it had about a 20 minute line and I really liked it. I just overall thought it was really fun. The only I didn't really understand was why the first 3 or 4 turns didn't have a single actor in them but other than that it was pretty fun. Lumberhack was my favorite of the night though.

 

[Nicole]

I don't personally buy into the notion that older houses must by definition be worn and tedious.

I was completely bored in Bitten on Saturday, not because I have done it so many times, but because it was wildly understaffed and the approach to scares just seemed tired to me. Catacombs, in contrast, kept me anxious the entire time and the actors did more than bang things at me. It felt as Catacombs has adapted to changing trends better than Bitten.

I think that the park has made a lot of effort to try new, innovative approaches to their houses over the past two years, which probably makes the older houses seem even worse. For me at least, however, Catacombs has demonstrated that more traditional mazes can still be effective, if they are done well.

I say all of this with the caveat that the first weekend is always rough, and I will draw no conclusions until later in the season.

 

[Username]

I got the chance to stop by the park for a bit yesterday and just did Circo Sinistro and Bitten.

Circo Sinistro looked nice, was bored the entire time. It felt like there were no actors in the entire maze. Not sure if they were just understaffed that night or what but we were all super bored.

Bitten was Bitten. Also felt understaffed but in general was the same as previous years. One minor thing I noticed is that the house added more fishing lines dangling from the ceilings as you walked in (they have always had dangling things but this felt like a notable addition) and it made it felt like you were walking into spider webs. Was an effective tactic although mostly just made me annoyed.

I like the use of project screens and video around the park, I hope they do it more.

Lastly, I complain about this literally every year but the park seriously needs to use fog machines more effectively. Every year they place them in spots where it causes guest flow problems and create hazardous situations. I get they are trying to be disorienting, but do not make people disoriented where there is two way traffic, it just caused people to run into each other and I was literally almost run over by a wheelchair last night.

 

[Merboy]

Lastly, I complain about this literally every year but the park seriously needs to use fog machines more effectively. Every year they place them in spots where it causes guest flow problems and create hazardous situations. I get they are trying to be disorienting, but do not make people disoriented where there is two way traffic, it just caused people to run into each other and I was literally almost run over by a wheelchair last night.

I couldn't agree with you more. I LOVE the fog, it really creates an anxious mood and atmosphere but just as you said the machines are very often situated so that they make a walkway completely invisible. And personally, when I get engulfed by one of those clouds as I'm walking I tend to take the deer approach and just stand still until it clears a bit. I'm not going to walk blindly forward, risking injury to myself, others, or my cocktail. Especially my cocktail. I've only been run into once so far but to be fair I also try to move to the side of the path as the cloud approaches.

But yes, I love the fog, just not the rolling white-outs, especially when they're on hills.

 

[Zachary]

From my experience this weekend, the big stories are as follows:

1. Perennial early Howl-O-Scream struggles with staffing, training, and decorating all still plague the event to the point where I couldn't recommend anyone make their "one Howl-O-Scream visit" till we get closer to mid-October.
   
   

 

[angelicurrr]

From my experience this weekend, the big stories are as follows:

1. Perennial early Howl-O-Scream struggles with staffing, training, and decorating all still plague the event to the point where I couldn't recommend anyone make their "one Howl-O-Scream visit" till we get closer to mid-October.
   
   

 

[Zachary]

Nicole posted about our experiences in the dedicated No Escape threads in the Seasonal Attractions board. (Link)

We have heard numerous reports since about other people running into similar (and often times the same) problems we did. Until these major issues are sorted, I couldn't recommend them to anyone.

 

[Thomas]

Sounds like you guys just got stumped and are bitter about it.

 

[Nicole]

Except that we solved it.

 

[TheMostHappy]

One thing I forgot to mention was the updated claustrophobia effect in Cornered (the black balloon-type things you have to squeeze through). I know this prop had mixed popularity in general but I thought the change was odd- it's now only waist-high so basically you squeeze your bottom half through but your head and torso aren't affected. What did y'all think of that change?

 

[Ghost of Pretzel Kaiser]

Since Pat Roberson is the Mr. Burns of Hampton Roads, I suggest BGW take their advice and get rid of Demon Street.

 

[Nicole]

I also am surprised at all the praise for Catacombs- while it wasn't BAD for sure it was very similar to how it's been for the past million years to me... the layout was a bit different but just overall nothing can revitalize a maze this old. It wasn't especially well staffed or energized when I went through Friday either. I guess it just goes to show the quality of the mazes can vary a ton from person to person.

I disagree though that the event overall was lackluster. I found it about on par with, if not better than, how it's been the past few years, and I think the past few years have been largely an improvement over the event I grew up with. I've never been to another theme park's Halloween event so I can't compare it in that sense but I think BGW Howl-o-Scream has been pretty consistently improving from year to year.

I think it addresses the ick factor: I wasn't worried about lice or germs.

I also think it serves no function other than to slow people down. I suppose it could be useful at the beginning of the house? I guess since it isn't in the middle or at the end, it didn't bother me. It just seemed like a waste of space.

 

[The Hessian]

You are Joking about this right ?

 

[Nicole]

Joking about what?