Howl-O-Scream 2017

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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

Unearthed is rumored to return here and in Tampa. I believe I have heard that Circo Sinstro will return, but that's probably no surprise. They have it all battened down, so that's also a good sign for a return.

The houses of mystery are Bitten and Catacombs. Both have supposedly been on the chopping block for a while, but it seems like the initially planned replacement for Catacombs was scrapped, or we would have seen it by now.

Bitten still has an open door and the same decorations that are usually visible from the train. We should see something soon if anything is happening there. Deadline is increasingly difficult to monitor since they added more coverage to block it out last year, but I don't expect much there either.

A new maze location maybe?
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

CastleOSullivan said:
Unearthed is rumored to return here and in Tampa. I believe I have heard that Circo Sinstro will return, but that's probably no surprise. They have it all battened down, so that's also a good sign for a return.

The houses of mystery are Bitten and Catacombs. Both have supposedly been on the chopping block for a while, but it seems like the initially planned replacement for Catacombs was scrapped, or we would have seen it by now.

Bitten still has an open door and the same decorations that are usually visible from the train. We should see something soon if anything is happening there. Deadline is increasingly difficult to monitor since they added more coverage to block it out last year, but I don't expect much there either.

A new maze location maybe?
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Thanks so much for the response!
 
RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

I would expect them to continue the use of projectors like last year. Apparently they wanted to go all out with projection mapping a few years back, but last year was a start. Many projections looked rather cheap, but some came out pretty well such as this one.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

I would be kind of mad if Catacombs out-lives Bitten. I still think it's a fun maze, but Bitten originally had so much care put into detail. I believe it was truly a beautiful house, especially before they put hanging fabric everywhere, which just blocked out the detail. I used to just want to stare at the walls to admire the artwork.

I had heard that it would be removed. I've also heard that way in the past, but to no avail. This year, I'm starting to believe it. By the way, Bitten surpassed Drachen Fire's number of seasons in 2015.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

I think I disagree about Catacombs vs Bitten. I believe the former has aged better than the latter.

Here is what I said last season about those two mazes:

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.
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

Bitten solely still exists because they don't have to do anything with it every year. It just sits there till a few weeks before HOS starts when they "spruce it up". IMO it's still the best maze in the park and if they just actually renovated it it would be great again.

You have to agree with me that it does have the most detail out of any of the mazes.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

I would also interested to see bitten either renovated or changed. The Germany section of the park has been host to the vampires for quite a long time and I would be interested to see a new theme grace the area.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

The way they were performing on their final night was epic. If every night was like that, we would never be able to get rid of it.

I would expect the new maze to have a reversed entrance/exit. BGT does that, and so does BGW in Festa Field. It creates a bigger feeling of something being new and unfamiliar. They probably don't have much of a choice anyway with the congested layout. The congested layout however, was what made Bitten special to me. The maze never felt small. In fact, some rooms looked huge without the dangling fabric ruining the illusion.

What eventually transpired into Masquerage was once rumored for Bitten, or whichever maze was there in 2005 or so. I would love to see an ancient Germanic castle if they can avoid it resembling Bitten too much. There are already two massive castle sets from Masquerage inside Bitten. With careful planning, they can make that type of architecture style appear to go on forever.
 
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RE: Howl-O-Scream 2017

I was at the park over the weekend for F&W, and while riding the train, I noticed that Cornered was set up. Did they not break it down after last season or are they starting set up early?
 
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