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I noticed some mildly interesting changes around the park for 2018 on 8/2. Lots of work was taking place on Vault XX with people constantly going in and out. The front door was open and from the train it appeared to be a hallway with a drop down sized hole to the left. Near Demented Dimensions many wooden crates were scattered about that appeared to be varying in size and were very open potentially allowing scare actors to move in out of them. The most interesting I found was the exit to once was Deadline had the work lights on and it appeared to be a stripped down bare bones version of Deadline. During my ride on Nessie I found many Deadline props sitting back there along with what looked like some props from Curse of Pompeii that I assume we’re most likely left over. Should be interesting to see what happens with this final house.
 
I noticed some mildly interesting changes around the park for 2018 on 8/2. Lots of work was taking place on Vault XX with people constantly going in and out. The front door was open and from the train it appeared to be a hallway with a drop down sized hole to the left. Near Demented Dimensions many wooden crates were scattered about that appeared to be varying in size and were very open potentially allowing scare actors to move in out of them. The most interesting I found was the exit to once was Deadline had the work lights on and it appeared to be a stripped down bare bones version of Deadline. During my ride on Nessie I found many Deadline props sitting back there along with what looked like some props from Curse of Pompeii that I assume we’re most likely left over. Should be interesting to see what happens with this final house.

I'll be at the park the day they announce the final house so I will try to get as many previews as i can of that location and others, since they start setting up many decorations throughout Bier Fest anyway.
 
Somebody should try to get a Loch Ness Monster POV with the camera slightly to the left (following park rules, of course) so we can see what's going on. The last time I rode LNM I only saw large construction cones that could have been part of Deadline. That's my most anticipated house, whatever it is.
 
One week until announcement, anyone have any final predictions? I am curious what everyone is thinking.

I think Pompeii but don't have any clue as to the theme.
 
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like i said in a previous post, i feel like that we are going to get some more stuff from tampa. I agree with the monsters riding with guests thing, as i've hear good things about it online and in person. I also feel like some kind of ZCU maze will be coming. I'm pretty sure the guns are owned by BGT/SEAS and can easily be shipped down to BGW to be used for a few years.
 
I was expecting Tampa to borrow something from Williamsburg this season but BGT's full lineup was announced and it's not happening. Williamsburg borrowed Demented Dimensions from BGT because that house was made to recycle old props and save money. For this reason, I don't expect Williamsburg to copy Tampa exactly. They will probably also use what random props they can find in storage. That's the problem with Vault XX. It's another maze that in this case literally states that they are bringing things out of a warehouse. I'm excited about this maze though I can hardly see how they can or will make it successful given what we know so far. The biggest hope this maze and Demented Dimensions have is that Dark Tower: the park's first (and a well-regarded) maze used the same formula of utilizing many themes and hoping that at least one would be popular. Like Dark Tower before them, Demented Dimensions and Vault XX have the potential to influence years of future maze concepts. Dark Tower basically became a teaser for the next 10 years of Howl-O-Scream.

Guess what also was built as a money saver: Zombie Containment Unit (which WhalerYT mentioned above)... In a recent haunt panel, former BGT creative director, Scott Swenson said that the park built that maze without having to buy walls for inside the house. Instead, they used all recycled props including barrels and chain link fence. Only the ZEDs/Zombie Eradicator Devices were new. I don't know if Williamsburg and Tampa would send any props back and forth to each other but I'm sure BGW would jump at the idea of having a cheaper maze than Blackout at KD which literally has 99% no scenery.

As well as Tampa pulled it off, I would be very sad if BGW went the ZCU route. I thought it was a genius concept but I got tired of it after one walkthrough. Deadline was one of my favorite mazes at BGW... Ever. Even without actors (an essential part of any haunt), I admired the thought that was put into every inch of it- from the scenery to every other sense appeased. I don't want just any generic haunt in that space. I don't even expect them to "wow" me the way they did when Deadline debuted in 2011. I just want something original with a good amount thought placed into it. That would make the event for me.

P.S. Sorry for the long post, but those are all of my thoughts about this year's event so far in a nutshell. We don't have much time until the announcement so that's everything I can say until then without possibly giving away proprietary information.
 
Sounds like a rehash of the Deadline maze in my opinion... I went through it last year and I got the same vibe from that as I get from this "leak".
 
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13 is usually the magic number when it comes to the number of rooms in each haunted house at Howl-O-Scream. Since there are six throwbacks that we know about in Vault XX, I think it's possible that each of those scenes will have two rooms with one extra scene somewhere. I guess it could be that the icons will also be squeezed into this house, but I think they would fit well on Beaten Path. I hope they will be able to pace the maze to where people don't feel like each scene was too short.
 
Does it say at all of where it’s located ?, I wasn’t told what so ever but Pompeii would be my guess. There have been people getting Pompeii as a work location but also the Battle for Eire building as well I’ve heard from people @kingadam
I didn't see anything about location listed unfortunately.
 
There have been some strange locations listed for scare actors this year. Many of them are in areas that we have assumed to be vacant so far. I am really looking forward to the announcement on the 20th so we can find out what's going on.
 
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They do have extras to announce on the 20th. Maybe they have a bunch of surprises.

I also found a couple permits filed a week or so ago when all of the permits were filed for HOS and there are some mentioning a new building/structure other than the billboard they put up, and the description is HOS maze. Whenever they alter an existing building, it is considered an alteration, ex putting Vault into Drachen Fire queue. I wonder what they really have planned for Distopia with a new structure maze permit up

Edit: At the same time, they filed for some maze alteration permits, outside of mazes with title mentioned. So could we see an alteration to an existing facility as well as adding on some build work?
 
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Has anyone heard any information yet on Sneak peek day? I'm surprised it's less than a month away without a peep about operating times or anything. Hoping it will at least be announced no later than the 20th when all the other HOS info is shared.
 
Most likely on the 14th, it’s usually the First Friday of the HOS Season that they do it. They also do a Employee Preview Night before hand where Employees can bring guests as well (I was taken as a Guest to it last year) and they show off One or Two Mazes @luseendesi

Sorry, I know the date, but opening day used to be 10am like usual, but these sneek peak days seem to be modified like only opening at like 5pm or something silly...
 
Interesting. It seems like they aren't aiming for a zombie vibe, but more so an oppressive regime. Sounds similar to what Wendigo Woods was intended to be, with orders and such. This one could be hard to pull off.
 
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