Howl-O-Scream Tampa 2022

[DJTLG]

 

[tursiops]

Interesting angle. Don't think they've gone this route before.

 

[Ice]

Wonder if this is a SEAS level theme choice or Tampa taking advantage of the Floridian fear of snow, either way I don't know how well a Winter Holiday house would fare right before Christmas Town.

 

[Seaworld History]

Stranglewood is absolutely incredible, like universal level of quality, the music, everything it’s absolutely the best house they’ve ever done

 

[sotomexx]

So we were at HOS Tampa Friday night and I must say they are two hugely diffrent events than BGW HOS this year. I will say though even Tampa the overall crowds were much smaller than last year, every house was less than a 10 minute wait, The 11pm Fiends was only 1/4 full and we were one of about 10 people in the entire VIP seating area. We arrived about 15 minutes before the event started and parked on the second row of preferred parking using our membership. Food, there were quite a few places to get snacks, way more than I could even try...unlike BGW where there are very few places open. Drinks....at BGW ive found it impossible to get fountain refills and at times bottled drinks. Alcoholic drinks have had loooooong waits or 30+ minutes what what ive experienced. At BGT we had numerous beverage options with zero lines, including straight up shots! The bar at Fiends had no line at all and the dedicated VIP entrance and Bar was nice but again, the regular side had no wait. There was a Christmas themed bar which was also a nice touch. Overall BGW the park dosent have that halloween feel this year, where as BGT there was no where where there wasnt sounds and lighting changes to make the transitions from zone to zone seamless. We easily saw all the shows, scare zones, houses and still had time to kill without rushing through the event. Even the main event gift shop was well themed, but yet at BGW they are pushing last years house shirts at full price. Now for BGW, I cant comment on ride wait times because honestly when im there for HOS im not looking for rides since its my home park......but finally got my ride on Iron Gwazi and it was well worth the wait!

We went to BGT on Thursday and Iron Gwazi was indeed incredible. My 9yo daughter really wanted to do HOS at SWO on Friday night but we opted against it. That said, I noticed that Tampa had signs for the Furrybones creator Misaki coming for her annual in-person signing. Has anyone seen this info for BGW or have a date?

 

[netdvn]

I got to attend this event twice on my Florida trip.

Dead Water Bayou - sucks. BGT slowly turned one of their best mazes into one of their worst. Some scenes removed and actors replaced with animatronics that were out of sync every time. I was disappointed

Witch of the Woods - was alright. Better set design and actors than ours. Unfortunately this maze had really short staffing both times I walked through

Forgotten - I loved this maze when it was properly staffed. Unfortunately I had one amazing, fully staffed run and two amazingly short staffed runs. This maze gave me Club Blood vibes

Residence - I loved the Christmas overlay. It's a really unique twist on the standard haunted house concept. Normally Tampa's mazes go downhill after a couple years, but this one has held up we'll.

Stranglewood Estates - BGT has two haunted house themed mazes. Set design here is phenomenal. It reminds me of a Uni maze. Actors were amazing effects are amazing, and it had great gimmicks.

Junkyard was interesting. First run through was short staffed. Second time was fully staffed. It's really good when its fully staffed. Loved the former maze props scattered throughout

All the scare zones were really fun. BGT really went all out for some of them. They even had roaming chainsaw groups disguised as regular guests. Some of their zones like the clown one were a little too small and cramped for their own good.

Come sundown, a bunch of the shops and restaurants were closed. I couldn't find the pin I needed because most of the shops carrying pins were closed.

Operations were really poor once the sun went down. Most of the coasters broke down at some point. Cheetah and Gwazi were pulling 5-6 min dispatches every time.

I had a great time overall.