Featuring Let it Die by Foo Fighters, Ain't no rest for the wicked by Cage the Elephant, Lay me down by Dirty Heads, and Waiting for the end by Linkin Park...
Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg 2021
- Thread starter Gavin
- Start date
Featuring Let it Die by Foo Fighters, Ain't no rest for the wicked by Cage the Elephant, Lay me down by Dirty Heads, and Waiting for the end by Linkin Park...
Honestly I think HOS would be really great if the park could reset everything and just do scare zones this year.
It worked really well in Tampa. I felt 2020 was probably their best year in a while.
Fiesta Texas' Fright Fest was extremely well done. The set design was phenomenal for a Flags park. Tons of massive props and while the actors were confined behind walls and fences, they did a fantastic job scaring people. Unfortunately this led to overcrowding around scare zones but I was seriously impressed with what SF could do if they poured a ton of money into their haunt event.
SFA was hit-miss. The actors were decent, but they were spread out too far and few between. Set design was actually really good though with the huge props and animatronics.
We've seen BGW go all out with their scare zones when they introduced the terror-tories. Bring back the huge set pieces and add a lot more decor to the park. Have set places for the actors to roam or just do a full on scare zone concept or have scare zones in each of the different countries like Tampa did last year.
It worked really well in Tampa. I felt 2020 was probably their best year in a while.
Fiesta Texas' Fright Fest was extremely well done. The set design was phenomenal for a Flags park. Tons of massive props and while the actors were confined behind walls and fences, they did a fantastic job scaring people. Unfortunately this led to overcrowding around scare zones but I was seriously impressed with what SF could do if they poured a ton of money into their haunt event.
SFA was hit-miss. The actors were decent, but they were spread out too far and few between. Set design was actually really good though with the huge props and animatronics.
We've seen BGW go all out with their scare zones when they introduced the terror-tories. Bring back the huge set pieces and add a lot more decor to the park. Have set places for the actors to roam or just do a full on scare zone concept or have scare zones in each of the different countries like Tampa did last year.
I would show up at the Park Administration Building and demand to know who was responsible for butchering ole pumpkin Jack and involving him in such an awful show. I am still trying to erase the memory of the monstrosity below.
6 months to go. I hope they are actually able to put on some kind of "real" event and not the same as last year.
This is usually around the time when BGW starts throwing hints at the upcoming HOS. I’m hoping we’ll hear something soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they announce details closer to the date this year. Maybe July or even August?
It's gonna be a hot minute before BGW even thinks about HOS this year.
They still have to finish advertising the numerous events before September, somehow get the capacity back to even semi-normal, and they still have to open a new multi-million dollar unique custom-designed launch coaster. The park is holding a valuable deck of cards right now, and they're going to play it slowly until they know it's the right time to strike. There's a desire to go back to the park in a normal setting and many want to ride Pantheon as well, once later summer rolls around and the demand for going to the park has diminished as students go back to school, the days become shorter, and the temperature becomes cooler then we will see info about watered-down HOSLite21 revealed.
At the earliest I would expect mid-July for Howl-O-Scream announcements, maybe a teaser or two in June and early July just to build hype, but I think we're gonna see the bulk of the marketing in August.
You'd be surprised how early they start "thinking" about it, as odds are they are planning for either situation that can take place (limited or full capacity, based on COVID).
The FP buildings are fully cleared out, Lumberhack is sitting in a state of disarray, DK building is probably still sitting Christmas-ified, and I haven't seen CS or the basement of Pompeii recently. The point is, if they want to put on a HoS this year, it will take a lot more premeditated work than usual, as most everything that is already set up year round needs at least some TLC. Losing FP is a big blow as that section just eats people, so they will have to be very strategic with how they place houses, all assuming a full capacity event.
My personal guess, expect a full capacity HoS. Maybe not full-budget, but traditional HoS, maybe one or two houses shorter than usual (which means longer lines).
The FP buildings are fully cleared out, Lumberhack is sitting in a state of disarray, DK building is probably still sitting Christmas-ified, and I haven't seen CS or the basement of Pompeii recently. The point is, if they want to put on a HoS this year, it will take a lot more premeditated work than usual, as most everything that is already set up year round needs at least some TLC. Losing FP is a big blow as that section just eats people, so they will have to be very strategic with how they place houses, all assuming a full capacity event.
My personal guess, expect a full capacity HoS. Maybe not full-budget, but traditional HoS, maybe one or two houses shorter than usual (which means longer lines).
I think the last time we saw any real marketing this early was for Unearthed in 2015, and the first campaigns came out in early May. I think the only reason they promoted that year so early was because they hired Robin Cowie to produce it and it was somewhat of departure from previous years.
In my opinion, the earlier they start marketing the current year, the better they feel about the product. If they don't give up any details until August, they are phoning it in.
In my opinion, the earlier they start marketing the current year, the better they feel about the product. If they don't give up any details until August, they are phoning it in.
I’m really curious about the haunted houses... whether they’re just going to have the same haunted houses from 2019, bring back some older ones, have some new ones, etc...
Also, @Jonesta6 , with a heavy heart I’m betting that there will be less scare actors. Do you think there will be less haunted houses in general, too?
Also, @Jonesta6 , with a heavy heart I’m betting that there will be less scare actors. Do you think there will be less haunted houses in general, too?
No inside information here, just some guesses...
We basically know Vault won't be back in its previous form. It was demoed after 2019.
Circo and Lumberhack will both likely need a lot of work having sat unmaintained for so long. Lumberhack seems more likely to return than Circo. I wouldn't be surprised to see both back though.
Dystopia, Demented, and Frostbite all seem likely to return due to the minimal time and money investment required to get them up and running.
We basically know Vault won't be back in its previous form. It was demoed after 2019.
Circo and Lumberhack will both likely need a lot of work having sat unmaintained for so long. Lumberhack seems more likely to return than Circo. I wouldn't be surprised to see both back though.
Dystopia, Demented, and Frostbite all seem likely to return due to the minimal time and money investment required to get them up and running.
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I think with the demise of Eire, or at least a very good chance it’s shuttered for the year, we’ll see a new house return to that space in Ireland this fall.
While we’re at it might as well be bold and claim the train will finally make its triumphant return. It would be breaking tradition at this point to say otherwise.
While we’re at it might as well be bold and claim the train will finally make its triumphant return. It would be breaking tradition at this point to say otherwise.
with staffing issues, I could see as few as 4 houses happening this year. BGT is only doing 5.
I think that a lot could depend on the staffing situation. I think that given the on going competition locally for employees that Busch might decide that they need to play planning conservative and run one house down from previous years. Honestly if that looks like the case I would prefer a small number of decently staffed houses to a repeat of Unearthed where I walked through several times with only encountering a few actors.