Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg 2021

[Mamunia]

Just another reason kids should not be at this event. Sounds like some parents are treating the necklace like a contractual guarantee that BG won’t scare their kid. What’s next, is someone going to sue for distress? If you’re not ok with the possibility of jump scares, this event isn’t for you. And I say this as a person who was finally brave enough to attend my first theme park Halloween event at 35.

 

[Nibbins]

I still don't think that complaining about "kids" in general is fair.

Kids (and grown ups for that matter) can react quite differently to the scares.

My son loved going through all the houses back in 2019 at 8 years old already and never was scared of being in there.
My daughter (13) is generally just fine with all the houses, but for some reason has a phobia relating to human/machine hybrids and ended up breaking down in Dystopia last weekend and came out of the house sobbing.
I have seen plenty of "grown-ups" behaving more infantile than either of my kids though.

That being said, even I have to scratch my head when I see people pull up with their toddlers in strollers to one of the houses or carry their infant through it.

 

[phurst]

I have no problem at all with kids at the event IF they enjoy things like that and can handle it. I've seen plenty of fairly young children having an absolute blast at HOS. My problem is the parents who take their families including children who CAN'T handle events like this, knowing full well that's the case and going anyway. I literally just had an extended text conversation with my wife's cousin about this. She was asking if HH or HOS were the better event. Her teenage daughter wants to one or the other and was concerned that her youngest daughter would be "scared shitless". I told her flat out that if that was the case, she absolutely needed to make other arrangements for her. That it wasn't fair to either of her daughters or the other guests at the park. She finally agreed, and now I think everyone involved will have a better trip.

 

[dawno]

I love the scares, and I love when kids love them, too. I do not love when kids freak out over events like this and I have pretty strong feelings about parents who subject their kids to this. The necklaces are a nice idea, but why the heck is anyone attending an event KNOWING that the point of it is to scare you?

I know the queues are long and it takes forever to get through at times, but we purposely wait a few seconds until the group ahead of us has a buffer zone, so we don't get spoiled by their scare. I hate when people hurry through and are "tailgating" us, and if there happened to be someone wearing a "do not scare me necklace" behind us, I'd be livid. These necklaces should not be allowed in the houses / mazes. I am not local. I don't want to drive 6+ hours and not get the full experience. I get one shot at this per season.

If kids can handle it, great! Have a blast. If they can't, sorry, don't go.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

I am looking forward to doing this event again on October 30th. I personally feel that the first weekend was new staff that were probably getting use to the event. It's been a year or so, since they last did the event do to pandemic. After this month rolls by, scare actors should have the formula on how to really get the most out of their scares.

Aside from that, the mazes need to be a tad bit darker. I was rather impressed by how much space the buildings have, as compared to KD's mazes for HAUNT. There should be a lot more room for creativity and hiding spots. But as I said, the mazes have too much light on them. Shut some of the lights off, to give the scare actors the element of surprise. I know Bush Gardens is a family park, but this event has disclaimers. Most of the employees told me during the summer, that the event was rather cool in previous years.

When I went into the NeverMore maze, I was expecting something along the level of Medieval Macabre at HAUNT. Again, this is based off the fact that the maze occupies Curse of Dark Kastle's course. There is tones of space for them to create an intense experience. I'm not certain; but does anyone know if STEVE THE HAUNT GUY is still employed at KD? He was KD's HAUNT designer for some years. That's the name that enthusiast referred to him as. BGW should really consider employing this guy if he isn't still employed with KD. His creations were rather cool and I always felt he could have done more, if KD had the space that Bush Gardens Williamsburg did.

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[mwhinva]

I am looking forward to doing this event again on October 30th. I personally feel that the first weekend was new staff that were probably getting use to the event. It's been a year or so, since they last did the event do to pandemic. After this month rolls by, scare actors should have the formula on how to really get the most out of their scares.

Aside from that, the mazes need to be a tad bit darker. I was rather impressed by how much space the buildings have, as compared to KD's mazes for HAUNT. There should be a lot more room for creativity and hiding spots. But as I said, the mazes have too much light on them. Shut some of the lights off, to give the scare actors the element of surprise. I know Bush Gardens is a family park, but this event has disclaimers. Most of the employees told me during the summer, that the event was rather cool in previous years.

When I went into the NeverMore maze, I was expecting something along the level of Medieval Macabre at HAUNT. Again, this is based off the fact that the maze occupies Curse of Dark Kastle's course. There is tones of space for them to create an intense experience. I'm not certain; but does anyone know if STEVE THE HAUNT GUY is still employed at KD? He was KD's HAUNT designer for some years. That's the name that enthusiast referred to him as. BGW should really consider employing this guy if he isn't still employed with KD. His creations were rather cool and I always felt he could have done more, if KD had the space that Bush Gardens Williamsburg did.

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I thought I saw a KD job description for a Haunt Lead design person whose main responsibility was design / construction / set up / take down / and maintenance of the park's Haunt sets and props. This position was posted in the last 4-6 months. My guess is Steve is not there anymore. I assume he could have left on his own or been involved in a park wide lay-off in 2020 due to the park not being open last year. As far as where he could be now, I have no idea.

 

[Bigskinny]

I thought tonight was pass member exclusive night?

 

[MikeLovesKD]

I thought I saw a KD job description for a Haunt Lead design person whose main responsibility was design / construction / set up / take down / and maintenance of the park's Haunt sets and props. This position was posted in the last 4-6 months. My guess is Steve is not there anymore. I assume he could have left on his own or been involved in a park wide lay-off in 2020 due to the park not being open last year. As far as where he could be now, I have no idea.

If only BGW knew he was available. It could change Howl-O-Scream forever.

I could picture him revamping the NeverMore and Witch's Trail. When I saw "Witch's Trail"; it reminded me of "MINER'S REVENGE" and "Camp Killawau" at KD's Haunt. But when I saw; how much more space "Witch's Trail" had; I knew there would be tones of room for improvement. There is so many different ways they could section that attraction to make it something scarier.

Call me overly obsessed , but having an actual castle to work with would really bring out STEVE's creative genius. "Medieval Macabre" at KD was good and he found a way to do it with taking a section of the bumper car area. Sometimes when I look at the bumper cars; I wonder how in the world they fit that in there. Curse of Dark Kastle's empty course area just brings it to life.

I picture this being the music for it; once you get inside the castle. Please listen and tell me how this track sets the vibe to a scarier Medieval themed maze inside Dark Kastle's building.

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[Zachary]

Something to keep in mind: KD has been spending a ton more on houses than BGW lately. The massive disparity in house design quality between KD and BGW likely has a lot to do with that fact.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

Something to keep in mind: KD has been spending a ton more on houses than BGW lately.

The massive disparity in house design quality between KD and BGW likely has a lot to do with that fact.

I didn't know.

Well; BGW has very good building quality. I was impressed by how much even space they had inside the mazes. It didn't feel as if anything was crammed in there. It felt as if they took a decent amount of time on the design. Just needed better scare acting. Who BGW's lead Howl-O-Scream designer? NeverMore has so much potential to be scarier experience.

What did you think of the music I posted?

 

[Icer]

What did you think of the music I posted?

I think that would be a killer suspense builder for the queue inside the castle walls and up through where the house starts.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

I think that would be a killer suspense builder for the queue inside the castle walls and up through where the house starts.

I'm glad you like it. I've always been big on audio and sound. I'm in school for electronic media and film. Sound is a major key in building suspense. So when I see these haunted mazes; I always think about the music that is being presented. And that's everything down the placement of the speakers and lighting. This particular track is good because it sets a very good mood with the constant beat. So as your waiting in line; I can only imagine you pass by the armored knight figures and your hearing the front door slam shut behind every group that enters the maze.

BGW; does not realize how good they have it, with this building. This could easily become one of the scarier mazes in the mid-Atlantic region.

 

[Mamunia]

I still don't think that complaining about "kids" in general is fair.

Kids (and grown ups for that matter) can react quite differently to the scares.

That’s a good point. The issue is actually the parents who should be reacting to situations appropriately instead of bringing children to a scare event and then getting mad when the child is scared. I really wouldn’t want to stop a kid from being able to go if they’re going to have fun. But clearly there’s no easy answer. Can we somehow screen and ban bad parents? No? Ok, I’ll just show myself out then.. haha.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

Can someone tell me one thing? When walking through NeverMore; are you walking through what was once the course for Curse of Dark Kastle. Or is that part of the building further back?

 

[Icer]

Can someone tell me one thing? When walking through NeverMore; are you walking through what was once the course for Curse of Dark Kastle. Or is that part of the building further back?

The queue follows the DK queue, and the ramp you descend in the house was the loading area for the vehicles. As you go through the skull archway, that is the general area where the trees were in the original ride as the vehicles round the corner. From there, the house has its own path as what was once the DK course has since been deconstructed.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

The queue follows the DK queue, and the ramp you descend in the house was the loading area for the vehicles. As you go through the skull archway, that is the general area where the trees were in the original ride as the vehicles round the corner. From there, the house has its own path as what was once the DK course has since been deconstructed.

I figured it was. So pretty much; they have a tone of space to use in the building? This is so dang cool. Now my imagination is shooting fireworks. That music I posted, just plays in my head as I think. It's super cool to imagine an intense maze experience inside that building? Something that literally makes you feel on the edge during certain parts. Not to mention if the old loading station area were darker, before you enter the actual maze.

There needs to be a door that slams shut, before you start the course.

 

[Icer]

I figured it was. So pretty much; they have a tone of space to use in the building? This is so dang cool. Now my imagination is shooting fireworks.

The building has previously had two houses simultaneously and also houses Santa's workshop. With the building having been gutted, it essentially works as a 30k square foot warehouse. Lots can be done there.

 

[Jonesta6]

I keep saying brewery, but knowing that won't likely happen, would be interesting to see what they come up with for the space considering the rumor that entertainment was told to get out for operations in the next few months. That may be for a new attraction (in which case DF is an elaborate ruse, highly unlikely given all of the work that went into securing permits and approvals), in which case may limit what sort of houses we see in the space.

One thing other than a door slam is sudden loud noises coming from compressed air or something rattling against sheet metal, though not sure how that could be implemented without some kind of chamber for a batcher to hold groups in before dispatching into the maze. Maybe they could reuse the chamber effects before the DK platform, except this time actually close the door behind each group?

 

[MikeLovesKD]

That would be rather cool. Or this. What if they stopped everyone, before letting you inside the actual castle. Therefore; the old loading station would also be apart of the course. Maybe a scare actor or two taunts you before going into the actual course, where the ride once stood. There are so many ways to make that building a good experience. Just ask yourself; how many parks have an actual castle to use? Generally out only see those things down at the abandoned put-put-golf courses in Orlando Florida. If KD had something like that to work with; they would probably scrap two of the smaller ones and put the man power inside the big one. That is one thing I do wish theme parks would do, and that's quality over quantity. For some reason reason quantity seems to always been the marketing scheme. With BGW; they shouldn't have to worry about that because they have so many other things to draw the crowd in. Rides, games, food, and shops. Me and my sister didn't even do all the mazes; we mainly went for the rides and atmosphere.

BGW has something special compared to it's competitors. "BIG PARK". Six Flags America and Kings Dominion aren't as big. Once you've rode a few big rides; that's the crowd drawer. Outside of that, your probably just tasting a few food items and maybe seeing one of these shows of your not waiting in line for a short maze. With BGW, I think the natural landscape helps. Animals, food and beverages, and shops. It is a true theme park. This is not cheap; which is why the park pushes it's membership program.

 

[WDWRLD]

Ok so maybe I never understood this before but have filming inside haunted houses always been allowed? Its listed on the BGW website that it is allowed.