2022 Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg 2022

Official Website​

Howl-O-Scream: Virginia Halloween Event | Busch Gardens Williamsburg

The spirit of Halloween is unleashed at Howl-O-Scream! Find haunted houses, escape rooms, scare zones, live shows & roller coasters if you dare. Buy your tickets today!

buschgardens.com

Attraction Lineup​

Haunted Houses​

1. Inferno [New] - Location: Pompeii (?)
2. Death Water Bayou [New] - Location: Festa Field
3. Nevermore Chapter 2 [New] (Updated & Relocated) - Location: Drachen Fire Station Building (?)
4. Witch of the Woods [Returning] - Location: Oktoberfest Woods Maze
5. KILLarney Diner [Returning] - Location: Ireland Simulator

Terror-Tories™​

1. Dead A-head [New] - Location: France
2. Gorgon Gardens [New] - Location: Italy Gardens
3. Scary Tale Road [New] - Location: Rhinefield
4. Meat Market [Returning] - Location: New France
5. Ripper Row [Returning] - Location: England

+ Roaming Hack Pack [Returning] - Location: Where you least expect it​

Shows​

1. Jack is Back [Returning] - Location: Ireland
2. Phantoms of the Festhaus [Returning] - Location: Festhaus
3. Skeletones [Returning] - Location: San Marco
4. Monster Stomp® on Ripper Row [Returning] - Location: Globe Theatre

+ ZomBeats [Returning] - Location: France?​

Party Zones​

1. DJ Marie Antoinette Party Zone [New] - Location: France
2. DJ Masquerade Party Zone [New] - Location: Festa Italia

(These are listed as new, but seem to be in the same areas as the party zones in 2021)

BOOze Bars​

1. Stone-Cold Spirits [New] - Location: Italy Gardens
2. Pete's Provisions [New] - Location: New France
3. Back Alley Bar - Location: England
4. Jack's Nightcap - Location: Ireland
5. Frost Bar - Location: Oktoberfest
6. BarKastle Spirits - Location: Oktoberfest

 

[Alf33]

Some more of the scare actors.

 

[Dave / Pink]

Ok before I ask the following, this isn't to justify anything, just asking what could make HOS a more enjoyable experience.

If 1 of these 3 had to be reduced to ensure the other two were properly staffed which one would it be:
Haunts/Houses
Rides
F&B outlets

I feel, through reading comments, BGW has been trying to do a little bit of each. Given Haunts/Houses is mostly what people are going for, and F&B is important to have at full force, I rather see a limited range of rides through these two months. 2-3 coasters, 5-10 flats, FOF closed down. And be upfront on the website about the fact that it's going to be limited operations from a rides standpoint.

To my knowledge, staffing does not really work this way. There is not a large pool of equally trained employees employees prepared to be placed at any ride, restaurant, or haunted house. There is very little overlap with rides (requiring training and operation certification on a per ride basis), cash handling positions in admissions/merch/culinary (training, account system that limits ability to jump on a register if they've never been setup before), food service, and scare actors. Sure, if they are already crosstrained and certified, they can move people on an as-needed basis, but the overwhelming majority are not.

 

[Aidansn07]

My official HOS 2022 rankings from first to worst ; (I went into Nevermore multiple times and everytime I got scared)

Nevermore
Witch of the woods
Killarney dinner
Inferno
Death water bayou





Scary tale road
Ripper row
Gorgan gardens
Dead a head
Meat market

 

[Dave / Pink]

This is somewhat random thought I had at the park tonight.
When Friends was here, I was SO over it.
It is dearly missed now.

I'm kind of over MSoRR, now. At least bring back the original projection at the start.

 

[Zachary]

I don't really miss Fiends in particular, but I do very much miss new, quality Howl-O-Scream entertainment. I'm pretty sure that, for me, the total erosion of my interest in HOS entertainment since around the time Fiends was removed is far more a matter of correlation, not causation. If the park still had great Howl-O-Scream shows that ran the entire length of the event that weren't Fiends, I think I'd be a lot more enthused than if Fiends had just stuck around. That said, instead, we are in what I would consider to be the darkest days of HOS entertainment since at least the mid-2000s. Tragically, I struggle to see a path back for BGW's Entertainment department anywhere on the horizon either. SEAS, as a company, clearly doesn't care about stage products at all anymore.

 

[Rheath]

Inferno is a laughably bad maze

 

[Aidansn07]

Inferno is a laughably bad maze

I think it’s a step above dystopia

 

[Coasternerd]

I think it’s a step above dystopia

Personally I think it’s a step below dystopia. But to each their own.

 

[Alpentheon]

i thought inferno was more jump scarey then distopia.

i personally hated nevermore i never got scared once i went thru 5 times..

 

[Aidansn07]

i personally hated nevermore i never got scared once i went thru 5 times..

I went through 4 times and got scared everytime… DWB I didn’t get scared at all. But also Killarney dinner and Witch of the Woods I got scared in.

 

[Ice]

I don't really judge the house quality off of how many times I personally got scared considering there are way more factors that contribute to that end product than simply the house quality. Actor rotations, staffing that particular day, luck of the draw in the group being put in, your personal scarability, how many times you have been through the house (and therefore know the spots), etc etc all factor in.

Nevermore was definitely the best made house this year of the new ones. It felt compact in a good way, had good sets, had good actors, and provided a lot of good opportunities for scares. Of course I never got scared myself (other than the skeleton at the very end of the house up in the ceiling essentially) but I still felt like it was the best house there. Hard to explain in criteria, just mainly a gut feeling.

 

[Alpentheon]

inferno was the best mybestie taylor cried

 

[Coolguy15]

mybestie taylor cried

rookie

 

[Rheath]

For me this year:

1.) Bayou
2.) Killarney Diner
3.) Nevermore
4.) Witch
5.) Inferno

I go off of a mixture of atmosphere and scares

 

[Aidansn07]

For me this year:

1.) Bayou
2.) Killarney Diner
3.) Nevermore
4.) Witch
5.) Inferno

I go off of a mixture of atmosphere and scares

DWB was terrible for me. Very pretty but no scares… I honestly wish they had kept Circo

 

[rjgmonster]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg giving Scary Tale Road the recognition it deserves

 

[Alpentheon]

rookie

i mean it was her first ever.. probs should have done nevermore or witch for her first.

 

[Aidansn07]

i mean it was her first ever.. probs should have done nevermore or witch for her first.

Nevermore and Witch of the woods are the scariest in my opinion

 

[deacfan31]

So how bad has food at BGW gotten? Here are 2 pictures, same meal, 11 years apart, both at Howl-O-Scream. Of course the 2nd one took almost an hour and a half to get. To me, it represents the state of the park. Sad 😔

 

[AIR]

So how bad has food at BGW gotten? Here are 2 pictures, same meal, 11 years apart, both at Howl-O-Scream. Of course the 2nd one took almost an hour and a half to get. To me, it represents the state of the park. Sad 😔

I genuinely miss Anheuser-Busch managing the Busch and SeaWorld Parks. Quite literally everything was better. BGW, Kingsmill Resort etc. was known for having incredible food, especially for quickly serving thousands of guests every day.