Last Sunday Zachary and I traveled to BGT to attend their Howl-O-Scream. We plan to write a full article for BGWFans, but in the meantime, I wanted to share my personal opinions. I believe Zachary plans to post his thoughts, as well, because unsurprisingly, we do not agree on everything.
We went last Sunday, so I don't know if or how the crowds affected our experience. For us the paths were easily navigated and there was no stacking in the houses. It is possible on a busier night, the event would have suffered. Additionally, we bought the front of the line passes ("Front Line Fear"), so we generally were able to be at the front of our group, as we walked through the each maze. Regardless, here are my impressions.
BGT has several different types of houses. In addition to the usual haunted mazes, we experienced a fun house and an unusual laser tag attraction. My ranking is based on how much I enjoyed each house, regardless of how scary it was.
1. Death Water Bayou
Not only was this maze my favorite of the evening, it is one of the best haunted houses I have ever experienced. The maze paired beautiful and varied set design with a creepy and enthusiastic cast. As we noted on Instangram, it was physically, mentally, and emotionally disorienting; the amazing and fully-engaged cast achieved constant and incredible scares; and the overall experience created and maintained high level of stress and tension from start to finish.
2. The Black Spot
I understand this is one of BGT's new houses, and they really did a great job. Walking through it reminded me of Halloween Horror Nights without the conga line. For example, the sound effects were timed to enhance both the live action and automated scares. The excellent cast, combined with integrated effects, created an incredible level of tension throughout the entire house.
3. Circus of Superstition: The Last Laugh
Was this fun house frightening? No, not particularly, although there were a couple of unusual and effective scares. It was very disorienting, however, which for me is an equally entertaining approach to a haunt attraction. The house reminded me of Universal's Asylum in Wonderland, which I also enjoyed and valued for being so dramatically different than all of the other houses at HHH. The colors, the music, the 3D effects worked well together to create a dizzying and freaky environment. At the end of the day, I found this fun house to be a lot of fun.
4. Unearthed
This house seemed to have all of the right elements. The set was detailed and interesting, and the designers used lighting very effectively. Unfortunately, I felt as if I was observing a haunted maze, rather than experiencing one directly. I never felt anxious or afraid, just curious.
5. Zombie Containment Unit 15
Like Circus of Superstition, this attraction did not really seemed designed to scare anyone. In fact, according to the storyline, you are hunting zombies, not vice versa. It is hard to feel anxiety, when you hold the power in the situation. Regardless, it added variety to the event, which I really appreciate. I find myself getting tired of going through the same maze over and over again: Changing the theme or even the type of scare does not really dramatically change the subjective experience; it only affects the intensity and quality. This house provided an unusual experience, and honestly, shooting at zombies with a laser tag gun was cool. I was also impressed with how quickly they moved people through the house, without crating stacking or a conga line.
6. Motel Hell
The set and the storyline were brilliantly executed. Unfortunately, it seemed designed for actors to stalk guests, rather than startle them. I imagine at an event like BGT's HOS, the sheer number of guests makes it unfeasible for an actor to follow or block a guest inside a house, so the result was ineffective scares. I did experience near-constant sensory overload from the detailed sets, varied lighting, and constant sounds; but that created annoyance, rather than tension. The disconnect between the set and the scares left me disappointed.
7. Zombie Mortuary
I'm not entirely sure I even understood the storyline for this house. Why would there be zombies an a funeral home? Regardless, despite the brilliant use of scent and some very clever scares in this house, I was left pretty much bored throughout. About halfway through, I just started to wonder, when I could leave, and maybe grab a bottle of water. Ironically, that was just about when it started to improve a bit. Unfortunately, by the time the maze had developed into something interesting (or at least less tedious), they had already lost my attention.
Of course, there more to a haunt than just the houses. I thought the rest of the park was brilliant, as well.
The atmosphere throughout the park was amazing. At first we were a bit surprised at the lack of props and décor, but then we noticed the brilliant lighting effects. The park used everything from projections to creepy colors to enhance the effectiveness of the dark paths and dimly-lit hamlets. Music and sound were also employed effectively to create the right mood.
Perhaps more interesting, however, was the deployment of the scare actors on the paths. We expected the roaming hordes to move around the park and appear unexpectedly to threaten us, as we tried to check the map or take a water break. We had not anticipated, however, that the scare zones would switch themes periodically. We went through the same area twice in about an hour, and encountered a completely different set of actors. It was really a very cool and effective idea. Essentially, it meant that every part of the park was unpredictable, which really added interest and anxiety.
We were both prepared to be incredibly annoyed by the bars and DJs. Somehow, despite their being scattered throughout park, they rarely interfered with the atmosphere. For me the party elements of the event faded into the background, and I was generally able to ignore them.
Overall, I thought this was a great event, and I really enjoyed every minute. Before this weekend, I was beginning to experience a sense of ennui about park haunts. I wasn't even sure I wanted to make the effort to try Tampa's HOS. I am very glad I went. It was scary and fun, and far and away my best experience so far this Halloween season.
We went last Sunday, so I don't know if or how the crowds affected our experience. For us the paths were easily navigated and there was no stacking in the houses. It is possible on a busier night, the event would have suffered. Additionally, we bought the front of the line passes ("Front Line Fear"), so we generally were able to be at the front of our group, as we walked through the each maze. Regardless, here are my impressions.
BGT has several different types of houses. In addition to the usual haunted mazes, we experienced a fun house and an unusual laser tag attraction. My ranking is based on how much I enjoyed each house, regardless of how scary it was.
1. Death Water Bayou
Not only was this maze my favorite of the evening, it is one of the best haunted houses I have ever experienced. The maze paired beautiful and varied set design with a creepy and enthusiastic cast. As we noted on Instangram, it was physically, mentally, and emotionally disorienting; the amazing and fully-engaged cast achieved constant and incredible scares; and the overall experience created and maintained high level of stress and tension from start to finish.
2. The Black Spot
I understand this is one of BGT's new houses, and they really did a great job. Walking through it reminded me of Halloween Horror Nights without the conga line. For example, the sound effects were timed to enhance both the live action and automated scares. The excellent cast, combined with integrated effects, created an incredible level of tension throughout the entire house.
3. Circus of Superstition: The Last Laugh
Was this fun house frightening? No, not particularly, although there were a couple of unusual and effective scares. It was very disorienting, however, which for me is an equally entertaining approach to a haunt attraction. The house reminded me of Universal's Asylum in Wonderland, which I also enjoyed and valued for being so dramatically different than all of the other houses at HHH. The colors, the music, the 3D effects worked well together to create a dizzying and freaky environment. At the end of the day, I found this fun house to be a lot of fun.
4. Unearthed
This house seemed to have all of the right elements. The set was detailed and interesting, and the designers used lighting very effectively. Unfortunately, I felt as if I was observing a haunted maze, rather than experiencing one directly. I never felt anxious or afraid, just curious.
5. Zombie Containment Unit 15
Like Circus of Superstition, this attraction did not really seemed designed to scare anyone. In fact, according to the storyline, you are hunting zombies, not vice versa. It is hard to feel anxiety, when you hold the power in the situation. Regardless, it added variety to the event, which I really appreciate. I find myself getting tired of going through the same maze over and over again: Changing the theme or even the type of scare does not really dramatically change the subjective experience; it only affects the intensity and quality. This house provided an unusual experience, and honestly, shooting at zombies with a laser tag gun was cool. I was also impressed with how quickly they moved people through the house, without crating stacking or a conga line.
6. Motel Hell
The set and the storyline were brilliantly executed. Unfortunately, it seemed designed for actors to stalk guests, rather than startle them. I imagine at an event like BGT's HOS, the sheer number of guests makes it unfeasible for an actor to follow or block a guest inside a house, so the result was ineffective scares. I did experience near-constant sensory overload from the detailed sets, varied lighting, and constant sounds; but that created annoyance, rather than tension. The disconnect between the set and the scares left me disappointed.
7. Zombie Mortuary
I'm not entirely sure I even understood the storyline for this house. Why would there be zombies an a funeral home? Regardless, despite the brilliant use of scent and some very clever scares in this house, I was left pretty much bored throughout. About halfway through, I just started to wonder, when I could leave, and maybe grab a bottle of water. Ironically, that was just about when it started to improve a bit. Unfortunately, by the time the maze had developed into something interesting (or at least less tedious), they had already lost my attention.
Of course, there more to a haunt than just the houses. I thought the rest of the park was brilliant, as well.
The atmosphere throughout the park was amazing. At first we were a bit surprised at the lack of props and décor, but then we noticed the brilliant lighting effects. The park used everything from projections to creepy colors to enhance the effectiveness of the dark paths and dimly-lit hamlets. Music and sound were also employed effectively to create the right mood.
Perhaps more interesting, however, was the deployment of the scare actors on the paths. We expected the roaming hordes to move around the park and appear unexpectedly to threaten us, as we tried to check the map or take a water break. We had not anticipated, however, that the scare zones would switch themes periodically. We went through the same area twice in about an hour, and encountered a completely different set of actors. It was really a very cool and effective idea. Essentially, it meant that every part of the park was unpredictable, which really added interest and anxiety.
We were both prepared to be incredibly annoyed by the bars and DJs. Somehow, despite their being scattered throughout park, they rarely interfered with the atmosphere. For me the party elements of the event faded into the background, and I was generally able to ignore them.
Overall, I thought this was a great event, and I really enjoyed every minute. Before this weekend, I was beginning to experience a sense of ennui about park haunts. I wasn't even sure I wanted to make the effort to try Tampa's HOS. I am very glad I went. It was scary and fun, and far and away my best experience so far this Halloween season.
