Visited this weekend. Scare zones remain fun. They're light on scares and heavy on character interactions, which isn't bad, just interesting. I did see the parade. It’s fun, but it seemed like most people weren't watching it, just trying to get around it to make it to a ride or house before the crowds got heavy. On a different note. The park is decked out this year. There is some kind of Halloween decorations in almost every corner of the park. And the amount of fog used this year covers the areas that aren't decorated. I seriously have never seen this much fog at an event before. The staffing was also back to levels we expect from these events.
Paranormal Inc.- Remains a great house. Actors are great. Sets are great. Costumes are great. Effects are great. Can’t say much more than that.
Tooth Fairy- I love that they continue to evolve this house year after year, especially considering it was a rush job done in a matter weeks as a result of Covid and the park wanting to stray away from Urgent Scare in the climate of 2021. There were all kinds of new additions for 2023. And the size of the cast was great.
Depths of Darkness- Actors did their best. This house is just a bummer to me. They took one of the greatest houses ever (DefeX) and replaced it with this cheap, low-budget house with a story that is all over the place. Not to mention it’s by far our biggest location for houses. This building is huge and wasted on a blackout house.
Slaughterhouse- Still a visually impressive house. It’s getting long in the tooth, but a handful of new additions and a cast that is both large and feral helps this house to stay fresh for this year. I’m torn because this house is almost 10 years old and I would love a replacement. But slaughterhouse, both iterations, are such staples of the event. I think it just needs some new scenes to extend its longevity. An “oven” scene similar to the one BGT had for Simons Slaughterhouse would be amazing.
Silver Scream Studios- A house that has been largely unchanged for almost 20 years (not even kidding. This house opened as The Dream Factory in 2007 and has remained largely the same since). Anyways, the house has nothing new and the cast was maybe 15 people. But don’t be fooled. These were clearly the best monsters of the night. Creative hiding. Creative lines and character development. Clearly, these people knew they were cast in the underdog house and were determined to show guests that this house isn't something to be underestimated anymore. You could tell these people were working with what they were given and succeeding tremendously. The energy the cast had at the end of the night on a crowded weekend was palpable. Now, the house isn’t perfect, it’s got some age on the sets and apparently, the vortex tunnel has just completely broken down, but it's probably my favorite overall this year. It was by far the scariest. I genuinely think this is the last year for this haunt and the cast is doing something amazing to send it off into the history books!
Overall, another step in the right direction for SCarowinds. They have clearly listened to guest feedback over the years and are working to get this event back to its former glory. That said, a new house is much-needed for next year. The event is also in need of six houses. Even if that means another “new” boring corn maze. Its still a way to help alleviate the crowds. I can't wait to see what the park does for SCarowinds 2024!
