I hate that my impressions of this event will be the opening post for this thread, but I guess it can’t be helped.
@Zachary and I attended SWO’s Howl-O-Scream last night (Saturday, 16 September), and I would strongly recommend that no one else similarly waste their money. While I am not going to provide a full review or trip report, I do want to share some highlights of my experience, mostly as a warning to others.
In 2021, BGWFans attended all three East Coast HOS events in one weekend, and published this review comparing them:
bgwfans.com
As you can see, we thought the inaugural Orlando Howl-O-Scream showed real promise, and even outstripped Tampa and Williamsburg in some areas, most notably in storytelling. (“Orlando’s casts were consistently the strongest we experienced at conveying a story through their actions and interactions with guests.”) Sadly, the complete lack of such narrative skill was one of our strongest criticisms this year.
The two “best” houses both had some kind of discernible plot, but the other three were completely incomprehensible. We were so confused by what was going on in Blood Beckoning that we looked up the official description. We still have no idea what it was about, but is seems the park doesn’t either:
For what it is worth, here are my maze rankings and my quick notes:
On another note, SWO’s separately-ticketed HOS had incredibly light crowds. We only encountered one line with more than 5-10 people. In fact, Pipeline was a walk-on. Compare that with a typical Saturday night in Williamsburg. Please do not take this as a reason to attend the event, however. Based on quality, in my opinion, the few of us who were there wasted our money.
One last thought: I do not blame the actors. The problems we identified were with design, not the performers who seem to have been given no more direction than ”point your finger menacingly” or “dance like a stripper.”
@Zachary and I attended SWO’s Howl-O-Scream last night (Saturday, 16 September), and I would strongly recommend that no one else similarly waste their money. While I am not going to provide a full review or trip report, I do want to share some highlights of my experience, mostly as a warning to others.
In 2021, BGWFans attended all three East Coast HOS events in one weekend, and published this review comparing them:
Comparing All Three East Coast 2021 Howl-O-Scream Events – BGWFans
Last weekend Zachary and I flew to Florida and back so that we could experience Universal Studios Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights and the opening weekends of all three east coast Howl-O-Scream events (Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Tampa, and SeaWorld Orlando). Initially, we had...
bgwfans.com
As you can see, we thought the inaugural Orlando Howl-O-Scream showed real promise, and even outstripped Tampa and Williamsburg in some areas, most notably in storytelling. (“Orlando’s casts were consistently the strongest we experienced at conveying a story through their actions and interactions with guests.”) Sadly, the complete lack of such narrative skill was one of our strongest criticisms this year.
The two “best” houses both had some kind of discernible plot, but the other three were completely incomprehensible. We were so confused by what was going on in Blood Beckoning that we looked up the official description. We still have no idea what it was about, but is seems the park doesn’t either:
For what it is worth, here are my maze rankings and my quick notes:
- D3LERIUM666 Laboratories (crap house, but understood story and had a spinning tunnel)
- Beneath the Ice: The Meltdown (boring, kinda understood story)
- Captain’s Revenge: Drowned in Darkness (no idea what was happening, but had some pirates)
- Dead Vines: Nawlins Nightmare (incoherent mashup of Root and Bayou with too much light)
- Blood Beckoning (a bookstore, some walk-in freezers, a tent, and a strip club; what is happening here and why do I need to see it?)
On another note, SWO’s separately-ticketed HOS had incredibly light crowds. We only encountered one line with more than 5-10 people. In fact, Pipeline was a walk-on. Compare that with a typical Saturday night in Williamsburg. Please do not take this as a reason to attend the event, however. Based on quality, in my opinion, the few of us who were there wasted our money.
One last thought: I do not blame the actors. The problems we identified were with design, not the performers who seem to have been given no more direction than ”point your finger menacingly” or “dance like a stripper.”
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