Trip Report: Oct 14-16

[Merboy]

To begin with I'd like to ask is it just me or is Howl-o-Scream becoming more of a family event? Maybe I'm remembering it inaccurately from previous years but I feel like it was once a lot scarier in general than it is this year. I went this past weekend and I was surprised - nay, alarmed! - at the amount of children walking around. Like *little* children. Moms with strollers even! My own mother went to HoS about seven or eight years ago and has solidly refused to ever return because the scare actors were "too intense". Of course there's always something to be said concerning staffing issues but even on Saturday night when I felt like there was a fair amount of employees the entire atmosphere felt a little... underwhelming?... Is the park trying to be more inclusive by toning things down so that the day-crowd doesn't get driven off after 6?

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[Nicole]

Thanks for the great report!

Just a few comments...

Yes, HOS has somehow turned into a stroller convention, and I, personally, think it is ruining the event. We were at BGT last night, and I was struck by how much less annoying and older the crowd was. I didn't see a single stroller or baby all night. It improved my experience tremendously. In addition, the entire park was dark, and all of the lighting enhanced the creepy atmospherics. It didn't feel as if anyone was pandering to parents with children.

As for the wasps, it is a perennial problem, and I think it has to do with their being attracted to the height and machinery. On the Roller Coaster tour, they told us BGW tried to get rid of them, but there isn't much they can do. I heard that Dollywood put a tower above the Lightening Rod lift hill, to deal with a similar problem.

 

[Merboy]

Yes! That is exactly what I'd like to see BGW revert back to, a more mature and Halloween-enthusiastic crowd. It should be dark and thrilling and terrifying! I'm so glad I'm not the only one noticing this trend. You adhere to a few voices calling for a ban on severed heads and suddenly Halloween becomes a sterilized "Fall Festival".

 

[acrossdapark]

On a side note wasps have always been a plaguing issue over at La Cucina for as long as I can remember and they have tried in vein to get rid of them.