155 days till Halloweekends!

A few notes on this past Friday and Saturday.

First on the subject of haunted houses. We got to happy Jacks about 11 Friday. There was maybe 20 people in line. I was surprised. Our group had 8 people in it, teenage boys and girls except for my son and me. We hardly got in and the girls freaked at the sight mirrors. They stopped dead with 2 of the boys just inside the door and didn't move. I figured that the next group would be in soon and these kids would mess it up for everybody so we politely pushed our way past them we continued on behind two other girls that were at the front of the group. Never saw the 4 kids again.

Friday was not as crowded as week 1. Saturday's crowd rivaled week 1.

It looks like Dr. Demented is very popular. the line was always huge. At 15 minutes before it opened Saturday an employee told a visitor that the wait was 1 hour 15 minutes from the end of the line which extented past Wave Swingers exit. The employee was holding a sign with the asylum's name on it as a guide to those that wanted to enter the line. I image because the line extended so far from the queue.

We saw two shows. The Carnavil of Magic and Dr. Cleaver. The magic show had very little magic. Just a couple very standard "tricks". Most of the show was dancing and a bit of vaudville. There was plenty of eye candy for the guys as the 5-6 girl dancers were usually dressed in miniskirts or hot pants. That being said. I still like the Chris Linn show better.

Dr. Cleaver is a clever show. It's rather corny, but fun. It's mostly the same as last year. They did add a couple of jokes at the expense of LeBron James which met with approval from Cavaliers fans. Many of the shows the jokes and gags are somewhat racy double entendres, many of which go over the kids heads. The show only lasted about 20 minutes.

I thought the walk throughs were all excellent both nights. Saturday being the better due to the larger crowds. Terror Island to me was the best. I like the new set up, it really works well.

We went to Eerie Estate and Club Blood this past Friday and I was very happy with both of them. The mirror room in Club Blood had me confused for a good 15 seconds or so.

I love sideshow! I've gone to it twice now and I'm sure I'll go back again.

I'm probably going to stick with Fridays for Halloweekends from now on. It's funny because the park is only open for 6 hours, but my wife and I left at 10:30 because we did everything we wanted to.

That's what I tell people about HW - forget Saturday, and just go Friday evening (provided they can get there by 6). You'll be able to ride as much or more than you would on Saturday or Sunday, and in shorter amount of time.

"I think they need to put CarnEvil back where it was over by ocean motion. There is nothing on that side of the park anymore besides Jack's. I don't see the point of having 2 outdoor zones (Carnevil and Terror Island) right next to each other"

the other reason they moved carnevil away from there is because that space was way to wide for a zone, it was too spread out and suffered because of it. they'd have to close off a lot of it to make it work and then it wouldn't be as functional during the day. the new location is more closed in naturally.

@kevin, you shouldn't rely just on the lights for hiding, thats why character work is stressed, create a character and use it, some places scare in broad daylight. yes hiding behind lights is nice, but its a crutch, learn how to be scary with only your body, voice and character and you'll leave a more lasting impression then a simple jump out from behind a light and startle somebody scare.

Also remember, going through the houses on sunday, that those actors are dead tired because its their third day and their hours are a lot longer than ours. Given that, they are doing an alright job. yes, some have struggled and the houses have had problems, but that happens and they are working on it.

The clumping problem can be solved by posting people at known bottleneck areas to keep guests moving. It worked for us when we did a haunted house.

How is the new haunted house? I have not heard anything about it yet.

I think CarnEvil is 100% better in the new location. Mainly because the midway is narrower, and the Camp Snoopy fair-style setup fits the theme perfectly.

@Dammie- You're a little bias on the "Fear Faire has some of the "best techs in the business" aren't you?

And some Screamster's actually hide in front of the light... Take for instance the flying pig from Fear Faire... Last weekend he was actually sitting right in front of a light, and he had people falling over, when all he was doing was startling them from a seated position IN FRONT of a light! I think once they develop a character it makes things a lot easier. I would sit there and watch that kid all night if I could.

crazy horse said:

How is the new haunted house? I have not heard anything about it yet.

Asylum is pretty good, although it isn't nearly as ambitious as Eerie Estate or Happy Jack's in terms of sets, lighting, etc. Much of the layout is very similar to Undertaker U. but with a mental hospital overlay.

josh88 said:

the other reason they moved carnevil away from there is because that space was way to wide for a zone, it was too spread out and suffered because of it. they'd have to close off a lot of it to make it work and then it wouldn't be as functional during the day. the new location is more closed in naturally.

I thought the main reason for the move was because Planet Snoopy was new for that year, so they wanted to attract children to there at night.

The wife and I went Friday night, then took the kids on Saturday. No doubt, Friday is the day to go. Little or no lines for haunts and rides on Friday. I enjoyed the lighter crowds in Terror Island and Fright Zone because it gave more opportunity for my wife to get the pee scared out of her. Not really sure if my hoodie will ever recover. Happy Jacks was cool.

Kudos to whoever trains the screamsters in dealing with young children. I carried our 5 year old through Fright Zone, walking behind my wife and two teenage kids. He had a ball watching them scare mom and brother and sister, and enjoyed the high fives and jokes from the screamsters afterward.

Looking forward to hitting the rest of the haunts we haven't been to over the next few Fridays.

Stringy said:
@Dammie- You're a little bias on the "Fear Faire has some of the "best techs in the business" aren't you?

In the park? No not biased, they also handle the midway scenes, Happy Jack's, Club Blood, and Eerie, so no I have no zone bias here.

coolkid said:

josh88 said:

the other reason they moved carnevil away from there is because that space was way to wide for a zone, it was too spread out and suffered because of it. they'd have to close off a lot of it to make it work and then it wouldn't be as functional during the day. the new location is more closed in naturally.

I thought the main reason for the move was because Planet Snoopy was new for that year, so they wanted to attract children to there at night.

part of the reason yes, but it was accepted that the old area was not working for carnevil because of the sprawling aspect of it. it was too big, and open with no real clear path or way to tell people they were walking into a corner, so they killed two birds with one stone, it had to be moved because of the new stuff, and it needed to be moved anyway.

Hmmmm, Asylum was........meh. It was neat but no Erie Estates.

And I dont know about anyone else, but I'm starting to get null to the same black/grey speckled wall color scheme already utilized in Happy Jacks and Erie Estates. Asylum could DEFINITELY look more like an asylum with an easy to do color scheme like this.

I agree, Asylum was just meh...Nice work on the SketchUp model...I use it all the time at the Architecture firm in which I work.

I've done Happy Jacks so far and saw the inside of Asylum and Cornstalkers without people/effects but will possibly go through them this Sunday (only a couple more weekends until zones are open Sundays too!)

That's nothing coastermani, you should see the layout I came up with for a large size haunt. :)

Provide the link

Now why would he do that? Someone could steal his design:)

A small question, just wondering does Demon drop have a tombstone by the other rides that are no longer with the point

I didn't see one. It didn't die. Just changed his place of living. ;)