Trip Report - Halloweekend Friday 9/27/13
Four of us set out for our first Halloweekend visit on Friday, 9/27/13: me, my wife, our 16-year old daughter, and her friend. I'm a big coaster rider, but none of the girls really are. My daughter likes medium-intensity rides, so things like Corkscrew, Gemini, Iron Dragon, Mine Ride, etc. are right up her alley. Unfortunately, of all those, only Iron Dragon was open. Her friend had never been on a roller coaster before, and was quite scared of them. My wife absolutely will not ride.
We arrived at Breakers Express a little later than planned, about 515p. There was already a short check-in line at the lobby. I waited maybe 5 minutes to get to the desk, and even though we had reservations, check-in still took 10 minutes after that. We quickly took our stuff to the rooms. Both rooms were clean, and the water and drains were working fine, but like so many other reviews I've read, both rooms had a noticeable musty smell. Normally I would've gone back to the desk to switch rooms, but since we really wanted to get to the park before 600p, and it was then 535p, we decided we could live with it. We hadn't eaten yet, either, so we decided to swing through the McDonald's drive-thru on our way in. The line was 6 or 7 cars deep. After 3 or 4 minutes without a single car moving, we abandoned that idea and drove around to the resort entrance.
We walked through the gate at 600p sharp, and headed straight for Maverick. Last time I was at CP was the year before Maverick, so I was eager to try it out. I convinced my daughter to join me, although she was rather nervous. We waited maybe 10 minutes for the front car and had a killer ride. It's definitely my favorite coaster at the park, and my daughter also said it's now one of her favorite rides, too.
We then grabbed some sandwiches at Chick-Fil-A and made a plan. The girls wanted to hit some rides, so they did Wave Swinger, Iron Dragon, Matterhorn, and Scrambler (1/2 hour wait for Scrambler!).
By then it was 830p and time to start hitting some haunts. First stop, Eerie Estates. The line was very long, so we decided to skip it. We walked toward Windseeker but nobody else was interested in riding. Besides, the line was pretty long. So we walked by Wicked Twister (very short line, but no takers amongst the girls) and Gatekeeper (I wasn't able to judge the line). MaxAir was a walk-on, but nobody else wanted to ride it either. So we headed for Fear Faire. There was zero wait, and we walked through (I'll review the haunts separately below).
The girls and I were still game, so we headed for Zombie High School. We waited about 10 minutes and got through at about 915p. Raptor had a short line by then, but the girls weren't interested. Instead, we headed back to Eerie Estates, but the line was still long, and for some reason the girls didn't seem too keen on going in. So Blood on the Bayou was next (zero wait), and we headed to the back of the park along the Gemini midway.
The girls didn't want to do CarnEvil (also zero wait), so we headed for Eden Musee. The line there was at least 1/2 hour, but we decided to wait it out, anyway. After that, we hit Cutthroat Cove, with a zero wait. It goes under the Maverick, around the back of Eternity Infirmary (which we never did get back to), and dumps out at the entrance to Frontier Trail, aka Screamworks.
From there we hit Cornstalkers, with zero wait, and walked through Screamworks, arriving at Skeleton Crew just in time for the 1100p show, which was most excellent.
After that was over at 1130p, my daughter had been regretting not going through Eerie Estates, so we headed there for the 3rd time. This time there was only a 3-minute wait, and the girls built up the courage to go through. From there we headed back to the exit, and finally got to watch a few launches from Dragster (it was down earlier -- every time I go to CP that ride is down!) on our way out. We walked out of the gate at 1200a sharp.
In general, we had an awesome time. The Halloween atmosphere in the park was primarily what we were after, and it was tremendous. I must admit that I was disappointed with the haunts in general. I guess I was expecting them to be more eerie and creepy. Instead most all of it centered around being startled (boo!) rather than scared. I found we were focusing on where the next monster would spring out from rather than being immersed in the haunt. That said, this is how I review the eight we went through. In order from best to worst:
Screamworks - This encompasses the entire Frontier Trail. Very cool effects with fog, lighting, props, etc. There wasn't anybody jumping out at us, instead the monsters were lurking and sneaking around just enough so you could see them out of the corner of your eye, and then discover that some of them were actually stalking you.
Eerie Estates - This had the theming of a haunted house. It was eerie and creepy, and actually had characters that did more than just jump out at you. The woman handcuffed to the stove, pleading for freedom, is a good example. Plus the rats and roaches and worms were all cool effects, too.
Cutthroat Cove - I really enjoyed this one. Lots of fog, not too bad with startles, and more creepy than most. One monster on a bungee cord got me good.
Fear Faire - This was our first haunt, and really had us on our toes. Unlike most of the other outdoor haunts which tend to move you in a straight line, this one was a maze under the picnic shelters. Monsters could (and did) come at you from all directions. They did a good job employing decoys in here, where the "obvious" monster was not the one who scared you at all.
Zombie High School - The theming was cool (although rather basic), and the wait was short, but it was mostly about being startled.
Blood on the Bayou - Not bad, but really not much to it. It was similar to Cutthroat Cove, just not as well done. The guy with the chainsaw was a really cool idea, too bad his fake chainsaw sounded like a fake chainsaw. If it sounded real, it would've been terrifying.
Eden Musee - Very overrated IMO. It had the longest wait and was mostly centered around monsters yelling boo. The character in the bowler hat managing the entrance and the girl with the dripping wax body were superb, though. Too bad there weren't more like them. Coupled with the long wait, this one drops to the (near) bottom of the list.
Cornstalkers - As a haunt, it was hands-down the worst of the ones we experienced. I was expecting a maze-like experience through a cornfield while being "hunted" by monsters. It wasn't anything like that. It was a single-file walk through a row of cornstalks, and there were maybe 3 or 4 monsters the whole way. I joked with the folks in front of us that maybe we should try scaring ourselves. Being inside the canyon, the potential was there for it to be really awesome. Unfortunately, it just wasn't. We all considered it a waste of time even though there was zero wait.
Now that we've done it once, and know what more to expect, I'm sure our next Halloweekend trip will be even better. One thing that would have been of tremendous help in planning a route is knowing where the haunts exited. We wasted a lot of time doubling back to meet up with my wife who was waiting by the entrance. In most cases, this was quite far from the exit.
For those who don't know:
Blood on the Bayou enters near Power Tower, but exits underneath Top Thrill Dragster, about halfway down the launch track.
CarnEvil is a two-way walk through Camp Snoopy adjacent to the Gemini.
Cornstalkers enters at the north end of Frontier Trail, and exits about halfway down the trail.
Cutthroat Cove enters near the Maverick entrance, but exits at the north end of Frontier Trail.
Fear Faire enters and exits near the south Sky Ride station.
Screamworks is a two-way walk through the Frontier Trail.
Finally, I'd like to wrap-up with a question about crowds. I've heard Friday night crowds tend to be very light, but I would say what we had was anything but light. I'm wondering if somebody with more experience can comment on the crowd level Friday 9/27/13? If THAT was a light crowd, you couldn't pay me to be in the park on Saturday with a heavy crowd.
-- Rob
The crowds must have been following you, because after 8pm I experienced walk-on rides for _everything_ but MF and TTD. Yes, even Maverick and GK. As for the mazes, they had lines, but 1/2 hour is not a lot, and the scream zones, as always, were zero wait (except right at 8pm when they open).
And yeah, the McDonald's near BE is the worst McDonald's ever. Avoid it like the plague and visit the one on Milan rd if at all possible. Same goes for the DQ really, because being a CP property, the prices are ridiculous.
I haven't been there for a Fiday yet but we've done Saturday and it's been wall to wall people and a packed full parking lot both times. I don't remeber how long of a drive it is to the Milan Rd. McDonald's since we haven't gone that way for years but the one east of the Chausee on Cleveland Rd. by the corner of Rye Beach Rd. has always been great every time I've gone there. They're very good at handling crowds efficiently.
You should just wait and make the call yourself. If the lines are light, then you're fine, if not, you can then decide at any time if you want to drop SEVENTY DOLLARS PER PERSON. You can pick them up anytime at many places in the park and no, they won't be sold out, ha, did I mention the price?
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