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Haunt 2014


ki95
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I do wish the actors would be kinder with small children. (Why guests bring small children into haunted houses is another matter.) One guest took their ~8-year-old daughter through Zombie High School, and she was in tears after a few scares. Almost every monster continued picking on her through the end of the maze, even after her dad started carrying her.

On the other side of the spectrum, it's incredibly irritating to have my experience ruined because the monsters are being tame and caring, all because some parents brought their too-young child into the maze.

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Why would a parent take a kid through events like this?

Cedar Point is a resort destination. Many families come for the weekend, and haunted attractions are an appeal for some parents. There's not always someone to watch the children elsewhere. (An ACE member I met up with for a couple houses had the ideal solution: put his kids to bed at Breakers before coming back for mazes.)

In any case, if a guest is upset to the point of crying, the actors should find someone else to pick on.

On the other side of the spectrum, it's incredibly irritating to have my experience ruined because the monsters are being tame and caring, all because some parents brought their too-young child into the maze.

In that maze, I was ignored by all of the actors. They were busy picking on the too-young child.

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A parent should know what their child is ready for. If a parent takes a young child through a haunted house, they should expect for that child to potentially have a scare actor (or many scare actors) scare their children. Scare actors are there to do their jobs. They should not have to be concerned over what choices parents make.

With that being said, last year was the first year Princess Sparkles went to Haunt. One year when she was young, we got caught up when the scare actors came out and she freaked. Until I knew she was mature enough to go through them, we did not stay around.

Edit: part of being a good parent sometimes means I put my personal desires on the back burner for the benefit of my child. Just because I want to do something doesn't mean I need to do it if it subjects my child to something too mature for them to handle.

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Exactly^. I am a huge Haunt person. But I would not take a 5-8 year old kiddo to Universal haunt events, or even Dent School House.

When you work in a haunted house, as a scare-actor you go for the person who gives you the most reaction. You dont "pick on" anyone. But if someone is crying or scared you continue to pick on them, because you assume they are there because they enjoy it. If a parent makes the very bad decision to take their kid into something thats way too young for them, then its the fault of the parent not the actors.

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Why would a parent take a kid through events like this?

Cedar Point is a resort destination. Many families come for the weekend, and haunted attractions are an appeal for some parents. There's not always someone to watch the children elsewhere. (An ACE member I met up with for a couple houses had the ideal solution: put his kids to bed at Breakers before coming back for mazes.)

In any case, if a guest is upset to the point of crying, the actors should find someone else to pick on.

I personally would never leave my kids alone in a hotel, even if they go to sleep, to go back into the park for a Halloween Event. I get that Cedar Point is a destination for families, but for parents to leave their kids unattended in a hotel is unacceptable. What would happen if the hotel caught fire, God forbid? What would happen if one of the kids got into the bathtub and something were to happen?

The fact of the matter is, parents have the ultimate decision to make, either take their kids with them to the haunts, leave their kids with a trusted friend while they visit the haunt or don't attend. It's unacceptable to do anything else.

The actors are there to do a job, to scare people, no matter who it is. Crying, screaming, jumping is a key to knowing that the guest will be scared if you try. If the parent gets upset about their kid being scared to the point of crying that is their fault, not an actor's fault nor the park's fault.

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I have told this story before.
I worked in the clown room at the Dent School House (probably 10 or so years ago), when a young couple came in. The girl looked frightened right away. The clowns (there were 3 of us) swarmed the couple in different ways. Each time, the girl (16-18 ish) would scream, jump, and hide in her BFs shoulder. Well as they were nearing the end, I jumped from below to scare the girl one more time. she screamed, started crying, and her BF punch me in the shoulder. He yelled something along the lines of "get out of the way." Well you cant just punch an actor. Our security team rushed into the room and escorted them out of the house to chit chat with the officer on duty.

Moral of the story: Dont come/bring kiddos if you or they cant handle everything.

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^^ I met one parent who left his young kids alone on the midway while going through a maze, which certainly didn't seem wise.

I don't have kids. If I did, I certainly wouldn't be leaving them alone or taking them to haunted attractions before they were mature enough. Some kids might be ready to stay at home (or in a hotel room) alone before being ready for a haunted house. Ultimately, the parent needs to know their child(ren) and make a responsible decision.

My issue with the kid crying wasn't that the actors were doing their job. They're there to provide scares, certainly not to be nice. Rather, I didn't like that they ignored the remainder of a group of 9 to focus on one obviously-too-young kid who was already crying and being held by her dad. She clearly shouldn't have been there, and it's not the actors' fault that she got upset, but a bit of discretion would have been nice.

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^ depends on the kids. When I was 10 or so my mom would trust for my sister and I (she was 9ish) to stand on the midway while she rode a ride or I could stay home by myself at that age. But I was also very aware of my surroundings and very mature. I have friends who wouldnt have been able to be left alone for minutes at the age of 15.

I get what you are saying though. No way would I leave my kid alone just so I can have fun. sort of like the people who use the leash backpacks to control their kids versus keep them safe.

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I saw a parent with a leash back lead him like a dog, he jerked him left or right etc. versus keepin the kid from running away... That type of control is what I was speaking of

Many things can be used in an improper way, but when used properly can be a great tool. For example the backpack leash can save a child's life stop them from being kidnaped and can help show a young child they have limitations
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I've seen this discussion quite a bit on KIC regarding the backpack leashes, they usually always end with no real results. So to save this thread being hijacked, let's leave it at this:

Only one person can truly make the decision of how to parent a child and know what they need to be properly supervised. Some kids are more likely to run out of sight without a care in the world and therefore need the backpack leash, whereas some kids are more likely to stay with the parent and freak out at the sight of no parent in sight such as my daughter.

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^We saw it last Saturday and it was excellent! I've been a fan of their's for years and they put on a great show mixing live music, film and live action. Loved the ending, but you won't get any spoilers from me... except to say that it's not over once the show ends... move along out the exit please...

Fill us in on it once Halloweekends is over ;)

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

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