Press Release: 2008 Halloween Haunt Info!

[BoddaH1994]

A new show and a new maze. They better announce more, because as of now, I'm disappointed. No new scare-zone? We've gotten at least one every year since 2005. Kings Island Theater not in use? What's the deal with that? I mean, last year we got The Cemetery, Dead Awakening, Torture Chamber (not complaining that that's not coming back), and Club Blood. We got half the additions this year. At the very least they could have renovated On Location or Attitudes into "Fear Gear".

Actually, your apprehensions will be allayed. Corn Stalkers will be moved to Action Zone and will be bigger and better than ever. Additionally, the ENTIRE Coney Mall section of the park will be transformed into Coney Maul, a gigantic scare zone with a carnival theme. As Shman said, back in past years, they'd simply have the same attractions every year and rename them. This year they're keeping some of the same attractions and making them bigger and better. I'd take that over the previous.

[SamDiZZLe3361]

What are they going to do with red beards revenge and tombstone terror-tory??

Is the construction going to effect these haunts?

And are they moving red beards revenge, b/c the whole outside intro was cut short b/c of the new stage that sits in its spot.

I really hope they find a new location.

[TOPGUN1993]

That stage has been there for years.

[SamDiZZLe3361]

Yes but not the construction right behind it.

[RingMaster]

A new show and a new maze. They better announce more, because as of now, I'm disappointed. No new scare-zone? We've gotten at least one every year since 2005. Kings Island Theater not in use? What's the deal with that? I mean, last year we got The Cemetery, Dead Awakening, Torture Chamber (not complaining that that's not coming back), and Club Blood. We got half the additions this year. At the very least they could have renovated On Location or Attitudes into "Fear Gear".

Actually, your apprehensions will be allayed. Corn Stalkers will be moved to Action Zone and will be bigger and better than ever. Additionally, the ENTIRE Coney Mall section of the park will be transformed into Coney Maul, a gigantic scare zone with a carnival theme. As Shman said, back in past years, they'd simply have the same attractions every year and rename them. This year they're keeping some of the same attractions and making them bigger and better. I'd take that over the previous.

"Additionally, the ENTIRE Coney Mall section of the park will be transformed into Coney Maul, a gigantic scare zone with a carnival theme"

They did that last year and ruined that by 1) trying a Freak Show theme in the spot where 06's Holiday Horror was by having Microsoft Word-styled billboards of generic characters that you never even saw on the streets, 2) having scareactors dressed up as brightly colored zoo animals (fish, duck, toad, etc) rather than evil circus clowns that didn't even scare people, and 3) dropping the amount of scareactors from 15 to two, with those same two only walking around and talking, not even interacting with guests. Which is why I volunteered to be moved from the Waste Land (Action Zone) to Coney Maul to actually do my job, which is scaring people.

"...they'd simply have the same attractions every year and rename them. This year they're keeping some of the same attractions and making them bigger and better."

....EVERY attraction from LAST year is back THIS year. Massacre Manor, Death Row, Trail of Terror, Red Beard's Revenge, Tombstone Terrortory and Carnevil is back, and I'll believe it when I see it if any of the old mazes have anything new added to them. Which probably means nothing new will be added.

The only attraction to even remotely have anything new was Red Beard's, which was originally Cowboy Carnage from 2006, which was also originally Sleepy Hollow Horror/Massacre Manor from 2004/05 (which, by the way, CC was never advertised as a new attraction back in 06, which is sad 'cause it was an AWESOME attraction, as well as the whole 2006 event). 2007 was what you and Shman said as nearly every old attraction was given a rename (Asylum to Death Row, Circus of Horrors to Carnevil, Headless Hollow to Tombstone Terrortory, PsychoPath to Trail of Terror, Scream Street to Cemetary, etc.) to make it sound new.

So I'd virtually say every one of the old attractions will be exactly the same as it's been before. And unless the Manor will have a new layout as its facade has been given a new coat of paint which actually makes it LOOK scary rather than its old Fear Street paint scheme:

I can almost guarantee the maze will remain the exact same since its inception in 2001.

Although this new costume may regain my faith in what Coney Maul and/or Carnevil may have in terms of costuming and scare factor:

[BoddaH1994]

You know, The Vortex has been the same for over 20 years, The Beast for almost 30 years, The Racer for 36... and they're adding Diamondback next year... just because a ride isn't new to you doesn't mean it's not new to someone else... same goes for mazes. They'll add one or two every year, maybe even remove a maze or two, but they're not going to completely revamp each and every maze every year just so those who claim to be into this stuff can have something to talk about. HH will progress... it has progressed... but it takes time.

[kjkjkj]

Every year you will have different/new SCAREactors in different mazes. So in a way, an attraction that sucked one year might be scary, and awesome the next! I'm not going to judge how scary they will be until I go through them for the current year. Just because they layout of the mazes don't change, doesn't mean the scareactors/ positions won't!

[BoddaH1994]

Every year you will have different/new SCAREactors in different mazes. So in a way, an attraction that sucked one year might be scary, and awesome the next! I'm not going to judge how scary they will be until I go through them for the current year. Just because they layout of the mazes don't change, doesn't mean the scareactors/ positions won't!

True -- and sometimes it works out well... sometimes it doesn't. Red Beard's Revenge was a cowboy theme then a pirate theme... basically the same thing just with different costumes. However the Work Site improve by leaps and bounds over the years.

[The Interpreter]

You know, The Vortex has been the same for over 20 years, The Beast for almost 30 years, The Racer for 36... and they're adding Diamondback next year... just because a ride isn't new to you doesn't mean it's not new to someone else... same goes for mazes. They'll add one or two every year, maybe even remove a maze or two, but they're not going to completely revamp each and every maze every year just so those who claim to be into this stuff can have something to talk about. HH will progress... it has progressed... but it takes time.

Actually, Racer has NOT been the same for 36 years...they removed a bunny hop and flipped one side around backwards for a while, then this year undid the flipping, which flipped some people out while elating others. There have also been numerous changes to the trains over the years.

Nor has Beast been the same. Its many changes have been discussed here ad infininitum, including, but not limited to, the addition of tunnels over the helices after the first year, the many changes to the trains, brakes, etc.

[fanofki]

You know, The Vortex has been the same for over 20 years, The Beast for almost 30 years, The Racer for 36... and they're adding Diamondback next year... just because a ride isn't new to you doesn't mean it's not new to someone else... same goes for mazes. They'll add one or two every year, maybe even remove a maze or two, but they're not going to completely revamp each and every maze every year just so those who claim to be into this stuff can have something to talk about. HH will progress... it has progressed... but it takes time.

Actually, Racer has NOT been the same for 36 years...they removed a bunny hop and flipped one side around backwards for a while, then this year undid the flipping, which flipped some people out while elating others.

Where was the bunny hop at?

[The Interpreter]

Right before the brake run on each side.

[fanofki]

Oh. When was this done?

[fanofki]

Oh. When was this done?

I forgot to add...Why was this done?

[RingMaster]

[...]but they're not going to completely revamp each and every maze every year just so those who claim to be into this stuff can have something to talk about. HH will progress... it has progressed... but it takes time.

You were talking about me right there about the claiming to be in this stuff, weren't you? Thanks for making me wanna work Haunt again because I enjoy it.

[BoddaH1994]

[...]but they're not going to completely revamp each and every maze every year just so those who claim to be into this stuff can have something to talk about. HH will progress... it has progressed... but it takes time.

You were talking about me right there about the claiming to be in this stuff, weren't you? Thanks for making me wanna work Haunt again because I enjoy it.

Not necessarily you personally, but anyone who would be familiar enough with the mazes to know what's changed and what hasn't. You have to realize that the average person probably only goes through 3 or 4 of the mazes per year.

[CoastersNSich]

Oh. When was this done?

I forgot to add...Why was this done?

When? Forward (now Blue) in 1996, and Backward (now Red) in 1997.

Why? Maybe due to wear and tear, especially on the brakes, but how necessary was it?

[hauntguy]

First, for those who know... I told you so! ... lol!

Also, you CANNOT compare haunts to roller coaster, you simply can't. People aren't as dumb as you think, they know KI doesn't change any of the haunts around, they know that! Now, they'll still go to do the new haunt, but thy figure while they're there they'll do all the old ones too! I will ALWAYS think, from an attractions stand point, that HH at KI will ALWAYS be mediocre. Why? Because look around at other haunts... Look at:

-Dent Schoolhouse

-Shoolhouse in Akron

-USS Nightmare

-7 Floors of Hell

-etc. etc.

Each of these haunts change about 70% of the haunt EVERY YEAR! KI has the SAME haunts, might change a few names around, every year! Now this year, they're on a good track by adding a totally new house that was built by the ENT. dept. But still, give it a year or two, it'll be the same but called something else! Maybe an actual asylum?

I'm glad to see things start to get better for HAUNT and KI, but until I start to see MAJOR changes like you do at Knott's, Universal (and don't give me the year round=more money arguement) and even the Busch parks, I mean, even some of the Six Flags events are better than KI's!

But, I'm done... I'm not going to argue, fight, etc. etc... I'll still end up going to haunt, just like all the other people! Ugh....

But I must confess... this will be my LAST trip to haunt as a guest, I'll just be WAY to busy next year digging up graves!

Just my .666 cents... -Hauntguy

[BoddaH1994]

Once the Dent Schoolhouse draws 30,000 people in one night, we'll talk.

[hauntguy]

You want to talk numbers? Look at Frightworld in Buffalo... in one season will do around 16K people, but has 5 attractions under ONE roof and every haunt is comparible to HHN... and they change EVERY YEAR!!! Now let's talk! -Hauntguy

[BoddaH1994]

16K sure sounds like about half of 30K. Plus you mentioned several local attractions that may do 1,000 on a good night. I'm not taking anything away from Dent. Some of the people who run that are the same ones who ran Nightmare Estates on Waterpark Dr. I'm just saying that Halloween Haunt is clearly very popular. You can compare it to all sorts of attractions across the nation and say one is better or draws more, but the fact of the matter is Halloween Haunt almost can't draw more people because of the incredibly long lines that it has already. The last thing we need is another 10,000 people roaming around the park.

[hauntguy]

But you can't judge or base the quality of a show or event on the amount of people in line! I've seen numerous shows that are HORRIBLE, yet have 3 hour lines! -Hauntguy

[BoddaH1994]

But you can't judge or base the quality of a show or event on the amount of people in line! I've seen numerous shows that are HORRIBLE, yet have 3 hour lines! -Hauntguy

You're absolutely right, but who's the judge of what's a good show and what's not? Heck, some of the highest rated shows on TV are ones that bore me to death, but they make a lot of other people happy.

[Dane]

You're absolutely right, but who's the judge of what's a good show and what's not? Heck, some of the highest rated shows on TV are ones that bore me to death, but they make a lot of other people happy.

Flight of the Conchords?

[RingMaster]

Hauntguy's got a point-the big reason Haunt drives in massive crowds is the fact that it has both coasters AND haunted houses in the same location, something Nightmare Estates and Nightmare at the Beach didn't have and thus went under very quickly.

Plus, you're also talking about a bunch of locals who attend the event every year, who know the old mazes inside and out, and who are also clamoring for a newer experience. So it should come as no surprise that crowds had doubled last season due to advertising marketing it as an entirely "new" event, when it technically wasn't (although the advent of an amazing amount of outdoor themeing around the park and more roamers can make the event seem all-new to some).

But, of course, Ryan's right about the crowds; we definitely don't need 40,000 people running around the park on a Saturday night. We have enough trouble as it is dealing with 30,000 drunk adults, whiny parents, and obnoxious teens in the dark confines of an amusement park.

And Hauntguy and Boddah are both right about the quality of an attraction versus the quantity of the people in line for or attending the attraction. I absolutely hate The Hills show on MTV (along with the channel itself), but every one I know and their mother watches it and can't get enough of Lauren Conrad, Spencer Pratt, and Heidi Montag. Same thing goes with all the other reality shows that have sulked their way into mainstream media. So, again, it should be no surprise to see shows like Flashback: Totally 80's, Girls' Night Out, or the upcoming Ghouls Gone Wild draw in big crowds of people no matter how bad it is. Even though the crowds finally decided to taper off or stop coming in completely towards the end of the main season (which I can see happeneing to GGW once it debuts this Haunt).

[BoddaH1994]

So you've decided that GGW is a bad show even though we really know nothing about it yet...

[Gordon Bombay]

^No, he didn't say it was a bad show, I believe he was making the point that no matter how good or bad a show is or may turn out to be, its complimented by so many other attractions that help draw in the people, that there will be a crowd in there every show.

While the shows in the festahus have been great this year, particularly County Line, those are not the only things drawing folks into the Festhaus.

[BoddaH1994]

So, again, it should be no surprise to see shows like Flashback: Totally 80's, Girls' Night Out, or the upcoming Ghouls Gone Wild draw in big crowds of people no matter how bad it is. Even though the crowds finally decided to taper off or stop coming in completely towards the end of the main season (which I can see happeneing to GGW once it debuts this Haunt).

^ I was referring to this comment. It's too early to assume that the show will be awful or captivating at this point. So the show's crowd tapering off may or may not happen. We simply don't know. We don't even have a clear description of what it is. It could be the next Godfather... or the next Gigli. Only time will tell.

I think the crowds at the shows are directly proportional to the amount of people in the park that day. It'd be an interesting psychology study to see why people leave shows early. It could be that they weren't impressed... or Shapiro could be right in saying that people only go to shows for a cool place to sit down for a few minutes. In that case, throw in the DVDs.

[Mr. Christopher]

I can almost guarantee the maze will remain the exact same since its inception in 2001.

If you actually pay attention, you'll notice a practical change in Manor.

[RingMaster]

I did, back in 2005 when they remodeled it to Fear Street Nights and actually made the lighting, sound and scenic appeal worse than when it was the House of Darkness, one of my favorite mazes from 04 (second only to Sleepy Hollow Horror). They made almost everything way too bright and took out almost every bit of creepiness/scariness the house originally had, in favor of a more up kept appearance to help add to the house's story of it being for sale (fat lot of good that did) and also trying to tell the story of Emily at the same time (also fat lot of good that did).

Ghouls Gone Wild is, essentially, a Halloween-themed Girls' Night Out, with the country music and singers replaced with undead girls all scantily-clad singing either today's pop music or trying to ripoff 2006's Monster Bash and sing old-school Halloween-themed songs (Monster Mash, Twilight Zone, Devil with the Blue Dress, etc.). Or it could be a mixture of both scantily-clad guys and girls dancing and singing, and perhaps a live band will be playing alongside them. Personally, I'm hoping for the latter, but I'm expecting just girls singing.

But I love the comment about Godfather vs Gigli there, Boddah. That made me crack up.

[deb]

I am not a fan of being scared. I AM however a fan of coasters esp at night. I'd love to see "CarnEvil" turned into a "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" type attraction. Talk about losing your...cotton candy... lol. I'd love to see Don wrapped up and ready to be eaten. No worries, Don, I'll still laugh. And Ryan you'd be perfect wrapped up TOO!

As far as SAW goes, all 4 were great and if it's #5 this year, I'll be there, too. Seen all 4 IN THE THEATER and own them all. 2 is my fav.