Dalefan Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I try to hit as many Haunted Houses that I can every October and can tell you that all of Kings Island's haunted houses pale in comparison to the businesses that specialize in Halloween. No offense to the actors and employees who work the Halloween Haunt, this isn't about your talents or efforts what so ever. It's about places like the Land Of Illusions, Haunted Hootchie, Dent School House and even the U.S.S. Nightmare who put all of their resources into making the best haunted house possible because that is all that they specialize in. No thrill rides, no musical shows, no Dip N' Dots or set down restaurants like Skyline. It's all about the haunted house, because if it's lame then they don't make any money. So every year or two the Haunted House specialist dump mass amounts of money back into their attractions to keep the people coming back for more. Kings Island may dump mass amounts of money into their Haunt each year as well, but its spread over 12 attractions, two or three shows and enough decorations to fill an amusement park, spreading the resources thin. Because Kings Island has so much more to offer, I feel they have taken the route of quantity over quality. Now personally, I don't have a problem with this because its a massive amount of quantity. The availability of the rides and shows being included with admission makes up for the haunted houses not being up to the intensity of the Haunted Hootchie in Columbus, or being as long as the Haunted Cave/ Mine in Lewisburg, or even having the novelty of the Haunted Bus Ride in Wilmington. For all you get with your admission, the haunted house are great and the Halloween Haunt is a bargain, but if they were to charge extra for their haunted houses it would certainly not be a bargain, or even worth it. I have been through Dr. Psycho's Haunted Estate at the Land Of Illusions four times and there is so much detail in the sets and so many animatronics and scareactors coming at you that every time I went through it I noticed something new that I had either missed before or just didn't have enough room in my brain to retain it all. How many haunted houses at Kings Island can you honestly say that about? And again, its not a slam on the Kings Island Halloween Haunt actors or staff, you guys do a fine job, I'm just saying the houses themselves, although fun, are too simplistic and slapped together to be worth paying extra for. The Haunted Hootchie is known for breaking the rules on the touching of the guests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 If you were to divide the price of an admission ticket by the number of haunts at KI (@ 54.99 for a Saturday ticket), it would average out to around $5 per Haunt. By comparison, Land of Illusion's attractions average at $6 (@ $34.99 for a Saturday ticket), whereas St. Rita's, USS Nightmare, Haunted Hoochie, and Dent Schoolhouse top the list at over $10 due to being singular attractions (Hoochie and Schoolhouse, however, have secondary attractions alongside the main draw, which bring the average to just $10). Friday night tickets make the average drop down to a paltry $3 a KI Haunt. Either way, Kings Island's Haunt is indeed the cheapest option for having multiple attractions in one location, although, in my opinion, Land of Illusion has the better value as you get more bang for your buck. SSR's right about more memorable experiences from LOI, like seeing two school buses standing upright, walking across a shaking metal bridge inside a massive hangar, and crouching inside a cave with monsters leaping from stalagmite to stalagmite, all within the same attraction. But my question involving KI's Haunt is which would be the better option - having the whole event be a separate admission with a flat rate, or having the event a pay-per-haunt with the option of a combo pass? My answer: separate charge, which would lessen the crowds and the sales would (hopefully) go towards better mazes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standbyme Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 But my question involving KI's Haunt is which would be the better option - having the whole event be a separate admission with a flat rate, or having the event a pay-per-haunt with the option of a combo pass? My answer: separate charge, which would lessen the crowds and the sales would (hopefully) go towards better mazes. Amen! This would make the event fun again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSR1966 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 In an interesting twist, it looks like Land Of Illusions will be offering season passes for 2012. http://www.thelandofillusion.com/november-is-season-pass-time/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Talk about an interesting move from Land of Illusion. I'd assume that the price of a pass will most likely cost about as much as a Saturday ticket to Haunt (@ 54.99). I'd also assume that KI is going to be keeping a close eye on how well the passes at LOI sell and come up with a Haunt season pass of their own, at perhaps $70 or $80 a pop (Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando has a Frequent Fear Pass by comparison)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I just think the guest wouldn't be getting thier money's worth like it is now standing in 2-3 hour lines for a sub par haunt not to mention the fact they only take 5-8 minutes to walk through. You could even maybe possible have a few haunts like they are now and maybe have one up charge haunt that would be more intense,detailed and take a longer time to walk through to give everyone an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 ^Do people really stand in line for KI's haunts for 2-3 hours each, or is the 2-3 hours cumulative time? This is a serious question because I really have no idea. I've been working in the haunts for the past 4 years and there's no way for me to gauge the wait times. I do know that people have told me and others in Slaughter House that our line moved the fastest, but I have no clue how long they waited. The last time I went to Haunt as a guest was in 2007, and in my TR from that visit I put my wait times. The longest we waited for one was 42 minutes. We went on a Friday in mid-October (I was smart enough not to visit on a Saturday), and our total wait times for all the haunts we did was 2 hours 22 minutes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standbyme Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 On a Friday I don't think it's usually even possible to wait 1 1/2 hours...the only exception would be Tombstone Territory. As for Saturdays I think it is EASILY a minimum wait of an hour for a lot of The Haunts. I would think that Tombstone Territory on a Saturday night could be a 2 hour wait...but I don't know about 3. As I have mentioned I broke down and did the Fright Lane passes on the Saturday night that I was there...so I can not testify to the actual wait times THIS year...but as for last year on Saturday I can say that each Haunt I stood in line for AVERAGED an hour wait...so the 2-3 hour cumulative would be a low figure. I am NOT counting when it gets to be around midnight when the crowds have thinned down dramatically because even though someone could hit quite a few Haunts between 12-1, the Haunts are weak by then. (Less scareactors & energy in the one's that are still there.) The longest I have ever waited for a Haunt was Route 666....which was about 2 hours...and we were in line about an hour before it opened...I can't even imagine how long of a wait it was for the people who got in line when it actually opened! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faeriewench Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 ^Do people really stand in line for KI's haunts for 2-3 hours each, or is the 2-3 hours cumulative time? This is a serious question because I really have no idea. I believe Urgent Scare achieved that (2 hours) in 08 when it was brand new on a couple Saturday nights. Back in 2003 I actually do remember being in line for nearly 2 hours for Psycho Path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 ^Do people really stand in line for KI's haunts for 2-3 hours each, or is the 2-3 hours cumulative time? This is a serious question because I really have no idea. I've been working in the haunts for the past 4 years and there's no way for me to gauge the wait times. I do know that people have told me and others in Slaughter House that our line moved the fastest, but I have no clue how long they waited. The last time I went to Haunt as a guest was in 2007, and in my TR from that visit I put my wait times. The longest we waited for one was 42 minutes. We went on a Friday in mid-October (I was smart enough not to visit on a Saturday), and our total wait times for all the haunts we did was 2 hours 22 minutes. I waited a mere five minutes to enter your establishment the Saturday I went. That was the Saturday of 40 degree weather though, but was the shortest wait of the bunch. The longest was for Massacre Manor at 40 minutes. That said, the one attraction I know that has lines at least two hours long is Tombstone Terrortory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanna Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 On the Saturday we went, we went to our favorite houses first, at five. The line was quick, but by eight o'clock, it was a long wait. The next Friday, we zipped through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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