Haunt 2012 reviews

[TheCrypt]

So. I finally went to the Haunt for the 2012 season. I will give a brief breakdown of my trip below...

-Boo Blasters on Boo Hill had 1 actor during the ride, and one at the exit. Both were trying their hardest to scare, and it worked on many people. The actor during the ride, however, had a harness he was attached to so the actor wouldn't get too close to the ride vehicles.

-Holiday Horror seems to have declined in scares and scenery this year. It didn't have too much scaring to begin with, but most of the actors just stood, watching us like a stalker.

-CarnEVIL seemed shorter to me this year, but I doubt that was the case. The mirror "maze" always gets me, and the actors do a great job scaring in there. My only complaint is that the actors that blend in with the surrounding set pieces didn't do as good a job blending in--they were noticeably moving, slaughtering the effect.

-Nightmare Alley was...weird. I am not sure what the premise of the scareless zone was, as there were only a scarce few of sliders, who weren't even scaring or sliding, but talking with park patrons. The eyeballs along the side of the walkway seem pointless. There needs to be a better theme put into it, and with the huge positive feedback from Cavern of Terror, it is apparent they could do better.

-New banners have been put up in Action Zone--can't believe nobody's mentioned this!

-There is a portable "Slaughterhouse Grill" outside Slaughterhouse. Is that new?

-I will not give out any spoilers-- Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror was insane. Words cannot describe how incredibly happy I was with the turnout of this Haunt. Definitely the highlight of my night. A few things to be noted about Cavern of Terror:

•As far as ADA goes, there are stairs leading up and down to the floor of the ride chamber. For the folks who cannot use stairs, an elevator is situated in between the sets of stairs.

•Durga appears to be covered up or removed. When I looked for her, I saw empty space.

•The columns that used to surround Durga are still in tact, although not highlighted at any point of the maze.

•Theatrical lighting is not utilized from the Crypt/TR:TR days.

•Queue seems altered a bit--more things have been removed than have they added.

[The Interpreter]

You said what you did about Boo Blasters and several other attractions but you were mindful of not spoiling things? Please.

Don't ruin it for others. Scares should be scares.

I'm glad you don't review murder mysteries!

"This dark tome, a whodunit, fools the reader into thinking the butler did it, but he was so restrained in his manner, the reader misses the many clues that the real killer is the cleverly hidden Bovemice The Cow!"

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

I went last night as well. Very good weather for it. Arrived with my wife and friend around 8:30 and met up with my sister and her boyfriend.

We hit CarnEvil first. A little underwhelming this year. I usually find it to be the most fun of them all with cool gimmicks, but perhaps it's just getting a little older or too familiar, but it wasn't quite as fun this year for me.

Then we did Madame Fatale's which turned out to be the best house of the night for us. I'll give a little spoiler below (freakiest thing of the night), but right here I'll just say that it's got a great theme and inventive set ups.

Then we went to Urgent Scare, which was kinda meh. As has been said before, mostly people just yelling "Ah!" at you you through countless rooms with people on hospital beds. There was a dude in a bloody hallway who only spoke in high pitch screeches though, and he was amusing so props to him for doing something different.

Next was Wolf Pack. It was my first time through this one ever and it had a cool theme and a neat set up. Seems hard to believe that they fit all of it in the SOB station. Probably my second favorite of the night.

While we were in that area we hit Slaughter House. Have to say, a little disappointed this year. Wasn't quite as scary as before. Not sure what it was, or wasn't about it, but it was a little "off" this year for me. Maybe I'll try it again in October. It's definitely missing something at the end where a certain someone used to be waiting just outside the exit. I tried to pick out Sam the Butcher, but couldn't so I didn't shout out.

At that point (around 11) we were done with houses and went and rode Diamondback. It was my sister and her bf's first ride on it. Of course, they loved it. Then we rode The Beast which gave another great ride. We ended up leaving the park around 12:10 or so.

Overall a great night. Can't wait to go back

***MILD SPOILER!***

My favorite thing of the night was in the queue for Madame Fatale. I'm not a TR/Crypt expert since I hated the ride, but when we got to the area inside the queue where it opens up and there's statues and whatnot; to the right there's a figure holding, I believe, a watering can that just keeps pouring water (like a fountain). But it was so dark over there I couldn't see exactly what it was. So I turn the flashlight on on my phone and flash it over and it is a statue-looking person (mask and all) and she (I believe it was a she) was staring right at me. I couldn't quite tell if it was a real person or a mannequin. I lowered the light then shined it back and the eyes were closed. I was like "sweet!". So I showed my group and I kept raising and lowering the light. Each time I'd put it up the eyes alternated between being open or closed, no matter how fast I did it, and always staring straight at me. That was very funny and very creepy. Then we walked a little further up the queue and I shined the light back at her one more time and she was still staring me down. At that point I stopped because she was freaking me out, lol. I'm assuming that's the whole purpose of her character since she's so far away from the line and it's so dark over where she is. So cool. Made my night.

[TheCrypt]

You said what you did about Boo Blasters and several other attractions but you were mindful of not spoiling things? Please.

Don't ruin it for others. Scares should be scares.

I'm glad you don't review murder mysteries!

Well, I said things that I thought would not give away anything of significance to the house. I apologize if I did, and would be happy to remove the offending comments.

I concur with what Smurfy said above. I think CarnEVIL and Holiday Horror were unusually some of the worst Haunts that night. For CarnEVIL, it's just the same gimmicks year after year. Nothing new has changed that made the maze better (to my knowledge), and frankly, I don't think waiting in line for a half-hour to an hour for a sub-par Haunt makes it "worth it".

In Holiday Horror's case, it is the exact same Haunt as last year. Some could argue it is too new to change, but I don't think so. It seems like it's a bland attraction, hastily tacked on. The actors try, but everyone (from my experience) is too bored to notice, resulting in a sub-par Haunt, not worth your time (in my opinion).

It's a shame to hear myself say that, as I really wanted to like those Haunts. I looked forward to them, but I didn't get that "wow" factor.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

SPOILER for something I wish would be, but is not...

On Boo Blasters, I don't know why they don't put a scare actor in that section with all of the strobe lights and skeletons. Perhaps it's a safety thing, but that seems like the perfect place. There's plenty of room for an actor (dressed as a skeleton of course) to run at the cars to startle them without actually getting onto any moving parts.

[TombRaiderFTW]

•Durga appears to be covered up or removed. When I looked for her, I saw empty space.

Actually, she still is there. It's the angle you look at her that determines how well you can see her. When you're underneath, it's almost impossible to see anything but the columns, but she becomes more visible about halfway into the house and beyond.

It's great to hear so many reviews of the Haunts from so many members. I enjoy hearing other people's reactions to the houses and trails. Keep them coming!

[chimpy2000]

OKAY. Tonight was my second time going to haunt ever, and last year I did nothing but sit in Festhaus and wait for someone to pick up the phone. So this was my first time doing anything actually scary. I read ALOT about it on this website beforehand so I picked out what I heard were the wimpiest mazes: Holiday Horror, CornStalkers, and Mysteria.

Holiday Horror: Good scares for a first maze, good theming, and valentines day was AWESOME. Just sayin

Cornstalkers: my favorite of the night, good scares, and most of it was really cool.

Mysteria: scariest parts were the spandex suits too tight in the where it shouldn't be. Just keep your head up... ANYWAY it was pretty stupid.

Freak Street: it was still bright when we walked through, and most scarers weren't there, but one with a shaker got us pretty good.

Grimm Blvd: At first I thought the concept was kinda stupid, but once we got there, it worked. My cousin had a staring contest with a dude in a mask (he won) Blood Drums was cool, but it made a crowd that seemed in an inconvenient place.

I know I only did the "lame ones" but they're my first so I thought they were pretty cool. Ill be back the 13th to hopefully do more. What 3 mazes should I DEFINITELY do since ill only be there till 10-11

OH YEAH and Nightmare Alley is POINTLESS

[malem]

^ Stopped reading at "scariest parts were the", because I don't want spoilers.

Those of us who haven't been there yet don't want to know what the scariest parts are. We want to be scared by them. Could you hide the spoilers with the forum spoiler tag, or - even better - remove the spoilers completely?

[calakapepe]

I'm surprised not many people have gone into the new haunt where crypt is.. All I will say is that it is worth a wait, if you have to. It is my new favorite at the park. Followed up by Carnevil

[marlfox_21]

Hey, I think that the Son of Beast, somehow, looks smoother now. Kidding. I went straight to the the old crypt attraction first. This was a nice new feature. My only complaint is the line getting to the main attraction. I would add at least a couple of scary actors along the side of the line. And I went right to this, but it didn't really matter tonight. We were told that the emergency lights were not working, hence an extended delay after it's opening time. But it was worth the wait. Hats off to the 1st mummy in the maze! You made me jump! I told you " Good Job", and it was because I never jump.

Then we went through Wolfpack where the remnants of the SOB background look like 2 wooden towers in the dark. Wolfpack had a very short line. But it was very enjoyable.

Next on the list was Slaughter House. This house is a real treat, as the line moves fast, and the actors were very energetic. What surprised me here was that the line was entertaining. The new attraction, I believe it is called bloodband was up, and in my opinion, they were great! This show gave me a feel of Halloween Horror Nights, but in Ohio. And judging by the surrounding crowd, I was not the only One who liked them.

Then I was off to my oldtime favorite, Carnevil. This was entertaining as usual. And it ended with me wanting some blue icecream. This is all that I had time for today. Overall, this was a great trip. PS...The skeletons on the carousel are an amazing visual!

[chimpy2000]

^ Stopped reading at "scariest parts were the", because I don't want spoilers.

Those of us who haven't been there yet don't want to know what the scariest parts are. We want to be scared by them. Could you hide the spoilers with the forum spoiler tag, or - even better - remove the spoilers completely?

I didn't actually put any spoilers.... I put a joke. I realize you didn't read it, but I made sure i didn't really put in any spoilers...

[Snowman]

^ Stopped reading at "scariest parts were the", because I don't want spoilers.

Those of us who haven't been there yet don't want to know what the scariest parts are. We want to be scared by them. Could you hide the spoilers with the forum spoiler tag, or - even better - remove the spoilers completely?

No offense intended, but I started this topic for us to discuss what we thought of Haunt and give details to people who can't go. Since we're not professional writers, there's going to be some spoilers. I would suggest if you haven't gone to Haunt yet, are concerned some spoilers will ruin an incredible experience, and intend to go,

"Don't Read This Topic"

[Snowman]

There's a guy dressed in a leaf suit somewhere in the park that is going to scare the crap out of you. I hope I didn't spoil anything; also, it gets foggy.

[TheCrypt]

•Durga appears to be covered up or removed. When I looked for her, I saw empty space.

Actually, she still is there. It's the angle you look at her that determines how well you can see her. When you're underneath, it's almost impossible to see anything but the columns, but she becomes more visible about halfway into the house and beyond.

I remembered to look for her at the end of the house (literally, the end-- I stopped myself on the stairs, remembering to look for her. Why it took me that long to remember, is flat out embarrassing) and all I saw was a smooth black covering.

Are you sure she's still there? I would assume since the pillars are visible, Durga would cast a few shadows (due to the lights in the house reflecting), making her figure more prominent. I really hope she's still there, but from what I saw, she isn't.

[The Interpreter]

^ Stopped reading at "scariest parts were the", because I don't want spoilers.

Those of us who haven't been there yet don't want to know what the scariest parts are. We want to be scared by them. Could you hide the spoilers with the forum spoiler tag, or - even better - remove the spoilers completely?

No offense intended, but I started this topic for us to discuss what we thought of Haunt and give details to people who can't go. Since we're not professional writers, there's going to be some spoilers. I would suggest if you haven't gone to Haunt yet, are concerned some spoilers will ruin an incredible experience, and intend to go,

"Don't Read This Topic"

Uh, you also said you would not give out spoilers. In the past, you've been fascinated by the spoiler function here. Which is it? No spoilers or no limits?

[Jasper]

Got a chance to experience Haunt Friday the 28th. First off I was floored by the sheer environment of Haunt this year, it blew all the other years I have been away by a long shot. The fog was thick as ever, it was rising up from anywhere and everywhere as cast a shadowy haze over the park. At one point I was in line for Cornstalkers and could not even see the Eiffel Tower because it was so thick. I am going to try and not give to much away and let you experience the mazes for yourself but here's my review in order of what we did.

Club Blood (6/10)-Same as every year really, got quite a bit more scares out of this year however. The person outside giving rules and directions was foul mouthed, dressed to the part an really fit the Club Blood "Scene" I must say.

Wolf Pack (6/10)-We did this around 7'ish I believe and it was still light out so the sun lit up a lot of the maze taking away the factor of fear. Overall though got a couple really good scares, besides the Haunt Staff member following us the whole way through and the park sweep that came in when we were walking through.

Slaughterhouse (4/10)-Not very entertaining at all compared to past years I thought. Still had a couple stand out points in the maze I thought made it worth the 2 minute wait however. Not a bad maze, but not the best compared to how it has been in years past.

Cutthroat Cove (5/10)-Had never done this haunt before so I did not know what to expect. Overall I was impressed with it. I thought it could have been a little more enclosed, I am not a fan of the wide open houses, I like the feeling of everything being right on top of me. Once again, not terrible though.

Cornstalkers (7/10)-Our first really good house we went through. The fog was rolling and couldn't hardly see anything. Couple times my girlfriend got terrified and screamed and even once took off running. I don't want to ruin anything so I will leave this maze at that. I rate this one as a must do IMO.

Massacre Manor (9/10)-IMO probably the best haunt in the park. Every single minute is intense and scares the absolute hell outta me. We had a girl in our group get scared so they sent someone in for her but she said she was fine but it seemed as if they toned down all the scares after that, so that made it go down a notch but still a must do Haunt.

Mysteria (-8/10)-Yes that is a negative, I just thought there was nothing going for this house, from the reviews and me seeing the scareactors I knew it wasn't going to be up to snuff. I really wish I would have gotten to do this house when it was Maze of Madness, it looked so much better then.

Urgent Scare (7/10)-It seemed like all the theming had been removed and it was just a plain ole Hospital gone wrong haunt now, no back story or anything like it use to be. Still gave some good scares and is always a must do for me.

Madame Fatales (10/10)-While Massacre Manor does it more for me, this house was truly amazing. The Scareactors in the house were perfect, the set up was perfect and it was nice to look up and see the old Deity God staring at you. I cannot praise how well Kings Island did with this new haunt, everything about it was on point and it had something to scare everyone. I just hope we don't see it disappear if they decide to remove the Crypt building in the future.

Tombstone Terror-Tory (7/10)-Better than I had remembered in the past, couple of surprises that really got me. It's just such a nice haunt to walk through the woods and everything, nice set up and a good maze.

CarnEvil (8/10)-This was the ONE haunt I have wanted to do since the FearFest days, and let me tell you it did not disappoint. The only thing I have against it is that I wish I would have bought the 3D glasses. The ending was awesome as well. Overall a great maze I thought, a must do.

Holiday Horror (6/10)-This was our last maze as the park was nearing closing time. The only objection I have is that it is very hidden in the back of Planet Snoopy which they advertised as being closed. Not to mention the yellow skull indicating it was a house wasn't working. Me and my girlfriend went in with just is two because nobody was in line at all. Some good scares all around but for it just being us two I thought they could have done more. I like the theming though I must admit.

My favorite house was by far Madame Fatale's, followed by Massacre Manor closely and then CarnEvil. Overall the park wasn't too bad crowded, got all the rides in except Firehawk. I wish they would have kept the theming on the back half of The Beast like it was last year but still a great night ride on a cold October night. And can someone tell me what that HUGE explosion was in Coney Mall, we heard it in line for BLSC and it scared the hell out of us, it sounded like what happens for the show on International Street but it came from about where Zephyr is, we were puzzled. Everyone needs to get out to Haunt this year, best year for it IMO.I had been typing this on my iPhone at work for the past couple of days so sorry it took so long to get on here. I have pictures but they are not very good quality, due to it being dark and my iPhone not being the greatest of quality.

New lights in The Beast station, made it look really nice.

Cutthroat Cover.

Eiffel Tower all lit up, shortly before it disappeared in the fog.

This was taken literally about 20 feet from Slingshot and you can barely see anything, awesome.

This is amazing to me, that little orange glow you see is the orange Haunt skeleton from about 20 feet if that away. That fog carried in the maze and made the environment spectacular.

I would like to once again say thank you to Kings Island for making this year's Haunt the best in my opinion. I also loved the monsters coming out at the very beginning at the front gates.

[Snowman]

Uh, you also said you would not give out spoilers. In the past, you've been fascinated by the spoiler function here. Which is it? No spoilers or no limits?

I wouldn't offer any spoilers on opening night regarding Cavern of Terror. If anyone searches last years topics, the Boo Blasters spoiler has been discussed.

Also, I think you've confused me with someone who actually knows where the "spoiler" function/button is.

[jcgoble3]

Uh, you also said you would not give out spoilers. In the past, you've been fascinated by the spoiler function here. Which is it? No spoilers or no limits?

I wouldn't offer any spoilers on opening night regarding Cavern of Terror. If anyone searches last years topics, the Boo Blasters spoiler has been discussed.

Also, I think you've confused me with someone who actually knows where the "spoiler" function/button is.

I'm usually the one to bring out the spoiler function. For reference it is thus:

[spoiler]Darth Vader is Luke's father.[/spoiler]

Which produces:

Darth Vader is Luke's father.

[Snowman]

Just so everyone knows:

jcgoble3 is an absolute word processing genius!

Brilliant!

[jcgoble3]

More accurately, I tend to poke around and learn all the available options whenever I join a new site, and I retain information like that very well. Some other information, though, isn't retained well at all (what order did I do rides at Universal a month ago today? I need to write that PTR.).

[TTD-120-420]

I went Friday night. My only complaint is the new fog. It smells awful. Walking through Mysteria I gagged a few times.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

And can someone tell me what that HUGE explosion was in Coney Mall, we heard it in line for BLSC and it scared the hell out of us, it sounded like what happens for the show on International Street but it came from about where Zephyr is, we were puzzled.

That is from the end of the Hot Blooded show. I haven't seen the show myself, but it's made me jump a couple times while waiting for or on Diamondback.

Edit: My bad, I didn't read closely. I'm not sure about explosions from the Coney Mall area. Haven't heard those before.

[Mr. Christopher]

And can someone tell me what that HUGE explosion was in Coney Mall, we heard it in line for BLSC and it scared the hell out of us, it sounded like what happens for the show on International Street but it came from about where Zephyr is, we were puzzled.

That is from the end of the Hot Blooded show. I haven't seen the show myself, but it's made me jump a couple times while waiting for or on Diamondback.

Hot Blooded isn't the only location to have concussion shots...

[TTD-120-420]

Yeah we heard them last year, too. Never did figure out what the loud explosions were.

[XGatorHead 8904]

Then we went to Urgent Scare, which was kinda meh. As has been said before, mostly people just yelling "Ah!" at you you through countless rooms with people on hospital beds. There was a dude in a bloody hallway who only spoke in high pitch screeches though, and he was amusing so props to him for doing something different.

That guy in the hallway would be "Steve". He's a poster on here, so I'm sure he appreciates the recognition.

While we were in that area we hit Slaughter House. Have to say, a little disappointed this year. Wasn't quite as scary as before. Not sure what it was, or wasn't about it, but it was a little "off" this year for me. Maybe I'll try it again in October. It's definitely missing something at the end where a certain someone used to be waiting just outside the exit. I tried to pick out Sam the Butcher, but couldn't so I didn't shout out.

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed. Hopefully you'll have a better experience next time.

This past weekend, I got to thinking how it's a little sad that not everyone gets to meet Sam. You see, Sam lurks in his hiding spot, awaiting the perfect victim. So there are some people who go by, oblivious to the fact that Sam is watching them. You never know when Sam may appear; sometimes he gets the front of the group, sometimes the middle and sometimes the end. There's no set "perfect victim" either. It may be a group of teenage girls, it may be a middle aged couple, it will almost always be the group of pre-teen boys who think they're tough by trying to scare/mock the other scareactors in the room, or it may be a group of football player types (Sam was particularly proud of one scare this past weekend; there was a group of football player types, with the biggest guy leading the group. Sam popped out, and the lead guy jumped straight up in the air. Sam proudly exclaimed to the guy's friends "Look at that! I made the big boy jump!", which got the guy's friends laughing hard.) Sam has a good eye for the perfect victim. It's all intangible qualities, mainly based on the people's body language & facial expressions.

Sam can be summoned, however. Sam is in the

kitchen of Slaughter House. After you pass through the storefront, the meat locker, the strobe room and the locker room, you pass through a curtain and enter the kitchen. There will be a tall oven on your right as you enter the room.

If Sam's not already out and you would like to meet him, all you have to do is call his name while in that room. Just make sure that you're loud enough for him to hear you, as it can be a little noisy at times. Sam is in there most of the night, he only takes about 5-10 minutes worth of breaks total each night. Sam likes meating new friends!

Slaughterhouse (4/10)-Not very entertaining at all compared to past years I thought. Still had a couple stand out points in the maze I thought made it worth the 2 minute wait however. Not a bad maze, but not the best compared to how it has been in years past.

Heart, meet dagger. Wow... You gave Slaughter House the 2nd lowest rating out of all of them. I respect your opinion though. Constructive criticism is always helpful in making improvements.

[The Interpreter]

Meating new friends. Nice!

Terp, who is glad you didn't butcher that line.

[TheCrypt]

I went Friday night. My only complaint is the new fog. It smells awful. Walking through Mysteria I gagged a few times.

I would have gagged, just from walking through Mysteria!

[beastrider97]

Just some overall impressions I had:

Madame Fatales was EXCELLENT! The scareactors were great and so was the spacing between groups. The pace of the Haunt is perfectly done, relentlessly coming after you the whole way through. You can tell the effort put into it is extremely high. My only wish is that it doesn't go down hill like some other Haunts have.

Massacre Manor was not as good as it has been, which is a shame as it has been my favorite Haunt most years. There's a new Katie and the pictures in the halls were re-done, nice to see that there is still attention to the story placed in the maze. It also seemed if there was a significantly smaller amount of scareactors in the maze.

Urgent Scare has turned into one of the bigger disappointments. It's always a must do for me, but it seems most of the time you are in a giant congo line the whole way through the maze.

Wolf Pack has gotten better every year, this year being the best I've ever seen it.

It's sad to see some of the guest behavior during Haunt, one of my friends who works in Madame Fatales was punched in the face during the night and couldn't wear his mask due to the blood that got on it. This behavior is intolerable and it sucks that the guy that did it most likely left the maze with no kind of punishment. Security should be on someone who assaults an actor as fast as possible and escort them from the park.

Overall, I had fun. Saturdays are packed though! Crazy to see how many people the event brings out.

[The Interpreter]

I'd go even further. If a guest assaults a park employee or other guest, (s)he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. No exceptions.

[malem]

Most likely, the guest didn't enter the maze intending to punch an actor. Some people, unfortunately, have an instinctive reaction of violence when they feel threatened. That's absolutely no excuse, of course, as guests are informed about the experience and are responsible for controlling their behavior.

If there was no criminal intent, prosecution might not be appropriate. If the assailant ran, or otherwise didn't take responsibility, criminal charges could be very appropriate.

For everyone's safety, anyone committing any assault in the park should be escorted out immediately, without exception.