Haunt 2017

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Last night could have been a bad night to judge the Haunt because it was very crowded (and hot), but I actually feel overall it was pretty good. Didn't blow me away or anything, but also assured me that it wasn't taking a step back due to Winterfest. We only ended up doing Blackout because we got in line early, but we toured the rest of the park to check out the decor and scare zones.

Here are some of my thoughts and observations:

Coney Mall was great. Might as well have been a big scare zone. There were more scare actors there than in any of the "official" zones. The Sliders got us pretty good when we were making our way over to the Troll.

The Troll was cool, but his eyes were not working when he'd stand up. Assuming just a glitch since I know that model of animatronic has opening eyes.

The Macabre area was pretty neat, though I wouldn't necessarily call it a scare zone, but a cool place to get some pictures.

Wasteland was fun. I liked how they had walls alternating from left to right so they could actually jump out and scare you. 

Freak Street - Could have been when we walked through (around 9PM), but there was only 1 guy there that we saw. And he seemed to be greeting people more than scaring. Hopefully that changes, but that's been the weakest scare zone for me the last couple years and the early impression is that it's at it's worst now.

Also missed the guy who is like the official greeter of the Haunt at the front of the park. Hopefully he just had the night off and that he's not gone.

Again, overall, I enjoyed myself even on a crazy busy evening. Planning on going this Friday when I hope it's not as bad as far as crowds and can try out some more of the houses.

[chuck norris]

It was also very exciting to see a couple of the food trucks from May back in the park last night as well! (1776 Grill and Jon Jon's BBQ)

Did they promote it as a food truck night? Is that happening any other nights?


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[chad_1138]

10 minutes ago, chuck norris said:

Did they promote it as a food truck night? Is that happening any other nights?


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I didn’t see any promotion for it.  I am hoping they’ll be back next weekend!

[chuck norris]

Thanks. It's odd to me that Kings Island isn't promoting it. When they promote it, I'd think it would draw additional people into the park that might also spend money on things that generate revenue for Cedar Fair. By not promoting it, I'd assume they are just losing food sales when people choose the trucks over the ki food venues. Were the trucks near Coney mall or gluten free? Was this some attempt to balance the removal of Coney potato works?


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[chad_1138]

10 minutes ago, chuck norris said:

Thanks. It's odd to me that Kings Island isn't promoting it. When they promote it, I'd think it would draw additional people into the park that might also spend money on things that generate revenue for Cedar Fair. By not promoting it, I'd assume they are just losing food sales when people choose the trucks over the ki food venues. Were the trucks near Coney mall or gluten free? Was this some attempt to balance the removal of Coney potato works?


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Neither.  Jon Jon’s BBQ and 1776 Grille at the Tower.  

[MDMC01]

3 hours ago, LongLiveTheSmurfRide said:

Also missed the guy who is like the official greeter of the Haunt at the front of the park. Hopefully he just had the night off and that he's not gone.

Per @Magenta Lizard, the Undertaker was there late Friday night. I too missed his presence in the park. But oh my gosh, Al (the troll) is the coolest thing ever (well, besides Sam, Urgent Scare, and the other new additions to the park (like the surprise ending to Wolf Pack...)).

[chad_1138]

We saw the Undertaker as well on Friday.  He was taking pictures with visitors.  He was not talking through the speakers, however.

[Craig]

We are planning to go next Friday 9/29 but there is a 5k going on. Does anyone know if it will be more crowded than an normal Friday Haunt night? 

[BoddaH1994]

Wow... that uhh.. that troll ain’t cheap...

https://www.thehorrordome.com/products/giant-troll-halloween-animatronic-tr908

 

[SonofBaconator]

This is a video from CGA and has nothing to do with Kings Island but look at how cool this looks! Plus the logo at the end looks oddly familiar.

 

[Hmrapp]

This is a video from CGA and has nothing to do with Kings Island but look at how cool this looks! Plus the logo at the end looks oddly familiar.
 

That logo looks almost identical to Son of Beasts!

[IndyGuy4KI]

Monster Rock show. Love the live band with them. That makes the show for me. Better than having Choreographers in the show. The singers do enough dancing.

[silver2005]

^Well, of course.  Saxophones make everything better.

[MaestroFanatic]

I'd honestly be willing to drop the winds if we had a dynamic band that interacted with the singers and possibly even sang themselves. Granted, this is me wanting CP's Red Garter Saloon band, but I think it could work here.

[MaestroJr]

On 9/24/2017 at 3:18 PM, Hmrapp said:

 

That logo looks almost identical to Son of Beasts!

 

Quite a lot indeed! 

[chad_1138]

Just received confirmation that food trucks will be back Friday and Saturday for Haunt!!!!

 

 

[DMann1979]

How much on average can you do during the Haunt in a 5-6 hour span? I'm planning on going either Friday or Saturday after I get off work and either way I'll likely get there about 7pm. Never been to KI during Haunt, now that I have a Season Pass I intend to go at least 3-4 times.

[Melody]

3 minutes ago, DMann1979 said:

How much on average can you do during the Haunt in a 5-6 hour span? I'm planning on going either Friday or Saturday after I get off work and either way I'll likely get there about 7pm. Never been to KI during Haunt, now that I have a Season Pass I intend to go at least 3-4 times.

The past few years we wanted to do ALL of the mazes so there was really no time for rides too. It's kinda one or the other unless you luck out and its a slow rainy cool Friday night or something. 

 

But the ride lines usually are much shorter than the lines for the mazes.

[chad_1138]

The big trick is to get in line for Field of Screams at about 7:30.

[XGatorHead 8904]

2 hours ago, chad_1138 said:

The big trick is to get in line for Corn Stalkers at about 7:30.

There is no CornStalkers anymore, unless you mean Field of Screams which is similarly themed.

[Melody]

OMG yes last year we had the free font of line passed from the buffet and we decided to save them for Blackout (that's also usually super long and the line goes slow due to the rope). Well big mistake with Field of Screams being brand new we didn't realize how freaking far back the line goes into the woods!

[mustbeaweasley]

We are new to Haunt and going this weekend. Anyone who visited last weekend care to share their favorite mazes? Which ones are must do, which can be skipped? Are the shows worth watching?

[Gannersdaddy]

11 minutes ago, mustbeaweasley said:

We are new to Haunt and going this weekend. Anyone who visited last weekend care to share their favorite mazes? Which ones are must do, which can be skipped? Are the shows worth watching?

I cant comment on the Mazes, but I can not go to Haunt without catching at least 1 Blood Drums show.  I recommend it

 

[pianoman]

We are new to Haunt and going this weekend. Anyone who visited last weekend care to share their favorite mazes? Which ones are must do, which can be skipped? Are the shows worth watching?

My favorite mazes are Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror and Slaughter House. Field of Screams is a really good outdoor Haunt. If you want to do that, make sure to get in line when it opens at 8pm because it can get a very long line. Urgent Scare, Wolf Pack, and Board to Death are all just ok to me. Make sure to check out Blood Drums by the fountains. It's a fantastic show with fire jets all around the fountain. Hope you enjoy Haunt!


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[chad_1138]

11 hours ago, XGatorHead 8904 said:

There is no CornStalkers anymore, unless you mean Field of Screams which is similarly themed.

I knew it sounded wrong when I typed it.  The thing is, we just did it last Friday night

[Magenta Lizard]

CarnEvil is also a really fun maze, kind of a classic funhouse with scary clowns thrown in. It's a real trip if you wear the "3D" glasses. 

[DMann1979]

How late are the food areas usually open. Hoping to use both meal plans during Friday evening. I remember when the park was open till 12 on Saturdays in July most eateries were open the whole evening.

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[Magenta Lizard]

A handful of locations are open until the park closes at 1, most close at midnight. 

I'm fairly certain International Street Skyline and LaRosas are open until 1, and I know Chick-Fil-A was last Friday. 

There was a small problem with the dining plans last week, where the computer system basically "kicked out" all of the season passes at Midnight. I was unable to use it at Chick-fil-A when I went about 12:40, although if I had been willing to go to Guest Services first, they could have re activated my plan for the new day from what I was told. I wasn't willing to do the extra walking at that point, nor did I want to punish the employees by showing back up to use my plan just before they closed at 1. Fortunately the drink plan still did work after midnight without doing anything special.

The nice young woman at Chick-fil-A thought there was a good chance the problem would be fixed by this week, but I wanted people to be forewarned to stop by guest services if it is on your way to picking up food between midnight and 1, just in case. 

[DubVLegend]

So after reading this whole thread and checking he Haunt site it seems that The Viewing won't be returning..... or anything similar. That's kinda sad I enjoyed the new edition and would like to see it return or something similar. Also they don't seem to indicate which haunts have a skeleton key room this year... anyone know anything about that?

 

Edit: ok I see the indicator for the key rooms. But new question now.... there is a key at the wasteland scare zone any one know if that's the viewing or something new?

 

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[OldieButGoodie]

A handful of locations are open until the park closes at 1, most close at midnight. 
I'm fairly certain International Street Skyline and LaRosas are open until 1, and I know Chick-Fil-A was last Friday. 
There was a small problem with the dining plans last week, where the computer system basically "kicked out" all of the season passes at Midnight. I was unable to use it at Chick-fil-A when I went about 12:40, although if I had been willing to go to Guest Services first, they could have re activated my plan for the new day from what I was told. I wasn't willing to do the extra walking at that point, nor did I want to punish the employees by showing back up to use my plan just before they closed at 1. Fortunately the drink plan still did work after midnight without doing anything special.
The nice young woman at Chick-fil-A thought there was a good chance the problem would be fixed by this week, but I wanted people to be forewarned to stop by guest services if it is on your way to picking up food between midnight and 1, just in case. 

Here's a thought KI, just set end of day for 01:00 the next day. During the summer, *nobody will be there*.

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