Halloween Haunt 2022

[XGatorHead 8904]

On 10/4/2022 at 10:13 AM, BB1 said:

As someone who prides himself on going to a plethora of haunts/haunted attractions across the US I take these callouts pretty seriously. (Currently at 10 events/attractions for this year alone) I get it the first night can be somewhat rough but when practically every haunt besides Slaughterhouse at KI felt like it wasn't as scare inducing it was extremely depressing. (That being said a lot of the Slaughterhouse crew returned this year from what I could tell.)

Thank you for the kind words about Slaughterhouse.  We had a good number of returners come back, and a lot of our new people are killing it (pun intended) this year!  We've won Maze of the Night two out of the four nights so far.

[MDMC01]

Super random Haunt question, as I know it gets cold around this time of year... has it ever snowed during Haunt (or Fearfest)? And if anyone (on here) has experienced this, what was it like?

[TombRaiderFTW]

 

1 hour ago, MDMC01 said:

Super random Haunt question, as I know it gets cold around this time of year... has it ever snowed during Haunt (or Fearfest)? And if anyone (on here) has experienced this, what was it like?

It has on multiple occasions. The time I'm familiar with was closing weekend 2014. It was like Haunt, but it very lightly snowed and some of the rides were closed.

[standbyme]

4 hours ago, MDMC01 said:

Super random Haunt question, as I know it gets cold around this time of year... has it ever snowed during Haunt (or Fearfest)? And if anyone (on here) has experienced this, what was it like?

I remember snow back during one of my Fearfest trips back when the campground still existed…it was during the day, and cold (obviously)…but it was an adventure. (It was decent sized flakes, but never accumulated on the ground.)

[Snowball]

5 hours ago, MDMC01 said:

Super random Haunt question, as I know it gets cold around this time of year... has it ever snowed during Haunt (or Fearfest)? And if anyone (on here) has experienced this, what was it like?

It did either last year or in 2019, can’t remember which, but it was a very strange feeling!

[MDMC01]

Cool! I feel like that would be weird... For me, I think the cold and snow might add to the scares. Because of the snow, @Snowball, did you take refuge inside a maze, or were you still outside?

[robintodd]

On 10/5/2022 at 4:36 PM, XGatorHead 8904 said:

Thank you for the kind words about Slaughterhouse.  We had a good number of returners come back, and a lot of our new people are killing it (pun intended) this year!  We've won Maze of the Night two out of the four nights so far.

Slaughterhouse is great.  Was riding The Beast last ride the other week and thought it would be a cool idea to have a special train of The Beast filled with Slaughterhouse and other scareactors every year.  I think the pictures would be hilarious and a nice keepsake for everyone working Haunt (plus it could be used for marketing as well).

[robintodd]

Saw the Nytestalkers show and was overall impressed.  The only thing I can say about it critically is the use of the screens is very distracting and I feel takes away from the performers.  Either they are flashing in a seizure inducing rate or there is a bald guy and the devil dancing.  Focus should be on the performers.  In my opinion the video screens should be more of a backdrop to "set a scene" rather than trying to add to the atmosphere in such a jarring way as it does now.  It's like the screens are being used instead of lights and that shouldn't (in my opinion) be their purpose.  I found it hard to concentrate on the tricks going on.  I would almost think it would be more enjoyable with the screens off.  The performers are the main part of the show, not the screens.  

That said, the performers do a fantastic job and I just feel like the screen could be better used to tell the story (some text like "one night in the forbidden abandoned park") and little things before each section ("Susan gets overtaken by the dark side").  I just feel like it's an injustice to have so much distraction from the main part of the show...the performers who are doing a fantastic job.

One last thing would be to have some voices and/or singing (someone can do a Rob Zombie impression :)) but it would help further the storyline.  I'm not saying mic the entire cast just maybe the first 3 'normals' and 1 or 2 of the demons.  As for the 3 normals, I'm guessing one of them was overtaken early and I missed it.  Wasn't sure what happened to him.

I'll be going to see it again tonight to see if I can find it out.  I will finish by saying that even with the screens the show is fantastic and I was impressed (yet again) with the production quality KI is putting into it's live entertainment this year.

[Snowball]

7 hours ago, MDMC01 said:

Cool! I feel like that would be weird... For me, I think the cold and snow might add to the scares. Because of the snow, @Snowball, did you take refuge inside a maze, or were you still outside?

I believe I was inside, because it started as rain.

[BoddaH1994]

4 hours ago, robintodd said:

Saw the Nytestalkers show and was overall impressed.  The only thing I can say about it critically is the use of the screens is very distracting and I feel takes away from the performers.  Either they are flashing in a seizure inducing rate or there is a bald guy and the devil dancing.  Focus should be on the performers.  In my opinion the video screens should be more of a backdrop to "set a scene" rather than trying to add to the atmosphere in such a jarring way as it does now.  It's like the screens are being used instead of lights and that shouldn't (in my opinion) be their purpose.  I found it hard to concentrate on the tricks going on.  I would almost think it would be more enjoyable with the screens off.  The performers are the main part of the show, not the screens.  

That said, the performers do a fantastic job and I just feel like the screen could be better used to tell the story (some text like "one night in the forbidden abandoned park") and little things before each section ("Susan gets overtaken by the dark side").  I just feel like it's an injustice to have so much distraction from the main part of the show...the performers who are doing a fantastic job.

One last thing would be to have some voices and/or singing (someone can do a Rob Zombie impression :)) but it would help further the storyline.  I'm not saying mic the entire cast just maybe the first 3 'normals' and 1 or 2 of the demons.  As for the 3 normals, I'm guessing one of them was overtaken early and I missed it.  Wasn't sure what happened to him.

I'll be going to see it again tonight to see if I can find it out.  I will finish by saying that even with the screens the show is fantastic and I was impressed (yet again) with the production quality KI is putting into its live entertainment this year.

I like the screen, but my biggest critique is the nails-on-chalkboard version of Enter Sandman. A few of the musical selections are rough, which I think is amplified by a really bad sound system in the venue.  Besides that, I absolutely love the show!

[robintodd]

19 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I like the screen, but my biggest critique is the nails-on-chalkboard version of Enter Sandman. A few of the musical selections are rough, which I think is amplified by a really bad sound system in the venue.  Besides that, I absolutely love the show!

Went last night and saw the 7pm show with my wife, son and 3 grandkids.  Standing room only.  Not sure if it is this way normally but the screens were off.  (Maybe because it is still light out they don't use the screens for the 7pm show).    Bodda, if you get a chance to see the show without the screens on, I would be interested in your take.  Like I said I don't necessarily think the should be "off", just not as much of a distraction.

Anyway, it was AMAZING.  What a difference without the distraction of the screens.  We all agreed.  It was much easier to see each performer and clearly see them as they were doing their thing.  It felt like the focus was 100% on the performers (which in my opinion is where it should be).  Still not sure what happened to the third "normal" (the one with the backpack).  There is one voice part that I heard in the performance and that is when the head demon (the one in black) screams a couple of times near the end of the show.  Hard to hear over the music but I would suggest that if she's not going to be mic'd (and she shouldn't be if that is her only vocal part) they tape her screaming and play it during the show as a manually triggered effect with her lip synching it.  In my opinion it would be easy to pull off, save her voice and be much clearer to those in the back of the audience.  That being said it was easier to see the story, I just think it might work better with the male and female walking in together alone (maybe with a woods montage on the screens) aka the Triller video.  No offense to the "third wheel" his comic relief is appreciated but he runs around the stage to the back (I guess that is to be him "running away" but would read better if he ran back up the audience the way he came in.  The biggest problem with that is getting him back around backstage without anyone seeing as I'm sure he is one of the demon performers during the rest of the show.  My save him some time to just have the 2 walking in alone at the start.

Again the show is amazing as are those who are in it.  I do see your point about the sound system, and the music.  In my opinion this could be "fixed in post" by re-equalizing the master if it is done by tracks.  If not, they could turn it down 5-10% and it would help the struggling system but the theatre as a whole definitely needs an overhaul and hopefully will get it for next season.  With the quality of the shows getting such a major boost I think it's almost a must.

Not sure how easy it would be but at the end when each performer takes their own "curtain call" it would be nice to have their name and hometown put up on the screens so they get the attention they deserve.  It may have to be something manually switched for each performer but I think would be a nice way to acknowledge them for their effort

I plan on seeing the show every weekend as I noticed new tricks being put in and all around the energy in that place was off the chain.  Overall well done by everyone connected with the absolute crowd pleaser.  They have definitely keep the bar high for this amazing 50th season of our beloved park!

[Orion742]

33 minutes ago, robintodd said:

Went last night and saw the 7pm show with my wife, son and 3 grandkids.  Standing room only.  Not sure if it is this way normally but the screens were off.  (Maybe because it is still light out they don't use the screens for the 7pm show).    Bodda, if you get a chance to see the show without the screens on, I would be interested in your take.  Like I said I don't necessarily think the should be "off", just not as much of a distraction.

Anyway, it was AMAZING.  What a difference without the distraction of the screens.  We all agreed.  It was much easier to see each performer and clearly see them as they were doing their thing.  It felt like the focus was 100% on the performers (which in my opinion is where it should be).  Still not sure what happened to the third "normal" (the one with the backpack).  There is one voice part that I heard in the performance and that is when the head demon (the one in black) screams a couple of times near the end of the show.  Hard to hear over the music but I would suggest that if she's not going to be mic'd (and she shouldn't be if that is her only vocal part) they tape her screaming and play it during the show as a manually triggered effect with her lip synching it.  In my opinion it would be easy to pull off, save her voice and be much clearer to those in the back of the audience.  That being said it was easier to see the story, I just think it might work better with the male and female walking in together alone (maybe with a woods montage on the screens) aka the Triller video.  No offense to the "third wheel" his comic relief is appreciated but he runs around the stage to the back (I guess that is to be him "running away" but would read better if he ran back up the audience the way he came in.  The biggest problem with that is getting him back around backstage without anyone seeing as I'm sure he is one of the demon performers during the rest of the show.  My save him some time to just have the 2 walking in alone at the start.

Again the show is amazing as are those who are in it.  I do see your point about the sound system, and the music.  In my opinion this could be "fixed in post" by re-equalizing the master if it is done by tracks.  If not, they could turn it down 5-10% and it would help the struggling system but the theatre as a whole definitely needs an overhaul and hopefully will get it for next season.  With the quality of the shows getting such a major boost I think it's almost a must.

Not sure how easy it would be but at the end when each performer takes their own "curtain call" it would be nice to have their name and hometown put up on the screens so they get the attention they deserve.  It may have to be something manually switched for each performer but I think would be a nice way to acknowledge them for their effort

I plan on seeing the show every weekend as I noticed new tricks being put in and all around the energy in that place was off the chain.  Overall well done by everyone connected with the absolute crowd pleaser.  They have definitely keep the bar high for this amazing 50th season of our beloved park!

Last night was absolutely slammed! Each ride had a 90-120 minute wait and there were times when The Beast was 135 and Orion 150 minutes. I would think we got close to full capacity.

[BoddaH1994]

@robintodd I did see it without the screens. I think they were having issues again. While I do prefer having the screens, I think this is proof that the show can handle its own. 

[Coasterteam]

2 hours ago, Orion742 said:

Last night was absolutely slammed! Each ride had a 90-120 minute wait and there were times when The Beast was 135 and Orion 150 minutes. I would think we got close to full capacity.

Curious how busy today is gonna be. 

[disco2000]

1 minute ago, Coasterteam said:

Curious how busy today is gonna be. 

I would think busy given it is the first Haunt Sunday, the weather is nice, and some may be off school/work tomorrow...

[chad_1138]

Great time with Monster Rock again today!

 

[MDMC01]

Got back from Haunt and had a good time. I'd never been on a Sunday night before, so that was cool. Did all the mazes, plus Slaughter House again at the end (I think that's my favorite overall Haunt maze, just because it's so familiar to me). For maximum scares, I would suggest going through the indoor mazes while it's still daylight (if possible) as the mazes seemed darker than normal when contrasted with the brightness outside. Went through Chaos and Hotel when it was still daylight (and I've done this before with Slaughterhouse and others) and it absolutely made a difference. Not sure if that would work with Madame Fatale's as the queue is indoors, but I feel like that idea would work for the majority of the indoor mazes. Also rode Zephyr, Shake Rattle and Roll (first ride this season!), Scrambler and Blue Racer. Saw Al and participated in the dance party in Coney Maul - I think it's really cool to have a DJ in that scare zone as it makes it a lot of fun.

EDIT: There also seemed to be more fog in the scare zones tonight.

[BoddaH1994]

Clearly it was successful for a Sunday despite the Bengals playing in the evening. A very large contrast to the last time they did this a decade or more ago. My unqualified opinion is that that there were some who intentionally sandbagged Sundays so that they wouldn’t have to work those nights. There was some cleaning house, and likely corporate wanted to give it a go. 

Next up: Thursdays. 

[Snowball]

2 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Next up: Thursdays. 

My body can only take so much sliding! 

[BoddaH1994]

29 minutes ago, Snowball said:

My body can only take so much sliding! 

Maybe they’ll have you skipping! 
 

But seriously, I can only imagine how you feel come Sunday (or Monday) morning!

[MDMC01]

2 hours ago, Snowball said:

My body can only take so much sliding! 

I understand! Speaking of which, I enjoyed seeing the sliders in Rivertown last night; are you guys (and gals) always in Rivertown? Also, I tried to figure out which one was you (as some looked familiar), but I didn't know who was who...

[XGatorHead 8904]

15 hours ago, Snowball said:

My body can only take so much sliding! 

I'm a lot older than you. My body can only take so much popping, sprinting, crouching and slouching! With these Sundays, I already feel like I need to start conditioning myself a lot better than I did this year. 

[Taylor.B03]

21 minutes ago, XGatorHead 8904 said:

I'm a lot older than you. My body can only take so much popping, sprinting, crouching and slouching! With these Sundays, I already feel like I need to start conditioning myself a lot better than I did this year. 

Popping for the people

[Old_Bearcat]

 

18 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Clearly it was successful for a Sunday despite the Bengals playing in the evening. A very large contrast to the last time they did this a decade or more ago. My unqualified opinion is that that there were some who intentionally sandbagged Sundays so that they wouldn’t have to work those nights. There was some cleaning house, and likely corporate wanted to give it a go. 

Next up: Thursdays. 

Good weather + Columbus Day weekend + some company was there too

[Snowball]

16 hours ago, MDMC01 said:

I understand! Speaking of which, I enjoyed seeing the sliders in Rivertown last night; are you guys (and gals) always in Rivertown? Also, I tried to figure out which one was you (as some looked familiar), but I didn't know who was who...

We go to Rivertown about 35 - 40 minutes  after opening ceremony. We stay there for a while, then we move to coney for a while, then pumpkin eater for about 25 minutes, then back to main gate for 30 minutes or so, then to bandstand / Eiffel Tower until about 5 minutes before close, then back to front gate for the picture at the end of the night.

Also, I have purple makeup and long hair, it’s grown much longer than my profile picture. If anyone sees me feel free to say hi!

[Snowball]

17 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Maybe they’ll have you skipping! 
 

But seriously, I can only imagine how you feel come Sunday (or Monday) morning!

I pretty much live on ibuprofen and Gatorade for a couple days, sliding is so fun but man does it hurt after a while, especially Sunday! 
 

(Sorry for the double post, couldn’t figure out how to add a quote into an edit on mobile.)

[BoddaH1994]

3 hours ago, Old_Bearcat said:

 

Good weather + Columbus Day weekend + some company was there too

I suppose, assuming that the weather holds out, that we shall see a more accurate representation next weekend. 
 

Although it seems like most schools aren’t off for Columbus Day anymore. 

[CoastersRZ]

Cedar Point is in their second year of having their Haunt on Thursday nights.  I don`t see why KI wouldn`t try that, or at the very least expand the Sunday Haunt nights if they are successful.  

[RedSummit20]

Kings Island made 10/30/2022  a Haunt night open until 11pm! 

[BoddaH1994]

On 10/11/2022 at 2:30 PM, BoddaH1994 said:

I suppose, assuming that the weather holds out, that we shall see a more accurate representation next weekend. 
 

Although it seems like most schools aren’t off for Columbus Day anymore. 

I know this was already mentioned, but I feel like this is an indication of the park seeing Sunday(s) as a success.