Fearfest

[StXsteven]

So how was it last night? Better? Worse?

[pkiboy]

So how was it last night? Better? Worse?

The park was dead last night. The fearfest part was fine not long lines for any of the attractions.

[ohioamusementparkzrule]

Ok so Im just needing to know is what is the least crowded day? Are the lines long? Im just deciding when to go Im going for sure either on the 28,29,30 so Im just deciding what the deal is.

[PKIbabe89]

I"m guessing Fridays are better than Saturdays?

[SML828]

Fridays are definitely better, mainly because of football games. Tonight was PACKED! Oh yea, FYI - FearFest is not open on 10/30 - 10/29 is the last one.

[CoastersRZ]

That is because the 30th of October is a Sunday. I remember the first couple of years they did FearFest, they were open a couple days and the day of Halloween. It must have proved not profitable because they haven`t done that for several years now. On Friday when I went, they had a LOT of the restaurants closed. Festhaus, Bubba Gump`s, Skline Chili in Coney Mall were the only ones I recall being open. Almost all the shops on International Street were closed, I`m assuming because of staffing issues. But it seemed like they would have tried to get one of the shops open on International Street.

[StXsteven]

Saturday- it was much better! I didn't wait in line for any haunt even though the park was crowded. We got reservation tickets for Headless hollow and R.L. Stine's fear street nights. Then we walked right on to psycho path, no one was in line?Cornstalkers is so funny, they did good with that. Anyways, last night people in my group were screaming, so pki must of done a better job.

Does anyone else agree that headless hollow is horrible? It's so empty, and you can see all the treets and stuff. It needs to be highly revamped or something.

[CoastersRZ]

Well, having done Headless Hollow on the first night of Fear Fest (for Beast Bash) and then again this past Friday night, I have to say that there was a significant improvement. They had more scaractors towards the end on Friday then they did the first night. The first night, you would pass by crate after crate with no one hiding by it, close to the bridge that crosses the track. On Friday night, there were more people in this area. I still think that the ending is a little anti-climatic. But it is a new haunt, with a really good idea behind it! Over time, and in future seasons, if it comes back, which I`m sure it will, it will improve.

[RingMaster]

Last night (Saturday) was okay. Almost none of the fog machines were working, except for the three in Coney Maul and the ones in cornSTALKERS. This, to me, was a big disappointment from last Saturday, when the entire park was covered in fog.

Also noticed that Maze of Madness had a tremendously huge line reaching around Zephyr at around 10:30, and PsychoPath had literally NO line. What up wit that?

The creepers were fun, especially the two that started wreaking havoc on the Fear Street line (I especially got a few good laughs). The last 20 minutes by the front gate were a riot, seeing several groups of young teenage girls running past me and my camera, with a creeper not far behind.

Still, some minor/major gripes:

1) Add monsters to Sleepy Hollow (Rivertown)-Seriously, this is the third night I've gone to FearFest, and there is still NOTHING over there. Either place some of the creepers over to Sleepy Hollow or expand cornSTALKERS to reach the boundaries of Rivertown.

2) Fix the fog machines, if neccessary-The massive fog from Preview and Opening Night is what made FearFest this year. Don't disappoint us by either not attempting to fix the fog machines or choosing not to operate them.

3) Hire better managers-I lost count on how many damaged gravestones/puppet monsters I saw. I even caught a glimpse of a group of teenagers running around one of the themed gardens in Coney Maul, with the FearFest managers just standing there. Still, it's good to see the security guards doing their job (Good job, Kenny).

4) Get rid of the Friday the 13th "show"-Yeah, it was bad last year, but this is just unacceptable. Absolutely no attempt to scare people was made; it was just 15 minutes of reliving all of the Friday the 13th films and showcasing every single cliche of the series (is that technically even a good idea?).

'K, I'm done.

[guy1115]

One thing about the foggers. They are so dependent on good weather. Perfect Temps, low wind, high humidity. The first weekend was perfect for it. This weekend too windy. Plus you also have the problems with GFICs tripping with the damp weather.

[PsycoPath]

How can you blame the managers for what the guest do to the decorations?

Are you stupid or what?

The managers have enough trouble dealing with what is going on inside of their own attraction. They don't have time to deal with decorations set up outside and many times nowhere near their attraction.

Nothing else it comes down to needing more security walking around tossing these punks and drunks causing trouble ruining things for everyone else.

[BoddaH1994]

How can you blame the managers for what the guest do to the decorations?

Are you stupid or what?

The managers have enough trouble dealing with what is going on inside of their own attraction. They don't have time to deal with decorations set up outside and many times nowhere near their attraction.

Nothing else it comes down to needing more security walking around tossing these punks and drunks causing trouble ruining things for everyone else.

I think you misunderstood what he was saying. I don't think he meant that the managers of Fearfest were necessarily bad. I do agree with the fact that if things like vandalism, disorginization, etc do occur, it's a result of a bad decision or lack of response coming from above. Now, what security does, where people are placeed, etc are all decisions which are handed down and if vandalism is occuring, then clearly a bad decision was made somwhere.

[SkootersFan]

YEAH, headless hollow sucks. the fact that the train dumps you into a long-ass queue to go down a badly done paved path ruins the entire effect.

I was expecting to be run off the train and into a Psyco Path style thing.

[CoastersRZ]

Yes, when I was there on Friday, I could tell that the fog was b eing blown up in the air by the wind. But is also seemed like there were less fog machines operational, especially over by Massacre Manor and in Coney Mall. It could have just been the conditions, but it seemed like there were a few less. Also, one of the fog machines in Coney Mall was running on a gas powered generator (across from the Dodgems).

[Shman]

Hire better managers-I lost count on how many damaged gravestones/puppet monsters I saw. I even caught a glimpse of a group of teenagers running around one of the themed gardens in Coney Maul, with the FearFest managers just standing there.

The FearFest managers deal with the attractions......they do not have the time or ability to watch over the rest of the park and theming. If you want to blame people in all honesty it should be Security for allowing park guests to climb into those gardens and planters and mess with the props and themeing (Please understand that I am NOT pointing fingers, nor am I blaming anyone....just trying to prove the point) The FearFest managers have enough to deal with when it comes to the attraction that they are in charge of.

But is also seemed like there were less fog machines operational, especially over by Massacre Manor and in Coney Mall.

The park made the decision to not waste the money and product (fog juice) that would have just blown straight up into the air. If you saw the fog was not staying near the ground due to the weather and the high wind gusts, the fog was hanging above the park like a giant cloud.

[hauntguy]

Trust me, I could be a better manager... and I would not have this problem! It is a security issue with the problems they are having with guest. But in reality... the Fearfest managers need to take control over this situation! I have operated my own attraction (along with building many others) for about 9 years now... PKI has ALOT to learn about haunting! Yeah, they have talented people in charge of the event, they do a marvelous job! But these are the days of "Halloween Haunts" and "Halloween Horror Nights"... You think people here don't know about these events?

WRONG!!!! Both the Knott's and Universal events are known about worldwide!!! They are that awesome! Look at Universal... yeah they have the money to put into the event... But so does PKI! Universal actually has a full-time staff that ONLY works on HHN all year long... these people know how to haunt and scare people!

As for the guest... there are ways to solve this problem. Knott's knows, Universal knows it... I know it! It will take PKI a few more years to come around and really become a "haunting park"... But Fearfest is still young! Give it time... these "problems" that we are seeing now will be solved in the future. Just wait.... -Hauntguy

[Skippy]

I went to Fear Fest yesterday and it was terribly crowded! I drove four hours to PKI only to wait in line for two hours on almost everything and watch people cut in front of us with the reservation tickets that were all out by the time we got there The worst part of Fear Fest was the smokers! They were smoking everywhere but the smoking sections. PKI wasn't doing anything about it so I went around the park telling people I was an off duty park supervisor and to put it out or get out.

In one case there was a bunch of ignorant jackasses in front of me (at least in there thirties) smoking constantly and playing with a laser pointer in the performers eyes. I told the hicks to get out or they could get the optional handicap sticker slapped on the back of their head because they were obviously incapable in handling simple park procedures! They were speechless and I just so happened to have my idiot stickers with me that I got out and told them they could have instead of the handicap ones I'm surprise I kept a straight face through all that, they even apologized!

Fear Fest was a little disappointing There was a lack of decorations around the park and alot of their houses seemed to suffer from the lack of performers. None, I repeat, NONE of the houses were scary at all! They didn't even startle me. They were as scary as CP and GL's (not at all).

Headless Hollow was cool and had nice theming/story around it, but was not worth the two hour wait. It suffered the most of the attractions from the lack of actors. There was tons of spaces where set of for people to hid but no one was there! There were a few performers in particular that were giving it there all (the guy jumping all over the mini tunnel thingy) that I respect. The barn with the heads was a wasted opportunity to scare guests so I scared a couple of groups myself! I chased people out and it was SO funny to see them avoid the heads that I just knocked around so playfully (they thought I was part of the act so I gave myself lines).

Massacre Manor was also very neat theming wise with a nice story but not scary! I was surprised how detailed the interior of the attraction was when it's under a tent. I was behind some girls this time and had tons of fun. All I had to do is scream and the jumped down and screamed in fright, it was so fun. I had lots of fun with them in the head room as they were scared to death of the head that I once again played with. Also, at the beginning I picked up the things sitting on the shelf that the performers used and banged them around, not only scaring the girls, but the performer in the next room to (if you reading this, sorry). The actors were pretty good in here, although none of them would converse with me, I did happen to have a good stare off with the guy on the ceiling though.

CornSTALKERS only had about two people and was IMO, hit the worst with the lack of staff! Thats all I have to say about that.

RL Stein's Fear Street Nights was had a surprisingly nice story with some good theming too! This one was very predictable in it's scares but I enjoyed staying in the back just watching the people get scared as I knew it was going to happen. I liked the guy getting sawed in half at the end, it was a neat effect! I tried to talk to him and the other people but they told me to leave before the next set of guests arrive.

Circus of Horrors 3D was alright! No scares, ok theming, no story and at a couple of points in the house I ended up in the circus performers hiding spots (due to mirrors and such). Very confusing house that wasn't that good but it had a painting of Chucky on the wall that made up for it I'm a Chucky fanboy!

PsychoPath was my favorite! Not only was it the only attraction to have no line, but it also had great theming that all tied in very well. While it had no scares, it was all made up with the scares I gave out! The hanging bodies area. This was once again a wasted area that had huge potential (in which I took advantage of)! Hiding behind the bodies and shaking them and screaming scared the crap out of people PKI should've had the chainsaw guys there chasing people through the bodies (in which they hilariously try to avoid) like Leather Face did to the girl, it'd be like the meat hook scene in Texas Chainsaw Massacre! It seems both of the hicks were as surprised as me to see the insane amount of crap in their crapper. They claim they don't know where it all came from They never left character and were fun to talk to!

Maze of Madness I unfortunately never got to go in Can someone tell me if I'm missing out? I also didn't get to see the two Action FX Theater movies or the Phantom Theater characters.Bummer! I couldn't help thinking how PKI was wasting the Friday the 13th property with showing movie clips when it should've had a house. The Headless Hollow or PsychoPath ones would've been great for that. They could've had people pinned to trees by machetes and have Jason walking in the distance, back in the forest with tons of fog! Overall it was fun but I'll never go again on a Saturday.

[SML828]

Also noticed that Maze of Madness had a tremendously huge line reaching around Zephyr at around 10:30, and PsychoPath had literally NO line. What up wit that?

The line for Maze actually looked worse than it was...it was about an hour wait (from 7:30p to 11p). The reason Psycho Path's line dropped off is because they no longer send in groups of people, it is one continuous line (a.k.a. not as much of a wait)...

[CoastersRZ]

Well, on Friday night they were sending in groups. But because of slow walkers in the group ahead, we ended up forming one long line. That is the thing with the indoor haunts. They have to keep the number of people in the huants within the maximum occupancy of the building. For example, on Circus of Horrors, there is a sign that says only 99 people can be in the maze at one time.