Scott And Carol Present - Fright Fest 2014 at Six Flags St Louis

 

 

As you enter Six Flags St Louis the Grim Reaper is just inside the gate to greet you, setting the tone for what will be a very scary evening! There are fun activities for the children during the day but it gets very sinister after the characters are on the prowl.

 

For a mere $5.00 this necklace, will keep you "Boo Free" everywhere in the park, except for the Haunted House. Young children, and other "scaredy cats," could be seen clutching their flashing necklace everywhere after darkness fell.

 

The American Thunder area of the park has been taken over by very large spiders. They even have a walk through maze complete with spidery effects. Arachnophobes need not apply!

 

As you continue on through the park, you enter Gnawling' Hollow... at your own risk of course.

 

Here you encounter hungry Cannibals!

 

Assorted creeps and bare bones tow truck drivers with body parts everywhere. The driver training program include attending Joliet "charm School."

 

And Flesh n’ Bones  Restaurant just opened at the corner of Shazam Court and Lost Limb Lane and if you are not careful you could be the fresh meal of the deal. Or a part of a pile of leftovers. Were did they find all those shoes?

 

 

One  of five Haunted attractions that  require an additional fee, The Slaughter House was a condemned meat-processing, the family owned business has now reopened with the promise of the best meat in town. However, the secret family ingredient in the meat remains a mystery that when you experience the attraction becomes horrifyingly apparent.

 

Be on the lookout for signs leading to Insanity Alley and think seriously of running the other way as fast as you can. Mysterious and unexplained events occur in this section of the park when the leaves start to turn into brilliant shades of fiery reds and oranges, and the air becomes chilly and crisp!

 

The Rottingham & Bones Cemetery has some of the best has some of the ghouliest  characters in the park including this Ghostly Hearst. Located in Palace Park, many guests explore this area while waiting for the shows.

 

 And this awesome headless horseman

 

Be sure you catch the always frightful and delightful Love at First Fright! The Witch is looking for a human brain for her latest creation, Frankie. The performances feature classic Halloween songs but be warned, anyone who visits the  mansion is subject to head inspection. You might have just the perfect brain she’s looking for.

 

Deadman’s Party returns in 2014, and it is rumored that a broken-hearted-love struck teen will return to seek revenge on all the happy party guests attending the biggest undead musical bash this side of the grave. The flames occasionally shoot off a blast during the day to portend the gloom that arrives with darkness. 

 

 

Lastly no visit to Fright Fest at Six Flags St Louis will be complete if you miss the Pyrogeist Show. Located on the DC circle in front of Mr. Freeze, a group of four artists perform amazing fire tricks consisting of the artistry of spinning fire.  

 



 

A photo cannot do justice to the Pyrogeist Show, so we present this short video for your enjoyment. We left out the big finale in order to entice you to go see the show for yourself. The music is not the music used in the show, it was replaced due to copyright laws.

 

Our thanks to the Scary folks at Six Flags St Louis for a monsterous good time!





Embrace the Fear at Dorney Park's Halloween Haunt VII

It is hard to believe that Dorney Park's annual fear-fest, Halloween Haunt, is already in its seventh year.  Previously known as HalloWeekends, the park kicked things up one giant notch in 2008 when the event was rebranded as the Haunt, and we've been screaming in terror ever since.

The event is continually expanded and changed each year to offer new attractions, and Haunt VII is continuing that tradition.  This year there really is "more to fear," as two new haunted houses, one scare zone, and a new ticket option with bonus scare rooms have been added.

Dorney Park invited us to check out all that Haunt VII has to offer, and while I want to detail all the scares offered I will try to keep things spoiler free for those who haven't visited yet!

Enter the Chamber of Horrors

One major change this year is the addition of Madame Plarr's Chamber of Horrors Wax Museum, a haunted house that took over Psycho Circus in Dorney Park's upper arcade building.  The building's existing architecture fits in great with the new theme, that of a wax museum where things most definitely aren't what they seem.  The wax museum idea has been used at other parks in the park, and honestly has been an idea I was hoping would come to Dorney's Haunt at some point.  I got my wish!

Now that Madame Plarr has reopened her museum for guests, we get to check out her collection of wax figures featuring the greatest known murders, villains, and other generally bad-guys.  The sets here are wonderful, with full-sizes wax figures placed dramatically along the path.  You eventually enter the the corridors of the "back of the house" section of the museum where we finally understand just how demented the workers are.

The haunt works so well because of the immense amount of figures - not knowing which one is an actor standing very still is nerve wracking to say the least.  There's also some creative scares in this one, things your eye won't catch at first until it is far too late.

Afraid of clowns? 

Since the Chamber of Horrors kicked the clowns out of the arcade building, they needed a new home.  Thankfully Dorney park wasn't ready to let go of the cast of clowns, so they created a whole new scare zone for them, CarnEvil.  Located in Hydra's plaza, CarnEvil meant that Cut Throat Island and its gigantic pirate ships were moved down the midway a bit, in front of the Wave Swinger.

I'm continually amazed at how freaked out people are by clowns, it must be a blast being one in the CarnEvil area.  With some folks no actual "scare" is needed - just approaching them would send them running and screaming!  CarnEvil features a collection of props, plenty of fog, crazy lighting and also is the home of one of Haunt's new live shows.

Set up on a stage in front of Meteor is the Skeleton Crew, a new acrobatic style show that features monster-esque performers both on the stage and above it.  The show is performed several times a night, and since the Hydra plaza serves as the viewing area there's no worries to be had about finding good "seats."  The production is one for Haunt that finally 'clicks,' arriving after a slew of different live entertainment productions in the past that never hit home with the crowds.  For once, since Skeleton Crew is located right on the midway in the center of a scare zone, it doesn't take much to get people to notice it.  That was always a problem for shows in the park's Good Time Theater, I believe.

The antics of Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew features some amazing aerialists, one of which first performs alone, and then as a pair (seen above).  They tricks keep the attention of the crowd, from whom you can hear plenty of "ooohs and ahhhs."  The ending highlight of Skeleton Crew is, well, the skeleton crew that comes out and performs a great trampoline act.  They're also seen above, shaking their skeleton-booties at the start of their performance.

The whole show is pretty high energy, and just the right length.  Not too long that people start to lose interest, and just short enough to leave us wanting more.  Skeleton Crew is definitely a hit for Haunt VII.

Thumping along with Blood Drums

Since we're looking at the Haunt's live entertainment offerings already, here's a shot of a returning favorite also featured this year - Blood Drums.  The pulse-pounding show has moved back to Center Stage from the main midway, giving it more breathing room and extra viewing space.  The drum troupe knows how to play to the crowd well and keep them entertained start to finish.

These two attractions make up Solomon's Farm

With so much new, there's still nine other returning mazes and scare zones to check out.  These include old favorites like the Asylum and CornStalkers, and more recent additions like Desolation and Head Hunters.

A big part of our visit to Haunt VII was to experience the all new Skeleton Key rooms that have been added to six haunted houses.  The ability to enter these rooms is granted to those who purchase Fright Lane passes, which also let you skip the regular queue for all the haunted houses.  The Skeleton Key rooms were started at Knott's Berry Farm's Haunt last year, and now phased into (thankfully) the other parks.

Desolation, Grave Walkers, Mansion House, and Head Hunters

Basically the Skeleton Key rooms take place somewhere along the regular haunted house path, with one or more in-character ghouls ensuring that Fright Lane guests head the correct way.  Featured at The Asylum, Blood Shed, CornStalkers, Desolation, Grave Walkers and the Mansion House Hotel, no two Skeleton Key rooms are the same.

Here is where I really want to give away details of the experiences that each holds, alas I won't.  Each room presents its own challenge of finding a way out, some require thought or action, while some you just need to hang in there for the ride.  Each room is themed appropriately for the house it is in, and all the actors we encountered were fantastic, stayed in character and really making the room work.  Without giving away too much, there's one that focuses on hands-on gore, one where claustrophobia reigns king, a couple where physical barriers must be overcome to get out, and even one where you have a time limit to find a given object to get out.

They're fun, exciting, and scary - and it's a great way to breath new life into some of the existing mazes.  Granted they come at an additional cost, but if you're a big fan of the Haunt or hate waiting in lines then Fright Lane passes are a great option.

There is one new attraction we did not cover yet, and that's because it is exclusive to Fight Lane ticket holders.  Known as Blackout, the new maze is a trip in the dark you won't soon forget.  I've been in similar all-dark mazes before, and although simple in concept they're not easy to make good.  You have to rely on talent to go after visitors as they stumble around in the pitch black and that's where the Haunt's Blackout gets an A+ from me.  We were followed, whispered at, even had air blown on our necks... it was creepy as it gets.  You can't see where you're going, yet are aware that ghouls are all around - this causes a kind of panic that greatly adds to Blackout.

Between the haunted houses, scare zones, live shows and new optional Skeleton Key rooms, Haunt VII has a lot of offer.  Many thanks to the park for having us to check out the offerings and get a scare or two in the process!

Haunt VII at Dorney Park will run weekends in October, ending on November 1st.  Check out the official Halloween Haunt website for more information.

Scott And Carol Present - Kings Island's Halloween Haunt 2014

 

Kings Island's Halloween event began as FearFest in 2000 and in 2007 the name of the event was changed when Cedar Fair purchased the park.  In it's eighth season, Halloween Haunt has grown to feature more than 600 monsters, 11 haunted mazes, four scare zones, three live shows and 20 rides including the Banshee, Beast and Diamondback roller coasters.

 

A Skeleton Key has been added to the Fright Lane pass, which allows front of the line access to all 11 haunted mazes and can be added for as low as $40 per person. It also gets guests access to additional rooms in the Kill Mart, Slaughter House, Delta Delta Die, Madame Fatale’s Cavern of Terror and Urgent Scare haunted mazes. The key it's self is a great souvenir and the experiences in the added houses range from greatly disturbing to totally weird, in a dark fun sort of way. They all add immensely to the immersive experience.  

 

 

This appealing punch was served at the VIP Party, and it really was quite tasty, even for those who were not vampires. Continuing the theme of Kill Mart, Kings Island's newest haunted attraction, employees wore blue vests and cold drinks were packed in ice-filled shopping carts. The party was held on the old Flight Commander pad.

Coney Mall has been renamed and this is where most of the new attractions were located. An increase in both fog and scaractors throughout the park was evident, and they were in good form on opening night. The best part was when they even "got" our escort in the attraction.

These unfortunate shoppers did not escape the zombies, and they even stole the groceries. Why would zombies care about regular food, don't they only eat live flesh?

With many new attractions being indoors, darkness is not required. With proper planning, getting an early start helps to ensure guests can maximize their night.

Board to Death takes visitors on trip down memory lane with remembrances of family game nights, with a macabre twist. This interpretation of innocent games is sure to raise the hair on your neck as encounter many frightening game pieces along the way.

Urgent Scare has the most disturbing Skeleton Key room. We're not going to tell you everything here, but the actor does a wonderful job.

The dinosaurs even get into the seasonal spirit. We knew all along they were carnivorous, but during Haunt they advertise their blood lust. We would like to see that turn into a Bat and fly away.

The always entertaining Blood Drums shows has pulsating percussion and lots of fire works. An interesting collection of metals works, kegs, and grinders show their creative spirit.

 

The living trees outside the front gate show how far Kings Island has improved their Haunt. If this scares your children, don't keep them in the park after dark because the Haunt at Kings Island is not designed for those easily frightened.

 

You can experience the Halloween Haunt every Friday and Saturday night through Nov. 1. Hours are 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night. On Saturdays, Kings Island opens at 11 a.m. with the transformation into Halloween Haunt beginning at 5 p.m. except for Sept. 20, when the gates open at 7 p.m. Thanks to Don and all the scaractors at Kings Island for their help in bringing you this overview.

 

Fall Fun at Dorney Park with Oktoberfest and Boo! Blast

The cool fall air means family fun at Dorney Park, which hosts several special events during the season.  New in 2014, Sunday is being turned into "FUNday" with the addition of an Oktoberfest style meal that will satisfy even the largest of appetites.

Being held on September 21st and 28th, Oktoberfest features and "all you can eat buffet" that features themed dishes such as Foot Long Frankfurters and Apple Roasted Pork.  The park has made great strides with both the quality and value of their food product, headed by their new Executive Chef.  I would expect some rather tasty treat to be served during Oktoberfest!

It wouldn't be Oktoberfest without a cool beverage, and the park will have a selection of individual 12 oz samples or a flight of 7 oz samples of Sam Adam's seasonal brews.  A nice selection of brews will be available, including Jack-O Traveler, Samuel Adam's Oktoberfest, Angry Orchard Hard Cider, Samuel Adam's Boston Lager, and Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale.

For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, click here.

Also being held on these Sunday "FUNdays" is Boo! Blast, a no-scare daytime Halloween celebration for kids.  A big part of the Blast is Howl-O-Fest Cove, a special area located in the water park that is filled to the brim with activities.

Kids will love finding a petting zoo with friendly animals such a goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, cows and more.  A hay bale maze and mask making will keep kids busy, then they can head to Trick-or-Treat Street to see happy costumed characters and get a treat.  The Magic Express and Spooky Spinners kiddie rides will also be in operation.

Boo! Blast also has live entertainment like the Spooky Tunes Dance Party and Mother Goose Stories, and everyone loves the Children's Costume Contest that is held twice daily.

And this is only some of what is offered during Boo! Blast - there's even more activities and fun each day. 

While the daytime is family friendly fun, the evening bring Halloween Haunt, celebrating seven years in 2014.  Watch for full coverage of that even on NPN soon!

Worlds of Fun Amps Up Halloween Haunt 2014

Worlds of Fun is adding some interesting new attractions to this year's annual Halloween Haunt, including one fairly big name live show.

Most parks debut at least one new haunted house or scare zone each year, and that is true of Worlds of Fun for 2014.  A new scare zone, titled The Boneyard, will open this fall.  The attraction's description doesn't totally give away the theme, unless it is as obvious as skeletons: "the keepers of The Boneyard haunt the underworlds of World of Fun feeding on the marrow of the living."

Worlds of Fun will also premier Ed Alonzo's Psycho Circus of Magic and Mayhem, hosted of course by Ed Alonzo himself.  Personally I remember him from Saved by the Bell, but he has performed at many parks through the years, including Kings Island and Valleyfair.

The show is described as featuring "sickening stunts, bizarre shock magic and revolting, gory fun" and is warned as only for mature audiences.  Sounds like a great match for Halloween Haunt, which isn't aimed at kids, anyway!

Another interesting item noticed on Worlds of Fun's Haunt site is a new level of skip the line pass, Fright Lane Max.  This super-premium level gives Fright Lane Plus with Skeleton Key, a meal at Chickie's & Pete's, two drinks (including booze!), a t-shirt, a part in the Haunt parade, and vip seating at the Overlord's Awakening and Ed Alonzo's show.  Doesn't come cheap though, Fright Lane Max starts at over $80, and that's on top of the admission price.

Halloween Haunt at Worlds of Fun starts this Saturday, September 20th.

Zombies Attack at Canada's Wonderland Via 4-D Ride This Haunt

Canada's Wonderland has made good on their plan to transform Wonder Mountain's Guardian into a Halloween themed attraction for the Haunt - the park will premiere Zombies! this Fall.

The new 4-D Interactive Dark Ride will see the video gaming aspect of Wonder Mountain's Guardian transformed into a zombie blasting fest, with riders targeting the creatures on the ride for points.  Since the majority of the attraction utilizes 3-D screens that create the interactive gaming experience, the switch was probably fairly easy for the park.  No word yet on whether any additional special effects or theming will be added for the makeover.

With a plethora of console and online games already utilizing the zombie theme, the ride's premise will be familiar to the younger set - zombies are attacking, they want our brains, and we must destroy them.  Pretty simple, enough so that even riders who don't partake in gaming will 'get it' - hopefully resulting in a popular ride.

Through the development of Wonder Mountain's Guardian the ability to easily transform the attraction's content remained a priority.  It is great to see the park come through on the plan, I hope that the Zombies! overlay is a hit for them!

Dorney Park Reveals What's New at Haunt VII

Dorney Park just held their season pass holder preview of what's in store for Haunt VII, taking place this Fall starting September 12th.  The 7th year of Haunt is going to see a fairly large expansion, adding more attractions in 2014 than they have in several years.

The park will hold two popular special events again this year, the Zombie Invasion night on September 12th where guests may actually come dressed as a decrepit undead, and the 5k Zombie Run on September 20th.

Before we get to what's new, how about what's coming back for Haunt VII?  There will be six returning mazes:  Mansion House Hotel, Blood Shed, CornStalkers, Grave Walkers, The Asylum, and Desolation.

Three scare zones will return as well:  Cut Throat Island, Age of Darkness (including the torture chamber add-on that opened last year) and Head Hunters.  Cut Throat Island will be moved to the area surrounding the Wave Swinger.

A brand new indoor haunt will open this year, replacing Psycho Circus.  Named the Chamber of Horrors Wax Museum, the attraction will be built in the Funzone Arcade building.

Dorney Park shared a couple of sketches of the Chamber of Horrors during the planning stage, along with those sets already under construction at the park.  We've seen the wax museum theme used at several other Cedar Fair parks in the past, and they all seem to be quite popular.  There's something about not knowing which figure is actually real when set among a group of ghouls that really freaks people out.  Myself included.

There will also be a new outdoor scare zone, located in the Hydra Plaza.  This one also borrows a very popular concept seen at other properties - Carnevil.  Clowns scare the pants off of a great deal of folks, and in this new outdoor setting will really let them roam freely about.

One of the park's major entertainment additions for Haunt VII will be located within Carnevil, and that's Skeleton Crew.  The high energy show has been seen at Cedar Point in the past, and now will take place nightly at Dorney Park.  For those not familiar, it's almost like a Haunt version of All Wheel Sports, but with less wheels and more physical feats.

Blood Drums will also perform again this year, moved back to their original home at Center Stage.

This year the Fight Lane program will be expanded to seven attractions, plus it will have its own indoor maze.  Blackout will feature total darkness that Fright Lane holders will have to pass through in order to find their way out.  The attraction will be located off the Main Midway, near the entrance to Talon.  Seeing as it might take a bit longer to get through a dark maze, it makes sense to control the capacity by limiting it to Fight Lane holders.

Fright Lane will also be expanded to include Skeleton Key rooms in six of the Haunts.  The Skeleton Key rooms are something that started at Knott's Scary Farm, and basically they are one additional scene in each attraction that is more interactive (and thus frightening) than the normal path.  Once Fright Lane holders are through the Skeleton Key room, they enter the regular haunt with no wait.

So if there ever were a year to try out the Fright Lane passes, this certainly sounds like it!

We will end with a shot of the Haunt VII hearse, now out inside the entrance gates.  The question marked attractions have now been revealed so I would look to see the logos added mid-next week when the Haunt VII website goes live.  Hopefully the park will continue to do a special event reveal each year in the future, it's a great perk for pass holders and Haunt fans.