We're just a few weeks away from the opening night of Halloween Haunt at Kings Island and this year there's something a little bit new coming. Sadly, it seems that pretty much everything is coming back from last year. Though, with the new Slaughter House building, KillMart and a new show, didn't really think too much turnover would happen this year.
So, with ten of the eleven mazes, all of the scare zones and shows coming back, the new section of things this year is a little anemic. Again, turnover just doesn't happen with these kinds of events compared to some other places, but that's just how it works. Of course, 2015 will feature all new skeleton key rooms, as is the usual for such, so that should be fun to experience too.
That said, there is an all new maze for this year. To make way for it, Club Blood is no more. In it's place, comes Black Out.
"Dread that something catastrophic is about to happen? Does the fear of the unknown terrify you? What would you do if the lights went out? Don’t worry. What you can’t see can’t hurt you…it can kill you!"Sounds pretty much exactly like the one that's at Dorney Park's Halloween Haunt, but this one doesn't seem to be kept behind the Fright Lane restriction like theirs. I could be wrong, but nothing on the site points that being the case.
Pitch black mazes are gaining a bit more popularity out there, but to do them right is a real challenge to make it interesting and not just a bunch of black hallways with few scares. Yes, anticipation and fear of the unknown plays a big role in these kind of things, but usually they fall short and are too sparsely populated. Hopefully Kings Island has taken that into consideration and there's just the right balance of things here.
Now, for the huge list of things that are coming back. Again, no Club Blood this year, so here's the other ten, yes ten mazes.
Yep, it's clowns again, just can't help themselves. Would be nice to see this outside though as I still feel they work better when not confined.
The quintessential Halloween Haunt maze, it's at nearly every one of them out there but it's a favorite and pretty fun. So, I can't really fault them for that.
Ah, the girls of Die Delta Die have had a little fun it looks like. How much fun? Well, only those brave enough will find out, or likely die from too much excitement.
Shopping can be scary, especially on Black Friday. Probably would be far more entertaining if department stores were overrun by the undead though. New for last year, this 5,000sqft maze is definitely gonna be a challenge. I wonder if they stock Twinkies...mmm Twinkies.
There's the first set of mazes coming to this year's event. Nothing really new there at all, but a few of them do have Skeleton Key rooms which should be all new for 2015. Die Delta Die and KillMart both feature one for this year, so should be interesting to see what they cook up in that department.
Now, on with the rest of the list!
Ah, another fairly popular one across the Haunt events. Here though, it's in an all new building that was put up last year back by Beast. I definitely applaud them for doing that, permanent structures are always good.
The Old West, a favorite out there and the name pretty much telegraphs what this is all about. Not like the Wild West was tame, but now the undead are lurking about...gonna cause some issues I'd imagine.
Ah, yes. Hospital themed mazes are always fun and there's ever so much to play with. By the looks of it, things aren't going so well for patients...you're in luck, I hear they take anyone.
Last but not least, Wolf Pack make a return for the 2015 season. Still miss Son of Beast, but if you're gonna keep part of it around, might as well be for a pack of ravenous werewolves!
Okay, made it through all those. Whew, still not done yet though as there's quite a bit more to get to. Either way, again, not many new things to be had with that set either. However, like before a few of them do have Skeleton Key rooms for this year. Slaughter House, Madame Fatale's and Urgent Scare will all feature one, and like the others, I hope they've updated them for the 2015 season.
Now then, moving along...scare zones up next!
Cemeteries are great fun, but the fact that the Green Witch is in this makes it a bit concerning. Wonder just what she's got planned for things. Probably won't be "good".
Oh look, clowns again. At least these ones are outside, so really can't complain much there. However, seems a bit much to double dip like this. I do like the idea of the scare zone and maze close together though, makes sense.
Zombies, alleyways, a good time for a Friday night! Yeah, no...not a good idea but you'll have to stick it out and hopefully get through with your humanity intact. That's what I always tell myself when walking through zombie infested places at night. So far so good.
Short and sweet on that one, only those four scare zones but hey, there's a ton of other stuff going on with the mazes and of course the show end of things as well. Overall, it's a pretty decent line up there and I can see the potential for a few of them to be really good. The only one I'm not really sold on Freak Street, but that's just cause of the clown thing there again.
So, what else is there to do? Well, as mentioned, there's the shows. Not as many here as some of the other Cedar Fair parks, but still a decent offering for those interested.
Vampires, music and probably a little bit of weirdness. Again, more of a pop culture kinda thing here, but that's alright, not exactly a bad thing to have around.
This one just has me scratching my head. Seems that it's just '80s and '90s rock music and playing off the whole "Monsters of Rock" title. Could do without this kinda thing and have something more in line with the Halloween mood, but hey, that's just me.
Also returning this year is the Fright Feast meal experience deal as well. The all you can eat BBQ buffet comes with a free front of line maze pass and starts at $13.99 for the meal only. If you snag it with admission, it ranges from $39.99 to $47.99. Again, not bad. Been a few years, but we did enjoy it back when we were at the park for a review.
Congratulations if you're still here after getting through all that. Seriously, it's a ton of info and thanks for sticking with me through the journey. Definitely a lot to take in, and a few things I'm kind of iffy on, but overall things look pretty good from a distance. There's something for everyone, just wish there was a bit more in the new category. Oh well, there's always next year, right?
This year's Halloween Haunt at Kings Island runs on select nights from September 25th thru October 31st and is open from 6pm-1am on Fridays, 11am-1am on Saturdays. Take a note though, Saturdays the Haunt event doesn't actually start til 6pm, but the rest of the park is open for everything else before that.
Tickets for this year's event run $29.99 to $39.99 and if you want to get in on the Skeleton Key rooms and all that, need to snag the Fright Lane option, which runs $59.99-$84.99. It's really not that bad considering that you get park admission in those prices and you get front line access to all the mazes, so pretty good.
So, if you're looking to go, head over to the official Kings Island Halloween Haunt website for tickets, maze back stories and a whole lot more. Stay tuned for more news as we're just scratching the surface of haunt events all over the US!
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