Post by wolfblood on Oct 4, 2009 20:53:45 GMT -8
I'm baaack...and after a return trip back home that took longer then normal due to the dust storm on I-90, I'm here to give my report on Scarywoods opening night.
Warning, Part 2 and 3 of the review will reveal plenty of spoliers of whats around the park during Scarywood. If you don't want anything given away, skip them and go to part 4 which is a simple overview on the event.
Part 1- Daytime fun and observations
After a long drive over to the park yesterday, my Mom and I arrived to the park about 30 minutes after opening. While the weather was wet and a bit rainy, thankfully that only lasted in the morning and things dried up well in time for the evening.
Upon arriving at the enterance and going through park, it was evident that the park was hit by a bunch of spiders. Cobwebs were everywhere throughout the park on the buildings, as well as corn stalks, hay and pumpkins.
It also became quickly evident that Lindy's was closed, while the building was still open so one could use the restrooms...the resturant itself was not. I went to guest relations and found out they are closed for the year. Bummer, but all the other places were open so my Mom and I ate at the Country BBQ.
Also in Main Street, it was very easy to see the sign for MidFright Express in front of the train station along with a warning sign and a queue line set up for it...and on the other side of the station was a crew putting up a simple bat decoration.
Moving into the park, I could spot several covered fog machines in the little covered pathway leading to the Theater of Illusion. At the Theater itself, there were signs for the all you can eat spaghetti dinner and naturally Nick Norton's Nightmare show. (More on that later in the report.)
Going farther in, a set of hay bales have been set up at the enterance to Country Carnival. I also noticed that the cars for the train were parked nearby, that and I spotted a outhouse right next to the greenhouse near the tracks. I have a really good hunch that outhouse is involved with Midfright Express.
Entering Country Carnival, it was easy to see Huck's General Store has been renamed into "Twilight Haunt"...and yes, the sign used the exact same font from the book series I loathe. However I don't loathe the store, it's pretty much the main Scarywood merchandise store. It has a good amount of Halloween merch, and plenty of hoodies. Myself I bought a hoodie that has a wolf in a forest howling with "Full Moon @ Silverwood", this would become very ironic later at night.
Going deeper into the park, I passed by Garfield's Summer Camp which has the Trick or Treat Trail for the little ones. From what I could see, it looked pretty nice and throughout the park I saw a bunch of kids with the trick or treat bags they got from it. Oh yes, they had Garfield around in a pumpkin costume so that was a nice touch.
Now for some rides, seeing Panic Plunge was open I hit that first since it was closed last year when I visited. After riding it...Holy crap, now I've been on a good amount of drop towers. But I have to say this is one of the more intense ones. It's diabolicle due to you can't see how far your up the tower at all, and when you drop...OI...serious airtime with legs trying to go inward!
After Panic Plunge I hit Timber Terror and Tremors a couple times, I'm happy to say operations were a lot smoother then last year. While yes the crowds were a lot smaller, and I mean a LOT smaller. The crews were dispatcing much faster, oh yes when I did go on Tremors I spotted Brandon (aka Calicoaster) operating it. Unfortuntly I didn't get to say hi since I didn't notice him till I was waiting in the back, and he was occupied with closing off a row near the front since one of the restraints was having a problem not opening up. Once he closed it off, his shift was over so he left before I could say hi.
As for how the two woodies ran, both were hauling pretty good. Timber Terror was really delivering airtime all the way, and Tremors was wild as usual. However, I will admit both were pretty bumpy. Oddly enough, my head was trying to give me a headache after each ride on the woodies so I really didn't do much coaster riding afterwords. (Panic Plunge on the other hand...well I lost count how many times I went on it.)
After a ride on the coasters, I went the back way over to Thunder Canyon. Upon shortly going under Tremors to the back, I spotted theming in the Canyon. After sticking my camera lens through a hole in the chain fence, I got some clear pics of the top of a shack marked "Live Bait" with plenty of body parts hanging about.
Just a couple steps over I spotted some wooden cutouts of wolves, since it was the backside of them I could see the little electric panels to light up the eye section of them. I could also spot some netting.
Moving farther down, I came across a opening in the fence which was blocked. However you could clearly see past the blockade and see a large house facade in one section of the trail. I also saw plenty of staff moving about inside the flume of the canyon getting everything ready.
Moving over even more I came onto the enterance of Thunder Canyon which is also were you enter for the attraction, they had a nice sign for it and across from the enterance is a food stand that serves various halloween treats and more importantly...Hot Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate.
Going on down to the vantage point of Thunder Canyons station, I could easy tell the park did a lot of work. There is a large ramp that leads from the station and down into the flume at ground level, not too far from the bottom of the ramp is the first section of Terror Canyon. Though all you can see from it is black walls.
After seeing all this for Terror Canyon I was getting pretty giddy in knowing they are using the entire flume for it, though I also realized there are a couple things they might screw up with. Though if you want to know the outcome, it will be discussed later in the report.
My Mom and I then hit a couple more rides and Corkscrew which was oddly smoother then I remember, I also hit the log flume. But thankfully I didn't regret it since I just got a light splash.
My Mom and I did our shopping for the day and ate, we also picked up two specialty mugs the food places were offering. There's a special light up mug, and a "Blood Mug" which has a inner layer with red ooze that moves about when you tilt the mug.
We also had some nice coversations with the staff and they had a good amount of things to say about Scarywood, the main general consenus was Terror Canyon is really good, and there's word MidFright Express will not be operating today...Uh-oh.
Going back to the train station, the MidFright Express sign and the warning sign is gone...the queue line has been removed and there was a large group of staff moving things about and bringing out a sign. It really seemed a lot of the staff there were higher ups, I quickly asked one of them if the train would open and she replied it would not be operating tonight.
She also gave a reason why, was it because of weather? Nope, the sky cleared up and it was great weather for the rest of the night. Was it because of a technical issue?...nope.
The reason why it wouldn't operate? "It's not up to Quality."
This is the first time I've heard of an attraction not opening due to it not being the quality the park want's it at. Now I see two sides to this, the first side is guests being bummed out that it's not open anyway.
As for the other side, I can truly respect the park for doing this. It's their name that's on this event and the attractions, if they feel it's not as good as it can be...it's better to not open it when they know they can make it better, instead of opening it now and getting a lot of comments that it sucked because it was opened prematurly.
I was also told by the staff member that because the train will not be operating, that anyone that bought a Haunted attraction ticket will not be able to go through Terror Canyone once...but have unlimited access to it....JACKPOT!
Ok, so no review of MidFRIGHT Express from me. While yes it's a bummer the ride wasn't opening, I'd rather have them open it when it's ready...that and if Terror Canyon turns out great, I will want to go through that thing plenty of times now that I'm allowed.
The staff put up several signs stating it won't open since they pride themselves on the quality of the park at it's attractions and the whole thing on unlimited times through Terror Canyon.
After riding more rides and walking through the park, my Mom and I noticed something really odd with Country Carnival...it was a ghost town. No one was around, and rides were suddenly closed. It was freaky, expecially since it was around 5:40-6:10. We did find a staff member, and he explained to us that they are closing down Coaster Alley and Country Carnival to herd everyone into Main Street and then they will reopen the park at 7:00 with all the monsters in place.
Shortly after we reached Main Street, we herd an announcement over the PA system telling people to move into Main Street. Though my Mom and I got a kick out of it since the announcer was a Vincet Price sound alike.
Now that everyone is in Main Street, I think it would be a good idea to talk about Nick Norton's Nightmare show. The theater has be redecorated to some extent, there's a good amount of chandeliers and white drapes up in the ceiling, and there's a graveyard on both sides of the stage.
As for the show itself, Nick Norton came out to first do the required warning of fog, strobe lights and this may frighten children. The signs said it's not recommend for children under 12, though I will admit there's only one act that may scare them.
As for the acts, it was a mix of new and old. He did his classic tricks such as the floating table and the spinning pyramid, though he also did a couple new ones which were pretty nice.
As for the act that could scare kids, it's something else since the scare is so random. But none the less the show was enjoyable as Nick is certainly a showman.
Oh yes, my Mom and I got a kick out of the music. Especially in the opening which starts off with music from Disney's Haunted Mansion rides, nice touch Nick!
Now back over in Main Street, something odd was happening. But not in a Haunted sense, more along the lines of all the shops in Main Street closing for the entire night. I've never seen this happen, especially considering they usually stay open 30 minutes after the park closes.
Though it hit me, chances are they closed since MidFRIGHT wouldn't be running. Because of that, there would be no draw to Main Street durning the event.
Though as the shops closed, Main Street started to change again, the joyus classic songs like "Maple Leaf Rag" dissapeared...and the reconizable synthezier tune of John Carpenters Halloween echoed through the speakers.
"Oh Silverwood, how have you changed..."
Part 2 - Full Moon Madness...Scarywood has arrived!
Once it drew closer to 7:00PM, my Mom and I made our way back over to the train crossing at the enterance to Country Carnival. There was quite a crowd already gathered so we were waiting nearby the shop by the Theater of Illusion, peeking over the heads of the crowd...I could see the enterance of Country Carnival was shrouded in fog and inside was dark.
Looking up at the clear sky, a Full Moon is out. What a perfect way to kick off an Halloween event, a Full Moon to let all the madness out.
Once 7:00 came up, the train crossing was opened and the flood of people moved. Just a couple seconds after opening screams ring out, something is waiting for us...make that a trio of creatures. On one side, a scarecrow and pumpkinhead with light up eyes. On the other, a girl holding a balloon...wait, that's no girl...that's a doll with one of the creepiest faces I've ever seen on a doll!
Moving into Country Carnival, fog is in the air and special lighting comes off several buildings...the fog showing various beams of light for a nice effect.
I make my way over to Terror Canyon, though it soon becomes a journey in itself just to reach the enterance. Once you go past the round up, it's quickly apparent the rock passageway leading to Thunder Canyon is dark and filled with fog..and a crapload of Zombies!
Hidden in the fog, they were all over the place. Comming from the sides and even on the ground, and even when your out of the stone passageway it's not over. The entire battlezone area is closed and all the lights are turned off, making the entire pathway to the enterance of Terror Canyon very dark...which also gave all the monsters plenty of good hiding spots.
After waiting just a little bit for Terror Canyon to open up the line, we headed inside the queue and heard some more screams...apparently a wicked jester is on the loose, and he's taken residence in roaming the entire queue line.
After waiting a suprisingly short amount of time, we were in the station and greeted by a hunchback who made sure we had tickets and had a group of four join us. Once it was time to go I led the way, which soon would prove most entertaining for my Mom and the rest of the group.
Going down the ramp we were confronted by a Grim Reaper, and and once off the ramp a massive wall of fog shrouded the first scene in mystery. Entering the black walls, we were thrust into a pitch black hallway with cobwebs hanging down. There were plenty of twists and turns and very few light scources to keep tension through the roof, and plenty of hiding space for several monsters which scared the heck out of me. (I swear I said "I'm going to die" several times in this section.)
After surviving the dark labyrinth, we come across a cell with an inmate inside that's certainly wanting to get out. Though he proves to be an excellent distraction for the monster at the side of the cell with a special handheld device (I know the name of it, just don't know how to spell it.) that pistons at an insane rate, it may not seem like much. But when he sets it off on the floorboards your standing on. It's LOUD and very startling.
After that heart attack of a scare, we find ourselves outside. Though a sea of glowing red eyes on both sides of the flume certainly doesn't make us feel welcome, however there is a group of monsters that don't mind getting up close and personal. Weather it be cloaked fiends or rotting corpses, theres plenty of them and with the fog in the air...the large flume suddenly feels like a narrow hallway.
Though I sense something small running by me, and the red hair, blue overalls and scarred face make me realize it's not just a small person...it's Chucky himself, and he's got a rather big knife.
After going through the first gauntlet of monsters, we come upon a large house up on one side of the flume. It certainly looks nice, though the monsters on both sides remind us this is no picnic. Once we're past the house there's another gauntlet of creatures to go through.
We then come across a twisted sight, body parts and bags hang from above and we have to go through them. On one side of the flume is a butcher, and he's in control of a surprising water gag. (Don't worry, it's just a quick spritz)
Once your past the body parts, it's off to a meat market. A large shack with a "Live Bait" sign resides on one side of the flume while there's a victim in a cage and a gullitoine nearby. Naturally there's still plenty of monsters in the flume with you to chase you into the cave.
Once inside the cave, visability goes way down. While there is light, the entire place is filled with fog. Going up a ramp, it's soon apparent bats have taken place inside...not to mention some vampires have set up their coffins in the cave...and boy are they happy to see dinner has arrived!
Going up the ramp even farther we escape the cave, but run into a Mad Hatter. While it's odd to see a fellow like him running about, it does make sense since with the Full Moon out...everyones mad, I'm mad, your mad...we're all mad here.
After the encounter with the Hatter we are in the unloading station of Thunder Canyon, it's all over right?..well a Jason and clown will be more then happy to prove us wrong...with chainsaws.
Part 3 - Reflections of Fear
Ok, so that was pretty much what I encountered in Scarywood.
So was it worth comming out and seeing it? It most certainly was, for testing the waters...Silverwood gave us a great maze and some pretty fun scare zones.
My Mom and I ended up going through Terror Canyon three times, the first time was at the very beginning...the second time was during the middle of the event and the last time was near closing.
We noticed something right off the bat, the level of energy of the monsters never went down. Our second time through the Canyon was better then the first, which might have been expected since they were probably warming up on our first run through.
Though the 3rd time was as good and even better then the 2nd time, now this was very close to closing time. I've seen plenty of haunts, and a lot of times I notice near closing the energy of the monsters wane since their tired and what not. Not here in Scarywood, the monsters were constantly fired up and kept eagerly going for the scare up till closing.
Myself I got a lot of good scares, mainly due to the fact when I get scared I jump, drop and curse a lot. Like I said, with the first time through I became the entertainment of the group since they clearly heard me get scared.
The 2nd time through was really good, especially since my Mom and I were grouped with a couple girls that haven't been through it before. We let them go first, and hilarity ensued. Though in any of the monster gauntlets, the monsters got a lot of energy from them and they chased the girls all over the place.
Up in the cave, a vampire that popped out from behind the ramp wall got the girls good and further up the ramp the Mad Hatter came flying down and the girls had a amusing "Domino Effect."
The final time through was insane though, due to the large amount of big groups in line...the hunchback in the station let me and my Mom go together with no one else. I got a lot of scares, including a couple from Chucky and a skeleton corpse that followed me and kept saying "Were going to be best friends forever." To whoever did that to me, that was seriously awesome.
Though the most memorable was in the cave. Now remember when I said a vampire that popped out from behind the ramp wall got the girls good? Well he got me as well, though unlike the girls...I fell to the floor. My Mom laughed so hard she cried.
The Mad Hatter also got me good in the unload station, he was hiding and a normal staff member asked me how it was. Right after I said it was good the Hatter popped up out of nowhere and my reaction certainly cracked up the staff member.
Now I said before I realized there are certain things the park could screw up with having the attraction in Thunder Canyon, thankfully they didn't screw up.
The main thing I was worried about was having certain areas too wide and out in the open, when things are really out in the open for a maze...there's not much of a scare factor since there's not much hiding for any monster.
Well in Terror Canyon there were no problems, the sheer amount of darkness and fog helped set an uneasing atmosphere...and the sheer amount of monsters inside the flume with you worked perfectly.
If there was just one monster in a wide area of the flume, it wouldn't be that scary. However in the wide areas there were 4-5 monsters in those areas, so that wide flume quickly feels much smaller. Hence why I kept mentioning "Gauntlet of Monsters", if you went past one you had to deal with another...and if you got scared by another, well then you had quite and ordeal to get through.
But they are not the only ones around, there are all monsters up and behind the flume walls. So if you tried sneaking away to the side, someone would be waiting for you. For example in the second run I went to the side and was met with a monster that surprised me with a tree branch.
The scare zone that leads to the enterance of Terror Canyon was great as well, with it being really dark, foggy and close together...there were a lot of scares going on. One creature got a huge group by smacking a trashcan, and one guy actually scared my Mom by banging something on the floor. My Mom is a very hard scare, so she thanks whoever gave her that scare.
So I give major kudos to all working the event, you guys and gals showed tremendous energy and enthusiasm. From the Jester in Terror Canyon's queue line that freaked people out and even scared a group of girls out of the queue line and out the enterance, to the trio (Scarecrow, Pumpkinhead and Doll) who stayed at Country Carnival's enterance. You all rocked the house and gave this event a great kick off.
Though I will say this, since MidFright Express wasn't running...part of me wonders if the people that worked that attraction were put in a scare zone or Terror Canyon.
If that is the case, then I hope the park keeps plenty of people in Terror Canyon. Since the large amounts of monsters inside the flume helps keep it intense and don't run into the problem of it being out and open too much.
Oh yes, I have to say lines for Terror Canyon were handeled very well. All three times my Mom and I experienced a queue that went by fairly quick with no problems such as running into another group up ahead.
Part 4 - Conclusion
So overall, this was one heck of a night and so very worth it. Even though MidFright was down, the park made up for it with unlimited run throughs of Terror Canyon. That and we could experience the scare zone as much as we wanted as well.
So kudos for everyone making this possible, this is certainly something my Mom and I want to come back to. (As for me, I want to come and help work the event!)
Now as for all reading this, if you are going to experience this event. Do tell us how MidFright Express is if it's open, and if it is...also see if the Main Street shops are still open during Scarywood.
Oh yes, if anyone can tell me how to put pictures up in a post that would be appreaciated. ^_^
But for now, here's a link to the photos I took.
www.flickr.com/photos/43194622@N05/sets/72157622517444940/
If anyone has any questions, don't be afraid to ask.
Pleasant Nightmares everyone,
A very tired WolfBlood, falling back in the fog.
Warning, Part 2 and 3 of the review will reveal plenty of spoliers of whats around the park during Scarywood. If you don't want anything given away, skip them and go to part 4 which is a simple overview on the event.
Part 1- Daytime fun and observations
After a long drive over to the park yesterday, my Mom and I arrived to the park about 30 minutes after opening. While the weather was wet and a bit rainy, thankfully that only lasted in the morning and things dried up well in time for the evening.
Upon arriving at the enterance and going through park, it was evident that the park was hit by a bunch of spiders. Cobwebs were everywhere throughout the park on the buildings, as well as corn stalks, hay and pumpkins.
It also became quickly evident that Lindy's was closed, while the building was still open so one could use the restrooms...the resturant itself was not. I went to guest relations and found out they are closed for the year. Bummer, but all the other places were open so my Mom and I ate at the Country BBQ.
Also in Main Street, it was very easy to see the sign for MidFright Express in front of the train station along with a warning sign and a queue line set up for it...and on the other side of the station was a crew putting up a simple bat decoration.
Moving into the park, I could spot several covered fog machines in the little covered pathway leading to the Theater of Illusion. At the Theater itself, there were signs for the all you can eat spaghetti dinner and naturally Nick Norton's Nightmare show. (More on that later in the report.)
Going farther in, a set of hay bales have been set up at the enterance to Country Carnival. I also noticed that the cars for the train were parked nearby, that and I spotted a outhouse right next to the greenhouse near the tracks. I have a really good hunch that outhouse is involved with Midfright Express.
Entering Country Carnival, it was easy to see Huck's General Store has been renamed into "Twilight Haunt"...and yes, the sign used the exact same font from the book series I loathe. However I don't loathe the store, it's pretty much the main Scarywood merchandise store. It has a good amount of Halloween merch, and plenty of hoodies. Myself I bought a hoodie that has a wolf in a forest howling with "Full Moon @ Silverwood", this would become very ironic later at night.
Going deeper into the park, I passed by Garfield's Summer Camp which has the Trick or Treat Trail for the little ones. From what I could see, it looked pretty nice and throughout the park I saw a bunch of kids with the trick or treat bags they got from it. Oh yes, they had Garfield around in a pumpkin costume so that was a nice touch.
Now for some rides, seeing Panic Plunge was open I hit that first since it was closed last year when I visited. After riding it...Holy crap, now I've been on a good amount of drop towers. But I have to say this is one of the more intense ones. It's diabolicle due to you can't see how far your up the tower at all, and when you drop...OI...serious airtime with legs trying to go inward!
After Panic Plunge I hit Timber Terror and Tremors a couple times, I'm happy to say operations were a lot smoother then last year. While yes the crowds were a lot smaller, and I mean a LOT smaller. The crews were dispatcing much faster, oh yes when I did go on Tremors I spotted Brandon (aka Calicoaster) operating it. Unfortuntly I didn't get to say hi since I didn't notice him till I was waiting in the back, and he was occupied with closing off a row near the front since one of the restraints was having a problem not opening up. Once he closed it off, his shift was over so he left before I could say hi.
As for how the two woodies ran, both were hauling pretty good. Timber Terror was really delivering airtime all the way, and Tremors was wild as usual. However, I will admit both were pretty bumpy. Oddly enough, my head was trying to give me a headache after each ride on the woodies so I really didn't do much coaster riding afterwords. (Panic Plunge on the other hand...well I lost count how many times I went on it.)
After a ride on the coasters, I went the back way over to Thunder Canyon. Upon shortly going under Tremors to the back, I spotted theming in the Canyon. After sticking my camera lens through a hole in the chain fence, I got some clear pics of the top of a shack marked "Live Bait" with plenty of body parts hanging about.
Just a couple steps over I spotted some wooden cutouts of wolves, since it was the backside of them I could see the little electric panels to light up the eye section of them. I could also spot some netting.
Moving farther down, I came across a opening in the fence which was blocked. However you could clearly see past the blockade and see a large house facade in one section of the trail. I also saw plenty of staff moving about inside the flume of the canyon getting everything ready.
Moving over even more I came onto the enterance of Thunder Canyon which is also were you enter for the attraction, they had a nice sign for it and across from the enterance is a food stand that serves various halloween treats and more importantly...Hot Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate.
Going on down to the vantage point of Thunder Canyons station, I could easy tell the park did a lot of work. There is a large ramp that leads from the station and down into the flume at ground level, not too far from the bottom of the ramp is the first section of Terror Canyon. Though all you can see from it is black walls.
After seeing all this for Terror Canyon I was getting pretty giddy in knowing they are using the entire flume for it, though I also realized there are a couple things they might screw up with. Though if you want to know the outcome, it will be discussed later in the report.
My Mom and I then hit a couple more rides and Corkscrew which was oddly smoother then I remember, I also hit the log flume. But thankfully I didn't regret it since I just got a light splash.
My Mom and I did our shopping for the day and ate, we also picked up two specialty mugs the food places were offering. There's a special light up mug, and a "Blood Mug" which has a inner layer with red ooze that moves about when you tilt the mug.
We also had some nice coversations with the staff and they had a good amount of things to say about Scarywood, the main general consenus was Terror Canyon is really good, and there's word MidFright Express will not be operating today...Uh-oh.
Going back to the train station, the MidFright Express sign and the warning sign is gone...the queue line has been removed and there was a large group of staff moving things about and bringing out a sign. It really seemed a lot of the staff there were higher ups, I quickly asked one of them if the train would open and she replied it would not be operating tonight.
She also gave a reason why, was it because of weather? Nope, the sky cleared up and it was great weather for the rest of the night. Was it because of a technical issue?...nope.
The reason why it wouldn't operate? "It's not up to Quality."
This is the first time I've heard of an attraction not opening due to it not being the quality the park want's it at. Now I see two sides to this, the first side is guests being bummed out that it's not open anyway.
As for the other side, I can truly respect the park for doing this. It's their name that's on this event and the attractions, if they feel it's not as good as it can be...it's better to not open it when they know they can make it better, instead of opening it now and getting a lot of comments that it sucked because it was opened prematurly.
I was also told by the staff member that because the train will not be operating, that anyone that bought a Haunted attraction ticket will not be able to go through Terror Canyone once...but have unlimited access to it....JACKPOT!
Ok, so no review of MidFRIGHT Express from me. While yes it's a bummer the ride wasn't opening, I'd rather have them open it when it's ready...that and if Terror Canyon turns out great, I will want to go through that thing plenty of times now that I'm allowed.
The staff put up several signs stating it won't open since they pride themselves on the quality of the park at it's attractions and the whole thing on unlimited times through Terror Canyon.
After riding more rides and walking through the park, my Mom and I noticed something really odd with Country Carnival...it was a ghost town. No one was around, and rides were suddenly closed. It was freaky, expecially since it was around 5:40-6:10. We did find a staff member, and he explained to us that they are closing down Coaster Alley and Country Carnival to herd everyone into Main Street and then they will reopen the park at 7:00 with all the monsters in place.
Shortly after we reached Main Street, we herd an announcement over the PA system telling people to move into Main Street. Though my Mom and I got a kick out of it since the announcer was a Vincet Price sound alike.
Now that everyone is in Main Street, I think it would be a good idea to talk about Nick Norton's Nightmare show. The theater has be redecorated to some extent, there's a good amount of chandeliers and white drapes up in the ceiling, and there's a graveyard on both sides of the stage.
As for the show itself, Nick Norton came out to first do the required warning of fog, strobe lights and this may frighten children. The signs said it's not recommend for children under 12, though I will admit there's only one act that may scare them.
As for the acts, it was a mix of new and old. He did his classic tricks such as the floating table and the spinning pyramid, though he also did a couple new ones which were pretty nice.
As for the act that could scare kids, it's something else since the scare is so random. But none the less the show was enjoyable as Nick is certainly a showman.
Oh yes, my Mom and I got a kick out of the music. Especially in the opening which starts off with music from Disney's Haunted Mansion rides, nice touch Nick!
Now back over in Main Street, something odd was happening. But not in a Haunted sense, more along the lines of all the shops in Main Street closing for the entire night. I've never seen this happen, especially considering they usually stay open 30 minutes after the park closes.
Though it hit me, chances are they closed since MidFRIGHT wouldn't be running. Because of that, there would be no draw to Main Street durning the event.
Though as the shops closed, Main Street started to change again, the joyus classic songs like "Maple Leaf Rag" dissapeared...and the reconizable synthezier tune of John Carpenters Halloween echoed through the speakers.
"Oh Silverwood, how have you changed..."
Part 2 - Full Moon Madness...Scarywood has arrived!
Once it drew closer to 7:00PM, my Mom and I made our way back over to the train crossing at the enterance to Country Carnival. There was quite a crowd already gathered so we were waiting nearby the shop by the Theater of Illusion, peeking over the heads of the crowd...I could see the enterance of Country Carnival was shrouded in fog and inside was dark.
Looking up at the clear sky, a Full Moon is out. What a perfect way to kick off an Halloween event, a Full Moon to let all the madness out.
Once 7:00 came up, the train crossing was opened and the flood of people moved. Just a couple seconds after opening screams ring out, something is waiting for us...make that a trio of creatures. On one side, a scarecrow and pumpkinhead with light up eyes. On the other, a girl holding a balloon...wait, that's no girl...that's a doll with one of the creepiest faces I've ever seen on a doll!
Moving into Country Carnival, fog is in the air and special lighting comes off several buildings...the fog showing various beams of light for a nice effect.
I make my way over to Terror Canyon, though it soon becomes a journey in itself just to reach the enterance. Once you go past the round up, it's quickly apparent the rock passageway leading to Thunder Canyon is dark and filled with fog..and a crapload of Zombies!
Hidden in the fog, they were all over the place. Comming from the sides and even on the ground, and even when your out of the stone passageway it's not over. The entire battlezone area is closed and all the lights are turned off, making the entire pathway to the enterance of Terror Canyon very dark...which also gave all the monsters plenty of good hiding spots.
After waiting just a little bit for Terror Canyon to open up the line, we headed inside the queue and heard some more screams...apparently a wicked jester is on the loose, and he's taken residence in roaming the entire queue line.
After waiting a suprisingly short amount of time, we were in the station and greeted by a hunchback who made sure we had tickets and had a group of four join us. Once it was time to go I led the way, which soon would prove most entertaining for my Mom and the rest of the group.
Going down the ramp we were confronted by a Grim Reaper, and and once off the ramp a massive wall of fog shrouded the first scene in mystery. Entering the black walls, we were thrust into a pitch black hallway with cobwebs hanging down. There were plenty of twists and turns and very few light scources to keep tension through the roof, and plenty of hiding space for several monsters which scared the heck out of me. (I swear I said "I'm going to die" several times in this section.)
After surviving the dark labyrinth, we come across a cell with an inmate inside that's certainly wanting to get out. Though he proves to be an excellent distraction for the monster at the side of the cell with a special handheld device (I know the name of it, just don't know how to spell it.) that pistons at an insane rate, it may not seem like much. But when he sets it off on the floorboards your standing on. It's LOUD and very startling.
After that heart attack of a scare, we find ourselves outside. Though a sea of glowing red eyes on both sides of the flume certainly doesn't make us feel welcome, however there is a group of monsters that don't mind getting up close and personal. Weather it be cloaked fiends or rotting corpses, theres plenty of them and with the fog in the air...the large flume suddenly feels like a narrow hallway.
Though I sense something small running by me, and the red hair, blue overalls and scarred face make me realize it's not just a small person...it's Chucky himself, and he's got a rather big knife.
After going through the first gauntlet of monsters, we come upon a large house up on one side of the flume. It certainly looks nice, though the monsters on both sides remind us this is no picnic. Once we're past the house there's another gauntlet of creatures to go through.
We then come across a twisted sight, body parts and bags hang from above and we have to go through them. On one side of the flume is a butcher, and he's in control of a surprising water gag. (Don't worry, it's just a quick spritz)
Once your past the body parts, it's off to a meat market. A large shack with a "Live Bait" sign resides on one side of the flume while there's a victim in a cage and a gullitoine nearby. Naturally there's still plenty of monsters in the flume with you to chase you into the cave.
Once inside the cave, visability goes way down. While there is light, the entire place is filled with fog. Going up a ramp, it's soon apparent bats have taken place inside...not to mention some vampires have set up their coffins in the cave...and boy are they happy to see dinner has arrived!
Going up the ramp even farther we escape the cave, but run into a Mad Hatter. While it's odd to see a fellow like him running about, it does make sense since with the Full Moon out...everyones mad, I'm mad, your mad...we're all mad here.
After the encounter with the Hatter we are in the unloading station of Thunder Canyon, it's all over right?..well a Jason and clown will be more then happy to prove us wrong...with chainsaws.
Part 3 - Reflections of Fear
Ok, so that was pretty much what I encountered in Scarywood.
So was it worth comming out and seeing it? It most certainly was, for testing the waters...Silverwood gave us a great maze and some pretty fun scare zones.
My Mom and I ended up going through Terror Canyon three times, the first time was at the very beginning...the second time was during the middle of the event and the last time was near closing.
We noticed something right off the bat, the level of energy of the monsters never went down. Our second time through the Canyon was better then the first, which might have been expected since they were probably warming up on our first run through.
Though the 3rd time was as good and even better then the 2nd time, now this was very close to closing time. I've seen plenty of haunts, and a lot of times I notice near closing the energy of the monsters wane since their tired and what not. Not here in Scarywood, the monsters were constantly fired up and kept eagerly going for the scare up till closing.
Myself I got a lot of good scares, mainly due to the fact when I get scared I jump, drop and curse a lot. Like I said, with the first time through I became the entertainment of the group since they clearly heard me get scared.
The 2nd time through was really good, especially since my Mom and I were grouped with a couple girls that haven't been through it before. We let them go first, and hilarity ensued. Though in any of the monster gauntlets, the monsters got a lot of energy from them and they chased the girls all over the place.
Up in the cave, a vampire that popped out from behind the ramp wall got the girls good and further up the ramp the Mad Hatter came flying down and the girls had a amusing "Domino Effect."
The final time through was insane though, due to the large amount of big groups in line...the hunchback in the station let me and my Mom go together with no one else. I got a lot of scares, including a couple from Chucky and a skeleton corpse that followed me and kept saying "Were going to be best friends forever." To whoever did that to me, that was seriously awesome.
Though the most memorable was in the cave. Now remember when I said a vampire that popped out from behind the ramp wall got the girls good? Well he got me as well, though unlike the girls...I fell to the floor. My Mom laughed so hard she cried.
The Mad Hatter also got me good in the unload station, he was hiding and a normal staff member asked me how it was. Right after I said it was good the Hatter popped up out of nowhere and my reaction certainly cracked up the staff member.
Now I said before I realized there are certain things the park could screw up with having the attraction in Thunder Canyon, thankfully they didn't screw up.
The main thing I was worried about was having certain areas too wide and out in the open, when things are really out in the open for a maze...there's not much of a scare factor since there's not much hiding for any monster.
Well in Terror Canyon there were no problems, the sheer amount of darkness and fog helped set an uneasing atmosphere...and the sheer amount of monsters inside the flume with you worked perfectly.
If there was just one monster in a wide area of the flume, it wouldn't be that scary. However in the wide areas there were 4-5 monsters in those areas, so that wide flume quickly feels much smaller. Hence why I kept mentioning "Gauntlet of Monsters", if you went past one you had to deal with another...and if you got scared by another, well then you had quite and ordeal to get through.
But they are not the only ones around, there are all monsters up and behind the flume walls. So if you tried sneaking away to the side, someone would be waiting for you. For example in the second run I went to the side and was met with a monster that surprised me with a tree branch.
The scare zone that leads to the enterance of Terror Canyon was great as well, with it being really dark, foggy and close together...there were a lot of scares going on. One creature got a huge group by smacking a trashcan, and one guy actually scared my Mom by banging something on the floor. My Mom is a very hard scare, so she thanks whoever gave her that scare.
So I give major kudos to all working the event, you guys and gals showed tremendous energy and enthusiasm. From the Jester in Terror Canyon's queue line that freaked people out and even scared a group of girls out of the queue line and out the enterance, to the trio (Scarecrow, Pumpkinhead and Doll) who stayed at Country Carnival's enterance. You all rocked the house and gave this event a great kick off.
Though I will say this, since MidFright Express wasn't running...part of me wonders if the people that worked that attraction were put in a scare zone or Terror Canyon.
If that is the case, then I hope the park keeps plenty of people in Terror Canyon. Since the large amounts of monsters inside the flume helps keep it intense and don't run into the problem of it being out and open too much.
Oh yes, I have to say lines for Terror Canyon were handeled very well. All three times my Mom and I experienced a queue that went by fairly quick with no problems such as running into another group up ahead.
Part 4 - Conclusion
So overall, this was one heck of a night and so very worth it. Even though MidFright was down, the park made up for it with unlimited run throughs of Terror Canyon. That and we could experience the scare zone as much as we wanted as well.
So kudos for everyone making this possible, this is certainly something my Mom and I want to come back to. (As for me, I want to come and help work the event!)
Now as for all reading this, if you are going to experience this event. Do tell us how MidFright Express is if it's open, and if it is...also see if the Main Street shops are still open during Scarywood.
Oh yes, if anyone can tell me how to put pictures up in a post that would be appreaciated. ^_^
But for now, here's a link to the photos I took.
www.flickr.com/photos/43194622@N05/sets/72157622517444940/
If anyone has any questions, don't be afraid to ask.
Pleasant Nightmares everyone,
A very tired WolfBlood, falling back in the fog.
