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Post by Bud Parsley on Oct 2, 2009 23:02:28 GMT -8
^Looking forward to it wolfblood!
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voodoobones
Thunder Canyon
It's not that life is so short, it's that you're dead for so long!
Posts: 180
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Post by voodoobones on Oct 10, 2009 12:52:08 GMT -8
In a few hours I will be driving out to Silverwood to partake in their Haunted attractions! Anyone else heading out there?
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Post by wolfblood on Oct 10, 2009 13:58:32 GMT -8
If your still here Voodoobones, I just got word from Silverwoods facebook that MidFright Express will be running tonight and there's going to be more scarezones in the park tonight along with some new scenes in Terror Canyon I believe.
Have fun, and be sure tell us about it!
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voodoobones
Thunder Canyon
It's not that life is so short, it's that you're dead for so long!
Posts: 180
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Post by voodoobones on Oct 15, 2009 21:22:05 GMT -8
Well I had a blast. I was amazed that I was able to practically walk on the roller coasters. Just riding the coasters in the dark was worth it. The line for the walk through was too long for what I felt you get. I am glad I did the walk through but I wish I would have rode the coasters more. One thing for certain, based on the line for the walk through, Silverwood would benefit greatly from a dark ride.
The train was well worth it. It was a one of a kind experience and I can't wait to do it again. Bottom line, GO! I will definitely be doing it again.
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Post by skinnyguy on Oct 18, 2009 20:19:32 GMT -8
Well, I just got back from Scarywood yesterday, and I must say I was very impressed. The weather was off and on clouds, rain sprinkles, and a brief moment of sunshine throughout the day, and then mostly rainy at night, but everything stayed open. Here's how the day went:
We first pulled up to the park to see a big banner stretched across the "Silverwood" logo on the side of Timber Terror that was advertising the Halloween events. As we were looking at this, we caught sight of something moving on the blue and green tracks next to it...could it be??? Yup...Aftershock was running! The temperatures were just warm enough that it was able to run all day long. (Thanks, Calicoaster, for getting it up and running just for me!)
We got into the park and noticed all the great decorations - bats, spiders of all sizes, spiderwebs, bales of hay and pumpkins all over the place. It all looked great. We proceeded to walk onto Corkscrew, Aftershock, Tremors, Timber Terror and Panic Plunge all one right after the other - got all of them done in about 45 minutes! All the while we were noticing decorations for things that were to come at night. The kids area looked great too - all kinds of activities for kids, and they all looked like they were having a great time.
We spent most of the day just riding all the other rides. I was very happy to see that the water cannon on the log flume was disabled, along with the water jets and water guns on the bumper boats. Silverwood - THANK YOU!!! I was able to enjoy both rides without worrying about freezing for the rest of the day. Kudos for that.
As nighttime drew near, we got herded into main street. Just as the sun went down, we noticed the train pulling into the station for the first run of the night. I gotta say, seeing that thing coming through the dark sent a chill down my spine - it was so cool looking! All the lights were dimmed and reddish, with some spider and rat decorations throughout. We decided to hit up the magic show and dinner first. Wolfblood's synopsis was pretty accurate - it was basically a Nick Norton show with different Halloween themed music, Halloween decorations, and one startling moment. But it was still good. The food was very mediocre. They were serving the all-you-can-eat spaghetti at both the magic show and Lindy's. It wasn't really all that great, and the lines to get the food were ridiculously long.
SPOILERS AHEAD
So, since the food took forever to get, it was 7:45 by the time we got out of the theater, and headed to the train. We got on the train at 9:15! It was quite the wait! I was starting to think we were going to miss out on the maze, but we barely had enough time afterwards. The train ride was great. Silverwood did a great job creating a scary atmosphere, and they did some pretty creative things. I won't give all the details away, but I loved the "Exploding Bridge" effect - that really caught me off guard. There was a guy with a dynamite detonator (like you see in cartoons) standing by the tracks, and when he pushed it down this huge explosion went off under the tressel - very cool idea! I also loved how the train stopped a second time after the mine scene and all the goblins got on the train and scared everyone - I wasn't expecting to stop twice. I was disappointed that they kept alluding to the "giant spiders" but never did anything with that - it was very anti-climactic. And the very end of the ride was lame, with the guy singing the silly Adams Family song. But overall a great ride - I see a lot of potential with this in the future, and I am sure it will get better each year. I agree with Voodoobones, this was a very unique, one-of-a-kind experience that you won't find anywhere else.
We got off the train and ran over to the maze at Thunder Canyon - got in line ten minutes before it closed! Wolfblood did a good job explaining everything about the scare zones along the way as well as all the details of the maze, so I won't re-invent the wheel here. But I thought the maze was great. Didn't wait too long for it, and I was very impressed. There wasn't a dull moment in it at all, and it was just very well themed. In my opinion, this was on par with Knott's Halloween Haunt (which I attended a few years ago). Very well done, Silverwood - the Terror Canyon Trail did not disappoint in the least. The guy at the end who chases you up the exit ramp with the chainsaw was awesome - that had everyone in our group running full speed away. Nice touch! One complaint though, the rain left a few places with huge deep puddles of water in the walk-through, which was not very fun - might need to do something about that in the future. It was only in like one or two places, but it was kind of annoying.
So, overall, I was happy with the train, very happy with the maze, a little disappointed in the magic show since I was expecting it to be more different, annoyed at all of those awful gnats that were swarming every square inch of the park during the day (is there anything they can do about that???), VERY disappointed with the food (Lindy's needs to stay open during this time - also, change the sub shop (High Moon Saloon) menu back to last year's selection - the new options are not nearly as good - too much like everything else in the park), and disappointed that I barely had enough time to do the two things available at the park. Here are my suggestions for future Halloween events at the park:
1. Keep the park open later than 10pm on Haunt nights - Knott's is open until at least 1:00am every night they do it (and they go five nights a week, as opposed to just Saturday). I know, Silverwood is not Knott's, but three hours was clearly not enough time for us to enjoy everything, and to just get the two attractions and the magic show in, we had to really rush. We spent most of that time standing in line. So, consider staying open later.
2. Add a couple mazes - maybe one in the ice palace, and one back in the picnic area. And theme up the log flume for another attraction. I think a huge part of the problem was in the fact that there were only two Halloween attractions, and everyone was trying to do them both. Might be good to spread the crowds out.
3. Keep Lindy's open, and as I've said before, the park needs more variety with the food options.
4. Add more things to the train next year - it was good, but I really think there's a lot of room for growth. And if there is any way to increase capacity on the train (not sure there would be other than keeping it open later), do so. That was one nasty wait!
Overall, GREAT JOB FOR THE FIRST YEAR!!! Having experienced Knott's Haunt in the past, I can say Silverwood really did a good job with it for the first go around. I can't wait until next year to see how much it ends up growing!
If you go, it's well worth it - I'd recommend seeing the 6PM magic show, and then doing the train and maze - don't wait around or you might miss out on some of it. And let us know what you think!
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voodoobones
Thunder Canyon
It's not that life is so short, it's that you're dead for so long!
Posts: 180
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Post by voodoobones on Oct 19, 2009 8:10:17 GMT -8
Skinnyguy~ You are dead on about the rushing to get it all done. I wasn't able to do the magic show because of the long waits for the haunted attractions. Don't get me wrong, I loved what Silverwood did this year and I am thinking about going back again before November 1st! But they do need to make a few changes to allow you to get the most out of it. Staying open later is definitely a must. The night I was there they over sold it and they stayed open late just to get everyone through the train (Thank you Silverwood for doing that!). The line for the maze when I went through was over an hour long so I was a little disappointed by the maze only because the line was so long. In fact they closed the line down for a while so they could get it to go down a bit. Not to mention that some of the things in the maze were not staged. We walked by one area that had sound effects but the actors were gone and the only thing left was a water bottle and a blanket. For me the really impressive part of the entire event was the themeing of the park. It was very cool to walk into the park with it decorated so well for Halloween! I didn't go during the day so I can't comment on that but since you guys say the kiddie area is well done I might have to go back and take the junior Voodoobones to see the kiddie stuff. I will mention it one more time, Silverwood needs a darkride. Just look at how many people are enjoying Scarywood!
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Post by skinnyguy on Oct 19, 2009 17:41:45 GMT -8
^I thought the kids stuff over at Garfield's Summer Camp looked great. Like I said, everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves. You basically got a trick or treat bag and walked to all of the different stores/attractions, and at each one, there was a place to get candy, and some of them even had activities (such as face painting).
I forgot to mention one more thing. While the magic show wasn't what I expected, I still think Nick Norton is a great magician, and showman. I happened to notice after the show while we were eating our dinner, the entire theater got really empty and a few workers were out cleaning up tables. I noticed Nick go up to get in line for some spaghetti with a few other workers. To my amazement, he left the people in line, came out to the main floor and started helping the others clean up tables until his group was up to the front of the line. I just thought that was really cool that he would go out and help like that. Nick - you're awesome!
Voodoo, I felt the exact opposite as you did with respect to the maze/train. I was a bit disappointed with the train because of how long the wait was (1.5 hours), but I loved the maze a lot more and only waited 15-20 minutes for it. I think the long line for each of us kind of ruined that particular attraction. That's too bad that some of the areas of the maze were slow - for us it was just nonstop monsters and scares. Still though, I am not disappointed with what I got to experience, and I wish I lived close enough to go back again, because I totally would!
I just can't wait until next year - I am sure this is just the beginning!
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Post by Bud Parsley on Oct 20, 2009 18:57:02 GMT -8
Well all of this talk is making me wish I could have made it to Scarywood this year, but it just isn't going to happen for me unfortunately. It sounds like the park did an awesome job and I hope they bring it back next year. Obviously this is their first time and they are learning from it. Sounds like the hours are the biggest complaint.
Silverwood, keep it up. Each year you are getting better and better by leaps and bounds!
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Post by Mike & Chris Pettey on Oct 22, 2009 20:02:27 GMT -8
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voodoobones
Thunder Canyon
It's not that life is so short, it's that you're dead for so long!
Posts: 180
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Post by voodoobones on Oct 22, 2009 20:22:47 GMT -8
That is great news! I can't beleive how many comments I have gotten on my Scarywood hoodie! Every time I wear it I am bombarded with a ton of questions. People are flat out loving Scarywood!
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