Scarywood 2017

[wolfblood]

Once again August has arrived, and while Summer has it's last hurrah for the season, the shadows of October loom closer at hand.
An' just like last year, August brings us signs of what's lurking ahead for Scarywood!

2017 will be Scarywood's 9th season, and while last year was the quietest since there was no new mazes or scare zones...I don't think this year will be quiet whatsoever, especially since changes are already happening!

Case in point, last year the website for 2016 was pretty much the same as 2015, they just changed the dates and descriptions where needed. However right now, the website is gone and we have a teaser page with a big biohazard sign with a skull in the middle, along with this message.

"THE INFECTION HAS SPREAD
DETAILS COMING SOON"

Grab your gas masks and hazmat suits, folks. I smell a quarantine coming!

www.scarywoodhauntednights.com/landing.php

(Oh yes, while it looks like new things are coming, considering Nick Norton will be performing his magic show at Silverwood till September 24th, and Scarywood starts 5 days later on September 29th...I think we can rule out the Theater of Illusions being used as a maze venue again this year.)

UPDATE

Over on Instagram they teased the event a little more with a picture of a dilapidated train car which has some very peculiar grafitti, such as the skull biohazard from the main teaser page on the site, "BUZZ WAS HERE", and probably the most important one, "New Haunt AUG 25th". Looks like we don't have to wait too long for news!

http://instagram.com/p/BX1LpWKjArm

Yup, a new Haunt is definitely being announced next friday.

http://instagram.com/p/BX_jc7hnLQp

[Jessica]

If you drive by the employee area and look at the area behind the Corkscrew, you can see that they are building a large walk through attraction. It takes up a good portion of the parking lot.

[skinnyguy]

I've seen on FB so far that they've announced 3Dementia, Blood Bayou, Total Darkness, and Caved In are all returning. The new haunt gets announced tomorrow, and assuming it isn't just a re-theme of the train (which I think would be unlikely given Zombiewood Express's popularity), then that means six haunts this year.

Can't wait to see what they announce!

[wolfblood]

The website is finally up, and we now have our newest haunt, PLANET ZOMBIE

"NEW for 2017! The zombie infection is worse than it has ever been. Sgt. Buzz and his crew of Zombie Hunters were forced to abandon the Zombiewood Express when it was overtaken and crashed. Now, they find themselves on foot fighting off waves of zombies. Nobody is safe from becoming infected...not even you! Planet Zombie is the first of it's kind immersive experience. Before entering the haunt, you will be prepped by Buzz and his Zombie Hunters. Then you will be thrust into the action where the zombie hunters will protect you while you try to escape without becoming infected. Only the strong will survive.

Location: Between Scrambler and Super Roundup"


So due to this, Zombiewood Express is no more. Though it sounds like this is a continuation of the theme that's also first of it's kind in some way. (Possibly the zombie hunters traveling with your group.) I got a feeling this'll go in a more theatrical direction like what Knott's Scary Farm has been doing with their mazes like Paranormal Inc, Shadowlands and Black Ops: Infected.

As for location, I was gonna' mention this earlier but I can confirm it's going in the employee parking lot/airstrip right next to the gate between scrambler and the super round up. An' from what I saw on the Krem weather cam, the walls for the haunt look pretty high, so it looks like they're going big in scale for it.

As for everything else, the other haunts are where they were last year. (So Total Darkness is once again in Pavilion 1)
Over in the maze descriptions, 3Dementia, Blood Bayou and Total Darkness are said to have new scenes/scares. (Though it feels like the descs of 3Dementia & Blood Bayou were copy/pasted from last year, since over on facebook it didn't mention any updates/changes to either, while on FB it did mention updates in Total Darkness.)

Finally for scare zones, The Crypts is apparently expanded -and- has a new location. All the other scarezones will be there, though no announced changes to them.

---------------

So with the full reveal, it is a little bit of a bummer to lose Zombiewood Express. Personally for me, after experiencing it last year I felt it was the -gem- of Scarywood since many parks don't have or do a train show like that. However, with Planet Zombie coninuing ZE's overall story/theme with a haunt that promises to be a "first of it's kind immersive experience", I think that'll be quite the fair trade off. They're replacing a unique attraction with another unique attraction, I can't complain about that. Also it sounds like word from the park is Zombie Planet is the biggest thing for Scarywood since Blood Bayou, so they're going for gusto here!

[skinnyguy]

Well, I must admit I was pretty shocked to find out that the train is not returning this year. That's crazy! I'm bummed, because that truly was the most unique haunt attraction they had. Totally different from anything you could find anywhere else.

That said, I can understand from a logistics standpoint why they are trying something new. The line for the train was always the worst. The capacity each night was always a problem; they could only get a portion of the guests on each night, and had to shut off the line early. I always saw lots of complaints from people who weren't able to get on it. So, while it's sad to see it go, I get it.

Here's hoping the new haunt truly is something unique and impressive. Nick Norton is very good at what he does, and if they do this new haunt right, it could be just what the event needs. I will stay in the "wait and see" camp for now, and won't knock it til I try it.

[jspider]

Losing the train is kinda a bummer. Though I guess I'll honestly admit the luster of the train has died down for me a bit. I don't hit Scarywood every year like I used to but I've found the train to be impressive but also somewhat stuck in a rut. Every few years it gets a unique element or two but more and more of my fun was being had elsewhere.

I'm really curious to see what kinda experience this new attraction will be. I really am hoping for something with a few more theatrics. I used to view Blood Bayou as the more theatrical attraction but the older its gotten the more subdued I find it to be. I feel like Blood Bayous becoming increasingly filled with broken effects.

I'm hoping Planet Zombie can excite me the same way the first year of 3Dementia or the first two years of Blood Bayou did. The train has always had the best theatrical moments, so if those can be combined with an interesting setting I think it'll be the best offering of the night.

Depending on how this works out we could always see the Scarywood Express return next year.

[wolfblood]

Well the park put out a nice little tease which shows the scope/scale of Planet Zombie, as they're putting in a stage that'll host a Zombie Hunter stage show before you enter the haunt!

http://instagram.com/p/BZFQhQlnZde

There's no doubt they're going for a big theatrical production here, so it looks like they're certainly replacing one unique haunt with another.