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Readers Review |
| Review
by: Chad |
Photos
by: Nick |
I
went to Busch Gardens/Tampa’s 3rd annual Howl O’Scream
on Sat the 28th. The “mascot” (if you can call it that)
was a zombie-type creature encased in a coffin. The front of the
coffin was cut out so that you could see him peering at you with
his lips sewn shut. The slogan was “Face your Fear.”
Here’s a trip report. The attractions are listed in the order
that I did them. Ratings are based on a scale of 5 SHRIEKS, with
5 being the best.
We got there at opening (7:30). The peach sun was setting behind
a backdrop of palm trees. It was “Africa Hot”- 93 degrees
on Sunday, so I expect it was similar on Saturday. At the top of
the entrance plaza, they have 4 X 6 color posters of each of their
6 haunted houses. I like it when a park takes pride in its work.
Our strategy was to start at the back of the park and make our way
back to the entrance. We proceeded to trek to the NW corner where
2 of the houses were located and got a good scare from a bush (you
gotta watch the bushes there- very realistic costumes). 
Agony Express (scare zone)- this was located near the train depot
and consisted of shirtless guys dragging shovels behind them. The
scrape of the shovels was unnerving. Cursed (scare zone)- this was
located at the tunnel to Timbuktu. The music of “Signs”
was heard as you approached. I saw people backing up and refusing
to enter it. It had some good startles and good actors.
Tortured (haunted house)- This was my first haunted house of the
Halloween season. Consequently, I was petrified as a dog being pushed
into a veterinarian’s office by its owners. As Busch’s
website promised, an actor welcomes you to his house and pushes
open a bookcase to let you enter. Cool beginning. The theme is that
you’ve been invited to a party. Are you a guest of honor or
a victim to be tortured? It’s a long maze and is pretty scary.
A vast improvement over the maze that was located here last year.
3 ½ SHRIEKS
Ripper Row (haunted house)- This was located near Tortured and had
newsies (boys selling newspapers) in the queue, screaming the headline,
“The Ripper has struck again!” I love Busch’s
use of actors in the queue! The maze was short, but a lot of fun.
You meandered through London’s streets in which the Ripper
made several appearances. Favorite scene: a still-alive victim is
lying on a table, moaning for help. The Ripper suddenly appears
from behind and slits the guy’s throat. I loved that! Interaction
between actors is something you rarely see in a house! “Honorable
mention” goes to the scene in which the ripper is feasting
on a life-size cow in a pasture! A very theatrical and fun house-
4 SHRIEKS
Grisly Gardens (scare zone)- Walking to the southwest corner of
the park, staff funnel you into a narrow path bordered by trees
and shrubs. I felt like I was in the Blair Witch Project! The trees
and statuary come to life in this scare zone. My favorite zone.
 Executioners
(scare zone)- a post-apocyaltic world dominated by hockey players
who use their hockey sticks to scare guests.
Bloody Bayou (haunted house)- So far, all the houses were walk-ons.
With this house, we met our first line of the night (waits from
here on were 30-60 minutes). A bushy-haired hillbilly talking to
the crowd enlivened the wait. There was also a monster with a huge
realistic dragon mask on. Instead of doing the usual scare, he just
crouched in the bushes and moved his head to and fro, just like
a real animal would. Very effective. His clone was on the opposite
side of the road and provided some great entertainment. He stood
in the bushes and thrust his head toward unsuspecting guests. We
would watch the guests come down the road and anticipate the scare.
If the monster got a guest good, we’d applaud the actor. If
the scare failed, we’d give a lighthearted boo. As far as
the house itself, the queue sliced through a huge skull, lit by
purple lights and then went past a gas station in which a sign read,
“We do chainsaws.” This was the only open-air house.
It seemed much shorter than last year’s Bloody Bayou. There
didn’t seem to be a single new scene. Worst scene: black walls
painted with rats’ eyes and the sounds of scurrying rats.
Lame! Favorite scene: walking through clotheslines holding white
sheets and Michael Myers lurking between them. 3 SHRIEKS
The Mortuary (haunted house)- Located near the Bayou, the queue
went under a white tent, like something you’d see at a funeral,
and then along a funeral home enshrouded with latticework. A creepy
monster bounced around this area. He looked like those department
store elves in “A Christmas Story,” very Phantasm-like.
Somehow, it worked. You then enter the mortuary. The first scene
instantly reminded me of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, mixed with
6 Feet Under. There was an illusion of long hallways and chandeliers
and dead lilies abounded. There were many great ‘gags’
(scares from unexpected places) in this house. Favorite scene: walking
through a cold refrigeration room, and then immediately into a hot
furnace room. “Honorable mentions” go to the pitch-black
hallway (it’s rare to find just simple, pitch black sections
in houses these days), and a scene in which you walked through a
mortician’s closet of black suits. Ha! The best house by far:
4 ½ SHRIEKS
 Demented
Dimensions (haunted house)- This was the 3D maze from last year,
but only in a different location (now we’re in the southwest
corner of the park). The only memorable new scenes were a spiining
tunnel that began the maze and a “pink fur” room. This
was a twist on the stuffed animal room, in which a stuffed animal
leaps out at you from a pile of lifeless animals. This one had a
big pink fur ball leaping at you. 3 SHRIEKS.
Escape from Insanity (haunted house)- Located near Dimensions, this
had the longest wait. Some bozo staff member let too much time pass
before sending in each group of 20. In fact, the heat was so insufferable
at this point, that the person behind me fainted. The house began
with a spiel by an actress who looked like Betty Davis from “Whatever
happened to Baby Jane?” It then went outside the insane asylum
in which roaming patients beckoned for help. The house was another
virtual retread of last year’s Insanity (that makes 3 duplicate
houses, if you’re counting). Worst scene: inmates trapped
in their cells wearing “Madonna microphones” (those
wrap-around microphones performers use at concerts). Totally killed
the effect. It wasn’t like they were saying anything profound,
or anything. This house seemed darker and not as colorful as last
year’s and was the biggest disappointment of the night (if
you’re looking for horror in an insane asylum, I have to digress
to recommend a movie on DVD: “Session 9.” It’s
about a defunct mental hospital and a crew of hazardous materials
guys who are hired to clean it up. Mysteriously, they disappear,
one by one. It takes its time, but keeps your attention because
it’s well-acted and has intriguing characters. The ending
was nice and satisfying, too- tied everything together). Anyway,
this house gets 3 SHRIEKS. 
We left at 10:30 and the crowds at the admission booth were still
incredibly long. Even the stream of cars on Busch Boulevard was
½ mile long. Obviously, Busch has a winner on their hands
with Howl O’Scream. It’s worthy competition to Universal
Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights. My recommendation to Busch
is to have all-new houses, like Universal does. At the very least,
they should put some new scenes in the old houses. However, I love
Busch’s use of the actors in the queues and the interaction
of actors in the houses. All of the actors did a great job and obviously
had fun doing it (which adds to guests’ fun). |
| HauntFreaks.com
would like to thank Chad and Nick for a great job on this readers
review....More of Nick's photo's will be posted when our review
of this event is posted |
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