Summer, already?
I've been thinking about a lot of things related to ValleyScare in recent weeks. I'm not sure why. So let's go back to last Halloween season and share a few memories that I never bothered to chronicle at that time.
I made it to two attractions during the 2013 season. I went to the Dead End Hayride, again. This must be the third consecutive year I went. If it weren't worth the drive, I wouldn't keep going back.
The 2013 hayride included an amazing new scene for the hayride. They put a lot of time, effort and cash into a pretty spectacular enhancement. I had no idea it was coming. I was blown away. The only drawback to it is that it's part of the hayride, the wagon keeps moving. Despite the fact it's a spectacular enhancement, the experience of it is over in 30 seconds or less. It goes by too quickly, you really want more time to take it in.
As for the haunted trail, there turned out to be a major disappointment in my visit. In 2012 they built a fantastic new structure (an asylum) that was part of the opening moments of the trail. The asylum was bypassed completely during my 2013 visit, and from what I learned via Twitter, that was due to some sort of inspection issue. I don't know what the problem was, and therefore have no idea why it couldn't have been fixed in order to utilize it during my visit, but it was a big disappointment, and I hope whatever the issue is, it is rectified for 2014.
The hayride and its haunted trails provided the usual showmanship, a few new twists, a cool new special effect I hadn't seen anywhere previously and a lot of fun for my small group, which didn't include any ValleyScare cohorts this year. (My cohorts did make a visit on a separate trip later in the season.)
I also made a return trip to Screamtown and purchased a VIP ticket. It was the second year of the VIP experience, and the only time I could go was on one of the rare Sunday nights it was open. I managed to find one co-worker willing to shell out the $40+ for a VIP ticket. So, along with his girlfriend, the three of us went on a Sunday night.
The attractions I knew from 2011 were status quo. Not everything was exactly the same, but they delivered the same caliber, if not slightly better, experience than what I remembered from two years ago. (The hillbilly hotel was redesigned in 2012 and the corn maze was redesigned for 2013.)
New in 2013 was "Meltdown at Sector 666," a maze based upon a nuclear reactor meltdown. It had great set decorations that sold the theme, and was very entertaining. Vampires, scary clowns, graveyards and asylums are common themes in the haunt world. I had never seen one based upon a nuclear meltdown. It was an entertaining experience.
The VIP ticket allows you to skip the line for all of the regular mazes, although that wasn't much of an issue on a Sunday night, as the crowds were thin.
The VIP ticket also gives you access to two attractions that the regular ticket doesn't. One was another outdoor walking trail, but this one was based upon sensory deprivation rather than props and hidden monsters. "Abandoned" is a walking trail that leads you away from the activity around Screamtown. Yeah, you can see the lights off in the distance, but it's surprising how far away you get from the action. You're given a lantern to help you find the trail, but it's not a well-delineated trail, it's tricky to figure out even with your lantern.
There are beasts lurking in the woods, and they will grab you. No, they won't throttle you and throw you to the ground, but they're hard to see, and if they catch up to you, they'll startle you in a way monsters won't in other mazes.
The trek through the woods is limited to no more than two people, and you're staggered by several minutes, so you won't see lanterns all over the woods. You might hear or see another group off in the distance, but you never run into them like you would in a maze full of slow teenage girls.
Since Paul was with his girlfriend, I wasn't allowed to join them. I had to go solo. I was OK with that, it made my trek extra creepy. I didn't have the benefit of a second set of eyes to help me figure out where to go. Yes, you have a lantern, but it's tricky to figure out which way to go, especially when the lantern goes out, which it did occasionally, and that was by design.
It was a fun experience, for sure. It could have used a bit more interaction with beasts in the woods, but I'm guessing that was a result of the fact it was a Sunday night, and therefore lighter than usual when it comes to staffing.
The other bonus attraction for VIPs was "Cracked," a stage show where a creepy doll comes to life and performs a variety of magic tricks, interacting with the crowd during the show. It runs every 30 minutes or so and is very entertaining.
The added benefits of the VIP experience were worth the additional price, and certainly more so on a busy weekend, I am certain. The VIP ticket doubled the price of a basic admission on a busy weekend, but there were often discounts to be had on VIP tickets if you bought them in advance, which definitely made the bonus features of the VIP ticket well worth the added cost. I wouldn't say either one is so remarkable that you must experience it one time no matter what the cost, but you'd be hard pressed to regret spending the extra cash, unless you couldn't afford the cost of a ticket in the first place.
I only made it to two local attractions this year in part because for the first time in many years I didn't get free Trail of Terror tickets. I didn't get access to a fistful of freebies this year, unlike years past, and I'm not particularly disappointed. But it is nice to have an excuse to get a bunch of the asylum freaks together for a night out, even if I'm not dazzled by the spectacle.
And for the third consecutive year I made it to Las Vegas to celebrate Halloween. I didn't go to any haunted attractions, however, even though there was a new one fairly close to the strip. My girlfriend went with me again this year, and she had her fill of haunted attractions during the past two seasons, even without going to Screamtown with me. So I decided we'd limit our Halloween fun to creating costumes and spending the night milling about on Fremont Street. It was ridiculously busy, so much so that it was hard to move about. We spent periods of time just standing around, watching others walk by. I took a few pictures during the evening, and perhaps I'll post them onilne one of these days.
Our costumes: she was an octopus, I was the garden.
As I noted last fall on Twitter, a few of our original ValleyScare members retired after last season. They put in eight years and decided that they had seen enough. I have never asked why, but I will some day. It was suggested to me that they might consider working at the Haunting Experience in 2014, as they live in St. Paul.
Rumor has it a few of my co-workers also want to carpool together to the north metro and work at the Dead End Hayride. As I noted in 2011 when I worked part-time at Screamtown, it's nice to experience a different environment. I suspect a bunch of us would enjoy working at Dead End if it weren't so far north of where most of us live.
People come and go every year, and the list of eight-year veterans of ValleyScare is a short one. (I was part of the inaugural 2006 crew, but I only have seven years under my belt as a result of taking 2011 off.) I think it's hard to maintain enthusiasm for the job after several years. Some have, but I couldn't. I wouldn't have been back in 2012 if I weren't working building security.
As much as we have loved being part of something unique, there's a wear-and-tear factor for many of us, and I have been seeing it in play the past few years. We may play the role of the undead, but deep down we're still human, and time stands still for no one.
I made it to two attractions during the 2013 season. I went to the Dead End Hayride, again. This must be the third consecutive year I went. If it weren't worth the drive, I wouldn't keep going back.
The 2013 hayride included an amazing new scene for the hayride. They put a lot of time, effort and cash into a pretty spectacular enhancement. I had no idea it was coming. I was blown away. The only drawback to it is that it's part of the hayride, the wagon keeps moving. Despite the fact it's a spectacular enhancement, the experience of it is over in 30 seconds or less. It goes by too quickly, you really want more time to take it in.
As for the haunted trail, there turned out to be a major disappointment in my visit. In 2012 they built a fantastic new structure (an asylum) that was part of the opening moments of the trail. The asylum was bypassed completely during my 2013 visit, and from what I learned via Twitter, that was due to some sort of inspection issue. I don't know what the problem was, and therefore have no idea why it couldn't have been fixed in order to utilize it during my visit, but it was a big disappointment, and I hope whatever the issue is, it is rectified for 2014.
The hayride and its haunted trails provided the usual showmanship, a few new twists, a cool new special effect I hadn't seen anywhere previously and a lot of fun for my small group, which didn't include any ValleyScare cohorts this year. (My cohorts did make a visit on a separate trip later in the season.)
I also made a return trip to Screamtown and purchased a VIP ticket. It was the second year of the VIP experience, and the only time I could go was on one of the rare Sunday nights it was open. I managed to find one co-worker willing to shell out the $40+ for a VIP ticket. So, along with his girlfriend, the three of us went on a Sunday night.
The attractions I knew from 2011 were status quo. Not everything was exactly the same, but they delivered the same caliber, if not slightly better, experience than what I remembered from two years ago. (The hillbilly hotel was redesigned in 2012 and the corn maze was redesigned for 2013.)
New in 2013 was "Meltdown at Sector 666," a maze based upon a nuclear reactor meltdown. It had great set decorations that sold the theme, and was very entertaining. Vampires, scary clowns, graveyards and asylums are common themes in the haunt world. I had never seen one based upon a nuclear meltdown. It was an entertaining experience.
The VIP ticket allows you to skip the line for all of the regular mazes, although that wasn't much of an issue on a Sunday night, as the crowds were thin.
The VIP ticket also gives you access to two attractions that the regular ticket doesn't. One was another outdoor walking trail, but this one was based upon sensory deprivation rather than props and hidden monsters. "Abandoned" is a walking trail that leads you away from the activity around Screamtown. Yeah, you can see the lights off in the distance, but it's surprising how far away you get from the action. You're given a lantern to help you find the trail, but it's not a well-delineated trail, it's tricky to figure out even with your lantern.
There are beasts lurking in the woods, and they will grab you. No, they won't throttle you and throw you to the ground, but they're hard to see, and if they catch up to you, they'll startle you in a way monsters won't in other mazes.
The trek through the woods is limited to no more than two people, and you're staggered by several minutes, so you won't see lanterns all over the woods. You might hear or see another group off in the distance, but you never run into them like you would in a maze full of slow teenage girls.
Since Paul was with his girlfriend, I wasn't allowed to join them. I had to go solo. I was OK with that, it made my trek extra creepy. I didn't have the benefit of a second set of eyes to help me figure out where to go. Yes, you have a lantern, but it's tricky to figure out which way to go, especially when the lantern goes out, which it did occasionally, and that was by design.
It was a fun experience, for sure. It could have used a bit more interaction with beasts in the woods, but I'm guessing that was a result of the fact it was a Sunday night, and therefore lighter than usual when it comes to staffing.
The other bonus attraction for VIPs was "Cracked," a stage show where a creepy doll comes to life and performs a variety of magic tricks, interacting with the crowd during the show. It runs every 30 minutes or so and is very entertaining.
The added benefits of the VIP experience were worth the additional price, and certainly more so on a busy weekend, I am certain. The VIP ticket doubled the price of a basic admission on a busy weekend, but there were often discounts to be had on VIP tickets if you bought them in advance, which definitely made the bonus features of the VIP ticket well worth the added cost. I wouldn't say either one is so remarkable that you must experience it one time no matter what the cost, but you'd be hard pressed to regret spending the extra cash, unless you couldn't afford the cost of a ticket in the first place.
I only made it to two local attractions this year in part because for the first time in many years I didn't get free Trail of Terror tickets. I didn't get access to a fistful of freebies this year, unlike years past, and I'm not particularly disappointed. But it is nice to have an excuse to get a bunch of the asylum freaks together for a night out, even if I'm not dazzled by the spectacle.
And for the third consecutive year I made it to Las Vegas to celebrate Halloween. I didn't go to any haunted attractions, however, even though there was a new one fairly close to the strip. My girlfriend went with me again this year, and she had her fill of haunted attractions during the past two seasons, even without going to Screamtown with me. So I decided we'd limit our Halloween fun to creating costumes and spending the night milling about on Fremont Street. It was ridiculously busy, so much so that it was hard to move about. We spent periods of time just standing around, watching others walk by. I took a few pictures during the evening, and perhaps I'll post them onilne one of these days.
Our costumes: she was an octopus, I was the garden.
As I noted last fall on Twitter, a few of our original ValleyScare members retired after last season. They put in eight years and decided that they had seen enough. I have never asked why, but I will some day. It was suggested to me that they might consider working at the Haunting Experience in 2014, as they live in St. Paul.
Rumor has it a few of my co-workers also want to carpool together to the north metro and work at the Dead End Hayride. As I noted in 2011 when I worked part-time at Screamtown, it's nice to experience a different environment. I suspect a bunch of us would enjoy working at Dead End if it weren't so far north of where most of us live.
People come and go every year, and the list of eight-year veterans of ValleyScare is a short one. (I was part of the inaugural 2006 crew, but I only have seven years under my belt as a result of taking 2011 off.) I think it's hard to maintain enthusiasm for the job after several years. Some have, but I couldn't. I wouldn't have been back in 2012 if I weren't working building security.
As much as we have loved being part of something unique, there's a wear-and-tear factor for many of us, and I have been seeing it in play the past few years. We may play the role of the undead, but deep down we're still human, and time stands still for no one.