HHN: King Kong Sized Line?

According to a tweet from HHN Hollywood the new King King 360 will be presented as it's own attraction and not part of the Terror Tram at this year's haunt. This seems strange as Kong is part of the Tram Tour. If this turns out to be true, then this will be an (bad) attempt for them to try to squeeze out another attraction for HHN. This would mean yet another line to stand in for what is a less than 2 minute experience (according to the YouTube video) so we hope this isn't true.

Nonetheless, for those of you you can't wait until HHN or even this Thursday's opening of the ride here is a video of the experience here.
*Spoiler Warning*

Zombie Manor: Sneak Peek August 13!

Zombie Manor, in Arlington, Texas (Dallas-Ft. Worth area), will be letting victims in for a sneak peek at their 2010 haunt on Friday, August 13, from 8 to 11 pm.

Zombie Manor bills itself as "DFW's top-rated zombie experience." Just how many "zombie experiences" ARE there in the Dallas area? Regardless, it's nice to see a haunt that has a consistent theme throughout and isn't just a bunch of rooms with different "scary" themes (we're looking at YOU, Blood Manor). Zombie Manor opened in 2009, and though it hasn't earned any "skulls" yet on HauntWorld.com, it lists some positive reviews on their own web site. Some photos available on their site show some pretty creepy sets.

Their site doesn't list ticket prices for the August event, but the haunt was $15 last Halloween season. How can anyone resist $15 for a haunt on a summer night, and on a Friday the 13th, no less? You Texans are lucky.

Blood Manor Adds to the Terror

Blood Manor will be adding new scenes to their haunt this year. According to their web site, we can look forward to these additions for 2010:

• The Wolves Den
• Zombie Attack
• It's Alive!
• Vortex Laser Tunnel
• Serial Killer's Thriller
• Electrocution
• Vampire's Lair
• 3D Circus of Horrors

I think most of those concepts are self-explanatory, except for maybe It's Alive! (described as a “chaotic chamber of sights and sounds”) and Serial Killer's Thriller (which might be some kind of scary portrait gallery). Is there anything this haunt DOESN'T have???

Blood Manor opens October 1st.

Knott's Halloween Haunt Maze Lineup for 2010

It's official! Knott's will once again feature 13 mazes at their Halloween Haunt. The full lineup is as follows:

1. Club Blood
2. The Doll Factory
3. Black Widow's Cavern
4. Labryinth
5. Slaughterhouse
6. Uncle Bobo's Big Top of the Bizarre
7. Dia De Los Muertos
8. Cornstalkers
9. Terror of London
10. Lockdown: The Asylum
11. Virus Z*
12. Fallout Shelter*
13. Sleepy Hollow Mountain*

* New for 2010

(Gone to the Ghost Town graveyard: Alien Annihilation, Pyromaniax, Quarantine.)

Knott's Reveals 2 More New Mazes for Halloween Haunt 2010

New for Knott's Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt 2010:

"Virus Z": Fiesta Plaza explodes with a brand new zombie nightmare. The virus is out and the end is near... Enter the barricaded town of Pleasanton, where the virus has turned the entire population into ravenous zombies! From the insane mind of Brooke Walters, designer of Doll Factory and Terror of London.

"Sleepy Hollow Mountain": Ghosts and ghouls, witches and goblins, long-legged beasts and things that go bump in the night...take a dark ride through haunted Sleepy Hollow. The witching hour is at hand and the legends of long ago haunt the living. Specters and witches are on your heels as you try to out run The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. Can you keep your wits? Or will you lose your head? Brought to you by Haunt Designer, David Ortiz (Dia De Los Muertos)! (Description from Theme Park Adventure.com)

So this means that Virus Z is replacing Quarantine and Sleepy Hollow Mountain will replace Pyromaniax (Timber Mountain Log Ride). We're VERY excited for Sleepy Hollow Mountain. It sounds like it could be a nice, traditional Halloween theme, which really is missing from many haunts these days. Most haunts are overrun by post-apocalyptic zombies, vampires, and aliens. We can't wait to see a few pumpkins and witches, and hopefully a fog-filled graveyard.

Knott's Halloween Haunt opens on September 24.

BREAKING NEWS: HHN HOLLYWOOD NEWS ANNOUNCED!

From the LA times:
After getting bigger and better ever year, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood this year will offer more mazes and more nights in a bid to out-scare and out-gore the competition.

For 2010, Halloween Horror Nights will feature five mazes and six scare zones over 17 nights running from Sept. 24 through Oct. 31, theme park officials confirmed.

The 2010 dates: Sept. 24 and 25 and Oct. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 and 31. That’s every Friday and Saturday over six consecutive weekends plus a few Thursdays and Sundays.

No word yet on themes for any of the 2010 haunted mazes, which in years past have been tied to classic horror movies such as “Saw,” “Halloween,” “My Bloody Valentine,” “Friday the 13th,” “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

I would be shocked to see any of those movie properties reappear in 2010, although the park’s year-round House of Horrors attraction will almost certainly be one of the five haunted mazes.

For 2010, Universal also promises to unveil an all-new Terror Tram studio tour through the backlot that will include a stop at the new King Kong 360 3-D attraction. [!!!!!!]

No word yet on this year’s shows either, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see a return of the “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” pop culture parody and last year’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show” live musical revue, which has been a perennial favorite at Universal’s sister park in Orlando, Fla.

Universal’s Halloween event has had a sporadic history at the Hollywood movie and television theme park, returning with renewed vigor in 2006 after an extended hiatus. Since then, the rebooted event has grown from seven nights in 2006 to 10 nights in 2007 to 13 nights in 2008 to 16 nights last year and to 17 nights this year. Expect the park to tack on a few extra nights this Halloween season if ticket sales prove brisk at the beginning of October.

Universal will have a long way to go to catch up to the sheer volume of Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, which featured 13 mazes, seven shows and three scare zones over 28 nights in 2009.

Universal has taken a decidedly different approach than Knott’s — relying on marquee movie monsters over generic vampire, alien and zombie themes, while significantly amping up the blood, guts and gore.

Halloween Horror Nights Orlando: 2010

Earlier this week, HHN Orlando updated their Web site with dates and a few details for 2010. The dates will be:

September 24, 25, 30; October 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31, 2010

There was also mention of the "20 year" theme, but it appears that has been removed from the site for the time being.

Tickets are on sale now!

Are You Ready to Rock?

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has updated their Howl-O-Scream splash page with a teaser image for 2010 and the note: "Howl-O-Scream Is Gonna Rock!"

While we're not sure what this means for this year's theme, it at least seems better than last year's mascots: bored-looking vampire models.

Meanwhile, Williamsburg's Howl-O-Scream page claims a new "spooky" site will be up in June. We'll be checking back...