By Cheralyn Barrington, Staff Writer
Werewolves, dead cheerleaders, radioactive zombies, psycho doctors, and angry bikers wreck havoc on the streets of Busch Garden’s Howl-O-Scream 2011.
Howl-O-Scream’s selection of scare-actors (employees in various costumes) is extremely diversified, and there is likely to be a physical representation of almost everyone’s fear present this year. The theme is called The Dark Side of the Gardens, with the idea that at night-time, the Busch Gardens park distorts and changes into a horrifying place.
One notable difference from previous years is there are no defined scare zones that are specifically decorated; rather, there are swarms of “zombiefied” actors that will chase after guests in various areas of the park. Overall, it seems there are fewer scare actors roaming the streets, but more strategically placed inside of the haunted houses. Although this takes away from the overall realistic feeling of the spooky atmosphere, the interior of the haunted houses are more frightening. As there are more actors placed around corners, behind doors, and above the guests’ heads in the houses, guest are given more reason to scream, tremble, and run away in fear.
The houses this year are a combination of new and old. Three houses have been present in previous years and three are brand new. The returning houses are Nightshade Toys, Deconstruction, and Death Row Vengeance. These represent a demonic toy factory, a destructive hospital, and a terrifying prison. Each has improved from last year as more scare-actors are present. Beyond adding actors to the houses, they haven’t noticeably changed from previous years.
The new houses are Nevermore, Vampire Casino, and Zombie Mortuary. These include an interpretation of gothic horror stories written by Edgar Allan Poe, a sketchy casino run by vampires, and a full, intimate tour of a funeral. Out of the three, the Zombie Mortuary house is the most unique and enjoyable. The Vampire Casino and Nevermore houses bear striking resemblance to the houses at Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights this year. These houses seem thrown together and aren’t as creative as some of the previous houses, such as Death Row Vengeance, which delivers a terrifying prison experience. In one part of the Death Row Vengeance house, guests walk by prisoners who are getting executed either by being hung or by electric chair.
As always, in addition to the houses, there are live shows where guests can sit down and watch. Returning is the sexual comedy, Fiends, in which the cast dresses in skimpy attire, dances, and cracks sexual innuendos. A new show called The Midnight Hour was added, and is about a nightclub filled with pop stars.
Although Howl-O-Scream isn’t totally built on originality this year, it’s still good for a few screams, laughs, and a fun time. Even if the houses don’t totally impress, many of the rides are open, and Busch Garden’s new roller coaster, Cheetah Hunt, is worth a try. If the houses don’t make guests scream, this coaster which goes from zero to 60mph in 3 seconds sure will.
