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There is just so much random stuff at this park. I didn't even realize they had a "jungle cannibal treehouse."

Mack has been on quite a tear the last few years--looks great!

Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion, in the back seat after dark, last Saturday during Haunt.

Fright Lane Plus, which doesn't include rides, cost me $50 online, and the VIP Dinner was $34.95. (I'm a passholder, so admission wasn't a factor that night.)

^A kiddie coaster dubbed "Light Showers" to go with "Storm Chaser"?

X2--SF Magic Mountain

I'd have to say Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood. It's a ride that, from first glance, should be terrible, yet it's really quite good.

^Drinking lots of Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice?

I've only been on three RMCs, and I rank them as follows: Texas Giant, Twisted Colossus, and Goliath. That being said, Goliath is still an excellent ride (and the best one at Great America). It does pack a lot of punch in a small space.

^I liked No Vacancy the best mainly because of the sets, but I agree that Corn Stalkers and Zombie High had more "scares." Club Blood needs a "transfusion" to give it a bit more . . . life?

There's also a video on the click-through. This guy's garb might've been a problem a few years back at Howl-o-Scream. One of the TERROR-tories was "The Moor," and it was haunted by big Scottish warriors in kilts. I hope he enjoys his 15 minutes of fame.

I would have no issues with this. It'll be good to see the Hulk return with state-of-the-art track and perhaps an improved launching system.

Interesting--I had no idea they were planning to test Fast Pass + at DL this year.

Mitsui Greenland was my favorite park in Japan after the Disney parks back in 2007. You're right about the surprisingly good Togo stand-up and Ultra Twister coasters. I loved the "Haunted Shrine" dark ride with the head phones, too.

One more set of horrifying photos. Look--if you dare! The Maze of Madness has a medieval facade, but is a bit more modern inside. "Diarrhea is a storm that rages inside you!" (My thanks to MST3K for this line.) The Fright Lane line is on the left, the regular queue on the right. Fright Lane was pretty backed up for Maze of Madness, perhaps due to the nature of the "challenge." By the way, to find the Fright Lane entrance, look for a light-up red spider. OK, where's that carnival zone? I know it's around here somewhere, if I could only see through all this blasted fog! This Skeleton Key room was a bit weak the first time I did it, as the actor inside wasn't very good (he seemed like a last-minute replacement). It was better the second time, thanks to a different actor, who was much more into the role. Does every Cedar Fair park have one of these? Slaughter House has been at Haunt in one form or another for years . . . . . . yet this guy still isn't done. Talk about slow cooking! The facades for Club Blood and Zombie High. The latter had a very long line that used Windseeker's queue. Club Blood's line wasn't so long (at least when we did the maze). Welcome to the Necropolis! Plots and crypts available now! Beat the rush! Where there's a Skeleton Key room, you're probably going to find a skeleton. This sign lied last Saturday. There were two live actors in the tollway. However, the first time I rode this, a KD employee took great pains to point out that there were "NO LIVE ACTORS" in this attraction. I have no idea why this was such a big deal that night. Nice night for a drive, eh? This is the "Unstrung" show in Old Virginia. It has to do with some puppet master losing control of his puppets or something. I don't know. They did dance to a lot of random songs while random creepy images were projected behind them. Let's see . . . half-naked guys with grinders and drums, and a half-naked chick with fire. Yes, "Blood Drums" has something for everyone. Park the car, would you? I'll see about checking in to Darkside Manor. As for checking out, well . . . Corn Stalkers is surprisingly good. The park built some really nice facades for this maze. That's it for Haunt. Thanks for reading!

I've spent two straight Saturdays at Kings Dominion's Haunt this year with two different friends (Eric Johnson and Guy Koepp). I took away one valuable lesson from these two excursions: If you try to do Haunt on a Saturday night without Fright Lane, you're insane and need psychiatric care immediately! Yes, Haunt on a Saturday night can be frightening, indeed. The park was open until midnight, but people were lining up for mazes an hour before they opened, and lines were spilling into the midways (and the queues of closed rides) until after 10:30. Fortunately, while we may be a bit "touched" for being there on a Saturday, we weren't insane and sprung for Fight Lane Plus. And what, exactly, is the "plus"?--Skeleton Key rooms. KD has five such rooms. Two are at the beginning of the Maze of Madness and Slaughter House; the other three are in scare zones (Cleaver Brothers Carnival, Feary Tales, and Necropolis). To escape these rooms, you had to undergo some sort of challenge--for example, of the stick-your-hand-in-a-bucket-of-goo variety. The little rooms in the scare zones (a gypsy wagon, witch's cottage, and tomb) were very well themed, and the scare actors within, for the most part, were good. The challenges themselves were, well, not that challenging (if a little disgusting), and some of the rooms could've used an extra gag or two to make them more interesting. The best one is in the Necropolis. The whole Skeleton Key room concept confused a lot of people. In the scare zones, each room was marked with an "enter here" sign, and people would dutifully queue up whether they had a Skeleton Key or not. An extra sign reading "Fright Lane Plus Only" might've helped a bit, but some people will see a queue and just get in it, anyway, hoping to be rewarded. Here's my take on the mazes. No Vacancy (Old Virginia): Elaborate sets and some nice effects make this maze, a tour of the old Darkside Manor Hotel, complete with creepy bellhops and maids, stand out. The park put a lot of care and thought into this one. The haunted pictures in one hall are particularly cool, and it has a beautiful entrance room. Corn Stalkers (International Street): Yeah, this is your standard "corn maze of the damned," but it's very well done. The path is very claustrophobic, but still gives monsters plenty of places to hide, and there are some very nice facades, too (including a working windmill). Best done after dark. Zombie High (Candy Apple Grove, near Windseeker): A lab experiment at Lake Charles High has gone horribly wrong and turned the student body into bloodthirsty zombies (yeah, that's as much of a "story" as you get at Haunt). This is a solid zombie maze, where you must survive the school prom, as well as dangling brassieres and jock straps. The principal's PA announcements are a highlight ("Do not eat today's meatloaf! I repeat, do not eat the meatloaf!"). Doll Factory (Camp Snoopy): A creepy toy company makes dolls from human body parts. This maze has been here for a few years, but it's a good one, with a particularly strong last room. There's just something about old china dolls that never fails to creep me out. Lockdown (Flight of Fear queue): This is the one new maze this year. Again, they did a nice job on the sets (particularly a two-level cell block and execution chamber), but this is really just another zombie maze (only with convicts and guards). But, for once, the FoF queue isn't the home of Haunt's worst maze, and we enjoyed this one for the sets alone. Slaughter House (Candy Apple Grove, laser tag building): Hillbilly cannibals run a meat packing plant. Not much more to say here. Decent "B level" maze. Maze of Madness (Candy Apple Grove, Dodgem pavilion): Yes, you guessed it --it's an insane asylum of the damned. MoM has appeared in different forms at Haunt over the years, and this version is OK. But I prefer the old tent version from past Haunts (bare bones, but lots of fog with lunatics scrambling over chain-link fences). Club Blood (Candy Apple Grove, Hurler turnaround): This night club for bloodsuckers is getting a bit long in the tooth (pun intended), and I think it's time it was retired. The whole vampire rave thing just seems so, well, early 21st century. The scare zones offer the usual assortment of cannibals, evil clowns, steampunk freaks, vampires, and ghouls. KD does scare zones really well, and the scare actors tend to be pretty aggressive. The Haunted House 3D flick is back in the Action Theater (rather fond of this one), and the antique car ride has been transformed into Tollway Terror. Guy and I also tried out the pre-Haunt VIP meal, which is held in the Caprice Room over the Starbucks on International Street. The theme was "Alien Autopsy," and the three-course dinner was very good. It was prepared by the park's executive chef and was much better than standard Kings Dominion fare. They're also offering the Cleaver Brothers Sideshow Buffet and the Annex at Club Blood (a bar) in Candy Apple Grove. It's good to see the park upgrading its special-event food this year. The VIP Meal was about $35/person and was worth it. Here's a look at KD's Haunt. I didn't lug my camera around, so these were all taken with my phone and come from two different Saturday nights. Hmm--not too scary yet. I pay my respects to the dearly departed. When one visits Kings Dominion, one must ride Intimidator 305. To not do so would be uncivilized. Welcome to the Caprice Room. I thought the theme was "Alien Autopsy," not "Alien Sexual Practices." I really should remember to take the picture first, then a bite. This is "Fried Brain Matter with Mucus," but it tasted a lot like a fried green tomato (and a good one, too). The "Charred Human Flesh" tasted like a nice steak, so maybe the cannibals are on to something. Time for dessert! Very appetizing, indeed. So, human guts taste like cinnamon bread pudding, vanilla ice cream, and strawberries. Who knew? "Ugh! Should've turned down that 'wafer-thin mint.'" Again, well done, Chef Paul--well done! When the boogie-boogie eyes are engaged, Haunt begins. "So, you have dared to visit Haunt on a Saturday night? I hope you fools thought to purchase Fright Lane Plus!" "Behold these who failed to buy Fright Lane! They have impaled themselves in despair!" NO BOO FOR YOU! (You can buy one of these in any gift shop to keep monsters away. Why do these people even come to Haunt?) Feary Tales is the best of the scare zones. Beware the ill-tempered Red Riding Hood--she has an ax! Please, for the love of God, if you don't have Fight Lane Plus, don't queue up here! I liked these guard towers they built for Lockdown. Suggestion: Put guards in them and have working searchlights. This might be the most un-PC scare zone ever. Nice atmosphere, though. More to come.

^I miss the the old "Transylvania Express" train ride, too. Wouldn't mind seeing it return someday.

Or like this.