jray21

Those Extra Toasty Cheez-Its are amazing! I go through about 2-3 boxes a week.

The video looks absolutely amazing on my dads 4k TV!

This past Friday, Theme Park Review was invited to California's Great America for the 2016 Haunt media event! This event gets better and better every year and this year was no exception! This year, there are 6 mazes, 5 skeleton rooms, 3 scare zones, 4 shows, and 2 experiences! This is a must see event, and is worth every penny. They seem to be investing more time and money into this event every year as it's getting better and better! The mazes are looking very good, with great decorations and great theming. The shows were professionally done, and the skeleton key rooms were a lot of fun! They really seem to be stepping up their game! The lines weren't too long, but I absolutely recommend getting the Fright Lane Plus. Not only do you get to go to the front of the line for each maze, but it also includes the skeleton key rooms. The upcharge for the plus versus the regular Fright Lane works out to about $2 per skeleton key room, and that is definitely worth the price! I won't give anything away, but "Dominated" was one of the funniest and best things I've ever done at a Haunt event. It had great acting, and was a lot of fun. That was worth the $10 alone! I know a lot of people complain about all the extra charges, but if it's your only visit, it's definitely worth the money! The Boofet is also a great deal with some great food! It's only $14.95 (which is amazing when compared to food prices in the park) for all you can eat delicious food, and some possible visits from some monsters. We also got to preview the new addition this year, FearVR! According to CGA, FearVR is The cost seems reasonable at $10, and it's a pretty unique experience. I was also surprised at how well the "moving" portion worked. They can take up to 16 people at a time, but with anything VR, it can take a little time to get through so make sure you plan accordingly. However, when we went by later in the evening, it didn't seem to have a long line at all. Also, it may be better to do it at night since the hospital takes on a more sinister tone when it's dark outside. The mazes this year are: Wax Museum Chamber of Horrors (Our favorite) Roadkill Roadhouse Dia De Los Muertos inSanitarium Zombie High Toy Factory CornStalkers Madame Marie's Massacre Manor The skeleton rooms are: Bone Crusher Dominated (Our favorite) Vanity Sorority Slaughter Hoarder House (Disgusting, but really good) The scare zones are: Evacuate Killer Clown Town Lockdown The shows are: Academy of Villains Blood Drums Nytewalkers Ringmaster's Sideshow The experiences are: FearVR Haunt Boofet DISCLAIMER: The mazes do not allow any photography or video at all. We were given special permission to take some pictures in Madam Marie's Massacre Manor for the event. Please respect the rules and do not take any photos or videos in the mazes. Waiting to get into the parking lot for our first Halloween event of the season! Here for the media day! We got our ticket, map, and Fright Lane Plus pass with a really nice skeleton key that will be added to our keychain after the event! Patriot looks really nice, and the spiderwebs add a nice touch to the death of Vortex. When the fog really kicks in, this place is pretty creepy. The skyway was closed for winter, and to use the area for mazes. We will be trying this out later! After we entered, they took us straight to FearVR for a preview. It's the orange building to the right. Getting ready for FearVR! The is were you "sign in" for your appointment and pay the office visit co-pay. While waiting, Amy does the scarecrow pose. Inside the hospital, waiting to be called in to see the doctor. Amy's a little nervous about what they'll find during her checkup. You can tell how much I love hospital visits! This is one of the skeleton key entrances. They were really easy to find with flashing lights. This one was Hoarder House, which was absolutely disgusting, but really good! This is the somewhat recently renovated picnic area. It's used for 49ers games as well, and is a huge upgrade over what was here before. They said there are over 50 big screens! There is also a nice photo op for Flight Deck. Unfortunately, they weren't testing it yet, but it was running at opening. I'm pretty sure this is where the Boofet takes place as well, but tonight it's for the media preview! The food was really good! Elizabeth served some amazing lemon chicken! Prime rib for the media event! I don't think I'm going to be leaving! They had some nice cookies and desserts I loved, and fully support, the Vortex tombstones! a These cookies were amazing! You know Haunt is about to start when you see the fog. Finally getting dark, bring on Haunt! First up was Madame Marie's Massacre Manor! (TPR was given special permission to take a few pictures inside. Please respect the rules and do not take any photos or videos in the mazes) First maze of the year! They did a great job and we jumped quite a few times! The theming was top notch! One of the ghosts is ready for the next victims....I mean guests. Just a normal room. I'm sure there's nothing scary in here. Uh oh, it looks like we disturbed the maid! Run!!!! Lots of creepy voodoo/séance stuff. And of course, a murder victim. Next up was our first skeleton key room! This one was Sorority Slaughter. It was pretty fun and scary. We've never done these in the past, but won't be skipping them anymore! Here's a general overview of the rules. These "Phantom" characters are at the entrance of all the skeleton key rooms. This was the Lockdown scare zone. They did a great job, and the guy in the wheelchair was really fun to watch! Is that a propane tank I see? That must mean..... FIRE!!!!! I love the fog that they have here sometimes, but fire is much better! It's looks really cool with the fire bursts going all night. Obligatory entrance picture. The lighting and decorations were really good. Next up is Insanitarium! It was a good solid maze. The scare zones had some great lighting and fog effects. Here's our favorite scare actor of the night! Next up was Dia De Los Muertos. The guy under one of the market stalls scared me more than anyone else that night! Roadkill Roadhouse was another solid maze. This was the Dominated Skeleton Key Room. Definitely the highlight of the evening! The Nytestalkers put on a great show. This guy would swing out over the audience on these Mad Max style poles. They also had acrobats and trampolines (like the La Nouba WDW trampolines). Good riddance to Vortex and hello Patriot! This was the Bone Crusher skeleton key room. Not our favorite, but fun for those who have never experienced the effect inside. The blood drums put on a good show as well. The drummers had a zombie Mad Max style about them. And they had fire!! It was a very well done show, and was a lot of fun. This was the Vegan Maze, also known as the Chicken restaurant. Evacuate was another scare zone. There were a ton of hiding places to scare the crap out of people. One of the scare actors ready to do his best to scare some unsuspecting victims This group couldn't get through the area fast enough. Cornstalkers is a classic CGA maze and had some good scares. One of the better drop towers around! Toy Factory was really good! While the song alone is scary enough to drive you insane, they had some great decorations and some great scare actors. Amy liked that CGA coordinated the lamp light colors to match her shoes. We finally got to ride Mass Effect and we loved it! They did an amazing job with this attraction, and we were really surprised at how good it was. Sorry for the blurry picture, but this is why you get the Fright Lane pass! This line was one of the longest of the night and we got to walk right in with no wait! Going back to high school is definitely a nightmare!! Wax Museum was our favorite maze of the night! It's a great concept that worked very well, and it was really interesting seeing all the exhibits! This was one of the Sideshow performers. He did a great job! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Academy of Villains. I guess we'll just have to come back! They should keep the blood fountains around all year! The Nytewalkers closed out the event and gave everyone a high five goodbye! The fog was really creepy and cool at the end of the night! It was actually creepy walking out at the end of the night with pretty much everyone gone. Luckily, Amy's shoes will light the way out. Thanks for following along! This was an amazing event, don't miss it!

Here you go, $10.

I can't wait to see the new entrance and entrance area. I love new rides, but things like redoing areas can be just as nice.

Thanks for the info Charles! As for Bring a Friend days, avoid the park at all costs. I made that mistake once as well and it was a nightmare!

I agree! It was an incredible ride when it first came out but it's way too painful now. The drop and the first loop are really great, but the rest is torture.

I think it's because we're all extremely exhausted and just trying to recover! It was a really fun event!

T minus 4 hours until I'm done with work and heading to LA!

Just reading the link I was thinking, this has got to be Carnival. Sure enough it was!

Taking the money and running to Japan is looking better and better every day!

Sounds great! I will definitely check it out!

I ended up getting the Costco AP for $110 (only $5 more than a one day pass). It has a bunch of black out dates, but not a bad deal in case we visit again in the next year. That being said, the first day I use it will be in a few days. Am I able to get the early entry with that? No big deal if I can't. Also, what food items do I have to get?

It is frustrating, but I don't mind the extra wait to get the value out of it. It beats hiking to Carl's Jr, and ends up being cheaper as well if you use it enough!

The PS4 Pro and PS4 Slim were just announced. www.cnet.com/products/sony-playstation-4-pro/preview/ I'll be passing on them. I still don't have a 4k TV so not really a big reason to get it. For those that do, it may be worth it. Although, no 4k Blu-Ray support is pretty stupid.

Only a few more days until WCB! I haven't been since Green Lantern was new, so we've got a few new things to ride. I'm excited to catch up with people as well. Can't wait!

Ok, USH experts, what is the recommended order of attach for USH? Potter first, or still the tram first?

That's good to hear! The form for renewal flash is up again, but still doesn't link to anything. It looks like the renewal page flashes for 1/2 second, then goes back to the login page. Yes, I'm having a Six Flags day. I emailed support, but didn't hear anything back. Oh well. I guess I'll just buy it as a new pass.

Sounds good! Although, even if all the rides are closed it will still be fun hanging out with everyone. Well, those that don't ask stupid questions about confirmation emails that is.

I did register my pass online, but it seems like the form is down now. You can go to where you fill out your info, but it's blank.

I would get it processed by October 27th just to be safe. I"m not sure about renewals. Either way, I'd try and visit by October 27th. Also, it says there's a special offer for renewals, but nothing would happen after I put in my info (I made sure it was correct). Anyone else having this issue? As for the announcement, I think it's great! They are a lot of fun, and I'm glad to have one close now.

We got our tickets to WCB! Haven't been to SFMM since Green Lantern opened so we have a few credits to get.

Got our tickets for the upcoming season in Reno! This year will be: Once Elf Motown Dirty Dancing Cinderella The Illusionists (not a musical, but part of the season) Should be a fun year.

I've been playing Lego Jurassic Park. Pretty fun game, just like the others except it's Jurassic Park.

Not unexpected at all, but still too bad. It had potential as a park. I just hope the Schwarzkopf finds a new home.