Scandia Haunt 2014

[Rotura Violenta]

Searched, but didn't find a thread to piggyback onto. Anyhow, just a quick photo-less (I took one picture!) trip report:

 

Drove out to Scandia in Ontario, CA tonight for their haunt. Wasn't expecting much, but it was surprisingly fun—and my first time at the park. First, there was barely anyone there (maybe 50 people when the haunt started), but they cleared out within the first 30 minutes and we essentially had personal ride-ops going from ride to ride with us. There were two fairly simple mazes—nothing showy, but much better than I'd expected.

 

The first was the embarrassingly named "Wussmaker"—a makeshift affair constructed underneath the Screamer roller coaster. The sets were basic, and the walkways were very tight, but it was all incredibly effective. I'm not sure how accurate the data is, but apparently Scandia counts the amount of "wusses" who don't complete the maze. This sounded like a great, but unbelievable piece of marketing, but I can honestly see why people would bail. They only send two or three people through at a time, and consequently, all the scare-actors are focused on you. The maze is set up so the actors can jump at you from all kinds of places, and much of it is very dark indeed. Not only that, but they can touch you—and they touch, a lot. (You also find yourself touching them as you feel your way through pitch-black walkways). There's a baffling mirror-maze section, a moving floor section, some animatronic gags, live rats (in a cage)—all kinds of stuff in there. Although the second time through wasn't nearly as intense because we knew what to expect, the first time through was genuinely frightening. Clearly a low-budget affair, but far scarier than anything at Knotts this year.

 

The second maze was Blackout—another makeshift maze next to the Gravitron. As the name suggests, it's almost entirely blacked out and you're supposed to feel your way through. There are squishy floors, wind blasts, slanted walkways, panels that will give you an electric shock (!!!), and more. There are scare actors in a few well-timed and very scary strobe scenes, but for the most part, you're just trying to feel your way through it in the dark. Mid-way, you enter a room with what appears to be a large truck / horn effect, but it's actually taking your photograph and projecting onto a screen outside (they also give you a free copy right as you exit). Again, far more unnerving than anything I've been through at the major parks, but done on the cheap. The second time through was a bust, though, as the actors had cleared out somewhat (it was that quiet at the park) and we accidentally took a wrong turn and cut off part of the maze by going through a monster hiding place.

 

Although it was ridiculously quiet (maybe 20 people there toward the end?), the overall effect of the haunt was pretty great, and I think it'd be a blast when more crowded.

 

The rides:

 

Scandia Screamer: Far, far more intense than expected. Given how laughable the restraints were, this thing was launching us out of the seat all the way through. There's some serious airtime moments on this ride, but there are at least two moments that are rendered intensely painful because of how hard it launches you before slamming you back down again (the third drop and the second half of the double-down, in which you can see the otherwise-rounded angle of descent tip severely and sharply before the drop levels out). Middle seats provide the right amount of whiplash over the hills whereas the front tames it just a little too much. The back, however, is absolutely brutal (like car accident-style whiplash). But for as brutal as it is, it's a great (not so) little coaster. Impressive and very fun.

 

Cliff Jumper: Drop rides rarely have an effect on me. I find Supreme Scream to be bizarrely tame, and even Lex Luther at SFMM doesn't feel as intense as their old Freefall ride. This thing, however, was gnarly. It felt much higher than it actually was and the drop seemed far stronger than other drop towers I've been on. There was no warning or even a hold at the top; it was as if it climbs to a certain height and then just lets go. I guess there are certain carnival drop rides that are considered "good" and I don't know if this an example of one, but it was surprisingly intense.

 

Swedish Swing: Had no idea what to expect with this, and found it to be a lot of fun. Great airtime, great height, good g-forces (not too much) and, in general, totally fun.

 

Although we rode everything else, the other rides are standard carnival fare (the Gravitron was pretty nauseating). All in all, a fun night with surprisingly intense rides and genuinely frightening mazes.

The only photo I took while waiting for a ride op to come over from one of the other rides and let us on.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Rotura Violenta

[Jew]

I'm not really a fan of "blackout" haunts (I prefer traditional sets and fun scares), but that wussmaker haunt sounds fun (minus the touching part---I'm not a fan of that either).

[Rotura Violenta]

I'm not really a fan of "blackout" haunts (I prefer traditional sets and fun scares), but that wussmaker haunt sounds fun (minus the touching part---I'm not a fan of that either).

The blackout concept isn't that appealing to me either, but I must say, it was effective here—genuinely freaky, especially once you discovered that some of the walls you were feeling for guidance were electrified. It made me think twice about going through a second time.

 

What amazed me about both was the hazard factor. There are a LOT of jumps, and a lot of walls to run straight into if you were to try and get away from a scene too fast. Also, the tilted floor in Blackout (probably a 30-degree angle to the side) was rough going as you don't want to touch the walls, yet you have no clue as to how far you have to try and walk like that. The handful of tricks in there were simple but totally effective.