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Note: The preliminary images can be found in the Image Gallery
Howl-o-Scream 2007 is finally here! I was fortunate enough
to make it to opening weekend this year with absolutely fabulous weather during
the night of my visit. With three new houses and two returning houses, there is
a lot to explore. I never worry about having a worthwhile trip to Howl-O-Scream
because they have never failed to make my visit enjoyable.
Entering the parking lot at about 7PM to make it in when the
gates open at 7:30 was not a problem. I believe they changed the event entry
this year so you pass through the main ticket gates first and wait inside a
holding area for the rest of the park to open. The Zombie DJ (Death Jockey) is
inside this area to keep you entertained so I found this a great improvement
over going through ticket processing in a long line after the park has opened.
My ticket was purchased online and printed on the day of the event like last
year. Once at the gate it was just one scan of my printout and into the holding
area where I wait for the final gates to open but not trapped in a long line. I
hate lines.
My first priority once the gates were open was Sheikra. This
roller coaster is awesome and a great adrenaline rush to start off the night. My
wait time to ride was less than 3 minuets and well worth walking halfway into
the park before going on anything else. I have some great images of this
coaster against a near full moon in the gallery from later in the night.
The Houses
"Taste of Blood"
 My first house of the night was "Taste of Blood", a vampire
themed house new for 2007 with a Five out of five skull rating. It takes the
place of "Deathly Departed" which was not one of my favorite houses from years
past. This is a decent house with good lighting so you can see where you are
intended to go without ruining the vital darkness. I normally hate strobe
lights in houses but they have timed these well and they were not at all
disorienting. The subway trains near the end were great and tied into the
theme well. Still this was not one of my favorite houses here at Howl-O-Scream
mostly because it seems a bit pieced together. It was still a good replacement for "Deathly Departed". Wait time in line for this house was less
than 5 minutes.
"Trapped in the Walls"
Next was "Trapped in the Walls", where dark demons are
locked in that walls of a house with a horrible history. The house is in it's second
year but it has changed quite a bit. They no longer have the
advertising from last years sponsor and that alone was an improvement. The
lighting was perfect and black hands passing in front of your face made you
wonder if you actually saw something or not. The imitation insulation dropping
from a rotted ceiling was an authentic, well done affect. Overall
the house was much better this year. Once again, wait time in line for this
house was less than 5 minutes.
"The Hunted"
We visited "The Hunted" after a short break at about 8:30, that's 2 houses, one ride and a drink in about one hour. This house is a return
from last year with some slight modification. I did not like it as much as last year but
it is still a good house. The maze of this old hunting lodge included several open
display areas giving good view of the gruesome happenings going on here. They have a very
good use of haze and backlights but I did lose my way in a darkened area of the
house, so one part of the house was not lighted well enough. The tassels from
above in this dark area were overly distracting as well. The large bear with florescent paint around its mouth also seemed out
of place. Once again, wait time in line for this house was less than 5 minutes.
"Clue Muse"
As I rounded the corner to "Clue Muse", it seemed they have
upgraded the laser show or at least cleaned them. They are still not as nice as
Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando
but it is an improvement. As this is the main theme for
Howl-O-Scream, there was a line to get in. The half hour wait was much like a
line to get into an underground club, powerful bass from the speakers clearly
heard from outside where you wait alongside gratifi walls. Once inside the
club at around 9:30, I found the props to be good but not great. The bartender
shooting the water/air gun was a nice affect used last year. The strobe lights
were very disorienting but I never lost my way through the club. In the end, I
found this to be a good house but essentially the same as last year; ok but
not great. Wait time in line for this house was about 30 minutes.
"Radiation Alert 3D"
"Radiation Alert 3D" is the replacement for "3rd Dimension"
of years passed and new for 2007. I was looking forward to this for a month. A
great replacement for the old 3D house, you are in a research facility that is
leaking deadly radiation where you are asked to evacuate calmly and wear your
protective cardboard and cellophane goggles for protection. This a must see
house even with only a three out of five scull rating. The only problem I had
here was a guy that kept pushing his girlfriend into me from behind. None of
the houses are overcrowded so this is totally unnecessary. They pace the number
of people in all houses so it dose not happen often, just when an annoying
person causes problems for others. Wait time in
line for this house was zero.
"Catch Your Breath"
After wandering around for a bit I entered another house
that was new for 2007, "Catch Your Breath". This was by far the best house there
in my opinion. It reminds me of the bayou house of years past that did such a
good job using open space and great actors. This one is like being around an
old garage in a place that time forgot. Car parts lying around and in some
cases, entire cars. The scares are plentiful and it is located in a place most
guests do not get to see; beside the "Gwazi" roller coaster. The near full moon
against this huge wooden coaster was brilliant when entering the house and I
hope this house is around for a few years to come. It fully deserves its five out of five scull rating and there was
zero wait time to get in at just past 10.
Food
Eating at almost 11 at the Zambia Smokehouse there was a
short line but like most, it was less than 5 minutes. The rib platter and service
were excellent and the portions are plenty to stuff yourself and then some. I don't
think there is a better place to eat in the park during Howl-O-Scream. After
eating I got shots of Sheikra under moonlight and revisited the nearby scare
zones.
"Scare Zones"
The Scare Zones were good like always but unfortunately not
marked on the map. I use the map as a point of reference so I'll cover these as
best I can.
"Wicked Woods"
The "Wicked Woods" is a return from many years that I never
tire of. A fairy tale with no happy ending and trees that walk past and try to grab you. I liked last year better but this was still very good
with some of the best audio affects in the park. I always walk through several
times when I visit.
"Pharaoh's Revenge"
"Pharaoh's Revenge" is a return from last year where you may
get to see a sacrifice in progress as the mummies in the walls come alive. Not bad but rather short.
"Eternal Midnight"
"Eternal Midnight" is new for this year recycling some
props from other zones in years past. This was stuck out
of the way further from the pathway unlike most so you are not forced to walk
through it. Personally I would rather it be in my direct path. Make sure you
don't miss out on walking through because it is well done.
"Zombie Junction" & "Masers and Monsters"
I have a feeling I missed one of these. "Zombie Junction"
was a return from last year that had jumpers' slingshoting out of the bush at
you. Lookout for the cloths hanging on the cloths line, they are in this
vicinity to scare the crap out of you. Somehow I think I missed "Zombie
Junction", I wish they had marked their placement on the map. I will update
this review if I can budget another trip this year.
Value of the trip
I wanted to note how much the average trip might cost for
someone visiting this event. For full prices and dates you will want to visit http://www.howl-o-scream.com/tampa/
but here are some basic prices from this 2007 season. General Admission is
$59.95 but you can get great discounts.The cheapest rates are during freaky
preview for about $29 plus tax. If you missed the Freaky Preview you can still
get good rates by advance purchase, group rates, and other discount packages
such as the Recurring Nightmare pass and Thrills and Chills Weekend pass. Here
was what my freaky preview visit cost in total for two people on a weekend
night:
- $64 - Advance purchase of two Freaky Preview Tickets
including tax (print at home)
- $9 - Parking at the event
- $30 - Big dinner for 2 @ the Zambia Smokehouse
- $6 - 2 Cola beverages before dinner
Total - $109
Extremely reasonable for an evening that offers so much to do
and not being stuck in line for a majority of the evening. Also, most major rides are
open. That includes Montu, Guazi, Kumba, Sheikra and others.
Overall
Howl-O-Scream 2007 in Tampa
is at least as good as last year. They have made improvements in the customer
flow into the park and even on a busy night distributes the guests throughout the
park. I was never crowded except near the popular DJ booths and I was never
rushed through the houses. The houses are easy to navigate and setup to feel
like a haunted house rather than a maze you are herded around. Its easy to see
why this is Florida's
top-rated haunted theme park attraction.
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