My visit to Howl-O-Scream 9/20
Busch Gardens Williamsburg: I went to Howl-O-Scream this past Saturday.
From Ben Sutton
Posted September 22, 2008 at 9:44 AM
I went to Howl-O-Scream this past Saturday. It was pretty crowded. I guess because of HOS opening weekend. The weather was really nice. It was a bit cool in the mid 70s and partly cloudy. You couldn't ask for better weather for HOS.
I got there around 1:30pm. I went ahead and did the coasters. Most of the coasters had about a 30 minute wait except Apollos Chariot.
I did all the mazes.
The new one, Masquerage, was alright. It wasn't quite what I expected but did its job. Their was about a 45 minute wait for that one. It was a pretty long line since it was new. It was next door to Wicked Woods.
Wicked Woods was really good this year. Alot better than last year in my opinion.
Never After was great. I was in line for about 1hr-1:30hr for that one. The line extended all the way back to the Red Baron ride but was worth the wait.
If you are going to HOS, I would suggest do Never After first. It would save you some time if you do it earlier.
The only show I saw was Monster Stomp Revamped. That was really good. I saw a little bit of Jack is Back beforehand. They were both in Ireland.
I plan to go back with a friend and his wife and her friend later in October.
I got some pics from HOS..
http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h196/dukebdben/Howl-O-Scream%202008/?albumview=slideshow
Great Report! I know how they can be in terms of crowds. In my opinion, Saturday is the WORST day to go of them. Saturdays tend to be the most crowded of every day, since most groups and such will come for the day on Saturdays. I am local so I have a pass and am there most weekends. I have found Sundays to be very quiet for the first 2-3 weeks of Howl-O-Scream. All waits were less than five minutes for the mazes and scare zones. As for the roller coasters, it was even better. I got on Apollo's Chariot 3 times in a row since some rows had noone waiting to begin with. Griffon's longest wait was for the front, and that was maybe five minutes at most too. There was essentially no wait for the second and third rows. You said you were going to go back in October. I would recommend to go earlier rather than later. If you wait until the last weekend, you may see the parking lines back up all the way to the actual exit sign in Interstate 64 (it happened that way the past few years).
From Ben Sutton
Posted September 22, 2008 at 1:03 PM
We're going the 3rd weekend in October. We will be prepared.
Their weren't many area college football games this past weekend. Virginia didn't have a weekend game and VT had an away game at UNC. I'm not sure about William & Mary, VMI, or VCU though. I think West Virginia played last Thursday. That may have contributed to the big crowd on Saturday.
Yeah, you will want to be. If you are not a passmember, and don't come that often, you may want to consider getting the Howl-O-Scream Quick Queue pass. This will get you through the mazes much faster. I'd get to the park early in the day to ensure you can get them before they sell out. It does cost $34.95 per person if not a passmember ($29.95 if you are). I updated the special events section under Howl-O-Scream with detailed openings for the Howl-O-Scream attractions and what is included with the Howl-O-Scream Quick Queue. If you have any questions, just let me know. :)
From Tyler S.
Posted September 22, 2008 at 7:35 PM
Yeah definitely try to go as early as you can and Fridays are the best day to go. By the way William and Mary had a home game Saturday night.
From Ben Sutton
Posted September 23, 2008 at 6:50 AM
I do have a free pass. I don't know about doing the fast pass. I'll have to talk with my friends about that.
I went on Friday Sept 19th. It was perfect, high of 73 and around sundown it was a bit chilli. I got there about 12noon. the park was a ghost town. No lines for anything all day up until about 7pm. When night fell even on Friday the crowds picked up quite a bit. My favorite maze was Wicked woods, it was wickedly awesome this year. Tormented tales gave me alot more scares this year than last year. The curse of pompeii was neat too, it had no wait. The never after had the longest line of about 30-45mins even on Friday. Masgerage was about a 25min wait. BTW guys I finally got my night ride on BBW. It was insanely awesome. I also saw Monster stomp-this was a great and very entertaining show I highly reccomend it. The guys walking around the park n stilts was amazing. I truly had a great day. Now its off to kings dominion Oct3rd.
Have fun Oct. 3rd, christy!
From Alex Clark
Posted September 24, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I was also at BGE on Sept. 19th. I thought the Masguerage was a rip-off. Wicked Woods and The Never After were the best. We're not going to Kings Dominion until November 1st, the last day of the Haunt. Should it be less crowded then?
This discussion has been archived, and is not accepting additional responses.
