Backwoods takes us to an old southern Bayou that is, unfortunately, overrun by Werewolves. The maze was unique in that it is built over a shallow water tank, and you walk from scare to scare over a set of wooden bridges that cross the water. The sets themselves were large, impressive, and void of any cheap plywood walls. 

​The park was kind enough to treat us to a lights-on tour of Backwoods. You can see from the pictures that the level of detail and production value was definitely heightened for this maze. It looked amazing with the lights off and actors in place!

Aes night began to creep in, the Haunt opening show took place over the Celebration Plaza fountains. The cloaked figure in the middle of the water is none other that The Demon!

It was cool to see a live Demon character in the park, as the other marquee addition for 2017 was Demon: Re-Ignited

The Demon is a true classic at California's Great America, the this year's Haunt brought fire, tunnel projections, and the return of the water features to the beloved coaster. I have to say that a night ride on Demon Ignited was incredibly enjoyable.  

The park has also been hyping a re-recording of the classic Demon theme song by Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart. The new theme song was not ready to roll on opening night, but we will back next week to check it out again. 

Great America has done a tremendous job with increasing their entertainment offerings over the last few years. This year for Haunt, Ed Alonzo's Psycho Circus of Magic & Mayhem returns to the park to take center stage. 

We got to see the first trial run of the show, which was a lot of fun. I'm not a huge theme park show person, but I did find Ed's show to be an overall good time. He packed in several impressive magic tricks along with some PG-13 humor. I'd recommend seeing it if you have a full night to spend at Haunt. 

While I didn't have time to take in every other maze or Skeleton Key room tonight (damn you, Caltrain schedule!), it did seem like the houses that I did were mostly the same from last year. However, the couple Skeleton Key rooms I experienced were different from 2016, which was fun. 

Thanks for joining us for a look at the 2017 new hotness for California's Great America's 10th anniversary Haunt. 
​
Halloween Haunt runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights from now until October 29th. We definitely recommend coming to check it our if you're in the Bay Area!

We'll actually be back at California's Great America for Haunt the next two weekends, so look for lots more from this amazing event soon. 

​Related Updates: 

• Knott's Scary Farm Opening Weekend - The Original is still the best 
• Cedar Fair Announces All New Attractions for 2018 Season
• California's Great America Debut's Single Rail Rollercoaster for 2018
• Trip Report: Canada's Wonderland - A Beautiful Park with two Top 20 Coasters
• Red, White and Brews at California's Great America ​​

​If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

If you have any comments, please share them below

Welcome to Fright Fest 2017 at Six Flags Magic Mountain

This years maze pass prices: 

• General Access: $22
• General Access (Season Pass Price): $17
• Express Access: $37
• Express Access (Season Pass Price): $32

As always, Fright Fest is the best value'd Haunt in SoCal as you can just come and enjoy the awesome scare zones with your Season Pass. 

New this year is Club 6 Feet Under which is also included with the VIP Tour

You get a chance to hang out with some friends 

Before we head into the event, be sure to check out our video of Highlights from Fright Fest 2017

Our first stop was the all new Scare Zone "Damned in Disguise" (and Justice League since some of us hadn't ridden yet)

The new Scare Zone is awesome

It's always fun catching up with old friends 

Hall of Justice looks amazing all lit up for Fright Fest

Aftermath 2 is back

A blast from Fright Fest past 

Red is back for her revenge 

One of our favorites 

The last of the 3D mazes in Southern California is still going strong

Willoughby's is back ... gotta be honest here, it seemed very "dead" in here, and not in the good Fright Fest Scary way. In fact, a couple of the mazes were very quiet, no music, sound effects or talent. Just a lot of walking around in dead spaces. 

But it was opening night, we'll be back in a couple of weeks and hopefully will see a bit more life in some of these mazes. 

Give me food ... 

Ok, this maze has definitely worn out it's welcome 3 years ago. It's definitely time for a change here. We saw maybe 2 monsters in the entire maze and a blackout and security guard having a conversation. Why? Because nobody was coming through the maze at all. 

Terrortory Twisted is one of the most photogenic scare zones 

Exile Hill is always one of our favorite scare zones

Nun's hanging out in Demons Door ... something you don't see every day 

FIRE!! 

Overall another solid year for Fright Fest. We absolutely love their scare zones, the new maze Dead End is a LOT of fun as well. 

Despite a couple of mazes needing a freshening up or replacement it's still one of the most solid events in Southern California and worth a visit or two. 

One other note: They will NOT be doing the Rage of the Gargoyles VR on Revolution so be sure you ride this amazing coaster in "Classic" mode until Holiday In The Park begins. 

​If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

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Heading into Universal Orlando for the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights! 

If you can do the Stay & Scream it's totally worth it!

American Horror Story is our first house of the night. It features Asylum, Coven & Roanoke from the series. Loved it!

Next up is Dead Waters. Very cool house with a voodoo theme. I just wish it was longer! 

The Fallen wasn't one of the best houses, but maybe our timing was off and missed some scares.

​I like the addition of the Tribute Store from last year, and how there are displays for some of the houses. #

​The Purge scare zone is back once again, and it's always a crowd pleaser.

​At Orlando HHN, where alcohol has always been served, it seemed like the options were more limited this year.

Really loved the Trick R Treat scare zone! Definitely the most elaborate and fun of those we experienced

Caught a performance of Bill & Ted tonight too, in their final HHN appearance. They will be missed. Be excellent to each other! 

​And it wouldn't be HHN without Mel's Die-In. That's all for tonight in Orlando, but we'll be back for more soon!

​Back at HHN Orlando tonight!

​Some of the houses are already getting longish wait times. So worth it to get here early!

Trying one of the signature drinks, Midnight Madness. Anyone know where to get the pumpkin, s'mores & candy corn drinks?

Characters from all the houses gather in the Alters of Horror scare zone at the front of the park. 

Students of Hogwarts support the Purge.

Enjoyed visiting the vampires of The Hive. Creepy and cool house, really long too!

​Walking through the Invasion scare zone, for terror that is out of this world. 

​Blumhouse was one of the ones I was looking forward to the most. So much fun!Featuring scenes from Sinister, Insidious & The Purge.

​Lower crowds at HHN tonight than last night. Loving having a Frequent Fear Pass again. Be back in a few days I'm sure! 

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Welcome to Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood where we are kicking off another year of amazing Halloween events.

This was EASILY the lowest temperature for the opening night of HHN Hollywood for as long as we can remember. And it was AMAZING!! 

Before heading to the park we decided to head in early and grab some food and butterbeer. And since Wizarding World wasn't open for HHN, some Forbidden Journey. 

After leaving our extra people in the park we headed out to check in for the media portion of the event. No red carpet for us this year, we had another reason for getting here early. 

We wanted to check out this years Opening Scaremony with a whole bunch of new friends. 

The opening moments of HHN 2017 ... we shared this during the event and a lot of people loved it. We hope you will too. 

But Matt had other ideas and they headed in a bit earlier to see how the early entry worked (and since so many of you have been asking about it) 

Insidious 

Some sunset pics from the backlot 

As the sun began to fade it was time for the rest of us to head deep into HHN 

The Shining 

Would have loved to see an actual maze, but capacity would have been the scariest thing of all

How you doin' ... 

Here's Johnny!!! 

Heading into the backlot ... 

Really fun scare zone as you headed to the three backlot mazes 

Some sunset/nighttime pics for you to enjoy 

This scene was really hard to capture in pictures, but we wanted to give this actress a shout out. She was AMAZING. If you know who she is please pass it on. Her hard work was appreciated. 

Dead ... 

The first of the backlot mazes was American Horror Story 

This year they stuck with one season and I think it worked much better this way 

Ash vs Evil Dead which was my favorite maze of the night. But I'm a HUGE fan of Evil Dead and the TV show ... so that may have had some influence. 

Ashy Slashy ... Ashy Slashy ... Ashy Slashy ... 

Ash's room 

Saw

Not really our thing, but a lot of you love Saw so we totally understand why it's come back 

Let's head back upstairs 

Time for the Titans of Terror Tram with our amazing host Chucky 

They basically separated the three area's of the Terror Tram among the three Titans of Terror 

Sawyer Meats ... get it? 

Lots of different Freddy's running around 

Catawampus? 

We loved the theme of the Terror Tram but without using the back trail (which so many people complained about in years past) it just didn't seem long enough this year. 

Headed into the Blumhouse maze 

Started off with The Purge ... this part reminded us a lot of the Purge Gauntlet from last year, which we loved. 

Headed inside the maze portion 

The first part was dedicated to Groundhog ... we mean Happy Death Day. =) 

And finally Sinister 

Let's check out the Scare Zone on the upper lot 

Despite not having fire this year we really enjoyed this scare zone. Wish it would extend throughout the entire upper lot though. It was a lot of fun. 

Trick or Treat ... 

Lots of Chainsaws 

Our last maze of the night was Titans of Terror. We weren't really sure what to think of this one but we absolutely LOVED it. 

You could tell they had a lot of fun with this one 

Thanks again to Universal Studios Hollywood for having us out for another year of Halloween Horror Nights. We had an AMAZING time as always. 

​Check out my Maze rankings below (Gregg): 

Check back tomorrow as we'll have our update from the first two nights of Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. 

​Related Updates: 

• Preview: The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle 
• ​Universal Studios Hollywood Update and Fun Nintendo Land Speculation 
• ​Experiencing HHN Hollywood in a Wheelchair
• Photo Tour of Universal Studios Florida
• Photo Tour of Islands of Adventure ​​

​If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

If you have any comments, please share them below

​This week we learned of the passing of Disney Legend & Imagineer Francis Xavier (X) Atencio. At age 98, he has joined Walt, Marty & the rest on the other side, where they are (I'm sure of it!) creating even bigger & better attractions from scratch. 

For me, it's a very sad moment, along the lines of Marty Sklar joining the others. Both of them have had a tremendous impact on my life as a theme park fan, but also for creating the parts of Disney that most resonated in my soul. 

In the case of X Atencio, he's responsible for some of my most memorable moments in my life as far as Disney goes. Historically speaking, his efforts & creative imagination brought us two iconic rides which are still the gold-standard of attractions to this day: Pirates of the Caribbean & Haunted Mansion. While Walt created the imagination to make these attractions reality, it was the efforts of Hench, Sklar, Gurr & Atencio who brought them to life - and to reality. X was, in so many ways, the critical part of turning Walt's vision into an artistic reality. 

With Pirates of the Caribbean, X created the art and the characters which live through the ride's story-line. It shows a diversity of ideas that were made prime & whole. And his own hands were involved in the creation of these efforts, of turning a vision into what thousands of people daily - and hundreds of millions over 50 years - see and experience.  

What many don't realize is that in fact his heart & soul are in these rides - down to the creation of two of the most iconic Disney songs in history: "Yo Ho! A Pirate's life for me", and "Grim Grinning Ghosts".   Both of these are facets of my Disneyist mind; indeed, both are part of my Disney collection, permanently installed into my iPod. And I'll admit, they have led to two of my best experiences - with X in spirit with me. ​

2013 was a VERY rough year for me, transitioning in life from one role to another, and to the aging that was going on around me. To say it shook me hard was an understatement - there were some days where it wasn't quite certain if I was going to be there the next.  Through the help of my friends & adopted family, I got through it - and grabbed a plane to go to Disneyland/SoCal for a week...including the DLR for a much-needed mental reboot. 

The first day I had in the park was on-my-own - which if you're a Disneyist is a beautiful thing. Combine that with a nearly-deserted park (Walk on Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain...) and I was able to do things that I had wanted to do for a while: Let my inner child out to breathe. And he did just that. With Ears in tow (Yes, I still have my Ears, I wear them with pride...) I did the Mountain Run (Space, Matterhorn, Thunder & Splash) in under 30 minutes - a new record for me. And I had my requisite Dole Whip(s). And then I headed to my must-do at DL: Pirates Of The Caribbean.  

On an empty park day like this, you get some unusual opportunities to enjoy the park, including (and this is a one-off, I'm sure) having my own private boat on Pirates! So off we went into the ride's insides, past the Blue Bayou, and down the waterfalls into the ride itself - and I began to sing. (After all, there was nobody else around me... who's going to care!) And sing I did. 

For those of you who do not know me, to say that I have a flawless singing voice is a deception. Picture squeezing a broken accordian... or a REALLY out of tune tuba. But hey! Private boat ride! And so I sang... "YO HO! YO HO A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME..." for the entire duration of the ride. And as we headed up the waterfall at the end, and into the station, I picked up and headed out refreshed & relaxed.   Only to be greeted by two Plaid Vested Disney staff people.  

"Sir, we're glad you're enjoying your day at Disney... but we need to ask you to sing with a MUCH lower voice." 
"Why? I wasn't that loud...."
"Sir, you could be heard three scenes in either direction..."

Bright red, I realized that the music & moment had gotten to me - and that X's influence in revitalizing me was a gift that was intangible - and beautiful. ​

X's influences on me go back a lot further - and again to Disneyland. 

In 2012, I'd headed to LA for a weekend trip, and would be spending the day at Disneyland. It was a particularly harsh February for me, one that started off with receiving dissolution papers for a failed relationship. I was in a dark funk, replacing a lot of what I was normally known to be with a black cloud and heavy darkness that had immersed me in deep and heavy depression.  The trip to LA was already in the works when this all came down, and it carried itself with me in my roll-aboard. 

The day at the resort was quite good - surrounded with friends & adopted family to begin with - and a good collection of people no less. A lot of love for a lot of people began to crack the darkness around me. After a bit, I went my separate ways to enjoy some of the key Disneyland attractions I'd yet to experience - namely, Haunted Mansion. The lines this evening were quite long, as Disneyland was in the middle of their Mardi Gras celebration, making lines (and crowds) a bit thick; indeed, Haunted Mansion was a 30 minute wait - though one I was happy to deal with. Entering my doom buggy, the notes of the background music surrounding me made it feel right; the smells and the sights of X's creativity began to open my mind - and as we moved through the various scenes & sounds of Haunted Mansion I realized two things: I was singing along - and I was happy. And that I was finally cracking that negativity that was immersing me - and that X's work was part of it. And that Disney's magic was resolving me that though I had ghosts I had to deal with - I could do it. 

I rode Haunted Mansion again - and felt even better afterwards, as if a weight had been lifted off of me. Being in something where the ghosts of the past aren't always evil or mean or damaging - and showing that there can be better memories reminded me that I had a road with pain ahead of me - but it would eventually be BEHIND me.  
​

Flying into MIA at about 6am ... flying out of MIA at about 7am on my way to TPA. 

If that seems like a quick connection in an airport as big as MIA ... you are correct. 

After a quick breakfast at IHOP (seriously, I could NOT find a Waffle House on the way from the Airport) it was time for Busch Gardens Tampa. 

Wouldn't you know, just as the park was about to open a huge storm hit. It wasn't even one of those 5 minute FL storms, it was a good 1/2 hour. 

Good thing after that though is we had a relatively dry day. 

Our first stop of the day was Cheetah Hunt ... and in typical Intamin fashion the ride was down. 

We did get to ride later in the day and I loved it. Would have loved to ride more, but the ride just was having a bad day. 

Beautiful park 

So while they were figuring out what's going on with the Intamin, we headed to Cobra's Curse. 

​Totally loved this ride. Unexpectedly longer than I thought it would be. 

Next up was Montu ... and wow, this B&M did not disappoint. Fun in the front and the back. 

Some more of Cobra's Curse 

A lot of the rides at Busch Gardens go near walkways, so I'm guessing this has been an issue in the past? 

Kitty!! 

Tunnel of Humidity 

Ok, Falcon's Fury. 

I'll be honest, I'm not a "screamer" when it comes to rides, unless we're just being silly. But VERY rarely does a ride make me scream from freaking me out. This one did. And it was AMAZING. 

I had thought they should add the same seats to Lex Luthor at SFMM, I'm re-thinking that. It may be too much. Lol. 

Scorpion was great fun as well. 

Oh yeah, some of Team Park Journey came out for the day as well. We had so much fun. 

Boo, Kumba was closed. Guess I'll have to come back. Shucks. 

Mad Kitty ... seriously, he did NOT like us, well me. 

Well, if you insist. =) 

Most amount of wet we've ever gotten on a log flume ever. And it was glorious. 

I don't get why these dive machines get such hate. Are they the most intense rides ever? No. But they sure are fun. 

Flaming-O's for my wife. 

The Kangaroos are down for rehab. Not sure if drugs or physical. =) 

So after a fun day at Busch Gardens, and having had only an hour or two of "plane sleep" I drove out to Orlando.

Instead of going to sleep in my hotel I decided to go find Shake Shack. I honestly didn't even realize it was at the same place as the Orlando Eye. 

The next morning it was up bright and early for SeaWorld. Well, I slept for like 11 hours in the hotel, and it was again ... amazing. 

More Flaming-O's. 

Ok, here it is kids. I've gotten a LOT of flack over the years due to my dislike of Tatsu at Magic Mountain. I'm just not a fan. I would have much preferred a flying coaster that had some tunnels or hugged the terrain a bit, not just built on top of a hill. It's an eyesore, it needs a paint job, it's got no pacing ... shall I go on. 

​Which brings me to Manta 

I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved, LOVED Manta. I don't understand how anybody who has ridden both of these coasters could put Tatsu above Manta. Manta has EVERYTHING a Flying coaster should have. Aerial stunts. Check. Pretzel Loop. Check. Awesome looking trains. Check. Near misses with Rocks and Water. Check. Great ops. Check. 

I really loved this ride if you can't tell. 

A little slo-mo of the part of the ride nobody has ever seen. Lol. 

Oh, my other favorite part of the park, for those of you who know me this is NO surprise. 

This area blew me away. And the Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld San Diego is a pale comparison. 

​But more on that in another article soon. 

I know the ride gets a lot of hate, and it's probably pretty justified, but I enjoyed it for what it was. 

If you are riding this thinking it's going to be Pooh at TDL you will be SORELY disappointed. 

OMG, Penguins. I could have stayed in here all day if it wasn't so cold. 

Love the underwater viewing. 

NEED!! (No I didn't buy it) 

Journey to Atlantis was a lot of fun. I was warned not to sit in the front row. I did not sit in the front row. I see why I was warned not to sit in the front row. 

Where to even begin with this ... 

Yes, you read that correctly, 354 seconds between dispatches. And that doesn't even include the ride cycle time. This VR thing HAS to die. I would have loved to ride this more than once, but I couldn't handle it. It was ridiculous. 

I did wait for a front row ride, but because of how they have the VR "Bags" set up, it didn't matter. 

Another ride that seems to get a lot of hate for no apparent reason. Solidly in the middle of the B&M Hypers, but that's not a bad thing AT ALL. 

First ride it was raining, and I was in the front row. It stung. 

As you can see, it wasn't busy. I rode this 8 times in about 45 minutes. Could have ridden more if I didn't have to walk around every time. 

Had to pay a visit to the Sharks 

And the Turtles 

Alright, that's going to wrap it up. I had an amazing two days at two amazing parks. 

I did get over to Disney Springs and Hoop De Do Review later in the day with more of Team Park Journey, and that was amazing as well. Maybe I'll put that report up one of these days. =) 

Hopefully you enjoyed this report, I will be visiting FL a few more times for work soon so I'm looking forward to trying a few more parks I have yet to get to and seeing more of the state. 

​Related Updates: 

• Ocean Explorer Media Day at SeaWorld San Diego
• Sneak Peek of Ocean Explorer at SeaWorld San Diego
• SeaWorld Orlando announces Infinity Falls for Summer 2018
• SeaWorld San Diego announces Electric Eel for 2018
• Coaster Crusade at Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando