 How about a little something from the East Coast for your Tuesday. The park sent us the following information and picture as vertical construction begins for Fury 325. Check out all of the details below. We've also included the virtual POV of the ride in case you've been living under a rock. For all of the info on Fury 325 be sure to check out the full press release. 
Carowinds, Charlotte , NC- Sept. 30, 2014 - Steel construction for Fury 325 begins as construction workers carefully place the very first piece of coaster track onto support beams. Scheduled to open in Spring 2015, Fury 325 will be the tallest, fastest giga coaster in the world. The first hill will stand 325 feet tall, as riders zoom along 6,602 feet of track the ride will simulate the flight of an angry hornet and reach a top speed of 95 miles an hour. Fury 325 is part of a multi-year expansion plan for the amusement park on the North, South Carolina border, additional 2015 improvements will include a new front entrance and improved dining and entertainment offerings. Carowinds closes for the 2014 season on Nov. 2. for more information on Fury 325, including ride simulation videos visit www.carowinds.com/fury325
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 Knott's Scary Farm kicked off last night with yet another incredible media event and even something totally unexpected which we'll detail below. In addition, we got to go through the all-new Infected, and we absolutely loved it. Not to be missed, but get there early as we'll detail below. The park kicked off this years Scary Farm with an incredible Opening. 
The Tricksters were out in anticipation of the "Opening Moment". 
Suddenly the Green Witch rises up out of nowhere and invites us all to experience what is inside Knott's Scary Farm. But beware, part of the park has been "Infected". 
That's when a Helicopter, yep, arrives to help secure the area. It was pretty awesome and totally surprised everybody. Obviously they aren't going to have this every night, but it was pretty cool. (Sorry this was the best picture I had of it). 
Once the opening moment was done, it was time to enter the fog. 
The park held a great media reception in Fiesta De Los Muertos. 
it was kind of weird/cool to be chilling out having snacks where Windseeker once stood. 
The MazesWe are going to do a run-down of the mazes and Skeleton key rooms in the most non-spoiler way possible. Keep in mind, these are just our rankings and also keep in mind this was opening night. Pinocchio Unstrung 
Skeleton Key Room: 0/10 The Skeleton Key room wasn't working both times we visited so unfortunately we weren't able to experience it. 
Maze: 7/10 This was one of the mazes we walked through during Scare School, so it was great fun to see the evolution of the talent, which is really great. The Witch's Keep 
Attraction: 7/10 Not technically a maze, but a fun experience nonetheless. I personally never felt the Mine Ride worked with the talent inside the maze, so for me it's not a huge loss. This is more of a "storytelling" than something that's going to actually scare you. 
Black Magic 
Skeleton Key Room: 8/10 Just a great intro to a great maze. Great attraction hosts and some pretty freaky things going on if you don't know what to expect. Maze: 8/10 An all around great tribute to Black Magic with amazing sets, amazing talent and probably one of my favorite scores of any maze. Gunslingers Grave 
Skeleton Key Room: 7/10 Definitely one of the more surprising Skeleton Key rooms but nothing really "scary" Maze: 6/10 I LOVE the idea of a maze themed to the Old West, I mean, it's Knott's afterall. But while the maze is great to look at, there's nothing really "scary" here. Forevermore 
Maze: 8/10 Exceptionally creepy and a great testament to the brilliance that is Poe. Trick Or Treat 
Maze: 7/10 Stylistically I think this is probably my favorite maze, but I think they were possibly having some technical problems in the final room because there was no sound. And if you've been through this maze, that is one of the most awesome things in the entire maze. Voodoo 
Skeleton Key Room: 10/10 Not giving anything away, but the Skeleton Key Room in Voodoo was pretty much the only time all night I actually got "scared". It takes a lot to freak me out, this did it. 
Maze: 9/10 Visually stunning. The "choose your own path" thing is unique as it allows you to see a couple of different show rooms. Parts of it remind me a little bit of the classic "Blood Bayou" but this is serious Voodoo. Dominion of the Damned 
Skeleton Key Room: 9/10 Last week when we did Scare School one of the highlights was seeing the Renfield's working on their character. To see that come to fruition last night was truly awesome and it's a great performance all the way around. Maze: 7/10 I think we all pretty much know what to expect out of the Knott's vampire mazes at this point. That said, this one is visually stunning and the talent is great. The Toothfairy 
Maze: 10/10 Daniel Miller is one sick and twisted individual. And I mean that in the most awesomely loving way possible. It takes a LOT to give me the creeps. A LOT. But this maze from start to finish was just incredibly creepy, the talent was spectacular and it was just all around gruesome. Not to be missed as I think I walked through about half the maze with my jaw dropped, which probably isn't the best idea when the Tooth Fairy is lurking about. 
Trapped: Lock and Key 
Unfortunately we didn't get reservations for Trapped in time to experience it. Not that we'd be able to tell you anything about it anyway. =) But from everything we've heard, it's amazing this year. Special Ops: Infected
None of us were really sure what to expect from Infected. I had heard prior to arriving for our 8:00 slot that there were some issues with issuing tickets for guests and a bit of confusion. Being that it was opening night I think we'll look past it for now and hope that they get the kinks worked out for tonight. As for the experience itself, it was a lot better than I could have imagined. Great fun all the way around, shooting Zombies is more fun than you'd think and the talent on both the "Special Ops" side and the "Zombie Side" is great. 
I have every bit of confidence that they will work out the kinks for the sign-ups but if you want to do Infected, GO THERE FIRST!! The HangingWe are going to try and review The Hanging and show some pictures in the most non-spoilery way possible. WE DO NOT REVEAL WHO GOT HUNG!!! 
From looking at the stage it's already kind of obvious where they are going this year. 
But that doesn't mean the show isn't great fun. In fact, I think this is the most irreverent Hanging in years. 
Are you ready for a Hanging!!! 
That's going to wrap it up for our look at Opening Night of Knott's Scary Farm. We'll definitely be back before the end of the season but we are still trying to solidify our Halloween Season plans. Did you attend opening night? Share your thoughts below.  We were invited to Knott's last night to attend their annual Scare School for the Dominion of the Damned and Pinnochio Unstrung mazes. If you are wondering what Scare School is, well, it's just what it sounds like. Monsters come and learn about the mazes they are working in, work on their characters and then get a chance to scare the media walking through the maze. It really is cool to see it all come together. In addition we got a behind the scenes look at the Costuming/Make-Up warehouse, the all-new Knott's Food Truck and a special History of Haunt tour. Before we get started, Knott's released the map for this years Haunt which starts next Thursday, October 25. We will be there, hope to see you there.  Prior to Scare School I made my way into the park to take a look at preparations for Haunt.   Gunslingers Grave, one of only two "On-Stage" mazes.    Preparations are also underway for Camp Spooky  It was probably about 100 degrees, but Snoopy is always in a good mood.  Light towers in Camp Snoopy, possibly for Infected.  Dia De Los Muertos is in Fiesta Village    La Revolucion' has gone to rehab     Looks like some new planters are being made as well.  Moving over to the Boardwalk, CarnEVIL is coming.   The hearse is out   Xcelerator was closed so no ride for me. =(  There are definitely less decorations out than in years past, at least for now.  Getting ready for The Hanging. Can't wait to see who get's it this year, there are so many people to choose from.     Black Magic   Bet you didn't know Flava Flave was a Haunt character   A quick look at the work being done on the 2015 attraction. We don't know what it's going to be yet (other than a dark ride) but the park has hinted that an announcement will be coming after Haunt.   Really hope they find a way to incorporate the Roaring 20's sign. It's a piece of Knott's History that we'd love to see saved.    Ghouls near Bigfoot Rapids  Wilderness Dance Hall, home to so many iconic Haunt mazes, this year it will be Pinnochio Unstrung.   The Haunt Museum is getting decked out for Halloween   Moo   This picture has an extreme lack of Haunt Fog ... soon ... very soon.   Ghostrider is still closed but should be back open in time for Haunt   Pro-Tip ... Pre Scare Dinner is your friend. Do it!!!  She spent a little too much time at the saloon show.   Pink's is set to close within the next few weeks. I've hard somewhere around Oct 4th but not 100% sure. Guess it's back to waiting in long lines at the one in Hollywood.  The main reason for our visit was for Scare School. Which is basically the Haunt designers helping the talent become their character so they can scare the hell out of the rest of us.  It's a very interesting process where you have multiple people playing the same character (so they can take breaks). They will introduce themselves, as their character, do some non-speaking sounds and practice the motion of their character.  Brooke Walters sharing some tips with the talent, we were simple observers.  A quick video outlining the process. This is by no means the entire process. After this point they spent a good 30-45 minutes in the maze developing their characters before we walked through the maze. And they will continue to rehearse for the next week. A couple of pictures from inside the maze. I had taken video but it didn't come out well. Plus, you want to be surprised right?   After our walk through we were invited to take a tour of the Costume/Make-Up warehouse which is always a treat.  Tim Barham explaining just how much effort it takes to put on the event, and how much laundry they actually have to do. Hint ... it's A LOT!!   Bill Meier explains the Make-Up/Prosthetic process. Did you know that Knott's does all of the Prosthetics for every Cedar Fair Haunt event? Now you do.  A few examples of the Prosthetics. These will not last throughout the entire event and are usually replaced every weekend.  The new Knott's Food Truck was also out and we were able to try some great food.  The menu will constantly change, this was what was on the menu last night. The Food Truck will be located in Gypsy Camp during Haunt since there aren't any food locations in that area. Great idea!!  Both the Po Boy (seen below) and the Fish Taco's were great.  Next was a nice little Haunt History walk through by Ted Dougherty. Most of the info wasn't new to us, but it's always nice to hear great stories.  You can buy Ted's book here, it's definitely worth checking out if you love Haunt History.  I figured there were spiders in these old Ghost Town buildings, but this is pushing it a bit. =)    Lastly, we had Scare School for Pinocchio Unstrung. Obviously it was a bit darker, but here you can see the maze talent doing their character walks.   Gus Krueger telling us a bit about the maze that he took over this year. It's going to be awesome.  That's going to wrap it up for this behind the scenes look at how Haunt is done. We'll be at opening night next Thursday. Looking forward to another year of Scary Farm. See You In The Fog ... |
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