Post by cherie on Oct 24, 2008 7:47:02 GMT -5
Screamers’ Hollow review.
Who went: Cherie (me - 40) and my husband Chris (38).
What: Screamers’ Hollow
Where: Sterling Renaissance Festival Grounds, Sterling, NY.
When: Saturday October 19, 2008 6:30 PM
Why: Because we thought it would be cool.
How: We arrived around 6:30 PM and were one of the first to get there. There were only about 8-10 people waiting in line before us.
There is a neat tricked out hearse to look at while in line.
The ticket booth opened at 7PM. Ticket info:
SPOOKY SPECIAL:
TWISTED TERROR & HOLLYWEIRD
( Both Outdoor Haunted Trails)
$25 + Tax
Save $5.00
HOLLYWEIRD or TWISTED TERROR only
(One Outdoor Haunted Trail)
$17.50 + Tax
Second Trail Purchase
(after entry)
$12.50 + Tax
HELLS GATE
(Live Entertainment Stage)
Free with Trail Pass or $5 for Hell's Gate Only
We got the Spooky Special ($54.00 with tax for two people). You are given paper tickets (one for each trail) that are numbered (ours were #1). It is my understanding that the first several numbered ticket groups (1, 2 & 3 tickets) have 70 - 80 people and later numbered ticket groups have around 50 - 60 people. They call your number to line up for the trails (Hollyweird or Twisted Terror) so you don’t line up until then.
We entered the Hell’s Gate area which is in front of the Ren Fest ticket windows and entrance. There are picnic tables, fire pits to warm yourselves, Tiki torches, cool flashing lights on the buildings, Halloweeny decor, Hells Kitchen - food (more about the food later), a stage for the live band and an awesome animatronic reaper wraith thingy over the entrance. While we waited to be called to line up for the trails, Iggy the goul and a lady Vampire (I forgot her name-sorry) came over to talk with us. Iggy asked Chris & I if we would like him to cut us up with his axe then stitch us together to make a two headed person. The lady vampire wanted to know if we had eaten any peanut products recently as she had a peanut allergy - really funny !
Our number was called (we had #1) & we lined up for Hollyweird. We only had to wait in line for 15 min. or so. A coordinator at the gate entrance asked how many were in our party and allowed us in. There were 11 of us all together in the tour group (a group of teens, a family with 3 kids -one around 7yrs. old , & my hubby and me. Our tour guide was in her late teens and was very blase - she acted like she didn’t want to be there & this was the beginning of the night (the only negative part of this trail) ! It was so cool to go through the Festival grounds at night ! You get to go through some of the buildings - even the upstairs of some - so awesome ! The trail was quite long and it snaked throughout part of the grounds including some back stage areas. Some of the stairs in the buildings are steep and you have to walk up a steep grade at one point (it didn’t bother us but I could see where it might be hard for some). There is a mix of animatronic, still props and live actors throughout. Some are campy / cheesy (but I love camp!) I won’t go into detail as I don’t want to spoil any surprises ! I’m jumpy and scare easily but love to be scared so I was screaming & laughing the whole time ! Our group was a lot of fun too ! They keep the groups well separated so you feel as if you’re group is there alone most of the time. We didn’t feel rushed at all.
The trail exits back at Hell’s Gate. They have porta - potties in this area. My husband & myself went over to Hell’s Kitchen for a snack. They have hot & cold drinks (I had a hot cider & Chris had a hot cocoa + we split a huge chocolate chip cookie - all yummy !). They have hot dogs, burgers, nachos, corn chowder, chili in a bread bowl, cookies, cheesecake, etc.. there is also a separate stand with fried dough & fruit smoothies - no alcohol. We thought the food/drink prices were reasonable (2 drinks & a cookie for around $5.00). We sat at a picnic table to eat and listen to the band Armoney Suites . We thought they were pretty good (they played a great Led Zeppelin set later in the night !). Something that impressed me greatly was when someone sitting on the other side of our table accidentally dumped over their drink & out of the blue an employee appeared to clean up the mess & got them a free replacement drink ! I thanked him (even though it wasn’t either of us that spilled the drink) and he cheerfully replied “Glad to do it !” !
We lined up for the Twisted Terror trail and waited about 15 - 20 min. Our guide this time was very good - she seemed really into it ! We were with a group of people in their mid 20's who were kind of jaded and made a lot of cracks about the trail being lame & basically being jerks. My husband Chris & I tried not to let them spoil our fun so we stayed a little bit behind them. This time we were rushed through the trail - mostly doing walk by’s - not stopping much to view the sets.
We got back to Hell’s Gate again & split a fried dough (around $4.00), listened to the band some more (laughed at Iggy playing along on his ‘axe’) and bought two Screamer’s Hollow hoodies ($20.00 each). They had t-shirts (in L. XL, & 2XL - they should have small & medium too - not many people wear their T’s oversize anymore), glow necklaces, & other glow/flashing stuff. The t’s are $10.00 - prices not bad. They were calling for ticket number 11 at this time (around 9:45) and told everyone to go right back into the next trail line after completing their first trail. There were a lot of people in the lines and milling around Hell’s Gate at this time too. We were glad that we had come early. We left around 10 PM.
A few things need to be tweaked (remember this is their first time doing this) : sign coming from Fair Haven (where the road Y’s) seems to point for you to continue on 104A instead of Old State Rd. (Confusing if you’re not familiar with the area), hide the mechanics of the animatronics better, admission price seems hefty compared to other Halloween attractions elsewhere - the Renaissance Festival is $22.00 (adult price) and has much more to offer & is an all day event. If Screamers' Hollow is enlarged next year with more trails at the same price it would be better. Iggy & the Vampire lady were cool ! They should have a few more actors to interact with the guests, some type of lighting (maybe red colored spot lights) for the jousting field - it was very hard to see the Headless Horseman. Other than those few things, we thought Screamers’ Hollow was fantastic ! We will definitely go again next year !
I’m amazed at how much Doug Waterbury has been able to do in such a short time - awesome ! I'm also glad that he bought the Renaissance Festival (I'm a Rennie) so that it can continue - for a while it was up in the air if it would have to be closed down.
Also:
The night was absolutely beautiful ! Moon & starlit sky (we saw a shooting star over the jousting field !), a little chilly but we wore layers & it didn’t bother us (we’re both native New Yorkers !) and the grounds at night are lovely (they are in the daytime too but it’s different at night) !!!...
*Edit* I forgot to add how many stars - sorry. I would give Screamers' Hollow 3 and 3/4 Stars. It was a lot of fun but they need to fix a few things (mentioned above) and not try to make all the money they paid for the props & equiptment back in one season.
Who went: Cherie (me - 40) and my husband Chris (38).
What: Screamers’ Hollow
Where: Sterling Renaissance Festival Grounds, Sterling, NY.
When: Saturday October 19, 2008 6:30 PM
Why: Because we thought it would be cool.
How: We arrived around 6:30 PM and were one of the first to get there. There were only about 8-10 people waiting in line before us.
There is a neat tricked out hearse to look at while in line.
The ticket booth opened at 7PM. Ticket info:
SPOOKY SPECIAL:
TWISTED TERROR & HOLLYWEIRD
( Both Outdoor Haunted Trails)
$25 + Tax
Save $5.00
HOLLYWEIRD or TWISTED TERROR only
(One Outdoor Haunted Trail)
$17.50 + Tax
Second Trail Purchase
(after entry)
$12.50 + Tax
HELLS GATE
(Live Entertainment Stage)
Free with Trail Pass or $5 for Hell's Gate Only
We got the Spooky Special ($54.00 with tax for two people). You are given paper tickets (one for each trail) that are numbered (ours were #1). It is my understanding that the first several numbered ticket groups (1, 2 & 3 tickets) have 70 - 80 people and later numbered ticket groups have around 50 - 60 people. They call your number to line up for the trails (Hollyweird or Twisted Terror) so you don’t line up until then.
We entered the Hell’s Gate area which is in front of the Ren Fest ticket windows and entrance. There are picnic tables, fire pits to warm yourselves, Tiki torches, cool flashing lights on the buildings, Halloweeny decor, Hells Kitchen - food (more about the food later), a stage for the live band and an awesome animatronic reaper wraith thingy over the entrance. While we waited to be called to line up for the trails, Iggy the goul and a lady Vampire (I forgot her name-sorry) came over to talk with us. Iggy asked Chris & I if we would like him to cut us up with his axe then stitch us together to make a two headed person. The lady vampire wanted to know if we had eaten any peanut products recently as she had a peanut allergy - really funny !
Our number was called (we had #1) & we lined up for Hollyweird. We only had to wait in line for 15 min. or so. A coordinator at the gate entrance asked how many were in our party and allowed us in. There were 11 of us all together in the tour group (a group of teens, a family with 3 kids -one around 7yrs. old , & my hubby and me. Our tour guide was in her late teens and was very blase - she acted like she didn’t want to be there & this was the beginning of the night (the only negative part of this trail) ! It was so cool to go through the Festival grounds at night ! You get to go through some of the buildings - even the upstairs of some - so awesome ! The trail was quite long and it snaked throughout part of the grounds including some back stage areas. Some of the stairs in the buildings are steep and you have to walk up a steep grade at one point (it didn’t bother us but I could see where it might be hard for some). There is a mix of animatronic, still props and live actors throughout. Some are campy / cheesy (but I love camp!) I won’t go into detail as I don’t want to spoil any surprises ! I’m jumpy and scare easily but love to be scared so I was screaming & laughing the whole time ! Our group was a lot of fun too ! They keep the groups well separated so you feel as if you’re group is there alone most of the time. We didn’t feel rushed at all.
The trail exits back at Hell’s Gate. They have porta - potties in this area. My husband & myself went over to Hell’s Kitchen for a snack. They have hot & cold drinks (I had a hot cider & Chris had a hot cocoa + we split a huge chocolate chip cookie - all yummy !). They have hot dogs, burgers, nachos, corn chowder, chili in a bread bowl, cookies, cheesecake, etc.. there is also a separate stand with fried dough & fruit smoothies - no alcohol. We thought the food/drink prices were reasonable (2 drinks & a cookie for around $5.00). We sat at a picnic table to eat and listen to the band Armoney Suites . We thought they were pretty good (they played a great Led Zeppelin set later in the night !). Something that impressed me greatly was when someone sitting on the other side of our table accidentally dumped over their drink & out of the blue an employee appeared to clean up the mess & got them a free replacement drink ! I thanked him (even though it wasn’t either of us that spilled the drink) and he cheerfully replied “Glad to do it !” !
We lined up for the Twisted Terror trail and waited about 15 - 20 min. Our guide this time was very good - she seemed really into it ! We were with a group of people in their mid 20's who were kind of jaded and made a lot of cracks about the trail being lame & basically being jerks. My husband Chris & I tried not to let them spoil our fun so we stayed a little bit behind them. This time we were rushed through the trail - mostly doing walk by’s - not stopping much to view the sets.
We got back to Hell’s Gate again & split a fried dough (around $4.00), listened to the band some more (laughed at Iggy playing along on his ‘axe’) and bought two Screamer’s Hollow hoodies ($20.00 each). They had t-shirts (in L. XL, & 2XL - they should have small & medium too - not many people wear their T’s oversize anymore), glow necklaces, & other glow/flashing stuff. The t’s are $10.00 - prices not bad. They were calling for ticket number 11 at this time (around 9:45) and told everyone to go right back into the next trail line after completing their first trail. There were a lot of people in the lines and milling around Hell’s Gate at this time too. We were glad that we had come early. We left around 10 PM.
A few things need to be tweaked (remember this is their first time doing this) : sign coming from Fair Haven (where the road Y’s) seems to point for you to continue on 104A instead of Old State Rd. (Confusing if you’re not familiar with the area), hide the mechanics of the animatronics better, admission price seems hefty compared to other Halloween attractions elsewhere - the Renaissance Festival is $22.00 (adult price) and has much more to offer & is an all day event. If Screamers' Hollow is enlarged next year with more trails at the same price it would be better. Iggy & the Vampire lady were cool ! They should have a few more actors to interact with the guests, some type of lighting (maybe red colored spot lights) for the jousting field - it was very hard to see the Headless Horseman. Other than those few things, we thought Screamers’ Hollow was fantastic ! We will definitely go again next year !
I’m amazed at how much Doug Waterbury has been able to do in such a short time - awesome ! I'm also glad that he bought the Renaissance Festival (I'm a Rennie) so that it can continue - for a while it was up in the air if it would have to be closed down.
Also:
The night was absolutely beautiful ! Moon & starlit sky (we saw a shooting star over the jousting field !), a little chilly but we wore layers & it didn’t bother us (we’re both native New Yorkers !) and the grounds at night are lovely (they are in the daytime too but it’s different at night) !!!...
*Edit* I forgot to add how many stars - sorry. I would give Screamers' Hollow 3 and 3/4 Stars. It was a lot of fun but they need to fix a few things (mentioned above) and not try to make all the money they paid for the props & equiptment back in one season.
