NOTE: The following article contains some content that is rated PG-13. Photos, descriptions, and dialogue may be disturbing to some readers.
Saturday night is the opening of the fourteenth annual SCarowinds Haunt at Carowinds. The crews have been hard at work over the past four weeks transforming a charming southern amusement park into a horror filled celebration. We were invited to a VIP preview of two of the new attractions this year. Are the gates really closed?
No worries, they are waiting for us. Enter this way if you dare…
He withered away waiting to walk the tight rope.
Here’s the obligatory shot of the opening plaza sign welcoming us to this gruesome event. This is probably the most photographed spot at SCarowinds.
Bart Kinzel, the Vice President and General Manager of Carowinds makes his opening remarks.
Julie Whitted, the Public Relations Manager welcomes us to the festivities. Chris Kirby, the director of marketing is seen in the background and also provided us with more information about SCarowinds. Sorry, Chris, but you will be happy I didn’t post the best picture I had of you speaking.
We head off to one of the new scare zones, London Terror. The crews built this ‘set’ off site and reassembled it at its current location over a week and a half.
This is what London Terror looks like with a crowd of people.
Just in case you forgot, we are at London Terror.
A local film crew was here. They got some footage of me throughout our preview that I hope doesn’t make the cut.
There is no mistaking that I am in this film clip. Sorry for photo bombing your walk through.
The details of this scare zone are great.
This is what happens to Intimidator riders who take on ride photos.
I think this would look great in any front yard. It also goes well with the theme of London Terror.
The Scareactors were out to greet us. The above lady and I got married and divorced within a three minute period but now she insists on getting half of the bodies hidden under my house. I don’t know why I didn’t sign that prenup. I wanted those bodies all to myself.
Here is a back shot of London Terror.
Next we moved on to Zombie High School. This is the new maze where freshmen are fresh meat and seniors are dying to get out. A little trivia for those of you who don’t know, Pat Hall founded Carowinds in 1973. Without him, the park most likely wouldn’t be here. It’s nice to see a tribute to him.
I’m not sure how I got a shot of a regular high school bus in here.
There are nice details as you head towards the high school including the traditional pride rocks and the aforementioned school bus.
Really?
Yes, we are at the high school. Or should I be excited? I hear that not many people make it out of here. Please note that photography is not allowed inside any of the Scarowinds mazes. The following pictures were taken with permission from park officials and are in no particular order. Or are they?
Welcome to Zombie High School.
Kids, this is what happens when you don’t do your homework.
Someone recreated my high school chemistry class.
I bet you didn’t do dissections like this in science class.
Ok, so the cheerleader caught me off guard and startled me. Sorry, but I didn’t scream like a girl…
He, on the other hand, did not catch me off guard.
Nothing to see here. Normal cafeteria food.
Which has more fiber?
Spoiler Alert: Who is real and who is not? You might want to watch your back.
Sorry, I don’t have any left over.
Ok, so he startled me too. I shouldn’t have been running my mouth and I might have seen him. All humor aside, Zombie High School is a great addition to SCarowinds and they did a great job putting this unique maze together. I look forward to going through it again and again.
Next we headed off to get some food. The food was great and hit the spot! None of it came out of the Zombie High cafeteria, thankfully.
Hey, I didn’t see this on the menu.
After eating we strolled around to look at some of the other great details they have done for SCarowinds Haunt. Here are a couple of shots I found most interesting.
She talked his head off and then wasted away waiting for him to listen.
Here’s some shots of what you can expect London Terror to look like at night. This 35 foot tower looks impressive in the daytime or at night.
We strolled through the other new scare zone, Scary Tales. Once upon a time nobody lived happily ever after.
It’s hard to tell in this picture, but all the trees are upside down.
Raggedy Ann and Andy invite you to dinner.
And he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew the house down.
Rapunzel made it out of the tower but not far.
And that ends our visit to the VIP preview of SCarowinds. Thank you Carowinds for the great hospitality.
One new addition that I also need to mention is that the 3D theater will be showing a movie during SCarowinds called Haunted House. While I haven’t seen it yet, employees that previewed it gave it great reviews. It lasts 12 minutes long and one half of the line at the theater will be for the movie while the other half of the line will be for the Last Laff in 3D maze.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised at the new soundtracks that they have in place for the Haunt. The music is fitting for the event and really adds to the atmosphere.
I will be there for the official opening on September 14th and hope to see you there!
Happy Haunting!