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Emily Events Theme Parks

Scream Break 2023

Scream Break 2023

Do you ever wonder what monsters do in the off-season? This year Six Flags Magic Mountain showed us how their terrifying Fright Fest monsters celebrate Spring Break with Scream Break 2023. Fridays – Sundays, March 18th – April 16th, park guests could add some vitamin SCREAM to their visit during this special, separately ticketed after-hours event. The event included two haunts, three scare zones, specialty food & beverages, and more. 

Scream Break with the Haunted Attraction Network

I was beyond excited to get to experience this event myself as part of the  Haunted Attraction Network. Philip let me out of my newsletter writing-only cage to get a little monster R&RIP at Scream Break 2023. 

I started the evening with some delicious BBQ Brisket Mac & Cheese. To drink, I had the event’s signature cocktail, “Skulls on the Beach” (but as a mocktail version for me). Then it was out into the night for mazes & scarezones!

We first walked through “Vault 666: The Initiation”. Through some clever negotiations on my part, we made it out alive and successfully joined Sigma Phi Mu Mu (Six Flags Magic Mountain). Then we were off to one hell of a frat party at “Condemned: House Party”. Afterwards we mixed and mingled with the spring break monsters. 

Next, we walked through a sinister soiree at Bloodborne Hollow. The area’s denizens were half-human, half-animal – but all terrifying! The chandeliers along the pathway indicated that we had made our way over to the  classy area of town. Much nicer than the dilapitated old house of the frat area.

Finally, we ended the evening with a [G]RAVE at the Dead Man’s Party area in the DC Universe. I had a blast busting out my best dance moves to the DJ’s rocking beats. Not too shabby of a night out for this ghoul!

Scream Break was a great twist on some classic Fright Fest attractions. It certainly satisfied my need for Halloween halfway through the year. I look forward to seeing how this event grows in future years.

Watch the Video

Thank you to Philp and the Haunted Attraction Network for the opportunity to experience this awesome event!

Want to see more of my haunt walkthroughs? Check out these links:

Scream Break with Sharp Productions

The Darkness Animatronics-Only Walkthrough

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

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Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

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Categories
Emily Events Theme Parks

Scream Break 2023 with Sharp Productions

Scream Break 2023 with Sharp Productions

14 select nights March 9th – April 16th, Six Flags Magic Mountain presents “Scream Break”. The after-hours event features two haunts, three scare zones, frightfully delicious treats, and more. The weekend of March 25th, I experienced Scream Break 2023 with Sharp Productions.

We started the evening with a haunted cocktail hour and the event’s signature cocktail/mocktail, “Skulls on the Beach”. Then it was ghouls gone wild as Elsie and I survived some monster hazing with “Vault 666: Initiation”. Next we made our way to one hell of a frat party with “Condemned: House Party”. We met quite a few frighteningly friendly monsters in the scare zones, and danced the night away at Dead Man’s Party.  Plus, I scored some devilishly handsome light-up devil horns! It was a fantastic evening!

It was so fun to celebrate spring break with haunts and a mini version of the larger October Fright Fest event. I loved how committed and enthusiastic the scareacters were, and the theming was cohesive throughout. Each haunt and scare zone had a uniquely Spring Break feel. I can’t wait to return in the Fall for the main event!

Learn more about Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Scream Break on the event’s official website. 

Watch the Full Video

Thank you very much to the Sharp Productions team for letting me tag along to Scream Break 2023! See more of their amazing haunt walkthrough and ride videos on their Youtube Page. Follow them on Facebook & Instagram.

Want to see more Emily & more haunts? Check out my past walkthrough of The Darkness Haunted House in St. Louis, MO. 

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

Read More »

Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

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Categories
Attractions Destinations Theme Parks

Disney’s ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter

Disney’s ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter

Disney theme parks are not usually known for attractions that terrify guests. One of the greatest exceptions to this is Disney’s ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (often referred to as just “Alien Encounter”). From June 20th, 1995 – October 12th, 2003 this scary theater in the round style show frightened audiences with the scariest alien Disney has ever designed.

No, not this Guy. Poor Skippy.

This attraction took guests into X-S Tech (yes, the name is a bit of a pun and helps to set a mood of dark humor) where the founder of the company was ready to demonstrate a new form of technology to help intergalactic travel. His opening spiel included many lines of dry humor, my favorite being, “Profit is just a by-product we’ve learned to live with”.

The second pre-show area featured a robot known as Simulated Intelligence Robotics or “SIR” – voiced by Tim Curry – who showed how the teleportation technology worked by transporting poor Skippy (the cute alien pictured above) from one side of the room to the other – with only minimal side-effects (Skippy was pretty singed after his trip). Then SIR showed how the technology can indefinitely suspend subjects in teleportation. The audience heard one last cry from poor Skippy before being herded to the main show area.

Photo From Disney Marketing Pamphlets

The main show area was theater in the round style, with a large “teleportation tube” in the center of the room. Guests would sit in chairs with shoulder restraints (used during the attraction to imply that the alien was climbing over the audience, create intimate directional sounds of the alien breathing, and have the alien “taste” guests’ hair).

When the director of X-S tried to teleport into the theater, a slight error occurred, causing a horrific alien beast to arrive instead. The alien inevitably escaped, ran rampant through the theater, and guests barely made it out alive from their encounter. All the while darkly humorous dialogue from both the X-S staff and “other guests” were heard. Some memorable lines include, “Don’t eat me, eat that guy!” followed by a loud crunch. Or when the alien first appeared, “It’s ugly”, “It’s horrible”, “It’s my mother in law!”

The experience was one of the most immersive and clever in Walt Disney World, but its cult following was not enough to keep Disney from closing the attraction due to its excessively scary nature. In November 2004 the attraction was toned down and re-themed to become Stitch’s Great Escape, a horrible assault on the memory of this once great attraction.

We can no longer experience the magic of this show, however we can still reminisce while watching videos on Youtube. Here is a full walk-through of the show:

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

Read More »

Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

Read More »
Categories
Attractions Destinations Theme Parks

WDW Haunted Mansion Interactive Queue

WDW Haunted Mansion Interactive Queue

WDW Haunted Mansion

Even for an avid horror fan like myself, one cannot help but love the magic of the “Happiest Place on Earth”, Walt Disney World.  Every inch of the Florida resort is designed to make guests feel like they are transported to a fantasy world filled with castles, mythical creatures, movie magic, and a few playful spooks.

In addition to the fantastic animatronics and illusions, this attraction has a myriad of little devilish details for those who care to pay attention (for example, I love the woodwork that looks like monstrous little faces in the Doom Buggy loading area). A horror fan could spend hours taking in all that this attraction has to offer – and do not even get me started on the rich backstories and legends that have arisen about the specific ghosts, as we would be here all night. For this article, we are going to look at the playful Haunted Mansion interactive queue that was added in 2011.

 

Disney has devised a new way to encourage families to interact with one another while furthering the theming of the ride – a ghoulish new graveyard with plenty of games and surprises to keep guests entertained for their 15-20 minute wait (pro tip – if the line is longer than that, come back later in the day).

The first area contains five busts of a peculiar family whose members all met with unfortunate demises. Guests must read the accompanying plaques to guess who murdered who.

From there guests walk through the graveyard and can play around crypts of some of The Haunted Mansion’s  more memorable denizens. A composer’s crypt (though I suppose he mostly decomposes now) has a musical wall where ghostly instruments play a rendition of “Grim Grinning Ghosts”. Guests can touch the various etchings on the tomb and whichever instrument is touched will carry on the tune.

Among a few unconventional instruments, guests can also see the one-eyed cat, an early concept for an evil resident of the mansion. Although the cat was cut from the final ride, it is now part of the outer graveyard – and part of the ghostly musical revue.

Around the next bend in the line is the crypt of poet Prudence Pock. Residing inside the crypt is a glowing book where Prudence’s poetry continues to proliferate. Guests are welcome to shout out the missing rhymes to help Prudence finish her work.

One of my personal favorites among the new additions is the grave of Captain Culpepper Clyne.

Here floats Captain Culpepper Clyne. Allergic to dirt so he’s pickled in brine. He braved the sea and all her wrath but drowned on land while taking a bath

Occasionally guests will hear the sea captain gag and water will spray from the grave – a much welcome way to cool down in the Florida heat. One cannot help but love the details on this piece, especially the  creepy staring fish.

 

Of course, there is also a slew of the classic morbidly amusing gravestones that have remained from the original queue.

Also preserved is the original gravestone for Madame Leota. This was the only animated gravestone in the original queue set-up. Once every minute or so, the eyes on the bust will change to ghostly eyeballs and look back and forth at the crowd for a few seconds. If you are not paying close attention, you can miss it completely, and with the quickness of the line, you rarely get to see it occur more than once while waiting. It is hilarious to watch unknowing guests comment that they thought they saw the gravestone move, while the rest of their party assures them that it is just a normal stone.

New technology and creative minds ensure that Walt Disney World – and all Disney theme parks – will forever be changing and becoming more immersive. The Haunted Mansion interactive queue is a perfect introduction for the creepy fun that lies ahead.

57 Ghosts

February 16, 2024 No Comments

Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes

Read More »

Spookala

February 6, 2024 No Comments

Central Florida’s Horror & Pop Culture Convention. Features a vendor floor, celebrity signings, and more.

Read More »

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