Friday September 28th kicked off the start of Kings Island's annual Halloween event entitled "Halloween Haunt". Unlike previous years media was invited to attend on opening night of the park instead of on the employee dry run of the event. Crowds start forming around the gates at six, and by seven when they open there are roughly thousands of people eager to get into the park. As in previous years the attraction with the longest line was the "Trail of Terror". By eight when it opened there were roughly fifty people in line already. The number one spot was taken by Randall of the house of doom. The entrance is precariously located directly past the entrance for "Death Row" and to the right of Firehawk between a gap in large brown picket fence. If opening night is an indication of what most of the lines will look like you can expect roughly a ten to 15 minute wait for most of the attractions with the exception of the trail which can get as long as thirty minutes. By ten the attendance at the park drops drastically and it's much easier to maneuver through the blankets of fog around the park. We did not see any of the famous scaracters of years past that would run and slide making sparks and scaring park visitors which was disappointing. Overall the park appears to be much like it was in previous years, but we did notice longer fearzones, more fog, a few new attractions and a lot of management scoring the employees. Kings Island has always been my favorite for it's variety of attractions and the spooky atmosphere. The thoroughfare of the park is also decorated and set up with skeletons and filled with fog. It's also important to note that on the night we went it might be different from the night that you visit. Since your season pass gets you in for free again this year it's well worth the time to come see how Kings Island shows off Halloween. Each individual mini-haunt takes on average from seven to ten minutes with the scarezones being less than two minutes. It’s time to pack up the horror movies this Halloween and experience the one place around the tri-state that is synonymous with fear, “Halloween Haunts” only at Kings Island.

Tombstone Terror Tory:
Actors 4/5 (The acting wasn't so bad, but more makeup on some of them was needed.)
Environment 5/5 (Perfect location. Dark, foggy, and spooky.)
Scare Rating 4.5

Death Row:
Actors 5/5 (The actors have great lines, and we didn't find a single not in character)
Environment 5/5 (Chain link fences, strobes, and plastic are convincing in this environment)
Scare Rating 5

Club Blood
Actors 5/5 (Great acting, great makeup!)
Environment 5/5 (I won't give away details, but the sets are scenery are great!)
Scare Rating 5

Trail of Terror
Actors 5/5 (Every character you come across stays in character)
Environment 5/5 (Spooky, dimly lit woods with fog make for a believable setting.)
Scare Rating 5

Red Beards Revenge
Actors 5/5 (While most of the actors use masks, they lead believable parts)
Environment 4/5 (K.I Should consider adding some shimmering water/light effects to make this more convincing)
Scare Rating 4.5

Carn Evil
Actors 5/5 (No dead acting here, everyone does a fantastic job.)
Environment 5/5 (With the help of the 3d glasses the walls come alive. It might not be spooky but its great artwork.)
Scare Rating 5

Fearzone Ratings (Cemetery 3/5, Cormstalkers 4/5, the Worksite 5/5)

If we hate to rate the Dead awakening show from 1 to 5, we would probably give it about 3. It's a mix of current songs and dancing with scantly dressed female actors.

Baldini would rate in at 4. While his show is not as dark or sinister as it is marketed he’s quite the showman and its fun it watch.

further information about Kings Island/Halloween Haunt can be found at http://www.pki.com

View our pictures for the event <CLICK HERE>