Zombie Paintball?

[drfrightner]

We considered doing away with the paintball hayride because honestly its too expensive to operate and it takes a toll on the staff... but Travel Channel filmed it last year so that makes it hard for us to do away with it. Our plan B was to set up a zombie paintball booth just as you explained. People have been doing this for years and years especially on board walks. We even did this out at Creepyworld ourselves about 6 years ago. It went over okay... but we thought maybe we would do away with the hayride aspect and just do a shooting gallery set up and get the same results per marketing. We haven't figured it out yet... we will within a week or so. If we decide not to do the paintball hayride I will be selling everything I have including tractors, three stage air compressor everything.

Its a tough call for us because we got filmed on Travel Channel last year... that makes it tough for us!

We had our own trailers to start with then we hired Greg to modify them and he did a really good job but the issue is cost to operate and the concerns for the actors. That is the major concern for us. So long term we won't be doing it ... this I can say without a doubt.

Larry

[NightmareAftershockLLC]

Larry,

I'm sure Greg does an amazing job, and I know that the concept is killer, but you re-affirmed my suspicions. Cost to operate, time to operate, and toll on employees is rough. And my client is an almost exclusively volunteer based haunt, so expecting people to strap on pads for 4 hours a night for little pay is asking a lot, even for those who act because of their passion, not the paycheck....

[NightmareAftershockLLC]

I use the term client loosely, simply someone I am helping out for the season with some ideas and such.

[drfrightner]

I'm merely giving my honest evaluation not trying to sway anyone pro or con... I think with anyone there are pros and their are cons. Its just that simple. I think this concept has a LOT of cons and it has some pros as well because it is different so it fits right into a screampark but even then the cons are really something you must weigh heavy.

As for Greg he did a great job and did everything he said he would do first class all the way! The issue isn't him its is this the right thing for you to add to your attraction. That is the question.

Larry

[NightmareAftershockLLC]

Larry I agree, and appreciate the honest and detailed feedback!!! I am always a skeptic of the "fads" just like I'm not even a fan of walking dead. I don't just like something because its famous or popular. So, as Allen said, I believe my mind is made up, it's my friends who I am concerned for. This is a big chunk of change for a possible return.

[Allen H]

All hayrides are expensive to operate. If you are doing a hayride, it might as well be zombie. over a regular hayride the costs are not that different if you carge appropriately.

[NightmareAftershockLLC]

Not quite. With these folks, we're talking a completely separate setup. Different trail, different layout, different employees, and different costs. The single hayride, attractions, etc would remain unaltered and still functional. This isn't in lieu of, it's in addition to the other attractions.

[Allen H]

Ah ha, adding it as opposed to revamping then yes. I expect it to take about 30-40 to operate a hayride. adding that many more would stress almost any actor pool.
Allen H

[NightmareAftershockLLC]

Allen, you're very close regarding numbers of actors, lucky guess

We have seen that it would take approximately 5-7 scenes, and 2-3 actors per scene. Around an 8-10 minute run per wagon load of 10... Does that sound about right? In your experience, more? Less?

Also, where were you buying your paint from? A bulk supplier? I am assuming that like regular paintball they are also only good for a certain amount of months (shelf life for shape holding, coloring, etc) and that after such a date they begin to lose their shape, etc. (Even when storing in a cool, dry place and turning the box every two weeks when I was playing in the amateur league, they would lose their shape quite often, which obviously then created jams in the barrel)

This has been so informative, at anytime just throw in the towel, and I'll stop asking questions! lol

[N2SPOOKINU]

I would like to chime in here since it is my product being discussed here.
First of all nightmare in the other post you asked for input on our trailers. I gave you my phone number in that thread so I could give you names and numbers of some of my clients. I never heard from you.
The reason your not getting much feedback is because the majority of my clients are corn mazes and do not frequent Hauntworld.
Allen did a great job trying to explain his experiences with his own attraction. There have been great improvements in these attractions over the years.
When Larry asked me to modify his trailers so he could do a Zombie Paintball attraction I turned him down. I told him I was very nervous about the closeness of his actors and the safety of his customers and did not feel comfortable doing it at Creepyworld.
He assured me he would do everything possible to make sure no one would be hurt. He kept his promise and did everything in his power to make sure the attraction would be safe for everyone.
There were several issues we noticed and here they are....

1) The attraction was previously used for a hayride and the scenes were built VERY close to the trailers which didnt give the actors enough distance so the impact was harder than normal. We discussed rebuilding the attraction but time restraints and funds did not allow an updated space. That was my main concern.

2) The attraction was tight and zigzagged back and forth. We recommend a circular pattern with shooting on the outside to eliminate the possibility of cross fire.
Larry purchased netting and did a great job of installing it to make sure his customers were safe from the possibilities of cross fire. This showed me how serious he was about safety. I was impressed with this.

3) Creepyworld puts several thousand customers through their doors and throughput was a concern. I went down to Creepyworld on opening night to make sure Zombie safari was running smoothly and to help his crew work out the bugs and answer any questions they may have had.

4) I would like to add that costumes were an issue at that time but that has been rectified. We offer custom made costumes by Allen Hopps and Travis Nichols. I wanted to have more than one costume designer because I wanted to give my customers options on costumes as well as trailers. They have done an AWESOME job providing costumes for my clients and I applaude them for their outstanding results. THANK YOU GENTLEMEN!!!!

5) The only dissapointing thing at Creepyworld was the use of standard paintballs instead of our custom paintalls made exclusively for our attractions. I discussed this with Larry several times but never could persuade him to use the better balls. He went with the cheaper ball instead of our translucent liquid balls.
Regular paintballs will leave a nasty residue and smell on your actors, props and scenes. Our custom balls evaporate and the next day when you go out to your attraction you wont see the regular paint all over your scenes.
Larry said he would rather pay someone to power wash off the scenes every weekend and save the cost of the custom balls. That was his choice but I have noticed a higher turn over rate of actors in the attractions that choose to use the inferior balls.
Our first year we operated our Zombie Safari Paintball Attraction we used the regular paint and the residue from those balls still remains. It was a hard lesson to learn and all of our costumes from that year were destroyed so we threw them away.
It is very important to use the proper balls. They are made to break easier on your actors which is important when getting shot several thousand times a night.

6) You questioned our turn over rate. We have had an awesome core group of actors for our attraction since we offered paintball. Yes we do pay our actors. Our turn over is minimal and most of our clients report the same thing. The night I was at Creepyworld I tried to explain to Larry's actors that they needed to be padded up well. They informed me they were "paintballers" and they would not need all of the padding Larry provided for them.
This sounded very familiar because I have heard this time and time again from the "professionals" in paintball.
Let me say this, There is a difference between getting shot several times in a tournement and getting shot several thousand times in one evening.

7) You asked about return on investment. Larry spent above and beyond to insure his customers and actors would be safe. In the space he had to work with it was a necessity and I applaude him for doing such a great job insuring their safety BUT usually it is not necessary to go to those extremes.
We sold over 40 trailers across the country last year and all of our clients did very well.
We had a round table discussion during Transworld for all of our clients to meet and discuss what worked what didnt and what ideas they had to improve our product. Its our goal to continually improve our product line to make the best products in the paintball trailer industry.
We changed our slogan to " QUALITY WITHOUT COMPROMIZE" I intend to stand by this slogan!
If you were at TW I hope you took a look at our Dominator Double decker trailer we had on display. The craftsmanship and quality in our products are second to none. I may be tooting my own horn here but we make an outstanding product!

Now, I realize I have been writing a novel, lol but I take this business very seriously. I dont consider it a "fad" and neither do my clients. Its a business just like any other. The best part about it is your customers get to shoot a gun. It doesnt have to be at zombies. We shoot targets also. Dont think you have to just shoot zombies. We have scarecrow, clown and zombie costumes available and next year we have more custom costumes coming out. THANK YOU ALLEN HOPPS! lol

I understand this is not some $2500 prop. It is an investment and an interactive attraction to get your customers excited about something new. Its not intended to scare your customers which allows you to change your demographic to a different age 3-93. It's a family attraction that draws the family fun seakers out to something they normally wouldnt go to because they have young children.
So, if you still have questions about my product just give me a call and I will be glad to talk to you or give you the number of a client to help you see the benefits of our
attractions.

Thank you,
Greg Allen
573-881-7061