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I have not posted in a l-o-n-g time and to be honest have not really had my eye on the industry for several years. For some reason my interest was resurrected this year...could be the tanna leaves.
I have always wanted to see Rocky Point Haunted House, having heard so many things about it. This being the last year it literally was now or never.
My right hand man, Mark King who helped me build http://terroronthesquare.com from ground up, and I made the trip last weekend.
First let me say Cydney Neil showed us a level of hospitality that I have never known and probably never will again. Those of you you have owned and ran a haunted house know how impossible it is to take time away from running your show for anything or anyone else. Yet from the time we arrived Saturday afternoon until the time we left late Sunday night Cydney's main concern seemed to be that we were having a good time...and still ran her show!
And the show....My God it was off the charts!
When we first arrived Cydney took us on a lights on tour and just seeing behind the scenes would have been worth the trip.
This was a production facility that would rival any movie set. From offices to a full make up lab (they even do thier own prosthetics under the watchful eye of make-up pro Chris Hanson) and a full carpentry machine shop each department was highly organized, fully outfitted and ran with unequaled professionalism.
The attractions were simply breathtaking! I am the most anal retentive person I know of when it comes to detail (not anymore!). I would be painting small areas that the patrons of Terror On The Square (Tennessee) would never see but because I knew it was there it just had to be put in. So I can appreciate the effort and artistry that went into RRHH.
Every single square inch of the entire attraction was accounted for!
Yet in so many haunted attractions people will claim detail but it is cartoonish in application. These sets were REAL! When Cydney and crew want to make you feel like you are in the bowels of a ship you are in the bowls of a ship. Small details like water seeping though the boards add a degree of realism that has no equal...even in Hollywood! When walking though I said, "it smells like a early morning Pacific beach in here" (memories of my Navy Days) and Cydney said " I have seaweed shipped in".
UNBELIEVABLE!
Now over the years I've heard other say "well sure if I had friends in Hollywood I could do stuff like that too".
Well guess what, everybody can buy a tube of paint but only a few can paint a masterpiece. It ain't the car it's the driver!
The cast and crew were boiling over with enthusiasm, you would think it was opening night as opposed to the last few nights of the run. You could not help but to feed off their energy and we did! Mark and I went to wardrobe and picked up some straight-jackets, then to make up, then off to the padded cells and had some fun! I had forgotten just how sweet the sound of screaming was!
All of the above being said RPHH is much more than a haunted house.. it is a family. The dedication and love for the event and each other even outshines what I consider to be the greatest haunted house...EVER!
I absolutely cannot fathom it's equal.
Thousands of kids have had an indelible mark made in their lives by their association with Rocky Point. And that is Cydneys main goal after all, the haunted house is just the facility for dreams to be realized.
There is a legacy that will go on for years to come. Seeds have been planted and there will be a continual harvest for generations.
Sometimes it's more than just scaring people.
Thanks for the memories Cydney, they are forever seared into my very soul!
Rocky Point Haunted House was simply...the best!
I have always wanted to see Rocky Point Haunted House, having heard so many things about it. This being the last year it literally was now or never.
My right hand man, Mark King who helped me build http://terroronthesquare.com from ground up, and I made the trip last weekend.
First let me say Cydney Neil showed us a level of hospitality that I have never known and probably never will again. Those of you you have owned and ran a haunted house know how impossible it is to take time away from running your show for anything or anyone else. Yet from the time we arrived Saturday afternoon until the time we left late Sunday night Cydney's main concern seemed to be that we were having a good time...and still ran her show!
And the show....My God it was off the charts!
When we first arrived Cydney took us on a lights on tour and just seeing behind the scenes would have been worth the trip.
This was a production facility that would rival any movie set. From offices to a full make up lab (they even do thier own prosthetics under the watchful eye of make-up pro Chris Hanson) and a full carpentry machine shop each department was highly organized, fully outfitted and ran with unequaled professionalism.
The attractions were simply breathtaking! I am the most anal retentive person I know of when it comes to detail (not anymore!). I would be painting small areas that the patrons of Terror On The Square (Tennessee) would never see but because I knew it was there it just had to be put in. So I can appreciate the effort and artistry that went into RRHH.
Every single square inch of the entire attraction was accounted for!
Yet in so many haunted attractions people will claim detail but it is cartoonish in application. These sets were REAL! When Cydney and crew want to make you feel like you are in the bowels of a ship you are in the bowls of a ship. Small details like water seeping though the boards add a degree of realism that has no equal...even in Hollywood! When walking though I said, "it smells like a early morning Pacific beach in here" (memories of my Navy Days) and Cydney said " I have seaweed shipped in".
UNBELIEVABLE!
Now over the years I've heard other say "well sure if I had friends in Hollywood I could do stuff like that too".
Well guess what, everybody can buy a tube of paint but only a few can paint a masterpiece. It ain't the car it's the driver!
The cast and crew were boiling over with enthusiasm, you would think it was opening night as opposed to the last few nights of the run. You could not help but to feed off their energy and we did! Mark and I went to wardrobe and picked up some straight-jackets, then to make up, then off to the padded cells and had some fun! I had forgotten just how sweet the sound of screaming was!
All of the above being said RPHH is much more than a haunted house.. it is a family. The dedication and love for the event and each other even outshines what I consider to be the greatest haunted house...EVER!
I absolutely cannot fathom it's equal.
Thousands of kids have had an indelible mark made in their lives by their association with Rocky Point. And that is Cydneys main goal after all, the haunted house is just the facility for dreams to be realized.
There is a legacy that will go on for years to come. Seeds have been planted and there will be a continual harvest for generations.
Sometimes it's more than just scaring people.
Thanks for the memories Cydney, they are forever seared into my very soul!
Rocky Point Haunted House was simply...the best!
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