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  • #16
    Location

    I'm in Eastern Orlando, near UCF, ten miles north of airport

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    • #17
      My first bit of advice is DO NOT DO IT! You'll be killed, slaughtered by Universal and Busch Gardens. It's almost impossible to open a haunted house anywhere in southern Florida and I'm talking Miami, Tampa, and everywhere between.

      I have one way you can open and succeed just one... you have to find a location that people already think is haunted, or some place everyone keeps breaking into at night with flashlights, some cave, a real hospital, blah, blah...

      What Universal and Tampa offer is clearly just modular haunts they might be very good but still they're NOT real... the people who go KNOW THIS!

      If you could find some local urban legend location, something that you can market as being REALLY haunted I think you could do very well, but if you just plan on finding some retail strip location or something you will fail. Don't let me rain on your parade I'm just telling you what I really think here... the marketing these two put on the area is like 50 machine guns all aimed at the same target!

      I'm not saying you couldn't build the best haunted house ever seen, or that you couldn't be very successful anywhere else just not Orlando. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe you can, its just food for thought! If their where two area's I would NEVER attempt to open a haunt it would be LA and Orlando area because they are dominated by theme parks. It wouldn't be so bad if there was just say Universal advertising but because they have two theme parks marketing in the same markets they try to kill each other... don't look now another billboard, don't look now another TV commerical, don't look now another radio commercial, don't look now another sponsor promoting them, don't look now (it just never ends).

      Larry
      Larry Kirchner
      President
      www.HalloweenProductions.com
      www.BlacklightAttractions.com
      www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
      www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

      Comment


      • #18
        One other thing... watched your video on the train car concept thing you have there. Nice work however keep in mind on that the air it takes to run something like that is UNREAL no high end air compressor that runs with a belt can keep up with it. We have something close to that in our haunt called the 'swamp house' and we had to rent a diesel powered air compressor for the whole season just to move the thing. They will run for a while but then your air compressor will run out of steam and it basically stops working. You can't have anything else on the same lines as these air monster or it will drag down everything.

        Nice work!

        Larry
        Larry Kirchner
        President
        www.HalloweenProductions.com
        www.BlacklightAttractions.com
        www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
        www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

        Comment


        • #19
          Larry,

          I’d like to point out that there are several small haunted houses that currently coexist with the larger venues here in central florida. There’s Hunter’s Creep Nights (Hunter’s Creek), Face the Fear (Sanford), and a small haunted house in Longwood and the Haunted Grimm House in Old Town. All of these have been operating for several years now. This tells me that the market is large enough to support other haunts, because they have to be at least breaking even or they wouldn’t be opening year after year.

          I agree that a large haunted house would suffer here, because it couldn’t generate the sales needed to equal the capital required to open and operate, but what about a small haunt on a smaller budget? I estimate that I need 3,000 people to break even. Now my target audience will mainly be the college kids and it is at the colleges that I will focus my advertising. To break even, I will only need to convince 3% of the college population that they should visit my haunted house. That percentage goes down depending on how many local people (that live here) I can get through. It might be possible. One advantage I have is that I can make a technically advanced haunted attraction without the price tag. The train car platform you saw only cost me $300. I hope to keep my costs low so I don’t need a large audience to break even.

          This is my chance to realize my dream. I know I face incredible odds but I’m determined to give it all I have. I’d love to be the only Haunted House in the area but that’s not the case. I’m still going to try.

          Thanks for the input on my train car. I realized that I would need a dedicated compressor for it. And I plan on having a 50 gallon buffer tank as well as the compressor in the same room. (Insulated and ventilator to reduce noise) Along with the air springs, the train car will be equipped with two home-made vibrators that I can vary the speed on, two 12” fans mounted to the front also speed controlled, chasing lights mounted outside and above that will increase and change in speed, and a conveyor belt of rocks (painted) that will change in speed as well (seen through two broken slats in the left wall) And the whole thing actually moves as it “performs” this sequence. It moves about four feet forward so you exit in a different location than you enter. Put all this together and hopefully you’ll feel like you went somewhere. I’m using a large PLC to control all the effects and organize the sequence.

          Thanks again for you thoughts,
          Mike

          Comment


          • #20
            Couple of things...

            1) I guess I was assuming you were going to try some big haunt. I'm sure if you keep your budget low you can do well, but its when you try to go big you would probably suffer in that market.

            2) I think we have a 80 or 100 gallon buffer tank on our swamp house and it still isn't enough. Its an air hog no matter how you set it up.

            Its cool but hard on the air!

            Good luck!

            Larry
            Larry Kirchner
            President
            www.HalloweenProductions.com
            www.BlacklightAttractions.com
            www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
            www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

            Comment


            • #21
              Thanks Larry

              I'll have to do some testing under operating conditions once I finish it.

              Here are some updated videos.

              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeMTgckbBb8
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTZC-4x7bEo

              Comment


              • #22
                If you get yourself a compressor capable of at least 100 CFM, you should have no problem running that train car based on that sequence. As long as your compressor can keep pumping air out, you wont need a buffer tank...Take note that these diesel compressors are running constantly so they can keep up with the high demand of air. I had an elevator on airbags in my former haunt and I also had to rent one of these to handle the amount of air needed, its really incredible how much air they use. Make sure you get the largest air lines and fittings you can flowing to those bags.
                Nate Mitchell|creative consultant
                [n8 creative studios]

                Comment


                • #23
                  Nate,

                  I can tell you it won't be enough, those things suck air like the wind. We go the biggest diesel powered generator we could rent and they ONLY thing it supplies is that moving floor. If its running all the time like in our haunt it will suck down the air. We also have a reserve tank and if we didn't I dont think it would operate at all.

                  You have some good advice there about the bigger air lines! I think we need bigger air lines in the Darkness as well. Anyway one of the main points I guess I'm making here is its hard to run tht sucker and a ton of other animstions all on the same lines, same compressor, that will shut down air for almost everything. Just keep in mind you need dedicated air.

                  Larry
                  Larry Kirchner
                  President
                  www.HalloweenProductions.com
                  www.BlacklightAttractions.com
                  www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
                  www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Yeah on second thought, I agree about the tank, it obviously never hurts to have it there! Ive never seen it, but if your swamp house air bags are going up and down constantly, then yeah you definitely need some serious air. You got any videos of that in operation? Id love to see it.
                    Nate Mitchell|creative consultant
                    [n8 creative studios]

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Chainsawwolf

                      Mike, we go to HHN's every year, give me a address and we will stop by and check out your haunt, thats 4 people that will show up. Also there is a yahoo group called Chainsawwolf it is a HHN's and actor hang out. Around Sept. that board gets real busy because people check in to see whats up with HHN and whats going on in O town. A post on this board and a link in the members links could get you a few people to your haunt some as far a England. Thats right England, I live two hours north of Universal and had a group of people that came from England to my haunted trail. They come every year to HHN's and check the Chainsawwolf board for info, they try and hit lots of haunts here in the states and found me through that board. Hay it's a worth a post, can't hurt. Good luck!
                      Giving People The Chills Since 2005

                      http://www.warehouse31.com

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Dear backstagemike,

                        I'm also a Mike, and am a recent graduate from UCF.

                        I'm from Orlando (UCF Area) and I'm really excited to hear that someone has decided to open a haunt here in O-Town. I know that there are other haunts here, like Grimm's in Old Town (I went there a month ago and had a good time). There is also one that may still be in Longwood run by the Police Department. Anyway, I think that Orlando could use a good professional haunt that people dont have to spend an arm and a leg on. I understand that HHN provides big bang for there buck (I go every year as I'm a huge fan), but I believe that there is a customer base (especially students) who would love to go out to a haunt near by, spend 15 bucks and have a good time for an hour or two as opposed to driving the 25 minutes or so (much more with HHN traffic) and spend 40 bucks on a ticket (with coupon) plus another 50 bucks or more on food and drinks. And if you have a date, you can go ahead and double those costs. Most students have to break the bank to go to the theme park haunts. I would definitely say that your marketing should focus on that as I think they are your greatest strengths when drawing a crowd. Plus a kick ass website of course!!!

                        Another reason I'm excited to hear about your plans is because I'm a haunter myself. I'm working to be a professional haunter in the next 5 to 10 years and have begun the process of learning everything I can about the haunt industry. Have you read "So You Want to Be a Haunt Entrepreneur" by Kelly Allen? It's a great book that will teach you all about the business end of running a haunt. I've been trying to buy every book I can find and reading everything online from whether or not I should buy weather insurance to how to build a flying crank ghost! I've started building props of my own (all static for the time being) but am working on graduating to the more advanced electronic stuff in the near future.

                        I would love to work with you on your HH. I have a good mind for design and telling stories and have come up with quite a few haunt themes and prop ideas to fit my themes. I agree with you that a haunt should have a good story. It is also my intention to one day open a haunt that is more of an experience that the audience must be a part of. I'm also experience in the construction industry and would love to get my hands dirty. I believe that with a great story, props, actors, and great marketing with an awesome website, a haunt in Orlando can be successful.

                        I wish you the best of luck and I hope that I will be able to work with you. If you are interested in contacting me, please email me at logerton@gmail.com

                        I'd love to hear from you!

                        Michael A. Logsdon

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Couple of safety questions on the train effect... looks like the air bags are near their limit. I don't see any type of limiter.

                          I also didn't see any kind of safety back up. What happens if a bag blows? There isn't anything to stop the platform from becoming a James Bond ejection seat!!!

                          You're talking a lot of pressure to move the audinence alone, I assume you are also buildinga a set on top of the platform?

                          How will they handle this additional load?

                          Looks like the platform is wood. If so how will it handle all the tweaking from the air bags without ripping itself apart??

                          I admit you can't see everything, but what is shown does pose a lot of questions!
                          R&J Productions
                          Las Vegas, NV
                          www.LasVegasHaunts.com

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Saftey Concerns

                            To answer some of your safety questions...

                            1) is there an upper limiter for the air springs?
                            ---no, but the air springs are operating on 80psi controlled but normally closed air solenoids. With this set-up, I have full adjustment of the springs and can stop it in whatever position I want. I've programed the springs to stop before they could ever reach their maximum upper limit. So it has an electronic upper limiter so to speak, but not a physical one.

                            2) what happens if a bag blows?
                            ---hopefully it doesn't happen, but if it does the platform will drop at most 6 inches down onto a steel subframe that does have a limiter

                            3) is there anything to stop the platform from becoming a james bond ejection seat?
                            ---the force needed to accelerate someone up in the air is well beyond the operating pressures of this unit. Even if the air springs all explode, the unit will go down, not up.

                            4) does this effect use a lot of pressure?
                            ---no, the operating pressure is only 80psi the same amount of air a normal pneumatic staple gun runs off of. At 80psi these air springs can lift 1500 pounds. Multiple that by two because I never have just one spring lifting at a time and I have 3000 pounds of lift, more than enough to lift the six passengers on the train car.

                            5) How does the unit handle with the additional load of the building set on top?
                            ---about the same as in the platform only set-up, again because they are rated so high. These springs have a 600 PSI capacity each.

                            6) How does the airbags attaching to the wooden platform handle all the tweaking without ripping itself apart?
                            ---the air springs are bolted to plywood plates that are then lagged to the 2"x 4" framing of the wooden platform and screwed to the 1"x 3" steel subframe. The amount of force needed to shear these mechanical fasteners is beyond the amount put on them.

                            Along with these there are other safety concerns I've taken precautions for and maybe some I haven't thought of. So I appreciate the questions. If I can answer any more, let me know.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              I live in Orlando area (DeBary) and have alot of experience with haunts - I was the first make up contractor for HHN's first 4 years and before that I worked on many horror films in Orlando and taught Prosthetics as an Adjunct Professor as well as worked with Ralph Clemente in the Film Program at Valencia. I was also the Make Up Course Director at Full Sail. So I have an academic background too. Scenic as well as make up.

                              Since you have your masters in Tech Theatre I won't belabor the point but the advice I would offer with regards to Orlando would be to stay on top of your zoning requirements and FIRE prevention. I have seen haunts shut down in Orlando before the opening because the Fire Marshal came through and put a lighter to some wall sections and they failed. Even temporary structures (tents) at Universal failed inspection due to no sprinklers. It's surprizes like that that can bring things back into persppective. Don't forget the exits too. Make friends with the zoning Inspector and fire Marshal as they're both there to help.

                              Since I'm in the Orlando area let me know if you need staff to help with your make up requirements. This industry is my livliehood as is the film industry, so I need to charge for my make up products, but if you would like to utilize airbrushing in your haunt I can help get you up and running (training) if you would be interested in using my make up. My airbrush was created for the demands of Halloween Horror Nights and is currently used for Frank, Wolfman, Drac, and Beetelgeuse daily in the park. I can offer discounts bringing it in under $3.00 per oz!

                              Water-Melon is Something to consider as well but you can check that out for yourself below
                              http://www.michaeldavy.com/


                              Call me at 386 668 0850 if you need any advice or help.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                While it may not be the audience you are looking for, do not underestimate the high schools in and around Orlando, especially in the Windermere/Dr. Philips area, and those close to Universal. Kids in this area do get bored often, with the immense amount of theme parks that they have all been to 500 times, and the lack of interesting things to do. Many do not have the money to spend on an event such as Halloween Horror Nights, and a lower costing event that has a decent reputation is a doable thing, and many have too much money that they are constantly spending on things like this (especially Windermere).

                                I would try to market your event to both the local high school, and college students (even middle school is feasible). As previously said, you can likely get daily school announcements about your event, if you agree to have a night for them where a portion is donated to the school; you can even get volunteer teachers and students.

                                I would be more than happy, to help you on your project, in fact, absolutely thrilled! I have a feeling I can round up more than a few people who would also be interested. I also know of a very very nice place where you can advertise your event, and get MANY Halloween Horror Nights visitors to come.

                                Orlando residents, due to the tourism and hospitality industry, from what I have seen, many have connections. These connections include just about anything, and you are going to want to bring people that have these connections into your group, provided they are good for the group.

                                I also have a ton of time on my hands (even during the school year) and I am more than happy to help and get experience.

                                You can contact me at hauntsforhealth@hotmail.com ^_^

                                I hope you know already, your audience is going to have a very fine tuned pre-conception of what a haunted house is. The theme parks fail on a few levels, and one of the main ones is adding a personal feel to the event. Maximize on that, and at all cost, stay safe. Don't compete with that pre-conception, change it!
                                Last edited by HauntsForHealth; 07-31-2009, 02:56 AM.

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