How much change-over do you have each year?

[Badger]

As an actor in a large theme park, we have mulitple haunts on-site and a lot of variety. Each year they try to change about 30% of the park, whether it's a complete makeover, to modifying existing mazes and scare zones. The powers-that-be have the line of thinking that people would get bored seeing the same thing year after year. A typical maze at Scarowinds has a shelf-life of about 3 seasons before its recycled into something else.

My question is, how much yearly change do you have with your haunts? Do you keep the same things each year, change a little, a lot, or completely redo it each year? How do you balance what worked in the past, vs getting stale with the same old stuff? How often do you bring things back?

[Allen H]

Our park has five haunts, due to the fact that three of them get taken completely down and then put back up, the layout changes while the animatronics stay the same but in different spots on the path.
We revamp completely one haunt each season, in the park is also the Trail of terror haunt which has a radically different theme each year. The Trail of Terror is not one of the five haunts, it is an up charge attraction.
Allen H

[drfrightner]

This year ummm a TON! LOL

Normally we'll go back year to year and fix everything that broke that is first off... two freshen up everything back to new like condition, then three we'll look at ways to improve things we don't like.

Typically we replace 3 to 5 scenes every year but those are massive overhauls to those rooms. This year we went overboard but typically its just maybe 2 MAJOR new scenes, and 3 or 4 room upgrades per year.

Just make sure the new scenes you add are so impressive everyone will notice! Last year for us it was the graveyard, swamp house and the t-rex room... no on didn't notice!

They stand out!

Larry

[mindtumor]

So far 100% each year. Right down to the maze layout. But that is because unfortunately we have to tear down and move out each time. I figure since you have to put it up each year why not change it each year. The problem is there is only a couple of us to work on it and a 100% overhaul each year in a short amount of time is very difficult.

[Dr. Giggles]

We have classics that we leave like the crashed school bus. The people love it every year. And then we change thing like the rooms and maze layouts and the other rooms that arent classics.

[spookologist]

The thing I like most about having a haunt is creating new scenes so we change around 75% each year.

Wayne
www.trailofterror.com

[Jim Warfield]

change?

Being a one-man show and the owner of the building and the guy who does 99% of the work on things here, "Change" is not the same here as it is probably for most of you.
Being open almost every night of the year plus Sat. & Sun. afternoons for the "Kiddies" also tells me basically "No time to change much!"
Although there is more than one theory working here as seen from the customer's perspective that should be mentioned.
I "Add" instead of change whole rooms. This allows returning customers to relax before the new addition comes to life from the old familiar and scares them infront of their newbie friends that they just brought in the door.
This scaring the person who has been here previously adds to the fun for that newbie.
Many of my rooms have so much "Stuff" in them that even returning customers keep seeing "New" items that have been there for 15 years.
Then some customers like certain things and then I happen to remove those things and they morn for it to be reinstated.....?
Many customers do like the unchanging, the familiarity. Sort of like finding some food served by a certain restaurant.. "No Don't take that off the menu! I have never found another place that makes peanut butter sandwiches like you do!"