Hong Kong Halloween Stuff

[gavin]

Irrelevant to most people, but could be interesting for others:

Disneyland

Graves Academy (haunted school walkthrough) and Revenge of the Headless Horseman (carnival/freakshow themed walktrhough) are back again this year, as is the Sideshow Carnival Extraordinaire - a set of outdoor carnival stages with various performances. All three were excellent last year.

New this year is Horrors of the Amazon, which I thought might take place on the Jungle Cruise ride, but now I'm not so sure. It seems like it could have a connection to the ride, but not part of the ride itself:

Engage in immersive and sensory storytelling by Jonas Brisbane, a Jungle River Cruise Skipper, of his terrifying nighttime voyage at Horrors of the Amazon, followed with encounters with bizarre and terrifying creatures he captured but have escaped and now roam Adventureland and Mystic Point.

http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/html/DisneyWholeNewLight/en_US/

Ocean Park

H14 - An aged 16+ horror walkthrough which they're reporting as their most intense ever.

The scariest haunted house in 14 years of Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest! Set to evoke your innermost phobia, H14 tests the limits of horror, allowing only the bravest to venture inside! With 15 minutes of intensive thrills and spine-tingling scares, you’re in for a customised journey that stimulates all your senses! Once the lock clicks behind you in this blood-drenched madhouse, it’s up to you to survive your own escape! Find clues and take on gruesome challenges that may mean life or death. Issue the secret escape signal if you lose control – see if the master will let you go!

Rigor Mortis Live - based on a popular horror film from last year

Explore the eerie dilapidated public estate from Rigor Mortis LIVE, winner of Best Visual Effects at the Hong Kong Film Awards. As you pass through the dark corridor, the ghostly twins in flat 2442 are waiting to capture your soul! As you stumble, crawl and cry out in fear through this darkly atmospheric attraction, you'll be chased by the masked vampire nurtured by Aunt Mui who wishes to bring her husband back from the dead. It's time to break out your compass and talisman, and most of all, get out alive!

Chinese Mad-icine Hall - a mad doctor/medical experiments gone wrong kind of walkthrough

Between the terrors and the excitement, maybe you need a trip to the doctor. At this Chinese Mad-icine Hall, a terrible doctor has gone mad in his obsession with finding an elixir of eternal youth, and is using his patients in his evil experiments! The human organs floating in his medicine cabinet can be explained, but not the acupuncture table covered in corpses. Escape through the mortuary maze and cadavers before you fall prey to his diabolical treatment for "immoral eternity"!

Horrorwood Studios -

Start your adventure in Horror-wood Studios at night, where spine-tingling horror movie scenes play out in sheer darkness around you, with only the dim light of a tiny glow stick! Watch out for restless spirits waiting at the corners for frightening surprises! The entire haunted experience is secretly captured by the spooky director, who will broadcast your experience to the public afterwards!

Forest of Doom - Sounds like a general scare zome

Under twilight, many horrible secrets are hidden deep in the Forest of Doom! As you lose your way, you will be greeted by the long-haired lady in the red dress, who invites you to her old mansion for the night. But look out! There's no sleep for the pale bone spirits and giant spiders wandering the groves - and certainly no sleep for you!

There are a few more family-friendly things happening as well, but the ones listed above are categorised as more intense. These are all completely new from last year. Personally, I'm in two minds whether to bother as the crowds last time were just horrendous.

http://halloween.oceanpark.com.hk/en/index.html

The Peak

Victoria Peak, a popular tourist destination because of the views of the city and also home to Madame Tussauds, will have a horror attraction brought over by the people who do Fright Dome at Las Vegas' Adventuredome. Apparently it's costing millions, with a higher budget than the Las Vegas version.

Fright Dome Las Vegas, billed as one of the five scariest "haunted" attractions in the United States, will make its Asian debut on Victoria Peak next month.

"I am going to scare the living hell out of Hong Kong," creator, James Egan said on the fog-shrouded Peak yesterday.

He said Hong Kong had been chosen for the Asian foray because of the enthusiasm with which the city embraced the Halloween holiday.

"It is the first city that has actually taken the leap forward doing Halloween, but I don't think it has been scary enough so I really want a scary experience," he said.

The attraction, in its 11th year in the US, will run from September 26 to November 2, straddling Halloween on October 31.

Fright Dome features fog-filled attractions with ghoulish and gore-clad professional actors and six haunted houses.

Egan - who claims to have invested millions of dollars in the Hong Kong event, exceeding the budget of the Las Vegas one - hopes that attendance will eclipse the US event's figure of about 100,000. Rated as one of America's top five haunted attractions by AOL for seven years, the event has been held every September since 2003.

The Hong Kong display will generate more than 150 local jobs at the 15,000 sq ft site on the Peak Galleria rooftop.

"It is the most difficult location that we have ever done," Egan said.

"There are space constraints but the Peak and the Galleria have tens of thousands of square feet of space for us to expand the event in future years and I hope to partner with them for the next 10 years," he said.

"I am expecting a sell-out with a turnout of 150,000 people," he added.

Arrangements will also be made to cater to the city's tastes.

"We are working on [incorporating Asian elements] in our 3D haunted houses, and it's going to be a combination of American and Asian cultures with our strolling entertainers and costumes," Egan said.

"We are taking into consideration what the Asian culture wants … sometimes they don't want us to go as crazy and gory, like in Las Vegas where we are cutting heads off, so we will take it one step at a time in Hong Kong and see whether we can keep going over those boundaries."

The event organiser aims to draw mainland tourists to the attraction, with plans to visit Macau. Egan dismissed local competition from theme parks running their own events.

"I love Disneyland to death but I don't think they are competition," he said. "They are more little-kid-type stuff, they are not actors with chainsaws scaring the living heck out of you. Ocean Park put on an amazing show, but give me a couple of years and I will beat the heck out of them."

Admission fees range from HK$199 to HK$399 and tickets go on sale today.

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...unted-house-brings-halloween-horror-hong-kong

 

[Lofty]

The Hong Kong area has a great lineup of Halloween Attractions and events that are of good quality too. Are you going to any Gavin?

 

[gavin]

I'll do Disney as they do a night time ticket from 6pm to 11pm and it's actually really chilled out as families tend to have left by then. Queues for the walkthroughs can get up to an hour, but rides tend to be walk-on. The park's open for 2 hours after the fireworks - usually closes right after- and those final hours are great as the park empties out.

I'm in two minds about Ocean Park. Last year the walkthroughs, apart from one, weren't that great, and the crowds were horrendous.

They do a VIP pass though, with queue jump for all the Halloween stuff and the major rides. It's about £50 (including park entry), so not too bad really.

The 16+ walkthrough needed to be booked in advance and has already been booked out.

I'll probably not bother with the one at The Peak though.