8/17/2007 12:00:00 AM
WILLIAMSBURG,
Va.
(Aug. 17) – Busch Gardens Europe is putting the finishing
touches on the park’s annual Howl-O-Scream event. Debuting
Sept. 14, and continuing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday
through Oct. 28, Howl-O-Scream haunts the European-themed park
with new haunted houses, scare zones and themed shows. New
this year is “The NeverAfter,” an entire village devoted to the
macabre.
Loosely
themed on the fables of the Brothers Grimm, The NeverAfter
twists well-known tales into new nightmares during Busch Gardens’
fall spooktacular. The NeverAfter features two haunted
mazes, Grimm Hollows: Deadtime Stories and Tormented Tales; and
one scare zone, The Beaten Path.
“We’re
elevating the park’s fright factor with The NeverAfter.
The scares, startles and entire environment of this village are
edgier than anything we’ve done before,” said Donnie Mills,
executive vice president and general manager for Busch Gardens
Europe. “Our guests wanted scarier attractions and we’ve
balanced that with the need to remain family friendly. The
result is the creation of a village in Festhaus Park,
removed from main guest traffic, that scare-seekers will have to
willingly enter to enjoy,” added Mills.
Grimm
Hollows: Deadtime Stories
is a macabre maze fictitiously based upon the childhood home of
the Brothers Grimm. Setting the scene for their
inspirational folklore, Grimm Hollows: Deadtime Stories takes a
terrifying twist as guests traverse the rooms of Howl-O-Scream’s
most horrifying haunted house. The second maze in The
NeverAfter is Tormented Tales and it follows the
evolution of the Brothers Grimm’s fairytales. Visitors
walk through the “pages” of a fable maze that only Howl-O-Scream
can conjure up. From forest witches and
diabolical dwarfs to golden-haired tricksters and legendary
villains, “readers” are stalked from page to page.
The only
trail out of The NeverAfter is a new scare zone called The
Beaten Path, a road where fairytale fiends guide guests
along.
In order
to adequately convey the scare level of The NeverAfter, the park
has re-evaluated its pumpkin scare ratings to add a sixth
pumpkin to the scoring system. All themed attractions
within The NeverAfter will warrant the higher, six pumpkin
rating.
“The NeverAfter is not suitable for guests
under 17 years of age,” said Mills.
Busch Gardens Europe also is offering
Front-of-the-Line passes for Howl-O-Scream. These passes
provide guests with head-of-the-line privileges to the following
Howl-O-Scream attractions: Griffon, The Big Bad Wolf,
Corkscrew Hill, Curse of Pompeii and Curse of DarKastle.
Passes may be purchased for $29 at the main gate, in certain
locations throughout the park and online at buschgardens.com.
Season pass members receive a $4 discount on the Front-of-Line
pass.
Busch Gardens Europe’s alter ego of fright
surfaces at nightfall. Howl-O-Scream attractions are
included with park admission or a season pass. Not all
Howl-O-Scream activities are suitable for children and parental
discretion is advised. Ratings for each activity are
posted at the attractions and on the show schedule. For
more information, guests may call (800) 343-7946 or visit
howl-o-scream.com.
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