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We've thought about this and the main thing that has held us back is storage. We are already running out of storage with the Halloween stuff so the question then becomes where to I store all the Christmas stuff! Love your idea though!!

@@Claws0216 2025 will be different. Going to spend the year toying with animatronics that I build. Stay tuned to see where that goes!!

Setup, I usually set the track up a month in advance and then work on it during nights and weekends when I have time. Our weather is pretty mild so don't typically have weather issues. We had 2 people run the line, one ran the animatronic, I was loading the carts, two cart pushers, and then about 5-6 actors throughout the haunt. We usually do a friend's and family night and then Halloween night. Usually between 250-300 on Halloween night.

@@AotH Thanks for all the info. This is a really impressive operation and your neighborhood is fortunate to have y'all. Any plans to motorize the carts? That being asked I suppose pushing the carts is simple and effective. How did you determine the weight limit?

Thank you! Lots of work but we had fun!!

You are welcome! I hope it gives others some ideas. 😊

Thanks!!

Yes, I had two carts this year and had two pushers that did it all night. It’s pretty easy to push, it’s just a lot of trips around the track.

I didn't even know what tomato tunnels were but I looked them up. Very interesting! I like the idea. Are they easy to store? Man, that would be way easier. I wish I would have know about those 10 years ago....lol.

They are really easy to store. They break down into a nice slim box. The best part is they only take about 20 minutes to put up!

@@gilliekins I might have to check those out!!

Glad you found that helpful. Be careful only anchoring the Paracord to the pop up because they are pretty flimsy and can bend easy. I run the Paracord through the popup and out the other side and anchor to the ground with a tent stake. That way the tent stake is taking the bulk of the load.

The Dremel attachment is just a little sanding drum. Finer the grit would be better. Yes, aerosol spray paint will eat at the foam so if you are worried about that then use acrylic. But, once the foam has dried, I have used aerosol and it may eat a little bit not enough to mess it up. In fact, it gives it a little tougher and gritty look. Good luck and glad you like the video!

Yes!! I saw your video and love the idea. My problem right now is the clock is ticking and I already have a whole punch list of things to get done by Halloween. If I have time closer to Halloween, I might make a snake like your video. Btw...I had the same problem with the paint cracking....not sure how to resolve that issue.

@@AotH I feel you. It's hard getting everything together. Can't wait to see he final ride!

@@UndeadLaboratory I always think I'm doing good on time and then as we get closer I start to panic. Most of the big stuff is done. By the end of this weekend I should have most of the walls up and then the last two weeks is putting up props, lighting, sound, etc. And it's finally getting a little cooler here so easier to work outside. Last weekend we were over 100 degrees still. Ugh.

@@AotH Damn dude, over 100 this time of year is brutal. hopefully it cools off for you and you can get the rest of it done. glad to hear its progressing though. Can't wait to see it.

@@AotH 2 days left for halloween and I can't wait for the next vid (when its ready)!

Thank you!!

You are very kind. I'll try to do at least one more update before Halloween. After Halloween I'll do the full walkthrough.

@@AotH 👍

Yep, that was definitely a problem last year because it meant they just sat there to listen to the whole script which made the ride that much longer and that many fewer people an hour going through the haunt. This year is a swamp theme and so that script will be updated anyway (and much shorter) as well as we are adding two more animatronics like that which we customize the scripts. Great suggestion!

Thank you!

Thank you! Glad you found something you could use. 😃

Wow, lot's of good ideas. I like the use of a group text for the scare levels. As for the black plastic....yah, wind sucks. We've only had one year where it got bad and we just unclipped all the plastic and laid it on the ground and then when the wind passed we put it back up again. That's the beauty of using the binder clips is that it's easy to put up and take down, especially if you have it anchored well at the bottom. Great idea with the duct tape. Now that I'm doing the bulk of our haunt in my backyard and it's fenced, we still get some wind effect but it is dramatically minimized. Short of using wooden panels (a pain to store) I wish there was a better solution for wind resistant walls. 🙂

@@AotH Yeah, my wall was to hide the haunted trail from the neighbors yard. They did the big fall festival with food, games and a large trunk or treat of cars for the kiddos. I did the haunted trail for the end of the evening after dark. It was a lot of fun. Man I want to do the cart on tracks some day. Maybe when I retire I'll have enough time to do it.

@@CardiacCat Sounds like a blast!! I literally started building the track and cart in December and used the whole year to do piece by piece on the weekends. It's definitely something you don't want to try and do at the last minute. Lot's of little bumps in the road and spreading it out over the year gives you time to make adjustments. I hope you can do a track some day....lot's of fun and a cool accomplishment!

For now we push it but I plan to automate it next year. Pretty easy to push and we do it in a discreet way that the rider does not know they are being pushed.

I use the Wyze cams. I use them for the outside of my house anyway so always have an extra one or two laying around. These record on motion and I have the service so it records to the cloud.

@@NicoTheCavapoo Ain’t nuthin a little fingernail polish remover can’t take care of 😜

The main thing that comes to mind is to test and test. So whatever you build put more weight then you expect to carry and make sure it holds up. You can use bags of sand or something similar to test the weight. Hope this helps! 😊

Also, remember as the pusher that you have to be able to push whatever weight ends up being in the cart. One or two trips around your haunt is no big deal but doing that all night can be exhausting.

@@AotH Good point. I walked 75 groups of two, through last year.

@@AotH Thanks for the quick reply. I need to think it through further. The effort for that build may be better spent on other haunt features. Take care and good luck with yours.

It definitely takes some effort. Not something you can do at the last minute but I enjoyed the process. Made a second cart this year. Glad you like the video and happy haunting!

You just made my day! Thank you!!

@@kimberlyhoutz1456 It was about 6 months to build the track and cart but it was a fun project. This year we’ll have a second cart which should speed up our lines a bit.

@@kensmith5694 We don’t do it but one strategy haunts use for the small kids or anyone that doesn’t want a scare is to give them a glow stick on a neck strap. Then the actors know not to scare them. I like the bed sheets idea….might have to try that!

@@AotH That sounds like a reasonable method but it would only give two levels.

@@Rideguy365 Well, to be fair….I’ve already built one and was able to use that as a reference so it definitely speeds things up!

Lol...it's just something I love doing. I feel like this year will be even better. Most of my effort last year was focused on building the track and cart. This year I get to focus more on the visuals and props.

Would love to check out your videos when you get them done! On the laser swamp idea, my nephew suggested a GREAT idea that I think I'm going to try....instead of putting lasers throughout the haunt, I'm going to mount them low on the cart (think of like headlights). I'll still fog most of the haunt but that way any direction the cart goes it will create the laser effect on the fog. I haven't done a proof of concept yet but that's the direction I'm leaning. The videos take a lot of time. In fact, I'm pausing my videos probably until after Halloween because it just takes too much time to shoot the videos and get stuff done. Time is running out for me and Halloween is right around the corner! Thanks for your ideas and feedback.

@@AotH ok, the laser swamp on the cart idea is brilliant!. The one thing I did notice is that the laser swamp does work better if the light is facing towards you so maybe give it a try and make sure you like the look I am pretty confident it will still work though. Halloween is fast approaching, and you have quite the project on your hands. Hopefully ever thing gets done in time. I love watching the vids but the haunt comes first!

@@AotH I have the first video going up tomorrow. I think it could fit your haunt pretty well. I think it is a pretty cool effect at least.

Thank you! Glad you like it.

Yep, it worked great! Especially in the dark. One of my favorite and simple scares.

Great minds think alike ...check out my video: th-cam.com/video/z111D0DgFOI/w-d-xo.html

Wow! Thank you for the kind comments. Glad you liked the video and my dark ride. Stay tuned for our swamp themed 2024!

Thanks Blueman, I appreciate it!!

😂

Yep but worth the wait because it's FREE! We are building a second cart this year so we should be able to do about 100-120 people per hour. We also do a friend's and family night before Halloween so they don't have to wait in the long line.

@@AotH with that the line will go twice as fast

So here’s the deal…this is my first year to try a swamp theme so I don’t have my fog and laser strategy figured out yet. But, I promise I will share what works on this channel. I’m confident the effect can be accomplished with just basic foggers.

@@AotH great! Thank you so much! This will be my first year also, so I’m glad I’m not the only one trying to figure it out. I wish you luck

Great question!! Yes, on this particular haunt there is a deck overlooking the haunt. We had floodlights pointing down on the haunt that could be turned on with an app on our phone. We used it for emergencies, to work on the haunt at night, and to signal breaks to our actors.

Thank you Nikki!! Glad you liked the video and I hope you check out some of my other videos as well. And I'm missing Halloween too....but have lots of things to do to be ready for my haunt. :-)

So I'm not the one who did the re-vamp, that was my friend Eddie. I did speak to him and we will try and put together some stuff about it to share with you. Stay tuned!