# Gone in 45 Seconds (need stalling tactics)



## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

ProHaunts scare forward. Enter scene, distract, #$&@!!...run forward. That formula equals numbers and timely turnover.

My challenge is that I am a yardhaunt that consists of a 60ft long sideyard, a 25ft walk through the back to the workshed connected to the 2 car garage. I get that I should segment the garage for best effect. However, I walked the whole thing at a casual/indifferent viewer pace and it took me barely 45 seconds. That is too short for the effort I am putting in.

Any suggestions as to techniques to stall the older guests? 


I have several ideas, but maybe I have missed one, so feel free to share whatever ideas come to mind.

Challenge: I am into gardening, so chasing someone around the yard will possible end in a twig to the face. So all of my animated or actor jump scares will be set up to direct guests to safer blank wall areas.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

How many visitors do you typically get in an evening? Do you have return visitors?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Roxy asked some good questions, I'll add a couple of questions of my own.
Does your haunt follow a theme or story-line?
Does your theme or story-line stay the same from year to year?
What is the age range/demographic of your guests?
What's your budget?


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## kentuckyspecialfxdotcom (Oct 20, 2008)

Slow em down.
We were called to help a dare to care haunt last year and the lay out was very very similar to what your describing so here's some of the things we did to slow the herd down.
1 Space things out as much as possible if your scenes are running into each other then your patrons don't know when to stop and go oooo and ahhhh
2 Maze that sucker up!
If you make it harder for them to maneuver you get more time in the haunt.
Hang things like intestines or chains or dolls or what ever but make it so they have to push stuff out of the way to see at a couple of points.
It will slow them down and distract them.
3 Force the guest to stay, really im not joking.
If a small narrow path way is blocked by an actor freaking out, seriously breaking stuff, slamming chains, chainsaw ect. and actually going berserk guess what they're going to stand there and get real nervous and wonder what to do because they have no where to go ( Humans will not go backwards through a haunt it's our nature ), then you have that actor disappear and let them through.
These should help a little.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

RoxyBlue, we give out candy, toys, stickers, etc... to over 1000 in about 3 hours.  I suspect many of those are doing laps around the neighborhood. Thing is, we have very few kids that live in the neighborhood, but are a dropoff for other neighborhoods...and Juarez, Mx. These numbers suggest I should not choke the flow through the yardhaunt, but I can't have 1000 through there anyway without damage, chaos, and traumatized toddlers. My haunt may be too much for the very young ones. I plan to descriminate...in a good way. I will aim for max of 150 to go through, lest the police get called for our blocking traffic. May sound unfeasible, but am treating it like a private party. The bulk of the 1000 can suffice with candy mooching. ;-)


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

Fontgeek, 

It has a storyline I have attempted to weave from my evergrowing collection of props. I will tweak it year to year. But essentially I have a hag room, ghoul room, ghost and reaper room, and twisted clown room. A few lesser rooms as filler joints. All outside but the clowns. Rarely ever rains here. I spend $300 on TOTs, and easily $1,200 on props throughout the year. Ages are usually young moms, 1/2 the TOTs being too young for my haunt, and maybe 200 haunt appropriate kids. I am targeting the screamer ages, not the kids likely to collapse while indifferent parent drags them across my mulch. Bonus: easily half of the TOTs speak no English, while most have never been to a proper haunt. El Paso sucks, regarding haunt access. Is like the 80s in build quality for the few pay haunts we have. Hence, my enthusiasm.


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## MurrayTX (Nov 4, 2011)

Kentucky...,

I am digging the advice. 1 and 2 will be difficult, as my prop to space ratio limits my ability to put in deadzones. At best, I may go prop intensive in some scenes down the long sideyard, but put walls and dark spots between Butthem to make guests shuffle-step from scene to scene out of "oh chit, I not going first." (mostly spanglish here). But I think I can do #3 at the end of that series...only half way through the haunt. The backyard provides a pinch point in the flow, while also allowing an actor to disappear after blocking the way. Thanks. B-)


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

Make a large cage out of PVC pipe with two doors that is blocking the walkway so that the TOTs have to enter and exit the cage. Then put a nasty monster/actor in the cage. They will have to consider the possibility of getting trapped in the cage with the monster. If you have overhead room, you can even have the doors side up to open, so that they look like they can fall down to slam shut at any moment. I don't know if you would want them to actually move, though. It would be cool to have the monster himself in the cage using a pulley to open the doors as the kids approached but you would need to worry about safety if the actor accidentally let go and had a door drop on someone. Maybe have it only look like the monster is controlling the doors and have some other, safer, way to open and close them (or just punt and have them open the whole time).


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## DreadKnightswife (Oct 16, 2011)

GOT said:


> Make a large cage out of PVC pipe with two doors that is blocking the walkway so that the TOTs have to enter and exit the cage. Then put a nasty monster/actor in the cage. They will have to consider the possibility of getting trapped in the cage with the monster. If you have overhead room, you can even have the doors side up to open, so that they look like they can fall down to slam shut at any moment. I don't know if you would want them to actually move, though. It would be cool to have the monster himself in the cage using a pulley to open the doors as the kids approached but you would need to worry about safety if the actor accidentally let go and had a door drop on someone. Maybe have it only look like the monster is controlling the doors and have some other, safer, way to open and close them (or just punt and have them open the whole time).


I love this idea, we too do a yard haunt and have issues like you about time they are in the haunt, we already do mazes, and try to slow them down, but anyone who is claustrophobic will hesitate at this!


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