Thread: How can I entertain guests while waiting?

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If you know anybody(friend or family) that if funny I would dress that person in a costume and have them go tell Halloween themed jokes or Scary movie trivia games. I did that one year with my dad and the guest loved it! He had them rolling on the floor! Those were truly Good times and memories!

As for sliders, get someone that has some skill in that area! A family member tried to help and do it one year, but it was an EPIC FAIL and it left a few scars..

Originally Posted by Scatterbrains

hire an accordion player....

LOL! Now that would be funny!

We have had a huge response to our que line videos and actual applications typically involve the video plus one actor to chat with the customers so that way if the actor has to leave or they aren't close enough to hear them they still have the video!
(here is a quick sample the full video is 10:00!)

What we are going to try out this year is have a tv with live feed pointing at a scare location in the haunt (from the scarers POV). The queue guests can watch the people walk up and get scared but not see what is scaring them! I think it'll work good

Having to delay people entering for a few years now, due to late finishing of major props and make up, we have hit the issue of keeping people in line entertained. That's becoming more of a concern now that we are limiting how many can enter at one time, typically groups of 3-6 people.

For the past couple years we've had someone outside to regulate the crowd, usually in a costume related to the theme, John Hammond welcoming people into Jurassic Park, the Knave of Hearts warning them not to enter Wonderland, and such.
For the most part people, surprisingly kids more than adults, seem content to just wait and listen to the sounds effects, music and screams of the group that's already in the haunt. Having someone out in the yard lets them ask questions about how we built everything, how long it took and some will pry as to what we plan for the next year, though we never tell. By the time ToTing starts we have a line forming and last year it was a steady flow of people all night until 9:30ish so a wait was inevitable. Many people go to our house last so they have plenty of candy by the time they wander through our haunt looking for some entertainment and a scare.

We'll have a graveyard this year and a character or two out front to keep people entertained. We've also considered playing music along the sidewalk where people line up, not too loud though, no need to spoil the sound effects.

Scatterbrains, that's PERFECT!
Everyone's ideas are great!

I would maybe set up facts about your haunt and how you built it. Maybe you could hand out booklets of the different types of coffins the patrons can choose from when they don't make it out alive.

But I don't think very much needs to go on outside when people are waiting in line. I view it as more of a "ramp up" type of time. I certainly remember as a young child that the music being played while I would wait in line at haunts really petrified me!

Originally Posted by the dogman

Having to delay people entering for a few years now, due to late finishing of major props and make up, we have hit the issue of keeping people in line entertained. That's becoming more of a concern now that we are limiting how many can enter at one time, typically groups of 3-6 people.

For the past couple years we've had someone outside to regulate the crowd, usually in a costume related to the theme, John Hammond welcoming people into Jurassic Park, the Knave of Hearts warning them not to enter Wonderland, and such.
For the most part people, surprisingly kids more than adults, seem content to just wait and listen to the sounds effects, music and screams of the group that's already in the haunt. Having someone out in the yard lets them ask questions about how we built everything, how long it took and some will pry as to what we plan for the next year, though we never tell. By the time ToTing starts we have a line forming and last year it was a steady flow of people all night until 9:30ish so a wait was inevitable. Many people go to our house last so they have plenty of candy by the time they wander through our haunt looking for some entertainment and a scare.

We'll have a graveyard this year and a character or two out front to keep people entertained. We've also considered playing music along the sidewalk where people line up, not too loud though, no need to spoil the sound effects.

As a major haunt connoisseur can I just say thank you to you and every haunt who regulates the amount of people going in - keeping the right flow makes all the difference. If its a constant stream of people and you can see what his happening to those up ahead of you it takes most of the scare out. I would much rather wait in a long line and get a real scare than be herded through watching others get scared!! Thanks for all your efforts and hard work that goes into giving us these great experiences!!

Originally Posted by killerhaunts

What we are going to try out this year is have a tv with live feed pointing at a scare location in the haunt (from the scarers POV). The queue guests can watch the people walk up and get scared but not see what is scaring them! I think it'll work good

This to me is brilliant - at haunts where I can hear the screaming or an effect going off inside but can't see it - it really adds to the fear factor in line. Being able to see others getting scared will only heighten that. The anticipation before you get in really adds to the scare once you reach it! By hiding what is actually scaring them you will be able to keep the rotten few who will want to clown for camera from knowing where it is. Great thinking!

Go on ebay and buy a cheap Creepy Crawlers oven and some molds. The original molds were all swamp related (bugs, lizards, etc.), and have your guests make their own creepy crawler while they wait.