Bunker 13

Well, its all over!  Bunker 13 is now nothing more than a pile of wood but it was one hell of a show.  Over the 11 day run we entertained over 6000 people, all of who said it was one of the best scare attractions they had ever been into.  We had quite a few people through that had been through Hybrid X and they all agreed that this years show was far better than last years.

So, things happened differently this year.  In Hybrid X we had 3 scare levels depending on the time of day but this caused us some issues.  The very wording of "scare attraction" put a lot of young children off, even though it was at level 1 and was aimed at young children.  This year we had a spooky children's treasure trail instead of the level 1 experience and this really brought in the crowds.  During the afternoon session we had the standard scare attraction experience aimed at over 12's and we also had 2 over 18's nights where we really ramped up the fear factor.  This years over 18's event saw guests being kidnapped, bound and gagged with hoods over their heads and interrogated by certain residents of the bunker.  Everyone who experienced this agreed it was not only frightening but also very intimidating!

The bunker was just under 400 square meters in size and featured 7 themed locations along with pitch black corridors and tight spaces.  The shows finale was a duelling laser maze, a twist on the traditional strobe maze.  The group were split into 2 and were sent down different paths inside the maze.  They were able to see each other, interact with each other and touch each other through the fences but could not get to each other at all.  The area was patrolled by 6 actors who attacked the groups from all sides, a great end scene.

Overall the feedback was amazing, the reviews were fantastic and the attraction was a massive success.  Our next show will be in March 2012 and will be called Scarytales Live, more details to follow soon.  Enjoy this selection of images from the show, all taken by the very talented David Pickering of Better Than Joe Media

Haunted is over, Bunker is coming

Well, after 5 manic days, Haunted Live & Xtreme is over but what a great attraction it was.  On Thursday the 25th we had a press launch night followed by an after show party at the Golden Fleece and this went like a dream.  We had the usual "panic" moments a few minutes before we were due to open but everyone pulled together to make sure the VIP's got a great experience.  We had several high flyers from the York tourist sector along with local businesses, news papers and scare industry experts come along and a great night was had by all.  Once everyone had been through the show we all went over to the Golden Fleece for a party which included a "live" food autopsy (a mad doctor cutting up a body and removing edible organs!), music, champagne served from a smoked filled coffin and a full Gothic castle theme throughout.  The highlight perhaps was a 4 stone graveyard cake where everything could be eaten.  This even included chocolate dirt which you could dig down into to reveal edible coffins and bodies!  Many thanks to the Fleece for doing this for us and a huge thank you to Anna and Jared for putting this all together for us.

So, after the press launch it was over to the public to see what we had come up with.  Friday was a little slow due to torrential rain all day and evening but Saturday and Sunday was rammed!  Queue time stretched to around 25 minutes but all the actors worked incredibly hard to ensure waiting was kept to a minimum and everyone came out either screaming or laughing, exactly what we wanted.  We assumed bank holiday Monday would be a slow night to finish on but thankfully it was busy until around 10pm.  We had the pleasure of 2 reporters from Scareworld magazine come through on the final night so look out for a full review when the magazine is published in October.

Overall we felt the attraction was a great success, there are of course things we would have now done differently or changed but we were very happy with the finished product.  All the actors worked so hard for us and we would have no problem at all working with all of them again.

So onwards to Bunker 13 now at the Magna Science Adventure Centre.  Keep checking the blog over the next few days for updates and to find out where we are at in the construction phase but for now, enjoy the pics from Haunted and if you came to York last weekend to experience it, we hope you enjoyed yourselves and thanks for coming.

Gaz

August Update

Just realised its been over a month since anything was wrote on this blog so I will fill you in on whats been going on over the last few weeks. 

Haunted Live & Xtreme is only 5 days away now and everything is in place for the show.  We have just received the sounds for it from Tollbooth Music and I am very pleased to say we are once again very impressed.  Tollbooth are the company we use for all the attractions musical scores that we do and they haven't disappointed us.  The best thing about using them is that the sounds they create are ours, unique to us and you wont hear them anywhere else.  Its a bit more of a cost but I think its worth it rather than sticking on a CD from Midnight Syndicate and having sounds that anyone else could use.

The lighting is also in place now and has once again been supplied by Karl Risdale from the Playhouse, another regular on our attractions.  The actors are ready but we had 2 people who could no longer make it which is a huge shame as it was Katie Hastings and Rob Cummings from the London Dungeon (they acted for us in Killers Live).  Work commitments meant they could not get the time off but we have replaced them with 2 other actors from Killers so we are back on track.

Pre-sale tickets have been good so far with Friday almost sold out but there are still quite a few left for Sunday and bank holiday Monday but we hope these will go soon once the actors hit York in full costume and makeup handing out flyer's to tourists.

On Thursday the 25th we are having a VIP launch night for the show with press, radio and industry officials coming down to experience the attraction before we open to the public.  We are then having an after show party at the Golden Fleece on York with food and champagne for the guests.  Fingers crossed the beer will be flowing and we can finally enjoy a pint or 6 and relax!!!

Not much to update on Bunker 13 yet.  The props are being made for us by various companies, the lighting system has been decided and the musical score is being wrote.  I will update on this further after Haunted has finished and give a full brief on where we are with the show

That's all for now, hopefully we will see you at Haunted Live & Xtreme next weekend

Gaz

Weekly Update

Its been a good few days since this was updated so here is what has happened since last time.  Well, the official Bunker 13 website is now online, have a look if you haven't already - www.bunker13-live.co.uk I think the website and video complement each other perfectly and I love the overall vibe of the thing.  So far, all responses to the Bunker stuff has been very positive so fingers crossed we are on to a winner with this one.  We are also setting up/have set up Facebook pages for Bunker.  As a bit of a promotional thing we have decided to set up rival camps, fore and against the opening of the bunker.  We will be ramping this up as the weeks tick by to Halloween but have a look for the pages and "like" whichever camp you fancy siding with!

Right, on to Haunted, the artwork for the posters and flyer's is done (scroll to the bottom to see the flyer front) and the website is being built right now, hopefully for a launch next week as its not as technical as the Bunker site.  Tickets will be sold online through the site via paypal so hopefully we will be able to gauge how busy we are going to be!!

Right, one last piece of news.  Although we cant say too much yet we have a 2nd Halloween attraction this year.  It will be in West Yorkshire and its something we ain't done before which is really exciting.  I hate the whole "I know something you dont" but we really cant say yet what it is but it has a working title of "Mission X", as soon as I can announce it I will.

Gaz