Does anyone have any idea if FN is still going ahead, given the past few weeks in Queensland?
We’re fresh off the strictest lockdown and worst outbreak since early last year, the CHO is saying that mask mandates could remain in place until Christmas, and it feels as though we’re one cluster away from being thrown back into lockdown at any minute. I honestly thought there was no way the Ekka could get cancelled with such short notice, after they’d already started setting up, but boom - it’s history. We’re not even remotely close to getting everyone vaccinated, especially the under 40s that tend to go to Fright Nights.
At this point I am really struggling to see how they can safely proceed, even with the preparations they’ve already made. With Delta out and about…the idea of hundreds of people screaming their guts out inside cramped mazes, not mention actors yelling to scare people, all expelling droplets into the air like crazy. Then there’s the long queues, the close quarters that can happen with the panic rooms/scare rooms/terror tour, etc etc. And it still isn’t clear how face coverings will be incorporated into the event when they have always been banned in the past…all we would need is one or two infectious cases and COVID could spread like crazy. Even if things go ahead, it feels like there’s a high risk the event could be shut down at any point due to exposed or infected staff needing to quarantine.
I was trying to think of how it might still go ahead, and I had the following thoughts:
- Get rid of all indoor mazes for this year. Build a maze outdoors similar to the scary corn mazes they have for Halloween Harvest festivals in the US. Or just have scare precincts. Moving scares and mazes outdoors doesn’t eliminate the risks, but it’s a lot less than doing it inside.
- As someone here said, have the mazes but all the scarers have to be behind plexiglass. This doesn’t really solve issues with the attendees screaming inside small maze corridors though. Also plexiglass isn’t totally protective against Delta.
- Have everything as normal but ask guests not to scream - similar to the “please scream inside your heart” thing that Japanese rollercoasters tried to do last year.
- Instead of mazes, use VR experiences similar to the “The Peeler” experience they ran a few years ago, when they set up a situation on a set and then put on a headset for a pre-recorded VR thing.
- Have all guests wear cloth masks, but require them to buy a Fright Nights branded mask or give them out with the entry tickets - this means all guests would wear the same masks (make them bright orange or something so they’re distinctive) and staff could still easily differentiate between guests and staff. Build masks into the actors’ costumes. Again this would probably have to be combined with one of the above measures, since cloth face coverings aren’t foolproof.
- Major alterations to the Terror Tours - no buffet, possibly no meet and greet with the cast, probably no scare rooms.
- No panic rooms this year. Possibly no concert stages or seated concert areas if dancing is still prohibited in October. Majorly reduced capacity. Maybe a maximum limit for how long queues can be?
I’m by no means an expert, but I feel like major alterations like these are the only way they can safely proceed. What do you guys think?
