# Haunt flow issues



## Hallows369 (Apr 11, 2016)

*Hello-
Please forgive me, as I'm new and not sure where to post this.
I have a patron "flow" problem. Not many haunts now a days have one door for entrance and exit. (outdoor haunt) THIS IS what I'm dealing with this year. We have many buildings on our site, which many are historical and we can not just add doors here and there. How does a coordinator deal with this in each scene in each building? Due to the historical nature of the property, we are operating under many "grandfather clauses". After many years of haunt, I'm stumped as this is a new venture and I'm hitting a mental road block. Any help, guidance and suggestions would greatly be appreciated.
Thank you*


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## EviLEye (Oct 21, 2012)

IMO I think you'll need more guest services personnel in the field to direct the flow for each location. 

Even in my basic 4 car garage haunt that goes into my backyard, people don't read the signs. I know it's dark and the kids' vision is typically obscured by masks, but I have people directing them up my lot, into the entrance, and keeping them moving within the maze.


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## J-Man (Feb 1, 2011)

Is this a commercial haunt? If so, I would think a single door would be a huge code violation and a gigantic risk for lawsuits.


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## Trex (Nov 6, 2010)

Agree with J-Man, if it is a commercial venture then I don't believe it would be permitted. 

We were sort of having similar issues with our home haunt for this season, we had entrance/exit situated in very close proximity to one another; for safety reasons we abandoned the layout and sacrificed some space to ensure separate entrance and exits. This likely doesn't help you, but if you fairly large crowds it could be an issue.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

Buy the steel doors, the panic bar hardware for it, cut in some new doorways and be done with it.
Or is it understood that only a small number of people may be inside each structure at a time and someone is always counting those who come in and then leave? I saw that happen in a second floor 1880 store building. Good-by " throughput (If you need that?) Not everybody does.
I have also seen it handled like this: You have a large space, you build a indoor structure with space all around the outside just-built inside structure and have exits in that new wall which then bring everyone to the hallway that has the one outdoor exit.


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## J-Man (Feb 1, 2011)

Any commercial building must have at least 2 ways out in case of fire. A single door to exit the structure won't do.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

The small fire that killed 8? teenagers on the East coast, they were something like 160 feet from the exit. One of them may have "Flicked a Bic" set some foam plastic on fire, the fumes got them.
The place was made by parking 16 semi tractor trailers all tight together then cutting doorways. The next day everything was gone , as if it had never been there.
But then no Haunt I have ever heard of could be as dangerous as a Dance Club where many die from being trampled to death in a panic by other people.
Then they discover someone chained some exits closed so people couldn't sneak in.
The best safety feature any business can have is to not allow staggering, screaming drunks in, kick them out if they suddenly become that way.
(Just my opinion, of course)
Kick them out as quietly and as nicely as possible.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Hallows369 said:


> *Hello-
> Please forgive me, as I'm new and not sure where to post this.
> I have a patron "flow" problem. Not many haunts now a days have one door for entrance and exit. (outdoor haunt) THIS IS what I'm dealing with this year. We have many buildings on our site, which many are historical and we can not just add doors here and there. How does a coordinator deal with this in each scene in each building? Due to the historical nature of the property, we are operating under many "grandfather clauses". After many years of haunt, I'm stumped as this is a new venture and I'm hitting a mental road block. Any help, guidance and suggestions would greatly be appreciated.
> Thank you*


So you're on a property with many historic building? so like old log cabins? A better understanding of the setting, or better yet, pics would be helpful.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

If you can't "Touch" the old buildings, maybe the open spaces there could be made into a Grave Yard to give your customers more to do as small groups come and go through the limited access buildings? Make sure no wires or pipes are under the ground before puncturing the Earth to do anything.
If there was a shelter house there maybe it could used too or expanded seasonally to accommodate groups , if this is a problem?
We are all kind of "Shooting Blind" here without at least a little more information.


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