Lycan Works Suppliers and the LycanCoaster

    While contact with Russel halts for the time being, the guest makes contact with their first local character.

HowlSpace Quest 4: Tracks to the Lumber Yard

NOTE: If the guest selects that the Lumber Yard is closed (used for when the LycanCoaster is experiencing a downtime), Arthur Van Helbrick will provide this same response.

LycanCoaster Entrance Design. When I was working out fitting this attraction into this land, one thing that I tried to figure out was how to move the guests from the town and onto a roller coaster while keeping them in-story. Ultimately, I wrote out the story of an open house tour of the Lycan Works Lumber Yard that gets side-tracked when Arthur enlists the help of the guests in catching the Daybreak Werewolf. So, while the ride itself takes place out in the forest, the entrance and queue have a more industrial feel to them. I also took this time to add some visual gags to the queue that make the guests feel immersed into a lumber yard that could only exist in Howling Hollow.

This experience begins with guests visiting the open house tours for the Lycan Works Lumber Yard, with the queue weaving past stacks of lumber organized by size, cut, and species of tree. It’s not the most exciting tour, but guests passing by the site of Clara Dunkinkle’s death can smell the unmistakable scent of lilac perfume and feel an unnaturally cold air. Passing by the foreman’s office also affords guests the opportunity to see the silhouette of the foreman napping on the job, only to be occasionally awoken by a phone call.

Foreman's Office Queue Scene Sketch. I thought that, while true to the established story of Howling Hollow and acting as the only natural gateway into the LycanCoaster, a lumber yard wouldn't exactly be the most...exciting place to wait in line. To help tide the guests over, I created a few interesting moments scattered around the lumber yard in order to keep things unpredictable. This gag involves a foreman who naps on the clock and occasionally talks on the phone. The script for this skit is below.

(Phone Rings; Foreman awakens and grabs receiver)

Foreman: Lycan Works Lumber, I wasn’t asleep. How can I help you?

Torgo (on phone): Yes. The managers for my local office asked me—

Foreman: Is this about that fence order again, Torgo?

Torgo: Yes, sir. They keep on pestering me about tourists that keep on going off of the trail and getting eaten by the mutant kudzu. I need you—

Foreman: Listen, goat legs, we’re a lumber yard, not a construction firm. We can get you your wood, but we can’t build your fence. Talk to Margaret Sue, not me.

Torgo: The master does not approve of that insult.

(Phone clicks; Foreman resets receiver and kicks back in chair)

Foreman: Humph. Can’t fix stupid.

(Foreman nods off)

Employee Costumes for LycanCoaster. While the ride itself focuses on the character of Arthur Van Helbrick, I also realized that a majority of the employee roles are going to happen in the lumber yard-themed queue, so I wanted to focus on designing the costumes for that. While I considered separate costumes for Arthur's house, I ultimately decided against it primarily for practical reasons, but also because of the way that the story is told. After all, if the lumber yard workers were ushering guests out towards Arthur's house, surely, they must be helping him in his mission, right?

LycanWorks Lumber Building Interior Sketch. Just like with the rest of the LycanWorks facility, reference from actual lumber yards was used in order to keep everything as believable as possible. On top of that, this indoor section also had to keep in mind that plenty of queue space had to be available, as well as house the sales office.

As guests make their way inside of the main lumber barn, piles of lumber form a switchback queue leading towards the main sales office, which has been converted for a sales pitch for the tourists. As groups of guests are ushered into the large room, they stand before a roll-up screen.

(Pre-Show Begins)

Narrator: Welcome, travelers, to the headquarters of the Lycan Works Supply Company, curator of all imports and exports for the town of Howling Hollow. While our primary goals are to manage the town’s mail and lumber supply, we are more than just that for the folks of this fine town. We are the culture of our own, where wood is our work, where we never get bored, where our customers are our ever-branching family! And today, you have all been invited to take home your very own wood board to remember your visit to our town! While it may look like any wood board that you could just buy at your local Home Depot, this one has been cut with the heart and soul of Howling Hollow, making it the perfect souvenir! Indeed-

(Screen loses signal; new display appears, showing Arthur Van Helbrick and image of the Daybreak Werewolf)

Arthur Van Helbrick: Okay, I’m live. Ahem, I apologize for the…banal nature of that presentation, but there’s trouble afoot. I’m Arthur Van Helbrick, local monster hunter, and we have a situation: the Daybreak Werewolf. Said to be permanently transformed into its bestial form, this monster was just sighted in the forest and has been terrorizing many of the travelers in town. I’ve been trying to stop this thing for the past few weeks, but I think I have an idea. I’ve recently built this contraption, the Monster Tracker, which is capable of seeking out and luring monsters out of hiding. I’ve been working on a trap to capture the Daybreak Werewolf, but I can’t drive this vehicle down the marked path to lure it and trip the trap at the same time. But, if you’re up for it, I think you might have what it takes to help me stop this creature once and for all. Get inside of my house and meet me in the barn. And no one’s getting a wood board today. Such a dumb souvenir.

(Pre-Show Ends)

Instead of leaving how they entered, the guests are then led out the back door of the office and out towards Arthur’s house.

Arthur lives in a fairly large farmhouse, which the guests enter and maneuver through, seeing some of his memorabilia from his time with the Monster Fighters. After going upstairs and seeing a brief safety spiel on a television set, guests travel down to the destroyed kitchen and parlor, where the wreckage left by the werewolf has been repurposed as the station. On either side of the dual-sided station, a desk, an oven with stovetop, a television set, and a butter churner are used as the dispatch consoles. Once guests have boarded their roaming monster tracker vehicle, the ride begins.

Whiskey Joe: Are you ready to do some huntin’? For your safety, it’s best to be keepin’ all hands, arms, feet, and legs inside of this huntin’ doohickey with your restrainin’ thing in place. And if you’re bringing your youngun’s along for the hunt, it’s best to be keepin’ and eye on them. And that’s how we start the hunt around these parts.

1.      Slow Turn: Train leaves farmhouse and enters barn. As the train enters the barn, it catches fire as werewolf howls radiate from within.

2.      Launch Track/Barn: Arthur warns the guests that he may be losing his grip on the werewolf and tells them to get out and bait the werewolf into his back-up trap. (Arthur: This is not going to plan! Get out of here and draw the werewolf away while I set the trap!) As the werewolf lunges at the riders the train accelerates out of the barn.

3.      Hammerhead Turn/Grain Silo: Guests fly up the side of the old silo and weave around towards the ground. The werewolf lunges from the silo.

4.      Speed Hill/Abandoned Manor: Guests pass through the remains of an old manor at high speeds. The airtime and scenic elements make it appear that guests break through from the first floor to the second and back.

5.      Immelmann/Werewolf Ambush: As the werewolf breaks the guests’ escape, the only way out is to flip back and over, making a turn towards the Highway of Hopelessness (guest walkway).

6.      Cobra Roll/Highway of Hopelessness: Right above walking guests, the train races upwards and twists around to head back into the forest. An overbanked turn follows this element.

7.      Double Up/Funeral Home: After this element, the train enters a second-story window into Count Werdna’s Funeral Home, where the werewolf lunges out from behind some rotting coffins. The train twists away from the werewolf and back outside.

8.      Heartline Roll/Ambush Again: Guests twist over an old graveyard, where the werewolf reaches at riders just inches below.

9.      Overbanked Turn/Pond: Swerving around this pond, guests can see their reflections in the still water, a moment of peace before entering…

10.  Brake Run-Lift Hill/Shrieking Labyrinth of Kudzu: Guests stop in the middle of this grove as the mutant kudzu races in to consume the guests. (Arthur: Get out of there! This mutant kudzu is going to eat you alive!) Before the vines can reach the train, a fire races through the grove. Arthur returns to state that his trap is set and that the guests need to head towards an abandoned building behind the firehouse. (Arthur: That was a close one! Now get back to town! The trap’s been set!)

11.  Launch Track-Track Switch/The Return: The train accelerates backwards through the forest, leaving the mutant kudzu behind.

12.  Cutback/Pursuit: As the train changes direction to return to the farmhouse, the werewolf catches a glimpse of the train.

13.  Wave Turn-Tunnel/Attack: In a dark section of the forest, the werewolf lunges up and past the guests as they race backwards.

LycanCoaster Key Visual. How on Earth do I capture the energy of this attraction in just a single image? There were a lot of moments in the attraction that could have been used to visualize the ride experience, but I chose to paint the scene where the Daybreak Werewolf is chasing the riders as their Roaming Monster Tracker races backwards. In this way, I could emphasize the pursuit element of the attraction (and really the backbone of its plot) in order to set up the expectation of what this attraction is going to be like. I also used copious amounts of motion blur throughout the painting to convey motion, but I left the Daybreak Werewolf's head completely clear. Not only is it the focal point of the painting, but it also captures the danger that the travelers are in during this attraction.

14.  Banked Turn-Headchopper-Camelback/Chase: Racing through the undergrowth, the guests can see the werewolf racing towards the backwards-rolling train.

15.  Speed Hill/Broken Bush Line: For one last moment of airtime, guests burst up through the brush of the forest and dive right back in.

16.  Banked Turn-Headchopper-Camelback/Pounce: As the train nears the building, the werewolf makes one last attempt to lunge at the guests. It misses and rolls right into the trap.

17.  Banked Twist/Windmill Villa: The train twists around this iconic structure as it begins to slow towards the building and the trap.

18.  Brake Run-Track Switch/Sprung Trap: Guests stop inside the building to see the werewolf bound and helpless in a tough net. (Arthur: Good work. Maybe you have what it takes to be a monster hunter, after all. You’re free to come back anytime.) The train rolls forward back towards Arthur’s house.

Whiskey Joe: Your huntin’ trip is just about over, so remain seated until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. Then, gather your belongings and exit your seat. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Howling Hollow, and save some of your targets for our barbecue, y’hear?

Once guests disembark, they leave Arthur’s house and follow a trail that leads through the backyard of a young yokel’s house and through Backyard Boutique. Set up in the backyard of the house of a young yokel, this pop-up shop sells custom t-shirts and apparel made by the homeowner, as well as LycanCoaster merchandise. One unique piece of merchandise available here is the “pet board,” a piece of featureless wood that was scammed from the neighboring lumber yard that guests can purchase and decorate to turn into their very own hassle-free “pet.” This shop also serves as the exit for the LycanCoaster, especially since guests can purchase their on-ride photo after viewing it via a slide projector displaying it on a torn bedsheet. The garage of the yokel’s house is also used as the attraction’s locker station.

After the guest rides the LycanCoaster, this is confirmed in HowlSpace.

Up Next: Out and About in Town