It’s that time of year again! I’m getting ready to pillage all of the haunts worth seeing and report the debauchery back to you. Honest and fair reviews are the order of the day. I started doing this a few years ago after being angered when I found a highly rated haunt or two ended up being absolutely awful after I drove hours away to see them. The only explanation was that some haunt review sites were padded with fake reviews from people who worked there.
I don’t take or give that kind of BS, so I’m here to set the record straight. I’m traveling from NJ all the way to FL and back up again to challenge the best of the best Halloween events and haunted attractions.
Here are some of the haunts I am looking at to be reviewed for this year. I probably left some out, so feel free to tell me if I am missing any.
Haunts I will definitely be doing this year:
– Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia, PA – Every year, Eastern State doesn;t fail to impress me. It also helps that their building is one of my favorite places on earth, and you can get Aztec Mocha across the street from them.
– Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights – Orlando, FL – The biggest and highest budget haunt in the world, I think? Need I say more? Click here to read last year’s review.
– Busch Gardens Tampa Howl O Scream – Tampa, FL – FL’s (second biggest?) haunt shouldn’t be underestimated. These guys came in as my #1 favorite haunt for ALL of 2010 last year. they sit securely in the “can’t miss” category. Check it out my post here.
– Morey’s Fears – Wildwood, NJ This haunt is new for this year. It seems these guys really know what they are doing and are moving in the right direction with their related attractions. I have to go see this! This could be the biggest thing for NJ since hairspray!
– Schaeffer Farm Fright Fest – Not a big budget haunt, but one of my favorites! Click here to read last year’s review.
Haunts I might do this year:
– Night Terrors – Jacksonville, FL Never been here.
– Corner of Chaos – Hightstown, NJ See least year’s review here.
– Scarehouse – Pittsburgh, PA Never been here before.
– Fear Factory – Philadelphia, PA This haunt has said they have beefed up the scares. I have to check it out!
– Night of Terror – Mullica Hill, NJ Never been here before.
– Field of Screams – Lancaster, PA Never been here before.
– Field of Terror – East Windsor, NJ See last year’s review here.
Haunts I will not be doing this year:
– Bates Motel: Bates is an excellent haunt. You can’t go wrong with Bates, really. However I noticed that many effects were broken when I visited last year and it really doesn’t change that much from year to year to encourage me to go a 3rd year in a row. I’m giving it a break for this year and will return next. Again, I don’t have unlimited money.
– Pennhurst: This haunt opened last year and Bates has something to do with it. Because of this I expected it to be awesome, but it really fell short in a major way. Here is my post about why I was not happy with it in 2010. I am sure that with Bates on board this will become a great haunt, but I have limited money and choose to give them some time to perfect it before shelling out the cash again. If you go this year and find it is much better, please let me know. If that is the case, I’ll go again.
EDIT: Yikes! I’ve done SO MANY haunts in the last 2 years that I’m going to have to put together a page that links everything in alphabetical order for you guys. Know before ya go! 😀 I’ll try and get that done in the next few days.