Visibility/Location:
Cutting Edge is located in a 235,000 square foot warehouse built in the late 1920's, (located in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas at the intersection of I-30, I-35 and Hwy 287). Depending on which direction you are coming from heavy road construction may force you to take several detours. The entrance to Cutting Edge has a well lit sign, and you can’t miss the large Skull entrance into the Cutting Edge.
Parking:
Parking at the Cutting Edge is located right outside the haunt. A majority of the parking is located on cement and part is done in gravel. The parking lot is well lit and has security guarding the entrance to the parking lot and also roaming security patrolling the area. Parking does cost an additional $5.00 on top of the admission price.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 6.5
The atmosphere at the Cutting Edge primarily consists of loud pumping music and radio station remotes setup near the queue line. Wait entertainment consists of several roaming characters walking through the queue line and also torture guests as they purchase tickets. The portable restrooms come alive as they rock and roll to the music and patrons inside are often given a little additional surprise by the roaming actors outside. Watching the characters torture un-expecting guest as they purchase tickets, walk into the haunt, or even giving chase to their cars can be a really funny sideshow on its own.
Set Design/Scene Detail/Floor Plan: 8
The Cutting Edge has a very industrial feel to the whole haunt and they keep the industrial theme throughout the haunt for the most part. Set design and the floor plan of the Cutting Edge are actually very well done. As soon as you enter the Cutting Edge you enter into a spinning vortex tunnel which is something that most haunts save for the end, but the Cutting Edge has something else in store for you. There are several scenes ranging from a dense fog maze with chainsaw wielding madmen to a near life sized animatronic T-Rex with falling rain. One of my favorite scenes is what I call the phantasm restaurant, a scene where you are walking down between dining booths that keep you on your toes trying to figure out which figures are real and which are not. Our review of the Cutting Edge just would not be complete without mentioning the long dark hallways. This year we noticed several changes in some of the hallways… While there are still many dark hallways between scenes some of these don’t feel near as long, or they have been given different textures or even a strategically placed light source. Some of the scenes are still very dark and difficult to see and we would love to see a little more lighting added to some of the darker scenes. As you get closer and closer to the exit of the Cutting Edge the smell of Mr. Bubbles becomes stronger. Eventually you are forced with a decision… You are given the option to go through the massive wall of bubbles or take the chicken exit and bypass this unique experience. If this is your first time to the Cutting Edge you must have the complete Cutting Edge experience and go head first into the bubbles! One word of advice is to cover your mouth with your shirt or even a hat to keep from inhaling massive amounts of bubbles.
Live Actors Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 7.5
The actors within the walls of the Cutting Edge this year seem to blend in quite well with their surroundings. Most of the actors that we encountered were dressed in black robes with a porcelain looking mask. No single actor stands out nor do any actors look out of place throughout the haunt. The chainsaw wielding actors inside the fog maze were very enthusiastic and looked like they were having fun.
Crowd Control: 8
Groups entering the Cutting Edge are kept relatively short. Group sizes while we were there ranged from 2 to 6. Mazes, different then the Pit, located throughout the haunt and cause bottle necks and tend to trap people for a few minutes. Once one group finds the exit you can expect to have several groups attached to yours. The only way to keep this from happening is to try to find the exit without anyone knowing, or to hang back and let the other groups go ahead. Larger groups tend to cause the actors to not be able to reset between scares and might cause them to react too early or too late as your group enters their scene. Later during the season you can expect the Cutting Edge to have a steady stream of people going through the haunt with very little gapping between groups. You will need to expect that you will run into other groups or have other groups bump into you… It’s just the nature of the beast. A strong security force is inside the haunt to keep patrons safe and the crowd moving through the haunt. During our visit we were stopped 4 times for having our note taking voice recorder turned on. Thankfully we had permission and were allowed to continue.
Additional Attractions: 7.5
The Pit - Several years ago the Pit was a complete side attraction and tickets could be purchased for the Pit only. Since the move to the meat packing building the Pit has been incorporated into the Cutting Edge. The Pit is actually located about the 35 minute point within the walls of the Cutting Edge. The Pit is a large maze in which you are given a simple glow stick and placed behind doors numbered 1 through 8. Once the lights go out and the music begins you have 5 minutes to find the door marked “THIS IS IT”. To make sure that no door is given an advantage over the others, any door that you enter takes you to a central location within the dark maze. From there you run around the Pit feeling like a lab rat looking for the food at the end of the maze. Unfortunately, out of 10+ years of visiting the Cutting Edge I have only found the exit once.
Admission Price vs. Length vs. Entertainment Value: 8.5
Weighing in at a whopping $25.00 per person + $5.00 for parking makes the Cutting Edge one of the most expensive (ok the most expensive) of the DFW area haunted houses. The haunt lasts about 45 minutes, including 10-15 minutes for the Pit, and is overall a very fun experience.
Overall Experience/Summary:
It has been 2 years since we last went to review the Cutting Edge. Things have definitely changed at the Cutting Edge during this time. The long dark hallways appear to have become shorter dark hallways and several have completely new textures added. Unfortunately the scenes are still way too dark for our tastes and count for large portion of our score. If the Cutting Edge can incorporate a little more lighting into their scenes, and a couple less dark hallways, and pump up their actors a little more we would not have an issue giving the Cutting Edge a 9 or higher score.
Previous Reviews:
See the 2005 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewcategory.php?moduleid=34)
See the 2004 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=38)
Feel free to post your experiences and reviews in the Main Forum (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/banners/cutting_logo.gif
Fort Worth, TX
OVERALL SCORE: 8
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/stars/big/8.gif
Date: Saturday, September 29
Time: 8:15 pm
Visibility/Location:
Cutting Edge is located in a 235,000 square foot warehouse built in the late 1920's, (located in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas at the intersection of I-30, I-35 and Hwy 287). Depending on which direction you are coming from heavy road construction may force you to take several detours. The entrance to Cutting Edge has a well lit sign, and you can’t miss the large Skull entrance into the Cutting Edge.
Parking:
Parking at the Cutting Edge is located right outside the haunt. A majority of the parking is located on cement and part is done in gravel. The parking lot is well lit and has security guarding the entrance to the parking lot and also roaming security patrolling the area. Parking does cost an additional $5.00 on top of the admission price.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 6.5
The atmosphere at the Cutting Edge primarily consists of loud pumping music and radio station remotes setup near the queue line. Wait entertainment consists of several roaming characters walking through the queue line and also torture guests as they purchase tickets. The portable restrooms come alive as they rock and roll to the music and patrons inside are often given a little additional surprise by the roaming actors outside. Watching the characters torture un-expecting guest as they purchase tickets, walk into the haunt, or even giving chase to their cars can be a really funny sideshow on its own.
Set Design/Scene Detail/Floor Plan: 8
The Cutting Edge has a very industrial feel to the whole haunt and they keep the industrial theme throughout the haunt for the most part. Set design and the floor plan of the Cutting Edge are actually very well done. As soon as you enter the Cutting Edge you enter into a spinning vortex tunnel which is something that most haunts save for the end, but the Cutting Edge has something else in store for you. There are several scenes ranging from a dense fog maze with chainsaw wielding madmen to a near life sized animatronic T-Rex with falling rain. One of my favorite scenes is what I call the phantasm restaurant, a scene where you are walking down between dining booths that keep you on your toes trying to figure out which figures are real and which are not. Our review of the Cutting Edge just would not be complete without mentioning the long dark hallways. This year we noticed several changes in some of the hallways… While there are still many dark hallways between scenes some of these don’t feel near as long, or they have been given different textures or even a strategically placed light source. Some of the scenes are still very dark and difficult to see and we would love to see a little more lighting added to some of the darker scenes. As you get closer and closer to the exit of the Cutting Edge the smell of Mr. Bubbles becomes stronger. Eventually you are forced with a decision… You are given the option to go through the massive wall of bubbles or take the chicken exit and bypass this unique experience. If this is your first time to the Cutting Edge you must have the complete Cutting Edge experience and go head first into the bubbles! One word of advice is to cover your mouth with your shirt or even a hat to keep from inhaling massive amounts of bubbles.
Live Actors Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 7.5
The actors within the walls of the Cutting Edge this year seem to blend in quite well with their surroundings. Most of the actors that we encountered were dressed in black robes with a porcelain looking mask. No single actor stands out nor do any actors look out of place throughout the haunt. The chainsaw wielding actors inside the fog maze were very enthusiastic and looked like they were having fun.
Crowd Control: 8
Groups entering the Cutting Edge are kept relatively short. Group sizes while we were there ranged from 2 to 6. Mazes, different then the Pit, located throughout the haunt and cause bottle necks and tend to trap people for a few minutes. Once one group finds the exit you can expect to have several groups attached to yours. The only way to keep this from happening is to try to find the exit without anyone knowing, or to hang back and let the other groups go ahead. Larger groups tend to cause the actors to not be able to reset between scares and might cause them to react too early or too late as your group enters their scene. Later during the season you can expect the Cutting Edge to have a steady stream of people going through the haunt with very little gapping between groups. You will need to expect that you will run into other groups or have other groups bump into you… It’s just the nature of the beast. A strong security force is inside the haunt to keep patrons safe and the crowd moving through the haunt. During our visit we were stopped 4 times for having our note taking voice recorder turned on. Thankfully we had permission and were allowed to continue.
Additional Attractions: 7.5
The Pit - Several years ago the Pit was a complete side attraction and tickets could be purchased for the Pit only. Since the move to the meat packing building the Pit has been incorporated into the Cutting Edge. The Pit is actually located about the 35 minute point within the walls of the Cutting Edge. The Pit is a large maze in which you are given a simple glow stick and placed behind doors numbered 1 through 8. Once the lights go out and the music begins you have 5 minutes to find the door marked “THIS IS IT”. To make sure that no door is given an advantage over the others, any door that you enter takes you to a central location within the dark maze. From there you run around the Pit feeling like a lab rat looking for the food at the end of the maze. Unfortunately, out of 10+ years of visiting the Cutting Edge I have only found the exit once.
Admission Price vs. Length vs. Entertainment Value: 8.5
Weighing in at a whopping $25.00 per person + $5.00 for parking makes the Cutting Edge one of the most expensive (ok the most expensive) of the DFW area haunted houses. The haunt lasts about 45 minutes, including 10-15 minutes for the Pit, and is overall a very fun experience.
Overall Experience/Summary:
It has been 2 years since we last went to review the Cutting Edge. Things have definitely changed at the Cutting Edge during this time. The long dark hallways appear to have become shorter dark hallways and several have completely new textures added. Unfortunately the scenes are still way too dark for our tastes and count for large portion of our score. If the Cutting Edge can incorporate a little more lighting into their scenes, and a couple less dark hallways, and pump up their actors a little more we would not have an issue giving the Cutting Edge a 9 or higher score.
Previous Reviews:
See the 2005 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewcategory.php?moduleid=34)
See the 2004 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=38)
Feel free to post your experiences and reviews in the Main Forum (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)