Original Post: 10-18-2007, 11:44 AM by Metal Momma (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/member.php?u=2)
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Visibility/Location:
It is next to impossible to not see The Palace of Wax & ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’ off Belt Line Rd. & I-30. The actual entrance is back behind the Palace of Wax, and this is also where you will find the haunt entrance and ticket booth.
Parking:
Free secured and paved parking is located directly beside the Palace of Wax.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 8
There is not really much wait entertainment available BEFORE the haunt, although you might get chased by one of the roaming actors. The haunt entrance is in the back of the Palace of Wax, and the side attractions, concessions, and souvenir shop is in the front entrance, OR immediately available when you exit the haunt. And here is a great added bonus—REAL BATHROOMS! Ha ha… yes there are port-a-potties in back before the haunt, but there are REAL bathrooms in the front of the Palace. That is something VERY FEW haunted attractions have… and if you hate port-a-potties as much as I do, then this is worth mentioning.
Set Design/Detail/Floor Plan: 10
DUH-This is the Palace of Wax we are talking about. These are the very best handmade props in the business, because that is what they do! But I dare call these props… I meant to say works of art. The details are the reason why half of the haunt is actually available year round as a museum attraction. The stone walls, the iron gate doors, metal and chain bridge, etc… all such perfect haunted attraction features… The fully camouflaged first half of the haunt (which contains completely different scenes during the day) amazes us still, since we know that they staff must tear down and rebuild every night to allow the Palace of Wax to continue their daily operations.
Live Actors/Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 6
This is the area that really hurts the quality of show that the Palace of Wax has to offer. Of the very few characters inside, only one out of several clowns even laughed or giggled while the other clowns said nothing, and just blasted air horns to hopefully get a startle. For clowns, these guys really didn’t bounce too much or do anything that Halloween clowns should do. Then there was exactly one character, the butcher, who had any speaking part at all (and he did his part rather well). No one screamed, made any real noise, or said anything other than that. Oh, wait, I take that back… there was one more speaking actor doing a good job, and kudos to the lady in the Leatherface kitchen for breaking the mold and performing for us a little bit. The point is that there were several opportunities for the actors to DO SOMETHING, even if it was just a laugh, a scream, a yell, or even a little “arrrrr”.
We also felt as though there should have been A LOT MORE actors. Most of the scenes in the permanent attraction severely need more actors and actor interaction to make it stand out from what is available all year round. We highly recommend that the Palace of Wax get more people in there... as many as possible … Even a bad actor would be better than no actor at all. Packing this place with more actors (especially some talented actors) could easily earn the Palace of Wax a perfect 10 out of 10 score.
Additional Attractions : 11 (not a typo… it’s an 11)
The Mirror Maze is a brand new year round attraction available for an extra fee. At night, there are a few roaming actors around the area, but due to the very unique features of the maze, you can never tell how far away or how close they really are… is it a reflection? Or are they standing in front of you? It is VERY hard to tell. You absolutely MUST go to this attraction simply because there is NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT throughout all of DFW. On top of that, Ripley’s Believe It or Not is also open if you want to have a look at some neat and interesting facts. Hands down, The Palace of Wax gets huge kudos for the best side attractions!
Admission Price vs. Length Entertainment Value: 9
Definitely worth the $18.00 ($15.00 with coupon from participating WHATABURGERS), the Palace of Wax delivers at least a great example of finely crafted figures and surroundings that all DFW haunts should be envious of. We highly recommend the extra $5.00 for the Mirror Maze, but the $25 combo to see the haunt, the maze, and the “Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Museum” is also a great deal.
Overall Experience/Summary:
Although the lack of actor interaction and enthusiasm was a little bit disappointing, you cannot find a more awesome display of props and decorative features than at the Palace of Wax. Many of our readers have probably already seen the year round Palace of Wax display, but there is some transformation that occurs every night to areas leading up to the permanent haunted attraction. If for some reason you are unable to visit the Palace of Wax this season, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and AT LEAST go see the new Mirror Maze attraction. This is a new year-round attraction, so you have no excuse to not see it. There are no words to fully justify how amazing this attraction is.
See the 2006 Review ( http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=64)
See the 2005 Review ( http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=42)
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Ripley's Nightmare at the Palace of Wax
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/banners/nightmare_a.gif
Grand Prarie, TX
OVERALL SCORE : 8.5
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/stars/big/8_half.gif
Date: Friday, October 12th
Time: 9:30pm
Visibility/Location:
It is next to impossible to not see The Palace of Wax & ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’ off Belt Line Rd. & I-30. The actual entrance is back behind the Palace of Wax, and this is also where you will find the haunt entrance and ticket booth.
Parking:
Free secured and paved parking is located directly beside the Palace of Wax.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 8
There is not really much wait entertainment available BEFORE the haunt, although you might get chased by one of the roaming actors. The haunt entrance is in the back of the Palace of Wax, and the side attractions, concessions, and souvenir shop is in the front entrance, OR immediately available when you exit the haunt. And here is a great added bonus—REAL BATHROOMS! Ha ha… yes there are port-a-potties in back before the haunt, but there are REAL bathrooms in the front of the Palace. That is something VERY FEW haunted attractions have… and if you hate port-a-potties as much as I do, then this is worth mentioning.
Set Design/Detail/Floor Plan: 10
DUH-This is the Palace of Wax we are talking about. These are the very best handmade props in the business, because that is what they do! But I dare call these props… I meant to say works of art. The details are the reason why half of the haunt is actually available year round as a museum attraction. The stone walls, the iron gate doors, metal and chain bridge, etc… all such perfect haunted attraction features… The fully camouflaged first half of the haunt (which contains completely different scenes during the day) amazes us still, since we know that they staff must tear down and rebuild every night to allow the Palace of Wax to continue their daily operations.
Live Actors/Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 6
This is the area that really hurts the quality of show that the Palace of Wax has to offer. Of the very few characters inside, only one out of several clowns even laughed or giggled while the other clowns said nothing, and just blasted air horns to hopefully get a startle. For clowns, these guys really didn’t bounce too much or do anything that Halloween clowns should do. Then there was exactly one character, the butcher, who had any speaking part at all (and he did his part rather well). No one screamed, made any real noise, or said anything other than that. Oh, wait, I take that back… there was one more speaking actor doing a good job, and kudos to the lady in the Leatherface kitchen for breaking the mold and performing for us a little bit. The point is that there were several opportunities for the actors to DO SOMETHING, even if it was just a laugh, a scream, a yell, or even a little “arrrrr”.
We also felt as though there should have been A LOT MORE actors. Most of the scenes in the permanent attraction severely need more actors and actor interaction to make it stand out from what is available all year round. We highly recommend that the Palace of Wax get more people in there... as many as possible … Even a bad actor would be better than no actor at all. Packing this place with more actors (especially some talented actors) could easily earn the Palace of Wax a perfect 10 out of 10 score.
Additional Attractions : 11 (not a typo… it’s an 11)
The Mirror Maze is a brand new year round attraction available for an extra fee. At night, there are a few roaming actors around the area, but due to the very unique features of the maze, you can never tell how far away or how close they really are… is it a reflection? Or are they standing in front of you? It is VERY hard to tell. You absolutely MUST go to this attraction simply because there is NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT throughout all of DFW. On top of that, Ripley’s Believe It or Not is also open if you want to have a look at some neat and interesting facts. Hands down, The Palace of Wax gets huge kudos for the best side attractions!
Admission Price vs. Length Entertainment Value: 9
Definitely worth the $18.00 ($15.00 with coupon from participating WHATABURGERS), the Palace of Wax delivers at least a great example of finely crafted figures and surroundings that all DFW haunts should be envious of. We highly recommend the extra $5.00 for the Mirror Maze, but the $25 combo to see the haunt, the maze, and the “Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Museum” is also a great deal.
Overall Experience/Summary:
Although the lack of actor interaction and enthusiasm was a little bit disappointing, you cannot find a more awesome display of props and decorative features than at the Palace of Wax. Many of our readers have probably already seen the year round Palace of Wax display, but there is some transformation that occurs every night to areas leading up to the permanent haunted attraction. If for some reason you are unable to visit the Palace of Wax this season, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and AT LEAST go see the new Mirror Maze attraction. This is a new year-round attraction, so you have no excuse to not see it. There are no words to fully justify how amazing this attraction is.
See the 2006 Review ( http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=64)
See the 2005 Review ( http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=42)