Original Post: 10-02-2007, 07:58 PM by Roadkill (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/member.php?u=1)
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Date: Friday, September 28
Time: 8:00pm
Time Spent at location: 2 hours
Overall Experience:
Screams easily provides the best atmosphere in the DFW area since it is located on the Scarborough Fairgrounds. If you have ever been to Scarborough, then you should already know how about the relaxing rural settings and surroundings. With the added decorations and spooky characters, the park transforms into a great haunted attraction. There is plenty to see and do while at Screams. Since we have to stay on a schedule during review weekends, we have to move through haunts fairly quickly while paying close attention to what we are doing… Sometimes we wish we could just slow down a bit and be able to spend a whole evening at Screams. There is a little bit of everything at Screams… You can take in some spooky singing on their Scary-oke stage, get a Henna Tattoo, play midway games, ride on their human powered rides, get your face painted, and even kick back and have a turkey leg and a nice cold beer. There is just a lot to do even before visiting the haunts at Screams, although we highly recommend seeing the haunts first and early in the evening before the lines get too long. HOWEVER, we aren’t there to only get the atmosphere… We are there to check out the haunts!
We went to Screams on their opening evening, Friday September 28th, and arrived shortly after 8:00pm. As soon as you walk into the gates you are at the entrance of the Ghoulish Graveyard. The Ghoulish Graveyard is just about as it sounds, you walk through a graveyard that contains several animatronic scenes. Since this is one of the more family friendly attractions, you cannot expect many scares. Scares are left to static displays, a couple animatronic devices, and just a couple live actors that are roaming the graveyard area. Once you exit the Ghoulish Graveyard you are located right near the entrance of Terror Visions in 3D.
Terror Visions in 3D is a funhouse like attraction where upon entering you are given a pair of 3D glasses. Terror Visions in 3D is actually one of the better 3D haunted houses in the DFW area. The 3D effects inside Terror Visions pop out rather well, but you must keep your glasses on to enjoy the experience at all. The 3D paint is the point of the haunt, so KEEP THOSE GLASSES ON! Since Terror Visions is pretty close to a typical funhouse, you can expect many funhouse type effects such as tall and short mirrors and a spinning vortex tunnel that really turns your senses upside down. Oh and did I mention clowns? Lots and lots of clowns… Terror Visions seems a bit longer this year, too, and this was a nice surprise!
Once we found our way out of Terror Visions we were near the entrance to the Maze of the Macabre. I love mazes… This maze is actually a little different than typical haunted house mazes. For the most part this maze is a typical chain link fence maze with a flashing strobe light to help disorient you even further. Roaming characters inside the Maze of the Macabre range from Michael Myers to the chainsaw wielding maniac Leatherface that are trying to make getting out of this maze more difficult than it really is. It seems like the Maze holds some of the more lively actors of Screams than any of the other attractions. There are actually multiple ways to get through this maze with one of the paths taking you through a redneck kitchen complete with cooked Alligator. If you are good with mazes, then you should be able to complete this maze in less than 5 minutes, your average person is going to be inside the maze a little longer. We counted 2 scenes, but we have been told that there is a couple more… How many scenes can you find within the Maze of the Macabre?
After twisting and turning inside the Maze of the Macabre we decided to visit something that makes us really feel at home… The Arcane Asylum. Ahhhh, yes… the nut house! We were not extremely impressed with the Arcane Asylum, although we still enjoyed it. The decorations are meager at best, and the actors did not seem like they were ready, or they just stood there as we walked by. Intended to be a traditional “BOO” house, maybe one or two characters even attempted to jump out and scare us. Everyone else seemed pretty low energy considering that the haunt JUST OPENED an hour or so ago.
Once we escaped from the Arcane Asylum, we headed over the Black Hole. This house features a journey through time and space that includes Ancient Egypt, Jack the Ripper’s London, cannibals and even a T-Rex. This walk through is not as much of a “scary” place since it seems to be more designed toward family friendly entertainment. This haunt seems to have a little more attention to scene detail and design, but again we faced timing issues with equipment and actors, or a complete lack of actors all together. This haunt could easily be much better with some great live characters to interact with… some skilled actors could also keep it family friendly by changing their scare factor based on the ages of the patrons. Once we survived the Black Hole it was over to Castle Darkness.
Castle Darkness is Screams’ primary haunt. Castle Darkness is located in Scarborough Castle which is the center piece of both Screams and Scarborough Fair. The outside of Castle Darkness is actually different then you would assume based on the name. Castle Darkness is actually very well lit… Flames shoot up from the torches into the sky lighting up the queue line and scaring people waiting in line. The line for Castle Darkness was the longest line that we encountered all evening. Thankfully with the Fast Path we were able to bypass the long line that had amassed outside of Castle Darkness within only 2 hours of opening. We estimated the line to be approximately 30 to 45 minutes long, but in the past we have seen the line for this haunt go beyond the 2 hour mark. So, if you plan on going to Castle Darkness try to make it your first haunt to see, if not you could have a long wait ahead. Thankfully Castle Darkness is also the better of the haunts at Screams. Castle Darkness has several of the more elaborate scenes out of any haunt within Screams and what few actors we encountered were fairly good.
Overall, we felt like Screams did much better with their haunts LAST year than they did this year. Much of this could be that we visited on opening night shortly after they opened the front gates. HOWEVER, on the same note, we thought that the actors should have been even more energetic and excited just from pure anticipation – fully ready to scare anyone that came across their path. But we just weren’t feeling the energy levels that there should have been. Screams as a whole still has a large potential to be the best place to go since they have the best grounds for a themed attraction… but they are still growing, and we might have seen some of their growing pains…
Additional Information
Visibility/Location:
Screams is located on the grounds of Scarborough Fair in Waxahachie, Texas. If you are coming from Dallas or Fort Worth just follow I-35E south to Waxahachie. Take the 399A / Maypearl exit and turn right at the stop sign. Screams will be located on the left hand side.
Parking:
Free parking is available on the grassy area in front of the Scarborough Fairgrounds.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment:
The atmosphere of Screams is easily the best overall atmosphere any haunt in the DFW area can offer. Strange characters and actors roam the area throughout. Carnival games, entertainment, food, drink and even alcohol can be purchased (a big bonus for older crowds). You can easily make a whole evening out of your visit to Screams.
Admission Price:
General Admission to Screams is $19.99 for people over 6 years old. Children 5 and under are allowed free admission and Fast Passes for front of the line access can be purchased for an additional $15.00. On a really busy night the Fast Pass can easily make a difference in the number of haunts/attractions you get to visit while at Screams.
Attractions:
This is where Screams shines… Included with your admission price you get 4 haunted houses, including Castle of Darkness, Terror Visions in 3D, The Arcane Asylum, and the Black Hole. Along with the 4 primary haunted houses you can also visit additional attractions include the Maze of the Macabre, Ghoulish Graveyard, Spooky Hollow and the ever spooky and extremely scary Scary-oke, aka Karaoke. For an additional fee you can also swing by and see the Yeti at the Trail of Terror – see our Trail of Terror review for more information.
Crowd Control:
On busy nights the lines for the primary haunted houses can get extremely long. When we arrived shortly after opening the lines were short. However, after an hour or two the lines started to grow fast so we took advantage of our Fast Passes. Even on the fairly slow evening that we were there they were still pushing people into the haunts fairly fast. In several of the haunts we ran into groups and also had other groups run upon us. The Black Hole had almost a constant stream of people being pushed through with fairly large group sizes. Unfortunately this caused many of the animatronics and actors to miss their queues and effectively ruin the scare. In one season Screams can easily push through 60,000 people, with this many people going through you can almost always expect LONG lines and crowded haunts. When planning your outing at Screams, plan to go early, we highly suggest getting there when the gates open if you plan to see everything. Then after you see the attractions you can spend the rest of the evening browsing grounds, eating, drinking, and playing games.
Length:
Each haunt within Screams lasts about 6 to 8 minutes.*
* = Since people move through haunted attractions at different rates, your time will vary.
Scare Factor:
Screams contains a good mix of animatronics and actors. However, we noticed many animatronics and actors really missed their timing or did not even react at all when we walked by. At the rate and speed that Screams moves people through their haunts you will run into the group ahead of you or even have the group behind join you. Older crowds or avid haunt goers may not find any scares here, but the teens and younger crowds should have a great time and overall experience even though the scare factor is not that high.
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Screams
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/banners/screams_logo.gif (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/modules.php?name=Links&file=viewarticle&id=62)
Waxahachie, TX
OVERALL SCORE - 7.5
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/stars/big/7_half.gif
Date: Friday, September 28
Time: 8:00pm
Time Spent at location: 2 hours
Overall Experience:
Screams easily provides the best atmosphere in the DFW area since it is located on the Scarborough Fairgrounds. If you have ever been to Scarborough, then you should already know how about the relaxing rural settings and surroundings. With the added decorations and spooky characters, the park transforms into a great haunted attraction. There is plenty to see and do while at Screams. Since we have to stay on a schedule during review weekends, we have to move through haunts fairly quickly while paying close attention to what we are doing… Sometimes we wish we could just slow down a bit and be able to spend a whole evening at Screams. There is a little bit of everything at Screams… You can take in some spooky singing on their Scary-oke stage, get a Henna Tattoo, play midway games, ride on their human powered rides, get your face painted, and even kick back and have a turkey leg and a nice cold beer. There is just a lot to do even before visiting the haunts at Screams, although we highly recommend seeing the haunts first and early in the evening before the lines get too long. HOWEVER, we aren’t there to only get the atmosphere… We are there to check out the haunts!
We went to Screams on their opening evening, Friday September 28th, and arrived shortly after 8:00pm. As soon as you walk into the gates you are at the entrance of the Ghoulish Graveyard. The Ghoulish Graveyard is just about as it sounds, you walk through a graveyard that contains several animatronic scenes. Since this is one of the more family friendly attractions, you cannot expect many scares. Scares are left to static displays, a couple animatronic devices, and just a couple live actors that are roaming the graveyard area. Once you exit the Ghoulish Graveyard you are located right near the entrance of Terror Visions in 3D.
Terror Visions in 3D is a funhouse like attraction where upon entering you are given a pair of 3D glasses. Terror Visions in 3D is actually one of the better 3D haunted houses in the DFW area. The 3D effects inside Terror Visions pop out rather well, but you must keep your glasses on to enjoy the experience at all. The 3D paint is the point of the haunt, so KEEP THOSE GLASSES ON! Since Terror Visions is pretty close to a typical funhouse, you can expect many funhouse type effects such as tall and short mirrors and a spinning vortex tunnel that really turns your senses upside down. Oh and did I mention clowns? Lots and lots of clowns… Terror Visions seems a bit longer this year, too, and this was a nice surprise!
Once we found our way out of Terror Visions we were near the entrance to the Maze of the Macabre. I love mazes… This maze is actually a little different than typical haunted house mazes. For the most part this maze is a typical chain link fence maze with a flashing strobe light to help disorient you even further. Roaming characters inside the Maze of the Macabre range from Michael Myers to the chainsaw wielding maniac Leatherface that are trying to make getting out of this maze more difficult than it really is. It seems like the Maze holds some of the more lively actors of Screams than any of the other attractions. There are actually multiple ways to get through this maze with one of the paths taking you through a redneck kitchen complete with cooked Alligator. If you are good with mazes, then you should be able to complete this maze in less than 5 minutes, your average person is going to be inside the maze a little longer. We counted 2 scenes, but we have been told that there is a couple more… How many scenes can you find within the Maze of the Macabre?
After twisting and turning inside the Maze of the Macabre we decided to visit something that makes us really feel at home… The Arcane Asylum. Ahhhh, yes… the nut house! We were not extremely impressed with the Arcane Asylum, although we still enjoyed it. The decorations are meager at best, and the actors did not seem like they were ready, or they just stood there as we walked by. Intended to be a traditional “BOO” house, maybe one or two characters even attempted to jump out and scare us. Everyone else seemed pretty low energy considering that the haunt JUST OPENED an hour or so ago.
Once we escaped from the Arcane Asylum, we headed over the Black Hole. This house features a journey through time and space that includes Ancient Egypt, Jack the Ripper’s London, cannibals and even a T-Rex. This walk through is not as much of a “scary” place since it seems to be more designed toward family friendly entertainment. This haunt seems to have a little more attention to scene detail and design, but again we faced timing issues with equipment and actors, or a complete lack of actors all together. This haunt could easily be much better with some great live characters to interact with… some skilled actors could also keep it family friendly by changing their scare factor based on the ages of the patrons. Once we survived the Black Hole it was over to Castle Darkness.
Castle Darkness is Screams’ primary haunt. Castle Darkness is located in Scarborough Castle which is the center piece of both Screams and Scarborough Fair. The outside of Castle Darkness is actually different then you would assume based on the name. Castle Darkness is actually very well lit… Flames shoot up from the torches into the sky lighting up the queue line and scaring people waiting in line. The line for Castle Darkness was the longest line that we encountered all evening. Thankfully with the Fast Path we were able to bypass the long line that had amassed outside of Castle Darkness within only 2 hours of opening. We estimated the line to be approximately 30 to 45 minutes long, but in the past we have seen the line for this haunt go beyond the 2 hour mark. So, if you plan on going to Castle Darkness try to make it your first haunt to see, if not you could have a long wait ahead. Thankfully Castle Darkness is also the better of the haunts at Screams. Castle Darkness has several of the more elaborate scenes out of any haunt within Screams and what few actors we encountered were fairly good.
Overall, we felt like Screams did much better with their haunts LAST year than they did this year. Much of this could be that we visited on opening night shortly after they opened the front gates. HOWEVER, on the same note, we thought that the actors should have been even more energetic and excited just from pure anticipation – fully ready to scare anyone that came across their path. But we just weren’t feeling the energy levels that there should have been. Screams as a whole still has a large potential to be the best place to go since they have the best grounds for a themed attraction… but they are still growing, and we might have seen some of their growing pains…
Additional Information
Visibility/Location:
Screams is located on the grounds of Scarborough Fair in Waxahachie, Texas. If you are coming from Dallas or Fort Worth just follow I-35E south to Waxahachie. Take the 399A / Maypearl exit and turn right at the stop sign. Screams will be located on the left hand side.
Parking:
Free parking is available on the grassy area in front of the Scarborough Fairgrounds.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment:
The atmosphere of Screams is easily the best overall atmosphere any haunt in the DFW area can offer. Strange characters and actors roam the area throughout. Carnival games, entertainment, food, drink and even alcohol can be purchased (a big bonus for older crowds). You can easily make a whole evening out of your visit to Screams.
Admission Price:
General Admission to Screams is $19.99 for people over 6 years old. Children 5 and under are allowed free admission and Fast Passes for front of the line access can be purchased for an additional $15.00. On a really busy night the Fast Pass can easily make a difference in the number of haunts/attractions you get to visit while at Screams.
Attractions:
This is where Screams shines… Included with your admission price you get 4 haunted houses, including Castle of Darkness, Terror Visions in 3D, The Arcane Asylum, and the Black Hole. Along with the 4 primary haunted houses you can also visit additional attractions include the Maze of the Macabre, Ghoulish Graveyard, Spooky Hollow and the ever spooky and extremely scary Scary-oke, aka Karaoke. For an additional fee you can also swing by and see the Yeti at the Trail of Terror – see our Trail of Terror review for more information.
Crowd Control:
On busy nights the lines for the primary haunted houses can get extremely long. When we arrived shortly after opening the lines were short. However, after an hour or two the lines started to grow fast so we took advantage of our Fast Passes. Even on the fairly slow evening that we were there they were still pushing people into the haunts fairly fast. In several of the haunts we ran into groups and also had other groups run upon us. The Black Hole had almost a constant stream of people being pushed through with fairly large group sizes. Unfortunately this caused many of the animatronics and actors to miss their queues and effectively ruin the scare. In one season Screams can easily push through 60,000 people, with this many people going through you can almost always expect LONG lines and crowded haunts. When planning your outing at Screams, plan to go early, we highly suggest getting there when the gates open if you plan to see everything. Then after you see the attractions you can spend the rest of the evening browsing grounds, eating, drinking, and playing games.
Length:
Each haunt within Screams lasts about 6 to 8 minutes.*
* = Since people move through haunted attractions at different rates, your time will vary.
Scare Factor:
Screams contains a good mix of animatronics and actors. However, we noticed many animatronics and actors really missed their timing or did not even react at all when we walked by. At the rate and speed that Screams moves people through their haunts you will run into the group ahead of you or even have the group behind join you. Older crowds or avid haunt goers may not find any scares here, but the teens and younger crowds should have a great time and overall experience even though the scare factor is not that high.