Original Post: 10-03-2007, 10:40 PM by Roadkill (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/member.php?u=1)
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Visibility/Location:
The Trail of Terror is located inside the Screams Halloween Themepark in Waxahachie, Texas. They are located towards the back of the Scarborough Fair grounds not too far from the Exit of the Black Hole. So, as you exit the Black Hole just head on over and check out the Trail of Terror. Just look for the building that says Mythical Monster Museum.
Parking:
You’re already inside Screams… duh!
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 6.5
Of course being located inside of Screams the Trail of Terror has the same overall atmosphere that Screams provides. The trail of terror is located inside and behind several of the buildings that are used for Scarborough Fair. Outside the Trail of Terror you are greeted by 2 beautiful wise cracking, joke telling Gypsies who keep you entertained until Hagatha can answer the door.
Set Design/Scene Detail/Floor Plan: 5.5
You begin in the Mythical Monster Museum where creatures such as Bigfoot and Dobie from Harry Potter line the walls. The museum is actually very detailed; each monster or creature in the museum has a description and several look very realistic. As your tour ends Auntie Hagatha drops you off and bids farewell before you enter the frozen lands of the Yeti. The theme of a winter blizzard is very unique to the haunted house industry. I do not believe that this has ever been tried before. After seeing the attempt that the Trail of Terror tries you quickly understand why it hasn’t been done before in the area. Perhaps a location that allowed for a more enclosed area they could have pulled off the theme better, but the warm Texas October weather quickly pulls you back to reality. The only thing that is along the trail that reminds you that you are supposed to be in an ice cave is the spray snow along the fence line, foam icicles hanging from the ceiling of the Yeti cave, and the occasional snow flurry from the snow machine. Several scenes are sparsely located along the trail. Scenes range from the corpse of some kind of animal that has been killed by the Yeti to a headless dog that is still whimpering…
Live Actors Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 7.5
Last year the Trail of Terror had some of the best actors that we had ever come across at a haunted house. Actors would run and jump everywhere within the haunt… Unfortunately due to the lack of scenery and detail the trail of Terror is a very actor driven haunt. We were a bit unimpressed with the actors of this year’s Trail of Terror. Hagatha, your guide through the Mythical Monster Museum, is a wonderful character that is quick and witty with several wisecrack jokes. The Yeti, a very nice looking professional costume, made a very brief appearance over the fence and then faded back off into the darkness.
Crowd Control: 9
During busy evenings the Trail of Terror is just as busy as the other Screams attractions. During our visit the line was fairly short, but we still had to wait a few minutes for other groups ahead of us to enter. They do not seem to push people through as fast as the other Screams attractions do, so crowding inside the Trail of Terror might not be as bad.
Additional Attractions: 10
Technically Screams is an additional attraction for the Trail of Terror. What more could you possibly ask for?
Admission Price vs. Length vs. Entertainment Value: 8
Trail of Terror is an additional price attraction that is located inside of Screams. It takes approximately 7.5 minutes to walk through the Trail of Terror at a price of $5.00 with Screams admission ($19.99). Since you are already at Screams the Trail of Terror is definitely worth the small additional fee.
Overall Experience/Summary:
Last year we knew that the Trail of Terror lacked in the scenery category, but then again their theme was a trail theme. They were able to stick to the trail theme last year with minimal scenes because the actors last year truly made the Trail of Terror something to remember. Unfortunately this year it appears that the actors might not be the same from last year. The idea of a winter haunted house theme would have been very unique if someone could actually pull it off well. Due to the warm Texas October weather the theme is best left to an indoor haunt or a place where the air could be dropped to a suitable winter weather level. While the light dusting of snow and the falling snow flakes tried to give a winter feeling, it just quite didn’t give that overall feeling.
In closing, we do have to say that we may have caught the Trail of Terror off guard a bit as it was opening night and it was also within their FIRST HOUR of opening. After the Trail of Terror performance last year we have no doubt that the characters and the haunt will get better as the season goes. Please do not let this review discourage anyone from visiting the Trail of Terror while at Screams. I know that this review will only embolden the owner and actors of the Trail of Terror, so you can definitely expect a better show than the other haunts at Screams.
Previous Reviews:
See the 2006 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=71)
See the 2005 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=43)
Feel free to post your experiences and reviews in the Main Forum (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
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http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/banners/trail_of_terror_logo.jpg
Waxahachie, TX
OVERALL SCORE : 6.5
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/stars/big/6_half.gif
Date: Friday, September 28
Time: 9:15pm
Visibility/Location:
The Trail of Terror is located inside the Screams Halloween Themepark in Waxahachie, Texas. They are located towards the back of the Scarborough Fair grounds not too far from the Exit of the Black Hole. So, as you exit the Black Hole just head on over and check out the Trail of Terror. Just look for the building that says Mythical Monster Museum.
Parking:
You’re already inside Screams… duh!
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 6.5
Of course being located inside of Screams the Trail of Terror has the same overall atmosphere that Screams provides. The trail of terror is located inside and behind several of the buildings that are used for Scarborough Fair. Outside the Trail of Terror you are greeted by 2 beautiful wise cracking, joke telling Gypsies who keep you entertained until Hagatha can answer the door.
Set Design/Scene Detail/Floor Plan: 5.5
You begin in the Mythical Monster Museum where creatures such as Bigfoot and Dobie from Harry Potter line the walls. The museum is actually very detailed; each monster or creature in the museum has a description and several look very realistic. As your tour ends Auntie Hagatha drops you off and bids farewell before you enter the frozen lands of the Yeti. The theme of a winter blizzard is very unique to the haunted house industry. I do not believe that this has ever been tried before. After seeing the attempt that the Trail of Terror tries you quickly understand why it hasn’t been done before in the area. Perhaps a location that allowed for a more enclosed area they could have pulled off the theme better, but the warm Texas October weather quickly pulls you back to reality. The only thing that is along the trail that reminds you that you are supposed to be in an ice cave is the spray snow along the fence line, foam icicles hanging from the ceiling of the Yeti cave, and the occasional snow flurry from the snow machine. Several scenes are sparsely located along the trail. Scenes range from the corpse of some kind of animal that has been killed by the Yeti to a headless dog that is still whimpering…
Live Actors Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 7.5
Last year the Trail of Terror had some of the best actors that we had ever come across at a haunted house. Actors would run and jump everywhere within the haunt… Unfortunately due to the lack of scenery and detail the trail of Terror is a very actor driven haunt. We were a bit unimpressed with the actors of this year’s Trail of Terror. Hagatha, your guide through the Mythical Monster Museum, is a wonderful character that is quick and witty with several wisecrack jokes. The Yeti, a very nice looking professional costume, made a very brief appearance over the fence and then faded back off into the darkness.
Crowd Control: 9
During busy evenings the Trail of Terror is just as busy as the other Screams attractions. During our visit the line was fairly short, but we still had to wait a few minutes for other groups ahead of us to enter. They do not seem to push people through as fast as the other Screams attractions do, so crowding inside the Trail of Terror might not be as bad.
Additional Attractions: 10
Technically Screams is an additional attraction for the Trail of Terror. What more could you possibly ask for?
Admission Price vs. Length vs. Entertainment Value: 8
Trail of Terror is an additional price attraction that is located inside of Screams. It takes approximately 7.5 minutes to walk through the Trail of Terror at a price of $5.00 with Screams admission ($19.99). Since you are already at Screams the Trail of Terror is definitely worth the small additional fee.
Overall Experience/Summary:
Last year we knew that the Trail of Terror lacked in the scenery category, but then again their theme was a trail theme. They were able to stick to the trail theme last year with minimal scenes because the actors last year truly made the Trail of Terror something to remember. Unfortunately this year it appears that the actors might not be the same from last year. The idea of a winter haunted house theme would have been very unique if someone could actually pull it off well. Due to the warm Texas October weather the theme is best left to an indoor haunt or a place where the air could be dropped to a suitable winter weather level. While the light dusting of snow and the falling snow flakes tried to give a winter feeling, it just quite didn’t give that overall feeling.
In closing, we do have to say that we may have caught the Trail of Terror off guard a bit as it was opening night and it was also within their FIRST HOUR of opening. After the Trail of Terror performance last year we have no doubt that the characters and the haunt will get better as the season goes. Please do not let this review discourage anyone from visiting the Trail of Terror while at Screams. I know that this review will only embolden the owner and actors of the Trail of Terror, so you can definitely expect a better show than the other haunts at Screams.
Previous Reviews:
See the 2006 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=71)
See the 2005 Review (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=43)
Feel free to post your experiences and reviews in the Main Forum (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)