Review Date: Friday, October 10th 2008

Time: 9:30pm


Atmosphere

We absolutely LOVE the Tayman Graveyard grounds. Nicely secluded in a rural area, the dim lighting from the grave yard and around the hayride and funeral home keeps the Halloween spirit alive and thriving. After parking, you get transported to the grounds by hayride, and this is a nice warm up to get you in the mood to see all that Tayman has to offer.

Set Design/Detail/Floor Plan

Tayman Graveyard has a brand new haunted attraction this year to add more bangs for your buck. The Sinister Swamp is an outdoor walking trail that takes you through a few great scenes, and a few uncertain places. We like the idea of a walking trail, but it will require a lot more interaction and additional scenes to live up to its full potential. It was still a lot of fun, and a nice change from traditional haunt houses.

The Haunted Mineshaft does not have so much in the scenery department, but it does well to give the full feeling of being trapped in an actual mine shaft… and there is not a way to really "decorate" too much without losing the theme of the haunt. The Haunted Mineshaft must concentrate on perfect timing and actor scares to be a good experience. If the timing is off, then you are just walking through a rundown tunnel of fencing. However, this attraction also takes you through the grave yard, and this is a great treat! I dare you to walk through without being startled at least once.

The Haunted Hayride was fun and entertaining, but I remember in the past there being more scenes, more interaction, and even more surprises than what we saw this year. It is still probably one of the better hay rides in the DFW area, but I certainly missed some of the additional scares we witnessed in past years. Hay rides in general are pretty hard to pull off and make a good show with, so Tayman still does a great job with their adventure. Get comfortable, and pay attention! There are still some good scares in there.

The Tayman Funeral Home is the main event, and be prepared for startle-type scares. Heavily adorned with a rustic and creepy atmosphere, this place will keep you jumping through the whole thing. If it weren't for the constant banging, yelling, and floor rattling, it would not be as entertaining. Yes, there are some great scenes, but again I can't help but remember years past. I am not sure why, but it seemed like it was not as good as before. But overall, it is still a great little haunt, and tons of fun. Startles are the focus here (not gore, doom, or death), so be prepared to jump, and maybe even scream.

Live Actors (Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes)

Brought to you by (and benefiting) Boy Scout Troop 202, there were A LOT of little boys throughout Tayman trying to scare us. We appreciate the fact that it is a Boy Scouts haunt, but everyone knows by now how we feel about child actors… it's not scary when a little kid is dressed up and trying to startle you. There are some adults, no worries, and those adults are quite effective… but I am pretty sure that the little boys out-number the big boys. I cannot help but see these kids and think, "Ahhh, you are so cute! So young and already interested in the haunt industry!" But to be fair, Tayman advertises themselves as family-safe, and I can't think of anything more docile than presenting a haunted house to your young kids where they can see kids their own age. This would also be a great "starter" haunt if you have friends that think they cannot handle big scares.

Admission Price vs. Length (Entertainment Value)

There is a lot to see at Tayman Graveyard, so I highly recommend using the $5 off coupon to get the combo ticket for $25, because this is a decent and fair deal.

Overall Experience/Summary/Misc. Information

With the high number of child actors, I would classify Tayman Graveyard as a great experience for younger crowds, family-oriented, and perfect for beginners that might not be able to handle more intense interaction. If you have a friend that thinks they want to go to a haunt, but is afraid it will be too scary, then take them here so they can get accustomed to haunt startles, traditional haunt house scenes and atmosphere, and an overall fun time. Seasoned haunt goers and 'hard to scare' tough guys will probably still get startled, too. In fact, we jumped a few times!

Previous Reviews

See the 2007 Review

See the 2006 Review



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