Woods of Terror *Official* Reviews 2010

[Slappy]

Submitted by: Karmakrazy13
Date attended: October 2, 2010.

Scare factor – 4/5: Woods of Terror focuses on all phobias and fears.  If you have a phobia or fear, Woods of Terror probably has something to tap into that fear or phobia. The haunt itself is so big; it has so much to offer I truly think that everyone will find something there that scares them. I jumped several times, that is something that is very hard to do. I feel the only thing holding back the scare factor is at times the haunt was too loud or too bright, other than that the scare factor was absolutely amazing.

Actors – 4/5: The actors this season really wanted to get you in the scene, all of them had a character and that character went perfectly with the scene they were in. Most of the actors really engaged with the groups of people walking through, they did a really good job of keeping you in the scene. I truly believe that Woods of Terror has some of the best actors; you will see things here that you will not see in any haunt.

Set design/props/FX – 5/5: This is my third year in a row going to Woods of Terror; the haunt continues to evolve and continues to grow. They have really switched things around.  They have added a lot of new things to see and they have added a lot of new things to experience. One of my favorite new things is the house from the movie Nightmare on Elm Street, there is a big Freddy Krueger claw coming down over the house, the house is truly epic. As you walk along the trail you'll constantly be looking at things and seeing things that will truly blow your mind. The pirate ship is one-of-a-kind and makes for a really fun experience, if you are not expecting it, it will catch you off guard and it will scare you. You will ask yourself several times “how did they do that?”

Length – 5/5: There is a lot to see and do, while you wait in line you are visited by several creatures of the woods, and then once you make it into the haunt you are terrorized nonstop for quite a while. When it is all said and done you will be satisfied or you may just be happy that it's finally over. I think it took my group just over an hour to get through the haunt, but I like to walk slow and take everything in, so you may not be in the haunt as long as I was.

Other: I would personally like to thank Eddie, the owner of the haunt, for meeting with me before we went into the haunt, he was incredibly busy and had a lot of issues to deal with but he took some time out to talk with me and the people in my group. Thanks Eddie! This is my third year in a row going to woods of terror, I strongly believe that the haunt continues to improve and continues to grow. Be prepared for a workout because the trail is a tough one. We arrived just after they had opened and it was packed, so be sure to get there early and possibly upgrade to the fast pass. Make sure to walk slow and take in all of the scenes and the actors in the scene. If you have gone in years past you should check it out this year they have added a lot of cool new things and they have really changed the trail.

Overall – 4.5/5: I really enjoyed the haunt this year and I think you will too.

[Slappy]

Submitted by:  Radiant_Red
Date Attended: 10/02/10

Scare Factor - 4/5 There is something for everyone at Woods of Terror, whether you like Movies,  Classic fears,  or things that go bump in the night.  I jumped a few times, and was startled quite a lot.

Actors - 5/5  I could almost feel the fear of the various victims throughout WOT.  Their screams were loud and fervent.  I really liked the vampires in The Blood House, they made me jump and were interesting.  I wish the actors portraying the famous movie characters (Freddie, Michael Myers, Jason) would do more than just walk or stand around. I may have missed a scare being with a larger group though.  I thought it was a bit odd that all the clowns were laughing hysterically in the clown town, instead of being menacing.

Set Design/Props/FX - 4/5   There are so many different scenes that it keeps your attention and never gets boring because you don't know what's going to happen next. I thought the "night stalkers" attraction was lengthy, and not as scary as years past. I always love the pirate ship and how it rocks. The House of Blood was intriguing and the vintage looking decor was cool.  The phobia/fear part was not expected. I can feel quite claustrophobic at times, and it got to me.  I really always enjoy walking through the cemetery because it has that old, realistic look to it.

Length - 4/5  Because there are so many attractions at WOT it does take quite awhile to get through the whole experience (at least an hour, depending on group size and waiting times)   I prefer walking slower through the different settings, so myself and hopefully my group are probably there longer than the average group would be anyway.

Overall Impression - 4/5  This haunt improves every year.  I would recommend it to others , because  its full of all kinds of different scares, and fears, and characters that  are fascinating and creative enough to keep you interested.

Other- The music and general loudness can be distracting sometimes. I'm not really fond of the  Redneck Hayride not having actual Hay.

[Slappy]

Submitted by: k2quiere
Date Attended: 10-14-2010

Scare Factor 4/5: We really enjoyed Woods of Terror this year.  Even with a skeleton crew on Thursday night, the scares and the startles were there.  The only reason I am giving them a 4 is because of the serious emotional let-down I feel every time we get to the Redneck Hayride; however, I was extremely pleased to have it NOT be the end of the show this year.

Actors 4.5/5: Like I said, we could tell that there were some gaps in the actors, presumably because of it being late Thursday night, but those who were there, were on-point 100%.  I especially loved the vampire den and the cemetery…WOW!!  Let me just say that the vampire king was huge, and once I realized it, the nervous feeling grew 10-fold.  The spider-like crawling guy in the cemetery was real freaky, especially when he finally stood and make his whole body crack like a real zombie.

Set design/Props/FX 4.5/5: The pirate ship is always a lot of fun, even when you know what’s going to happen.  Also, the creepy crawly aspects after you leave the hayride are a phobic’s worst nightmare.  I hate spiders, but the slaughter house with all it’s bugs really began to freak me out.

Length 5/5: Having gone on a Thursday night, there was really no wait to get started, and we felt alone for most of the time.  Had there been a full set of actors, we may have RUN through it a little quicker.  All-in-all it took about 45 minutes to go through which is a good length.

Other: I really don’t pay much attention to the other things going on outside the haunt, except for characters out there to keep us entertained, but I was ecstatic to not have to watch the video this year.

Overall 4/5:  I enjoyed Woods of Terror much more this year than I have the past two years.  I’m glad the hayride wasn’t the end because I usually leave completely disgusted.  The fact that there were more scares coming afterwards rejuvenated me so that I was still excited while we walked to the car.

[Slappy]

Submitted by: krb187
Date attended 10-24-10
 
Entertainment Factor 3/5 - First off I wan't to think Julie for giving me this idea. Second, I changed this from scare factor because it would have been zero and I didn't want to do that. I didn't get scared at all, not even close acually. Some of the actors tried but most of the time if they didn't scare you they would start insulting you and for someone who can't take a joke that could cause problems. However I did have a good time here but partly because I talked A LOT of trash. I never do this either, but for some reason I couldn't resist. This might make me sound like a jerk but If you'vd been to WoT this year you'll understand.
 
Actors 3/5 - This is a hard one. The actors in the graveyard were really good, their breathing was actually pretty creepy. All the actors that were at the "start" of each scene were good too as they had all the talking parts. They would give patrons a hard time but in an amusing way. Those actors are the ones who earned the 3. Now for the bad. Some of the actors were a bit unprofessional. What I mean by that is they would try to scare you and if it didn't work they would just resort to talking sh*t. And not in a fun way, you could tell they were mad. For instance, on the hayride the first actor got in my face and I kind of laughed back at him. He got mad, completely broke character and started talking about my ears, which are big I'll admit. The actors should know they're not going to get everyone all the time.
 
Set Designs/Props/FX 4/5 - This is where WoT shines. All of the sets are beautiful and great to look at. All of the houses look completely real and I was looking at them in wonder. The sets play off of every phobia imaginable which I love. Plus some of the rooms had a certain prop that caught me off guard every time, especially in the pirate ship. Everything looks professionally done and is very rich in detail. My personal favorite was the movie theater.
 
Length 5/5 - I have to say the length is just right. It took about and hour to go through everything and that is without the the wait in line included. When you get done you really feel like you've gotten your moneys worth.
 
Overall 3/5 - This was my first time at WoT and I had no idea what to expect. I've heard good and bad about it. I have to say I did enjoy it but it wasn't really a haunt to me. I can't explain what it was but it was fun none the less. I probably won't drive an hour and half next year to go to only WoT but will go with another haunt in the night.

[Slappy]

Submitted by:  packbacker
Date Attended:  10/29/10

Disclaimer:  We had a ridiculously loud, rude, annoying group that started behind us, ran us over, and then slowed down in front of us.  This was unavoidable and unfortunately had a large impact on our experience.  It's most likely that overall impressions would be much better if this group was not around us.

Scare Factor 3/5
My previous experience with Woods of Terror was very disappointing.  This time out our evening started pretty fantastic.  We started in a group of eight and experienced some solid scares through the bus and nightstalkers area.  After that we were over-run in the vampire house by a ridiculous group.  The scares dried up after that.  Most of that was not the fault of Woods of Terror...this group was just out of control and ruined the evening for many people.  There were still a few moments left but the evening had soured.  The hayride attraction also left a bad taste in our mouths.  The actors along the way were trying to say things or hop on board but the tractor was moving so fast we couldn't hear them and at least one actor couldn't catch up with us as it sped away.

Actors 4/5
These folks have vastly improved since my last visit.  The most notable for me was a lady in the slaughterhouse.  She screamed incredibly well.....and man she never let up!  Amazing!  There was a zombie actor who had his movements and scares down to perfection.  The vampires looked great and seemed to have a scene set up that again we did not get to see.   Blackbeard, while not scary, did a great job interacting with patrons and trying to slow things down a bit.  There were a few actors here or there that simply just stood around or threw out some nonsensical phrases that just didn't work.

Set design/Props/FX 4.5/5:
The vampire house looked incredible and I really appreciated the Freddy claw entrance area.  Woods of Terror does a great job of developing atmosphere by having a myriad of props along the trail- used medical equipment, doll torsos, walls of metal drums, etc.  The makeup and costumes also seemed to have moved up a notch for me.  Dr. Satan had me clapping!

Length 5/5:
There's a lot to see and do.

Other
Security staff was less visible for us on this trip. We did have an interaction with one, though, that while seeming fun and cool to talk to then went on a profanity laced tirade about customers and literally screamed at some (the group I mentioned so maybe they were asking for it).  Other staff members (on the hayride and entrance to Miner's area) commiserated with those who were not enjoying themselves.  For me the flow of the trail was better without forty stopping points.  I still wish there was better crowd/line control....we were literally run over a few times by other groups.  I don't have the answer but the scare factor drops significantly when you come to a complete standstill inside a scene.  Parking is also $5 which is asking a lot on top of full price tickets with this economy.

Overall 3/5
Despite some negatives above, this trip was significantly better for me than last time.  I was really, really digging the vibe until we were engulfed by the group behind us.  My later opinions were soured and the evening quickly became a wash.  I like the improvements that have been made (thanks for ditching the opening video!) and just wish there was some way to control group size better.

[Slappy]

Submitted by: mjones
Date attended:  10/29/2010

Scare Factor: 1/5 - Poor, poor, poor.  Once again terrible line management ruins good sets.  Long lines before and during the trail break up any kind of mood, and the general clubby atmosphere are just stupid as well.  We went through the last three scenes with no actors bothering to show up at all.  This haunt is just like Spookywoods, big money, poor execution, Wal-Mart scares.  It was better than last year, but still isn't very good.

Actors: 3/5 - Some tried, many looked good, very few could be effective with the way the lines were being run.  The guy with moving tentacles around his face was a highlight.  I appreciated the monster who broke character to tell the kid in front of me that seriously, he had to turn his phone off.  Yeah, it was that kind of place.

Set Design/Props/FX: 5/5 - As always, WoT has top notch sets.  The pirate ship alone is pretty breathtaking setpiece.  Unfortunately, being shoved through like cattle takes away all the mood and thrill of it.  Still, whoever designed it did a hell of a job.  You can see everywhere the investment in the place.

Length: 5/5 - Even without the repeated stops, WoT is a long trail.  I would say it's well above average in this department.

Overall: 2/5 - No I would not like to buy another T-shirt.  Woods of Terror is a waste of great props and sets, and is needlessly uninteresting most of the time.  If you've just bought a new bottle off Axe Body Spray and need something to do between texts, this is your haunt.  Everyone else is better off going to something scary.