Kersey Valley Spookywoods Reviews 2010

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Review by: krb187
Date attended 9-25-10
 
 
Scare Factor 3.5/5 - I didn't really ever get scared, but I was startled by an actor popping up out of nowhere on several occasions. The flashlight trail was where most of this happened because our light was out pretty much the entire time. One actress in the torture chamber room in the castle creeped me out by staring at me every time I looked at her.
 
Actors 4/5 - The actors at Spookywoods are always good at their job. Whether creeping me out or making me laugh they always usually get a positive reaction out of me. There's just two things keeping this from five stars though: first, some of the actors would come out and do their scare and that was it, they would get in your face or harass you then they just assumed their position and waited for the next group. Second, during the flashlight trail and actor actually tripped over a bush and fell flat on his face. Not exactly scary.
 
Set Design/Props/FX 5/5 - The sets at Spookywoods are always amazing. They put a lot of time and effort into them and it definitely shows. Without giving too much away I have to say that the house, the first part of the trail, was amazingly designed and really sets the atmosphere for the rest of the haunt. All of the props and sets are just beautiful to look at.
 
Length 4.5/5 - The length seemed a little shorter than the last time I went and some of it felt hurried. Aside from that, when you get out of the attraction you feel like you've got your moneys worth.
 
Overall 4/5 - Overall just an amazing haunt. It's about and hour and fifteen minute drive for me and well worth it. One of the best haunt experiences you can find. I definitely recommend it.

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Submitted by:  Handfulofrubies82
Date Attended:  10/02/10

Scare Factor - 4/5:  I believe I was scared the most on the tram ride this year. I'm glad that Spookywoods uses this opportunity to actually scare its patrons instead of just a mode of transportation from one place to another. I was also scared a time or two in the castle at the end. The actors did a great job on the timing of their scares.
The only part I was disappointed in was the corn field. It was only my sister and I as a group, which I thought was awesome, but I was in front and with two of us, I missed every scare. I believe there was a group of 4-5 about a minute in front of us and some of the actors weren't in place again by the time we got around. The corn field definitely has a creepy atmosphere, I just wished I had gotten scared.  I'm giving  a 4 because SW had the best chainsaw effect I've experienced at any haunt I've been to. I'm not scared by chainsaws and I don't run from them, but exiting the attraction this year, one was fired up for a few seconds and the sudden startle of that sound got me. It wasn't too much - it was just perfect.

Actors - 4/5:  I'm always impressed with the tram ride actors. With clever distractions, I never see them coming and they really do get up close and in your face. I was also impressed with a clown and his scare along with the statue-ess in the graveyard. I also enjoyed Michael Myers a lot this year.
Right in the middle of the castle we came upon a scene and in the group in front of us some guy had twisted an ankle or something. I don't exactly what happened but we had to stop and wait for his group to leave and for the actors to reset and get back into character. The actors remained professional, quickly got back into character and still pulled off a scare during the scene. I was impressed.

Set Design/Props/FX - 5/5:  The Michael Myers scene  is great. He was looking through the bedroom window at us as we entered, and I'll remember that for a long time; it was so creepy. I also thought the first house you enter was so much better this year. I liked how they kept you there a little longer, and you had a chance to experience the scene instead of just being rushed through. The interesting light effect on the flashlight trail really impressed me. It kind of mesmerized me. I also loved the surprise in the vortex/tunnel.

Length - 5/5 The length is always good at SW. Through the corn field and at the castle, we were allowed to go through as a group of two. I was so glad because I don't like being in large groups.

Overall Impression - SW is always worth the time.

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Submitted by: k2quiere
Date Attended: 9- 24-2010 and 10-15-2010
 
I want to premise this review with the fact that we visited Spookywoods twice this season thanks to the free return with our opening night tickets. I withheld an earlier review because some events happened that distracted from our full attention to the haunt. Overall, however, without those events, my review isn’t very different.
 
Scare Factor 2/5: I was highly disappointed this year. The first time we went through, all I kept thinking was I know exactly where everyone and everything is because nothing has changed from last year. This past time through, we got there around 11pm, there were virtually no lines anywhere, and yet we were herded through like cattle. In the paranormal activity (woods) walkthrough, we got so close to the group in front of us that the chainsaw guy didn’t have a chance to get back into place and simply walked past us with the chainsaw on his shoulder. At the same time, the group behind us caught up and there was no chance to feel like you were alone in the woods with the ghosts. The same thing happened halfway through the castle. Our group of 5 became a group of 20 as everyone was just pushed through; and NO ONE was running and screaming through. It actually took us a full 5 minutes for us to get out of the castle and across the vortex because of the line of people we had become part of.
 
Actors 3/5: I could tell that some of the actors were trying to get the scares, but they had no time between groups to prepare for the next scare and so were skipped for some of the scares. I do have to give props to the statue-lady in the cemetery; she took all of us off-guard. Being a small group at the end of the night, we got a lot of attention from the actors jumping on and off the tram ride. There was a lot of interaction with them, which was great, even if it wasn’t scary.

Set design/Props/FX 4.5/5: Although the set-up was almost exactly the same as last year, I can’t take away from the fact that they do some visually amazing things at Spookywoods. My favorite addition has to be the surprises we found in the vortex—very disorienting.

Length 3/5: Honestly, this rating should be higher because it took us about 45 minutes to go through the haunt; however, the fact that we felt pushed through made me alternately hope it would end sooner and wish there was more to it.
 
Other: I could tell that the emphasis this year was placed on preparing and advertising the zipline, but to pay $25 for each of my daughters to go to the haunt and the most interesting thing we could talk about was watching people zipline while waiting to enter the castle is pretty distressing.
 
Overall 3/5: I love haunts, and I have always liked Spookywoods, but this year I was just very disappointed overall.

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Submitted By:  Sabrina913
Date Attended: October 2, 2010

Scare Factor 3/5 – There was one section toward the end that scared me tremendously. I have a certain phobia which caused this section to affect me more than any other haunt has managed to do. I don’t want to give it away, but let me say it scared me so bad I broke out in a sweat and started shaking. The actor for this section was great because he saw how it affected me and kept telling me it would be okay until I managed to get through it. The other scary part for me was walking through the dark woods. This is mainly because our light never came on and we were all tripping on roots, rocks or small holes.   
 
Actors 3/5 - The actors at Spookywoods are almost always some of the most in your face, terrifying actors of all the haunts we go to. This time however, they did not seem to have the energy that I have come to expect from Spookywoods.  The chainsaw guys didn’t give chase as normal. Basically, they stood there with the chainsaw revving. The guys in the corn maze would say, “Hi, what’s your name?”, not exactly scary. Several didn’t do anything but stand there. In the castle section there was a woman with an axe that did a very good job.

Set Design/Props/FX 5/5 – As always, Spookywoods sets and props were great. The house was setup great. For the first time I was really able to enjoy the set and designs because I wasn’t running screaming as normal. Tony put a lot of work into this and it definitely showed.
 
Length 3/5 – There were sections that seemed very rushed but overall this is one of the longer haunts. I like the fact that it isn’t a 15 minutes haunt because it makes you feel like the wait in line and the new parking is worth the effort.
 
Overall 3/5 – This is always one of our favorite haunts and I hate that I cannot give it a higher rating then I did. I do plan on going again later in the season to give it another try. It could have been that we just hit an off night and considering this is a favorite I want to give it another try and hopefully be able to give a higher rating.  I hope to try the Zip Line as well, next time. It seemed like the people who did the Zip Line enjoyed it immensely.

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Submitted by:  Radiant_Red
Date Attended:  10/2/2010

Scare Factor - 4/5 I recall being scared (jumping) at least once in all of the separate attractions, which surprised me, because I don't scare too easily. Its more than just loud sounds and air canons.

 Actors - 4/5 The actors on the tram ride always find ways to creep up and get right next me and make me jump several times throughout the ride. I was disappointed with the actors on the ghost walk.  It seemed like all they did was walk up or follow our group.  The actors in the main house (who look like props) do a great job of staying still and
startling me.  Spookywoods has my favorite Michael Myers scene, its really neat how he appears, and disappears and reappears.

Set Design/Props/FX- 5/5  I absolutely love the lighting effect on the ghost walk. Though I was not scared much on the trail, its something that sets Spookywoods apart from other haunts. The improved Vortex really caught me off guard. While going though the main house (castle) I try to go through at a slower pace just so I can really look at all
the details , you can really tell that a lot of time and effort was spent designing the sets.

Length - 4.5/5 Its a great length, I really enjoy the tram ride. I always want the castle to keep going.

Other   -  I  appreciated the fact that they let small groups go through, like just my sister and myself. We get more of the scares this way, instead of being in a big group where its really hit or miss, or you hear or see everything before you get there.

Overall Impression - 4/5 We had a good experience, by going early in the season we didn't have to wait very long. This is always a haunt I will recommend.

[Slappy]

Submitted by: mjones
Date Attended: 10/22/2010
 
Scare Factor: 2/5 - Kersey Valley has become the Wal-Mart of haunted attractions.  Everything's about milking the money out of you as efficiently as possible and the operators seem more interested in rerouting traffic to maximize the parking than scaring you.  There's money sunk into these sets and some great premises, but horrendous line management leads to missing the scares and a general feeling of being rushed and herded.  There are some great moments along the way because of just how much Kersey Valley has going on at all times, but it's really hard to enjoy it, and practically impossible to be scared by it.
 
Actors: 3/5 - To be fair, there were a lot of really good individual performances scattered throughout, but mostly it seemed to be guys dressed in black standing in your way.  Very few were hidden at all, and the lines stopped most of the unique ones from being very effective.  A few notable exceptions are the statue garden and the mannequin room. Those were really good and creepy...
 
Set Design/Props/FX: 5/5 - ...and speaking of those two rooms, they were and have always been some of the coolest spook trail rooms I've ever seen.  And they're still cool.  And so is most all of the sets.  This is where Kersey Valley earns its money.  They spare no expense and give the people what they want.  Unfortunately those people are in high school and they treat you that way.  You get through the line quicker, but the same could be said for your experience and your fun.
 
Length: 5/5 - You won't find more stuff to do at a haunt than Spookywoods.  Especially if you like cotton candy...
 
Overall: 2/5 - There's so much cool stuff at Spookywoods, it's impossible not to find something you like, but all in all I found myself extremely disappointed overall.  I've always told people that this was the standard around here, and if you were only going to do one trail in the season, that would be the one.  I won't do that now, it's too rushed
 and too commercial for that.  Plus $5 for parking for so much less horror is just plain tacky.  The owners should be careful, or they'll end up with nothing but a giant corn dog stand on their hands.

[Slappy]

Submitted by: packbacker
Date Attended:  10/24/2010

Scare Factor 3/5
Maybe I've become jaded or maybe this was an off night, but the first four attractions of Spookywoods left me highly disappointed in the scare factor.  I think I would have felt the same in the castle if I hadn't purposefully slowed down our over-sized group.  Freed from the shackles of a twelve member group, the scares picked up significantly in the
castle and did result in most everyone getting startled and one young lady soiling herself!  The first house seemed to waste some scares.  The first scene looked good but there was never a reveal, resolution, or anything of scare value.  The second scene was fun but predictable.  The tram ride this year we saw the actors coming from 100 feet away where in years past they would run out of the woods/darkness.  Good use of the the truck, though.  I was most let down by the ghost walk which had been my favorite last year.  The group was way too large, the actors weren't hidden, and we were ushered through like cattle on a conveyor belt.  The corn maze had one or two good scares but seemed to have too much dead space.  The castle, as stated earlier, really upped the ante with some well placed actors, good props, and a fun vortex.

Actors 4/5
The actors at Spookywoods were a mixed bag this evening.  I found the folks inside the ghost walk attraction to be almost bored with their job at times.  No hiding and no major effort put into scaring patrons.  Where I love these folks are the actors that can remain perfectly still such that you have to figure out if they are real or not.  They have multiple people that have perfected this skill and provided the scare of the night in our group.  A special kudos has to be given to the Joker as well who looked/sounded amazing.  I found that too often the actors popped at the very front of the group....when you send in eleven people at a time that is a huge amount of wasted scares.

Set design/Props/FX 4.5/5
It looks fantastic as usual.  The castle sets are downright beautiful in spots as are the costumes and make-up effects in here.  I loved the barrel area, the vortex flooring, the mannequin room, and the Egyptian skeleton guards.  The only real reason I took off a half point was what felt like a let-down on the ghost walk.  We saw multiple actors who
basically looked like off duty hunters.  I see guys in camo on a daily basis...give me some sort of costume or make-up.

Length 3/5:
I'm guessing that I was wrong but the castle felt shorter to me this year.  We finished and I was aghast that there wasn't more to be seen.  For the money Spookywoods offers several different attractions but I just did not feel satisfied as in years past.
 
Other:
There is a new entrance to the parking area but there is no illuminated sign.  There are a lot of folks turning around and parking where they should not be (and the DJ was announcing tow trucks were on the way).  Parking is now $5/car (which again isn't advertised until you're up there) and the parking entrance is a dirt road that isn't the
smoothest.  Also we felt unduly rushed by staff on several occasions.  The ghost walk linesman was almost shouting at people to line up/hurry up/move along.  The lady setting up castle entrance was also just shoving people through.  The group sizes have gotten way too large to be effective in setting up scares.  If I had not slowed down our group in the castle my previous rankings would all have suffered severely.I think they'd be much more well served to make people wait longer and go through in smaller groups.  We all commented on how quickly the outside queue moved (still about 1hr wait) but would have gladly doubled that wait time to not be herded through like cattle.
 
Overall 3/5
Spookywoods is still a spectacle to behold.  Some of the stuff they do is amazing but I have to say that I left disappointed.  From new parking fees to huge group sizes to being rushed, Spookywoods has lost the feel for me of a haunt that has scares as the top goal.  I know it's a business but in the past I've always felt an air of frivolity and terror.  That was missing this year and I sure hope I and they find it again.  I wish I could comment on the zip line....hopefully next year!