Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Field of Screams
Website: www.fieldofscreams.com
Location of Attraction: Mountville, PA
Date of Review: 9/9/2017
Total Number of Attractions Available: FOUR
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 8.5
Entertainment and Food Rating (scale of 1-10): 10
Overall Makeup and Costume Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
Overall Actor Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Overall Props Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
Overall Scare Factor Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Overall Feedback: On Saturday September 9th, nine York Fright Review Squad members headed over to Field of Screams in Mountville PA to kick off the 2017 haunt season! It was opening night of magical year 25 for Field of Screams and boy could you tell they were ready to scare the skin off your bones! Something we love about Field of Screams is the instant energy that is felt the moment you hop out of your car. Although the location doesn’t necessarily give you the heebie jeebies (because it’s right off route 30) the atmosphere sure gets you excited for what is awaiting you! Out of the nine members in attendance some have and have not been to this haunt before so it was a great to have some “fresh eyes” on review night. Once purchasing tickets and heading into the entertainment area you instantly pick up on how much Field of Screams has to offer. Not only do they offer FOUR high quality attractions, they have a HUGE selection of games, food, live entertainment, gift shop and more. A nights worth of fun and scares can surely be found at Field of Screams. We started our night off with The Den of Darkness. Probably one of our favorite attractions anywhere in the industry, Den of Darkness once again provided a great show. Who doesn’t love walking through a dark and eerie building with actors lurking around every corner? Timing is key for the actors in this attraction and they did not fail. All in all, The Den of Darkness continued its history of success in scaring the crap out of people (shoutout to the poor soul who was chased from the exit of the Den of Darkness all the way to the ticket booth… by the way we definitely felt a breeze when she ran by, LOL)! Next we headed over to Nocturnal Wasteland which is by far one of the most elaborate outdoor trails we’ve ever witnessed! We were excited to check out this attraction as we’ve heard a lot about the new catwalk addition to the attraction. For those of you who have never been to Field of Screams before when they say they made an impressive addition to an attraction there is a 99.99% chance that the addition is truly impressive. Once we entered Nocturnal Wasteland we got to traverse catwalks over and along the hayride and we must say it was indeed IMPRESSIVE! Overall we only had one minor downfall with Nocturnal Wasteland and that was the feeling of actors being scarce. To us it felt as if there were much less actors in this attraction then there have been in years past. But all in all, Nocturnal Wasteland still provided a great experience for all members! At the completion of Nocturnal Wasteland we headed over to the Haunted Hayride. Field of Screams Haunted Hayride is well known for their elaborate scenes, menacing actors and a good 20 something minute ride on the hay wagon. The actors on the hayride do a great job jumping on board the wagon to provide a lot of in your face interaction. The scenes you encounter on your stroll through the cornfield at Field of Screams are quite remarkable… so remarkable that you need two or three trips to take it all in. There was only one little hiccup we noticed on our experience on the Haunted Hayride. Some scenes were flooded with actors while others seemed to only have two or three actors. It just felt odd to be in a scene one moment with 10+ actors and then another with not even a handful. Although this wasn’t too much of an issue due to the elaborate scenes and the high energy presence that most of the actors possessed. To finish up the evening we headed to Frightmare Asylum. If you like blood and gore than this attraction is for you. Once in the doors at Frightmare Asylum you truly feel immersed in the world of insane bloodthirsty patients! Our members were quite impressed with the detail in this attraction. Everything from the props to the actors to the smells just screams insane asylum! Kudos to Field of Screams for really holding the theme in Frightmare Asylum from the waiting line to the final scene! Across the board at Field of Screams you will find attractions that have hundreds if not thousands of hours of thought and work behind them and it’s clearly seen in the detail put into each and every scene! Kudos to the actors working on Saturday, you all provided non stop in your face interaction! Although we definitely would like to see more actors in The Haunted Hayride and Nocturnal Wasteland as we feel it’ll up the scare factor! We should add that there was quite the crowd on opening night which is incredible with opening night being so early in September… with that being said if you plan to visit Field of Screams this fall we encourage you to do so on a Sunday evening or purchase the VIP (skip the line) passes as this haunt fills up quickly! If you want to feel fully immersed into an environment that boasts spine tingling and bone chilling scares than Field of Screams is the place to be! We highly suggest that you head on over and pay them a visit… just make sure to tell them York Fright Review Squad sent you their way!!
Individual Attractions Review:
Attraction Name: Den of Darkness
Overall Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
Actor Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
Attraction Scare Factor Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
Likes: Multiple new changes were noticed in the Den of Darkness, some more noticeable than others but there were definitely some changes. The actors had perfect timing and seemingly came out of nowhere. The Den of Darkness definitely provides a heart pounding experience leaving you to fear what may be lurking around the next corner. Kuddos to Field of Screams for hitting a homerun this year with the Den of Darkness.
Dislikes: None! Maybe just the darkness for those afraid of the dark (:
Attraction Name: Nocturnal Wasteland
Overall Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Actor Rating (scale of 1-10): 7
Attraction Scare Factor Rating (scale of 1-10): 7
Likes: Nocturnal Wasteland is by far one of the most elaborate outdoor trails we’ve ever witnessed. The amount of props and intricate scenes that this attraction features is remarkable. Like the Den of Darkness, the Nocturnal Wasteland also featured changes and additions. The biggest addition was the catwalk section which we thought was really unique. The catwalk section runs along and overtop of the hayride, through a bus and more. This addition easily added another 3-5 minutes to the overall attraction.
Dislikes: The only flaw that we ran into with Nocturnal Wasteland was the lack of actors. Actors just felt scarce which for our squad left multiple strips of dead space. Fortunately the scenes are so well done even if there isn’t an actor you aren’t completely left with nothing. Hopefully as the season goes on they’ll be able to throw in more actors to help fill out the attraction.
Attraction Name: Haunted Hayride
Overall Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Actor Rating (scale of 1-10): 7
Attraction Scare Factor Rating (scale of 1-10): 7
Likes: The Haunted Hayride at Field of Screams never disappoints. It always offers a good length wagon ride through very detailed and intriguing scenes. The actors encountered on the hayride do a great job jumping on board and getting right up in your face. We also like the variety that the hayride offers… Hillbillies, clowns, zombies, chainsaw maniacs and so much more! You’ll definitely encounter lots of fun on this hayride!
Dislikes: Actor placement seemed to be a bit odd as some scenes were flooded with actors and others we only witnessed two or three. Having so many actors in one scene and so little in the next made it easy to pick up on. Hopefully as the season goes on and more actors are staffed, this won’t be an issue.
Attraction Name: Frightmare Asylum
Overall Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Actor Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Attraction Scare Factor Rating (scale of 1-10): 8
Likes: Frightmare Asylum truly resembles an insane asylum. The theme is consistent from start to end. The scenes are realistic beyond belief and the characters stay in character perfectly! We love the blood and gore that this attraction features… like who doesn’t? Sense of smell is added in throughout the entirety of this attraction and it DEFINITELY helps add to the gross factor!
Dislikes: None, unless you’re not a fan of blood and gore! (: