Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Field of Screams
Website: www.fieldofscreams.com
Location of Attraction: Mountville Pennsylvania
Date of Review: Saturday September 8th 2018
Total Number of Attractions Available: FOUR & 3 Mini Escape Rooms!
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 10 / 10
Entertainment & Food Rating: 10 / 10
Atmosphere Rating: 10 / 10
Overall Costume & Makeup Rating: 10 / 10
Overall Cast & Crew Rating: 9 / 10
Overall Props, Animatronics & Set Design Rating: 10 / 10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 9 / 10
Overall Feedback: Field of Screams is without question not for the faint of heart - this place was absolutely demented! We visited the one and only Field of Screams on their opening night of the 2018 haunt season, Saturday September 8th! As our members (13 reviewers) walked towards the ticket booth we could already hear screams and shrieks of guests roaming about the property. Mother Nature put a pause on the rain for almost the entire evening but there was still certainly a cool and dreary vibe in the air. As you approach the ticket booth you are greeted by an overwhelming entertainment area - tons of food vendors, free photo booth, multiple spooky games, merchandise/gift shop, live entertainment (it was Battle of the Bands night), horror films on the big screens and brand NEW for 2018 THREE MINI ESCAPE ROOMS (The Heist, Lockdown and Captured)! With FOUR attractions and such an action packed entertainment area, you should plan to spend at least 2+ hours when you visit Field of Screams! When our squad heard the news of Field of Screams adding mini escape rooms we were eager to check them out. Our squad was able to try out all three rooms and they were nothing short of excellent! All three rooms featured a realistic set/scene, interactive clues/puzzles and a simple gameplay that should allow most guests the opportunity to escape! They were having some minor technical difficulties with some of the rooms but the staff was upfront about this issue and made the necessary tweaks to ensure our escape experiences went smoothly. Long story short, for $5 we encourage you to partake in these 5 minute mini escape rooms! We do encourage patrons to visit Field of Screams either early in the season or on a Sunday evening as this will better your experience due to smaller crowds. Although Field of Screams does offer VIP upgrades which allows you to skip the regular admission line - this is definitely worth it on busier nights! With the chance of rain looming the attractions throughout the night had minimal to zero wait time! Once completing our escape room experiences we were ready and eager to check out the main attractions. It’s a squad tradition to kick things off with The Den of Darkness… and boy were we glad we did! The Den of Darkness brought the scares and fear to a whole new level this season. The actors were definitely energized and ready to put on a good show; although we do feel overall that the Den of Darkness was lacking actors. We were amazed by the amount of changes made to the Den of Darkness for this season - we couldn’t help but drool in amazement over these changes! The Den of Darkness year after year never disappoints to provide bone-chilling scares as you walk down the seemingly never ending and bloodcurdling hallways and passages. The scares come from all directions so there is no escaping! And what better way to end an attraction then with five maniacs with chainsaws tormenting the guests as they try to flee the Den of Darkness! Next up we prepared ourselves for the Frightmare Asylum - an attraction always known for its high energy and deranged actors! Well it's safe to say that Frightmare Asylum did not disappoint. From the moment you enter the doors to the very end you are continually tormented by the deranged patients! From start to end our squad members weren’t given even a second to catch our breath. We felt on edge the entire journey through Frightmare Asylum. Again, just like in the Den of Darkness, the scares came from all directions making us vulnerable to being on the receiving end of spine-tingling scares! Once escaping the Frightmare Asylum we headed for the always impressive Haunted Hayride. As we boarded the hay wagon a chilly drizzle began to fall from the darkened skies which added an extra spooky element to the atmosphere. Field of Screams always kicks the hayride off in such a grand way with their massive and horrifying pumpkin creature/king preparing guests for what to expect on this truly Haunted Hayride! The first stop is always our favorite scene on the hayride - THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE! Newly revamped for this season the slaughterhouse scene had the hayride guests praying to get out. Pigs dangling from the roof, crazed actors, darkness and of course the sounds of pig shrieks/squeals are just some of the things you can expect in the slaughterhouse scene! One scene after another we were continually amazed by the life like and believable set designs. Each and every scene featured an overwhelming amount of actors leaving guests no room to escape the hair-raising scares! You’ll be in for a special treat when you experience the BRAND NEW Toxic Waste Dump scene! Another favorite scene of ours is where they intertwine the Haunted Hayride and Nocturnal Wasteland… it’s truly one of a kind! The Haunted Hayride is guaranteed to please any haunt enthusiast and to this date still remains among our squads top three all time favorite hayrides! To finish out our evening we headed for Nocturnal Wasteland. We’ve always been amazed by the set designs in this attraction - we truly forget that we are in the middle of the woods as we meander through the dark and narrow pathways! Added to Nocturnal Wasteland last season was the catwalk section that hovers above the Haunted Hayride. This section was by far our members favorite once again in the Nocturnal Wasteland. We were once again blown away by the changes and upgrades made throughout the attraction. Our only downfall with this attraction was the shortage of inhabitants throughout Nocturnal Wasteland. We felt there were several areas with dead space that could’ve been enhanced with an actor or two. But with that being said, the actors that this attraction did possess were nothing short of spooktacular! Nocturnal Wasteland to this day is still one of the longer haunted trails in the area and by far a group favorite when it comes to haunted trails! Year after year when we visit Field of Screams we are continually blown away by the experience provided. Our squad sends a HUGE thank you to the build team as you all were busy this off-season revamping the attractions and once again stepped up your game and certainly did not disappoint! It’s no surprise to us why Field of Screams is known as one of America’s best and scariest Haunted Attractions! Do you have what it takes to survive the blood-curdling, hair-raising, spine-tingling, unnerving and truly terrifying experience that Field of Screams offers? Well we urge you to come find out for yourself and make sure to tell them Fright Review Squad sent you their way!
Individual Attraction Reviews:
Attraction Name: Den of Darkness
Overall Rating: 10 / 10
Cast & Crew Rating: 9 / 10
Props, Animatronics & Set Design Rating: 10 / 10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 10 / 10
Attraction Name: Frightmare Asylum
Overall Rating: 10 / 10
Cast & Crew Rating: 9 / 10
Props, Animatronics & Set Design Rating: 10 / 10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 10 / 10
Attraction Name: Haunted Hayride
Overall Rating: 9 / 10
Cast & Crew Rating: 9 / 10
Props, Animatronics & Set Design Rating: 10 / 10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8.5 / 10
Attraction Name: Nocturnal Wasteland
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10
Cast & Crew Rating: 8.5 / 10
Props, Animatronics & Set Design Rating: 10 / 10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8 / 10