Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Field of Screams PA
Website: www.fieldofscreams.com
Location of Attraction: Mountville, PA
Date of Review: Saturday September 14th, 2019
Total Number of Attractions Available: FOUR
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 9.5/10
Entertainment and Food Rating: 10/10
Atmosphere Rating: 10/10
Overall Costume and Make Up Rating: 10/10
Overall Cast and Crew Rating: 9.5/10
Overall Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 10/10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 9/10
Overall Feedback: Field of Screams PA has simply become our groups go to haunted attraction when we need some SPOOKY FUN! From the moment you hit the ticket booth Field of Screams offers a world class haunt experience like no other! It was the 2nd night of their 2019 haunt season along with being media night. This is our 4th season reviewing Field of Screams but the first time we’ve reviewed on media night. For members of the press and fellow review organizations Field of Screams provided great hospitality as always. Courtesy of FOS, the press had their very own hospitality tent which featured unlimited amounts of delicious food and easy access to chat with owners, Jim and Gene, and other individuals on the FOS management team. We’ve always been amazed with FOS hospitality but boy were we in for a special treat on media night. Our team had arrived shortly after 8pm, it was a perfect evening with clear skies and a cool breeze. As soon as guests enter the midway area you can’t help but feel the energy in the air. It was clear that a solid crowd was on hand for it being only their 2nd night of the season. In our eyes Field of Screams offers FIVE world class attractions with their 5th being the midway area. This place does entertainment the right way! Tons of different carny style food options, three mini escape rooms, several unique games, photo booth, huge gift shop, live entertainment and more! We also can’t forget to mention the always terrific midway actors who do a fantastic job engaging with guests when outside the attractions. Once in the midway area we immediately took notice of the facelift that the FOS screamshop received. We later come to find out they expanded upwards adding a private surveillance room with some fun staff only areas that we were lucky enough to be able to see. Gene, one of the two owners, was nice enough to give us a behind the scenes tour of the new addition and even let us climb the ladder up onto his very own viewing tower that overlooks the entire FOS property (what an AMAZING view of the property from at least 3-4 stories in the sky). To kick off our evening our squad changed up our usual order of events and elected to begin with Nocturnal Wasteland! Nocturnal Wasteland is usually our least favorite of the four attractions but boy did that change this season! Nocturnal Wasteland was a unanimous squad favorite this year and here’s why. In previous years this attraction boasted a rather lengthy walkthrough but with that came many stretches of dead space and what felt like a shortage of actors. Knowing this, FOS actually shortened up the path a bit to allow for a more non-stop thrilling experience. Once entering the attraction through the ice cream truck guests immediately enter one of our favorite parts, the catwalk scene. Nothing better than being suspended in the air overtop a hayride scene. We took note right away that the FOS team added in several more props and animatronics to this area to help throw in a few more pop scares. Small tweaks were noted in several more scenes, all equally as great as the next. We couldn’t help but be in awe when entering the voodoo swamp; this scene was on steroids for 2019! Another section we loved was the new graveyard scene, which included tons of props from the graveyard scene they removed on the hayride; what a great way to repurpose such amazing props. But nothing could compare to the grand finale of the wasteland. This finale was certainly grand with the addition of essentially two new scenes. As you enter the first scene you immediately take note to the entire facade swaying back and forth; words don’t do this justice on how amazing and eye catching it is! Then when you think you’ve seen it all you enter the final scene where literally the entire scene, walls and floors included, are moving and swaying. As you try to make your way through this swinging/swaying shack you become assaulted by two chainsaw wielding maniacs. The chainsaws in combination with the scene itself sure made for a grand ending. After exiting Nocturnal Wasteland our group had to take some time to chat about what we just experienced. It was pretty clear that we were all blown away by the enhanced experience in Nocturnal Wasteland this season! The dead space experienced in previous years no longer existed and boy did the scare actors step up their game. Next up we headed for the Den of Darkness, usually a squad favorite. Last season the Den of Darkness received several significant changes so we didn’t expect much in terms of change for 2019. Of course the FOS build team made some minor tweaks and changes but no major overhaul. The Den of Darkness is truly an attraction that attacks most, if not all, of your senses! The lack of light, strong scents (many of which had our stomachs turning), sound effects, etc. really immerse the guests into the show! As we entered the first room the two scare actors immediately set the tone for what we were going to experience. While interacting with us the ceiling began to lower nearly smacking several of our taller members on the head. At that point we were sent forth on what would be a rather spine-chilling experience. The Den of Darkness features non-stop scares and startles, a rather exhilarating experience. We’ve always been impressed with the scare actors ability to blend into the scenes in this attraction, especially in the parlor and doll rooms! As always, kudos to the scare actors for being engaging and providing an in your face experience! Easily a group favorite scene wise is the eerie attic that guests must crawl through; we experience it every year yet it always gives us goosebumps as we traverse through. Oh, we can’t forget to mention the grand finale through the butchershop with more manic chainsaw characters! Next up we headed next door for the Frightmare Asylum. The Frightmare Asylum takes the cake for being one of the most gory and in your face haunt experiences we’ve ever encountered! As soon as you enter the asylum you’re immediately assaulted by several crazed actors, whom do an excellent job at setting the tone for the attraction. From that point forward, all hell breaks loose! Our squad is always amazed by the bloody and gory appearance to the scenes; this isn’t for all haunt enthusiasts but we sure love it! Like in the Den of Darkness, no major changes were made to the attraction but of course some minor impressive tweaks were made. The scare actors are no doubt what makes Frightmare Asylum the amazingly terrifying attraction that it is! We’ve never seen such crazed and demented scare actors. They were absolutely relentless and never gave us a second to recollect ourselves. It was truly a nerve-racking experience so kudos to the scare acting team! To finish off the evening we headed for the Haunted Hayride, how we always end our time at Field of Screams. It was on the Haunted Hayride where one of the big offseason projects would take place. As we loaded up on the hay wagon we hoped the large pumpkin creature would be in operation but we were left disappointed as he was not functioning the evening we attended. But have no fear, the wagon strolled off and within seconds our hearts were racing in both fear and excitement for what lay ahead. The first scene on the hayride has always been among the groups favorite, the pig slaughter barn. Such a visually chaotic scene with so much detail to take in. As the barn doors close the pig creatures come alive. Guests are attacked by not only the scare actors but also dead pigs dangling from the ceiling; what a thrill this scene is! As we departed the slaughter barn we immediately took note we were headed for the newest scene to the Haunted Hayride; a 3-room cryogenic facility! The newest scene to the hayride had its ups and downs. We were simply amazed with the elegant set design and truly felt like we were inside a functioning laboratory with a creepy twist. We sat on the hay wagon in pure awe as we strolled through this scene! The only downfall was the lack of energy and thrill. As we entered and strolled through the first two rooms we only encountered one scare actor who seemed to be the scientist. He was clearly trying to communicate with the guests but we couldn’t hear anything he was saying and felt confused. As we strolled through the final of the three scenes several mutants appeared and quickly jumped aboard the wagon to terrorize the guests. We were amazed with the set design but definitely feel they have some work to fill out the scenes and enhance the thrill factor. We later chatted with owners, Jim and Gene, who assured us they had more thrilling additions for the cryogenic facility that will appear over the next few seasons! As we continued forth on our journey we were time and time again pleasantly surprised with the performance the scare actors provided. They really upped their game for the 2019 season ensuring to provide a spooktacular experience. We can’t forget to mention another one of our favorite scenes; the circus/clown barn! Another scene that truly attacks all your senses. The scare actors have such a playful yet horrifying personality in this scene. To finish out the attraction we traveled through the longest vortex tunnel and then entered what is known as the chainsaw barn! As the wagon comes to a stop inside the barn the doors close and the lights dim out. Thunder and lightning filled the room along with the chainsaw fumes. At this point, guests are on edge, fearing what was next and at just the right time the chainsaws are fired up! Guests are tormented by several crazed and manic chainsaw wielding actors; a perfect finale to a top notch hayride experience! Across the board at Field of Screams guests are certain to experience four world class attractions featuring top notch scare actors, movie quality set design and costuming/makeup, spine-tingling scares and much more! To finish out our night we were able to chat with owners Jim and Gene regarding our experience. It’s always great to chat with such enthusiastic and passionate haunt owners! From the sounds of it, their wheels are already turning, drawing up some more screamtastic ideas for the 2020 season! To conclude our evening our squad took some time to chat about our experience. It was with no question that Nocturnal Wasteland was our unanimous squad favorite for 2019! The FOS team certainly outdid themselves in the wasteland this season; kudos to you folks, your work certainly did not go unnoticed! All in all, we were once again blown away by the top notch experience that FOS provides. If you’re looking for a frightening experience then we strongly suggest paying Field of Screams PA a visit. For us, Field of Screams remains in our top 3 favorite haunted attractions and with their performance this season they may have glued themselves in the #1 spot!
Individual Attraction Review:
Attraction Name: Nocturnal Wasteland
Overall Attraction Rating: 9.5/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 10/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 10/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Attraction Name: Den of Darkness
Overall Attraction Rating: 9.5/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 9/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 10/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 9.5/10
Attraction Name: Frightmare Asylum
Overall Attraction Rating: 9.5/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 10/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 10/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 9.5/10
Attraction Name: Haunted Hayride
Overall Attraction Rating: 9/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 9/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 10/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
