Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Lehigh Valley Scream Park
Website: www.lehighvalleyscreampark.com
Location of Attraction: Orefield PA
Date of Review: Saturday October 19th 2019
Total Number of Attractions Available: FIVE
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 8/10
Entertainment and Food Rating: 8.5/10
Atmosphere Rating: 9/10
Overall Costume and Make Up Rating: 8/10
Overall Cast and Crew Rating: 8.5/10
Overall Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 8/10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Overall Feedback: It’s a Saturday in the height of October and our squad elected to make a return visit to Lehigh Valley Scream Park. Located in Orefield Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley Scream Park has an ideal location for a haunted attraction! Tucked in the mountainous terrain of Lehigh Valley, this haunt sure isn’t afraid to use all 40+ acres to their advantage. After winding through the snake like roadways we finally stumbled upon Lehigh Valley Scream Park. As we rolled into the parking lot around 9pm it was clear that this place had a massive crowd on hand. They were essentially plugging cars into spaces wherever they could fit them. Prior to reaching the midway area at the haunt guests stumble upon the ticket booth. Two ticket lanes are available, one for those purchasing general admission tickets and another for those purchasing VIP/fast pass tickets. Before snagging tickets we had the opportunity to meetup with Buddy, the owner of Lehigh Valley Scream Park. This man has a clear passion for the Halloween season and truly enjoys receiving feedback from his guests.
Lehigh Valley Scream Park offers an array of attractions with something truly for every haunt goer. With five total attractions (Paintball Ride, Hayride, Cornfield and 2 Indoor Walkthroughs) patrons should expect a full nights worth of entertainment. After snagging tickets guests spew into the small but lively midway area. This area features a few food vendors, bonfire, gift shop, photo op booth, roaming scare actors and a lively buzz in the atmosphere.
To kick off our evening we set way to Ground Breakers Zombie Thrill Ride. When we visited Lehigh Valley Scream Park (LVSP) last season this was the only attraction we didn’t pursue. After hearing rave reviews on LVSP’s version of a paintball ride, we knew we had to participate in this attraction this go around. Guests will board a hay wagon which serves as transportation to the attraction itself. After a short ride guests stumble upon a military bunker. The facade truly sold the appearance of a military bunker. It appeared to be built into the side of a cliff with a full sized helicopter on top of the bunker. After stepping off the hay wagon guests will venture inside the bunker and make their way to the decontamination room. It is here where guests will take a seat and go through a series of tests to ensure they themselves aren’t part of the zombie horde. After passing our decontamination process and receiving our vaccinations, we set forward for our brief military training. Our command sergeant gave us the lowdown and prepared us for our fight against the zombie horde. We boarded the military truck and then set off to find the zombie horde. Up and down mountainous terrain, hold on as it is sure to be a bumpy ride. We encountered several scenes each possessing several zombies that needed to be disposed of. Several of these zombies weren’t on foot as they tried to make their escape on various vehicles (dirt bikes, lawnmowers, cars, etc.). Having the zombies flying around the military truck sure made for a tricky target and a thrilling ride. Don’t worry, if you happen to run out of ammunition you’ll have the chance to purchase another round. Guests will want to be armed and ready for the final scene as the zombies attacked the military truck from all angles. Fortunately we had a few sharpshooters in our troop and were able to successfully eliminate the zombie horde. As a group we’ve participated in several “zombie paintball rides” over the years and LVSP’s version takes the cake! From the introductory portion, to the ride itself, it was surely a thrilling experience.
Next up we headed over to the Hollow of Horror Hayride. This attraction was brand new for 2018 and it surely surprised us last season. Last season we were amazed at the solid foundation they had established for this attraction. LVSP had several quality sets to build off of for this years experience, and they did just that! Guests board the hay wagon and will actually sit with their legs dangling over the edge of the wagon. This method makes it easy for the actors to interact with the guests and provide an in your face experience. The wagon pulls away from the loading station and sets off for a dark and eerie part of the property. We ventured up steep climbs and headed down sudden drops, you certainly can’t build that kind of terrain! Guests should expect to encounter a wide array of scenes from Michael Myers to Centralia to a Voodoo swamp and more. One of our favorite areas was the battle scene between the Gypsy and the Priest. These two scare actors each interacted with one side of the hay wagon, trying to sell us on their side of the story. After a few minutes of rather engaging and entertaining babbling, one of these two end up eliminating the other. For 2019 LVSP put emphasis on entertaining both sides of the hay wagon, by building up the scenes on both sides and plugging in numerous engaging scare actors. The Voodoo swamp definitely takes the cake for being the most visually pleasing portion of the ride. As a group we’re excited to keep tabs on the Hollow of Horror Hayride’s growth and development. In just two years they’ve already made an aesthetically pleasing, entertaining and thrilling experience. Definitely a few surprises sprinkled throughout the ride that’ll catch you off guard. At the end of our ride we pulled up alongside a small building where a scare actor in a straight jacket immediately began interacting with the guests. She urged all of us to hop off the wagon and invited us to her birthday party. She forewarned us that her family can be a bit “crazy and intense” but that it shouldn’t be anything for us to worry about. After getting the patrons excited for her birthday party she welcomed us in. This scene received a complete revamp for 2019 and is now actually a spin off of a popular Netflix show, Stranger Things. This scene certainly had a few surprises and no we aren’t sharing any spoilers. Once exiting this scene guests immediately flow into the Psycho Path Corn Maze.
This attraction last season was definitely the weakest of the offerings at Lehigh Valley Scream Park. It was essentially a short in length and dark venture through a cornfield. For 2019 the LVSP team attempted to enhance this attraction by expanding its size and adding in a few structures to the pathway. Unfortunately, due to some nasty storms a few nights before we visited the cornfield took a hit. A lot of the dried up corn stalks were flattened, essentially making it a pretty easy stroll through the attraction. Some well hidden spooks caught us off guard and delivered several pop scares but otherwise it was a bland experience. We’d definitely like to see this attraction continue to have more structures added and expand in size. The overall short nature of the attraction itself essentially makes Psycho Path Corn Maze feel like an afterthought to the hayride and just a spooky addition as guests walk back to load onto the transportation wagon.
To round out the night we headed for the gold star attractions at LVSP, Hillbilly Hell and Slaughter Barn! These two attractions will be experienced back to back with no wait in between. Despite having a cloudy transition from one attraction to the other, guests should expect to receive a solid and lengthy walk through experience. Once stepping foot inside the front door we knew we were in for a thrilling experience. Featuring set design competitive with big name haunts in the area and a consistent buzz of thrill and excitement in the air! Despite a clear actor shortage in these two attractions the scares didn’t take a hit. Screams from fellow patrons could be heard echoing about the attractions. The scare actors we did encounter had their skits and scares perfected! If you dislike the dark then you’ll be in trouble as LVSP has its own mini blackout section featuring twists and turns, claustrophobia walls, disorienting sounds and of course DARKNESS! The swamp scene was well executed as they utilized a claustrophobia wall at our lower extremities to slow us down as a massive animatronic and well hidden swamp monster taunted our group! Shout out to the juggler for putting on a great performance before releasing us into the curtain maze! Besides the shortage of scare actors we had no complaints regarding Hillbilly Hell and Slaughter Barn! Definitely a thrilling experience for our entire crew!
After completing all FIVE attractions we met up with Buddy again to chat about our experience. During our convo we learned that the LVSP team plans to relocate a few of their attractions to a different part of the property. With this relocation Hillbilly Hell and Slaughter Barn are planned to receive an extensive revamp along with being larger in size! This is something we love about LVSP, they have no issues with revamping and keeping their attractions fresh. Guests can expect a different experience each year when they revisit LVSP!
Lehigh Valley Scream Park continues to amaze our group with their rapid growth and success in the haunt industry. They began with the Zombie Thrill Ride 6 years ago and have since added Slaughter Barn and Hillbilly Hell (4th year) and Hollow of Horror Hayride and Psycho Path Corn Maze (2nd year). Their commitment to building one of the best Scream Parks in PA is well on track. Our squad looks forward to keeping tabs on LVSP growth over the next few seasons. If you haven’t made a visit out to these folks definitely get them on your calendar, you won’t be disappointed! Happy Hauntings!
Individual Attraction Review:
Attraction Name: Ground Breakers: Zombie Thrill RIde
Overall Attraction Rating: 8.5/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 8.5/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 9/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Attraction Name: Hollow of Horror Hayride
Overall Attraction Rating: 8/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 8.5/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 8/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Attraction Name: Psycho Path Corn Maze Overall Attraction Rating: 7/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 8/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 7/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 7/10
Attraction Name: Hillbilly Hell / Slaughter Barn
Overall Attraction Rating: 9/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 9/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 9/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8.5/10
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