Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Lehigh Valley Scream Park
Website: www.lehighvalleyscreampark.com
Location of Attraction: Orefield PA
Date of Review: 10/2/2021
Total Number of Attractions Available: 3
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 8.5/10
Entertainment & Food Rating: 9/10
Atmosphere Rating: 10/10
Overall Costume & Makeup Rating: 8/10
Overall Cast & Crew Rating: 8.5/10
Overall Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 9/10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Overall Feedback: Lehigh Valley Scream Park has risen from the ashes to provide an exhilarating, bone-chilling, and spooky fun experience for 2021! After a devastating fire in 2020 caused a catastrophic loss of two attractions, costuming & makeup, sound equipment, and more, Lehigh Valley Scream Park persevered to recreate their haunted attraction scream park! For 2021 Lehigh Valley Scream Park offers three haunted attractions - Hollow of Horror Hayride, Condemned Haunted House (NEW), and Operation Bio Purge (Newly Expanded)! General admission runs for $40, which includes access to all three attractions and the all new midway, 6 Feet Under and the Feeding Grounds! After snagging your tickets you’ll spew right into the brand new midway!
For 2021 the Lehigh Valley Scream Park team relocated their midway area to a different location on the property. This relocation has allowed for a notably larger and much improved midway! New for 2021 is a new entry system into the attractions. After snagging your tickets you’ll receive a group number, which will act as your entry pass into the Hollow of Horror Hayride. Gone are the long and boring cue lines! Now guests can kick back and enjoy the midway offerings while waiting their turn. We personally like this approach, as it allows guests to pass time notably faster while also enjoying everything the midway has to offer! Right off the bat we noticed a huge boost to the atmosphere here as this place was very lively and had an energizing buzz swirling through the air! A DJ was located in the central point of the midway belting out a perfect variety of songs. At one point a dance battle was sparked amongst guests. Guests now have ample food and beverage options to choose from while waiting their turn to experience the attractions! Grab a bite to eat from Deadly Donuts, Roadkill Café, or Twisted Pizza (fresh brick oven pizza) or snag an alcoholic beverage from Seven Sirens! Participate in axe throwing for an exhilarating and anger-relieving experience. Or just kick back by the massive bonfire and enjoy the delightful atmosphere.
With the new entry system guests will experience the attractions in a somewhat linear fashion. You’ll begin your journey with the Hollow of Horror Hayride. After concluding your hayride adventure you’ll be funneled towards the Condemned Haunted House. To round out your experience you’ll venture towards Operation Bio Purge. Although the attractions are set up in a linear fashion and can be experienced back to back, guests do have the option to jump right back into the midway after each attraction. So feel free to take your time so you enjoy the attractions and the midway offerings!
Hollow of Horror Hayride - Aboard the hay wagon and take a seat with your legs dangling over the edge. Be prepared for a solid 20 minute hayride journey through the deepest and darkest parts of the Lehigh Valley Scream Park property! You’ll begin your journey through the ominous hayride façade featuring glowing eyes, fog spewing everywhere, thunder & lightning effects, and the Michael Myers theme song. Unfortunately Michael Myers never did make an appearance this season, but the opening scene effectively created an initial jolt of thrill and suspense. As you descend down the hill you’ll eventually level out into an eerie cemetery, featuring tombstones elegantly scattered about a hillside with low lying fog that engulfed the hay wagon. This cemetery scene sets the tone for the creepy journey you’re about to embark on. As you continue forth you’ll encounter a wide array of scenes including a gypsy shack, swamp/bayou, silent hill, toxic wasteland, hillbilly/redneck, & a clown-filled circus! Several of these scenes were elegantly crafted, including the swamp/bayou which featured decrepit appearing shacks floating on murky waters! Lehigh Valley Scream Park relies heavily on their cast & crew to bring the hayride scenes to life, as minimal animatronics or other special effects are utilized. A lot of the scenes featured heavy dialogue from the cast & crew, including a lot of interaction and engagement with the guests. Unfortunately many of the scenes only possessed 1 or 2 spooks, making it difficult for these folks to work an entire hay wagon of guests. But have no fear, the scare actors did their best to provide some sort of engagement with each patron. Special shout-out to the gypsy and the priest, their banter back and forth to one another was well executed and made for a comical encounter! Although not necessarily a scary hayride adventure, the Hollow of Horror Hayride does effectively provide an entertaining and enjoyable experience!
Condemned Haunted House - As you exit from your Hollow of Horror Hayride adventure you’ll spew right into the cue line for the Condemned Haunted House. This attraction is completely brand new for the 2021 season! Right off the bat we were blown away by the façade to this attraction! The decrepit and rotting appearance of the façade certainly created an unnerving feeling as you stepped towards the front door. Fog filled the surrounding atmosphere and lighting effects were utilized to simulate lightning, further enhancing the eerie atmosphere! Mentally prepare yourself for what’s going to be a 10-15 minute action-packed and bone-chilling experience! As we traversed through the decrepit and chilling Condemned Haunted House we were continually amazed by the elegant & visually stunning set designs! There was such clear attention to detail throughout the attraction! Each and every scene was perfectly tied to the theming of the attraction - you’ll traverse through a wide array of scenes including a living room, kitchen, dining room, doll room, attic, slaughter house, pitch-black maze, and many more! The creepy attic had a creaky floor that we thought we were going to fall through. Several other sections of the attraction also possessed disorienting flooring, creating an unsteady journey! The doll room possessed beheaded dolls hanging from the ceiling, freaky! The pitch black maze was rather unnerving and mentally frustrating, as the darkness, ear-piercing audio, and dead-ends made for a disorienting journey! As we exited through a slaughterhouse type scene chainsaw wielding maniacs sent us running through the exit. The cast throughout the Condemned Haunted House were on-point, delivering frightening encounters all throughout our journey! Overall, Condemned Haunted House truly left our squad speechless, as we were blown away by the experience!
Operation Bio Purge - Due to a biohazard waste outbreak, man-eating mutants are now running rampant, wreaking havoc on the country! The military is running low on troops, which is where you come in to help! As you approach the front facade to the military bunker you’ll feel fully immersed into the military experience. The bunker appears to be built into the side of a cliff and possesses a full sized helicopter atop the hill. After being debriefed by your first military sergeant you’ll be granted access into the bunker. As you traverse through the dark and foggy tunnels you’ll reach another bunker room, where you’ll be debriefed on the decontamination process. Once inside the decontamination room you’ll take a seat and undergo a series of scans and tests to ensure you aren’t a part of the mutant horde! The accelerated outbreak scanners will screen your militia to ensure there’s no positive cases of bio-activity. If any contamination is detected you’ll undergo a series of treatments, which is sure to be a slightly terrifying yet exhilarating experience! After successfully being decontaminated you’ll board your military truck which will transfer you to the battle grounds. Although we weren’t actually on a truck, we felt as though we were standing on the back of a truck riding through the rough battleground terrain. Eventually, after a thrilling ride, you’ll be dropped off at the main battlegrounds. From here, all hell breaks loose as it’s up to just you and your fellow friends to fight off the mutants and successfully make it through the old military base camp and wasteland maze! The scenery throughout these areas were realistic and did a stellar job immersing us into the experience. We traversed through science experiment & medical testing type scenes, living-quarters, maximum security lockup, medical procedure rooms, and much more! Top-notch special effects were utilized throughout to create a visually stunning and thrilling journey. The mutants encountered we’re relentless in their attack, making us question if we’d be able to survive the craziness! As we entered the wasteland maze we immediately fell victim to their trickery, as we often got stuck in dead ends and struggled to find our way through! Fortunately enough, we made it out just by the skin of our teeth as the mutants nearly gnawed off our limbs! Operation Bio Purge certainly isn’t for the faint of heart, do you have what it takes to survive the blood-thirsty and unrelenting mutant horde? If so, test your fate and pray that you’ll escape!
After experiencing all three attractions our squad congregated back in the midway area and had the pleasure of speaking with Cheree & Buddy, the lovely owners of Lehigh Valley Scream Park! They shared with us the challenges and hurdles they had to tackle in order to bring Lehigh Valley Scream Park back to life for the 2021 season! Not only did they legitimately rise from the ashes, they persevered to provide an enhanced experience, one that easily trumps all our previous visits here! Lehigh Valley Scream Park is continually improving their offerings, enticing us to return on a yearly basis. The visually stunning set design speaks for itself, the spooks are always energized and ready to provide a fright, and now the all new midway allows for an exhilarating atmosphere & ample entertainment outside the attractions! Lehigh Valley Scream Park is continually brainstorming ways to expand and elevate their experience, and boy it sure sounds like they have some frightfully fun and bold plans for the next few seasons! One thing’s for certain, our squad already cannot wait to revisit in 2022. If you've yet to pay Lehigh Valley Scream Park a visit, make sure to head their way this fall, you’ll most definitely have a thrilling & spine-chilling experience! Happy Hauntings!
Individual Attraction Ratings:
Attraction Name: Hollow of Horror Hayride
Overall Attraction Rating: 7.5/10
Cast & Crew Rating: 8/10
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 8/10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 6/10
Attraction Name: Condemned Haunted House
Overall Attraction Rating: 9/10
Cast & Crew Rating: 9/10
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 9/10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 9/10
Attraction Name: Operation Bio Purge
Overall Attraction Rating: 8.5/10
Cast & Crew Rating: 8.5/10
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 9/10
Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8.5/10
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