After our visit to Aurora, we made the 30-minute drive to Basement of the Dead’s sister haunt, Disturbia. This attraction has been upcoming for the past few years and continues to expand and grow into a staple in Chicagoland.
Disturbia uses successful methods adopted from BotD and knows how to bring a party to life with a very similar setup of a live DJ and a plethora of queue actors to equal entertainment to a level of guests not wanting to leave after walking through the attraction.
The cast at Disturbia has grown into something special. The queue actors here use the lines as their playground. Interactions are plentiful and consistent. Drags is a newer character that was very entertaining and communicated through screeches and used some really interesting props! Butcher Baby has been a unique character as well with a great spark effect from her blades. Mr. Crow is also a pretty amazing character with his drifting go-cart. We also don’t want to forget the Chains character wandering around sliding everywhere.
Inside the haunt, actors are plentiful and know their marks in just about every scene. It is a funny feeling walking into a scene and passing by a well-hidden actor, something that happened a few times here! This is what happens when actors know their environment, and it seems they appear out of nowhere at times. One of the more fun interactions was near the witch’s altar with a hidden actor. They were trying to help us with a potion remedy and ended up giving us a return day. This attraction has some great interactions overall and it is clear they are all having a great time haunting!
How complete, unique, detailed were the costumes, accessories? – (35% of score)
Were the masks, makeup creative, detailed, realistic? – (30% of score)
How appropriate were the costumes for the respective scenes, themes? – (20% of score)
How believable-, detailed-looking were the queue actors? (See Note if N/A) – (15% of score)
Costumes and makeup at Disturbia are also a topic of high regard. Makeup applications work well with costumes and scenes. The nurses in the hospital scene have a classic nurse costume with a bloody pattern, fitting with the corpse laying on the autopsy table. In the crypt scene, we are greeted by some great demon-like creatures that look great with the setting of thick fog and tombs to crawl on.
Queue actors have some great looks as well! Butcher Baby has this Leatherface-like look but in a feminine fashion. The mask is good looking with a cut from ear to ear to reveal a killer set of teeth and within all these horrid details sits a 50s style haircut! Paired with blades that have spark effects, Butcher Baby is a great-looking costume. Mr. Crow is just what he sounds like, a dark terrorizing scarecrow. The costume has the feel of being pulled from a barn but also has some clear great details to help the costume come to life. Overall, Costuming and makeup have plenty of stand-out highlights to speak of!
How easy was it to locate, park at, navigate the premises? – (25% of score)
Safety (Only dock points for TRULY DANGEROUS hazards!) – (30% of score)
How professional, helpful, friendly were the staff members? – (25% of score)
How easy was it to find pertinent information before arrival? – (20% of score)
Disturbia can be tricky to get to at first, as it resides in the deep end of a strip mall. The trick is to roll the windows down and follow the loud music blasting to the end of the lot where lights are far more visible (this is helpful to any first-time visitors).
The website is easy to navigate and offers a ton of coupons for all sorts of deals. It is also worth mentioning to sign up for their text messages to receive exclusive offers (sometimes paired with BotD as well). The staff here is regularly available to help guide patrons/ look out for them also. This happened to be the only haunt I have ever seen staff put a stop to a scare due to the overwhelming feelings of a guest in the queue (younger guest of course) and help ease them to a calmer manner. Talk about really caring for someone’s well-being.
How well did the pre-haunt areas ("vibe") prepare you for the attraction/s? – (25% of score)
How obvious, creative, believable was the storyline? (See Note if N/A) – (20% of score)
Were you completely, consistently immersed inside the attraction/s? – (40% of score)
How well did the "vibe" flow after, between the attraction/s? – (15% of score)
Disturbia similarly plays into immersion to its sister haunt, but on its own level. The whole queue becomes an event that feels more party-like rather than just a waiting line. Combined with the number of queue actors, it leads to a great time with plenty of photo opportunities and overall entertainment.
Inside the haunt, we are absorbed in every scene from the special effects, set designs, and actors. After the full attraction, we are led back to the queue area to continue to hang out and watch other victims running out and leaving their partners behind! It’s a bloody good show all around!
How effective were the sound effects? – (20% of score)
How realistic were the scene designs, details? – (30% of score)
How effective, realistic were the props, animatronics? – (30% of score)
How well did they use creative, special, sensory effects? – (20% of score)
Disturbia has many huge props that take up a great deal of the scenes. These behemoths are plentiful and very active as well. One of the more unique scenes involving a prop of this caliber is the pumpkin room. The room overall has an amazing feel of a Halloween experience with Jack-o-lanterns scaled through every wall. One of my favorite pumpkins has a skull inside and is a great little detail when found. The animatronic here is a menacingly laughing pumpkin creature that is holding a child upside down who is screaming for dear life. It remains one of my favorite overall scenes throughout Disturbia, and it’s a difficult thing to pinpoint as there are some amazing scenes throughout.
Another great scene is the slaughter room with pig carcasses hanging all around and some great taxidermy that gives the vibe here a kind of a southern backwoods feel. Another great room we experienced was the alien room. The experience is a maze with bars for walls to be able to see just how big the room is. With heavy fog and strobes, it remains disorienting and difficult with all of the large-headed aliens throughout. It is a unique room as we typically do not have many examples of aliens to speak of and can be a scary thought for some! Special effects overall are plentiful and fun throughout.
How scary was it? – (35% of score)
How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? – (15% of score)
How predictable were the scares? – (25% of score)
How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? – (10% of score)
How strong was the ending / finale? – (15% of score)
Disturbia has been working itself to next-level stuff when it comes to scares. Actors here have been hungry for scares this year and have been getting folks running out of the attraction near full speed.
One of the most notable scares inside the attraction was seeing Butcher Baby in the autopsy/ hospital room. The scare here was a creeping linger where we noticed only her to be turning back around, and she had a peculiar walk toward us in silence. What is appreciated here is the level of commitment with us only being aware of it by chance. Another great scene that led to some great scares would be the sewer area. The deep fog here allows actors to jump out in multiple moments and seem to do so as if there is some high score to achieve. Overall, Disturbia has grown in many ways, and providing scares has been a clear focus!
How satisfied with the entertainment provided by the MAIN attraction/s? – (50% of score)
How satisfied with OTHER entertainment INCLUDED with the ticket price? – (25% of score)
How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s? – (25% of score)
Our walk-through time was just at the 21-minute mark. Ticket prices do vary depending on the date, but Friday and Saturday costs for GA are $32 online, giving our Minute Per Dollar value a .66. This does not include the party-like atmosphere provided as well as a tremendous amount of queue actors entertaining not only guests but themselves as a byproduct.
This location has come a long way over the past few seasons and continues to produce quality events from season to season. It’s amazing the change-ups made here, considering Disturbia is the place to be for any holiday with their off-season Xmas, Valentines, St. Patrick’s, Easter, Summer, and Horror icon event during Friday the 13th weekends (We are likely missing an event or two).
1213 Butterfield Road, Ste D, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515
