Features:
✓-Free Parking✓-Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site✓-Handicap Accessible✓-Food/Concessions✓-Gift Shop/Souvenirs✓-Optional Games/Midway✓-Special Events✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Original Characters✓-Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-Covered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-Indoor/Outdoor Attraction
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 8.64
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.25
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.55
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 8.9
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.5
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.48
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 9.4
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.78
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.83
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Summary:
Did you dare to drink the water? At the Cumming Scare Fair that is the question that haunts the halls of this scary attraction. This is the debut year of the Cumming Scare Fair, and we hope they have many years to come because they blew our minds. This haunt is on the Cumming Fairgrounds which does a nearly miraculous transformation in just three days from the regular annual Cumming Fair to The Scare Fair. What these people were able to do in that short amount of time deserves a round of applause, and they got it from our group because this haunt was astounding. This is a charity haunt where all proceeds go to Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. The amount of people and groups that have banded together to create this haunt is inspiring, and we are eager to tell all of our friends, families, and readers about the Cumming Scare Fair!
Cast: 8.25
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.5
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 8
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8
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The Cumming Scare Fair had an amazing cast. It’s hard to believe that these people were volunteers, most of whom had little to no acting experience. All of the characters were unique individuals within the story being told. The cast portraying these characters really brought their guests into the world they were building around them. The actors were interactive, passionate, and very convincing in the characters they were portraying. While the types of characters were constrained to the story being told, the haunt still achieved a large variety of types of characters. As guests go through the haunt, they meet workers, doctors, homeless people, infected people, the military, and even animals that have been infected. The acting within this haunt created all of these different types of characters with vivid details.
Costuming: 8.55
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 9
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 8
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 9
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9
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The Cumming Scare Fair had extreme attention to detail throughout their haunt and that was especially evident in their costuming. Each character had a unique look and feel to them, and as the attraction progressed, so did the extent of the infections on the people. It made the effect of this being a breakout feel more authentic. The characters’ clothes, despite their level of infection, also told the attendees of the attraction about who the characters were before being infected. Our group stayed after the haunt was closed to meet the cast and crew, and even in the full lights of the actor camp, the characters were fully developed just by their look. There was a little girl who was clearly out camping that had newly fallen victim, and her clothes said that she was a fun girl who would be the kind of friendly neighborhood girl. There was a man wearing a trash bag and ragged clothes; clearly a homeless person before the outbreak. And every human character was like that. Then there was the masks! One of the masks they used was a river creature with no face, just a giant sharp-toothed mouth (kind of like the Demogorgon from Stranger Things) and it was absolutely terrifying!
Customer Service: 8.9
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 9
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 8
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 10
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The Cumming Scare Fair has an in-depth theme, and they have been proudly telling everyone about it. Information on this attraction is super easy to find as they have an amazeballs website with five story building advertising videos and an active social media team. The crew manning the attractions are warm, friendly, and welcoming. Everyone we encountered was happy and smiling and loving the goodness they were doing. The attraction was easy to find as the GPS takes people straight there, and once on-site everything is well labeled and well lit. It would be pretty difficult to not be able to find something, but if you are confused the helpful staff are everywhere and clearly marked to answer any questions.
Atmosphere: 8.5
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 8.5
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8.5
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At The Cumming Scare Fair great acting wasn’t just within the haunt but also outside in the queue line. Actors in intricate costumes roamed the line and they even had a chainsaw-wielding madman chasing people throughout the midway. There were also great opportunities for pictures as they had signs and a spooktacular light-up car to pose with. Music played fun songs as one of the line characters (Jeb) even went over to dirty dance. It was hilarious! As customers approach the entrance for the haunt’s creepy facade, they are greeted by the lovely Amber Haze who is the channel thirteen news reporter who has been covering the ‘outbreak.’ This is the beginning of the story for customers and prepares them for the haunt.
Special Effects: 8.48
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 7.5
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 9
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 8.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 8.5
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 9
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The Cumming Scare Fair had some mind-blowing special effects. Every scene was carefully put together with a great lighting aspect to invoke emotions. There were a few scenes that actually felt like we had gone outside. The junkyard and the campground were so authentic, our group was looking around to see if we could see stars in the sky. The laser swamp was also very well done with just the right amount of fog to make it effective. But our all-time favorite scene was the ending with the decontamination screening. Unfortunately, there was a little issue where the fog machines set off the fire alarms of the building, so we couldn’t hear some of the sound effects. But even without sounds, the effects were great at setting the scenes and occasionally scaring us.
Theme: 9.4
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 9.5
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 9.5
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 9
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The Cumming Scare Fair had a story to tell, and boy did they tell it. The theme is abundantly clear, and even without watching the 5 videos on their website, people can tell what it is. The storytelling begins at the entrance with walking into the Cumming Water Authority. Then the theme is expanded with the safety video that goes over the rule of the haunt as if these are the rules of visiting the CWA. From the moment people walk through the door at the entrance to the haunt, the theme is set and it stays set. The lengths which are taken to tell the story are impressive, and since the story is set in Cumming, GA, it feels very authentic. Our group has never seen such a well-told theme within a haunt and we were extremely impressed!
Scare Factor: 8.78
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 9.5
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The Cumming Scare Fair was a truly scary haunt for our group, which is impressive. There were several times when we anticipated one scare but they provided another. This made their haunt unpredictable and more scary. Also, their actors had their timing on lock. One actress (Hannah) waited for the perfect time to activate her attack dog. She lured our group into thinking that she was just going to be creepy, then, BAM, she got us with the jump scare of a lifetime! The most effective and universal scare, though, was the end when they screened us for the outbreak and separated us. Then we each got a different scare. We have found that nothing is scarier for people than getting split up from their groups.
Entertainment & Value: 8.83
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 9
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 9.5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 8
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9
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The Cumming Scare Fair is a great time all around. Not only is the main haunted attraction so very good, but they have a midway stocked with entertainment. Acrobats swing from the roof, character actors stalk the area, and there are several vendors there for food and merchandise options. They have a live DJ playing party music and they had a kiddie area setup if people wanted to come pay $5.00 to just experience the midway without the haunt. Tickets for the haunt were $15.00 or $25.00 for the fast pass. The haunt took our group just under 15 minutes to go through at a relatively quick pace, so the minutes per dollar is 1.0 which is a good ratio.
The Cumming Scare Fair was so much fun from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. People should go see it before it’s gone this year, especially since the proceeds go to charity. Our group could not more highly recommend this haunt and we really hope it’s around for years to come!
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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