Hanna Haunted Acres Review (2019)

Blood Barn:
In the Blood Barn, the Butcher was verbally interactive with us. At first, we just thought the enhanced voice talking away was a recording, but when it started replying to what we were saying’ oooohhh, that’s someone that can see us’ but, we can’t see them! That’s when he decided to reveal himself, you tricky feller, you! Others were intimidating as well; we were stared down while they were holding real weapons. Overall, though, dialogue was minimal here and we were provided with several ‘pop scares.’

Outbreak:
The zombies in Outbreak didn’t have much to say either, but rightfully so as most zombies don’t talk. However, we got some realistic mumbles, grumbles, and growls! They came charging at us and showed plenty of aggression and hunger, so they were quite the hangry hoard! Towards the end, one did break character on us, politely asking, ‘Hey, can I squeeze by you guys?’ but we were glad it was at least in the last scene.

Hayride:
The Hayride seemed to have the largest number of cast members and, at times, they were able to attack from both sides of the wagon! Some were also verbally vibrant with us. One made us all finish a devious chant! They expressed some maniacal laughter, a few had great vocals, and one younger character that boarded the back of the wagon warned ‘You’re going to die,’ and then gave a hair-raising scream while being bent over backward – all while still standing on the wagon! Talk about creepy’

Freakshow:
The harlequins and habitants of the Freakshow had a lot of dialogue to share. They were also very playful and a few of them followed us for quite some time. While most portrayed their standard cheerfully-creepy clown characters, our interactions were generally brief.

Descension:
In Descension, we came across dark and cult-like creatures that were set on extracting one of our group members’ names’ you know, so they could tell the whole haunt and taunt them with it! Give in to this gimmick at your own peril! They also warned that we were going to die, that they wanted to rip the skin off our bodies, and asked us to stay, among other things. We’re sorry, but we’re pretty sure if we stayed, we would become skeletons sooner than later, so no thank you!

Pandemic:
In Pandemic, we noticed one very tall actor that came out of hiding but went directly for the group behind us, so we’re unsure of how the rest of his role panned out. We passed a few more that didn’t talk or interact with us. But finally, as we approached the end, one determined chainsaw chaser attempted to start his saw over and over again until that sucker finally started! A few of the groups around us seemed to be getting quite a bit of attention from these assailants, however.

Blood Barn: 6.9
Outbreak: 7.36
Hayride: 7.15
Freakshow: 7.6
Descension: 7.29
Pandemic: 5.84

Blood Barn:
In Blood Barn, we didn’t see many barn dwellers on the night of our visit, but of those that we did see, they seemed to have minimal makeup and, instead, preferred to use masks. One was of the skin variety and we’re pretty sure it was rather fresh!

Outbreak:
In Outbreak, we noticed some very realistic and detailed makeup applications! Some had veiny skin, sores, and darkened eyes and they certainly looked the part of deadly, rotting zombies. One of the stand out costumes was the mortician-like character wearing a mask.

Hayride:
While on the Hayride, some costumes were hard to see because of the darkness, but some climbed aboard the back of the wagon where we could admire their looks (we were sitting in the very back). As with the other attractions, a mixture of makeup and masks were noted on the ride. Capes, cloaks, and bloody hillbilly attire including overalls were noticed. The saw slingers both appeared to have unique half-masks on, increasing the intimidation of their roles. The pumpkin makeup and a lady with the patches on her head were a couple of stand-outs.

Freakshow:
We found the most complete and believable costumes within the Freakshow. Both the masks and makeup in this haunt were delightfully colorful. A clown in a box was detailed so well that it was hard to tell if he was real at first. We noticed some exposed teeth and muscular features on one’s face, some great airbrush techniques, a vintage-like clown mask that we’ve never seen before, a smiley face mask (or it appeared to be a mask), and a ring leader that was complete from head to toe.

Descension:
As we made our way into the dark catacombs, the cloak-like costumes blended in with their cavernous surroundings. Some camouflaged so well that they resulted in a jump scare! We’re looking at you, ghillie suit guy! Makeup and masks were detailed as well and added an extra dimension to the characters, especially the skeleton styles. We have to say that the stand out costume was the Demogorgon-looking creature with teeth! That thing was barbaric and a very impressive piece.

Pandemic:
As we made our way through the corn, we didn’t really come across many characters. We’re pretty sure we missed them by taking opposite turns or something. Of the few that we did see, we noticed a plague-like doctor mask, some camo, and tattered and grungy street clothes. We will say that we watched one brute enter the corn during our wait that had various pieces of apparatus and tubes sticking out all over his costume. We’re sure this costume alone makes people walk faster in the corn, but unfortunately, we never saw it again.

While passing through the midway and standing in lines, we saw 3 roaming characters that had very detailed and layered costumes on. One was an amphibious snake-like creature that showed us his red and black sclera (full-eye) contacts. He had a silicone mask on and was wielding a large blade. Another that we spotted near the corn had a silicone mask on and was carrying a large, slicing weapon that was much larger than he was! The last character was Hanna’s, shall we say, billboard character’ the clown-like scarecrow. We’re sure this creature has a name, but their costume is to die for and something we’ve never seen before!

Blood Barn: 7.6
Outbreak: 8.34
Hayride: 8.01
Freakshow: 9.08
Descension: 8.73
Pandemic: 8.29

Hanna Haunted Acres was very easy to find. Our GPS took us right to their entrance and a large, well-lit sign indicated where to pull in. Multiple parking attendants were stationed around their large and free parking field.

Navigating the grounds was easy and intuitive. All of the attractions and queue lines were noticeably marked, and we were free to go through the haunts in whichever order we wanted. This could be a great time-saver on busy nights. The concession booth was a bit harder to find as it had a decorated facade and it blended right in with the other attractions, but we finally noticed the upright flag that said, ‘Food’ in front of it. Aside from the concessions, we also noticed a VR tent and a booth selling glowing items, but we didn’t partake in either.

The staff we came across at the ticket booth and at the entrance to the haunts were professional. Some of them were also very friendly. Each queue area is defined with wooden rails to keep guests in a solid line while they’re waiting. The lines were pretty short on this particular Wednesday, and even though we had non-VIP tickets, the staff were nice enough to let us enter via the VIP line and then skip over to the regular line behind the other customers. This simple gesture eliminated a lot of extra walking and/or ducking under all of the rails, and was very much appreciated. Thank you!

Also, an unlucky customer lost their phone on the hayride and the staff were able to quickly assist them with getting it found. However, as they warn, it’s best to keep all loose items in your pockets! Most people aren’t that lucky.

Inside the attractions, we found some steps and a small bit of uneven ground, so be mindful of not dragging your feet. A helpful staff member did assist those that needed help getting off the wagon.

Before we entered the corn they told us if we got lost to throw our hands up and someone would help us.

In the midway area, there were some picnic tables and a fire pit to enjoy on cold nights.

Between the multiple signs, large banners, the decorated facades and concession stand, and the vintage white string lights strung across the complex, it’s pretty easy to guess you’re at no ordinary theme park. We also spotted a few actors while we were waiting that were stalking the crowds so this helped in preparing us to enter. Although the grounds were fairly quiet, we could almost always here chainsaws and other customers’ screams off in the distance. As we got near the haunt entrances, not only were they decorated, but a lot of unnerving sounds were leaking from within as well.

The facade for the hayride is a sight to behold! It is a giant, timbered monster face complete with a large mouth full of bloody teeth! Its eyes were also lit up red, making it impossible to miss. Even as we neared the ticket booth, this was one of the first things to catch our eyes. There is a similar timbered entrance for Blood Barn but it wasn’t decorated as elaborately, which made it clear that the Hayride was Hanna’s signature attraction. We walked through a large clown face and mouth facade to enter the Freakshow. Descension had the most encapsulating entrance, debatably, as the indoor waiting area was lined with a blue-illuminated skull photo op and block-like walls to give the feel of entering an underground realm!

Blood Barn:
Once inside the barn, we saw a lot of common items we’d expect to see in a working barn / slaughter house, such as a dirt floor, pallet walls, and chicken coops. Though, we also came across what appeared to be a taxidermied moose, dogs viciously barking at us, and victim cages. Creepy lighting illuminated the set pieces where we need to focus our attention and they had some great sound effects too!

Outbreak:
Outbreak gave off more of a ‘post-apocalyptic city’ feel upon entering. We came across a zombie containment cage, barrels, a loud car horn, detailed living quarters, bloody walls, and we even walked through an old ambulance!

Hayride:
The Hanna Haunted Hayride featured a lot of animatronics, and some of them towered high above the wagon! They seemed to be appropriately placed to allow for everyone on the wagon to see them, especially the horseman. Aside from animated props, we also came across some realistic sound effects including funeral music and some that were paired perfectly with other effects, we saw some impressive pyro, a realistic gallows, and a lot of freshly-hung meat and carcasses. We noted this below too, but some of the animatronics were quite impressive for the sheer fact of how fast they came out at the wagon! We can’t imagine how many times they’ve probably had to fix something on those. However, the timing was off on one of our favorite effects: the train. This was a big disappointment for us because, when the wagon stopped, we would hear the sounds, but the driver just didn’t wait long enough. As soon as he gave up and pulled away, it went off and we all watched it all happen behind us, with us not in front of it. We’ve seen this in action before, though, and it’s quite a unique and jarring effect!

Freakshow:
The Freakshow showcased lions and tigers and bears, oh my! But literally, there were a lot of large animals on display and a talking, giant ogre creature. This haunt by far had the most creative and unique effects. There were a lot of sounds in this attraction as well, including what sounded like banging on drums and an iteration of ‘Pop Goes the Weasel.’

Descension:
In Descension, our surroundings somewhat mimicked that of some dark catacombs. We found another giant animated creature within and a unique utilization of a laser swamp. Things were hanging down and grabbing our hair, leaving us to wonder what was touching us. The bodies; oh, the skin-deprived bodies. There were so many skulls and skeletons that we knew it’d be a bad idea to get lost for long.

Pandemic:
Pandemic mostly relies on the corn for the effects. We will say, the path itself is quite clever, but the only other effects we encountered inside were real sounds or weapons being used on guests. At times, it was very quiet along the path.

Blood Barn: 8.19
Outbreak: 8.21
Hayride: 8.01
Freakshow: 8.51
Descension: 8.24
Pandemic: 5.4

All of the attractions follow their own, individual theme except for the Hayride, as it seemed to have a variety of themed areas so it hasn’t been scored in this category.

A description of each theme can be found on their website and we highly recommend reading these before attending so you know exactly what you’re getting yourselves into (and it builds anticipation).

Although none of the themes were verbally introduced to us on-site, the signage outside each attraction and some of the decorated facades gave us a basic idea of what we were about to experience on the inside.

Blood Barn: 8.3
Outbreak: 8.8
Hayride: N/A
Freakshow: 7
Descension: 8.28
Pandemic: 7.08

HHA serves up a fusion of frights between all 6 of their attractions.

Blood Barn:
In the Barn, we experienced some startles and intimidating actors. It was also rather difficult to predict when the actors would come flying out at us. They also got some jumps by unexpectedly hitting their seemingly metal weapons loudly on objects once we’d mostly passed their scenes (and didn’t expect them to strike again). At the end, they run us right into a strobe induced area, effectively disorienting our path as we tried to flee the exit.

Outbreak:
In Outbreak, aside from constantly fearing the loose and roaming zombies were going to take us out, we noticed some good hiding spots that had been incorporated within the scenes. Much like the barn, the zombies quickly came out of hiding, making their whereabouts hard to predict. There was also a chair surprise that effectively got multiple folks in our group, We were sent through with a larger group for this one, but they did a good job of spreading the scares out amongst all of us.

Hayride:
One thing we’ve always liked about hayrides is that a lot of the scares are large enough to hit, or are targeted to hit, everyone on the wagon. The Hanna Haunted Hayride was no different. This attraction did the best job of focusing the frights on everyone at HHA. We also experienced more scare opportunities on this ride than most we’ve been on! On multiple occasions, the entire wagon shrieked out some screams! We were targeted with sudden blasts of fire, loud noises, large creatures that lunged out at us, and at least one common phobia that came down from above. There were also several chainsaw attacks that left riders looking over their shoulders in all directions, and these dudes ran the blades of the saws down the wooden wagon so everyone could feel the vibration. This helped tie up any loose ends for those wondering if the saws were real. At the end of the haunt, when everything got a bit quiet, a large piece of equipment with a combine attachment started chasing our tractor and trailer! This was, by far, the best finale of the night!

Freakshow:
In the Freakshow, those with coulrophobia will be digging their faces into someone else’s back rather quickly – and possibly through the whole haunt! As soon as we entered the first room, one of us was startled! When we realized their carnival games consisted of a variety of human parts, including hearts instead of balloons and leg / foot ring toss, we didn’t waste any time walking through the haunt. Then, we made it to the ax targets. Although they were just targets with axes stuck in them, we felt very uneasy walking past them, or shall we say, in front of them, due to their placement. They also targeted us with a few good hiding spots and some sudden blasts of air. At the finale, we were vortexed back to reality.

Descension:
Overall, the atmosphere and mood inside Descension was dark. There were a lot of skeletal remains and, at times, we were surrounded by total darkness. Watch out if they learn your name, they will remember it! We would like to give a shout out to one creature that was wearing a skull mask as they managed to nail the first member of our group multiple times due to their perfect timing!

Pandemic:
You just never know what’s within the corn of Pandemic. If you get lost easily, boy do they have a surprise for you! There are dead ends in this maze and it was well-constructed, so the fear of never finding your way out may overcome you. As a matter of fact, as we were purchasing our tickets, a man exited the cornfield loudly exclaiming, ‘Yes! I made it! I made it! Woo hoo!’ So we’re assuming he was pretty proud of himself for finally finding his way out of the field. Although we saw several fiends that could have easily popped out and scared us (they got groups behind us), the scares that we saw were mostly of the gas-guzzling variety (…see what we did there?), which was also what we found at the exit.

Did we mention their chainsaws are especially loud? Well, they are VERY loud.

On several occasions, some of the actors didn’t do anything to our group as we walked by. This included some that were hiding and a few that were in plain sight. There were also a few others where, if someone near us was clearly scared, they stuck to them like magnets. So at times, a group would have 2 or more monsters after them while the rest of us walking by wouldn’t get anything. At one finale, an actor came in the exit as we were making our way out and asked us to ‘excuse’ him as he was trying to get in there to get the next group coming out. We had no idea he was out there until he came trudging in right in the middle of the room. If only this guy would have known he could have hidden around the corner of the exit and nailed all of us’

Blood Barn: 6.89
Outbreak: 7.26
Hayride: 7.56
Freakshow: 6.96
Descension: 7.41
Pandemic: 6.61

General admission tickets were $29.00 per person on the night of our visit. We did visit on a Wednesday, so tickets were a bit cheaper and there wasn’t a large crowd. In total, it took us about an hour and a half to hit all 6 attractions at the park and stand in each waiting line.

Inside the attractions, Blood Barn took us 2.5 minutes, it took us another 3.75 minutes to escape the zombies, the hayride lasted 15.5 minutes (when the wagon started moving to when it stopped), the Freakshow was 3.25, we spent 3.75 in Descension, and another 8 minutes in the maze of Pandemic. The tour times will likely vary per group, especially in the corn maze, but at our time, that combines to 36.75 minutes total. At the $29.00 price tag, this puts the MPD (minutes of entertainment received per dollar spent) at 1.27. Even if you were to go on their more expensive nights, they still offer quite a bit of hauntingly-good scare time for your buck!

In addition to the attractions, we received midway area entertainment from one amphibious actor who was scaring innocent victims as they got in line. We also came across other well-dressed roaming actors as we waited in line for the corn and the hayride. Other than the actors, there were several things set up to take pictures with.

When you visit Hanna, you can show up hungry too, as they offer a large variety of food in their concession stand from hot dogs and chicken tenders to cheeseburgers and more!

If you’re in the Indianapolis or surrounding areas and you’re looking for a haunt with a variety of scares, a slew of effects, and 6 attractions that all offer something different, then make sure Hanna Haunted Acres is on your list!