Haunted Hoorah – Full Review

Haunted Hoorah is a Haunted Attraction located in Marion, OH.

311 Rose Avenue, Marion, OH 43302
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Haunt Type(s):

Links:

Contact:

Features:

Free Parking, Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site, Food/Concessions, Gift Shop/Souvenirs, “Hi-Tech” Attraction, You will NOT be touched, Original Characters, Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line, Covered Outdoor Waiting Line, Indoor/Outdoor Attraction

This attraction was reviewed on October 22, 2021 by Team Teachers of Terror.

Final Scores:

(15% of Final Score) Cast: 7.55

(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 7.93

(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 10

(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 10

(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.73

(5% of Final Score) Theme: 10

(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 6.93

(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 9

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Starting sometime during WWII, top-secret and unethical testing begins. As a matter of national security, the lead doctor is taken into custody and brought here to continue his research under watchful eyes.

Haunted Hoorah is the home to some horrendous testing and experimentation. In an attempt to create super-soldiers, it’s been discovered that the injected serum causes a myriad of unfortunate side-effects to many participants’ it is semi-approved after all. Here participants are sorted into two groups: the super-soldier or the bullet catcher. While still in the queue line, the sorting begins.

We were treated to a military-style transport to an undisclosed location to begin our training and feeble attempts of survival. While inside, we were then put through a series of tests, some physical (climb up a ramp, jump down into a pit, and crawl our way out.) We were subjected to a gas chamber and a decontamination room. There were strobe lights and thick fog, as well as a firing squad. Below are the details you need in order to survive.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate for $25. Parking is free.

Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):

(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 6
Explanation:

A lot of owners and managers are in the same spot with getting and keeping dedicated staff, as are many places of employment right now. Getting creative with recruiting strategies and incentives for attendance might help.

(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)?: 7

(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 8.5

(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 7.5

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There were a few places where there could have been some more actors, but the overall sets were so well done, we still walked away feeling content. We enjoyed the scene with Nurse Gertrude, Maybell, and the doctor together. We watched a wild woman named Maybell hunker, crouch, and attack the poor unconscious patient on the operating room table. The doctor clearly pushed Nurse Gertrude too far, and she found a way to make him pay with some gnarly appendages. While we were observers, we did get a little surprise aimed right at us. We also enjoyed the queue Army instructor who debriefed us on what was going on and handled the hecklers with ease. It was refreshing to see a female playing the opening scene as a recruiter who showed her displeasure of the low quality of recruits she had standing before her. She has the bold and fierce attitude you would expect to see in this area of the haunt.

We got some fun banter with some of the characters. Each of us found a severed hand in our mashed potatoes. When asked about it we each got a different answer including ‘Good for digestion,’ and ‘That’s the secret seasoning,’ all the while smoking a cigar. We each got compliments on our hair at the barber, but we didn’t really believe her compliments. We actually grew a little concerned here.

Being at the site of a military base, we saw a lot of camouflage fatigues. Other characters we came across include medical personnel like nurses, surgical doctors, a dentist, an optometrist, and barbers. There was a cook in the Mess Hall, a lady strapped in a straight jacket, and an overall-clad nuclear scientist.

Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):

(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 7

(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 7.5

(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 8

(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: N/A

(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9

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We met a poor unfortunate soul in the dental area whose mouth was terribly distorted. They were wearing regular street clothes with bloodied streaks across their body. The optometrist had a nasty eyeball dangling from her eye socket, but from the looks of all the eyes she had at her disposal, she had plenty of others to replace it with.

Besides the camouflage fatigues, we saw a nurse wearing the bloodied, more traditional nursing uniform and others in scrubs, and a few dirtied lab coats. The straight jacket of a clearly infected patient kept her in check as we made our way past her. Our guide at the final scene was wearing a tattered pair of overalls, leading us to believe he has been through a lot of distressing events.

Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):

(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 10

(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 10

(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 10

(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 10

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We couldn’t ask for better customer service. There were several signs posted along the road we could use to get to the site. Getting closer to the parking lot, we found a car with flashing lights and a well-lit parking area. Parking attendants were dressed in military fatigues, brightly colored vests, and bright handheld light sticks to direct us to where to park.

The ticket booth was well lit and the staff gladly helped us with any question we had. GPS took us directly to the parking area. No safety issues were noted, and we were pleased to see security available.

Scouring the website and Facebook pages gave us all the information we would need including address, contact information, calendar, and ticketing information.

Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):

(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 10

(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 10

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Metal music was playing in the queue area. We were treated to fire breathing and some cracking and sparks from a cattle prod-looking weapon. We lined up in rows of 24 people before walking through a gene scanning contraption. They said they were looking for people with a recessive gene that will have an adverse reaction to the serum we were about to get. When the detector went off, the recessive gene carriers had to undergo further testing including singing publicly, answering trivia questions, or physical activities including jumping jacks and pushups. We were then placed in chain-link holding pens until we were then loaded into military transport trucks to deliver us to an undisclosed area, playing metal music and keeping us in the dark while the driver of the truck seemed to search for every pothole and rough terrain they could find to jostle us all.

While in the queue line early on, an Army Instructor told our group all about the secret project and how it has progressed so far. The entrance to the haunt was massive in size and very impressive; almost overwhelming. Plenty of props were laying about including many military vehicles, stacks of tires, and Hoorah signage.

Hidden in the dark, behind layers of trees, we heard the rumble of a train in the background through the night.

All of this, and we hadn’t made it into the actual main attraction yet!

Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):

(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8

(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 9

(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9

(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 9

(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8.5

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We experienced different sounds. There was metal music, alarms, machine guns firing, running vehicles, sirens, radio alerts, loud banging, sharp cracks of malfunctioning equipment, screeching metal, radio feedback, and even some elevator music.

The early parts of the haunt were partitions with molded and bloodied walls. We were expected to walk through a darkened revolving door that led to a blackout room. There were various rooms with bloodied equipment. There were bottles and containers with various things you would expect to find in the different examination rooms, including a vision chart, x rays of the mouth, hair clippings, medicine bottles, specimen jars, glowing fluids, etc.

We got to enjoy not one, but two elevators with the shaking floor. We watched a bomb create a mushroom cloud. We walked through labs and an active operation. We walked through a padded room and ended up walking through the control center with a gunshot victim and several bloodied monitors. We crawled through a furnace with fog and red/yellow heat lights to help us feel like we were about to be burnt. There were hallways with several laser lights shining throughout. There were some very real and authentic bombs and rockets.

Compression tunnels, sliding tiles, a shocking wall, injection ‘shots,’ loud sparking equipment, firing squads with lasers pointed at us as we walked by, black-out room with odd-shaped walls, bloodied bodies, and body parts, disgusting toilets with added smells, strobes, and fog were some of the other effects we encountered.

We were treated to a well-executed post-apocalyptic scene with wrecked and destroyed cars. With details like cement chunks lying on the hood of a car. We went through gas chambers and decontaminate areas.

Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):

(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 10

(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 10

(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 10

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The queue actors told us all about the history and theme of the haunt, from the experimenting being done during WWII by other countries, and the concern to do the same here to battle the new super-soldier. The queue actor explained the tactical strategy involved in choosing Marion, Ohio for the site of such important and secret activities.

There are several military props, large and small. All the actors tell the story of the experiments and horrors going on in the facility. We went through physical training and received a ‘shot’ right away. Everything we experienced and saw here could easily be traced back to the story presented to us at the beginning.

Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):

(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 7
Explanation:

The scares will happen more frequently, and can be more varied, when there are more actors.

(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 7

(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 7

(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 7

(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 6.5

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Given the times we are living in, the underlying fear at Hoorah can strike a chord with many. The fear of the unknown is played out heavily. What happens after the injection? Will I be a successful super soldier like my buddy Steve Rogers, or will I have a grotesque reaction?

The sound effects used here will put a person on edge. We were yelled at, threatened, and given tests. Also, we watched a murder play out when the stress became too much. Then, too, we experienced a jump scare from a hidden actor here and there.

Scares and entertainment seemed to be balanced among the entire group as actors waited for the whole group to get in the set to begin. Because of this, there was some wait time for everyone in the group to get to the new area. However, those of us at the end of the line did mess with the actors, and many gave us some ‘food for thought’ on the fly, which we enjoyed.

The final set was designed very well; we had a lot to look at. Adding a horde could undoubtedly amp it up. However, we did find the details in the scene itself to be very creepy.

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

(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9

(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9

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Tickets cost $25, and our time in the main haunt was 28 minutes, for a minute per dollar ratio of 1.12. This is comparable to similar haunts this year. The space is appropriate for the story they tell and is set up nicely. There are a lot of details in each set that is well executed and fun to be a part of. We can’t wait to see what they bring to the table next season!

How Did We Get These Scores

Guest Reviews
Guest Average: 9.64 out of 10

Shannon – 10/10 – October 8, 2022
This place was great we absolutely loved it.The night we went there was a full moon it was purfect …show more for the hunt and everyone was scary. I absolutely loved the storyline it was awesome. Who wouldn’t want to be a super soldier just awesome.

Jennifer – 10.0/10 – October 7, 2022
This place was awesome it was very intense love the storyline everyone was on point. This place …show more probably isn’t handicap accessible but it was a great time. If you are about 12 or older this is a great place for you to go! we enjoyed the time we had there and had a great scare. The actress at the beginning were great also all the way through the hunt we had a pleasant experience enjoyed the time we had.

Abby – 10/10 – October 22, 2021
Awesome haunt! I love the cohesive storyline that is kept from beginning to end. This haunt is …show more also different as it is military based as they search for people to become super soldiers. The sets are very well done with so much to see and hear. The actors were very engaging, giving the story narrative, maintain the story, and engaging with the audience at every turn. You can tell these actors love what they do and it makes for a great guest experience.

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Past Awards

2022 Awards

Most Immersive Storyline (Given by: Team Teachers of Terror)

Sarge (Given by: Team Teachers of Terror)