Hotel of Terror Review (2026)

There is a lot of construction around this area right now, partially due to the eminent domain. Because of this, the Hotel of Terror took extra care in posting a map on their social media accounts with the best places to park and the areas to avoid. I hoped it wouldn’t be too confusing once we got there, but thankfully, they took the time to post a big sign to make it obvious where we should go.

Despite it being a Friday night in October, there was no line when we showed up. There were a few actors in costume, but because of the lack of people, they weren’t doing much interacting. We went to walk inside and were stopped by security, who took our keys and phones. They had us walk through a metal detector and checked purses. After that, we were free to enter.

Getting tickets was quick and easy, then we signed a waiver with our fingerprint after we were given an explanation on what the waiver entailed. We waited only a couple of minutes before we were able to enter. Since the evening was slow, the Hotel of Terror had extra time to make sure that each group was given space inside the haunt.

Outside of the Hotel of Terror is consistent whether it is haunt season or not. It’s a staple for this community. The differences during haunt season are the lights, the music, the actors outside, and of course, the hearse. All of those were present when we visited. Even though there was a lack of interaction with the actors outside, it was still early in the evening, and the real fun began once we stepped inside.

I wondered if the Hotel would try something new or attempt to go out with a bang for their last season in business. It appears they decided to stick with what they are best known for. We got the impression that the Hotel of Terror was allowing people to experience the nostalgia of the haunt instead of trying to outdo previous years. There were still skulls on the floor, missing people posters on the walls, tight spaces, homemade animatronics, impressive immersive lighting, ramps that require good footwear, a very large snake, and the famous slide at the end!

The Hotel of Terror has some impressive special effects. Many of the animatronics used in the Hotel of Terror were homemade by the owner. The huge dinosaur is a big favorite, and it was awesome getting to see it for the final time. Regan from The Exorcist popped out from around a corner at us. The laser/fog projector effect is used very successfully. It’s always fun to walk through the green lights. Another impressive lighting effect takes place in a long hallway. The hallway is split into sections where a red light shines in an ominous way all along the hallway. And we can’t forget about the incredible use of music and sound effects like a clown horn, screaming, and banging.

The Hotel of Terror had 25 actors present the night we visited, and because it wasn’t busy when we arrived, we were given plenty of attention! The actor Freddy Krueger could give Robert Englund a run for his money. The man with the chainsaw was clearly out to get me. Okay, maybe not, but you could have fooled me! However, the girl with half her body posted up on a pole was the stand-out actor among the cast. Her scream was bone-chilling. I would have liked to see more attention put into the costumes, but the actors did a great job despite that.

Because of the number of actors on site the night we visited, the scares were ongoing! Some of the scares we have come to expect, being frequent guests of the Hotel of Terror, and others were wonderfully unexpected, with the actors’ ability to focus on a smaller number of guests. I can’t say for sure what other nights will be like, especially as we get closer to Halloween, but I think this crew knows what they are doing and can be trusted to bring the scares. However, a wider variety of scares would have been nice to see.

Even though we know what happens when we crouch down to walk through the narrow, mirrored enclosure, the sudden pounding directly overhead gets us every time! As the obvious easy target of the group, I did get the most attention, but the actors did a good job not focusing on me alone. I do wish the ending could have delivered a stronger final scare.